Woop, woop. First Vanguard Fic on the forums. This entire story takes place in an alternate timeline where the original cfv cast did not exist. So no Ren, Kai, Aichi, etc. However, characters will be similar to those from the old cast, so... yeah. You can also expect the beginning to be like that of the anime itself. So, as you're reading, I hope you don't mind the refresher courses.
Other than that, forgive my poor writing skills and I ask that you somehow enjoy the story regardless.
Now, picture it...
Other than that, forgive my poor writing skills and I ask that you somehow enjoy the story regardless.
Now, picture it...
- Prologue:
- The game Cardfight!! Vanguard is widely known across the entire planet as one of the biggest Trading Card Games of the century. There are players everywhere, and Card Shops all around the world gather their best players and send them off to fulfill their dreams of being the greatest players ever. Laugh or cry, the cards bring out a person's determination, will, courage, and even their true selves.
Vanguard Fighters all have extrodinary imaginations. Picturing themselves as their units fighting against one another for victory. These battles all take place on the Planet Cray and its many, many nations with wars between clans.
… However, there is a hidden truth in this. A magicial power that is turning one's imagination into reality. One becomes perfectly synchronized with their cards, and becomes nigh-invincible. This gift is only handed out at birth to the chosen ones that will desire power like no other, and do so now.
In the end. Every Vanguard Fighter is no different. All they do is take for the skies, and soar.Cardfight!! Vanguard – Dream Shooters
- 1:
- Ride 1
Vanguard of Destiny
You know that feeling you get when you know some thing's coming? I don't mean like, a gut feeling. I mean really knowing exactly what's going to happen. Seeing the future, even by just a few minutes. … No? I'm the only one...?
I've been able to see things involving the game: Cardfight Vanguard. Every time I watch my sister play, it's like... I can hear voices. Voices filled with fear of those playing against her, and arrogant ones from her own cards. It's weird, because I can always tell exactly how she's gonna win.
Then, what's weirder is that I can see myself winning... then I'll have another vision of myself losing. I've barely started playing, so it really doesn't make sense to me.
Someone out there can relate, right? Right?!
… I'm talking to myself...
-------------------------------------
“I attack with Death Warden, Antlion!” a male voice declared, and on a stormy battlefield within the land of Cray, a large insect charged forward at a warrior standing on top of a large red dragon. However the soldier immediately pressed the shield onto the enemy's face, stopping it in its tracks.
“Even with your Drive Trigger, your twenty-five thousand isn't enough to break my shield.” the female adversary responded to her opponent.
“Dammit... I could've had that second trigger! I end my turn!”
“Stand and Draw.”
“Pffft... I'm fine, as long as-”
“I don't Ride to Grade Three?”
“... Y-Yeah...” unease came overflowing within the man as he replied.
“Too bad.”
“Eh?”
“Burn everything in this world to ashes with your apocalyptic fire! Ride the Vanguard!” the woman recited a chant referring the literally destroying all with the flames of her new units. Within a large wildfire created; a gigantic dragon arose and flapped open its wings. Its skin mostly a red color, but scales blue, pink, and red, along with white spikes coming out of its body. The yellow eyes on the powerful creature glared at the insect, seeing it in a literal metaphoric sense, A small bug ready to be crushed. Finally, sitting in the pool of fire did she call out its name: “Dragonic Overlord!”
“H-Holy...”
“Further, I flip over three damage to activate the Counterblast! Power plus five thousand!”
“What the hell?!”
“With Bahr's boost... Eternal Flame!” the player named the attack, giving her Vanguard the signal to let out a devastating fire that completely engulfed the enemy's entire field, burning the opposing army all away.
-------------------------------------
“I win. Again.” the same woman spoke with a deadpan tone, bringing the loser back to reality. The two of them were sitting at a table within a Card Shop, with a Cardfight play mat on it. The man was wearing a school uniform, having on a white shirt, and matching jacket, pants, and shoes; all black, even going with his short hair. Meanwhile, the person he faced was absolutely gorgeous. She had short blood-red hair that reached down to her neck, and eyes of the same color. The girl's attire consisted of a pink tube top with a black strap connected to the left shoulder. Combined with that was a denim skirt, flaunting every bit of her legs, and a pair of cute, black shoes. Of course, every male inside of the store watching the game most likely paid no attention to it, staring at her large breasts and multiple curves completely awestruck.
