Kaden ensured the front door was shut behind him, the warm sunset beaming down his back. The person behind him took their time before he turned to acknowledge them. Kaden's head swam with questions, inquiries. Overall, it was a pleasant surprise…
A really pleasant surprise.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "Too shy to see me?"
Kaden scoffed, "not my fault you're standing in front of the sunset…" he turned, the girl's shimmering appearance emphasized by the glowing light behind her. Her figure in turn was somewhat obscured by the light casting a shadow around her, but neither of them minded. While Kaden tried to look at her directly, the sun made it somewhat difficult to make eye contact…
The sun…yeah, that was it.
"Sorry we couldn't make it to the ceremony. As you can imagine it's been a bit chaotic on our end."
Kaden nodded, "I'm no better," he replied. "You've must've been very busy for me not to see you the last week."
The girl nodded. "But all that's changed, for now at least."
Kaden was taken aback by that. "You mean…?"
She nodded with a smile, and using her voice, said the words he never imagined he'd hear ever again.
"I'm home…"
Chapter 15: Homecoming
[TCG Towers, two days later…]
"WereGarurumon Slide Digivolves into WereGarurumon: Sagittarius Mode, whose effect will bounce your Level 3 Phascomon back to your hand!"
Daniel took the card back reluctantly as the armed WereGarurumon vanished at mach speed and knocked his horned koala-like Digimon back. His sole blocker that would've bought him a turn and secured him the win was now gone, as was any chance of beating Trevor.
"Sagittarius Mode attacks directly for game!" Trevor twisted the card sideways, followed by the terminal proclaiming him as the winner.
"Good Game," Daniel said as he unlinked his D-Streamer from the console.
"Not bad yourself," Trevor told him, doing the same. "You're really committing to the Blue/Purple strategy."
"Yeah but the tournament is less than two days, and I still haven't figured out what's missing. Some matches it flows great, and others it jams up…"
"Deck type match ups play a factor between winning and losing y'know. Since your deck is control-focused, it takes a lot more strategy to not only control it, but to keep your opponent impaired as well."
Daniel could see that. While his deck focuses on using his hand count as an engine to empower his blue Digimon to attack multiple times, the purple side is there to support it. In most cases it works, but he knew that the contestants in the tournament were going to be as strong as Mr. McKnight if not stronger.
With time ticking, he didn't have time to reconstruct his whole deck, so his only option really was to learn as much as he could and make minor tweaks here and there.
"What would you suggest, since you've seen it firsthand several times?" Daniel felt like it didn't hurt to ask.
"Well…as admirable as it is to mix multiple colors together at your skill level…"
Daniel could see where this was going. "I want to keep Plutomon."
Trevor frowned a bit. "In that case, it becomes less of synergizing it around your deck, and more of your deck synergizing around Plutomon. Plus, with it being one of the older released cards, compared to what's popular nowadays, it's almost as if you're crippling yourself for the sake of creativity."
Daniel was taken aback. "What's wrong with expressing myself some?"
"Nothing on paper I can say that." Trevor explained. "Even in casual settings like this its fine. But from one pro to a future one, sooner or later you guys will learn that functionality trumps creativity."
"…then what if I can do both?"
"Then more power to you if you can crack the code on that. Just be mindful…" he turned over and Daniel followed his gaze, taking note of Maxine at the counter with Kaden and Terrence staring blankly at the displays on the other side of the store, "…you have a team relying on you as you are them. Don't let creativity cloud your judgement and snag victory from them."
Daniel focused on Terrence as Trevor spoke; his inspiration to get stronger and reach further out of his comfort zone. Daniel wanted to do things on his own for a change, to be able to follow his impulse. Besides, so long as the desired results were met, the methods were irrelevant.
"So, who was that girl the other night?"
Kaden scrolled through his phone, trying his best to ignore the interrogation Maxine kept trying to force him into. Though he promise to be more open about things, the 'girl's' sudden appearance at dinner the night before shook things and put him in an awkward position where he's had "Little Miss Sherlock" try and pry answers out of him for the last ten minutes since she got here.
"Like I said, it was an old classmate of mine," He replied, without looking up.
"And like I said, no one reacts to an 'old classmate' like you did." Maxine countered, thinking back to the all-in-one reaction Kaden had, which included shock, excitement, and—dare she say—awkwardness.
Especially didn't help that they went outside the restaurant for a good while either during dinner…
"Listen, kiddo, you don't have enough life experience to have a—never mind…"
Maxine squinted. "To have a 'what?'"
The store bell rung and Kaden cleared his throat. "Oh, a customer's coming, gotta take them."
Maxine followed Kaden as he shifted across the counter, disregarding the impending patron. "We've been through this already! Stop dodging me when I want to know something!"
"Y'know it's not good to be nosy." Kaden replied.
"It's not wise to break promises and yet here we are!" she leaned in. "Now spill!"
Sierra finally walked over after overhearing their back and forth. "If he won't talk then I'll explain."
"No, you don't!" Kaden exclaimed before addressing the customer. "Good morning, how can I help you?"
Maxine stuck her tongue out and turned her attention to the smiling Sierra. "So, who was that girl?"
