"Cardfight in Wonderland" - Zoo Branch

Aoi mewled inquisitively, not detecting Fubuki's implication through sarcasm thanks to her innocent stupidity. Though, she was in even more wonder at what she could have in store at Magallanica after this event. The gumball was obviously bothered by the lack of synchronization with the naval forces of Cray, and how the massive Tear Dragon would not answer her call... Honestly, bothering Fubuki about it - or anyone for that matter - wasn't ideal, but she didn't mind just spending time with her friend. "Works for meeee~" She chirped cheerfully, keeping her usual sunny disposition. "Though, we should keep pressing on with the event! Let's head for the hills and keep our momentum going, one loss won't stop us!" Despite the irritation of her connection with Aqua Force in discord, she still wished to advance.

The child of potential consciously fought against her own brake button.

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Jessie watched as officials came to escort Rin from the scene, seeing the other girl go with her. He heard the other strange girl - Tsubame - sling profanity at the mecha tiger player, and the boy wasn't sure what to think. He was definitely annoyed people like the lady in red roamed about, and the arrogance... greatly bothered him. Yet, in his good nature, he didn't want to let his anger boil over to at least think of why this happened. It was upsetting that the poor lass was bullied, but the brunette would like to believe people don't senselessly belittle others.

Was the lady in red in some kind of rush? It wasn't hard to wait for one's turn. If it came down to getting a gold card to fight Rikuto, surely she could have gotten it anywhere else? Especially with those unique Gear Chronicle units... power, speed, the element of surprise...

"I... don't really get it." Was all Jessie could say after putting pieces together. Ultimately, the situation was over and done with. Rin was going to go home, she has a friend to comfort her, and he can get in his fight with Tamotsu. Though, he looked toward Xat, still bewildered by the tiger woman and now this one's apparent memory issue. "I'm Jessie Hakaisha, remember? I was with Aoi when we visited your village, I think it was?" Considering what happened to him in the past, his own memory wasn't exactly crystal clear either. Still, he introduced himself in a friendly manner.

Which left him and his dog. It had definitely been quite a wait, but he obviously didn't mind. A casual game with his companion - even if it was for a competitive, but fun event - should help ease their minds. "Yeah, of course." He grinned, wanting to get started with the event himself. Through his kind, passive nature... he showed an obvious difference from a cabbage rushing through the rain forest, who was searching for her fourth gold card. Someone in this world who did not strive to achieve aggressively enough - who didn't dream big enough... versus the presence of those with purpose and drive... In a way, perhaps Koga and the lady in red held something over him he couldn't understand. The same way the hyperactive Aoi and currently dominating Hana did. Something he would have to understand eventually in this new era.

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"Aaah?" Chris hummed curiously with a wicked smirk, especially wide after hearing the panicked footsteps of the fleeing shrine maiden. The moth girl brought an arm under her ample bust, holding her elbow as she rested her dainty digits onto her cheek. Her pretty, manicured nails gently poked at her skin as she started at Seth, who she had invoked a rather hilarious emotional state from. Unlike most of the children current running around the Zoo Branch like wild animals - staff included - Killer Queen took playing the game very seriously. As such, through the competitive nature she played Vanguard in, the white haired wonder was exhibiting a familiar feeling most losers went through after devastating defeats.

Yes, the boy was salty.

Oh, how she relished in delight of how humorous it was. Chris was almost inclined to entertain him before remembering that she was supposed to be a good girl for the official event. "Apologies, the rules state you only get one shot at gold card holders. Unfortunate, but you will have to run home to mommy and ask again later." Her haughty, giggling tone would make anyone sick to their stomach. From a flat-chested, green haired runt to a voluptuous lioness in five years, Chrisaline knew how to make what God gave her work in the absolute most patronizing manner possible.  

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The pudding-demon panda kept a stoic expression that sometimes broke into a small smile. Though it didn't seem it, she was enjoying herself overall with free treats and entertaining games, despite the linearity of Susano'o's gameplay. So, when Sakuya approached, she tilted her head as she addressed the maiden: "Do you have pudding?"

"Rules...?" Seth had completely forgotten about the fight rules of this event, figuring he'd only need to play them once and score a victory. However, his vexation got the better of him as he opened his mouth to retort to his opponent.

"Fuck that noise!" he shouted throughout the plains. "I'm demanding for a match set! If I win, then we'll play a third time and winner takes all!" He got stepped forward to Chris' face and slammed his hand, clenching his deck onto the table where he was defeated at and raised his index finger at her. "So let's fight unless you're a fighter who only gets off of taking one lucky win and dubs out because you can't handle a full match set!"

Xat looked at Jessie and shook her head. ”im sorry i dont rember you, nor the dog over there, but somehow you seem really familiar the both of you.” she said as kao jumped on her shoulder after making dure the other girl was ok after being help out of the area by the staff of the branch.

He spoke ad he watched the fight about to happen. ”we might see each other again you two, and also my name is Kao, sorry i didnt introduce my elf earlyer. Im a carbuncle and the guardian of Xateramusa the fox ruler of the spirit relem.” he said intoeducig himself. As xat watched the fight between the two.

"You can go on ahead. I still need to get myself a towel and dry off," Fubuki said before turning to head back to the main building.