“C-Come on! Best three out of five! I can't lose this bet!” the man begged, gripping his deck tightly as if it was his hold on life.
“No. You're a terrible player and should be ashamed. Keep your deck, I don't want it.” she coldly denied his request, standing up and not even looking his way anymore. With that, she began to leave the shop, with only despair and feelings of complete inferiority and hopelessness as a parting gift for the opponent. All of which made him break down into tears right at the table. When the girl walked outside, someone followed.
“You are forever the Queen of Ice, Ruby.” another man said, getting her attention. This one had green eyes and similar to the shattered boy inside; black hair. He wore a black shirt with a white serpent-like dragon designed on the front and blue jeans. When he spoke, he was referring to how she left him with a cruel message. “Would it kill you to be nice?”
“I was being nice, Zack. I could've taken his deck.”
“I don't think being brutally honest should make someone burst into tears like that.”
“He was bad. I'm not going to lie and say he was any good.” Ruby stuck by her beliefs, refusing the thought of even going back to apologize, let alone be nice to someone. Zack only sighed, seeing that this harsh attitude was what made her who she is.
“This happens every time you try to find someone skilled to play...” the man mentioned the conditions for her to even be slightly kind to another.
“Speaking of someone skilled... play me.”
“Sur- … Wait, you're willingly challenging me. Why?”
“I'm hungry.” Ruby gave an answer that clearly had nothing to do with the card game.
“... Oh. The usual bet. The one that sucks my wallet dry after a month of saving. Goddammit, you eat too much.” Zack remembered that the two of them would play and wager who's buying the other's food. It was a very bad memory that was forced to stick around. He's constantly reminded of all the losses he suffered, game-wise and money-wise. One thing he did know was that the jeer at the damsel's appetite may be digging his own grave.
“I eat enough. Now come on, let's-” the woman was interrupted by a ring tone that was surprisingly a more cheery and hopeful theme compared to herself. She quickly pulled out a red cellphone, pressed a button, then put it up to her ear. “Sapp-”
“Big sis! Where are you?!” a girl shouted over the line, making Ruby hold the phone away. “All my friends got picked up already, and if you don't hurry, they're gonna make me go to that stupid School Program with the Grade School kids!”
“... Are you done yelling?”
“... Yeah.”
“Sapphire, I'll be there in about five minutes.” Ruby told her, making Zack start fist pumping without her knowing because this means she has to skip out on the game. Which meant that for this day, his money was all to himself.
“You better... I see cars pulling up.”
“Just wait.” the damsel said to her younger sibling. After hearing a bit of a sniffle, she hung up.
“Damn. That's too bad. Gotta pick up Sapphire. Welp! I'll be on my w-”
“If you don't have the money to buy us lunch tomorrow...”
Us?! Zack thought she was surely joking by saying it would be for two. He never got to eat that much whenever they went out together.
“I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Later...” the man said his parting words, voicing clear depression before they went their own ways.
-------------------------------------
“Dude, where is your sister?!” a male student asked, flipping out.
“I don't know!” a blue haired with navy blue eyes girl responded. The boy was in a uniform that was exactly the same as the man playing in the shop. The female wore a mostly black and red serafuku with black shoes. She also had hair that extended past her neck, and some of it hung by her right eye. It was obvious that she was panicking much, much more than the person she was talking to.
“Man... I can't even imagine sitting with Grade Schoolers anymore. We're almost headed to High School soon...”
“Dude! Shut up! I'm more worried about sitting down and having to listen to some Ronald McDonald song!”
“Oh God, why him?!”
“... Oh look. There's you dad...” the young lass pretty much started crying right there when she saw an adult waving at her friend.
“Damn. He's always late as hell too...”
“Today is gonna be the worst day of my life...”
“Welp, tell me if some kid gets gum stuck in your hair!”
“Screw you! Go! Go home!” she was blinded by the future event coming up scaring her to death, but he wasn't helping in the slightest, so she just demanded he shut up and leave. The boy started laughing and ran off. While he was leaving, the student could only let out a depressed sigh. After waiting for only two minutes afterwards though, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Sapphire. Let's go home.” Ruby spoke to her in a sweet, gentle tone. It was as if the woman that played at the shop was an entirely different person. The young one turned to see her busty sister and almost immediately hugged her. Sapphire was looking up to her as some sort of savior. The older sibling only imagined if this school program would've really been that bad. Instead of outright questioning it though, she kept a smile on her face and embraced her sister.