Before answering, Sierra motioned Maxine to the back portion of the area towards the breakroom. The slight shift in Sierra's expression was enough to indicate that what she was about to say was sensitive, making her realize Kaden's avoidance wasn't without caution. Obediently the pair went to the back, where Maxine sat on the couch with Sierra next to her. After getting comfortable, Maxine eagerly awaited Sierra's explanation.
"Her name is Raeleigh," Sierra began. "She used to work here around the time Kaden started, and they were pretty close friends. Unfortunately, though, she had an emergency which had to be addressed and so she had to move back home. She's back in NYC because she's on summer vacation, and got in touch with me about wanting to surprise everyone, especially Kaden.
"Kaden never mentioned her before…" Maxine pondered. "Wait! Could she be…!"
Sierra giggled a bit, "You clearly have an active imagination. Truthfully, the two were like cats and dogs; constantly bickering, yet having a mutual respect for one another. They been through a lot, and their friendship was born from that mutual respect and understanding of one another. In other words, they meant a lot to one another.
Maxine deflated some. What she thought was going to be a juicy tidbit of cousin lore, was turning into a run of the mill friendship. That said, either she was overthinking it, or Sierra was being coy about the situation, which isn't unlike her.
"Terry and Danny mean a lot to me, but I don't think I would've reacted the way Kaden did when he saw her."
Sierra shrugged, "I didn't have much contact they had since she moved, so perhaps he did? Either way though," she continued, tone shifting, "if Kaden wants to keep details of their friendship private, the best thing we can do is respect his boundaries, right?"
Maxine paused, sensing the mentor coming out in those words. "You're right…sorry."
"Oh, no sweetheart, don't apologize to me." Sierra continued softly. "Kaden deserves that more, don't you think?"
"Okay, right, I get it!" Maxine pressed back. "I'll apologize…"
"Atta girl," Sierra smiled, standing up afterward. "Now, I gotta get back to Kaden and make sure he doesn't need help, then I have some other things to take care of."
"Oh wait, one more thing…" Maxine reached out as the latter made her way to the door.
"What is it?" Sierra turned.
Maxine stood from the couch, formulating her question in her head, all the while, his words circulated in her mind as well…
"I never wanted you guys to get involved in any of this, especially you. I nearly lost you once. And after seeing what happened to my friends, I couldn't imagine involving you in anything dangerous again.
"The other day when Kaden and I were battling one another in Babylon, he said something weird. He didn't explain much but…between what I discovered in my findings and what he said about not being able to save his friends back then—!"
Sierra gave her a look, implicating for her to stop where she was. Maxine took the silent message and apologized. With a nod, Sierra proceeded through the door while Maxine followed slowly behind, wondering if this "friend" of Kaden's fit in the puzzle that's been haunting her. As she came from the back she overheard Kaden chuckling in conversation and looked over to him. The same customer who came in a few minutes before was leaning over the counter, face obscured by a face mask and a Yankee's baseball cap. Maxine's curiosity hooked onto them, making her grow fixated.
As Maxine walked from behind the counter and back onto the main floor towards Terrence, she side-eyed the customer to get a better look. The customer wore a dark purple spaghetti strap top with a yellow-stripped white trainer jacket. Along with that she wore a white skater skirt, black leggings underneath, and matching sneakers with purple and black highlights in the design. The girl brushed the blonde-dyed bang behind her ear, where she caught Maxine staring from the side of her eye, causing the latter to quickly shy away.
Terrence, too fixated on the display before him, didn't notice Maxine walking past him. She pretended to look at booster packs and sleeves, while periodically looking over her shoulder. However, that didn't last long.
Once Terrence broke from the poster, he saw Maxine, who accidentally made eye contact with him. "Max, check this out!" Terry excitedly reached out to grab her arm.
With a quick yelp, she quickly shushed him to avoid drawing attention. Terrence though raised an eyebrow and shrugged off her instruction. "This poster looks dope, doesn't it?"
Maxine turned reluctantly to see what he was fixated on. She took a second to process the poster, reading the information on it. "Ready to take on the 'Trial of the Crest Masters?'" She scanned the poster all over, taking note of the silhouettes of the core quintet posing for the poster while their respected crests and background indicating their affiliations.
The quintet were likely to remain hidden until the day of the tournament, but with the silhouettes Maxine could tell that the majority of the Crest Masters were male; a little disappointing if anything. The Red Trial Master was the sole feminine figure on the poster, while the others were masculine of varying physiques and body language.
The last silhouette that hovered over them, with a glowing, antagonistic gaze, was likely representing the Crest Hunters that are supposed to play a role in the first half. Not a lot of info about them outside of what's on SAIBA Enterprise's site either.
"Two days to go," Trevor approached with Daniel beside him. "You guys ready? I ask, but I'm sure I know the answer already."
"You know it!" Terrence confirmed all the same.
"Is there any information on the Crest Masters?" Daniel asked. "Like ideas on their decks so we know what we're up against? Or even their trials they set up?"
"They usually don't unveil that information before the start of the tournament. If anything, most teams are probably going to theorize strategies so they can be prepared for anything." He crossed his arms, "Chances are the tougher part of these challenges are going to be some of the trials as opposed to the actual battle against the master themselves."
"Well, that's no problem!" Terrence pulled his friends to him. "When you got two smart besties, then there's nothing we can't triumph."