Sieg was nearing Varess. There were just a few more platforms to go. But, as she landed on one of the last platforms, it suddenly flipped over, dunking Sieg into the lake. She panicked and tried to scramble to the surface, eventually managing to climb up onto the platform that flipped on her. When she did, she looked over towards Varess, shocked at who he saw standing behind him.

"Yo," the lady in red said. "I'll be taking one of those gold cards now."

Meanwhile, Alysson had finally made the decision to start walking into the hills.

"Don't be too long, Fubuki!" Aoi waved cheerfully before zooming off at full speed, her army of animals passing the white-haired girl in following the hyperactive gumball.

This left Varess to lament his fate as the lady in red and Sieg had shown up to the lake. "... Ah, hell." He just couldn't catch a real break today.

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Jessie and Tamotsu finally got their game going, and the boy was missing more or less all his grade one units. So, the young Hakaisha took it upon himself to fight with triggers, trying to take the lead early on in knowing his poor boosters would make no difference later. Despite how much of a newbie he looks like compared to the Chinese Champion or Isabella, our boy here was still somewhat experienced, which let him match his foe blow for blow. Luck was kind, seeing an early heal then scoring a critical later perfectly made up for the lacking of sufficient boosters. It was thanks to this, Tachikaze would not fall behind to Great Nature's amazing resource generation. The tiger noted that Aoi would be proud if she could see their fight, given Jessie pushed damage hard and even superior called a grade three to rearguard by turn two. His first game showcased that when given the ability, the hunter can attack relentlessly with pressure.

Like a real Jaeger.

The pressure was furthered as the game was taken to Stride. The boy was questioning (and mocking) his friend's "Jungle Zone, release" and "Jungle Generation". The play on words still sounded dumb to him, but a few monkeys threw bananas at him as to reprimand his sass. While he initially wasn't too worried thanks to being on one damage, he had severely underestimated how strong this turn of Tamotsu's is. First, Omniscience Dragon, Cath Palug - the future possibility of Chatnoir - had an ability similar to its original self: when a rearguard attacks, give it power, retire and draw later. Good resourcing, but it wouldn't be enough... he thought, until a critical appeared and got replaced on a rearguard. Now, as well as the lad had pushed, he didn't understand why the trigger was applied in such a way. That showed his lack of knowledge of the cardpool and deciphering the obvious. Sure, he wasn't all that informed about a lot of cards - especially new ones... but it wasn't hard to guess that the Tester Fox that took the critical was going to attack again. The only reason this play didn't kill him was because he made the right call in guarding it while its power was low.

Crayon Tiger did exactly what a good player would have guessed: stood Tester and powered it up. With thirty two thousand power, had the boy taken the first hit stupidly, he would have lost on the spot.

Thankfully, surviving meant he could retaliate with his own Stride: Super Ancient Dragon, Pearly Titan. This was a massive dinodragon with size that was rare even in Dragon Empire, and its skill showed by retiring Tyrannolegend and Crayon Tiger. This let it gain twenty thousand power and a critical, then with a makeshift trigger boost, the behemoth swung for fifty one thousand...! In addition, Jessie had been paying attention to Tamotsu's Perfect Guards, noting two in damage and one in drop zone by then. It was the perfect chance to strike, and though Tamotsu... tried to state he might've drawn one in the four cards plus triple drive he got from his turn... Jessie wasn't convinced by his stammering, and went all in to strike. Seeing as the clan leader threw down a large amount of hand for sixty one thousand worth of shield value, the hunter had made the right call.

Unfortunately, he couldn't pass the wall of guard because of only getting one trigger. He had been seeing so many, chances were low anyway... Still, he pressed on and had Tyrannobite attack... not knowing that he could've damage denied his opponent. One of numerous things he'd come to learn.

Even so, Jessie proved to be an earnest, passionate fighter. For all his skepticism around Aoi and the equally energetic Tamotsu, he got pretty heated as he gave his all in trying to stop the Break Ride Legion combo turn. All the while he's hanging by a thread with minimal guard, but one trigger allowed a small Duckbill to hit just enough to take away all his cards in hand, including Stride Fodder, and snatched away an attacker. With his field in shambles and still sitting on a Break Ride, he had to pull either a strong attacker... or a grade three to break ride with.

As luck would have it, Jessie got neither. Instead, he got what embodied the new era: Stride Fodder. With it, a second round of Pearly Titan appeared, and... it was promptly Perfect Guarded by Tamotsu finding his fourth. However, out of absolutely nowhere, three triggers appeared in the boy's triple drive which put his column of Dinodiles just high enough to surpass his shield value. The tiger had discarded a shield to hold on to stride fodder for next turn. While this was by no means a bad play, it was still a fatal choice.

Then a sixth heal.

Jessie sweat nervously. But his attack was Critical Three.

A seventh heal.

Alright, his hair was drooping as he was sweating again.

Third check, Chatnoir.