-------------------------------------
Later that night...
“So you beat everyone there? One of them was even crying?” Sapphire asked her sister, especially curious about the latter. The two were discussing all of the Cardfights Ruby had won at the Card Shop. The girls were walking down a hallway, and the teenaged girl was wearing a purple nightgown.
“I was only being honest with that last one...”
“Zack was right. You are forever the Queen of Ice!” the younger one said that as if it was something to be proud of. Ruby pushed the door to Sapphire's bedroom open when she finished talking.
“Go to bed.” the now irritated woman ordered.
“Oh come on! It was a joke!”
“Go. To. Bed.”
“... Can I ask you something before I do?”
“What?”
“When are you gonna play with me?” Sapphire asked with an innocent tone of voice. Ruby saw her eyes filled with hope, yet at the same time, were begging for an answer. She was using the old puppy dog eyes trick. To Ruby, she was sometimes cute enough to make it work. This was not one of those times.
“Summer Break.”
“Oh come on, that's like, so many weeks away!”
“Try a little over a week.”
“How about tomorrow?” the girl jumped from however many days left right to asking for the next day in mere seconds. This only made Ruby turn around and start walking off. “Sis!”
“Maybe. Go to bed.” the woman replied with a possible 'yes'. To her though, that was a definite yes.
“Where's Card Capital? Will you take me there?”
“Go to bed!”
“Okay! Okay!” Sapphire gave in, running into her room and closing the door out of fear. After a few moments of waiting, Ruby knew she wasn't coming back out, and left for nightly business. Of course, the girl wasn't really going to sleep right then. No... she was planning.
“Darry said he went with his dad to Card Capital... so I might be able to get directions!” the girl figured out how exactly she was going to make her sister play a game with her. Sapphire was getting all hyped, already knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep enough. The lass made sure to do one thing before trying to sleep... checking her deck. A stack of cards sat on her desk on the dark moon lit up by the bright moonlight. Sapphire grabbed it and plopped down on her bed. The card at the very bottom of her deck had a picture of a white knight with large sword in hand. The aspiring player had obviously taken a shine to it.
“'Shine forth, brave sword and defender of the weak... Blaster Blade'...” Sapphire read the flavor text, then called it by its name. For only a moment though, the card began glowing and a light appeared within her eyes. The light was many colors, all shades of pink and seemed as if it was spinning. Her vision suddenly blurred, then showed her a battle on Cray. The very unit she was gazing at was flying toward her sister's Dragonic Overlord. A second later, her eyes showed her the ceiling of her own room. “... What just happened...?”
-------------------------------------
The next day, later in the afternoon...
“You wanna go to Card Capital?” the same boy from yesterday asked Sapphire as they were leaving out of the school building.
“Pleaseeeee!”
“Sure? Dad's working the register today, so my sister can drive us there.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Alright! Alright! Don't mention it!”
“Really?”
“No, gimme five bucks!”
“You suck!” Sapphire yelled at him just before handing him the money. After the exchange, she followed her classmate to a white car and saw a woman with long, pink hair and navy blue eyes like Sapphire's. The woman had a red crop top on, covering up her above average bust and black jeans. She was actually sitting there playing a Play Station Portable, and she looked really into it.
“Sis!” Darry shouted, trying to get her attention. He even had to start knocking on the window for extra measure. Only the latter made her turn to him. The woman quickly rolled down the window to talk.
“Hey. Ready to go?” she asked her younger brother. Though, Sapphire could clearly see that she was itching to continue the game, seeing it paused.
“Yeah, can you take us to Card Capital?”
“Dad wants me to take over for a bit anyway. Something stupid with mom. Hop on in you two!” the woman said to the two Junior High Students, and they did as told, jumping into the backseats. The driver sat the PSP in the passenger sit and drove off.
“Uh... I don't think I got to meet you yet, actually.” Sapphire said to Darry's sister.
“I'm Lucy. Darry's told me about you, but I never got the chance to speak with you.”
“Oh... Darry sucks. He should've introduced me to you sooner.”
