Cardfight Training Area

This was something of a succession of revelations. Haruka spent at least a minute readjusting and stepping back in bed, as well as lying down. His head was starting to whir anyways, causing him to desperately need to stay down.

"Came... To see me?" That hit a bit too close to home. The people he was waiting for had been AWOL since the Cero invasion of the interrogation room. That was almost three days ago now. The void grew.

"I'm glad you decided to see me, despite the circumstances." He smiled, nodding, allowing the back of his head against the pillow somewhat. Taking a deep breath, he took a moment to ponder what Haruto said. He quoted Haruka verbatem on what he had said before about life changes.

That was awe-inspiring, for sure. All he could do was chuckle lightly, cough, then continue to chuckle and smile. It was reassuring that somebody, anybody listened to what he said. He was happy, still terrified of dying, but happy.

Haruto seemed to be curious... No, not curious. He genuinely wanted to help Haruka, it felt like. Asking his questions were selfless and only really pertained to Haruka and his feelings.

"I... Okay. Sit down and listen for a moment."

He gestured to a seat in the left most corner of the room, out of the window light. He didn't wanna get Haruto immediately caught should any nurses or doctors come in to check on him.

"So. What's up with me... Good question." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and stared at the ceiling, trying to gather his thoughts.

"I. Haruto. What I'm gonna say right here is, sort of a need to know basis thing. Just don't go blurting it around if you can avoid it." He nodded, assuring that.

"I'm alone. I'm really alone right now. You say everyone is with me but, its hard to believe it when I can't see them. Can't hear them. I'm the enemy, Haruto. The reason I'm in cuffs and not allowed to leave is because I am the bad guy, so to speak. Its hard to explain other than that I really just have a crappy side of me... Look, Haruto." Haruka averted his eyes from the ceiling and over to Haruto so he can emphasize his point.

"Haruto. I'm alone right now. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you visited me. Its a blessing, really. Better than the sunshine through the window, you know? Thanks for showing up..." Haruka sighed a breath of relief and relaxed. He was unordinarly happy. Loneliness does that.

"I hope you understand that if I suddenly up and disappear, don't take it personally. I have a habit of dying."

Karin stood at the entrance to the Resistance's HQ once more. She had received a message from the people here, telling her to come here for "something important". Stepping through the doorway and into the main lobby for her second time, Karin briefly considered what this "important something" might be. Making her way through the various hallways of the building, she came to the room the message had indicated. Heading inside, Karin waited for whoever would meet her there.

After Yukino left the room Tsubasa found himself slowly waking up, yawning and stretching as he walked out of the room himself. As he stepped out he received a message from Yukino about unlocking stride possibilities, obviously it made his eyes widen and got him excited slightly since it did seem like he needed that power once again in order to contend with the upcoming challenges.

"..Interesting, as expected of Yukino to figure something out so quickly..but she collapsed last night, this is not good for her to ignore rest like this..." he thought, as he continued walking around the training area trying to find Yukino. After some time he would hear a strong amount of noise coming from a certain room to which his curiosity and desire to find Yukino led him to check what was behind the door.

Entering he would see Yukino working her magic on a bangle which she seemed to be duplicating, first swords now bangles, what next? Oh the possibilities. Silliness aside Tsubasa walked up to her and tapped her on her soldier.

"You feeling any better?" he asked.
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Seating himself, Haruto simply listened and absorbed all of Haruka's words he could feel the sadness and the emotions that came with every word, Haruka was opening up but at the same time trying to hide a side of him that he did not want to reveal for Haruto's and his own sake. Nevertheless, Haruto continued to listen even though he was close to tearing up after all he heard, he simply brushed it off and tried to give Haruka his genuine answer.

"..You're being honest with me so I will do the same...Tsubasa and I we..lost our parents when we were extremely young, our house caught fire and the only people who survived were me and him, Aniki chose to take care of me for most of his time but there came a moment when he started to feel distant to me...he tried to keep me away or safe without connecting to me...later I would find out that it was because he felt guilty and blamed himself for his and my suffering...so he chose to leave me with Fei, his best friend, until he could secure his education and living expenses to support me...I spent...8 years...alone....locked up in a house with the nicest people but without my only brother..." he said, as his facial expression turned to sadness.