Maxine side-eyed him. "So, we're gonna be the brains to your brawn then huh?"
Terrence didn't try to deny it. "Well, I mean, I did beat a former Representative…right?"
Trevor cleared his throat, noticing some heads turn. "Let's keep that under wraps," he whispered, "you never know who's listening in."
Terrence animatedly gasped and covered his mouth, making his folly even more obvious.
"Lot of commotion going on over here…" A voice chimed in, drawing their attention. Maxine froze as she turned to see that masked customer leaning in, smiling through her veil. A close-up of her eyes confirmed Maxine's theory.
It was her.
"What's up Rae?" Trevor waved. "Kaden finally released you, huh?"
"Mayhaps~," she playfully replied. "One could say though that Sierra shooed me away so he could get back to work." She pulled her mask down to breathe, exposing the lower half of her face. "Whew, so hard to talk in this thing… Eliza told me to wear this if I was going to be stepping out to keep people from approaching me. Like I knew people might recognize me, but I didn't realize this face drew so many eyes…"
What did she mean by that? Maxine thought to herself. As her thoughts drifted, she noticed Raeleigh's words in action as Daniel averted his eyes when he noticed Maxine catching him in the act.
"Can't blame her, you resemble Raesyl. Names are close enough too." Trevor commented.
"Raesyl?" Maxine blinked, turning to look at Raeleigh's face. "You mean the retired teen actress from two years ago?"
"Of course, though, I'm cuter." Raeleigh grinned, throwing up a peace sign for effect. She quickly reeled it back when the joke failed to land. "Never doing that again."
There was no denying that Raeleigh was attractive, albeit quirky. But the odds that Kaden was friends—or more—with a retired movie star or even with a girl whose name was similar to said movie star…
Just… who is this girl?!
"Anyway…I didn't get to introduce myself the other night." Raeleigh brought up. "My name's Raeleigh. It's a pleasure to meet you guys finally."
"You…know about us?" Daniel lit up a bit, earning a snickering from Terrence. Daniel jabbed him with his elbow, making him yelp.
"Mhmm, Kaden told me so much about you guys." Raeleigh explained. "Excited for the tournament?"
"Oh, you bet! We're gonna win it for sure!"
"Oh, is that so…" Raeleigh's stare narrowed, making Maxine anxious.
"It is," Maxine stepped in. "Got a problem with that?"
Raeleigh was slightly taken aback by Maxine's challenge but took the bait anyway. "Not at all. I know Kaden's skilled, so it'd be cool to see how you'd compare to him. Does the apple truly fall not far from the tree? Guess we'll see."
Maxine leaned as did Raeleigh. Their budding rivalry was interrupted by a hand on Raeleigh's shoulder. She turned to find Kaden standing behind him, his nametag missing and bookbag over his shoulder.
"You ready to go?" Kaden asked.
"Oh, didn't realize you were wrapping up so soon."
"I filled Sierra in after we talked the other night, so she knows.
"Oh, okay. Sounds good then." Raeleigh turned to the others. "Well, it was nice meeting you all."
"Hey, hold on!" Maxine demanded. "Where are you two off to?"
"We made plans to hang out…?" Kaden stated as if it was obvious.
"With her?!" Maxine pointed.
"Would you like to come along?" Raeleigh asked.
Kaden paused and looked at her. Maxine on the other hand scoffed.
"I would, but I don't want to intrude on your little 'date.'"
"Wha—what's gotten into you, first off?" Kaden snapped at her. "And secondly, it's not a date!"
"Well…" Rae interjected, clearly not opposed to the idea. "I mean technically…"
"IT'S NOT!" He snapped at her, causing her to giggle. "Stop giving her ideas!"
"Well, if it's not a date then you wouldn't mind if I tag along right?" Maxine pressed, seeing the opportunity.
"Actually, I would—!"
"Of course you can join us!" Raeleigh exclaimed, more excited than any of them expected.
"Rae!"
"Oh relax, like you said just now, it's not a date, right…" she gave a slight side-eye, making Kaden hesitate.
How was she mad at him? They agreed this wasn't a date so what is she doing except making Maxine more skeptical of them?
"Besides, Milo's meeting us right?" she turned her side-eye to Maxine. "You've met him before, right?"
"Oh…" Maxine was reminded of him, back when he rescued her from Veemon before. "Just…briefly."
Maxine's cheeks turned slightly rosy before she quickly dismissed the thought. Like Terrence before him, Daniel took slight note of her reaction.
"Anyway, yeah, he's your best friend right Kaden?" Maxine asked.
Kaden crossed his arms. "You're really trying to make up for lost time aren't you?"
"That a problem?" Maxine grilled, taking slight offense.
Kaden rolled his eyes, not wanting to start another confrontation. "Whatever. Come on, you two. Milo's leaving his hotel room. He'll meet us at Kinokuniya."
"Kinokuniya?!" Terrence bounced excitedly. "You mean that super cool Japanese bookstore; you guys are going there?! Can we come too?!"
Daniel looked over to Terrence. "I'm afraid to ask but, who's 'we?'"
Terrence grinned. "Danny you're coming too, you can't say no to this!"
"Why? My deck's nowhere where it needs to be for Friday!" he argued.
