Vanguard: Light Speed
Chapter 29
SGZ Strikes
After having been witness to one amazing fight between Isaac and Jacob, it was time for Team Destiny Breaker's next fight. It was going to be in the form of a single do-or-die tag fight against Aero Dreamers... one of the strongest teams in the nation next to Star Ocean and Strike Shadow. Raphugio and Virgil left to see the fight between Team Resurgence and the guys we thought were ripping off the name of the world championship team leaving Dalette and I to handle things on our own with my two decks.
"Are you all ready to begin?" the judge asks.
To this question we all only respond with a simple nod.
"Then let the fir... ahem excuse me. Let the match begin!" the judge yelled.
All of this must have been seriously last minute for an official to make that kind of a verbal error, but no matter.
"Stand up, Vanguard!" the four of us yell.
This battlefield takes the form of a large desert canyon... with tall rock-faces to the left/right, buildings that look like ancient Chinese forts are crammed into the front and back, and the occasional lucky bit of vegetation laying underfoot.
"Yamanbagiri Kunihiro [Power: 5000]!" Audrick yelled.
"Solar Fang Wolf [Power: 5000]!" Dalette yelled.
"Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace [Power: 5000]!" Kale yelled.
"Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata [Power: 5000]!" I yell.
"Dark Irregulars... Raphugio doesn't use any Amon builds, but I know a great many ways to kill this clan from my fights with him." I thought as I've already started coming up with strategies to defeat my opponent upon the sight of her starting vanguard.
"Touken Ranbu... a clan so difficult to use that even pro fighters wouldn't go near it. If this Audrick has really mastered them... then this won't be anywhere as easy as I originally thought." Dalette though as she does the same.
"Audrick Kale will go first and Kiba Nakashima will go last." the judge announced.
"You heard him... I ride Honebami Toushirou [Power: 6000], and I'll move Kunihiro to the back through his skill." Audrick yelled before taking a passive stance in order to signal the end of his turn.
"Holy Mage, Bryderi [Power: 6000] rides, and Solar Fang Wolf goes behind my vanguard." Dalette says in her usual stoic tone of voice.
"Then I'll go with Amon's Follower, Fools Palm [Power: 7000], and I'll move Barmaid Grace to the back left." Kale informed.
"I ride..." I was saying when my eyes were suddenly drawn to Kale's.
It wasn't for something superficial like she had beautiful eyes (of which she actually did), but rather it was the expression both on her face and Audrick's that caught my attention... compared to our previous opponents who looked like they were entering for the fun of it...these two were dead serious like Isaac, Jacob, and even the boss lady here. In a nutshell, they had a reason to fight... a reason why they couldn't lose. I couldn't help but wonder what that reason was.
"Is something a matter?" Kale asks as she was curious as to the reason behind my sudden pause.
"Sorry... I ride Eradicator, Egghelm Dracokid [Power: 7000]... next Nata moves, and now boosts for an attack [Total Power: 12000]!" I yell.
[Drive Check – Sacred Spear Eradicator, Pollux – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to my Dracokid vanguard [New Total: 17000 2 Crit]!" I declare.
This little baby dragon of mine was able to casually walk up to Fools Palm... tricking him with his cuteness, but then this creature of the night would realize the gravity of his error soon after the little dragon sent who knows how many volts of electricity through him with the touch of his palm.
[Damage Check – Amon's Leader, Astaroth – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Hysteric Shirley – Draw Trigger]
"I give the power to Fools Palm, and now I'll draw through the trigger's skill." Kale said.
"Then I'll end my turn." I retort.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
6 / 5 / 11 – Hand – 6 / 5 / 11
0 / 0 / 0 – Soul – 0 / 0 / 0
0 / 0 / 0 – Damage – 2 / 0 / 2
0 / 0 / 0 Counterblast – 0 / 0 / 0
F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0)
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Eradicator, Egghelm Dracokid – Amon's Follower, Fools Palm / Empty
Empty / Empty – Empty / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
Solar Fang Wolf / Holy Mage, Bryderi – Honebami Toushirou / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
"With that first attack critical trigger, Kiba Nakashima has pushed Destiny Breaker into early but slight lead." MC Hammer announced, "But don't forget the fight is still young, and there's no way a top 16 ranked team won't offer some payback."
"I ride Ookurikara [Power: 10000]!" Audrick yelled.
Audrick's new vanguard... a man wearing a white shirt, an imperial army jacket, with wavy hair, tan colored skin, and yellow eyes actually looks like him. Seriously if you were to compare them it be almost as if the card itself was Audrick's own blood.
"Now with Kunihiro's boost, my vanguard will attack [Total Power: 15000]!" Audrick yelled.
"I won't guard." Dalette retorts.
"But I will!" I yell before Audrick has a chance to perform his drive check, "And I'll do so with Pollux [Total Shield: 10000]!"
[Drive Check – Imanotsurugi – No Trigger]
"Then I'll end my turn." Audrick said as he seemed more irritated about his failed first attack than most fighters normally are.
"Draw... I ride Mage of Calamity, Tripp [Power: 9000]." Dalette said.
"I know Dalette said she grew up fighting a GP user and its still early in the game, but... she's as confident with them as her Sky Paladins... it feels like that she's fought with the clan rather than against to me." I thought.
"Tripp attacks [Total Power: 14000]!" Dalette declared.
Instead of responding right away to Dalette's declaration, Audrick quickly glances in his partner's direction of whom only nods her head. Clearly there was nothing Kale could do on defense this turn.
"No guard." Audrick says.
[Drive Check – Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Ishikirimaru – No Trigger]
"Then I'll end my turn as well." Dalette said as she holds her arm across her chest.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
5/ 6 / 11 – Hand – 6 / 6 / 12
0 / 1 / 1 – Soul – 0 / 1 / 1
0 / 0 / 0 – Damage – 2 / 1 / 3
0 / 0 / 0 Counterblast – 0 / 0 / 0
F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0)
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Eradicator, Egghelm Dracokid – Amon's Follower, Fools Palm / Empty
Empty / Empty – Empty / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
Solar Fang Wolf / Mage of Calamity, Tripp – Ookurikara / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
"Don't you go and think that you've already won this fight just because you got a few opening jabs in." Kale points out.
"Since when has either of us said we believe that to be the case?" Dalette and I ask as by fluke we happen to say that at the same time.
"I ride Ron Geenlin [Power: 9000]!" Kale yelled.
"Team Aero Dreamers isn't off to a very good offensive start, but I have no doubt that their power hitter Kale will be able to cut into this lead." said MC Hammer.
"Power hitter? But not the ace?" I ask Kale as I found the announcers choice of words to be a little unusual.
"Our ace is our leader, and fortunately for you she couldn't be here right now... but we're not here for casual conversation. I call Hell's Draw [Power: 9000] and Hell's Deal [Power: 7000] to the field!" Kate yelled.
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Hell's Nail – No Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Cruel Hand – Critical Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula – No Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Hysteric Shirley – Draw Trigger]
"Ron Geenlin will attack Egghelm Dracokid [Total Power: 16000]!" Kale declared.
"No guard." I counter.
[Drive Check – Amon's Follower, Grausam – Critical Trigger]
"I give the critical to Geenlin and the power to Hell's Draw [New Total: 16000 2 Crit]." Kale declared.
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Yellow Gem Cabuncle – Critical Trigger]
"I'll apply the trigger to Egghelm to give him a defensive boost." I counter.
"Then I follow up with an attack from my trigger enhanced Hell's Draw [Total Power: 19000]!" Kale yelled.
Though Hell's Draw may be a little cute for a succubus, that doesn't meat her bite is by any means non-lethal. No... she concentrates her magical energies to her hands to form claws of light, of which she uses to easily leave a large gashEgghelm's tiny body.