“I'm like, right here. Seriously.” the boy reminded his friend that he was still there in the car right beside her, yet she insulted him anyway.
“It was a joke...” Lucy spoke for Sapphire, wanting her brother to lighten up about it.
“Darry, what deck do you use?” Sapphire asked, sounding serious all of a sudden. This worried him greatly.
“... Nova Grappler. Why?”
“Just... wondering. How good do you think Royal Paladins are?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Do you think it could beat Kagero?” Sapphire asked, tilting her head curiously while holding the deck in her hands. Darry looked surprised for a minute, then blinked twice. Almost immediately did he begin laughing hysterically after realizing what she was talking about.
“Dude! You cannot beat your sister!”
“Shut up! I could if I tried!” the girl shouted, tears already welling up in her eyes. He just kept laughing at her, because even he knew that her sister was an absolute monster at the game.
“Ruby, eh? I've seen her a bunch. Don't think she's ever lost during my shifts.” Lucy entered the conversation, speaking of memories watching the woman ruthlessly destroy all of her opponents. Honestly, she felt cold sweat running down her spine at the very thought of her.
“... So there's no way I could win...”
“That's what I said!” Darry said in the middle of his constant giggling.
“Shut up Darry. Any deck can beat any other deck. It depends on the player.”
“Um, so it depends on me?”
“Yeah.”
“How can I beat my sister then?”
“You haven't tried yet, have you?” the pink haired damsel questioned. She had no idea that Sapphire has never once played in a game. All the girl did was study the rules. After the lack of a response, Lucy understood that the newbie made no attempt to defeat her sister yet. “Don't count yourself out.”
“... Yeah, I guess I can't...”
“Attagirl! Now...” Lucy showed her complete support, but then stopped at a red light. The woman took this chance to reach to the back and whack Darry upside the head.
“Ow! Dammit, that hurt!”
“I know! That's why I did it!”
-------------------------------------
“Got it. Critical Trigger. Once again, all effects to the Vanguard: Dragonic Overlord.” Ruby said, tapping the vanguard card with the trigger in her hand. Zack was completely dumbfounded at this. Next thing he knew, he sat three units in his Damage Zone.
“All three checks were Criticals. Are you sure you don't stack your deck?” Zack asked, still in shock somewhat from realizing he took five damage that entire turn.
“I'm sure. However, now that I've won...” Ruby began as they both stood up after gathering their decks. “You're buying me lunch.”
“Well, at least you didn't lie and say 'us' again.” Zack still remembered what she said yesterday and still remembered how it was never for two people. When the woman was about to leave, the door flew open.
“Hi big sis!” Sapphire shouted, completely shocking Ruby and leaving her in a surprised-wide-eyed state.
“Daaaad...” Lucy called out, but saw no one at the register. Though, a second latter, a box hit her in the back.
“Oh! Sorry!” a black haired man said to the girl. Her father looked to the side to see the pink hair and recognized immediately. He was wearing a worker's uniform: a blue dress shirt, a blue jacket, and blue pants. At first glance, since it's basically the time of Summer, that outfit was absurd because he was going to be ridiculously hot.
“Gah. Gimme that.” Lucy demanded, taking the other end of the box, but instead of just snatching it away, the both of them started carrying it into a backroom. Darry came in late and stood behind Sapphire, quickly shifting his attention to Ruby.
“... Your sister's hot. Have I mentioned this?”
“Only like, a thousand times... I know she is!” Sapphire kept talking with a very happy tone of voice, not even noticing that Ruby hasn't said a word yet.
“Well, this is awkward.” Zack spoke up, standing beside his friend.
“Why on earth are you here...” Ruby questioned with a dark tone, trying to regain her composure.
“I tracked you down and got a ride with Darry and Lucy! Now you can teach me how to play today, like you said you would”
“I never said today!”
“You said yes!”
“I said maybe!”
“That means yes!”
“Make it stop...” Zack covered his ears, trying to block out the bickering between the sisters.
“Go home!” Ruby ordered, asserting complete authority as the older sibling.
“No! I finally caught you here, and I even have my deck!” Sapphire refused to leave and then, after finishing her sentence, whipped out her deck in a flash. Seeing that she was prepared, Ruby hesitated for a moment to think of how to react. However, the younger sister was desperate, so she started pleading: “Please! I want to Cardfight with everyone!”