"Go, have fun. If you get back early enough, we'll go over your deck again." Trevor shooed.
"But—!"
"Coach McKnight has spoken! Onward!" Terrence pointed, pulling his friend along.
Kaden, Raeleigh and Maxine watched as the pair got outside before they even set off. Kaden sighed, realizing he's been thrusted into babysitting (despite the three being capable of taking care of themselves), while Raeleigh found all of this humorous.
"This is not what I had in mind…" he murmured under his breath.
"Hmm…" Raeleigh tapped the side of her cheek with her finger. "Aren't you the same guy who 'punches first and thinks later…'?"
"And who told you that?" Kaden asked.
Raeleigh shook her head. "No one. Just something that came to mind…"
Realizing what that meant, it drew a slight smile out of him.
That sounds like something they'd both think of him as.
Raeleigh took his wrist and gently tugged. "Let's have fun this afternoon."
Kaden nodded, feeling his perspective shifting. "Yeah, let's."
[Kinokuniya Bookstore, Rockefeller Center, Manhattan…]
Kinokuniya Bookstore was a 3-story building that housed both and English and Japanese literature. While the main floor was mainly English books of various genres from magazines to novels and cookbooks, the basement housed stationary products, and similar book selections exclusively in Japanese. The top floor, where most consumers frolic to, was in short, an otaku's paradise, with manga both in English and Japanese, as well as anime-inspired merchandise, as well as a café.
Finding herself in the Manga section, Maxine leaned over the side of the bookshelf in front of her where she locked eyes with the back of Kaden's head from a distance. While Terrence was off losing himself in the basement area, and Daniel was practicing his Japanese skills looking at untranslated light novels, she was keeping an eye on the older teens at the café. Everything leading up to now was normal, between light conversations and such.
Was she reading too much into this? She was beginning to think so after all. Yet, Sierra basically confirmed her theory that this girl was a part of everything involving Kaden. She didn't seem like a bad person either so then what was giving her this nagging feeling that something was off?
"Hey Max, got a sec?" Daniel approached, startling her.
"Jeez keep it down!" she whispered sharply.
Daniel cocked his head, then looked over to the café on the other side of the wide room. "Aren't you taking this a bit far at this point?"
"Perhaps but call me paranoid because I'm sure she's hiding something."
"Right…" Daniel dismissed. "Anyway, serious question about the tournament."
Maxine turned her attention to him. "What's up?"
Daniel didn't hesitate to come out with it, "Do you think we're ready for it?"
Maxine was surprised. "Getting cold feet or something?"
"No, it's just my deck's…nevermind. I'm probably overthinking it."
Feeling slightly confused by the dismissal of the topic; Maxine turned her attention back to the teens. Daniel backed up, thinking to himself to revisit his deck once he got home later. That said, something else came to mind. "Isn't it crazy, the stuff we experienced thanks to Terry so far?"
Maxine pulled her attention away again, showing slight irritation doing so, "Dude, do you need to talk or something?"
Daniel paused and cleared his throat. "Sorry, just…thinking out loud." There was an awkward pause and Daniel made eye contact. He could tell something was off. "Wait…do you…need to talk?"
Maxine, realizing she was holding her gaze longer than she thought spoke without thinking.
"…yeah. I think I do."
"New York is so…surreal." Raeleigh said, leaning back on the sofa.
"I can see that somewhat." Kaden said. "Split into 5 boroughs like Omnia's districts, each with their own ways of doing things."
"Cisco City and Riverbed City are just the two of them, and they're connected via bridge. NYC has bridges subways and even a ferry boat, it's so cool." Raeleigh described. "It's just so new and…familiar at the same time? Almost like I dreamt of this place before coming here."
Milo based his question on that description, "How much…if any, do you remember before…"
Raeleigh shook her head. "Not much of anything, not that I care to be honest."
Kaden side-eyed Milo, who realized how insensitive his question may've seemed. A slip up if anything. "Sorry, guess I'm a bit too curious."
"No worries. Kaden was hogging up all my time the other night so I couldn't say hi before getting pulled away by Eliza."
Kaden rolled his eyes, dismissing her claim.
"But aside from myself, what's the deal with you Milo? Thought you would've been in Riverbed by now, all things considered."
"Agent Garretson and his team are remaining here for the duration of the tournament to serve as additional security, and I've been assigned to aid them." Milo revealed. "I'll be staying with them for the time being."
"And here I was about to set the couch up for you at my place." Kaden half-joked.
Milo smiled at the thought, "I appreciate it but, maybe once things settle down a bit more, I'll check with Mason and Madison and see if it's alright."
"Speaking of your sister, she made it there okay?"
Milo nodded. "She met up with Mason and is settling in. She also told me to take care of myself and to not get into anything dangerous."
"Well, fingers crossed this will be a fun summer vacation without too much to worry about." Kaden said.
"Agreed. Just us, the tournament, and the greatest summer ever!" Raeleigh exclaimed, the boys joining her in a unified fist pump.
All of a sudden, Milo's D-Streamer chimed. Looking at the device, Herissmon appeared on his wrist.
"Agent Garretson's reaching out. It's somewhat urgent." Herissmon explained.