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Dragon Mage – Draw Trigger]
"Tch... I end my turn." Kale said as she seemed incredibly annoyed by my trigger luck
"Stand and draw..." I mumble aloud.
"With that last attack Kale has tied the lead for Team Aero Dreamers, but just how will Kiba Nakashima of Destiny Breakers respond?" MC Hammer says to the crowd of excited fans.
"I ride Double Gun Eradicator, Hakusho [Power: 9000]!" I yell, but of course I simply wasn't going to stop at that, "Lorentz Force Dragon [Power: 9000] and Shuki [Power: 7000]! to the rearguard."
Men from the harsh desert and a wild beast from horrid mountains make for an interesting trio don't you think? Well... you'll all find out soon enough whether or not that will be enough to bring us victory.
"Hakusho will attack first [Total Power: 14000]!" I yell.
"I'll guard with Grausam [Total Shield: 10000]!" Kale countered.
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – No Trigger]
"Lorentz Force Dragon, attack Hell's Draw [Total Power: 16000]!" I declare.
In this moment Lorentz Force Dragon gathers a great deal of electrical power between his tuning fork/lightning rod like horns, and releases it all at once as a super concentrated energy beam that erases Hell's Draw from existence in a matter of seconds to the point where not even ashes remain.
"Then I end my turn." I say.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
5/ 6 / 11 – Hand – 4 / 6 / 10
1 / 1 / 2 – Soul – 5 / 1 / 6
3 / 0 / 3 – Damage – 2 / 1 / 3
0 / 0 / 0 Counterblast – 0 / 0 / 0
F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0)
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Lorentz Force Dragon – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Double Gun Eradicator, Hakusho – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin / Amon's Follower, Hell's Deal
Empty / Empty – Empty / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
Solar Fang Wolf / Mage of Calamity, Tripp – Ookurikara / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Empty / Empty – Empty / Empty
"Given the many unusual grade 3 units of the Touken Ranbu clan, just what kind of grade 3 will Audrick bring out to the vanguard circle?" says MC Hammer.
"Let your blade dance across the grand stage that is battle! I ride Tsurumaru Kuninaga [Power: 11000]!" Audrick yelled.
Ookurikara was enveloped in a typhoon of cherry blossoms upon the placement of Audrick's new vanguard on his vanguard circle, and the person that came out once was of course vastly different in appear. Skin as white as snow, hair to match, eyes yellow like a cat, and a white haori to match. At first Team Aero Dreamer honestly didn't seem like anything special, but then again we were still only in this fight's early game. Normally... it's not until the start of the mid-game like how it is now that one gets to see the depths of their opponent's flavor.
"This is for you captain.." Audrick whispers to himself, "With support from Kunihiro, Kuninaga will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 16000]!"
"No guard!" Dalette counters.
[Drive Check – Kousetsu Samonji – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Ishikirimaru – No Trigger]
Just as Kuninaga appeared on the battlefield through an explosion of cherry blossoms, he disappears again as a chunk of blossoms pass him as they were carried by the wind. By the time Tripp realized where Kuninaga really was... it was too late as the young samurai was already within her guard.
[Damage Check – Holy Mage, Pwyll – No Trigger]
"Over to you." Audrick said as he signaled the end of his turn.
"Kiba, do you mind if I borrow your ride chant?" Dalette asks as her eyes are completely focused on the cards in her hand.
"Go right ahead... it's about time you show these people what it means to fight you." I answer as a smug expression appears on my face.
Even at the shop where I used to hang out I've rarely seen Dalette fight anyone other than Raphugio, Virgil, or myself; so I thought in that in that moment... it'll be interesting to see how Dalette is when she really gets going against someone else.
"Rays of light that signal the beginning, pierce through the dark clouds! I ride Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit [Power: 11000]!" Dalette yelled.
"There's the unit Kiba Nakashima used to score their team a win in the previous round, but just how well can Destiny Breaker's captain use it? Well we'll find out soon enough especially since we now have a pair of fighters both at grade 3." MC Hammer announced.
"Liberating the generation zone!" Dalette yelled as she discarded a copy of Gorboduc from her hand in order to pay the cost for stride.
Of course Dalette goes through the mental imagery of her body traveling through the stars at light speed, but that isn't what the most interesting part about this was... no... that was when Dalette had reached her free hand towards my G-Zone that something interesting occurred. One of my G-Units had just flown out of my G-Zone and into her hands as if pulled there via telekinesis.
"Really... first it's a physics defying motion when cards go flying back into the deck for legion and then the deck shuffles itself... now cards are just flying out of the G-Zone? Does no one seriously question any of this?" I thought.
"Stride Generation! Lightning Dragon Knight, Zorras [Power: 26000]!" Dalette yelled.
Since Zorras is effectively going to be a Gold Paladin just for this turn, everything about this warrior his weapon and dragon included changed to various shades of the color yellow as if to perfectly illustrate his temporary change of membership.
"Here is the power of the special rule SGZ being used to its full effect! Even if Zorras was instead a G-Unit whose effect targeted their own clan by name in some way, that fact is ignored under this special rule!" MC Hammer yelled.
"I activate Gurguit's stride skill!" Dalette declared as she picked up the top four cards of her deck, "I superior call Cloten [Power: 9000] with an additional 2000 power bonus, and now I'll normal call Holy Mage, Llull [Power: 9000]!"
"Holy Mage, Llull's skill... for those of you watching who are unfamiliar with the card allows Dalette to check the top four cards of her deck, call 1 unit from among them, and give both Llull and the unit she calls +2000 power." MC Hammer explained.
"With Llull's skill I superior call Wallace [Power: 7000], of whom allows me to counter charge since I have a Gurguit vanguard." Dalette explained.
"Zorras, attack Kuninaga [Total Power: 31000]!" Dalette yelled.
"Kousetsu Samonji nullifies that [Perfect Defense]!"
[Drive Check – Holy Mage, Pwyll – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Holy Mage, Bryderi – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Solar Thieving Knight, Percy – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Llull. Go, lightning dragon flash!" Dalette declared.
Personally I thought that the attack itself didn't warrant such a fancy name. All Zorras did was simply swing his giant ax down upon Kuninaga, of whom was immediately struck by lightning shortly thereafter... or at least that was Dalette's plan. What actually happened was that Kousetsu Samonji blocked the ax with the armor on his right shoulder and then redirected the lighting via his sword as if it were a lightning rod.
"With Wallace's support, my trigger enhanced Llull will attack your vanguard next [Total Power: 25000 2 Crit]!" Dalette yelled.
[Damage Check – Kousetsu Samonji – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Hirano Toushirou – Draw Trigger]
"I'll give the power to my vanguard and draw." Audrick said.
"I end my turn." Dalette declared as somehow Zorras defied the laws of physics and flew back into my G-Zone face up.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
5/ 7 / 12 – Hand – 4 / 7 / 11
1 / 1 / 2 – Soul – 5 / 2 / 7
3 / 1 / 4 – Damage – 2 / 3 / 5
0 / 1 / 1 Counterblast – 0 / 0 / 0
F(0) U(8) / F(1) U(7) / TF(1) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0)
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Lorentz Force Dragon – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Double Gun Eradicator, Hakusho – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin / Amon's Follower, Hell's Deal
Empty / Empty – Empty / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Holy Mage, Llull – Empty / Empty
Solar Fang Wolf / Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – Tsurumaru Kuninaga / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Empty / Law-abiding Knight, Cloten – Empty / Empty
"They have a slight lead Kale." Audrick points out.
"I'm in this fight as well, so it's kind of hard for me to not notice the situation. Well so what if they get to stride first... we can't afford to lose regardless." Kale retorts as her eyes were still focused on me her opponent.
"Yeah... I know... we should be doing a lot better than this, but I guess I really just wanted to make some polite conversation before we continue." Audrick chuckled.