Haruto never opened up about his feelings to someone other than Tsubasa or Fei in his life, mainly because he never felt connected to anyone or he felt like an outsider or weakling compared to everyone else, but to Haruka he could understand where he was coming from, and for that reason and the similarities he could connect to him and trust him.

"..I still remember all those days and nights that I spent wondering If I will ever rejoin my brother...or whether he has forgotten about me or not...8 years is a long time....much too long......but I finally understood what kept me going...he kept me going...I know it sounds strange but I could feel him...in my lonely time I could feel him close to me pushing me to stand up against my problems and my despair, rescuing me from the flames of my depression just like he did that night when our parents died...we were not able to see each other but we were always connected...and for that reason I could fight the loneliness..no matter how strong it was...." he said, his eyes starting to tear up slightly as he quickly rubbed it off.

Haruto may not know the full extent of Haruka's aim or his desires but he definitely knew that Haruka did not deserve to do this to himself, he is a great individual and a person who should not let this hard time push him to the brink, is what Haruto wanted to convey.

"...I don't want you to die Haruka, you're a great friend already just by that time we hung out at the beach I could tell you were not evil...whether you can save yourself or not I just want you to know that if you look deep down and remind yourself that your friends are with you then you will never feel alone...and hey we're friends...if you want those rays to remind you of what you're missing then i'll be sure to come visit all the time." he said, smiling and giving a thumbs up as a tear dripped from his eyes.

"I will once these are finished", Yugure responded to Tsubasa, successfully replicating the device several more times. "Did you get the message? I'll need you in the specified room soon."

Yugure proceeded to bang one of the accessories against the table repeatedly. The replicas were durable enough, which was good. Nothing was more important to a craftswoman than ensuring anything made of hard, solid material that wasn't glass would not fall apart easily. ... Actually, was that important? She isn't really a conventional blacksmith, so it was an odd drive for the magic skill.

Tsubasa was not happy with Yukino's refusal to take a break but he decided to save his concern for when he is feeling a bit more up to having a discussion, having just woken up he is still kinda tired, not to mention the events that happened last night and the effect on him emotionally.

"..Don't push yourself alright, if you need anything, just let me or any other scientist to help you, i'll be here if you need anything." he said, as he stood watching the meister at work.

He took this chance to reflect on yesterday and whether or not he was ready to handle the upcoming threat, even with the addition of stride, Mithril Ezel would not activate with his liberators, much more thought was necessary as he looked through his cards.

Throughout the night, Seifer hadn't slept, so when his phone vibrated he jumped a bit. He was outside at the back. When did he get here? The whole night just seemed to bleed together. But whatever. Checking the message with slightly blurry eyes, the male gave a gentle sigh before returning to the inside of the building. Shambling his way toward the room that was specified. He didn't really speak, more just propped himself up against a wall and crossed his arms, and shutting his eyes to try and rest. It seemed that Karin had come along to, though his actions weren't to act cool or anything. Rather at the moment, he couldn't cognitively come up with any words to say. He probably needed something to keep him awake... Coffee maybe? Ah that brought back a few memories. Mostly about actually working at the coffee shop to help Haruka out. ...Where was he anyway? As Seifer's thoughts continued to swarm around, the male waited quietly, waiting to be told what to do really.

After his failures at the Horizon, Cero had returned to his floor in the training facility. With the realization that his deck just couldn't take the opponent down quickly enough, Cero spent the entire night trying to fix it... Yet there was something missing. A decisive card that could end the game in an instant. Although Descendant was capable of finishing off a weakened opponent, he needed a way to break through any enemy's defenses within turns. After several hours worth of searching through cards, he finally found a way and just when he was about to sleep, his phone buzzed with a text. Yugure. Something to do with a training room? Taking the stairs down to the specified floor, Cero entered the training room... Only to see no one important. Figuring it could be a while until someone showed up, Cero leaned against a wall to catch some sleep.

