"Cardfight in Wonderland" - Zoo Branch

Hikari's hot-blooded energy dissipated for just a minute when she was hit by a complete, unexpected surprise attack. The tiger suddenly transformed into a happy dog, apparently excited to see his friend, the boy who had shown up just after Rin and her. Although she was confused, Hikari couldn't help but smile watching the scene play out. It was just too cute. When the tiger-dog had finished licking his friend to death and returned, Hikari regained her composure, and once again, her fiery spirit reignited. Now it was time for their fight to begin. For real this time. Surely.

The fight got off to a good start. The tiger made the first move, and instantly began playing aggressively on her. Just as you would expect from a tiger. He quickly filled up his front rear guard circles and began an all-out assault on her. Hikari couldn't afford to lose any of the cards in her hand, so she let every last attack pass, quickly zooming from 0 to 3 damage in the blink of an eye. Hikari didn't care. She knew those counterblasts would come in handy. Although she had a lackluster turn one, her turn two proved to be much more productive. Riding Starlight Hedgehog was less than ideal, since it was too weak to hit the Vanguard, and it's skill currently had no target, but it was necessary for her to call Sazanda and White Hank to her rear-guard circles. With three Grade 2s up front, she began her own assault. Starlight Hedgehog cleared the tiger's rear-guard, while her rear-guard's tried to poke the tiger for damage, or at least reduce his hand size.

The tiger had been forced back into a bad situation. He rode his grade 3, but all he could do was destroy Sazanda, and then it was back to Hikari. As it turned out, her third turn would also prove to be her last. Riding Victor, and then immediately using Arasheed to Stride Meteokaiser, Vic-ten, her final unyielding assault began. She called another Sazanda to replace the one that had fallen, and had a Final Wrench support it from behind. Sazanda attacked, but it was blocked. White Hank attacked, restanding Sazanda, and giving it a total ridiculous power increase of +14000. The behemoth that was Sazanda attacked again, followed by Vic-ten himself. With Victor's hearbeat, Sazanda managed to stand a second time, gaining yet another +14000 power increase, totaling in at a whopping 37000 power. With no way to protect against the attack, the tiger took the attack full force. Hikari's drive check revealed only a single critical, but that was enough to bring him up to 5 damage. Now, the tiger was facing down two standing rear-guards, one with 37000 power, and a hand unable to block it all. The next attack ended it.

"Yeah!" Hikari cheered, pumping her fist into the air, "I did it! I won!" She turned to the tiger and bowed her head, "You truly are a worthy foe, Tiger-san" she said, secretly hoping that all the wild, dangerous animals wouldn't try to eat her for defeating their friend. Collecting her gold card, she turned around and run up to Rin, grabbing her hands in excitement, "Rin, did you see that! I did it, I won!" she cheered, practically bouncing with excitement, "Now it's your chance! Show him what you've got!"

Seth stood at the top of one of the hills, after walking up a series of them. The boy made a full three-sixty around him, hoping to catch anyone who looked to be hiding a large prize on them, however.

"This is really annoying. Either the hills have eyes or I have really awful luck." He said. The frosty cardfight was visibly upset at his inability to find anyone, turning his glare to the top of the hill. He full sprinted upwards.

"If I find someone, they'll actually regret making me wait so long."

It seemed like a stampede of wild zoo animals just poured itself into the preserve to meet with the actual wild animals. Mizumi was skipping as fast she could through the crowd but Tobi had been totally crushed pretty early on, nearly losing an arm in the process. After standing up and trudging along, they split up on their separate ways into the event grounds.

Within a short span of time, Mizumi had gotten through a decent set of games, defeating a couple of the Zoo Employees in good time, not without some hassle getting through the rainforest area. She got lost a couple of times, tripping over branches and the like. Megacolony proved little match due to the strength of her ace Stride monster, and Scharrot kept landing on the Vanguard circle.

"I activate Gilles de Rais skill! He gains an additional 10000 Power, and a Critical!"

The Zoo employee chuckled a bit, eyeing his cards. Within it were two PGs, a grade 3, and a couple of critical triggers. It wasn't until Mizumi announced the rest of the effect...

"And, all of your Grade 1 or greater cards cannot be called to the Guardian Circle!"

The employee's face darkened into an immediate grimace, suddenly feeling the heat rise into his body. His damage zone was already at four, so there was little hope of recovery now! Mizumi's checks after were meaningless as she dealt the finishing two damage with no heals in site. The man handed over the card, congratulating her on the final play she made. Utilizing her Vanguard as the main tool for victory over a rear-guard control deck made her success that more fulfilling.

Tobi on the other hand was struggling on all ends of the desert area. First, it was too hot. Way too hot! The sand had gotten into his socks and his shins and cheeks were all scratchy now. His hoodie was tied loosely around his waist and the black spandex shirt he usually wore was somewhat roll at the sleeves to keep the sweat from sticking too closely to his chest, though it seemed no matter what he did it was impossible.

"This is so stupid... Why did I drag myself here? It's so hot! Why is there no AC?!"

He ruffled his hands through his hair, frustrated as he trekked farther into the biome with not much in sight.

"Who even designed this goddamned place—?"

