Umano Underground Slums

Darren saw the battle between Aoi and Jellal. He smiled at the sight. They both gave one another a good challenge. Seeing Aoi use Maelstrom was surprising. She used that unit before, and he had heard Jellal used Aqua Force as well. That was probably why Aoi was so concerned for him. It made sense, at least.

As the battle came to an end, Jellal didn't win, but he seemed to have recovered his spirit. He nodded his head and walked up to Aoi and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Guess you finally accepted that part of your past," he said to her. "And an old friend came back, too. I'd love that Cardfight but you're probably tired out from a fight like that." Seeing that display made him want to battle her all the more. Her Maelstrom was like his Daiyusha, Vanguards of their respected clans that fell into the Void, disappeared, and returned with new power.

Observing the battle between Aoi and Jellal, Seifer had eventually opened his blind eye more out of forgetting to keep it closed than anything else. As the battle reached it's conclusion Seifer, who as of yet had no idea about the rebirth of the Seeds, found himself wondering about the Maelstrom Reverse he had seen. From memory, during the Reverse war he'd never seen the unit until... Oh. Glancing in Aoi's direction, he remembered seeing Cyan once or twice... Maelstrom Reverse showing up. However... He held no ill will. How could he, given he himself was on the opposite side more than once? Besides, the past didn't matter much on the now. He trusted Aoi, as someone who had pulled him from his own abyss.

Pulling himself from the wall, the brunette made his way inside the compound, looking for something to cover his eye with. A basic black eye patch was all he found, though that was all he needed. Pulling it on over his right eye, it felt weird... almost unnatural. But he'd deal with it for now. Returning to the gathering area, Seifer placed a hand on his hip, noting the resistance Soldiers who had left. What were they doing? "I've been rather... Out of it for a bit after Tokyo Tower. Does anyone wanna fill me in as to what's going on?" he posed the question to Aoi, Darren, and Jellal. Hopefully they'd recognize him, even with the eye patch.

The fight between Aoi and her friend was a sight to behold. Her deck was slightly different than the last time he had the honor to fight her, but it was still the powerful Aqua Force clan. "A little fight will help me forget this foot fetish thing these guys got stuck in my head..." He thought. "Oh, Aqua Force versus Shadow Paladin!" He said upon noticing the first unit of her opponent deck. "I don't know why, but this is very fitting for some reason".

The entertainment was so good and the final turns of the fight so breathtaking that Carlos didn't notice the monitors at first. In the strange transmission shown by them were the figures of the Drone known as Solis and... The ex-boss gone bad. "What the-! How did they...!?" He exclaimed, while signaling the sleeping Okuri to look at the nearest monitor. "Sorry to wake you up, but you need to see this". The enemy summoned them, the 'warriors who defy the end', to what Solis described as the start of the next battlefield - The Amusement Park. "Could it be... The same park?" Thought the young man, recalling his first meeting with the Agent of Time Chronos at an amusement park. "Are they really going to tarnish a place so special to me?". His anger, this time directed at the Reapers instead to the Drones making the call, was asking to be unleashed on some evil squids.

Seeing some Resistance soldiers running towards the exit, Carlos decided it was best to go with them. "They must be going to that park. Let's follow them, Okuri" He told his friend. "Hey everybody! The duty is calling!" He then shouted so that everyone on site could go to the place in the same time. He was, of course, tired of being always late. "I know I'm not the one in charge, but we need to get going in order to prevent further damage! To the park!". On his way, he found an old friend - Seifer. This time, he was wearing an awesome eyepatch to convey his awesomeness, or that's what he thought. The most likely reason was that he was seriously injured in that eye. "Seifer! Long time no see!" He shouted. "You just missed the most awesome cardfight you could've ever seen. Oh, and the enemy is finally inviting us to dance. Apparently, they want us to duke it out in an amusement park and I think we should need some extra hands. Wanna join?".

Fubuki arrived in the slums, far later than most others had.  Searching for Bashiro's eyepatch had taken quite some time.  She looked around, searching for Aoi.  When she saw her, Fubuki approached and was about to talk to her when she saw...  Seifer.  With an eyepatch.  The eye under Fubuki's own twitched a bit, slightly bothered by this and blissfully unaware that he had done it for medical reasons while Fubuki had done it to...  Keep the memory of her would-be teacher alive.  This decision regarding reason was reached during the time it took Fubuki to walk to the resistance HQ.  