“S-Sapphire...” Ruby was taken aback from how much she wanted to play this game. The woman needed more time to come up with a logical response, especially about how Zack and her were about to go out to eat. … But no matter how cold, the older sister can't ignore the cries of the younger one. “... One game.”
“Yay! Sis! Thank you! I love yooou!” Sapphire's overflowing happiness shot out so fast that it almost made the begging look like an act. She practically jumped up and hugged the woman, then pushed her luck by snuggling up to Ruby's breasts. This earned her a swift punch to the noggin.
“What do I always tell you about-”
“It was worth it!” the young girl interrupted her sister, smiling and holding her head in pain. Ruby only looked away, incredibly irritated.
“I wanna try that!” Darry spoke up, demanding what she was having.
“I can't save you once you make contact.” Lucy informed her brother that once he went in, he wasn't coming back. The damsel walked over to the register and took a seat. Her father came out a few moments afterwards.
“... Aren't you gonna get in uniform?” the man asked her.
“Nah.”
“... Fine...” he gave in early and let his daughter do as she pleased before he got himself in trouble.
“I got an idea. Hey Manager, could we use one of those Standing Tables?” Zack asked, wishing to flare up the upcoming game a bit.
“Standing Tables?” Sapphire questioned, not understanding the entirety of the 'standing'.
“It's a higher table that you stand up and play on.” Ruby answered for her, back to her normal cool and collected state. The lass just let out an astonished 'Oh...', which further annoyed the older one about how she was impressed by the slightest thing.
“Sure... help me out? I don't think Lucy will...” the owner requested his aid, then looked over to confirm his suspicions. He was right. She was absorbed into the PSP she started up again. Zack shrugged and went into the back with him to get it. It didn't take long for them to place a table in the middle of the store. The difference between that one and regular tables was that this one was built much higher, and it was not supported by table legs, but a single cylinder. The two girls walked over to it and held up their decks. Lucy looked over the counter to witness the beginning of the game.
“Find a Grade Zero Unit in your deck and place it facedown on the red circle.” Ruby explained while they were both searching for it. The older one found hers quickly and did as she explained.
“The red circle is the Vanguard Circle, and the Green are Rearguard Circles, right?” Sapphire asked as she placed her own down. Then they both put their decks on the table.
“Yes. Very good.” Ruby gave her sister a bit of praise that made her blush a bit. Zack, however, was surprised to see that the stone cold layer of seriousness was dropping from his associate very fast.
Soft spot for your little sister? Go figure... Zack mentally said to himself and sighed.
“Then we both draw our opening hand of five cards!” Sapphire flaunted her knowledge of the basics, but that time, Ruby didn't respond, making her feel a little embarrassed. They both did as she said, regardless.
“Do you feel comfortable with all you know?” the woman asked the inexperienced girl.
“Um... A review or something would be nice...”
“I'll go first then It'll be easier to explain.”
“Gotcha.”
“Ready?”
“I... think so.” Sapphire hesitated. Now that she was finally here, and her first Cardfight ever was about to begin and it was with her sister. Anxiety finally hit, but Ruby reached out to her.
“Take my hand, and close your eyes.” Ruby directed with a gentle tone to help the girl relax. Sapphire's mind wavered for a moment, but then recalled the kinder side that was especially for her. Remembering this, she grabbed a hold of her sibling's hand with her own and did as told.
She's gonna love this bit. Zack thought, knowing what Ruby was going to have her do next.
“Picture this in your mind... to two of us have appeared on a planet similar to Earth named Cray, as spirits.” the woman led and described the battlefield. Even with the vague description, the sisters both clearly imagined the same area. They were both standing in a barren wasteland underneath a morning sun. Sapphire already felt as if she was literally standing on the ground of another world. The girl began looking around and found such a calm spot to be very peaceful. “We are only given two powers in this state.”
“I read about this. We have the ability to 'call' the creatures and humans that live on Cray. Units! The cards in our deck we fight with!”
“Correct. You shouldn't seem so nervous. You're actually very well-armed in the knowledge of basic Cardfight Information.” Ruby spoke highly of her dedicated studies to rules and the story of Cray. The young damsel blushed, feeling like a bit of a dork for knowing so much. At the same time however, we was very happy to see her sister proud of her.
“So um... the second ability...”