He finally caught sight of people and a.... giant panda? He narrowed his eyes, interrupting himself and raising a brow with a somewhat bewildered face. He honestly had no idea how someone could wear that giant suit in this heat? Were they okay? Were they going to die in there? Tobi was honestly more worried for them as a human being than an actual target to take down. He approached the group slowly, seeing what seemed to be two others in the presence of this gigantic plush bear. He stood maybe twenty or so feet away, bent on his knees catching his breath and taking a sip from his waterskin he brought on his waist. Good thing, too, or he'd be done for.

The stage was set, the rules were in place, the concert had finished and the event at the Zoo Nation Branch had begun! Neo took out his FICA an stared at it for a good minute and then started daydreaming

"Its time to start the Zoo Branch event in style! Lets take the whole thing!" He said with energy.

Neo then took out his map and drew up his plan of action. He thought it would be best to start out in the desert area and then work his way around the map. He saw the desert as the toughest area so he knew it would be best to tackle that area first.

"I see you have planned how to go about this quest" Blitzkrieg said

"I feel that its the best way for us to win the event. Now all I have to do is play my cards right and fight using what I have learned" Neo replied

"If you don't mind master, I would like to lead the charge in this event" Altmile said

Neo was shocked that Altmile wanted to fight in the first G quest event. He had planned to use his Narukami deck but then realized this was his chance to show everyone his new powers.

"If you want to fight then I don't see why not! Let show everyone what your capable of!" Neo said

After walking for what seemed like forever, Neo and company finally made it to the desert. Now all he had to do is to find some people to fight!

As the event continued its scorching hot action across four lands while others hunted for the riddler of the meadows, many were finally accepting that going to the hills was a mistake. Killer Queen resided there, and only the strongest walked out with gold cards while others terrified of her... Or some crazy masochists who are attracted to her. Dominatrix is a hell of a fetish, and it didn't help she was wearing a skintight bodysuit for a costume... Alas, the allure of her beauty was replaced with dread as she even nearly ran out most of the staff members. Some had to stay to give out zone cards at least... But Chrisaline wasn't checking, and certainly didn't for Sakuya. "Why yes, I am the gold card holder." She spoke with an enticing tone, the lust for carnage seeping from her lips as the obviously expected fight went underway with the Longhorn Hunters behaving themselves, barely able to contain their desire to prey upon the shrine maiden. Things were clearly going terribly for the holy lass, as the Tsukuyomi chain fell apart on top of hitting a very awkward grade three, as "Izanami" did not have "Tsukuyomi" in her name. To make matters a million times worse, Chris was playing a strong tempo game along with seeing draw and heal triggers.

Had she been able to really let loose, she would've shown less remorse to the "little mouse" with her powers. Unfortunately, even though this all was just at the edge of the boundary, she couldn't make the branch look bad...

That sure didn't stop the witch from locking down her opponent with numerous bombs and traps. Having a Break Ride meant putting her to four was death, the Generation Break 2: Stun Beetle had a terrifying skill that was instant death if it touched the vanguard, having to use hand to make up for strong stuns too meant death. The green haired minx continued to laugh as nothing but the metaphorical black void surrounded Oracle Think Tank. Had Sakuya not bricked, she would've stood a better chance... But would she be able to deal with triple threat of Cyclomatus, Darkface, and Stun Beetle? They wouldn't be finding out today as the moth girl obtained victory.

"Huhuhu~" A giggle, tilting her head ever so sweetly as one of the Longhorn Hunters had finally lost its patience, charging for Sakuya and stopping right in front of the blonde to roar viciously in her face. It lifted its arm to attack, but as it swung down... it vanished with a snap of its summoner's fingers. "How unfortunate."

Chrisaline Egao is a deviant woman.

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Meanwhile, a pudding-addicted panda revealed her non-Zoo clan: Oracle Think Tank, in her fight against Sieg. The girl inside was rather deadpan with an oddly cute charm because of her nonchalant personality, accusing Sieg of cheating or being overpowered several times over the course of the game. It was all in jest, but the way the panda said it all made it feel... real. It didn't help Sieg seemed like a little bit of an impressionable mind, so it wasn't helping her feel relaxed. Still... they had a fun game with the opponent using Nova Grappler - Blaus in particular with succeeding the Ride Chain and having a great grade two turn. However, the dessert loving lass struck true with the power of God that led the world toward miracles: Pudding. Battle Sister, Pudding, to be precise. It was silly, but she chanted with such casual fervor...

However, slight hints of a talented player began to unveil themselves as her presumed real avatar appeared: Supreme Sky Battle Deity, Susano'o. The younger brother of CEO Amaterasu had grown into a respectable man and a mighty god of war, becoming one of the new faces of the clan. With the unique phrase "Stride Type", the girl labeled her G Units by ability or design. Kirin being the assaulter and Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi being - naturally - "Type: Slasher". It didn't seem to mean anything else, but her skill did show itself as she went on the attack and kept a steady hand lead. Despite her sassy remark about her card skills being mostly the same, she was definitely into the game as she didn't slack in plays and got pouty and upset at poorly timed triggers. An aloof, child-like wonder, this one.

Alas, when it came down to the final turns, she performed Legion with Battle Sister, Jelly and Battle Sister, Pudding, calling for the "delicious sword of God". If she was a chuunibyou, it was hard to tell seeing as she didn't express the exaggerated emotion or backstory most do... With a Stand Trigger and a Critical Trigger, Sieg's hand was melted by the endless strikes. But it did not matter, ultimately, as Sieg survived and performed a Break Ride between Mond Blaukluger and Stern Blaukluger.

