Umano Underground Slums

Darren's eyes widened as he hadn't gotten far from the Medical Ward yet. He saw who went inside. It was someone from his past. The man whom he destroyed his body more than once just to take down. Why was he here now... and going to the Medical Ward... where Yukino and Noel should be... Oh hell no!

"OSHIRO!" Darren called out, turning and quickly running into the room. His eyes were purple once again, but because of this he saw... nothing. No sign of the Reverse, nothing malicious at all. There was a strange, faint energy to him that he hadn't seen before, but that was the most of it. Was that... what time looked like?

He had a chance to hear everything. There was a tournament, and Gear Chronicle was involved. Trust the Tomato-Head to show up to that. Then again, this was perfect. The rules of the game just changed. If Gear Chronicle was unlocked this way or given to someone in the Resistance, then there'd be nothing she could do about it.

Darren let him leave, walking up to Yukino as he said, "Guess we have something to fight for after all. And here I was afraid you would start giving up." He was excited. He hadn't been in a tournament at all since coming here. He was ready to fight to help everyone. "You've gotta admit this'll be fun!"

"Wait, what?" Bashiro questioned, confused at the voice since he wasn't really making any attention. "The hell is going on?" The thug asked a soldier, who explained not only were they all being forced into the tournament, but they would lose out on pay if they didn't join the preliminaries at least. ... They get paid?! "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the hell on, I don't want anything to do with this!" He yelled in a panic, running after this commander as four booths for tournament registrations were set up on two different sides of the road.

Daisuke immediately freaked out upon hearing Darren's voice. Luckily, he didn't intrude on his conversation with the general, but it didn't make him feel any better either. Daisuke had personally fought with Darren for the majority of his rampage in the Star-vader Invasion. Oh man, this was just a bad place to be! Stiffly and robotically, he turned, moving each limb like a newly activated android would in an attempt to sneak away. Darren didn't bother him.

Thank Christ.

The Prime Minister dashed out for his life.

"I'm not particularly interested in the tournament or the sport of competition more than Gear Chronicle's involvement." Yukino responded to Darren. Had this been awhile back, the arrogant queen would be all for proving she's better than everyone else. However, as a more somber queen that just wants to kill the invaders, 'fun' isn't really in her vocabulary unless it's something with Haruka. Bashiro immediately rushed up to the two, panting.

"Hey, queenie! I don't wanna enter some tournament!"

"I don't care what you want."

"Come on, this shit isn't for me! I don't care about competition!"

"Start caring."

"And since when do we get paid?!"

"I considered you a volunteer soldier, so I didn't pay you specifically."

"The fuck?! Why can't I just stay out of it?!"

"Because I said so."

"Why- why are you wearing a guy's shirt."

Wait, what.

Yukino was confused. Wasn't this her shirt? Sure, it seemed a bit big, but- oh. Oh my, she started to realize who's this was and immediately began blushing. Bashiro noticed she just left the conversation under some kind of realization, and groaned angrily as he banged his head against a wall.

Bashiro dashed off, obviously not happy with being forced into the tournament. Okuri found it very amusing. There were booths to register at and before heading over he did a quick little mental inventory. It had been a while since he'd been too concerned about his illusion despite having kept it up rather well for those not part of the meal group while out and about. Best to double check though. No doubt talking animals were not likely to be admitted to such things.

"Well while he handles that let's get signed up. After we're good to go I'd be more than willing to help you practice for the tournament if you like Jessie. Heaven knows I need it myself" he said to the boy as they calmly made their way over to the booths. And now came one of Okuri's least favorite activities: human paperwork. So many random bits of information and Okuri always struggled to remember the fake last name he'd assumed for legal purposes. He was messing around with his wallet looking for his ID which strangely enough had a picture of his illusion on it. How he'd managed that one could only guess. After some few awkward moments and clumsy handwriting from the do-it-all sash he was officially entered into the tournament related to the strange dragon.

"Why do you humans have to make everything so complicated all the time?" he half sighed after walking away from the booth.