“You can tell me this.”
“Our other power is possessing units with our own spirits. Riding!”
“Good. The units possessed via Ride are our Vanguards.”
“This one's easy. Vanguard means-”
“I didn't ask you that. This isn't a simple dictionary test.”
“... Sorry...” Sapphire apologized for getting too excited about flaunting more info than she should.
“Once we turn over our set cards, we will become the Vanguards and do battle with our armies on Cray.”
“I'm ready now, big sis.”
“Excellent. Let's begin.” Ruby urged the game to start as they both put their fingers on the cards in reality.
On the planet Cray, the battle had begun as the two female spirits were completely consumed by light. The blue haired girl transformed into a large, white furred dog creature that was clad in mechanical armor, tightly secured on the body. With the machine-like structure, one could tell that it was a cyborg with a sword held within its mouth. On the other side, the one representing red became a green reptile solider. It was a small dragon with a somewhat humanoid build, with an axe in hand, a shield equipped onto the opposite wrist, and wearing armor. To emphasis on its race, the helmet of the armor was in the shape of a dragon's head. [Barcgal: 4000] [Conroe: 5000]
“In this game, you can take a unit that is a single grade higher than your current and Ride it. You can do so with the same Grade as well. However, you cannot skip Grades, nor can you Ride one lower. Understand?” Ruby began her refresher course for her little sister, who only responded by nodding twice, letting that information sink in.
“I thought she knew the basics...” a disappointed Darry said, sitting on the register counter by his sister in the chair.
“I ride the Embodiment Of Armor, Bahr!” the woman proceeded by slapping a card down on top of the one she had out already. In the world of their imaginations, Conroe had been engulfed by a red light and transformed into a taller, demonic creature with red armor all over its body with sharp, gray spikes coming out in multiple places. The skin on it was dark blue colored, with a lighter shade of that for hair, along with yellow eyes. It was armed with a black and yellow sword. [Bahr: 8000]
“Further, Conroe's skill. When I ride onto it with a Kagero Unit, I can call it from the Soul to a Rearguard Circle.” Ruby went on, pulling the card from underneath the Vanguard and dragging it on the green circle behind it. With this move, the first monster from before appeared on the battlefield once more in the position the player put it in.
“Calling units by skill is calling Superior Calling, right?” Sapphire asked for clarification.
“Correct.”
“You can't attack on your first turn...”
“That's also correct, so I'll end my turn there.”
Ruby
0 Damage
Vanguard: Embodiment Of Armor, Bahr
Rearguard: Lizard Solider Conroe(Behind Bahr)
Hand: 5
“My turn then...” Sapphire began, taking the top card of her deck and putting it in her hand.
“Again, don't be so nervous. You know enough for a beginner, so you'll do fine.” Ruby tried to put her sister's mind at ease once more. The girl didn't clearly respond, but instead, she grabbed another card from her hand.
“I Ride Little Sage, Marron, then Barcgal's skill will let me move it to a Rearguard Circle.” Sapphire went on with her turn, placing the new Vanguard down and pulling the previous out to a circle diagonally away from it. A young, blond boy with small glasses and a small amount of armor on blue and white clothing appeared out of a blue light, just as the opposing did in red. Then the mechanical canine moved a distance away from him. [Marron: 8000]
“Then I use Barcgal's skill, resting it...” the girl announced the use of the ability, turning the card sideways, then picked up the deck and looked through it. “... and calling Flogal from my deck!” she said with much more emotion and slapped the card down behind her own Vanguard. A pink, female dog with few metallic plates on the body appeared in a yellow light next to the machine. Afterwards, the inexperienced one looked up at her sister, mentally asking if what she did was a legal move. The older one nodded to confirm. [Flogal: 5000]
“Now you'll attack?” Ruby asked her, even though the answer was obvious.
“Of course! I can rest the rearguard behind the Vanguard when it attacks, and add its power onto it!” Sapphire announced and then explained another rule she knew, getting all of her excitement back. Marron started glowing with a bright, blue light as his ally's power became his. [8000 + 5000 = 13000]
“When attacking, you draw the top card of your deck and reveal it. This is Drive Checking.” Ruby continued with the lesson after the girl turned both of her standing cards. Sapphire picked it up, then showed her the card. It was a Grade Two unit: Knight of Silence, Gallatin. “That unit is not a Trigger Unit, so just put it back in your hand. Whether you would've gotten one or not, the attack was a success.” the woman instructed and then informed her of the first blown being dealt within the battle. Marron opened the red book he came with and quickly skimmed over a page. Then, he held his hand up and shot out lightning from his fingertip that hit the enemy Vanguard, causing it to cry out in pain.