The Oracle player hit numerous heals, and still couldn't pull the win. Worsened by the fact that she couldn't even heal out of the Critical Two Vanguard swing that broke her shields.

"Ah... I am sad now." The panda lamented, but didn't seem all that different from the start. "That was kind of fun though. Here you go." Kindly, she gave Sieg her prize: a gold card.

Though, she noticed the others lurking about. One in particular was hiding...

"Hold it." Koga arrived to the scene and stepped down, holding up her deck and a cup of pudding, which caught the panda's attention. "You're fighting me too."

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The duo of Aqua Force players took on the lazy, unenthusiastic Varess Yamata. Though, Fubuki was using Granblue, Aoi considered her a fellow of the clan still and attacked with Ripples. The big panda dad fought with - obviously - Great Nature. What, someone would dress up as a panda and use a different clan? Nonsense. The man was very laid-back, and not into their games at all. This bothered Aoi a bit and seemed to a provoke a subtle, verbal swing from Fubuki after he remarked the redundancy of her card names. Even so, it was rather impressive how he was handling them both as he barely cared, only playing because it was his job. Using Great Nature's new Famous Professor, Bigberry, he was on the decline initially against the girls. Fubuki utilizing the leader of a modern crew of Granblue: Nightrose, played the adorable companions known as Ghosties in her strategy. In addition to that, her combination attacks were decisive and well-coordinated to replenish resources, keep on the attack, and prepare for the future.

"Ah... I'm gonna need more of those gumballs..." Despite his static grin, Varess felt a migraine encroaching on his soul. Aoi had too much energy and Fubuki was amazingly deadpan. Almost reminded him of another panda, except not nearly as cute. Still, his moves were calculated with incredible precision, making strong comebacks by drawing a large amount of cards and making absurd combo attacks through Omniscience Dragon, Managarmr. The card boasted way too much power for its time, leaving an impression in the Stride era as one of the more insane units. While it was nothing on its own, it gave two rearguards power and the ability to negate sentinels and above from guarding. This, coupled up with more advantage generation, Crayon Tiger, and Tusk Master made for attacks orders that gradually destroyed the overwhelming lead the girls had.

"Whoa... You're kinda strong for a guy with your personality!!" Aoi said excitedly.

"... Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Varess responded, irritated.

"Heheee~" Aoi laughed, beaming and having a good time while the other two looked like they were... tolerating. Unfortunately, against both of them he let loose a devastating chain with only one counterblast. Thanks to Label Penguin and a Duckbill hitting twenty thousand power, he was able to use his heart beat, then secure his counterblast for Tusk Master, which was the decisive play that defeated both Aoi and Fubuki together. It was because of this the gumball's expression dropped it's usual smiling and turned into one of worry.

She was the Chinese Champion, a budding master of Aqua Force. She fought with Ripples in the war, and did fine... So why did she just lose?

Would... Would Maelstrom have won?

Aoi's image painted the scene of the child of potential standing before a statue of the Blue Storm Dragon. One before it had become "Maelstrom Reverse". During the war of liberator against the incandescent lion and the incarnation of lightning, the vice admiral at the time had obtained power akin to the likeness of the old world admiral. This power was "Glory" that drowned all opposition in a ferocious flood, showcasing the might of its destined form. Yet... they banded together to fight against the forerunners of the invasion. It was because of these many fights, after Maelstrom's power had been drained, the beast went into a long coma of sorts. Said coma involved its body being entirely unable to move, massively strained from the super power of the previous admiral.

And now, here it was again, before the girl who inherited the dragon.

"Say something." Aoi fruitlessly beckoned as the image vanished.

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"Nice job!" Jessie congratulated the second girl to overcome the challenge of the rainforest. While he didn't particularly know her or her friend, he still tried to be friendly in praising when deserved. The brunette grinned, and decided he would wait his turn if the last girl was stepping up to face Tamotsu. And of course, he did wave to him: "You did great too, buddy!" He was nowhere near the level of energetic or peppy as Aoi, but he was something. The young man did a fine job of being a pleasant individual to be around, trying to keep the atmosphere light and respectful to others. "Dark Irregulars and Nova Grappler huh? I feel like I know less about this game than I should..." Jessie chided himself with a chuckle, very much seeing why Hana embarrassed him by telling the others he didn't know about Bermuda Triangle. It was incentive to learn...

That was a great thing.

The snow haired boy tilted his head to one of the hills that was slightly to the left and ahead of him. He saw a fierce battle having reached it's conclusion. Seth got an ominous feel from watching how the unit evaporated from existence while trying to swing down on their defeated opponent. The instincts of the young dragon was alarmed, screaming at him that this would be a good challenge. With a smirk, he leaped from one meadowy lump of land to where he would finally get a challenge.

"Hey you!" The restless snow boy said while a point of his index at his next challenger.

Neo Nectar Division's members were firm at the ready, prepared for any newcomers and catching a few stragglers just trying to pass through the meadow to other areas. At its center, on the hillier mound, continued to sit the Guardian of Cray himself, enjoying a long puff from his pipe of...let's go with "illicit goods."