"... Phew! Haha! I did it!" By the skin of his teeth, he had grasped victory and got his reward... after Tamotsu had to check if there was any left, that is. Thankfully, there were some, and that's when a new challenger approached the duo. That confirmation of extra gold cards brought Koga to reveal herself, smiling - a bit arrogantly - as she walked. "Wait... you're-"

"Good work, kid. I saw the whole thing, and you made a lot out of a bad situation. Would've lost to the clan leader here otherwise." Koga spoke, a bit condescendingly. Though, her 'kid' wasn't nearly as insulting as the lady in red's 'brat'. That, and she actually waited her turn.

"Ah... you think so? I mean, I got lucky, for the most part..." Hitting so many triggers clearly and then a triple trigger...

"Don't play yourself down, kid. Luck is also a part of strength."

"That... doesn't sound quite correct."

"Really, it is in the world of Vanguard. That's why..." Koga revealed her new avatar: Ahsha, to the boy. "Decks like mine excel. With so much pulling from deck, I'm more liable to hit triggers."

"... Huh. Never thought of it like that."

"Anyway, congrats, but you better hurry up." She then showed off her three gold cards, surprising the boy. "They're running out of these, you know. The event's wrapping up soon."

"Shit, really?! Okay, I gotta get moving then! Uh, nice fight, Tamotsu, I'll see you after the event!" Jessie decided to get a move on, waving to his friend before he began to take off. The weird Tsubame girl and Xat's apparent loss of memories both raised a few questions, but he'd have to ask them later lest he fall horribly behind.

"My turn then, lil' buddy." Koga stated, grinning as she turned to the tiger.

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In the meantime, Chrisaline was laughing up a storm - right in Seth's face as he demanded another game, rules be damned. Even worse, he tried to imply she was not only afraid of a full match set, but that she may even lose, walking off with only a lucky win. The girl stopped her cackling after a few moments, wearing an egotistical and victorious smirk as she stared at the barking puppy. "What a cute little rodent." All she really had was an insult for him, bringing her deck of cards together through a telepathic ability - the deck literally putting itself together and floating toward her, away from the table. "Run along, little one. Mommy has work to do." Not even dignifying him with a direct response, she ran her hand through her silky, aqua locks, letting them flow and flutter through the wind as she twirled. With her back turned to Seth, Chris began to strut away, swaying her hips with a pleased chuckling as the Longhorn Hunters and Darkface followed.

His demand for a match being ignored continued to get under Seth's skin. On one hand, he could just ignore his opponent who shows no interest, viewing him as an inferior specimen with her superior attitude and proceed onto the rest of the event. However, that was exactly why he stepped forward once more.

"Hey, chick!" He shouted at his haughty opponent as she continued to walk away. Suddenly, his hand rose and before he could realize it, his grip connected with something that was surely to escalate the issue. He looked down and saw his cold icy hand wrapped around her finger tips. As time stood still between them, his mind began to race. The thought of releasing her hand came up naturally, but what if she asked how his hand even connected with hers? Would she believe him? What she have insulted him, either verbally or physically? Would she continue to strut away? Seth found himself deeper and deeper within the dragon's den, as with his hand being frozen onto Chris'.

With more rats wandering about the hills - though scarcely so - it was still all good for the Killer Queen's domain of torment. Less people meant less crowds, and less crowds meant it was easier to pounce upon isolated prey. Yes... the lioness licked her lips as she put the annoying brat in the back of her mind, having already gotten what she wanted out of him. Now, she was once again hungry for the misery of others as she and her servants were strolling away right before Seth called out to her. Clearly, she had gotten under his skin, but what she couldn't understand is how he got in contact with hers.

"Ah...? What is it now, child-" Chrisaline stopped as she acknowledged his hand had grabbed onto hers. The mutant insects were as surprised as they were perplexed by how he reached her, but did not move without her command. Her gaze, however, was observant instead of panicked as she stared at their meeting hands for a moment and felt a... chill. "Hm?" The moth girl spoke curiously as frost slowly overtook their limbs. A smirk still remained as the centerpiece of her countenance, though showing a hint of irritation seeing as the boy wouldn't leave her alone. A fan now, perhaps? Must be from the little "showing" of power here.

"Little rat... you don't want to make me upset. Let go of my hand." From her alluring, yet stern pitch, Chris was making it clear he had one chance to walk away peacefully.

"Hm? Pudding?" Sakuya blinked at the panda, tilting her head in turn with Ves. She stared at the girl for a few moments, before clapping her hands together, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh, what an adorable little thing you are." She said with a giggle. The panda costume really was fitting, making the girl look especially precious. Her short stature betrayed her age, making her look more like a little kid dressed for a school play, rather than a member of the Association staff. The only thing that worried Sakuya was the heat- It must be awfully hot inside that costume.

"Well, I believe I have just the thing for you..." She reached into the pocket she normally stored her deck in, pulling out a different deck entirely. The shrine maiden filed through the cards until she reached one near the back, sliding it out of the case and offering it to the panda: It was another copy of Battle Sister, Pudding, from the deck Sakuya had played years ago before she went back to Tsukuyomi. "Here we are, one Pudding for the cute little girl."