Darren was about to say something to Yukino about her apathy for the tournament when Bashiro came in. He looked at him with a blink. This was his first time seeing the man since he stopped being Malice. And... he was a goofball to say the least. He gave a grin as he had a way to convince him.

"If you really don't think you're tough enough to fight the competitors in the tournament then you're gonna get creamed in the next Reaper attack. Besides, shouldn't the local tough guy be a little more willing to show his stuff, Banshiro?" He never was great with names starting out. After all, upon meeting Seifer and Rosalia he called them Sleifer and Rosalina.

He then turned to Yukino again, not wanting to comment about the shirt. He really, REALLY didn't want to know. "Anyway Yuki, you should at least try to have some fun. What are we fighting for if we can't have fun with Vanguard now and again? You're a part of this world too so take some enjoyment out of it, Warrior Queen. If Tomato-Head has this as part of the game, we might as well play hard."

While sitting in the hallway looking through his decks, Neo all of a sudden heard nothing but screaming and shouting.

"Lord, What in the world is happening this time?" Neo said

He walked into the medical ward and saw Yukino, Bashiro and Darren chatting

"Oh only you guys talking" Neo said peeking his head

After enjoying a nice meal and dessert with his friends in a restaurant at the beach, Carlos returned to the slums along with Okuri, Jessie, Bashiro and the rest of the Resistance members. However, he opted to take the long road again, making him arrive later than his friends. "Huh, after spending three months in this county I still get lost..." He thought, slightly depressed.  He then felt a sudden chill down his spine. "Oh. I have the feeling that they're talking about something important right now. And I'm not present".

Upon entering the slums, he found Hikari talking. Bashiro, Jessie and Okuri were at the usual place, along with other members. Their faces showed that... Yep, something important was being discussed. "Hey!" He greeted them. "What did I miss this time? Something about our paychecks?" He said jokingly. "Just kidding. There's no way they will pay us. Anyway, something new?".

"Ahaha..." Jessie chuckled nervously over his older brother's freak out. If anyone asked, they're not related. Nope, no relation. He followed Okuri to sign up, actually very interested in bettering himself in a competitive environment. While the spirit had some... struggles, the boy signed up just fine. "Huh? What do you mean? And sure, I can practice."

Bashiro pulled his head from the wall. "First, Bashiro. You were close. Second, I don't give a damn about being the local tough guy man! I live in Umano, everyone's the local tough guy! I can handle Reapers, just let me chill out when we aren't dealing with any!" The sleazebag corrected Darren and talked about how he just wanted to relax, tropes be damned. Wants a quiet life, gets thrown further into mess he shouldn't even have to take part of, and threatened to get no pay at all on top of how he already wasn't getting any. Life is cruel to the elder Hakaisha.

"Neo, Carlos, you'll both be joining the Chronicle's Eve tournament. Go sign up at the booths." Yukino spoke to her soldiers, then turned to Darren after calming herself about having Haruka's shirt on. "I'm definitely not interested in playing the game of my sworn enemy. I barely have fun with Vanguard as it is, unlike the rest of you. I just don't view it in a positive view after all that's happened. I just love the units because they're my friends and you all who I've connected with."

"If you love us so much, let me sit out!" Bashiro said to Yukino.

"No."

"Reaper agents will be at the tournament, Banshiro," Darren said simply. It made the most sense but it was worth repeating. "Tomato-Head's main goal is to neutralize Gear Chronicle. They are basically being handed to the winner of this tournament. If you can really handle them, will you be alright if they win when you COULD HAVE done something?"

Before going to the door, he walked up to Yukino and gave her a small kiss to the forehead. He wasn't Haruka, but hopefully that was enough to tell her she should calm down. "Enjoying your connection with the units and your friends is the same as enjoying the game. Everyone has a reason to fight in the world of Vanguard. Your units are warriors, so they want to battle. Its fun for them. Connect to them by doing the same. Have fun with it."

He waved his hand as he said, "I'll go and sign up. Kicking Reaper Agent Butt will be a nice bonus for seeing how far I get in this thing."