Satoshi's eyes opened briefly from a draft and gazed out at the various small fights going on. Little meaning in these fights but a game, simply to placate the masses and welcome back peace. Sure, it was a pleasant sight, but one that did not necessarily demand that much dire attention from the self-imposed area leader.

One girl, however, caught the end of his gaze outward. She was...rejecting fighting his brigadiers, more content to just explore the meadows as they were and take in nature. It was rather strange, much unlike what he expected the cardfighters in this event to be like at all. Almost as if the girl was looking for something in particular...

Straight for him, perhaps? Satoshi gave a half-smile. Such a spirit had to belong to someone of the new generation who could perhaps help bridge the gap between young and old. He rose from his seat, much to the shock of a few of his more "elite" subordinates.

"S-Satoshi-sama!...A-are you?..."

The clan leader held up a hand to silence them as he stepped lightly down the hill, robes flowing with his every leg motion, towards this girl, who had proceeded to take a seat in the grass and take in her surroundings.

"Greetings." Satoshi took a seat next to her. He realized he did smell quite strongly of...again, "illicit goods," but hoped he was still at the very least an approachable figure. "What brings you here to my garden?"

Darkface, who had been summoned by the moth girl, turned to the snowy haired delinquent and snarled angrily. "Ah?" Chrisaline turned to see the next person who would fall, her lips curved into a malicious smile as the sadist's eyes held a faint, red gleam. "Another victim? Tell me, little mouse, are you sure you want to be stepped on?" Killer Queen radiated with a confident arrogance as she referred to him the same way she did Sakuya. Mice in the game of cat and mouse, except the cat was a snake.

"A mouse? Sorry but if I'm anything, I'm a full blown dragon just like my partner!" Seth roared from the top of his lungs. He stomped on the hill, holding his deck out from his newly refurbished deck case - sparkling blue with an imprint of the Aqua Force symbol creased on the front of it.

"I'll try not to make you end up like you last opponent, but I'm not gonna hold back either!"

"I...  I did it!  I won!"  Despite facing an opponent who was more than a little eccentric and not the most polite fighter, Sieg had managed to just barely take a victory and obtain her first gold card.  But, she still wasn't completely satisfied.  Just one gold card wasn't enough.  She wanted to get one other.  The one from the lake.  It seemed like the hills and the rainforest were getting overpopulated with fighters, so there was less of a guarantee of getting either of those.  But, the lake seemed pretty empty of participants from what Sieg could tell.  Sieg dashed passed Koga and headed straight for the lake.

Fubuki, however, had been defeated and was unable to obtain one of Varess' gold cards despite her best efforts.  It was only made more frustrating by the attitude of the one who defeated her.  He seemed to barely care about either of the fights he was doing at once, and still won both of them.  Even Aoi had stopped smiling after the duo's defeat.  While she couldn't tell for certain whether or not there was more than their recent defeat bother Aoi, Fubuki knew Aoi wasn't someone who would normally be this down after one loss.  She grabbed her friend by the wrist and walked off without so much as saying another word to Varess.

"I'm going to crush him," Fubuki said as she walked.  "We are going to crush him when we get the chance."  The white-haired girl turned back towards her friend when they reached the shore, and went to awkwardly attempt to hug her only to stop when she remembered she was still covered in water.  "Um, well, uh, if there's something else troubling you...  You can talk to me.  Though, I think I need a towel before I can do more than listen."

As Hikari and the tiger fought, Rin looked up at the girl in the tree, but more specifically, the manga she was reading. Even though it was a bit of a distance, the cover was distinct enough and Rin's otaku knowledge deep enough she was able to recognize it almost instantly. "To think there's another intellectual such as I here, reading 'Lost K'..." she thought to herself, torn between engaging in the incredibly high-brow discussion that only those few chosen could indulge in. Alas, she was too awkward and indecisive to come to a decision before the fight ended.

With the fight between Hikari and Tamotsu over, a mocking set of applause rained down from the highest trees before Rin could congratulate her friend.  "Nice, nice, you put on a good show for a fake," a voice called out from even higher up.  From within her hiding place amidst the highest leaves, the woman in red descended, landing with ease despite the great height.  Her expression was one of smug malice as she looked over those gathered in the clearing.  "I'll be taking the next gold card from the faker here."

"H-hey, I-i was going to be--" Rin tried to speak up against the intruder cutting in the turn order.

"Shut the hell up, brat," the woman responded, glaring at Rin.  That glare was utterly terrifying to Rin, unable to scream or even cry with the immense dread that paralyzed her.  All she could do was fall to her knees in silence.  "That's a good girl.  Now, I've had a bad day," the woman turned back to the fake tiger and pulled out her deck with a malevolent grin on her face, "So I'm going to show you how a real tiger hunts."

Xat contuned walking through the branch of zoo, looking at everything. She stopped at seeing a panda eatting pudding and was about to go over to them when Kao shook his head and pointed to a direction taking off at a run. Xat quickly followed him and soon came to a clearing and stopped upon hearing the interaction between the tiger, and the people with him. Xat sighed and walked over to them

"I may be wrong, but you shouldnt treat others that way." she said stopping near the fighters and Kao jumped on her shoulder. "Calling someone a brat, when it was there turn isnt realyl sportmanship now isn't it?" Kao asked the woman before running over to Rin and nuzzled her trying to make her feel better.