Tamotsu had really been wanting to win what with the streak of crazy girls beating him up today. For a time it seemed he would as Cath Palug pushed Jessie hard. But Pearly Titan had a lot to say to Tamotsu's hand and the fact it was lacking perfect guards. Massive power and a crit to boot was asking for nearly everything the pup had. He was only saved by the lack of critical triggers checked on the turn. He turned to the tried and true tactic of breakride legion by having Tester Fox ride over Chatnoir. It would have been a much more impressive turn had Jessie's stride not devoured his attackers the turn before. But he still took the boy's hand to nothing in the process.

But Jessie was strong and drew stride fodder allowing Pearly Titan a triumphant return. This time Tamotsu had the perfect guard. Jessie's other column was two triggers, not impressive numbers by any means. Wanting to ensure he could stride the turn after, Tamotsu threw away a grade two, leaving a grade three and a critical trigger. But Jessie went and pulled three triggers, making it impossible to guard the last attack with what he had. As it had with Tsubame, Broadcast Rabbit tried its hardest to heal out of the high crit situation. Two heals with one left in the deck but the final check was Chatnoir. After scrambling to find his remaining gold cards Tamotsu handed one to Jessie. There weren't many left but by this point someone had to already be challenging the branch director he thought.

However a new challenger had appeared. He had memories of the girl from the war. The old him and Carlos had battled them at some point. Memories were still kinda fuzzy or at the least the adrenaline of the event was distracting him from remembering it clearly. The animals did their bow to Jessie and Tsubame hummed on her log, curios at the number of people she'd one day have to fight for her title of queen of the jungle. Tamotsu waved to Jessie as he left to continue the event and then shifted his focus to Koga, missing Tsubame get up and leave in the process.

"I don't got many of these left and I'm not gonna be handing another one out!" he said defiantly to the cabbage before him. The two exchanged early blows as one might expect. Neo Nectar wasn't particularly well known for its early rush and while Tamotsu had more tools available, he hesitated as attempting to do so against Hikari had cost him the game. Things ramped up as Koga rode to Ranunculus Flower Maiden Ahsha. With a critical trigger she had the dog on four damage before his first stride. This resulted in a very similar strong Cath Palug turn to the one he had used on Jessie but Koga survived it fairly well due to having managed her early damage.

The game carried on and after a turn of Flower Princess of Spring, Arborea, Tamotsu wasn't exactly doing well but he had at least stopped the on hit skill from going off. As before, the clan leader relied on the breakride legion combo when his set up didn't look ideal for a stride. But Koga was able to hang on with a heal and some guarding. This led to Jingle Flower Dragon which showed the tiger dog first hand how poweful Neo Nectar could be with a field of units with the same name. He was in no position to guard everything in front of him and though Broadcast Rabbit made her third sixth heal showing of the day, it was no use.

Another loss. The dog pouted for a bit before handing Koga her card. The animals too bowed to the girl in recognition. Tsubame wouldn't know that yet another rival for her title had appeared.

"That's four gold cards. You're really on the roll here aren't you?" Tamotsu said regaining some of his usual playful energy.

Speaking of Tsubame the girl had taken to following Jessie once he departed. The new girl seemed like a watered down version of the impossible display of generic edge from earlier and the nice guy turned out to have the energy fitting of a shonen protagonist when he got serious so that was worth gathering more evidence on. She'd manage to stay fairly close without saying much. This was all about documenting how the subject acted in his natural environment. Disturbances could lead to false data.

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Rikuto stood at the pavilion center, deep in thought, as he looked out upon the preserve. He was waiting for the first to arrive to claim the right to challenge him in a fight. To his surprise a pair of young girls emerged from the direction of the rainforest. One seemed terribly shaken and the two were even being escorted by staff.

"What happened?!" he asked while running up to the girls as they approached. "Where were they?" he said forcefully.

"The rainforest sir. Clan Leader Tamotsu called for us and informed us this girl had been frightened by another participant." one of the staff said in response while motioning to Rin. Rikuto sighed in relief that it hadn't been Tamotsu himself.

"Take her inside and get her a blanket, she's clearly in shock." he said but then took another look for a moment or so. "And get her something with protein, the girl's hardly got any muscle mass." said the doctor. He probably could have kept looking for various health and diet issues but that was less important. The other girl with her, probably a concerned friend, presented a gold card. A smile crossed the Mad Hatter's face.

"Well look at that. We have the first to return. That gives you the right to challenge me to a cardfight miss." he said with a congratulatory tone.

Seth's thoughts began to dissolve at the imposed fury of Chris and her warning. Her tone sent chills throughout his body, a small jolt that loosened his grip upon her demand. He was spooked, as though he had saw a ghost as white as his own hair, eyes began to expand while looking upward at her like a frighten child who had just been caught doing mischief. His mouth opened; fangs beginning to jitter as much as his lip was quivering like a puppy lost in the rain.

"No." his eyes focused, though it maintained a hint of fear but something else. It wasn't anger nor thrill, or anything that seemed to be warranted in this situation. Seth's grip was reinforced, slowly lifting his hand with hers. "I'm not scared of you!" he shouted through his fangs. "You're not going anywhere til we finish this and neither am I! So put up and let's go!" He was determined to this through regardless if he'd regret later or not, along with any looming consequences.