"Huh. I was thinking about joining the tournament anyway" Carlos commented. "And whoever is Neo, nice to meet you" Meeting new people is always important, even if you don't know how they look. He was ready to go to sing up, but he remembered something important.


"Oh! Before I forget. Hikari, we kinda have a prisoner" He said. "I'm sure you remember the crazy blue-haired girl that used creepy doll units and attacked us a lot of times, yes? Well, she's the prisoner". He then noticed that Jessie and Okuri were going to have a practice match. "Hey! Don't forget that you owe me a fight Jessie" He reminded the young boy. "In fact, I could have a cardfight with you too Okuri. You seem like someone capable of giving a nice and memorable fight" The young man said, recalling the fight Okuri had against said blue-haired girl.

Okuri and Jessie enjoyed a peaceful practice game. It was really something to simply play the game. The units didn't have to materialize and actually do battle. Granted Okuri thought he saw some of his units nearby as he played. Since seeing them in his mind when the dragon had appeared he had been getting the feeling they really were living creatures and that they were indeed his friends. If so he hoped to continue to see them outside of fights and eventually talk with them one day. They had done wonderfully in helping him fight so far.

Okuri was surprised at how the fight went for him. While his drive checks weren't very impressive he had abundant rearguards. One turn he was even able to break ride Tester Fox over Chatnoir and perform legion with full rearguards. He got a lot of cards out of that endphase. Jessie fought well too and drive checks seemed about as equally unkind to him. His breakride turn was powerful. Ultimately Okuri's rearguard presence overwhelmed the boy as the sixth damage was checked. A draw trigger at that. Almost what he needed but not quite.

"That was an enjoyable game Jessie." he said as he collected his deck and brushed up against Jessie to show a little affection. Carlos had approached looking to fight with them both. The more practice the better. Okuri still had much to learn about the game and the various kinds of opponents he might encounter in the tournament.

"You owe him a fight do you? Well this should be exciting. I'd gladly fight you after you collect your debt Carlos." he said smiling. This was what Vanguard was meant to be. But he'd never seriously played it before getting involved with the resistance. Seeing it as a game and not a weapon to defend the earth was refreshing. It gave him a hope that one day this would be all it was used for.

"Again, Bashiro. And yeaaaah, I figured there's be those damn drones there. Man... I'd be more alright if I could get a hot piece of ass for all my trouble", Bashiro complained in response to Darren, not as willing to fight in general as the others. However, hearing his thirsty comment, Yukino inched away very slowly. The thug almost talked about her being a twig and he wanted no part of her, but he refrained knowing he'd be in the medical bed she just got out of.

Yukino then received the light smooch to her head from Darren, feeling a bit out of whack by it. Affection from her brothers was nice, but her body was for Haruka's mouth to be planted on. What if he saw this? What if he heard about it? ... Wait, no, the Chosen Sword remembers the "gumball" incident. Okay, he can't hold this over her head! "... I won't make any promises to have fun in the middle of war, but... If they can, that's good enough." The woman replied, just not able to get into it. That aside, she turned to Carlos after hearing words of positivity from one of her brothers. "I know about the prisoner. I'm going to interrogate her in a bit." She stated, also remembering that she needs to get to Jellal.

Meanwhile, Jessie hates Grade Three units. More overly, it was... the first relaxing game he's had in awhile. It seems so surreal to have a peaceful cardfight in the middle of everything. Even if he lost, he simply... enjoyed the fact that nobody was getting hurt or dying, nobody was at risk of getting deleted, just a friendly contest of cards. Why can't the upcoming tournament be that too? Carlos got his attention after the game with Okuri.

"Oh... yeah, I do owe you a game, don't I? Hey, let's all practice together for the tournament!"

"Fuck this shit, I'm out", Bashiro was about to retreat before Yukino grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him over to the registration booths. "I didn't sign up for this!!"

"You will in a minute", Yukino replied.