Hikari grinned and gave a thumbs up to the boy who had congratulated her. He seemed nice enough. Hikari thought that she might get to know him a little bit while she watched Rin do her game. However, before she got a chance, a woman in red descended from the trees above and tried to steal Rin's chance. The woman's behavior was getting on Hikari's nerves pretty quickly, but the way she talked to Rin made her snap. Hikari stomped on the ground, "Hey, what the hell?!" she demanded, "You can't just say shit like that to random people!" Hikari clenched her fists at her sides with barely contained anger. She was letting her aggressiveness get the better of her. She really wanted to hit this girl. She stepped out in front of the girl and raised a fist between the two of them, "Apologize to Rin right now, and then wait your turn!" she ordered the girl, her already hot blood starting to reach boiling temperatures, "Or else you're gonna have a much bigger problem than a tiger on your hands!"

Watching the fight between Sieg and the other woman did give Aedan some insight, but even with Sieg's victory he felt outclassed at least to a degree. There was something about her that made him feel... inadequate as a fighter. Despite that, he still attempted to rise to challenge, only for someone else to come in and this time with pudding. Right, he forgot that little bit about the pudding but... If this went anything like the last time, maybe he would get a fight out of it as well. Walking out from where he had been hiding, the former Irish Champion pulled back the hood, putting his hands in his pockets glancing between Koga and the woman. "After this gentlemen's turn, I'd like a crack. ...Don't happen to have pudding on me now though. After this event though I'd be willing to treat you to as much as you can handle." hopefully honesty and maybe a bit of bribery might help? He doubted it but, oh well. Worth a try.

The "riddler of the meadow?" What sort of description---

Probably Rikuto's doing, Satoshi thought, as he proceeded to nod:

"Yes, right, the challenge. Well, it is a pretty simple challenge. I am not quite sure why it was called a 'riddle,' when really it is more of 'proving yourself.'" He took a small puff of his pipe and blew the light smoke away from Victoria so that it wouldn't affect her in any way. "My name is Satoshi Kurosaki. I have been far and wide across the world, and experienced many things. As such, I would expect those who would impress me or those like me to have similar desire to explore."

The Guardian pointed the end of his pipe towards each of the other areas. "The first portion of my challenge is simple. I would like you to go to any one of these other areas and bring me back something you feel is most captivating to you. When you return and show me, I would like you to explain why." He nodded to his young companion and gave a small smile. "If I am satisfied, we will be able to finish the challenge more quickly. Sound good?"

While a touch disappointed with how the game played out, Tamotsu was happy to hand Hikari her gold card. He realized that he didn't particularly know how to play against Nova Grappler as the bulk of his cardfight knowledge was founded in battles against deletors. He still had plenty to learn it seemed. The animals once again bowed which caught the manga-reading girl's attention.

"Competition for my title..." she said aloud as she scanned the others. She didn't get far before a new challenger appeared. A very rude newcomer at that as she seemed very intent on skipping ahead of Rin and Jessie in line. Hikari had an outburst that stated Tamotsu's feelings on the matter only he was offended that a human girl would dare call him a fake tiger.

"Over enthusiastic protagonist, nerdy shy quiet best friend, nice guy and bitch for the sake of being a bitch antagonist. Nice. Really nailing it so far. Even got the cute mascot. Just waiting on the edgy rival and mentor figure." the girl mused out loud again, her manga now put away in light of the new source of entertainment.

"Hikari is right, miss. You'll have to wait your turn, there were two others here before you." he said, very clearly not approving of the behavior. But then something seemed to change in the tiger dog's posture. It was something Tamotsu had never really felt the need to do seriously but Okuri had done often. This was an aggressive reaction to a perceived threat and a low snarl was audible.

"We will do your fight and then you will leave immediately." he said, looking ready to pounce. And so a battle began which Tamotsu couldn't have prepared for. The opponent used Gear Chronicle, which filled the dog's mind with memories of Chronojet from the war. But this was not Chronojet. At her grade three ride a unit the Clan Leader had never seen before appeared: Chronofang Tiger. The card was impressive but...

Tamotsu was pretty sure he was more tiger than that thing. That looked more like one of those mecha model kits he'd wanted Jessie to get before realizing both his paws and sash lacked the dexterity necessary for the intricate work of model assembly.

More importantly, a stride he'd never seen accompanied the ensemble of new units. Interdimensional Dragon, Bind Time Dragon appeared with a fearsome skill. The girl bound her own rears to power up and gain a critical as well as force Tamotsu to return what rears he had to the bottom of his deck after a fierce turn of two Crayon Tiger columns. This fight was just swimming in tigers.

This stranger seemed largely unfazed by most of what he did in the fight. The game didn't feel one-sided but she seemed to carry a confidence it was all set to go her way from the beginning, making what he did feel less impactful. Ultimately the fight ended in her favor but instead of the usual happy celebration, the animals of the rainforest seemed on edge and Tamotsu tossed a card at her, hoping it would paper cut her face in the process.

"You have what you came for, now get out of here." he practically barked while he moved inbetween the stranger and the other girls. He sat down near Rin in particular, looking to help the girl feel better but more importantly he was ready to defend them from this person. She looked normal enough but something told him to not trust it.

"Good grief." Varess sighed, watching Aoi and Fubuki leave after their losses. He really didn't expect to win, but he's kind of glad he did. It meant people would see the smooth-talker as less of a pushover and more of a significant threat... except crazy idiots like Aoi relish at the thought of a challenge. Ah... he can't win for losing, and he can't lose for winning. A dilemma for the slick gent... "Ah, well." The man decided he'll deal with it, knowing he's contributing to the good of it all.