"Hmph... for the sake of continuing, I call Amon's Follower, Hell's Nail [Power: 9000]!" Kale yelled.
"It seems Vanguard fans that... Kale chose not to ride to the next grade in order to deny Kiba the ability to perform Stride. By denying her opponent the advantage of triple drive and an additional +15000 attacking power Kale has ensured she'll be able to perform stride first among the two of them, but depending on Kiba's next twin drive this choice could end up costing Aero Dreamers a much needed win." MC Hammer explained.
"That's still a long ways off, but first I activate Barmaid Grace's skill!" Kale declared.
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula – No Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Grausam – Critical Trigger]
"For this turn my Hell's Nail gets +1000 power for every card in my soul making a total power bonus of +7000." Kale explained.
"As expected of a top 16 team, Kale through the unique traits of her clan has made up for her decision to not ride to a grade 3 unit by using her starters skill to amass power down her left column... power that will only increase even further when the skill of Hell's Nail kicks in." MC Hammer announced.
Now personally I found that this MC Hammer making comments every other play to be a little annoying, but it was the guy's job to hype up the crowd so I decided to let it go. Still... if he pulled the same thing at Oli's shop I'd tell him to shove it.
"I won't be using Grausam's skill... but to give you a nice consolation prize I'll have Ron Geenlin attack your vanguard [Total Power: 16000]!" Kale declared.
[Drive Check – Amon's Follower, Cruel Hand – Critical Trigger]
"The critical goes to my vanguard and the power to Hell's Nail [New Total: 16000 2 Crit]!" Kale said as she tapped her vanguard with the critical trigger.
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Egghelm Dracokid – No Trigger]
"Now my Hell's Nail will attack your vanguard [Total Power: 21000]!" Kale declared, "Don't worry about the skill of Hell's Nail as I won't be activating it."
"Just what reason could Kale have for not using the skill of Hell's Nail in this situation?" MC Hammer announces to the crowd.
"It's obvious isn't it? Even if she were to use the skill it wouldn't force Kiba to drop any more cards in his hand should he chose to guard, and... this is still a tag-fight. She's avoiding using too many counterblasts in order to give Audrick as much room as possible to launch an assault durring his next turn... especially since right now I have the advantage in our half of the fight." Dalette thought.
[Damage Check – Eradicator, Lorentz Force Dragon – No Trigger]
"Well then... over to you Kiba Nakashima." Kale said as she seemed to believe that this simple move of hers would be enough to bring her team victory.
"Thank you for that. Descend, the first Eradicator dragon! I ride Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon [Power: 11000]!" I yell.
To see those red scales, those lightning bolt shaped additions to the wings, and that zigzag shaped sword of Vowing Sword Dragon... it felt nostalgic especially since I haven't gotten the chance to really use him in a serious fight for a long time. He might be the weakest compared to the other Break Ride units, however as everyone would soon realize he'd also be the key to Dalette and I's victory in this fight.
"I call a second Vowing Sword Dragon [Power: 11000] and another Shuki [Power: 7000] to the rearguard!" I yell.
"With that Kiba Nakashima is the first fighter to have a full field. Now that he does will he show us the aggressive strength of the Narukami clan in this turn?" MC Hammer yelled.
"My Vowing Sword Dragon will attack Ron Geenlin first, and since you have over 3 points of damage between you and your partner my vanguard gets +2000 extra power. Now go Thunder Break Slash [Total Power: 18000]!" I yell.
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Dragon Mage – Draw Trigger]
"I'll draw first... and I'll give the power to my rearguard Vowing Sword Dragon!" I said as I tap the aforementioned unit with the trigger.
[Drive Check – Worm Toxin Eradicator, Seiobo – Heal Trigger]
"I give the power to Lorentz Force Dragon, and now I'll heal one point of damage." I said.
My vanguard Vowing Sword Dragon raised his lightning spewing blade over his head with both hand, and then brings it down upon Ron Geenlin as if he were god giving forth divine judgment from above. As who knows how many volts of electricity passes through Ron Geenlin's body upon contact with my vanguard Vowing Sword Dragon, the sound of thunder breaking the sound barrier reverberates through out this small battlefield.
[Damage Check – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin – No Trigger]
"I'll have my rearguard Vowing Sword Dragon attack the vanguard [Total Power: 23000]!" I declare.
[Damage Check – Amon's Follower, Hell's Trick – Heal Trigger]
"All effects to vanguard, and I'll recover 1 damage point." Kale says.
"Then Lorentz Force Dragon will close things up for the turn [Total Power: 21000]!" I yell.
"I guard with Cruel Hand [Total Shield: 10000]!" Kale countered.
"Then I end my turn." I said after taking a deep breath in order for me to keep my nerves steady.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
6 / 7 / 13 – Hand – 4 / 7 / 11
2 / 1 / 3 – Soul – 7 / 2 / 9
4 / 1 / 5 – Damage – 3 / 3 / 6
0 / 1 / 1 Counterblast – 0 / 0 / 0
F(0) U(8) / F(1) U(7) / TF(1) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(0) U(8) / TF(0)
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Lorentz Force Dragon – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin / Amon's Follower, Hell's Deal
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – Amon's Follower, Hell's Nail / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Holy Mage, Llull – Empty / Empty
Solar Fang Wolf / Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – Tsurumaru Kuninaga / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Empty / Law-abiding Knight, Cloten – Empty / Empty
"Stand and draw." Audrick mumbles.
"What's wrong with you two?" Dalette asks before even Audrick has the chance to make his first move of the turn.
"What do you mean?" Kale and Audrick by chance respond by chance at the same time.
"I've seen videos of your team's fights before... you two should be capable of fighting at a much higher level than this. In fact I expected for my teammate and I to be behind at this point in the fight instead of being the ones in control. To show your opponent any less than your best is just insulting to them." Dalette points out as she lets a small amount of the annoyance she's felt in this fight thus far slip through.
"So I wasn't the only one." I thought as I believed that something seemed off about the performance of Team Aero Dreamers
"Why you..." Kale said as she looked as though she was about to snap.
"Kale... cool it." Audrck said in a highly authoritative tone of voice.
"But..." Kale mumbles as she clearly wants to make an objection to Audrick, but at the same time she's debating whether or not it's actually worth doing so.
"You're right... you're absolutely right... this poor performance would make our captain cry if she saw it." Audrick said in a clearly sullen tone of voice, "Ha ha... ironic since this year... the three of us are doing this all for her."
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
"Sigh... our captain was one of the people pulled out of the rubble of the Vermillion Disaster over 10 years ago, but she was hurt a lot worse compared to the other survivors." Kale said as her sullen tone matched that of her tag partner.
The Vermillion Disaster... hearing someone speak those words sent shivers down my spine as I remembered being buried alive and losing one of my closest friends, but I wasn't the only one to have shivers upon hearing those words. No... Dalette only slightly flinched, but I could tell her nightmares relating to that day were rearing their ugly heads and the same held true for a few people in the crowd as they went silent as well.
"Doctor said that there are several metal fragments embedded near her heart, but that she'd still be able to live a normal life... which is fine as long as she didn't do anything more stressing than a morning jog." Audrick explained as it takes him a great deal of willpower to hold back a well of tears.
"She was caught in a minor car accident that wouldn't bother us with anything more than a sore shoulder for a few days, but for her it was a death sentence. Another doctor said that the fragments were knocked loose and are slowly making their way towards her heart... and now she only has a year to live before dying a slow and very painful death." Kale said as she decided to be the one to tell the rest of this story, "There is a chance to save her life though... there's an experimental surgery that can remove the fragments around her heart, but since she's not part of the research study... the bill will have several zeroes."
"That's why we have to win the national tournament this year even if our ace can't stand with us... the money from all the sponsorship deals will save her life." Audrick said as both he and Kale seemed to have finally found there inner fire.