She was also a little bit out of the loop on what was happening, having been at the tower during the announcement.  Fubuki chose to simply keep quiet and stood by Aoi, also having missed the fight she had just had with Jellal. The girl looked around, rather confused, at the people leaving the area.

"What's going on?" Fubuki asked Aoi, hoping the confusion would be cleared up. A few people from the group that had just left were on their way to inform Cero of what was going on, feeling his help would be an absolute necessity in this battle. They had stayed with the Resistance only to serve as relayers of information to the Kaiser and now was the time for that job to be fulfilled.

"Oh, hey Fubuki! Where have you been?!" Aoi noticed and greeted her friend as if they hadn't seen each other in ages, despite seeing each other at Tokyo Tower not too long ago. Actually, maybe save the pleasantries for later. The sun was coming up as the dawn of the war between humanity and humanity for different endings. Aoi thought she and the others should likely get to work too. However, the gumball noticed Carlos on his way to depart and Darren asked her for a fight. Befor she could even speak to these two, several soldiers marched toward those famously named warriors.

"Hey, you guys! We have a plan!" A nameless general spoke, cocking his very much real and not Cray-related at all assault rifle. This actually had Aoi jump, as she didn't even absorb the fact that those who couldn't summon units and even some who could were using real firearms.

"Eep!"

"Listen! The ex-commander and that Solis individual are way too strong. Together, we're completely likely to be killed within minutes! But our men who just left are working on a countermeasure! You guys with your names like Commander Haruka, or the Beacon of Light Noel, and others are an inspiration to us. You all keep fighting. We just follow orders, but we weren't able to see a happy ending for a long time. Now? Even with Commander Espoir in the hands of the enemy, we believe in chance and luck if nothing else. So we're going to do what we can! Reaper Drones have been sighted at the Amusement Park already, so you guys get ready for this large-scale brawl too! We won't let you down!"

The soldiers all saluted, as did those who weren't even informed of this "plan" nearby.

Humanity is... truly trying. They're climbing up the harsh mountain range. They're not as quick or balanced as the stronger heroes... but they're still climbing all the same.

"I see everyone is gathering together. Their wills and determination, they're all like mine." Jellal said to himself silent as he looked at his new cards, knowing full well he hasn't been able to test them. But that's okay, this is nothing new to him at all, charging into battle with whatever was in his hand, amnesia or not. "Heh.. how silly was it for me to give up and over a loss at that." He smirked just slightly before looking up at everyone with a ready face.

"My Shadows and I, we're coming along too, to fight and see this through!"

Neo started running back to HQ because he sensed something was going to happen. He finally made it after what seemed like running a 5k marathon and saw that everyone started to gather. He heard that Drones were spotted at the Amusement Park. Neo then thought:

"The Amusement Park.. thats one of the places me and Tsubasa had our best times together. Maybe he will be there"

Neo then stepped up to Aoi and the soliders.

"Im here now Aoi! And ready to help out in battle"

Okuri stirred however reluctantly upon Carlos' urging. He awoke to a sight he wish he hadn't seen. It was the sun god's face on every screen in the base. A direct challenge to them to battle on the coming day. And then those words again. That he wished to save humanity by ending their existence. With that the spirit became alert and not just alert but angry.

The others began preparing to move out and Okuri knew what he had to do. He had to defeat this man Solis. He would never be able to get the words out of his mind otherwise. "Jessie was saved. Bashiro was saved." They were infectious lies and the only remedy was the sun god's death. Okuri took to his feet, his brief nap having given him some energy to work with. His chest still hurt but he could breathe and move without crippling pain. He took off at a light trot only occasionally wincing as he caught up to Carlos.

"Seems we're quite united." he commented to his friend as he saw the devotion of the resistance coming together. In what was perhaps their last battle humanity was displaying the fiercest spirit. They never ceased to amaze.

Darren nodded his head at the sound of a plan. He smiled lightly as he started to walk away. It's true that if they are all grouped together, they'd be more than we can handle. If you have a plan, I believe in you guys." He was happy to see the humans he was fighting to protect still had spirit. It meant that this battle was worth fighting.

With new resolve, Darren pointed to an empty area as a large car appeared with a number on it. "Daibattle, let's go!" he said as he jumped up from where he was and then to the driver's seat. Of course he couldn't drive, but Daibattle was a Dimensional Robo. It could do all the driving needed. "I'll go there first. Whatever you're planning, I'm the best one to buy you time!" Before anyone could say otherwise, he sped off to the amusement park.