That aside, Aoi looked at the ground thoughtfully, quietly shaken by how... out of tune she was with Aqua Force. It was a little unsettling that she lost both her first fights of the new era, but even more so that the synchronization she used to feel with her vanguards and rearguards was... gone. It felt out-of-order for the gumball, and it was a frustrating feeling. "Hmm..." An irritated grumbling, most unlike the ball of endless energy. Though, as Fubuki talked to her and nearly hugged her, Aoi snapped out of her trance with a curious mewl. Admittedly, she hadn't even heard what Fubuki said about beating Varess, but the gesture of trying to comfort and listen to her woes made Aoi put on her trademark, childish smile. "Ah, of course! It's okay, Fubuki! I'm just... a little concerned about how I played is all. Without Maelstrom... Though, how'd you get so wet in the first place?"

Precious, stupid child.

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In the rain forest, Tamotsu and company heard a mocking round of applause with a haughty lady in red appearing from above. Jessie was bewildered by how seriously she was about Tamotsu being a "fake". Wasn't the point the staff dresses up for fun...? She must have missed the memo or something must have crawled up somewhere obnoxious seeing the way poor Rin was bullied out of a turn by the woman's aggressive behavior. Seeing Hikari get upset with it, Jessie felt the same way. "Hey, hey, hey!" The boy shouted angrily. "I could care less about turns, you shouldn't treat someone that way!" The brunette balled up a fist, instinctively raising it to convey threat as he scowled. "At least apologize to her before you continue-"

He was cut off by another entry to the scene, one that looked unfamiliar but felt the opposite. While he wasn't sure about the creature that appeared with the new girl, their tone of voice caused him to raise a brow inquisitively. "... Xat?" Jessie questioned. But more than that, the manga-reading girl surprised him with reading off everyone's tropes, even having the gall to insult the rude lady.

Thankfully, Tamotsu got through the fight quickly... albeit, not in the way he would've liked to see. Gear Chronicle had returned with a unique unit that wasn't Chronojet Dragon. But... that thing looked more in costume than his friend. Perplexed, Jessie was surprised at the time-control plays founded only by this special clan which were arguably stronger than retire skills. Even more so, a large Gear Dragon completely unlike the Divine Power the Legend Generation had come to know appeared. "Chronofang... Bind Time...?"

Never mind that. The game was over, and the brunette approached the bully victim. "Hey... You alright?"

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In the desert, the delicious sword of God that split the sky in two fought against Gold Paladin and Neo Nectar. Still nonchalant in nature, the panda did show a significant amount of skill... until she forgot to use the skill of one of her G Units. Her plays were kind of basic and predictable overall, despite the patterns being honed to strong fighting. Even one who has mastered the basics still has plenty to learn, and that's why she was on par with Koga. The other gent, however, seemed to be playing a legacy archetype surrounded around the hero "Ezel". Also utilizing "Black Chains", a long forgotten force in the second regular army of the holy nation. Susano'o relished in the chance to fight against the hero, and it was very touch and go, despite the Stride era's Oracle Think Tank's hand generation.

Though, the panda was only interested in pudding.

Koga was a little more than confused by the carefree, stoic nature of her opponent. At least they were treating the games... somewhat seriously with their plays. Still, Koga had a much better time fighting compared to Chris' hellish Megacolony. The pudding demon actually struggled with the cabbage's combo potential off of Maiden of Gladiolus, and Valilia's intercept ability made Silent Tom much more easy to guard. A scowl was painted on the face of the normally neutral tart lover while the reformed joker played well against a clan so few people played in the past.

Just barely, the Ezel player was trumped by the great assembly of pudding. But Koga easily won her game, claiming her next gold card.

"Thank you." Koga showed her appreciation with a smile. "Hey, kid. Keep this in mind: people who use Link Joker aren't all bad and we like sweets too."

"Link Joker players like pudding?!" The panda said with shock. "Friends..."

"Haha, yeah, friends."

"Should I buy my sister some then... Hm."

"Sister?"

"Not real sister. More adopted, sort of, kind of. Her mentor is my dad and she looks out for me a lot."

"Huh, who is this?"

"The crazy lady in a moth girl costume."

"... Ah. G-... Good luck with that." Koga sweat nervously, departing quickly. Anyone who actually called Chris a sibling without some remorse or fear was probably not all-together in the head.

Okay that's kind of rude to think, but still.

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And finally, Killer Queen fought against Seth, who signed himself up for a horrific matchup of Aqua Force trying to fight Megacolony. Seth - confident in himself - batted away the moth girl's condescending taunts as he was pushing her easily while she couldn't fight back very well. Was Chris struggling? Not exactly, as going to four damage was fine by her, and she knew what would befall the rearguard-reliant clan as soon as she began to Stride. Due to this, she was very casual about the little mouse pressuring hard. "Mouse, dragon, they're both the same, really." With wicked glee, she compared the mythical, god-like creatures to small rodents that were to be devoured by ravenous snakes. Acting as one, Paraspear, Longhorn Hunter, and Crimebug along with Sweet Cocktail came together to lock down the attack waves of the Blue Frost Dragons.