"That's why the three of us will fight to our last breath! We'll beat you, Star Ocean, Strike Shadow, and every other team that gets in our way for the sake of the captain's life!" Kale yelled.
The crowd exploded with support for Aero Dreamers upon Kale's... no...upon the team's declaration of victory. Who could blame the crowd for doing so? At the time Team Destiny Breaker wanted to win the national tournament really for only how cool it would look, but for Aero Dreamers it was literally a matter of life or death.
"We'll make up for our poor showing starting now, and show you how Team Aero Dreamers really fights!" Audrick yelled as he actually finally drew for the turn.
"Yeah! Go and show them who's boss!" one excited fan yells.
"Do it for the captain!" a Aero Dreamers fan girl yelled at the top of her lungs.
And I know it was a Team Aero Dreamers fan girl because she had a T-Shirt with their team's logo printed on it.
"Liberating the generation zone!" Audrick yelled as he discarded a copy of Imanotsurugi in order to pay the cost for stride.
As Audrick declared the first play of his turn, Dalette and I could tell that his concern for his captain was still there but it was no longer weighing him down. If the new-found passion in his voice was any indication, our real fight with Team Aero Dreamers was about to begin.
"Stride Generation! Iwatooshi [Power: 26000]! And now I'll activate Kuninaga's stride skill!" Audrick yelled.
[Soul Charge – Gokotai – Heal Trigger]
"And I get to give my vanguard and my starter +3000 power." Audrick explained.
"Get ready Kiba... things are about to get rough." Dalette says to me as she took a defensive stance whilst a small smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah... I know." I whisper back.
"I call Ishikirimaru [Power: 11000], Yamatonokami Yasuda [Power: 9000], and Horikawa Kunihiro [Power: 7000] to the rearguard!" Audrick yelled.
"With a counterblast cost of 1, the Kunihiro that Audrick just brought out gets +4000 power for the turn and he gets to soul charge another card. For the same cost, Yasusada gets +2000 power and the skill for Audrick to draw two cards should her attack hit the vanguard." MC Hammer explained as Audrick paid the aforementioned costs for those two skills.
[Soul Charge – Yamatonokami Yasusada – No Trigger]
"I won't let the master of ceremonies here talk out my entire turn for me. Iwatooshi's skill: By turning a face down copy of him in my G-Zone face up, he gains the ability to attack your front row in one go. Now with nothing else to stop me... let's put that to the test. Iwatooshi, attack Dalette's front row with your naginata [Total Power: 37000]!" Audrick declared.
"I nullify that with Holy Mage, Bryderi [Perfect Defense]!" Dalette counters.
"Checking the triple drive!" Audrick yelled as he placed his hand on the top of his deck.
[Drive Check – Shokudaikiri Mitsusada – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Yasusada!" Audrick yelled.
[Drive Check – Horikawa Kunihiro – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Gokotai – Heal Trigger]
"I'll recover 1 point of damage, and once again I'll give the power to my rearguard Yasusada... Secret Technique: Air Blade Annihilation!" Audrick yelled.
Iwatooshi pulled back his naginata and held it over his shoulders like he were a baseball player holding his bat ready for a full powered swing, and once he actually does swing his naginata... he does so with such force that it create an extremely high pressured wave of air. That wave cuts Dalette or depending on your perspective my Cloten and Llull in two with incredible ease, but it fails to leave a mark on Bryderi's magic barrier.
"Since I have a copy of Bryderi in my drop zone I can counter charge 1 card." Dalete said.
"Yasusada, attack Gurguit [Total Power: 32000 2 Crit]!" Audrick declared.
"I guard with Percy and another copy of Tripp from my hand [Total Shield: 15000]!" Dalette counters.
"And I'll push the defense over the edge with Seiobo [New Total Shield: 25000]!" I yell as I follow up Dalette's defensive play exactly how she expected me to.
"Then Ishikirimaru attack Gurguit [Total Power: 11000]!" Audrick declared.
[Damage Check – Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – No Trigger]
"I end my turn." Audrick said with pride.
"Audrick's attack may have only 1 point of damage Vanguard fans, however his aggressive series of attacks was able to take away 5 potentially much needed cards from his opponent's hands." MC Hammer points out.
"Liberating the Generation Zone!" Dalette yelled as she discarded another copy of Gorboduc from her hand in order to pay the cost for stride.
"With only 3 cards in her hand after paying the cost for stride, will Dalette be able to somehow launch a heated offense capable of matching Audrick's?" MC Hammer announced as he and the rest of the crowd watching were seriously fired up right now.
Once again a card flew out of my G-Zone and into Dalette's hand, but given the situation I have a very strong hunch as what my fearless leader intended to bring out back then.
"Conquering Supreme Dragon, Conquest Dragon [Power: 26000]!" Dalette yelled.
"Dalette really is impressive... she's taking this special rule to masterfully wield the combined powers of both of our clans." I thought as I couldn't help but look upon my leader with admiration for a moment.
"Gurguit's stride skill: Superior call... Veteran Knight, Danvallo [Power: 11000] with a +2000 power bonus, and now I'll call Holy Mage, Pwyll [Power: 9000]!" Dalette said.
"Now that Dalette's front row has been refilled, she'll likely activate the skill of of Conquest Dragon. That G-Unit's skill allows her to retire one of her opponent's front row units and give her own front row a +5000 power bonus for each of her opponent's front row slots." MC Hammer explained as I flipped the face down copy of Conquest Dragon in my G-Zone face up in order to pay the cost for its skill.
"I target Yasusada, and my front row gets a +5000 power bonus!" Dalette declared as she pointed at Audrick's grade 2 rearguard.
Just as it was easy for Dalette to point at Yasusada, it was a far simpler task for Conquest Dragon to point his fingertip at the Touken Ranbu unit and disintegrate her with a single flash of lightming from his scaly finger tips.
"Pwyll will attack Kuninaga [Total Power: 21000]!" Dalette yelled, "And now I'll use Pwyll's skill to superior call from the top of my deck... Wallace [Power: 7000]!"
"Thanks to Wallace's skill allowing Dalette to counter charge... she's essentially brought her formation to full strength with a single counterblast." I thought as a grin appears on my face.
[Damage Check – Yagen Toushirou – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to my vanguard." Audrick says.
"Conquest Dragon... attack [Total Power: 36000]! With your violent force, lead the way for the unity of dragon's hand humans! One, two, thunder!" Dalette yelled.
"I'll match your perfect guard with a perfect guard... Kousetsu Samonji nullifies [Perfect Defense]!" Audric countered.
[Drive Check – Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Veteran Knight, Danvallo – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Solar Thieving Knight, Percy – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Danvallo!" Dalette said as she tapped one of the last of her standing two rearguards with the trigger.
"That's all well and good, but since I have a copy of the perfect guard in the drop zone I get to counter charge." Audrick said.
Amazingly... despite Conquest Dragon's immense size, strength, and the fact that he started his attack with a running start... somehow he fails to even make Samonji sweat as the former's blade easily stops the weapon of the latter.
"Donvallo... attack [Total Power: 30000 2 Crit]!" Dalette yelled as regardless of whether she knew it or not... this would be her last attack of the fight.
"I'll match you move for move... Gokotai and Mitsusada guard [Total Shield: 20000]!" Audrick counters.
"Then... I end my turn." Dalette responds as Conquest Dragon flew back into my G-Zone face up.