Darren went to the booth and signed himself up for it. Registering his Dimension Police deck was almost painful. He had always wanted his tournament debut to be with the Dimensional Robos, but that wasn't possible. Daiyusha was gone, Daikaiser was searching for him. His best option would be the Metalborgs, but he still had work to do when it cam down to mastering that deck.

"I guess I can do some training too," he muttered to himself. Unlike Bashiro, he was thinking more about his fights then about thirst. That being said, he had aged within the time he was gone. When all of this was over he would probably need... something, but that wasn't really something to think about. This was about card games after all.

"Do your best Yuki! I have some things to take care of!" he called out to her. He actually wanted to train with his deck. He thought about asking Yukino to train with him, but Seifer wanted her attention. His situation was more... complex, so he would handle his own training on his own for now.

"Nice to meet you too Carlos" Neo replied

Neo started to see people jump around back and forth and all around. But he had a very long day. So he headed to his room and decided to call it a night with his Narukami decks close by.

Starting tomorrow, we train hard guys.... and thank you...

Jellal saw the peaceful expression Neo had on his face before he went to sleep. "Is this what this game does for people?" Jellal questioned. "I wonder if I ever used to look like that, with my cards." Jellal walked outside of the slums and sat on the ground, gazing upon the vibrant moonlight night.

Seifer missed quite a bit, though the pinkette that had been with him, seemed to of fallen asleep. Moving her to the side, on a cot... gently laying her down, the male turned his attention back toward the situation at hand. Seemed like there was a tournament, and everyone was required to participate. ...Alright then. Signing up without a second thought, the male turned his attention to his sister who... Was wearing a man's shirt. Whatever, wasn't going to question it. He somehow knew where it came from. Time to block memories. What was he doing again? Oh right.

"Nee-San..." grabbing the back of Darren's collar, he dragged the other male along toward his sister. Mutual training would benefit the three of them. "Look, I need your help. Both of you. I need practice with my Revengers, and my Kagero. I want to get stronger and learn how to actually wield my decks correctly... While learning from you..." that last part was directed at Yukino, as he let go of Darren's collar. "How to actually summon the sword. Which, by the way... How do you even do that?" valid question that he'd never asked before.

As Darren was looking at his deck case, trying to think of a means to train his power as well as his units, he was grabbed by the color before he had time to even think. What was even happening? He looked up and saw Seifer. It would be him, asking nicely wasn't his strongest quality. He listened to what Seifer had to say before he was released from his grip. He brushed off his shirt as he glared at the man.

"Some people say hi when they want your attention," he said about what Seifer decided to do. "Its a manifest, by the way. She can connect to her units and manifest them into physical form here on Earth. Taking only a part of it, she can summon just a sword from them. It also helps that she is something of a Blacksmith and has ties to both sides." How much did Malice even know?

"Of course, that's only how I saw it. I mean, Yuki might have a different method than... nevermind.

Bashiro was quietly sobbing over Yukino forcibly signing him up for the tournament. Now, the thug was free to go, and all he wanted to do was jump in a lake. Then the general turned to her younger brother dragging her other brother over. Fantastic, more to do. Raising an inquisitive brow, Seifer mentioned training for cards... and weapon summoning. Okay, one of those was more difficult than the other. Darren gave his estimate based on either what he knew or what he knew as Malice. Folding her arms, the Chosen Sword finally got a chance to speak.

"You're not too far off, Darren." She began. "I have inherited powers of a legendary blacksmith known as Blaster Meister. I can duplicate a unit's weapons and armor, allowing me to essentially copy cards. I can make some other things, but they're mostly out of my power for some reason..." Yukino explained partially of her powers as the Meister, then remembered a very depressing memory that led to a lot of crying over being a failure when she couldn't even make a teacup. Shaking her head a little to wash it out, she continued: "As Exculpate the Blaster - a vanguard unit - I can call those weapons to reality by will. I can also equip Ahmes' and Yunos' armor, which takes more power to do. ... In case it wasn't obvious, it's not exactly... something I know how to teach."