"Ah—can it wait?" Raeleigh looked at her device, though with no notifications, it was directed towards Milo specifically.
"I'll be right back." Milo apologized, standing and moving off to call the Agent back.
"Don't take too long…" Raeleigh said as Milo turned into the staircase and disappeared. Afterward she turned to Kaden, her demeanor changing. "so…"
Kaden hesitated as Raeleigh's eyes fixated on him. "…what's up?"
Raeleigh leaned closer. "About our conversation last night…"
Kaden thought back to it. "…right. So…have you thought about it?"
"I have and…"
"Look, I know its abrupt and all to kind of throw it on you out of nowhere but…"
"No, I get it it's just…overwhelming, to think about." Raeleigh brushed her hair to the side and broke eye contact, shying away some.
Never before has the word "overwhelming" sound as heavy as it did then to Kaden.
Raeleigh exhaled a bit, making Kaden bemused. "Dammit, now I'm annoyed. Jerk."
Kaden blinked. "Huh?"
Raeleigh got up, walked to the other end of the small table and sat on the accompanying chair. Activating her D-Streamer, she set it to tabletop mode and sat the device on the tabletop. "Battle me."
Kaden blinked again. "Sorry, what?"
"Just do it. Eliza said this is a good stress reliever." Raeleigh pressed. "Just consider it practice or something before the actual tournament."
"Careful, Kaden." Slayerdramon voiced.
"Don't have to tell me that," Kaden said, complying and setting up. "I've seen what she can do."
Slayerdramon hummed low, skepticism growing as Kaden drew his hand.
"Ready?" Raeleigh asked.
"Ready." Kaden answered.
DIGI-GATE: OPEN!
Turn 1: Raeleigh
"I'll start by hatching Nyaromon." Raeleigh flipped over an egg, revealing the yellow cat-like ball Digimon that materialized on top of the card's illustration.
Nyaromon (ST10-01)
Color: Purple
Level: 2
"Nyaromon digivolves into Salamon, and then I play an additional Salamon from my hand," Raeleigh followed summoning the pair of cream-colored puppy Digimon.
Salamon (BT9-072)
Color: Purple
Level: 3
DP: 2000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change)
"When Salamon enters play, I get to check the top 4 cards of my deck and add a 2-color purple card from among them to add to my hand. The rest head to the bottom of my deck."
Of the cards revealed were: LadyDevimon, Candlemon, Mirei Mikagura and Angemon. Raeleigh retrieved Mirei and set the rest to the bottom of the deck, passing the turn over.
Turn 2: Kaden
"My turn," Kaden drew. "I hatch Bebydomon and digivolve it into Dracomon to start things off."
Bebydomon and then Dracomon following appeared on Kaden's side of the table, the small blue-green dragon eager to fight.
Bebydomon (EX3-001)
Color: Blue
Level: 2
Dracomon (EX3-037)
Color: Green/Blue
Level: 3
DP: 2000
"Next, I play Kokabuterimon from my hand, then Davis Motomiya." Kaden stated, summoning the small, humanoid bug Digimon as well as Davis to his side.
Kokabuterimon (ST9-07)
Color: Green
Level: 3
DP: 2000
Davis Motomiya (BT3-093)
Color: Blue
MEMORY
3-0
0-4 (Turn Change)
"When Davis is played, I reveal the top 3 cards of my deck, and take a blue and/or green Digimon card from them. The remaining cards head to the bottom."
The cards revealed were: Examon, Paledramon and Coredramon (Blue). Pleased with the results, Kaden took Examon for the green requirement, and Coredramon (Blue) for the blue. "Your move."
Turn 3: Raeleigh
"Right," Raeleigh drew and moved Salamon forward. "Get ready because I'm not holding back."
"You better not. Show me what you got, Rae." Kaden told her.
Raeleigh took a card from hand and flipped it around. "Salamon X-Digivolves into Salamon X-Antibody!"
Kaden watched as the forwarded Salamon transformed into its X-Antibody counterpart.
Salamon (X Antibody) (BT9-034)
Color: Yellow
Level: 3
DP: 3000
"When my Digimon digivolves into Salamon X, I look at the top of my Security. If I decide to add it to my hand," she slid the card into it, then moved said free hand over her deck, "I can recover it."
Kaden watched as she replaced her Security. "Then…?"
"Then, my other Salamon will digivolve into Gatomon." Raeleigh continued, digivolving her puppy Digimon into the bipedal white cat Digimon.
Gatomon (ST10-04)
Color: Yellow/Purple
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
4-1
"When my Gatomon would digivolve, if the Digimon following is an Archangel or Fallen Angel, the cost for digivolution is reduced by 2." Raeleigh explained, unveiling Angewomon. My Gatomon digivolves into Angewomon for 1 Memory."
Gatomon hopped high into the air, and reformed into the angelic Digimon, hovering in place.
Angewomon (BT11-042)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 6000
MEMORY
1-0
"Per its effect, I search my Security for an Angel, Archangel, or Fallen Angel Digimon to add to my hand, after which I recover it." She fanned her Security and made her choice. "I choose Lucemon to retrieve."
She pulled, shuffled and put her Security back face down, adding the Lucemon to her hand. "Lastly, Angewomon digivolves into Ophanimon!"