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
5 / 5 / 10 – Hand – 4 / 3 / 7
2 / 1 / 3 – Soul – 7 / 4 / 11
4 / 2 / 6 – Damage – 3 / 3 / 6
0 / 1 / 1 Counterblast – 0 / 1 / 1
F(0) U(8) / F(3) U(5) / TF(3) – G-Zone - F(0) U(8) / F(2) U(6) / TF(2)
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Lorentz Force Dragon – Empty / Empty
Spirit Beads Eradicator, Nata / Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin / Amon's Follower, Hell's Deal
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – Amon's Follower, Hell's Nail / Amon's Follower, Barmaid Grace
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Holy Mage, Pwyll – Empty / Horikawa Kunihiro
Solar Fang Wolf / Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – Tsurumaru Kuninaga / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Veteran Knight, Danvallo – Ishikirimaru / Empty
"Simply amazing... I hope you were all paying attention for those last two turns because boy were they exciting. Dalette Grayson was able to match Audrick's attack blow for blow by taking advantage of this special rule, and Audrick was able to defend blow for blow... causing both players to lose 5 cards each." MC Hammer announced.
"Those attacks took a pretty big chunk out of both of our defensive capabilities... this fight isn't going to last for another turn or two... also isn't it technically -7 cards for us and -5 for them?" I thought.
"Can Kale match their fire and bring her team a win this turn? Will Kiba take the win from Aero Dreamers on his next turn? Or will this match last another lap entirely? Watch and find out!" MC Hammer yelled as the crowd was just going wild at this point.
"I ride Amon's Leader, Astaroth [Power: 11000]... and now generation zone... release!" Kale declared as she by chance discarded another copy of Astaroth to pay the cost of stride.
"Ohhh... I wonder what G-Unit will Kale bring out?" I thought.
"Darkness, come forward and surpass the darkness that rules the future! Stride Generation! Amon's Talon, Marchocias [Power: 26000]!" Kale yelled.
"Marchocias has the power to give two of Kale's rearguards +3000 power for every 5 cards in her soul, but given the situation something tells me that she won't be using that ability just yet." MC Hammer points out.
"Instead I'll be using Barmaid Grace's skill to target Hell's Nail again." Kale declared.
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Grausam – Critical Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula – No Trigger]
"This time I'll be using Grausam's skill to retire Lorentz Force Dragon." Kale declared.
"With that Kale is down to only 1 perfect guard being left in her deck... assuming of course that she doesn't already have it in hand, but on the plus side she was able to reduce the maximum defense Kiba could have brought to the party in response to the party favors Kale has in mind." MC Hammer announced.
"Now I'll be using the skill of Marchocias to give Hell's Deal and Hell's Nail a +6000 power bonus." Kale explained.
"Barring triggers and any further unit abilities, that means Kale has one unit hitting for 25k and another for 39k with a boost. Depending on how Kale's next drive check goes... this may just be enough to turn things around in Aero Dreamers favor." MC Hammer says to the crowd as both he and they realize that this fight is reaching its final phase.
"Marchocias will attack Vowing Sword Dragon with a boost from Hell's Deal [Total Power: 39000]!" Kale yelled.
"Eradicator, Wyvern Guard Guld nullifies [Perfect Defense]!" I counter.
[Drive Check – Amon's Follower, Vlad Specula – No Trigger]
"It seems that at least Kale will have 1 invulnerable line of defense should she fail to finish off Team Destiny Breaker this turn." MC Hammer points out.
"Seriously old man... just shut up and let us play." was what I wanted to say, but unfortunately I knew better.
[Drive Check – Amon's Follower, Cruel Hand – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Hell's Nail." Kale said.
[Drive Check – Amon's Follower, Cruel Hand – Critical Trigger]
"All effects go to Hell's Nail." Kale said.
"That means Hell's Nail will be hitting for 35k tripple crit... shit that's not good." I thought.
Had this been a solo fight against Kale, I'd be seriously screwed right now with the cards I have in my hand but thankfully this isn't. Still... I can't help but be concerned as to whether or not Dalette has enough defense in her hand to help me whether this coming storm considering the fact that she got two grade 3s on her last drive check.
"Hell's Nail will attack, and now I'll activate her skill to soul charge." Kale informed.
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Hell's Trick – Heal Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Hell's Trick – Heal Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Amon's Follower, Ron Geenlin – No Trigger]
"On one hand that skill ensures that Kiba and Dalette will have to drop another shield to block this attack assuming that they have the ability to do so, but if things go south for Kale she'll have only 1 heal trigger to hope to keep her in the game." MC Hammer explained.
"Now go Hell's Nail... Alluring Fang Slash [Total Power: 38000 3 Crit]!" Kale declared.
"Percy, Llull, and Gorboduc will go to the defense of the Eradicators... the rest Kiba is up to you." Dalette said as she interjects just in time to save my bacon.
"Egghelm and Eradicator, Dragon Mage will make this a five man formation!" I yell.
[Total Shield: 30000]
With her magically produced claws of energy; Hell's Nail was able to cut through the wall of bodies that Dalette and I placed in her way, however by the time she cut down the last defender she was simply too exhausted to attempt the finishing blow.
"I end my turn." Kale said.
"At last we have a fight to be proud of Vanguard fans... with things down to the wire like this... either Kiba Nakashima wins on his next turn or Audrick does coming the start of the next cycle." MC Hammer announced.
MC Hammer was right about how close to the wire this situation was, but honestly few things can compare to the excitement and adrenaline that rushes through one's body in the "Do or Die" moments of Vanguard Fights. I know... because well... countless people myself included has felt that excitement before.
"Top deck powers, activate!" I thought as I placed my hand on the top of my deck.
Those exact words I wrote above weren't even close to what I was really thinking all those years ago, but in all seriousness I thought back then that this was one of those "Draw the right card and turn the game around completely" situations.
"Stand and draw..." I said as a smile as big as a football appeared once I realized what I just drew, "Arigato, otosan."
I actually mumbled that last bit at the end out loud, but for the record from now on up until the point where this tale of the truth finally ends... this will be one of the few times you will ever hear me speak in Japanese. I am half-blooded, and my dad refused to have his only son not know the language of his paternal ancestors.
"With that reaction it's clear that Kiba had just drawn something really good, but will it be enough to turn the tides." MC Hammer says to the crowd as apparently at the time there were cameras zooming in on my face.
"Enter the fray with your fate freed from destiny my incarnation of lightning! I break ride... Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas [Power: 11000]!" I yell.
Storm clouds form within seconds over this desert canyon battlefield arena, but no water starts falling from the sky. No... there's nothing coming from the sky but a single lightning bolt that ends up enveloping Vowing Sword Dragon. Out of that lightning comes my avatar... having removed most of the armor he wore in his previous evolution, his wings retracted completely within the thinly layered green and orange cloak he's wearing to protect himself from the desert heat, and in his left hand is still the very same katana he took from the ancient emperor's tomb all those years ago (lore wise).
"Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas... how? The Spirit was surprising enough when I first saw Kiba use it, but I never thought I'd see him pull out a new Abraxas unit like how Isaac did for Vermillion." MC Hammer said pausing constantly between words as he was obviously shocked by what I just did.
"Vowing Sword's break ride skill gives Abraxas +10000 power, forces Hell's Nail to retire, and gives my two Shuki's +3000 power through their skills." I explain.
"About time you drew that... now we can finally put our strategy into motion." Dalette smirks as right now she only sees victory at the other end of the tunnel.
"Sorry, but I couldn't help drawing it only just now." I chuckle just before taking a deep breath, "Seek mate!"
Wow... I haven't thought about that first physics defying motion that people should seriously start questioning in such a long time, but I'm not going to start to rant about it now. Four cards go in, the deck is shuffled, and one card comes out as expected.
"Blade of the apocalypse, stand together with the inheritor of the emperor's spirit! Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant... legion!" I yell.
"It's a legion card? Just what kind of powers does this new form of Abraxas have?" says the excited MC Hammer.
"I move my left Shuki to the front, Nata into the soul to give Abraxas his skill, and finally Dragonic Descendant's especial counterblast!" I yell.