Leading Tsubasa and others into a training room where Karin and Cero resided, Yugure placed four Reality Bangles on the fight table in the center of the room. It was a surprisingly large room for only one table. However, using Cero's virtual technology, and the immense side of Stride units, it was fitting. Almost too constricting even.

"These are Reality Bangles, the devices that will help us fight", she began. "These will amplify powers and allow the wearer to Stride on their own merit. Though the transcendence is fueled by the data registered from when I did it yesterday, you should be plenty able to summon your own kinds of G Units." Yugure gave an short explanation of the accessory's capabilities. Units called by wearers should be mostly unique to them, the soldier thought. Mind you, this was still completely unknown territory. This may not even work while they're thinking about it. Still, there was hope for this project. These small machines had been in development for awhile, and only now will they be released with functions beyond believed possible.

"When both players are on Grade Three or higher Vanguards, you need to discard cards from your hand equal to or greater than Grade Three total. Be forewarned that this power is leagues above simply 'tremendous'. Use caution and be ready for the strain that comes with it. I need two of you to test this out."

Seifer peeled himself from the wall when Yukino made her entrance with the bangles. They looked pretty weird but... At Yukino's explanation the brunette stepped forward. He was still exhausted from lack of sleep, however he wasn't going to let this chance go by. "If no one objects I'd like to be one of the two that does so." he spoke up. It was about time for him to start stepping up and contributing anyway. Might as well start here as a guinea pig for their chance at salvation.

Cero yawned when he heard Yukino entering the room. Looking down at what she placed on the fight table, they looked like... Bangles? Why would they need bangles? As he heard Yugure's explanation, he scoffed. "The rest of you may accept this 'power amplifier' if you want, but I refuse. I'll Stride with just my own power!" exclaimed Cero. He didn't want to accept this, even if it gave him what he had been after. Cero had too much pride to accept this. After all, he wanted to Stride with his own power, not because of some amplifier.

Exiting the room, Cero threw back, "You may want somewhere even more spacious," he said as a piece of paper with a passcode saying '1108' flew towards Yugure and Seifer. "Enter that into the elevator, it'll take you to... The special arena." And with that, Cero left to go sleep on a comfy couch on his floor.

Cero let down Seifer's expectations. Actually to be honest, part of Seifer hoped it was going to be Cero to step up but... Maybe some other time. Catching the slip of paper he looked it over. It had a passcode on it, and Cero's explanation explained where to use it and why. In any case, the male passed the slip of paper over to Yukino while waiting for an answer, and waiting for another volunteer.

Yugure honestly had no time nor patience to deal with Cero being pridefully defiant. If he wished to gain Stride by his own power, that was fine, but if it took too long, he'll fall behind and hinder them at some point. Hopefully he realizes this fact.

Taking the slip of paper, the soldier let the others to the elevator, putting in the passcode. It descended down to one of the underground floors of the Cardfight Training Facility. Outside of the elevator... was a room that was more like a stadium. Such a massive structure would be perfect to contain the size of G Units.

Yugure brought researchers, scientists, and other forms of technology to study the occurrences that would happen in the upcoming fight. While setting up and activating the necessary systems, her phone vibrated in the pocket one another white-coat. He brought it over to her. A friend that Yugure had communicated with early had responded. Early this morning, before handing the mobile to the employee after sending the mass-text, another person contacted the general. This would be a good opportunity... they were invited to the Resistance and directed to HQ as they returned to Japan.

"She may not enjoy seeing who I turned into..." The Chosen Sword mulled over how she's more depressing and stoic than arrogant and hardheaded like "Yukino" was.

The cold wind bit into her skin, through the fabric of her rather thin performers clothes. She had been in a rush; she had no time to change her clothes into something more comfortable, just quickly pull on a thicker jacket that barely helped. Her heels that she was so used to she, due to the countless performances, could run a marathon in without stumbling. The problem was running the marathon itself.