Being vanguard is suffering. And complicated. Exculpate's eyes flashed red again while nervously sweating over how confusing her powers sounded in hindsight. The reality of it was that she still barely understood the ability to magically forge to this day. Not only that, the woman didn't even really know who Blaster Meister was. All she had was Queen Yukino's "sword", the card that fueled Stride. Biting her lip, the one on the verge of enlightenment felt ignorant.

"I could... try making a weapon for you and see how to connect it to you? So you can summon it."

The brunette tried to take it all in. What Darren had said, and Yukino's explanation. Cupping his chin and shutting his eyes, the male thought... head almost swimming with how insane it all sounded. She was right to sweat nervously, as her powers were very confusing to understand. Then again there was quite a bit that didn't mate sense going on lately. Though when she said she couldn't teach it, or didn't know how... there was a slight bit of disappointment that showed on his face. Though he wouldn't give up, and when she offered to try and make him something he seemed... excited?

"Only if it's not to much trouble. ...I wouldn't mind standing at everyone's side instead of behind them. I don't have the ability to summon anything other than the units, and while that should be enough... ...I don't want them to do all the fighting for me. ...They're just as much my friends as you all are." there was more to it, but right now that reason should be enough. ...Right?

Darren crossed his arms, nodding at the explanation. It seemed like there were things about her power even she did not know. Darren didn't know much about her specific methods either so there wasn't much to add to that. "I have a feeling you can make whatever you can focus on," Darren said to her lightly. "That said, you focus way more on attacking things than anything else, so weapons like Swords, especially the Blaster weapons you've had in your mind for years would be pretty easy. Armor you're meant to wear or something that isn't meant for fighting would probably be a lot harder and take more energy. At least I think that's how it would work."

In truth, Darren felt like he could do something like that. In his mind, he manifested Daikaiser's weapons and fought with them, and Malice manifested units like it was nothing. Could it really be that different considering those manifested units even carried Malice around and flew him to different places. That wasn't really the point, though.

"I'm guessing you use a lot of energy summoning whole units so you'd rather just use a Sword and learn how to fight with it on your own," he said to Seifer, turning to him. "Makes enough sense if that's what it is. Making a blade would probably be easier than making a unit and having him attack. Either way, you would probably be better able to do it if you connected with the unit related to the weapon." Why did Darren know all of this? He wasn't the smart one.

"I can tell you from experience trying to balance a blade and a unit is extremely difficult. Summoning a unit takes a lot as Darren estimates, so a weapon fits naturally and expends the least amount of power", Yukino responded after the boys talked. Creating and wearing armor beyond the blasters would actually need to be her next task in the future. While she had actually succeeded in recreating Monarch Alfred's Armor of the Genuine King... that was back when she was at her prime - at full power. The soon enlightened warrior was not at her peak anymore, so this task becomes much harder. ... Thinking on it, aerial mobility has proven a constant problem for her, and Alfred XIV does have a jetpack...

A future note: ask why his majesty has a jetpack.

"... The problem is I've not actually attempted to make an entirely new blade. I would barely even know where to begin. I had trouble with the Reality Bangles, and I had to buy a large number of them just to have bases to start on." the Meister spoke of the challenge it would be to simply forge a new creation. She is inexperienced as a blacksmith that works from scratch, considering all her weapons are duplicates. The actual Meister likely didn't have this problem, as they made the Blaster weapons themselves... Tucking away thoughts of inferiority, the snow woman suggested: "It may be easier for me to replicate a weapon from one of your units. Not only will it take less time, but the connection will be much simpler to form due to your already holding bonds to your units."

Exculpate needed to make her job easier, as they don't exactly have the greatest leisure of time with the tournament and a Reaper attack at any given moment for her to just start crafting from scratch. Something to do in the future, maybe. For now, best to settle Seifer's desire with a blade already well designed, and one he could touch simply from a connection with his clan. She wanted to think she was clever, not lazy.