Sighing after hearing that yet again another battle was starting, he turned his attention to Carlos blinking for a moment before smiling. "I saw the fight from nearby, though I needed to get this for my eye." he motioned to the eye patch. "I got pretty hurt in the last fight against the Reapers, ended up blind in this eye. As for hands, yeah I'll help out. C'mon let's go before he get's himself killed though..." Seifer noted Darren running ahead of the group. "You're not invincible you mong, wait up!" he called after the moron, chasing after him. He didn't even notice Fubuki's look.

Aoi was quickly alarmed by the summoning of Daibattle, and called out to Darren. "Wait! No! If Nemesis and Solis together can kill us all in minutes, then you-" Aaaaaand he's gone. "Ugh... Why is he always so eager to go ahead of everyone?!" The gumball whined, folding her arms and complaining. Maelstrom got a whiff of hypocrisy considering her own hyperactive tendencies, but she did always appear in battle with Bashiro. The Tear Dragon noted that, at the very least, his two vanguards were brimming with vigor. A sense of pride washed over him, seeing the two who represented him so... heated. Filled with spirit.

"Oh, hey Neo! We're about to go mano-a-mano with all the Drones! ... And possibly not get killed!"

Possibly.

"Dont worry Aoi, I wont let anyone else get hurt or die! I swear it to you. And dont worry about Darren. Im going to go chase after him and I promise no one will die!"

And before Neo could even let Aoi respond, he chased after Darren and Seifer to the park!

"What's up with everyone running from me before I can reply?!" Aoi shouted, then departed herself, sighing over these dumb boys.

"And possibly not get killed."

"Don't go talking like that, Aoi." He said turning and appearing beside her. "We're all definitely coming back after this fight."

"This feeling..." Jellal noticed an odd atmosphere when standing near the Blue Storm girl. He wasn't sure how he could explain it but... the thought was lost when Jellal turned back around to notice Neo. Haven't seen his face in a minute. Before he could speak to him though, Blaster Dark had intervened.

"So you noticed, well not that you wouldn't if you weren't standing beside them." Hm? What did the dark knight mean by this? "At any rate, you should probably get going. Don't worry about being adjusted to your new deck, it should be fine as is and should respond to you rather well, especially with what you're up against." Jellal nodded and dashed off behind Aoi.

While everyone else attended to Yukino to make sure she was alright, Neo decided to go back to HQ. He felt it was best to go get his injuries treated and Yukino didn't need everyone with her right away, although Neo wished nothing but the best and hoped more then anyone that she was ok.

Meanwhile back at HQ, Neo was holding his left arm which was still in severe pain and needed treatment and what was left of his portable fight table with his clothes all beat up. He first thing he did was go to the infirmary to get his arm checked out.

"Oh dear! What happened to you Neo?! Are you ok?! One of the Doctors said in a panic.

"It was uh... just the usual fighting. Can you check out my arm please?" Neo asked the Doctor

"Of course. Come this way!"

Neo followed the Doctor to the back room and after he was examined, the Doctor put his left arm into a sling so his arm can heal in the meantime.

"So how long do I have to keep this sling on Doc?"

"For as long as you can if possible. I know you and the Resistance still have a long fight ahead of you guys but the longer you keep it on, the more it will heal"

"Alright. Thanks Doc"

Not the type of news Neo wanted to hear but he was going to have to deal with this Arm Sling for a little while. In the meantime he walked to his room in HQ and changed into some new clothes: A white jacket with a black shirt underneath it, black jeans and red sneakers. Neo then sat down to gather his thoughts.

"Now that Yukino has been saved by everyone. Everyone can take a bit of a breather to gather themselves. Those fights weren't just any run of the mill cardfights.. These fights are dangerous and not safe for any of us. I just hope we can put an end to this war. But something is still bothersome, Who was that person that saved me when I was passed out and my units were deleted. It had to have been my Dad.. It couldn't have been anyone else.. was this a sign that I am close to finding out what happened.. Mom.. Dad..Well no matter who it was if I ever meet them in the future I owe them my thanks."

Meanwhile Neo reached for his back pocket taking his Kaiser deck and looking at Vermillion, THE BLOOD, and Blitzkreig.