Still, the new faction of the naval forces would not surrender so easily. The Blue Heavenly Frost Dragon, Brionac retaliated with the ability to return rearguards to hand, improving his shield value and working out of the stuns. Unfortunately, not only did she still easily block it, but the real nightmare came immediately afterward.

Unrivaled Blade Rogue, Cyclomatus was an outdated Break Ride, but still a potent one with the ability to paralyze the Vanguard. This same trap she used on Sakuya was used again on Seth, and Stun Beetle pressured hard with others to generate the same concept. Should Stun Beetle hit, Chrisaline effectively won the game by how far behind her opponent would be. Even if it doesn't, the opponent had to use at least two cards to stop its attack, still has to deal with other attacks, and still has to deal with the unique ruling against Megacolony: A G Unit appears in the same state as its Hearts. So, if the latter is resting, the former will also rest, making the Stride useless. Thanks to this, even if the opponent survives everything, they have to ride a new grade three to stand and still discard cards to Stride.

This is Killer Queen's deadly, ultra-powerful technique that ran the majority of players out of the hills, chokeholding them in a brilliantly evil strategy that destroyed them on every front. With Seth hanging on by a thread, Chris advanced with a second Stun Beetle, and felt her heart race at the thought of his confidence falling apart. So, she attacked with the decisively strong onhit G Unit, needing two to pass.

First check, nothing.
Second check, Heal Trigger.

"Start sweating." The sadist demanded.

"I'm not afraid-" Seth began to say, but found himself cut off.

Third check, Heal Trigger.

A Double Heal Trigger that not only put Chris from five to three, but also allowed Stun Beetle to hit and use its G Persona Blast. The bravado her opponent had was drained instantly as the effects settled in. This... this is the kind of moment she lived off - what she got off on! Chris' grin widened as death knocked on his door, preventing him from doing absolutely anything but practically skip his turn. Yes... the touch of death concluded the game before even six damage.

"Huhuhuhu~" The woman laughed ever so alluringly as she won the game just after giving her foe a taste of real despair.

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Varess saw a shadow loom over him as he was lying down. "Ah?" In his face was everyone's favorite, bluehaired idol who smiled cheerfully, holding up a deck. "Ah..."

Isabella was on the move, and tearing up the event with immense speed. The Legend Generation was catching up on the new winds.

Xat watched the battle closely but was shocked when she saw a new gear choronicle called Cronofang Tiger who abilty was to bind. 'this new unit i should find more about' she throught to herself and frowned slightly as the woman in red became the victor however it was quickly replaced with confusion as she looked to Jesse. "How do you know my name?" she asked as she watched him walk over to Rin. She soon followed and knelt next to the girl."It will be ok, your nothing like what she said." Xat told Rin.

"WOW!" Seth said with his fist clenched and his fangs gritting in frustration. Having the opponent pushed to four so early and then five damage; only to be stopped cold in his tracks by joint efforts of Cyclomatus and Stun Beetle, and finally having lost - his frustration was not unwarranted, especially to an opponent who regarded him as an inferior from her vernacular.

Seth sighed, looking down at his cards who were powerless. Thoughts on how he could've played that match better started flowing into him, making him ever more exasperated, after realizing that he, once again, took his opponent too lightly. "No I..." he looked back up with a weakened smirk but with a more ferocious glare, approaching Chris. "I want a second game! This first one will not be the end all be all!"

Out of the numerous complaints with her behavior, the only ones that even got a reaction out of the red lady were the ones from the woman in the trees and the one from the dog in front of her. She was a little surprised that there was someone so willing to call her out like that, though her face didn't show it as she looked up at the manga-reader. Everyone else had said things the nicest way they could, but

"Hey, whatever works right?" she said, shrugging, clearly not bothered at all by her given role. This person was interesting enough to the lady in red that she made a mental note to look out for her in the future when there was time to spare. For now, though, her attention turned back to the fake.

"Good, glad you're seeing things my way. Wasn't wanting to spend more time here than I have to anyways," she said, only getting more smug at seeing her taunts be effective. That smug confidence never went away for a single moment during the fight, seeming to have complete control over the fight even if she was never in much of a lead. With the power of units that no one had ever seen, let alone heard of before, the fight was over in what seemed like an instant. The red lady caught the gold card with ease before turning away to walk off in the direction of the lake.

"Later," she said with a wave. Before vanishing into the trees, she gave one last look to the girl in the trees, ignoring the very existence of the others in the rainforest. And just like that, she was gone without a trace, the only proof she had been there the terrified Rin on the ground and the gold card she had taken with her.

Now that she was gone, Rin finally felt herself start to return. That was the most terrified she had ever been in her life, and she'd played Hazardous Biology 7 in VR. Not much of it, but still, it counted. Something about that woman was... There was only one way Rin could describe it.

"That... that was like seeing an optional post-game boss in an RPG interrupting a random encounter when you're level one... but... Real." she said, still shaking. But at least she was talking now. "I don't want to see that person ever again... She... she was..." Rin couldn't even finish her sentence. "I... I think I just want to go home..."

By the lake, Fubuki smiled at Aoi now that she herself was smiling again. "Someone caused a large splash on the lake," Fubuki said, just a hint of sarcasm in the word 'someone.' Fubuki pondered the words Aoi had said just before for a moment. "Without Maelstrom, huh.." she muttered aloud, remembering the person Aoi was in the past. Then, she had an idea. "Meet me at the Magallanica branch tomorrow. I'm not sure it'll work, but I might have a way to help."