Angewomon curled her wings in like a ball and the streams of binary infused and transformed her into a green-armored red-haired angelic Digimon with golden armored, and blonde wings, armed with a gold javelin.
Ophanimon (P-053)
Color: Yellow
Level: 6
DP: 11,000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change)
Turn 4: Kaden
"A level 6 on your 2nd turn and no green cards to turbo into it…" Kaden analyzed out loud.
"You sound concerned…" Slayerdramon commented.
"…Anyway, it's my turn," Kaden dismissed as he drew. "Dracomon moves out, which now gives Kokabuterimon Blocker during your turn. Dracomon then digivolves into Coredramon, and Coredramon digivolves into Cryspaledramon!"
Dracomon, infused with blue binary code warped directly into Cryspaledramon, hovering in place as it set its sights on Ophanimon.
Coredramon (EX3-018)
Color: Blue
Level: 4
DP: 6000
Cryspaledramon (EX3-021)
Color: Blue
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-1
1-2 (Turn Change)
"Cryspaledramon upon digivolving, trashes two sources from one of your Digimon, then freezes one of your Digimon without sources. I target Ophanimon, trashing Gatomon and Angewomon."
CrysPaledramon's ice thrusters ignited and blasted it across the table, where it swept through Ophanimon, causing it to stagger as the yellow and purple binary poured out of it briefly.
Turn 5: Raeleigh
"I wonder if that was the correct choice," Raeleigh drew. "Salamon X only has one source, so you could've froze it with Cryspaledramon."
"And left your Ophanimon with all those inheritables?" Kaden countered.
Raeleigh smirked, "Touche. Very well then, I hatch Nyaromon and digivolve it into Candlemon."
The sentient candle Digimon materialized on Raeleigh's side.
Candlemon (BT8-035)
Color: Yellow
Level: 3
DP: 2000
"Ophanimon, Security Attacks!" Raeleigh commanded as the angelic Digimon readied herself. With a quick pull back and thrust, a blast of energy flew towards Kaden.
"Kokabuterimon Blocks!" Kaden swiftly countered. However, as he did, Kokabuterimon was blasted back, and the security broke regardless, surprising Kaden. Kokabuterimon's DP appeared overhead and depleted to 0, causing it to disperse into data.
Kaden
Security: 5-4
"So worried about the inheritables, you didn't consider Ophanimon's own effect, did you?" Raeleigh noted. "When she attacks, one of your Digimon and your Security Digimon get -2000 DP for the turn."
"Lovely…" Kaden said, moving Kokabuterimon to the trash, following up by flipping his broken Security. "Breakdramon with 12—wait…ugh 10,000 DP."
"Mhmm." Raeleigh nodded. "So much for big, bad and mechanical."
"You are lucky." Kaden glared, moving his dragon to the trash as well.
"Perhaps. But let's not stop there," she moved her hand over to Salamon X. "This is why you should've froze it. Salamon X, Security Attack!"
Salamon X let out a visible howling wave that flew across and shattered a second Security, this time revealing Bulucomon, who likewise was sapped of DP, resulting in a 3000 to 1000 comparison.
Kaden
Security: 4-3
"When Salamon attacks, Nyaromon's IE effect draws me a card, and then I discard." She drew and discarded the Devimon in her hand to the trash. "Salamon X digivolves into Angemon, and then to end, I play Mirei Mikagura."
Mirei materialized in the Battle Area, adjusting her glasses as Salamon X finished its transformation into Angemon.
Angemon (BT11-038)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 5000
Mirei Mikagura (BT11-094)
Color: Purple/Yellow
MEMORY
2-0
0-5 (Turn Change)
Turn 6: Kaden
Kaden drew for his turn, proceeded to hatch another Bebydomon and followed it by digivolving it into Dracomon. Upon drawing for the digivolution, his gaze soften, and a smirk came across his face, one that made Raeleigh curious.
"Draw something good?" she inquired.
"Perhaps," he mocked her. "Tell me first, did you mean to give me 5 Memory, just like that?"
"What good will it do you if you can't utilize it to the fullest though?" Raeleigh questioned.
"Guess we'll find out, won't we? CrysPaledramon, digivolve into the Sapphire Dragon Lord of the Eastern District: Slayerdramon!"
Cryspaledramon let out a roar as Kaden overlaid the card on the table. CrysPaledramon then gathered the blue binary code and reformed into Kaden's ace, Slayerdramon swinging his blade and taking a powerful stance.
Slayerdramon (EX3-024)
Color: Blue
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
5-1
"This game's mine." Kaden stated. "Slayerdramon, attack Ophanimon and unsuspend!" Kaden suspended the card and turned it back vertically.
"Typical of blue." Raeleigh said as she watched her Ophanimon charge Slayerdramon back.
"With Bebydomon and Dracomon's IE effects, Slayerdramon gains a combined 2000 DP for unsuspending."
Slayerdramon: 12,000-14,000 DP
Ophanimon: 11,000 DP
The pair's weapons clashed with one another, and for a brief few seconds they clashed and dodged one another's attacks. Towards the end of their scuffle, Slayerdramon ignited his blade and slashed forth a wave of fiery energy, while Ophanimon countered with a blast from her javelin. The blasts intercepted one another, however Slayerdramon's attack cut through both it and Ophanimon, toppling the Level 6 Digimon.