Xat smiled at the end of the battle between Jessie, and Tamotsu, before turning and walking away but not before waving good-bye to Tamotsu. She contuned down the path and decided to go towards a medow she saw earlyer, humming a song she had learned she walked down the path. 'the new generation seems to be a fun group...that lady in red however...' she thought to herself not notcing that she had reach the medow and kao nudged her gently which snaped Xat out of her thoughts.

"Im going to run for a little." Kao said and jumping down began to run in the medow streching his legs with xat wlaking not to far behind.

Hikari looked to Rin and the staff members. She didn't want to leave Rin like that. But hearing that she'd gotten the opportunity to fight the Mad Hatter, as she had planned from the beginning, and knowing that Rin was in good hands, and would likely be okay from here... Hikari wasn't sure what to do. Finally, she made up her mind. She turned to Rin, "Hey Rin, I'll catch up with you real soon, okay?" she said, "Get some rest, and I'll be there right after I win."

She turned back to Rikuto, "Alright, Mad Hatter! I challenge you to a cardfight!" she declared, presenting her deck. She stared him down with a fierce fire in her eyes, and a grin she forced herself to wear despite her concern. She thought maybe her own fiery spirit would help Rin recover. Besides, this wasn't just Hikari's fight anymore. Hikari had wanted to bring Rin back here after they won their gold cards, and they could each take Rikuto on. But Rin was unable to complete the event. "In Rin's stead, I will defeat you for both of us!"

The battle between Varess and the lady in red was a more one-sided affair than her battle against Toma, and was over in what felt like mere moments. The woman dominated in the early game, rushing Varess down to four damage with a critical trigger before either player had even reached Grade Three. She kept up the pressure, riding Chronofang Tiger and removing his starter before taking the first Stride into Altered Dragon, a unit that hadn't seen use in her previous fight. It swung for a massive 42000, forcing out the Perfect Guard in Varess' hand. Several attacks followed that up, putting Varess on 5 damage with minimal handsize and no field.

Although he wasn't able to use the full power of the deck he was using, Varess still managed to unleash a sizable counterattack and replenish his hand to a decent size. However, it wasn't enough to finish off the woman, and as it came to her turn she let out a sigh, not enjoying this fight much more than Varess was enjoying the event.

"I'm just going to put an end to this here," she said. "Chronofang Tiger, Generation Break. I bind Steam Tamer, Nani from my hand to Stride into Bind Time Dragon." While she said it nonchalantly like it was nothing, Sieg who was watching the fight after reaching the platform was shocked both by the presence of Gear Chronicle cards she'd never seen before, and the skills they possessed. Upstream attacked, calling out Etana in its place, followed by another Nani, and then Bind Time itself. Even though she already had more than enough units in the bind zone to wipe away Varess' field, she chose to bind three of her own rear-guards.

"Gear Tabby and Etana power-up Bind Time even further, and I'll be able to call both of my Nani back from the Bind Zone after the battle," she said. Bind Time Dragon was already at 54000, and guarding it just for a single trigger took most of the hand Varess had left, only hanging on to enough shield to guard the two Nanis. However, a critical trigger came to the woman, breaking through his Guard and dealing a decisive final blow.

"Just give me the gold card, this was another waste of time."

Chris... tilted her head, showing a deranged expression as Seth gave up his chance to leave. He who dares to bare their fangs at the queen enraged the insects, but alas... The sultry demoness was supposed to be on good behavior as ordered by her mentor. It would be really bad if she started getting more wild with her powers and actually hurt the lad, as Rikuto would probably get on her case and Varess'. Oh, but the child pushed her as he steeled his grip. "Ah..." A murmur of acceptance, understanding that Seth wanted his fair match to get a victory.

Unfortunately, the woman now had an excuse.

Pressing her free hand to his chest, the white haired boy would be blown away as she takes her other out of his grasp, black and red energy swirling about ominously, forming two rings that circled about the dragon before clamping down on his body. "Lock." The host of the jester declared with a sweet voice, chaining him with the unique bindings of Link Joker. Then, her grin returned to its usual, cocky state as she pressed two fingers to her ear, activating an earpiece. "Helloooo~? There's a disturbance in my domain. Someone's getting violent with me, please come help while I still have him restrained." That snake! The most he did was tightly grab her hand, but she would cry about how a girl's body is a fragile, delicate little thing just to convince the oncoming staff to take her side.

"I gave you a chance, little mouse." Chrisaline reminded, the insects having calmed down as they stood by her, watching the boy in his lock. "Now you'll have to be..." She brought her pretty digit before her lips, wagging it teasingly. "D-Q'd." She sang, putting emphasis on both letters. "Disqualified!"

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Koga seemed to be performing outstandingly well this entire event, not struggling nearly as much as Jessie or others thanks to the massive numbers of Neo Nectar. What she said was right: clans like hers that can mitigate luck by superior call... It was strong, and proving effective against the big hands of Great Nature. Though, judging how strong the Cath Palug turn is with Crayon Tiger... It dawned on her that perhaps she shouldn't have given him four counterblasts to work with. Even if the fight was over, it was worth keeping in mind. The young cabbage ran through with purpose and understanding, learning and growing through each step she took through the event signified by four golden cards properly earned. "Looks like you ended up handing one out after all." Was spoken boastfully, but the smile Koga gave was pure like the sun, genuinely happy with her results. "I am really on a roll, yeah! Thanks for everything, lil' tiger." She expressed her gratitude, adding the fourth to her collection and shuffling them in her hands. "One more, and I'll be good to go! This is the best way for me to show off how we can do things peacefully."