"Thank you my Vanguards, without you guys I dont know where I would be right now. I owe you my thanks as well" Neo said

"You do not owe us any thanks. We know that you would do the same for us, which is what makes our passionate bond strong" Blitzkreig said

Neo then got up from his room and walked back to the Infirmary and saw that Haruto was still resting in his hosiptal bed. One thing Neo noticed that out of all the drones, reapers and everything.. Tsubasa didn't show his face this time around.. He probably had something planned for later on. Neo knew that down the line he would have to face him.. to pay him back. Tsubasa was the one who sent Neo free from the Reverse and now it was Neo's turn to save his best friend from this Darkness he is trapped in. Then while sitting there, Neo put his head down and fell asleep, finally being able to rest after recent events. He just hoped that Haruto was ok mentally and wasnt going to go and attack the innocent again out of rage.

Aoi had been quickly patched up and tended to carefully while the Resistance helped move he rback to HQ with Fubuki and Jellal as well, hopefully. The gash in her side still burned like nothing she had ever felt before, comparable to only the deep emotion scars in her heart, only more physical. Ugh... the ex-commander was strong... It's over now, thankfully, and humanity can breathe some. "Thanks, but I can move by myself, I promise!" The gumball assured those escorting her, being met with worry and concern anyway, of course. Though, Aoi showed a silly display of not just walking around, but even hopping and skipping for emphasis... bringing herself more pain with the exaggerated movement aggravating her wound. "Tchhh... ow!" She cried childishly, and still refused to lie down. Fine, let her have her way. She's near the infirmary if something goes wrong anyway, so they allowed her her bravado.

The air of headquarters was far different than before, filled with pained grins, gritting teeth, cocky chuckles through searing agony. Everyone's mood was lifting, despite their injuries.

At Carlos' request the soldiers of the resistance had aided in Okuri's return to HQ. Several of them who had seen the creature around the base but did not know it battled or talked were hesitant at first to approach him but as he had fought Solis for them they trusted him well enough. Okuri had refused to be moved until the battle was over and from his remote location at the amusement park he felt when the surges of darkness that were Cero and Nemesis dissipated. Convinced of their victory he passed out on the spot and was transported by the soldiers back to the base. But he was unaware of Carlos' victory against Cero or the current status of Nemesis.

The unconscious spirit was escorted to the infirmary back in the slums. The entourage passed by Aoi as they made their way through and some of the soldiers greeted her as they carried the large canine inside. The doctors remembered the creature brought before them and treating his injured leg before. After cleaning him up again, this time with much less resistance, they looked him over and were astounded to find the injuries to his chest he'd never had examined. There'd been some serious trauma there and yet as he slept it seemed to be healing rather quickly. Okuri remained peacefully asleep through all the procedures. A nap well earned to be certain. Though beaten down the Resistance had a stronger sense of hope about them that even seemed to be reflected in the sight of an enormous animal sleeping in the infirmary.

Xat walked into the hidout and smiled at seeing the familar places. SHe continued to wounder the hidout when she saw the medic building and went inside. She walked downt he hallway and stop when she came to an open door and glaced inside where she saw Haruto in the bed, she walked into the room and over to him and smiled softly. "Hey Haruto long time huh? How have you been?" She asked himt alking to him while he was asleep.

Both Noel and Mirai made it back to HQ. They crossed paths, only looked at each other and as if through mental speaking, they said all they needed to say and went their separate ways. Being the same person, maybe their thoughts linked and can save the need of talking and say what they need to say through a personal form of telepathy. Regardless of what it is, being Noel, they both knew they would be just fine from here on out. Knowing what could of become of her future, this timeline's Noel wants to do everything in her power and title as beacon of light to prevent the tragedy that Mirai's time went through. Noel made her way to the computer room again. People hardly use it so it was more of a safe haven for her and helped avoid people go all over her due to being one of humanity's shining beacons. She sat on one of the comfortable computer chairs and took a deep breath. A moment to rest... I can't wait for all of this to be over... the girl relaxed as the exhaustion from the battle against the Reaper caught up and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, fully accepting her fate of disappearing without despair, Mirai also wants to use her remaining time to help the Resistance and bring closure to this hell. Many of the lower ranked soldiers looked at her with distrust. It was her first time back at HQ after being taken and converted as one of Harbinger's pawns. They must of heard of the things she has done and is labeled as a traitor still. However, none of them has the courage to speak up about it and this was Mirai's chance to show them that she can be trustworthy again. It would take time to do so but actions would definitely speed up that process than with words. The Seed went to the infirmary and see what she can do to help the wounded. That was when she bumped into Aoi, attempting to walk while in pain. "I'm glad you are alright.... nothing seems to bring you down, I'm a little jealous.." Mirai said as she approached the gumball with a light smile.