"Next up on the chopping block, Angemon! Go for it Slayerdramon."
Slayerdramon: 14,000 DP
Angemon: 5000 DP
Slayerdramon, fueled by his battle with Ophanimon, wasted no time coming down on Angemon. The defenseless angel Digimon smirked as it was cut down effortlessly, falling back on the table and dispersing, with its binary code hovering in place.
Kaden raised a brow as Raeleigh moved the card to her trash.
"Since Angemon was deleted while I had a purple tamer on the field…" she fanned her trash and retrieved her previously discarded Devimon. "Devimon can be played directly from the trash for no cost."
As the devilish Digimon arose from the binary cloud, Kaden muttered to himself, realizing that her digivolving her Salamon X into Angemon was baity in hindsight. Still, all it did was replace her deleted Digimon.
Devimon (BT11-080)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 5000
"I'll end my turn by playing Avalon Gate to unsuspend Slayerdramon."
Slayerdramon in turn got back into its original stance, as if on standby for Raeleigh's upcoming turn.
MEMORY
1-2 (Turn Change)
Turn 7: Raeleigh
"Mirei raises my Memory by 1, and Candlemon moves out to the Battle Area." She said after drawing for her turn.
MEMORY
2-3
Kaden then snapped his fingers, grabbing her attention. "Here's where the fun begins…"
"What do you mean?"
"Slayerdramon's effect: At the start of your main phase, I suspend one of my Digimon with "Examon" or "dramon" in its name to force you to attack with one of your Digimon." He suspended Slayerdramon to trigger the effect. "Slayerdramon's effect makes it unsuspend." He then unsuspended it. "So…who's making the move?"
Raeleigh looked down at her options, Devimon and Candlemon. "Candlemon attacks your Security. Nyaromon's IE effect lets me draw…and I'll discard Reinforce Memory Boost."
Candlemon responded, shooting mini fireballs towards Kaden's appearing Security.
Kaden
Security: 3-2
The green Coredramon appeared and stomped on the ground, summoning augmented stones that it hurled back towards Candlemon in response.
"That card's too expensive I guess?" Kaden noted the 6-cost Option card sitting in the trash.
"Doesn't matter at this point. Devimon digivolves into LadyDevimon."
Raeleigh's Devimon embraced the purple binary, allowing it to transform into its stronger, feminine counterpart.
LadyDevimon (BT11-063)
Color: Purple
Level: 5
DP: 6000
MEMORY
3-0
"Now that I understand how Slayerdramon works, it's fulfilled its usefulness." Raeleigh said, discarding Lucemon Chaos Mode from hand to retrieve Angewomon from the trash per LadyDevimon's effect."
Kaden didn't necessarily like the implications that statement held.
"Mirei's effect activates: When my Digimon digivolves into either Angewomon or LadyDevimon, if I have 1 Digimon in play at the time, I can suspend Mirei to play that Digimon's counterpart for no cost!"
Kaden's eyes widened a bit, not expecting that.
"Suspending Mirei, I play the Angewomon I retrieved from my trash!" Raeleigh stated, summoning her Angewomon. "Not to mention, LadyDevimon grants me an extra memory for doing so."
MEMORY
0-1
"And them two together means…" Kaden dreaded.
"Exactly." Raeleigh smiled. "Angewomon, LadyDevimon, DNA Digivolve into the Twilight Tactician: Mastemon!"
Setting Angewomon on top of LadyDevimon, Raeleigh overlayed the stack with the multicolored card, the pair dispersing into binary with their codes swirling into the monochromatic being before Kaden, glowing with an aura of yellow and purple.
Mastemon (ST10-06)
Color: Yellow/Purple
Level: 6
DP: 13,000
"Can you guess what happens next?" Raeleigh asked him tauntingly.
"I have an idea.
"Well let's see if you're right. Using Mastemon's effect, I place my discarded Lucemon: Chaos Mode from my trash onto the top of my Security. Then, I search my Security to play a Level 5 or lower Digimon. I choose Lucemon: Chaos Mode!"
Lucemon materialized alongside Mastemon, holding onto a cunning grin as it arose.
Lucemon: Chaos Mode (BT7-111)
Color: Purple
Level: 5
DP: 12,000
"And now, using its effect," She pointed at Slayerdramon. "Slayerdramon's deleted!"
"And there it is…"
Raeleigh blinked. "Huh?"
"Coredramon Blue's IE effect activates now." Kaden revealed, suspending Slayerdramon.
"Which is…?"
"Evade."
"Evade…?" Raeleigh looked down and watched as Lucemon cast its dark matter energy blast onto Slayerdramon. What should've deleted it regardless of power, was effortlessly cut through with no issue, leaving her surprised.
"Digimon with the Evade ability can suspend to avoid deletion."
"…How in the world is that fair?!" Raeleigh argued.
Kaden shrugged. "I don't write the rules."
Slayerdramon also bared a fang, taking pleasure in Lucemon's shock respectively.
Raeleigh reluctantly passed the turn over, out of options for the time being.
MEMORY
1-3 (Turn Change)
Turn 8: Kaden
Kaden drew and moved Dracomon forward. "Let's go, Slayerdramon, Security Attack!"