As she shivered, she walked, into a foreign territory. Her old friend had certainly broadened her horizons. She strode in, filled with purpose for something she didn't even fully understand. She didn't even spare the workers a glance of her delicate eyes, noting more than a few glances; some from fans she vaguely recognized from shows or just gawkers. Scoffing quietly, she made her way down, entering the floor she had been directed to and finally seeing her old friend, surrounded by so many intimidating new faces. At least her natural charisma and show experience would help her confidence, she reassured herself, walking over to Yugure, and calling out a friendly greeting.

Yugure responded to the greeting with a wave before quickly retreating her hand. The soldier let out a quiet wheeze of pain, still greatly exhausted. Attempting to shake off the feeling, she shook her head. As this returning ally approached, the commander displayed power of the Meister. Another Reality Bangle was formed for the friend. "Everyone, this is Dalis Strophia. An old friend of mine who will be assisting the war effort", Yugure introduced the performer to the group. "It's good to see you in a time of need."

Attention turned to the table.

"Seifer, she will be your opponent. Dalis, the conditions and information of Stride are in the text I sent you while you were on your way here. I need you to help us try performing Stride with this device."

The accessory was presented as a gift.

Yet a new face joined the group. And the way she acted, Seifer assumed Yukino and this new person were acquainted somehow, but it wasn't his place to ask. In any case, when Yukino mentioned that she would be his opponent, he tilted his head a bit but didn't complain. This was fine to him. He got to meet a new person, and test something. Fine by him. Fitting one of the bangles on his left wrist, he looked it over, trying to decide if he liked how it felt on his wrist or not. To him it felt surprisingly comfortable, which he was grateful for. Turning his attention back to the newcomer, who's name was Dalis according to Yukino, he gave a slight smile. "Well, if nee-san trusts you, that's good enough for me. I'm looking forward to this." he slipped on the word nee-san, saying it out of habit at this point. The idea struck him that Yukino probably wouldn't like him saying it in front of others, considering the situation they were in, but it was to late now.

Haruka listened to the solemn tragedy the boy presented him. Haruto was only a couple of years behind Haruka himself, and they seemed to have followed nearly identical paths in life. Both lost nearly everything in the beginning, but as time passed, was given a second chance to remake a life for themselves. Even if that chance was skewed in some ways, it was a chance they probably would not have gotten otherwise.

"Tsubasa... he means a lot to you then. Hold on to that familial spirit, Haruto. It's a good selling point for your charm, ya know? No seriously, caring for people is a really great thing. I'm sure Tsubasa would be proud to know what you're up to now, even if you are technically going against the Resistance right now."

Haruka scratched the tip of his nose, laughing a bit louder now. Footsteps passed by the medical bay door, but nobody entered. Nobody really cared at this point anymore.

"Who would've thought someone would rebel against the Resistance? You're like, double-rebelling dude."

More laughter. Small tears running down the sides of his face, but they quickly dissipated as humor set in place of the sadness. Haruka had developed what, may be a small one, but a bond with this guy that he had only met one time at the beach. They chatted about time moving too fast but now everything seemed to slow down to a snail speed. Haruka counted his breaths per day as a way to entertain himself at this point.

"Hey, thanks for coming to see me. You, well, you remind me of me. In more ways than one." With a deep breath, Haruka turned on his side, and closed his eyes before sending Haruto a few more words.

"I don't think I can stress enough how much this means to me. You coming here. Just don't get caught on the way out. And, you can stay as long as you want. I'm going to watch that door for a good bit. Maybe if I'm lucky it'll open one day, don'tcha think?" He chuckled again, resting his arm on his side.

Dalis nodded, walking over and adjusting the bangle on her wrist. It was a comforting weight, reassuring on her wrist as she stared with eyes like daggers. Things had changed, that was for sure. She had lost to Yukino, now apparently Yugure, but the name just didn't seem to fit. It would be a long time for Dalis to be comfortable calling her Yugure, and thinking of her as Yugure? It seemed impossible.