At a different part of the shore, Sieg had just reached the lake and wasted no time in jumping to her first platform, unaware of Aoi and Fubuki being close enough she could probably just see them if she looked. She approached Varess, unaware of the other guest en route to the same spot and the inevitable reunion.

Meanwhile, Alysson had taken a break at the edge of the hills, and was just thinking about whether or not she was ready to step foot in them for real.

"Suuuuuch a bitch" the girl on the log said with a chuckle as she resumed her reading. That was some top tier generic edgelord shit right there. It was rare for her to encounter it in real life. She couldn't even really be mad on account of how well the woman had played it.

Tamotsu meanwhile was relieved to have the woman depart and he relaxed once he couldn't hear or smell her anymore. The girl she'd frightened was shaken, a bit more perhaps than felt natural but the tiger dog couldn't quite blame her given the strange sensation surrounding her and the units she had used. Tamo went to the edge of the clearing and gave out a series of barks and it wasn't long before two of the Zoo Branch Staff, dressed as a rhino and a hippo, appeared from the trees. Apparently this was some secret distress signal Tamotsu had set up with them or something ridiculous like that.

"These two will take you back to the branch." he said softly to the quivering girl. The employees removed whatever masks they had been wearing and stood waiting to help Rin up and out of the preserve as soon as she was ready.

Tamotsu sighed as he knew he still had to continue with the event despite this strange occurrence. He walked over to his boy and sat by Jessie's feet, his head about at the boy's waist as it worked out.

"Thanks for waiting; and being ready to help." he said while he looked on at the girl still concerned. "Took long enough but I think I can get to your fight now." he concluded, hoping a fight with Jessie might help lighten the mood. Though he couldn't help but wonder why his first opponent was still here.

"Karasu-san, don't you want to continue with the event?" he called out to the girl causing her to put her manga down again.

"My jungle, I do what I want. And drop the formalities, Tiger. I told you, it's Tsubame." the mysterious Dark Irregular player spoke, finally giving her name. Bit of an oddball this one but a name was a start for figuring her out.

Hikari was frankly furious that the woman in red had won her fight. She wanted so desperately to see her lose. But she pulled out some crazy cards that she'd never seen, and from the looks of it, nobody else had either, and won pretty decisively. Hikari hated that. Although she was fuming, she was glad to see the woman go. "If that bitch ever shows her face around Rin or I again," she thought, "and the first words out of her mouth aren't her begging for forgiveness, I swear I'm going to kick her ass." It was a mostly empty boast. Hikari wasn't as strong as she liked to believe.

More importantly, it seemed Rin had finally somewhat recovered. She was still obviously terrified, though. Poor thing. When the tiger summoned the staff members to escort Rin back to the branch building, Hikari turned to him and bowed, "Thank you. I'll walk back with her, too." Hikari took Rin's hand gently, and began walking back to the branch building with her and the staff members. "It's gonna be okay, Rin," Hikari said, trying to sound reassuring, "we'll get you somewhere nice and quiet. We'll probably never see that girl again, anyway." Hikari knew that probably wasn't true, but she tried to sound convincing anyway. She just wanted Rin to feel better.

As they approached the pavilion, Hikari realized she still had her gold card. She felt a little awkward turning it in now, when Rin was in the state she was, but they were right there. She figured there was no harm in turning it in now and then waiting with Rin until the event was over. Raising her gold card up, she said "Uh, hey, I got a gold card to turn in." She hoped Rin wouldn't be offended by her taking the time to do this.

Sakuya's match with the deranged cabbage had been... very one-sided. A lack of Tsukuyomi's forms above grade one coupled with Chris rushing her down every single turn resulted in a swift victory for the cabbage. It didn't help any that Chris had been checking triggers left and right the whole game, either. In almost no time at all, the game was over, leaving Sakuya to calmly accept her loss at the hands of simple bad luck. Oh well, it happens to everyone sometimes.

Just as she finished collecting her deck, however, one of the Longhorn Hunters that had been summoned was suddenly right in front of her face, letting out a loud screech. She kept her smile intact, but for a fleeting moment, the startled shrine maiden did indeed fear for her life, her fight-or-flight responses kicking in. As one would expect, she chose flight.

Bolting down the hill at speeds she didn't know she could reach, the poor girl ran from the hills, not wanting to be anywhere she might not see other Longhorns sneaking up on her, ready to spook. As it happened, one such area was nearby, much to her relief. The desert that Sakuya was now running through lacked much of the hills' uneven landscaping, making it easy for her to look back and check if the insects were pursuing her. Thankfully, they weren't.

After a good long while of running, the girl finally made it to the desert's oasis, giving her a chance to stop and catch her breath. She felt exhausted, having not ran like that since her unfortunate encounter with Kraken way back when. As she took in deep breath after deep breath, Sakuya realized that she wasn't alone here; The first thing to catch her eye when she looked around the oasis was the pudding-obsessed clan leader. At the very least, her face was somewhat familiar, Sakuya having heard mention of the young girl's accomplishments with her main clan around the time of her return to Japan. Hopefully talking with this girl would be much nicer than any of her interactions she'd just had with the insane cabbage.