"Oh no you don't! Mastemon blocks!" Raeleigh countered.
"You forgot about Slayerdramon's power boost?" Kaden unsuspended, triggering the 2000 climb.
Slayerdramon: 14,000 DP
Mastemon: 13,000 DP
Mastemon and Slayerdramon clashed with one another, taking their scuffle into the small space between both Kaden and Raeleigh. The miniature images drew the attention of some patrons who up until now paid them little mind. However, their commotion and the intense back and forth of Slayerdramon and Mastemon sparked enough curiosity to spectate.
Mastemon clasped her hands together and pulled them apart, generating a black hole between them as a last-ditch effort to stop Slayerdramon. Unleashing the blast, Slayerdramon charged and struck with its flaming blade, setting off a mini explosion, that made the spectators gasp.
Raeleigh smirked. Slayerdramon, emerging from the smoke, roared in pain as a black claw pierced through its armor. Kaden was taken aback as well.
"You were so overconfident that you didn't question how Mastemon could block before," Raeleigh said. "Angewomon's IE effect gives all my Angel, Archangel and Fallen Angel Digimon Blocker, while LadyDevimon gives them Retaliation. Of course, I would need a Purple Digimon and a Yellow Digimon respectively for those effects to activate. Mastemon fulfills both.
Mastemon dispersed into binary as Slayerdramon dropped back onto the table on one knee, feeling the corrosion permeate.
"Good to know. Evade." Kaden suspended Slayerdramon once more, causing the dragon to stand and flex its muscles, expelling the corrosion from its person."
Raeleigh sighed heavily. "Okay, so retaliation can't get around that…"
"Nope."
Raeleigh acknowledged that fact and collected her cards. "I concede."
Kaden blinked. "Not going to try to win? You had the advantage."
To his point, some spectators passively watching from the beginning was thinking similarly.
"If I were to go all out, then I wouldn't have anything to show for the tournament."
Kaden couldn't argue. "Fair enough…guess that means you've decided then?"
Raeleigh paused and took a minute to reply. She looked at Kaden and gave him an answer…
"Is that an…egg?" Daniel questioned as Maxine revealed the object to him. The pair moved back downstairs and outside the front of the building, Maxine wanting fresh air to collect her thoughts. Once she was ready, she unveiled her secret to him, nodding to him as if guilty of something.
"This is what's left of Veemon. I was supposed to give it back to Kaden once I saw him but…"
"Why do you still have it? I thought things were cool between you guys?" Daniel asked looking at her. Her expression however answered that quickly enough. "You still don't fully trust him."
Maxine sunk further. "It's not like he's giving me any reason for me to trust him. He won't tell me about that friend of his, even though I'm pretty sure I know more than he thinks I do."
"What's that mean?" Daniel asked.
Maxine, realizing how much she said, tried to backtrack. "…I—it's…"
"Max," Daniel put his hand on her shoulder. "You can trust me. Promise."
Max paused, making eye contact with Daniel. It was subtle, but the warmness in his face indicated to her that he was pushing himself to be a bit assertive.
She pulled away. "Thanks, but…"
"There you guys are!" Raeleigh's voice came through, causing the pair to nearly jump out of their skin. "Kaden was looking for you guys."
"Oh, was he?" Maxine tried to play off. "Sorry, just needed some air."
Daniel cleared his throat, backtracking on his sudden gesture seconds prior, trying to pretend that it didn't happen. "Are you guys ready to head back?"
"Actually, I have to head back. Gotta meet up with my friend Eliza for now. Raeleigh admitted.
Convenient, Maxine thought.
"Anyway, it was nice to see you guys; looking forward to meeting you all in the tournament."
"Likewise," Daniel continued to speak for them.
Raeleigh smiled and looked to Maxine who was subconsciously staring her down. Raeleigh came close to her and leaned over, pulling her mask down.
"Don't forget to give Veemon back to him…"
Raeleigh then proceeded to walk off afterward, with Daniel waving goodbye.
"Alright, guess we head back in and find the—Max?" Daniel turned, catching a glimpse of the shaken expression on the girl's face.
"It was her…" Maxine was making connections in her head, as more pieces of the internal puzzle fell into place.
"Max, are you okay?" Daniel was becoming increasingly worried.
Maxine broke out into a smile and looked at Daniel, who wasn't the slightest relieved. "I'm good."
"You sure?"
She insisted with a firm nod. She turned to her left, taking note of the remaining boys making their way out the building. Terrence was beaming with stuff, while Milo was deep in thought and Kaden somewhat disappointed.
"Guys look what I found!" He held up his bag of goodies.
"Hey wait, you guys didn't buy anything?!"
Daniel and Maxine looked to one another. Daniel answered, "We'll save it for the Nintendo Store."
Terrence smile widened. "Dope, let's go!"
"Hold on, that's if Kaden says it's alright." Maxine slowed him down. She looked up at the older boy who was lost in his thoughts. "Kaden?"
"Huh? What's up?" He blinked.
"You good? You look like…"
"…You've been rejected." Terrence finished the thought.
Eyes jumped to Terrence, then to Kaden, the latter feeling all the stares on him now. He tried to laugh it off.
"That's because I…
… kinda was."