Sighing, she placed her deck and felt the pulsating life. The flash of the signs and the units as they battled on Cray.

The battle itself was grueling, far too close for either side to give an inch. It started off horrible for Dalis, quickly getting hit by two critical triggers to slap her into five damage. One step from the edge, and with a bitter taste in her mouth, she quietly promised herself she would win. She would show Yukin- Yugure - how much she had changed since that encounter that seemed so long ago.

Riding Luquier, her limit break quickly gave Dalis a field to work with. She wormed her way to five damage and squeezed past Seifer's defense to bring him to three damage. After surviving one more turn, it was one draw that gave her determination. A card that reminded her of the struggles, of the horribly dark time she was reversed not too long ago in Europe. Having reversed her fans, friends, anyone around her; eventually through pure will fighting off the Reverse's effects. Only temporarily. It shrouded her mind, but she never let it control. It tainted her thoughts and was always there like a permanent reminder that it was there; ready to take over if she let herself down even once.

Riding into Venus Luquier, and stiriding into the Ardor Dragon Master, Amanda, Dalis put herself into great strain while she declared she would emerge victorious. After a stride and a break ride from Seifer, both at five damage, Dalis couldn't move as he checked two more cards after Restanding with Dauntless Drive Dragon. But finally, it went Dalis' way and she quickly gathered her units and struck back to win the match.

"Thank you, Seifer. For the match. It was great." She said, a tired grin on her face. She meant it.

Seifer began the match pushing against his opponent hard with his units. He took the advantage as quick as he could, but after that, everything went down hill. Nouvelle Vague was no where to be seen, and he started having a hard time even mounting a counter attack. It felt like his deck was abandoning him and yet, he pushed that thought to the side and fought on. Even given the circumstances, he enjoyed the fight, especially seeing them having the ability to stride. The salvation of feeling like he could do something again flowed through his body, though only fleetingly as what followed was the sense of strain from striding, and his lack of sleep. When Dalis took the advantage and pushed Seifer into a corner, while he didn't lose hope, he knew he lost. Breakriding in desperation, Seifer attempted to finish it and yet... Fell just short and losing the next turn. While he was at least happy he had fun... That he and his opponent had fun, the strain from stride and the lack of sleep finally got to him. Before he could respond to Dalis, his crimson eyes dulled and he toppled backwards, passing out on the floor.

Well it was fine and dandy the two fighters had fun. However, the sheer power emitting from G Units destroyed a couple of machines above in the observation deck. They were both strained by trying to maintain the forms of the units. Yugure informed the workers to quickly upload the data onto mainframes and backups, then shut off the electricity. When the duel ended, the table turned off, and the Chosen Sword ran over to Seifer, catching him as he fell.

"... Good work", a surprised Yugure said to the unconscious boy and her old friend. They definitely earned their kudos for standing up even a couple minutes after Striding. From her own experience, she passed out almost immediately after using it. "Very, very good work. Nobody else has to go through that for the day, this'll be enough to work with." The woman went on, showing concern for the two and the same amount for others who could've potentially tested Stride. They needed to make adjustments so the strain would be less taxing, but they could only do so much to deal with raw power.

Everyone would just have to grow endurance. Not a reassuring thought for her conscious, but they didn't exactly have options. Medics, that had been summoned just in case something went wrong, came to carry Seifer away into the medical bay.

"I apologize for throwing you straight into this as you got back..." The Commander spoke to Dalis directly, softening her tone of voice.

Dalis stumbled as she walked away from the fight table, quickly recovering her steps and glancing around the room as her cheeks reddened. Her breath was strained, shaky and uneven. A few hairs were out of place, some make up slightly running. She fixed herself up as she walked back to Yukino, glancing at her carefully.