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"Pudding!!" The panda said excitedly, bowing appreciatively to the shrine maiden before taking the card and... actually biting it. Some tumbleweed rolled by in silence as she stood still, not chewing. After a minute, she looked up at the woman with a deadpan expression. "This doesn't taste good."

Jessie had arrived on the scene, seeing people gathered around who he assumed was the gold card holder. It didn't take long for him to get his zone card since everyone was getting exhausted, so he trekked right along as the panda addressed him the same way she addressed Sakuya.

"Do you have any pudding?"

"Huh? No, I don't have pudding..."

"I want pudding."

"Uh... I can give you change for a cup."

"That's not pudding."

"... Look, give me something to work with here."

"Okay. This is the pudding desert."

"Alright, first of all, that doesn't even make sense. Second of all, pandas don't even hang around the desert!"

"True, but this panda lives in the 'dessert'."

Another tumbleweed.

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"Here you go." Varess could already feel his headache getting worse after seeing Gear Chronicle. It was bad enough he barely understood the new clan, to be honest, but it was worsened by the appearance of new units. The slick panda took it upon himself to actually be interested, despite his demeanor... and basically threw the game to observe. Altered Dragon, Bind Time Dragon, Chronofang Tiger in particular... Very unique cards that didn't seem to play like the other bits of the clan he had seen. On top of that, they were incredibly different from a certain Grand Sanctuary seat's deck. The woman in red seemed irritated - irritated enough for her to not notice his brow was raised for a good portion of the game. "Time manipulation through a fist, eh?" Chronofang's skill was the first one that let him know what kind of powers the deck possessed, taking note of the image that involved the mecha tiger punching Telescope Rabbit so hard it went back in time - to the bottom of his deck.

"Heh." He offered the gold card and a bit more sentiment than he did with Aoi and Fubuki. Unlike with those two, he didn't try to reprimand or bite back against the annoyed lady.

Varess merely decided to remember her face.

Sakuya blinked. The panda... actually tried to eat the card. If she hadn't had prior experience with eldritch space horrors, this might have qualified as the most bizarre thing she'd ever seen. There was no way this girl was as under-developed as Aoi, was there? But on the other hand, Sakuya considered, this girl and Aoi did have at least one very obvious trait in common...

Another tumbleweed. Where were these things coming from in the middle of a desert?

"Ah... Ahaha... She actually wanted the dessert kind of pudding? Hmm..." Sakuya put a finger to her chin and tilted her head again, shrugging off the awkwardness of the previous interaction. She began going over various possibilities of how to get this girl pudding, not wanting to abandon Jessie to the fate of babysitting a second child. Aoi was more than enough for both of them as it was.

"How about this, then. I know of a wonderful little shop that sells all sorts of sweets, pudding included, I'm sure. What if we go there after the event ends, and I treat you to some pudding then? You would get more than just a single cup's worth that way." Sakuya nodded at her own idea. Surely her tactic of literally sweetening the deal with the promise of more pudding would be enough to please this panda princess of the dessert desert, right?

"DISQUALIFIED!?" he howled at Chris while struggling on the ground by the binding force of the black rings. He sat up while kneeling on the ground facing her.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I just wanted you to fight me again! Besides, I grabbed your HAND - not your ass and it's not like I hurt you! So just... fucking let me go!" His eyes widened in fury and terror. "I can't possibly be disqualified for something as minor as this!" His eyes met Chris' as she looked down with a smirk, Seth blood began to boil.

"Does this entertain you!?!? Seeing me like this - at the heel of your mercy, like the mice you envision me and everyone else as in your eyes? All you had to do was just.. accept...the... rematch!" His silvery white hair rested on the ground as he began to close his eyes and begrudgingly accepting his fate. "But noooooooo! You had to keep insulting me and then you walked away because you know you're so caught up in your own self satisfaction to give me the proper challenge! And now you're just... UGH. This is bullshit and you know it, now unbind me and fight me you tramp!"

Tamotsu was a bit happier about things given Koga seemed to be beaming. She was doing really well. Though he wondered if she'd be able to challenge Rikuto. Hikari had already went back towards the pavilion and had a gold card in hand. But still the accomplishment here was something else entirely. He was a bit unsure how to feel about being called little as he was pretty sure he was bigger than her but at the least she referred to him as a tiger. As the cabbage seemed to be ready to leave she said something interesting. Something about showing how they could do things peacefully. The we she referred to... his memories helped the conclusion that she meant the Link Joker players. Koga had played the Venom Dancer legion back in the war yet was tearing up the event today with Neo Nectar.

"We huh... how are things at Star Gate? It feels weird to see you playing a Zoo clan but I can understand why you would." he questioned the girl. Zoo wasn't exactly the place to find Link Joker players these days but the Clan Leader knew the general sentiment about the clan among the association. Even those who tried to remain mostly neutral on the matter like Director Rikuto weren't entirely friendly toward it. And while all of that made sense it also felt unfair to the young fighters of today who had no part in the sins of the clan. Koga's performance today seemed to be driven by a desire to change that image but she would be facing a very steep hill indeed if that was her goal.