“When the Vanguard is hit, you take the top card of your deck and put it in the Damage Zone, right?” Sapphire spoke of another rule in Cardfights. Ruby picked up the card and revealed it to be Dragon Knight Aleph. She put it down onto a gray space on the Play mat
“Once you receive six damage, your spirit vanishes from Cray and it's a game loss. Got everything?” Ruby explained the last bit of the basics and asked if this refresher course was enough. Sapphire happily nodded, which made Ruby smile in return.
“I'm gonna be sick...” a nauseous Darry spoke up, disliking how he was seeing more of their Sisterly Bond than them playing the game.
“Shut up. It's sweet.” Lucy said to her kid brother, enjoying the sight of them bonding.
“... Weren't you playing a game?” Darry questioned her intense focus on the PSP being broken, only to urge her to go back to playing.
“Now that she's got the basics down, Ruby can go on her slaughtering spree...” Zack dreaded upon the future of this game, which obviously involved the Kagero Player mercilessly destroying the newbie. He already lost every last bit of hope in the young teenager, realizing that this marked the end.
“Now now, don't say that.” the manager tried to get him excited about the game again.
“Dude, have you seen Ruby?”
“... I was just trying to help you feel better.”
“Thanks...”
“I'm done.”
Sapphire
0 Damage
Vanguard: Little Sage, Marron
Rearguard: Flogal(Behind Marron), Barcgal
Hand: 6
“It's my turn. I won't hold back from here on.”
“I'm ready!”
“I ride Dragon Knight, Nehalem!” Ruby started out by going forward onto the next grade. Bahr's entire body shined with the red light, then a gigantic dragon that looked very similar to Conroe appeared with a man standing on top of it. In his hand was a spear, and in the other, a shield. He stood proudly on top of his monstrous ally, both ready to strike. [Nehalem: 10000]
“... Now here we go.” Zack saw everything that was coming this turn by just seeing the Ride.
“Then, Conroe's Counterblast. I can flip the number of damage it says on the card facedown to use this skill. I can retire it which is placing it in the Drop Zone, and search for a Grade One Kagero and put it in my hand.” Ruby told her sister of the different type of skill she was activating. Turning over Aleph and moving Conroe to the Drop Zone, the woman quickly yanked a card out of her deck and threw it down onto the Empty Rearguard Circle behind the Vanguard. After doing so, she took another card and put it in the front row. “I call Flame Of Hope, Aermo and Bellicosity Dragon.” [Aermo: 6000] [Bellicosity: 9000]
“Counterblasts...” Sapphire took a mental note on this. Ruby turned her Vanguard horizontally, then did the same with the unit behind it.
“With Aermo's boost, Nehalem attacks!” Ruby declared, pointing to Sapphire's Marron on the field.
“Um... that's sixteen thousand...”
“You can guard by using the units in your hand with Grades equal to or lower than the Vanguard's, using the second number on the card and adding it onto your Vanguard's.” Ruby explained the method to blocking attacks, and gave her sister the chance to do so now.
“... I won't guard.” Sapphire decided. On Cray, Nehalem held up the spear in hand and called forth pink lightning that came from the weapon and blasted Marron.
“Now, I check the Drive Trigger.” Ruby said, checking the card and revealing it, then pointing to the special symbol on the top right corner. “This is a Trigger unit. All Trigger Units will have marks like these on the top right.”
“There's four types of Triggers in the game, right?”
“Yes. This one is a Critical Trigger. All triggers will allow you to give a unit five thousand power. However, Critical Triggers will give units an additional critical to their one already. The number of Criticals they have is the number of damage they will hit for.”
“Wait, so I'll take two damage?”
“Assuming Bellicosity doesn't hit, yes. Not only that, but I'll put the power gain on it.” the woman finished telling the young student about the Drive Trigger. Within the pictured fight, Marron was still being shocked. To add to the already unbearable pain, the large red dragon that had appeared beside the leading attacker and blasted a great, big fireball at the small magician, causing an explosion in which Sapphire could hear his screams of agony clearly. The girl began trembling, feeling the might of the powerful dragon clan as if they were standing before her.