"Thanks." She replied, storing her deck away and adjusting her jacket. Her eyes flicked up to meet Yukino, impassive and somewhat distant. "It's fine. I wouldn't have volunteered if it wasn't fine." She assured her friend, stroking the purple strands of her hair; the rest black as sin. "It was a lot more of a kick than I expected but, I'll be fine. I guess being a performer kinda helps. Bright lights and being out of breath is normal for me." She joked, laughing meekly. Yukino was observant. She would notice all the new cards, and she was dreading the moment she asked.

Xat walked over to the others and looked at yukino.  "Do you know were the time travelers will be?" She asked Yukino as she looked at all the other having fun wanting to join them.

Yugure gave a deep sigh, still worried about Dalis' physical and mental state after Stride. "Get yourself checked out by the medics soon, please", the soldier requested. There was some concern from the warrior about Dalis' gazes. They felt far away, a bit cautious, and somewhat deadpan. Questions raised that would have to get answers. Namely how she obtained a Crossride. Catching up was another thing entirely, she needed to know her army inside and out. She needed to know her friends even more so than that. Still, it'd be best to give a bit of space to breathe and adjust, so Dalis wouldn't be bothered with an interrogation for now.

"I'm going to see Haruka, then I'm going to head back home for a time to speak with Father. Continue study and modifications to the Reality Bangles, and be on the watch for any Rift fluctuations or Link Joker's movements. Just because transcendence has become more widespread doesn't mean the invaders are sleeping."

"Understood!"

The employees all saluted to their commander. They were dismissed, and began busily scrambling for the war effort.

The woman herself tugged at her ruined jacket sleeve, annoyed. She'd have to get a new one back at home... Probably a good time to see if she could make any personal touches to the bangle in her work shop. Xat seemed to have popped up out of nowhere, grabbing the general's attention. An inquiry about the time travelers?

"We haven't the foggiest idea where those people could be. Some information on them would be useful... All we know is two of them consist of parallels of myself and Noel. That, and they can Stride."

Xat looked back at her. "maybe we should trap one of them? As for the ability to stride maybe we can find a way to stride as well so we can be on the same playing field as the time travelers. I can also see if the murakumos can find any clues on cray." She suggested to her

Haruto put his hand into his pocket and pulled out some tissues and handed them to Haruka, he too was tearing up, but after some inside jokes the two started laughing genuinly with one another just the fact that Haruka considered Haruto as someone similar to him mean't a lot and it definitely helped the situation for the both of them.

"..Hahaha I appreciate it, but I would not lose hope on the door, i'm sure someone will come visit." he said, as he took a seat next in the place that Haruka instructed of him once again.

"..I'll stay here for now I'll know when Aniki has to leave so i'll leave before then slightly." he said, winking.
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Events unfolded in front of Tsubasa, who simply stood on the side watching as Seifer and the returning Dhalis tried out the reality bangle and released their stride units, thought it was clear that the reality bangle took a lot out of the user, nevertheless he knew that the fight had to be taken on equal terms, so he took a reality bangle for himself and sat on a bench as the group continued on their seperate business.

"...This thing is mean't to unlock for me the power to stride..but I cannot stride into Ezel..that card requires the heart unit to be an Ezel, unfortunately Ezel is not part of the Liberator Corps...-sigh-..what can i do with this..." he thought as he placed the bangle and his deck next to him.

He wasn't sure how long it'd been, but when he woke up, Seifer found himself staring at a white ceiling. He was laying in a... bed? The last thing he remembered was passing out after the fight with Dalis. Now he was... here. Where was here? Sitting up and looking around, he blinked a few times trying to get rid of his blurry eyesight. When it cleared, he realized he was in the med bay. Someone probably had brought him here, though there was no one around for him to ask. Oh well. Standing up and stretching, the male walked out of the med bay to wander the halls. There seemed to be fewer people in the resistance than he remembered. And there was someone missing... He couldn't see her face but... She wasn't the only one missing either. Haruka was to. ...Maybe he was here somewhere? Worth a shot. The brunette wandered around the halls, knocking on random doors and waiting a few seconds for an answer before walking away.