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Tsubame was interested to see the boy Jessie moving toward the desert. It was an adjacent area with a gold card holder present so that much made sense. But willingly entering the heat and sand seemed a touch unusual. But then maybe he was the quiet but fiercely determined shonen protagonist after all and didn't let anything dissuade him. He seemed to largely ignore her presence as he fought a staff member for a zone card and eventually found the area's gold card holder.

It was a panda.

A panda that seemed to be demanding pudding.

Her puns were on the same tier as the jungle generation from the tiger.

Were these zoo people actually brilliant or just really dumb? It was honestly getting hard for her to tell.

"Looks like pudding or bust Dinoboy. Different zone, different laws. Nothing you can do about 'em." she said while twirling her parasol about. It was proving rather useful for shade under the bright burning sun.

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Rikuto seemed very impressed with Hikari's energy in the challenge. The girl was raring to go but unfortunately the branch staff weren't. The pavilion needed a fight table but most of the staff were out and about fighting the participants. The few remaining in the building were imagining it would have taken a bit longer for someone to get there and thus were only now springing to life to get everything set up.

"Ah, it seems we're a bit behind on that. Well we have a moment, why not come tell me about your escapades today?" the man said with a smile while sitting on what seemed like a park bench. It wasn't bolted down though implying it was portable and only moved out here for the event.

"Tell me, miss. Well first I suppose I should ask your name. Mine is Rikuto Minami as you're perhaps aware. But much more importantly I'm curious how you chose to tackle the event..." he said trailing off and looking up at the sky. The sun caught his glasses in a way so as to obscure his eyes a moment until he looked back in the girl's direction. "...And I wonder if you might inform me what happened to your friend. I'm quite concerned there's something or someone out there doing this to young fighters and I think the association would like to know."

"Yes, actually, it does entertain me." Chrisaline giggled as he struggled in the binding black rings, staring at him haughtily. "Naughty boys who break rules must be punished. I gave you a warning, you spat at my offer. What am I to do...?" She leaned against one of the tall Longhorn Hunters, enjoying herself greatly as Seth squirmed, trying to justify how simple the thing he wanted was that would ignore the rules. He had a point when he said he didn't exactly sexually harass her, but she sure didn't care as the wrathful gaze he had was plenty to give her satisfaction. "Little mouse, I can always play with you later when you calm down. I'm afraid the results will be quite similar to these, however. For now... behave yourself and let the big boys take you away." Staff had arrived - two employees in a... shark costume and a orca costume. Looks like they came right from the lake. Chris laughed off his extra bit of dialogue, not having a care in the world for how she provoked him. All she did was abuse her position with verbal assaults, knowing those who bit back would take the fall.

Real challenge or not, salt or not, this was an unfair situation she set herself up to be the winner for.

"Take him away from me."

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"Pudding shop! The Ezel guy promised me a buncha pudding too. I want all the pudding, so yes!" The panda was pleased with this result, scoring more and more of the sweet tart. At the rate people were making deals with her for, she'd have the world's supply and then some. With a little smile, she looked upon the two for a moment before revealing gold cards. "Do you guys want these?"

"Huh?"

"You can have them for pudding."

"... What? No. Nononono." Jessie shook his head, getting over his split-second confusion. "You can't just hand those out. You have to get someone to play the game for them."

"Eeeeh? But I've done it this way for like three people already."

"You've... got to be kidding me." Jessie sweat, not from the heat of the desert, but from the... erratic personality of the panda here. Then, he perked up as he heard Tsubame's voice telling him pudding or nothing, that's how it goes. "... Wait, when did you get here?!"

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"Ahsha told me she trusts me, despite the past." Koga responded to Tamotsu's confusion, knowing that a member of the revolution playing something different than Link Joker was strange... and did kind of defeat the point. However, she rationalized it as building relationships with other clans, which started with her going back to her roots - no pun intended. "Things at Star Gate are okay for now, but I want to earn the trust of others in case something goes sour. You never know with how people feel about those like... me and my sisters."

The woman took the card and walked off towards the hills without giving another word to Varess. Sieg watched her as she went, incredibly concerned. That woman had already obtained two Gold Cards, as far as Sieg knew, and was off to obtain a third. The lady in red was going to beat Sieg in this event, there was no longer any doubt about that. This was a painful realization for Sieg. She'd already lost to the lady in red. At most, she could make it back before her and maybe take first place for the special event but not overall.

Sieg clenched her fist, clearly disheartened. No. It wasn't over. The event was still going on. That woman could still lose to the gold card holder in the hills. There was still a chance. Sieg raised her head and stared Varess straight in the eye. "It's my turn," she said with somewhat renewed confidence.

After Fubuki reached the branch, the staff helped her get hold of a towel and even offered her a set of dry clothes while they put the ones she already had through the laundry. Though she was a little reluctant to part with her sweater, she decided it was probably better that the sweater be cleaned sooner rather than later to prevent it from getting too damaged. Once that was done, she set out to catch up with Aoi at the hills.

Meanwhile, Alysson decided to head to the top of the tallest hill first, more for the view than anything else.