"Big deal... like an extra +5000 power is that scary." Kale retorts as allthough she was surprised by this new card I played, she wasn't worried about it either.
"By itself it's not a big deal, but it does trigger the skill of my new Abraxas. When the power of a unit on my vanguard circle is increased by the skill of a unit on the vanguard circle... I get to retire one of your back row rearguards!" I explain in an epic tone of voice if I do say so myself.
"What?" Kale mumbled out of surprise as this was clearly something she wasn't expecting.
Like Conquest Dragon, my new Abraxas simply points his finger at Barmaid Grace and turns her to ash via single lightning blast.
"But wait there's more." I say like a cheesy infomercial host, "When I retire one of your back row rearguards through the effects of one of my units, I can soul blast 1 to counter charge!"
"With that the power of the two Shuki's are bumped up to 13000 a piece, but Abraxas also gains +3000 through the skill he was given by Nata... and since it's technically now the skill of a unit on the vanguard circle... that means-" MC Hammer was about to say as he instantly figures out the reason behind my choice of starting vanguard.
"It's exactly as your thinking MC!" I yell before MC Hammer has a chance to ruin my next surprise, "The cycle repeats as Abraxas retires Hell's Draw!"
The cycle of destruction does indeed repeat... fingers are pointed, blast of light is fired from them, and an innocent (yeah right) Dark Irregular unit is turned into ash.
"Now the two Shuki units are at 16000 power each, however it's not like I'm going to say 'but wait there's more' out loud even though there actually is more." Dalette thought.
"Since I retired two units through this skill... Abraxas gets +1 critical and a third skill for me to use later. For now though... I'll play Dragonic Descendant's especial counterblast 1 more time!" I yell.
"Amazing... this raises the power of Kiba's vanguard to 48k, of which is a fact made all the more deadly with the addition of the extra critical along with the skill of Dragonic Descendant." says an even further excited MC Hammer.
"If Kale blocks it now with the perfect guard and Kiba is able to get a critical trigger in his next drive check... then between that and Descendant's skill... the chances are high that we won't be able block an attack with that much power." Audrick thought as he quickly forms a few risk assessments based on what's in his hand, and what he believes to be in Kale's.
"Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas... attack Amon's Leader, Astaroth [Total Power: 48000 2 Crit]!" I declare.
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Dragon Mage – Draw Trigger]
"I'll draw first... and I'll give the power to my lone Shuki!" I declare.
[Damage Check – Demon World Marquis, Amon – No Trigger]
[Damage Check – Amon's Follower, Hell's Deal – No Trigger]
"It was an impressive display of power to be sure, but it seems as Kiba Nakashima's new unit was unable to go in for the kill." MC Hammer as he actually believed to some small degree that I would win the fight in that one attack.
"When did I ever say that I'd be finishing this in one attack?" I say aloud as a rather smug grin forms upon my face.
"Your attack was able to hit my vanguard, so there's no way you'll... oh shit." Kale mumbles as she gains a strong suspicion towards what I'm about to do next.
"Ah... it's exactly what your thinking." I say to Kale as I toss 3 of the cards in my hand into the drop-zone, "The third skill I mentioned forces Descendant's Auto skill to activate even though I haven't met its normal activation conditions.
"That means... he'll able to attack again for ridiculous numbers... and there's nothing I can do to stop him from doing so." Kale thought as I stood my vanguard and his mate back up.
"Let's try this again... Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas... legion attack [Total Power: 48000 2 Crit]! Lineage of proud dragons, become the force that heralds the end! Twin Sky Fire Judgment!"
I declare.
"I'll nullify with Vlad Specula [Perfect Defense], so you can take your judgment and shove it!" Kale counters.
"Twin drive check." I mumble aloud.
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Spark Rain Dragon – No Trigger]
[Drive Check – Eradicator, Yellow Gem Carbuncle – Critical Trigger]
"I give all of the effects to Vowing Sword Dragon." I say.
The wings of my new Abraxas burst forth through his thinly layered cloak... they're simple concentrations of pure energy compared to the armored look they had in his previous form. The speed generated from the beat of those wings as well as that of Dragonic Descendant's allows them both o generate such speed that to Astaroth they seem like two bolts of lightning targeting him straight on. The power behind them both is immense, but it still isn't enough to break through Vlad Specula's barrier.
"Next up is... Vowing Sword Dragon [Total Power: 32000 2 Crit]!" I declared.
"I'll guard with two copies of Cruel Hand." Kale countered.
"And I'll add Horikawa Kunihiro to the mix." Audrick interjects.
[Total Shield: 25000]
"Alright then... Shuki, attack [Total Power: 21000]!" I declare.
First Kale glances down at the last card in her hand, then she looks at her partner Audrick for assistance, but once she saw him nod his head from left to right... she knew that there was only 1 path left to the two of them.
[Damage Check – Demon World Marquis, Amon – No Trigger]
Final Results
Kiba/Dalette – Kale/Audrick
3 / 2/ 5 – Hand – 2 / 2 / 4
2 / 1 / 3 – Soul – 13 / 4 / 17
4 / 2 / 6 – Damage – 6 / 3 / 9
3 / 1 / 4 Counterblast – 3 / 1 / 4
F(0) U(8) / F(3) U(5) / TF(3) – G-Zone - F(1) U(7) / F(2) U(6) / TF(3)
Empty / Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki – Empty / Empty
Empty / Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas/Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant – Amon's Leader, Astaroth / Empty
Steel-blooded Eradicator, Shuki / Eradicator, Vowing Sword Dragon – Empty / Empty
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Holy Mage, Pwyll – Empty / Horikawa Kunihiro
Solar Fang Wolf / Sunrise Ray Knight, Gurguit – Tsurumaru Kuninaga / Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
Shield Shine Knight, Wallace / Veteran Knight, Danvallo – Ishikirimaru / Empty
"It's over! The winners moving onto the third round are Dalette Grayson and Kiba Nakashima of Team Destiny Breaker!" MC Hammer announced.
Even though they had a far more worthy cause to fight than us at the time... no for that reason alone the crowd still excitedly cheers for the performance they've shown. There were also a few people booing us for winning but that's neither here nor there.
"I'm sorry... that... I couldn't win Audrick." Kale said holding back immense tears as she and the other two present members of Aero Deamers gather around.
"It's.. alright... we still have plenty of time... we'll find another way to save the captain's life." Audrick said in a reassuring tone to the other two members even though he was also holding back tears.
I feel differently about it now of course for reasons you soon shall read, but back then... in our team's moment of victory... I felt guilty as we may have just sentenced a kind person and a fellow fighter to death for our own desires.
"Say..." I was about to say to the other members of Aero Dreamers before, but Dalette raised her hand and stopped me.
"Don't... in tournaments like these... what matters is whether or not you posses strength regardless of the reason you fight. To act as a shoulder for them to cry on after they came at us with everything they had... it be an insult to the reason they fight." Dalette explained as she clearly knew exactly what I was going.
"What's that... alright I'll tell them." MC Hammer mumbles as finishes a conversation with someone on the other end of his earpiece, "Team Aero Dreamers, if I could please get you to turn your attention to the monitor behind me... there's someone who wants to have word with you."
"Who?" Audrick asks.
That question isn't answered by words, but by action. Not by any man here in this room, but by the man sitting at his desk on the giant TV behind MC Hammer. He's middle aged, he had grayish orange hair, and he was wearing a suit that I wouldn't have had a chance at hell in affording at the time. There's only one person this could be.
"Let me have the honor of introducing you to the President/CEO of the Verde Corporation and one of the main sponsors of this year's national tournament... Alexander Verde!" MC Hammer announced.
"Hey... it really is him." says one of the people sitting in the stands.
Believe me there were a lot of surprised faces made in response to this man's unexpected appearance... if only in the form of a video conference, but for a reason I didn't realize at the time... I saw that Dalette was the most surprised out of everyone.