It was lazy, but to be honest... It made the most sense. And he wasn't asking her to forge something wholly unique to him. Not entirely. He figured it'd be easier just to make a copy of something already existing. Reaching into his pocket, he produced two cards... Mordred Phantom, and Blaster Dark "Abyss". "Just when you have time. Also, I still don't have a single idea on how any of this works. ...So if you need to borrow either of these to make it a bit easier, feel free." he gave a smile. He knew he was asking quite a lot of her, after offering to bear some of the pain... But, in his mind he felt he needed to be able to stand at everyone's side first.

"If it's easier on you, I'd rather take that route than make something entirely new. I'm not trying to overload you." this time a frown. He felt bad asking, obviously.

"Worry not. Once I actually get a free moment in my schedule, I can try something unique instead. It's good experience for me to have in the first place", the woman told her younger brother. A challenge for her in the future - make weapons of her own. In fact, if she had the craftsmanship of the Meister, she could advance the Sanctuary's armaments by even forging new Blaster weapons. Excellent was this plan, and even better, Seifer held up the tools. "Hold Mordred, I can make the weapon now." Yukino ordered and informed, her bladed pupils coming forth. She tapped at the Illusionary Revenger's card, then took a few steps back as the magical glowing outline of the knight's sword appeared before them all. Hands flowed fluidly and with grace, undulating motions while tracing the shining points of the sword, as if connecting dots. With this, a flash of light. The solid blade came into existence with the Chosen Sword taking it in hand, letting it's heavier front slam into the earth from its weight.

"Try holding this", the Meister offered the sword to her brother as a test. Honestly, she didn't expect much seeing as it was already heavy for her as it is, and she was trained to hold giant greatswords like this one and Brutus'.

He watched in awe as she worked. Even if didn't take that long to perform, when the blade touched the earth, the metallic clang echoing... Something about it stirred a type of happiness in him that wasn't normal. Taking the hilt of the blade from her hand, he tried lifting it... And struggled for a moment. It almost didn't seem like he could even lift it at first, and then... up off the ground it went, holding it parallel to his body.

His hand visibly shook from the weight of the sword, well I should say hands... He had to hold it up with both of them, as the monstrous blade was as long as he is. That being said, he also wasn't familiar on how to use weapons like this, so that easily contributed. Making sure nothing and no one was in the way however, Seifer let the blade return to the earth. It was definitely heavy. It'd take some time to learn how to use... But Seifer had a massive grin on his face, almost like a kid with a new toy.

"It's... definitely something." that wasn't disappointment. He was just trying to adjust to actually having something in his grasp. "It's heavy, and as long as I am. Seems almost unwieldy. And yet, there's something... ...I can feel something flowing into me while I hold this. ...Is that what it feels like to use Blaster Dark and Blaster Blade?" an innocent question that started with a great fan fic opening. Please no.

"... That's going to take some training, I see", Yukino stated, having Mordred's blade disappear by her will. The connection could come later, as it would be meaningless if he can't even hold the thing. Crossing her arms again, the general seemed a little happy at the sight of her brother looking like a child who just got a... ridiculously expensive and large toy from his mother. This act made her feel good and motivated her for that more unique sword in the future. "Swords are naturally heavy, so I'll train you to be able to pull some weight at some point. Starting with greatswords probably isn't my smartest idea, so I'll start you with simple katanas and such."

Oh boy, he gets to be edgy.

"I'm come to you with details on training in the future. For now, I need to get to work and interrogate a... rather bothersome bluenette in our jail cells."

Her day is about to go from okay to worse.

When the blade disappeared he pouted for a moment, but only a moment. Actually he seemed younger than he normally did... Like an actual younger brother. But he was still obviously very happy. Nodding with a grand smile on his face at the subject of training with Yukino, he'd let her go do her thing. He had an idea about it though... "If you're talking about that Nightmare Doll player... Suffering seems to make her go..." what was the word... "Horny?" Where did he learn this kind of language? "At least from what it looked like when I fought her." that was literally, the only advice he could think to give her. He wasn't like her, but maybe with a bit of guidance he could learn to be a bit... better about himself. Oh no, big sister is going to have a really bad influence on her brother... Like she hasn't already. Oh well!