“... D-Damage Check.” Sapphire spoke up, making an attempt to get a grip on reality. One by one, the cards filled up the used-to-be empty Damage Zone. Knight Of Silence, Gallatin, Knight Of Friendship, Kay, and Flash Shield, Iseult were all placed in there.
“You have a clear, vivid image of this war on Cray, which is very good.” Ruby congratulated the younger sibling on being able to have an extraordinary imagination. She then pointed to Aermo's card. “When a unit boosted by Aermo has its attack hit, I can discard a card to draw one. I discard Tahr. Then, Bellicosity, when its attack hits, will let me unflip one card in my Damage Zone. Now, I'll end my turn.”
Ruby
1 Damage
Vanguard: Dragon Knight, Nehalem
Rearguard: Flame Of Hope, Aermo(behind Nehalem), Bellicosity Dragon(Frontrow)
Hand: 5
“Forever merciless.” Zack commented on her plays, the Critical Trigger especially. The game barely started and the poor new girl has hit three damage already.
“My turn...”
“With this game, I welcome you to Vanguard.” Ruby said to her, smiling. However, Sapphire couldn't accept her kindness at that moment because she was more focused on not losing this game.
“How are you so good?” she asked her older sister.
“I haven't done that much yet... I've just had plenty of experience.”
“I want experience like that.”
“You're getting too far ahead of yourse-”
“You're the one who said if you put your heart and soul into your dreams, they'll become a reality.” Sapphire recalled a saying that Ruby told, which jogged her memory about it as well. Zack also reacted by looking more interested into the game with those words. Everyone was starting to look closer at the game, so Lucy decided to join in roll the wheeled-chair out from behind the counter to see better.
“... I did say that.”
“So what if I put my heart and soul into being as good as you?”
“... Sapphire-”
“No! Don't talk me out of it! I'm pumped about it now, and rarin' to go!”
“Sapphire!”
“Your words gave me the courage to go on and do this today! So now...!” Sapphire was now determined to continue this fight, and turn the tides toward her favor. The girl was now ignoring Ruby and turned Barcgal. “Barcgal's skill will allow me to call Knight of the Future, Llew from my deck!”
“Wait, that combo...!” Zack shouted, realizing exactly what the newbie was going to go for at the same time Ruby noticed.
“Llew's Counterblast! I move him, Barcgal, and Flogal all to soul!” the fired up maiden went on, moving all the cards underneath the Vanguard, stacking them.
... Show me the reality of your heart, Sapphire. Ruby mentally requested for her to show the true fruition of every last bit of the studies on the game. The player pulled a card out of her deck, that glowed with a very bright blue light. For an instant, the girl's eyes flashed with the same pink light they did last night.
“Stand up! My Avatar! Superior Ride!” Sapphire called forth the key card to winning this fight. Naming it the embodiment of her will, she slammed the card down onto the Vanguard Circle. On Cray, the Little Sage fell backwards, unable to continue due to taking such extreme blows. However, at that instant, his body shined with the same color as before, and morphed into a taller human figure. It did exactly as the spirit possessing it commanded, rising up to its feet. Opposing the dragon army – The Kagero – appeared a new Vanguard for the Royal Knights of the Holy Land. A large sword was slammed into the ground, and the light revealed the new being: a knight clad in white armor. The rest of his skin was covered by blue garments with teal trimming. Within the armor were two red gems, and one was within the sword as well. The green eyes of the warrior gazed at the enemy... “Blaster Blade!” [Blaster Blade: 9000]
“Whoa, what the hell?! That card is hella rare! How'd she get it?!” an awestruck Darry questioned, dumbfounded at the sight of her wielding such a powerful card. Ruby noticed that she never took her hand off of the card yet. Blaster Blade's body flashed in white light, and then showed the same unit once more. However, now Sapphire's eyes had taken over, and one of the eyes were covered by her hair, which was brought so close to her face due to the helmet.
“Picture this, big sis.” Sapphire began, with a smile of full confidence on her face. “Me leading the Royal Paladins to victory.”Featured Card
Barcgal
Last edited by Queen on Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:27 am; edited 2 times in total