Lua's body was seated in an infirmary bed...that also happened to be in a cell.

Despite her vitals and readings indicating she was actually stable and healthy, with no sign of possible reaper infection, it was hard to trust someone the Resistance simply knew nothing about. She was guaranteed care, but until they got someone at the top, or at least higher up, to investigate her, the chances of her being able to leave the cell were slim, at best, without accompaniment. Even just to get food.

Lua sighed, staring at the ceiling. Seifer had done it. He had freed her from her bondage to those freaks. At the very least, she could handle being imprisoned, at least until she got cleared. It's not like she wanted to go out and fight by his side---

She held a hand to her forehead. Shit, she actually kind of wanted to. Not a good look for someone who had told him that she would help him see the love of his life again.

After leaving the mansion, Seifer wandered aimlessly, somehow ending up... here? Surprise, surprise. In any case, the brunette took a stroll around Umano, seeing many familiar faces and allies. So this is where most of them went after fighting Yukino. Maybe that was to be expected, since this was their base, another place of rest. For him it wasn't the same. For him, this place meant business. Asking about the status of the Resistance members that were accounted for he was glad to learn most of them were okay, including Aoi. She'd been hurt pretty bad, and while his help wasn't that great, he was just glad that she was alright. Probably best to leave her alone for now though, and Jellal was probably not that far off. With that done, there were a few more things to handle but at the moment he decided it best to check up on Lua if she'd been brought here. Experience said she'd of ended up in a cell afterwards, which made sense but the idea was just... unnecessary.

Finding one of the Medics he'd notified of the blonde's place on the battlefield, he requested where she was put for now, and thanking the Medic for the information Seifer made his way to the cells. There weren't that many active, considering they had all of one prisoner so it was easy to find which one had Lua in it. Stopping just outside, he rapped on the door twice. "How are you feeling?"

"Gotta stay positive!" The peppy gumball kept her brave face on as she was met with Mirai, a fellow Seed... and probably the last of those reincarnated to her knowledge. Aoi still stood in her frozen world - the chilly graveyard that kept despair and sorrow close by, but remaining bright and chipper was a test to see which would hold out like this war: hope versus despair. Though, she winced a little in pain from Mirai bumping into her, feeling her wounded side burn. Christ, Aoi made a mental note to either heighten her senses and dodge faster, or get her own weapon to block insane slashes like this one. "Nyohoho..." She gave a cute, arrogant laugh to draw away from the fact that she was in pain. "I'm glad to see you made up your mind though, Mirai!" The China girl noted her joy at seeing Mirai change sides for the better.

After being taken to the Resistance HQ by the medics, Fubuki just laid on a bed in the infirmary for a while. Not particularly long though, she was already starting to regain her strength by the time Nemesis had been "beaten." After a few minutes, she dragged herself up, though she still felt a bit shaky.

Fubuki walked out of the infirmary and was met with a sight that could only make her facepalm: Aoi being absurdly energetic despite having just almost died. She was already talking to someone else but Fubuki figured Aoi would like to know she was alright, and so she walked towards the pair of, unbeknownst to her, reincarnated seeds.

"Hello," she said when she reached them, nodding to Mirai. Then Fubuki shifted her concentration to Aoi, "Are you sure you should be up and about?" A concerned hand was placed on Aoi's shoulder. "With a wound like that..." Fubuki stopped herself. This was Aoi she was talking to. Trying to convince her to not be a ball of infinite energy would be like trying to kill an immortal. It just doesn't happen. "Never mind... But how are you feeling?"

Xat walked out of the room that haruto was in and began to wonder again and came to the entrance to the infermary and saw everyone there and a hyper Aoi. Xat was nerveos to go over to them after she had left them on the eve of battle.
"Go on and go to them after all I don't think they will judge you." Shirayuki told her as Xat's ears layed on her head before she took a breath and began to walk over to them. "It's been a while how are you feeling Aoi?" She asked her.

Lua stretched a little as her heart skipped a beat for a moment. Her savior was visiting her, she had a right to be ecstatic. But when reality settled in for a moment, she simply turned on her side towards Seifer.

"I'm...alright, I think. Just tired. Really, really tired. Probably 'cause they're keeping me in bed this whole time, confined like I'm still an animal, or could be an animal?" She gave a small chuckle. "I don't blame 'em, considering how things have been..."

Lua bit her lip. "So...you guys won, then? How's your, uh, commander? Last I knew of her, she was more or less a tin can with nuclear weapons."