"Good afternoon members of Team Aero Dreamers. You already know who I am, so I'll skip the introductions. I happen to have some spare time between meetings, and I decided to kill time going through the live feeds of the various regional tournaments going on all over the nation. By chance I happen to stop at your match just as you were telling your story about your captain, and it touched my heart." Mr. Verde explained in a very business like tone of voice.
"More likely you were watching the entire since I'm here." Dalette thought as she seemed somewhat disgusted by Mr. Verde's appearance.
"I dealt with something rather similar, of which is why I'm having my people contact your team manager as we speak. I'll pay for the procedure to save your captain's life out of my own personal accounts... the only thing I ask in return is that you all show the same passion you had in the last turns of this fight... in all the fights you'll have in the future. Now if you'll excuse me I have a meeting." Mr. Verde said only to disappear as fast as he appeared.
"You here that... the boss will get better... the boss will get better!" Kale yelled as she lets the tears she's been holding back flow.
"Yeah... I know!" Audrick yelled pulling his teammate into a group hug as he let the tears he'd been holding back glow as well.
After bearing witness to Alexander Verde's kind gesture to the opposing team, Dalette and I quickly gathered my decks and hurried to the hall where Team Resurgence was fighting the group of people that dare name themselves after the World Champions Team Red Star. As we'd soon realize, simply walking into the hallway would be a grueling enough of a task.
"Say, why did you need to borrow my deck?" I ask as I had yet to notice the crowd of people ahead of us.
"Oh so you haven't figured that out yet... in a nutshell I forgot to bring it." Dalette explained.
And now cue us noticing the crowd of people.
"That's... a lot of people." Dalette notes.
"A lot of people?" I retort as I was surprised by my leader's simplistic description of the situation, "They're all packed to the brim trying to get in there!"
The entrance Dalette and I were going to take to where Team Resurgence and the guys with the supposed nerve to call themselves Team Red Star was tightly packed together like a six-pack of beer. People were pushing each other down or shoving each other out of the way as they attempted to get in to watch this fight like there was a horde of hungry zombies behind them.
"Hey, do you know what's going on?" I curiously ask one of the guys hanging around the back of this mass of people.
"I heard from one of my buddies already inside that two of the members of Team Resurgence are that Nikki girl who fought Jacob during the Expo and that Will dude who trounced Teresa. The word spread and... well you can see the result." said the guy I talked to as he waved his hand at the mass of people in front of us.
Now that we had that little tidbit of information, Dalette and I move away from the crowd so we can come up with some kind of plan that will allow us to get inside.
"Do you have any ideas Kiba?" Dalette asks as she seemed like she already had one, but wanted to hear my opinion first.
"Short of doing something that will likely get our team disqualified... no I got nothing." I answer as I wrack my brain for any potential epiphany.
But unfortunately for me I had no such luck, so it looks like that it'll be up to whatever the boss lady here had in mind.
"Damn... I was hoping it wouldn't come to that." Dalette mumbled as she clearly didn't want to do whatever she had in mind, but she still felt that she had to.
It was here that Dalette had me bend down slightly so she could easily whisper her plans in my ears. I could actually describe what her plan was in surreptitious detail right now, but it was actually quite simple and I wouldn't want to spoil you all the fun. Just know that it starts with Dalette and I standing a few feet away from the precipice of a normal hallway.
"Are you sure that you can pull this off?" I ask as we move to our assigned positions.
"I was on my school's track team, and there are several doors I can duck into so I'll be fine." Dalette answers as she scans the crown in order to make sure no one can ruin her plan prematurely.
"Hey! Oh my god... Sakura Verde's here!" I scream at the top of my lungs.
As Dalette expected the crowd of people trying to get in to watch this fight turn in my direction and then to what I'm pointing at... namely Dalette who has removed her contacts and wig and and adjusted her hair slightly to make her look like the best Sakura Verde look-a-like in the world. Of course at the time I had no idea Dalette shared a connection to Sakura greater than their mere similarity in appearance.
"It's true... she really is here!" one the many many excited fans in this mass of flesh yelled.
"Oh dear... I'm just trying to enjoy my day off!" Dalette yelled in the most Sakura-like voice she could as she booked it down that hallway I previously mentioned.
Many Vanguard fans among this mass of flesh should know that Sakura was no where near here right now, but they still chased down Dalette anyway as their inner-fandom took the place of their sense of logic.
"Alright... now to find Virgil and Raphugio." I mumble as I start to walk towards the now clear hallway entrance.
Thankfully it didn't take me long to find them as Virgil waved me down with his eyes still focused on the fight as I walked in. He and Raphugio had somehow managed to save a couple of extra seats right behind the away team's bench turned dugout.
"How muc-" I was trying to say.
"Shhhhhh the fight's still going on. Hmmm, where's Dalette?" Raphugio asks as he holds his finger to his mouth interrupting me in the process.
"I'm right here." Dalette said before I could answer as she took the empty seat next to me.
Dalette was out of breath and sweating a little when she sat down, but at least she was able to get her full disguise back on after ditching that crow from earlier.
"What happened?" Virgil asks after quickly glancing in Dalette's direction.
"I'll tell you later. How's the fight going?" Dalette asks.
"They're still in the middle of the first fight, and it's been back and forth the past few turns. It's between Tsubasa a friend of that Nikki girl and Will... they're the members of Team Resurgence." Virgil answers.
"No Virgil... there are four members." I thought as I recall the conversation I overheard between Teresa and Will.
"It would be faster for you to look down." Raphugio answers.
"That's..." I mumble as I'm shocked to see who is fighting Tsubasa.
"... Micheal Yermakov of Team Red Star." Dalette mumbles as she finishes the sentence that fails to come out of my mouth.
The same man we've seen in international editions of Vanguard Monthly... the one who was as tall as me, with light colored skin, and dark blue hair that covers his eyes such that it makes you wonder how he sees what's in front of him.
"If he's here... then that must mean..." I mumble as I turn my attention towards the away team's dugout.
As I suspected back then and as you've all long since realized, Jasmine Eskanova and Red Star's captain Sebastian Glazkov who I ran into earlier today were both sitting down with their eye's glued to their teammate's fight.
"Who... what... how... why?" I mumble aloud as my mouth gets ahead of my brain in trying to make sense of the image being burned into my retinas.
"Just shut it and watch Kiba... we'll explain during the intermission." Virgil said.
Thus Dalette and I comply with Virgil's suggestion and we focus all of our attention on the remainder of the fight between Micheal and Tsubasa.
Micheal – Tsubasa
4 – Hand – 0
2 – Soul – 5
5 – Damage – 5
3 – Counterblast – 3
F(3) U(5) – G-Zone – F (2) U(6)
Empty / Crayon Tiger – Empty, Empty
Pencil Koala / Famous Professor, Bigbelly – Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier / Empty
Label Pangolin / Crayon Tiger – Silver Thorn, Upright Lion / Silver Thorn Assistant, Zelma
"I have to admit... you're pretty good. It's been a long time since a fighter on a unknown team could give me let alone anyone on Team Red Star a challenge." Micheal points out as it's quite clear from the smile on he's face that he's enjoying the fight.
"Yeah yeah... the compliment is heartfelt. Now are you going to end your turn? Or are you going to magically stand one of your units back up?" Tsubasa retorts as she was more interested in action than words.
Tsubasa has mellowed out a great deal now as I'm writing this, but back then that bout of arrogance and tone of annoyance was what was expected for her. That being said... there were a few people watching that didn't take too kindly to her comment.
"Hey! Just because you were able to put up a decent fight doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!" One of the people in the crowd yells.
There were of course several more comments made and Tsubasa said several choice things in respone... not enough to affect her team's status in anyway, but I'm not going to get into it for the sake of anyone reading this that's under the age of 18.
"Jasmine, what do you think of our opponents so far?" Sebastian the white haired leader of Team Red Star asks of his loyal number 2.
"I wasn't expecting any team at the regional level to put much of a fight against us save for Star Ocean and Strike Shadow, but even on the off chance that Micheal is defeated here... it'll be no problem for us to take the remaining two victories. There's no way we wouldn't have heard about this team if the other two were at this girl's level." Jasmine answers as she considers Tsubasa an interesting opponent, but one still beneath her team none the less.
"Are you sure about that?" Sebastian retorts as his doubtful tone indicates that his opinion goes in an entirely different direction than Jasmine's.
"Do you really believe we the world champions might actually lose against some mashed together regional team?" Jasmine ask as she seriously expected her captain to agree with her.
"Take a look at the other two members Jasmine." Sebastian said as he points at the conversing Nikki and Will, "They're only haphazardly paying attention to their teammate's fight, and they're doing so not out of arrogance but confidence... confidence that says they'll win even if Tsuabsa is defeated... the same kind of confidence you have of our victory."
"Just what are you getting at?" Jasmine asks as she's unable to figure out what her captain's point is.
"I'm saying that like you... I do believe victory will come to Team Red Star, but it will not be as easily claimed as you believe it to be." Sebastian explained as his instincts alone tell him that Team Resurgence will be a far stronger opponent than they realize.
Regardless of how this match actually ended... each fight still has to be won one victory at a time.
"Hmmm... alright... top deck draw for the win time." Tsubasa thought as she placed her hand on the top of her deck.
"With only 1 card in Tsubasa's hand and 3 empty spots on her field, Micheal's victory is guaranteed at thus point. Still... the unknown Pale Moon user has put up a pretty good fight... let's hope she can put up a decent last stand before this fight's done." the commentator for this fight said as even he doesn't believe that a member of the world championship team could be defeated here.
"It looks like they all really think that Team Red Star will take the first win here." Nikki chuckles as she and Will finally turn their gaze to what will be Tsubasa's last turn.
"You see that evil grin on her face right? Will asks as Tsubasa stares intently at the card she just drew.
"Yeah... the fight is certainly over, but the results won't be what anyone will expects." Nikki smiles, taking out her cellphone just as Will was about to say something, "Don't worry I'm already texting her to come back."
But how will the person who wins this fight win the fight? Read on and find out.
"Normally not my style to say something like this, but since my opponent is part of a group of big shots... heehh the hell with it." Tsubasa mumbles to herself just before taking a deep breath, "Final Turn!"
"The vice-captain of Team Resurgence has just declared her intent to win right here right now! If nothing else... the spunky fighter will certainly go out with a bang!" the commentator yelled as he was excited by Tsubasa's declaration, but still doesn't actually believe she can win.
"White empress of dragons, crack the whip of your new power! I cross ride... Silver Thorn Dragon Empress, Venus Luquier [Power: 11000]!" Tsubasa yelled.
"My what a rare card you have grandma." Micheal says to Tsubasa in a coy tone of voice as he references a certain fairy tale story.
"Grandma?! You calling me old?! Oh... you're soooo going down!" Tsubasa yells out of anger as the fairy tale reference goes completely over her had.
"No I mean... oh never mind." Micheal sighed as burried his face into his palm for a second.
"Venus Luquier, Limit Break! I counterblast 2 units with Silver Thorn in its card and soul charge to pay the cost!" Tsubasa yelled as it looked like she wanted to kill Micheal.
[Soul Charge – Silver Thorn Assistant, Zelma – No Trigger]
[Soul Charge – Silver Thorn Dragon Tamer, Luquier – No Triggr]
"White dragon empress, let your heart's pain emerge from the sea of thy soul! Soul Whip Liberation!" Tsubasa yeled.
"Venus Luquier's skill allows Tsubasa to call as many units as she wants from her soul as long as their combined grade total is 6 or less. Such a skill can easily be used to refill a devastated field, but does she have the right cards in the soul to turn things around?!" the commentator screams as his opinion on Tsubasa's chances of winning start to shift.
"Superior call... 2 Zelmas [Power: 7000], another Upright Lion [Power: 9000], and Ana [Power: 7000]!"
"Why didn't she stride?" I ask.
"Because this Tsubasa needed field presence way more that she needed an extra drive check." Dalette answers.
"Micheal has a draw trigger, a perfect guard, a grade zero, and one unknown card in his hand... that lone card is going to decide whether or not Tsubasa will be able to follow up on her declaration of victory." Raphugio explained as he and Virgil's eyes were still glued to the fight.
"So in other words whether or not it's a quintet wall." I mumble.
"I use the first Zelma's skill to move Ana into the soul only to bring her back out, and I'll use the second Zelma the same way. Since I called out 6 units from the soul the Upright Lion on my left gains +18000 power and the one on my right gains +15000 power." Tsubasa explained as a smile appeared on her face upon placing her hand on her vanguard circle, "Venus Luquier, attack [Total Power: 20000]!"
"I won't be guarding." Micheal replies.
"Looks like the mystery card wasn't a quintet wall after all." I mumble.
[Drive Check – Silver Thorn, Barking Dragon – Critical Trigger]
[Drive Check – Silver Thorn, Barking Dragon – Critical Trigger]
"Both critical triggers go to my vanguard, and the power will be split between my front row Upright Lions [New Total: 20000 3 Crit]!" Tsubasa yelled.
[Damage Check – Famous Professor, Bigbelly – No Trigger]
"The... the... The match is over! Unbelievably Team Resurgence takes the first win against the world champions! There may be two more fights to go, but what an upset! Just how could things possibly get more exciting!" the commentator for this fight screamed.
Yes... how indeed, but I'm afraid the answer to that will have...
To Be Continued
Kiba: Sebastian should be worried... her strength is beyond world class.
Issac: So this is the world champion's true clan? Interesting...
Sebastian: A deck just to beat mine... you're a very interesting woman.
Abygail: Next time on Vanguard: Light Speed "Purity of the Void"
Kiba: His clan... it's the same as the one from my nightmare, but... I sense no evil intent behind it.
Narukami
Grade 3
Eradicator of Hope, Abraxas
Power: 11000 Twin Drive
[Act](VC): Legion 22000 "Eradicator, Dragonic Descendant" (If your opponent's vanguard is grade three or greater, this unit may return four cards from your drop zone into your deck once, search your deck for the specified card, and Legion)
[Auto](VC) Limit Break 4 (This ability is active if you have four or more damage): When a unit on your (VC)'s [Power] is increased due to the effect of a unit on your (VC), if this unit is in Legion, choose one of your opponent's back row (RC) and retire it. When this unit attacks a vanguard, if two or more units were retired through this effect, this unit gets +1critical and "[Auto](VC): At the end of a battle that this unit attacked a vanguard, choose one of your Legion Mate's [Auto] and activate it regardless of whether or not the conditions were met. (The cost of the [Auto] must still be payed)" until end of turn.
[Auto](VC):[Soulblast 1] If one of your opponent's back row (RC) is retired through the effect of one of your units, you may pay the cost. If you do, counter charge 1.
Lore: With Vermillion's disappearance and the elder Kaiser Crimson's refusal to lead, Abraxas was granted the position as leader of the Narukami clan. The first task he set out for himself was to rebuild what remained of the special shock troop "Eradicators".
One of the unusual sights seen as a result of the "Inter-dimensional Cross-talk" is the appearance and disappearance of the dragon who wields the sword of the apocalypse who was slain in the Great Invasion War. Soon afterwards that dragon manifested into a physical form ready to support the empire in a way... beyond death.
Now the Eradicator's once lost symbol of unity and the Kaiser that holds the hope of the people in his hands stand together... ready to lead the Dragon Empire into a new age.