Hikari was a bit disappointed that the fight would have to wait. She'd meant to wrap the fight up quickly and then rejoin Rin. But it was a bit late for that now. She took a seat with Rikuto. "Yeah, I was hoping I could mention that," Hikari said, her mood turning somewhat somber, "My name is Hikari Sugimoto, and that was my friend, Rin. When we were in the rainforest, after I won my cardfight against the tiger, this girl in red jumped out and demanded a fight, she explained, "Rin was supposed to have the next fight, but when she tried to explain that, the lady just said 'Shut the hell up, brat,'" Hikari put on a very mocking imitation that made it clear how annoyed she was with the woman. "Then she beat the tiger with some weird, tiger gear chronicle deck, or something. The whole experience really frightened Rin. It made me so mad. I wanted to punch her, and make her apologize, but she got away..." Hikari suddenly caught herself, "Oh, um. Maybe I shouldn't have said that part. Forget that."

"I wanted to get a gold card as fast as I could and then get back here to fight you. I wanted to glory of doing the special event, more than I wanted the FICA points from getting a bunch of extra cards," Hikari explained, going back to his first question, "and when I met up with Rin, in the rainforest, I thought maybe she could get a gold card too, and then we'd come back together, and I could force you to fight both of us, since we got back at the same time. Then we'd both get a shot at the glory." Hikari shook her head, "That didn't work out. So now I want to win for both of us. And then I want to get Rin home."

"Well, if Ahsha trusts you," Tamotsu said as he walked over to Koga's side before sitting down close to her side. "Guess you can't be all bad." the dog said with a wide smile on his panting face. What a strange thing time could do. At one point these two stood on opposite sides of a battlefield but now they were both just cardfighters.

"I can't say I much like Link Joker myself but well... Despite a bunch of memories telling me I shouldn't trust you or the clan, I want to. There's not a lot I can do myself but if you need help, and as long as you're still nice, I'm always at Zoo. I make a mean guard dog if people get too mean." he said making a dramatic chomping motion. The old him was screaming that link joker was evil and would take Aoi and Jessie away from him again but he had to push past it if he could. It was one thing to talk like this to the cabbage but would he really follow through when it came to it? Even Tamotsu himself couldn't be entirely certain.

"Well, good luck with the rest of the event. Oh and, do look after Carlos for me. He's helplessly head over heels for your sister and needs someone to keep an eye on him." the dog said cheekily about his good friend.

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"Oh you know, I flew in on my umbrella like some perfect nanny from a kid's movie. I've been following you since you left the rainforest ya dork. Passionate nice guy is also oblivious to his surroundings. Picture's coming together nicely." Tsubame quipped at Jessie's question of when she had arrived. This was almost as interesting as the panda who had actually been handing out gold cards for pudding. Had she thought ahead Tsubame could have made it out of this with two gold cards but the one was enough for her regardless. This was going to be good.

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Rikuto listened intently as Hikari introduced herself and gave her account of what had startled Rin and then her strategy for the event. She'd wanted to do this together with her friend which was just the sort of thing the man had hoped to inspire in his fighters. However this woman in red using a strange gear chronicle deck had interfered with that ideal. He very much intended to make the association aware of this person to have her better behave herself at the other branches.

"Thank you for the information, Hikari-chan. If you see her again while you're here please do identify her to me. Even if it's during our fight, I need to know. I wont stand for the treatment your friend received" he said, visibly perturbed.

"On the note of our fight, the staff should be finished setting up soon. I know there's several distractions for you but I hope you'll give it your all. I intend to do the same." he said again with a warm smile. Rikuto really did live for other people. He was the least interesting person to himself but when it came to others he was ready to do anything to see them all happy.

"Should I even begin to ask why you're following me?" Jessie was used to either following behind Aoi or Tamotsu being the only person following him, not some random girl he met... stalking him, in a sense. That, and it felt like she was being analytical of whatever tropes he fit into, which bothered him a bit... lil' more than a bit... okay, it bothered him a lot, but he wasn't going to get into a fight about it. If anything, he had to get a fight in with the pudding lover here. "Anyway, c'mon you. Let's get a game in, we gotta play for the event and I'm not takin' a freebie."

"But that's dumb... Okay, but give me money for pudding if I win."

"What?! But you just got offered a ton of it from Sakuya!"

"I want more pudding."

"Rrraaahh... Fine, I'll give you the money after the game if I lose. Happy?"

Content with this, the duel between the Jaeger and the panda commenced. Their decks served to be polar opposites of one another with the former playing explosive aggression while the latter played calculated and tactical defense strategies. Oracle Think Tank was unexpected, as he hadn't heard of one of the reps playing a non-Zoo related clan... but it still sure felt like Great Nature, just less combos. He had a bit of the advantage since his legacy archetype played early, yet... As Supreme Heavenly Battle Deity, Susano'o appeared, the difference between it and Tsukuyomi made itself apparent. The boy had been playing off knowledge of seeing Sakuya play, and worked with what he knew of Oracle Think Tank.

This proved to be a mistake.

While the deck had no stacking potential to set up for a monstrous mid-to-late game spike, the G Era Mega-corporation of prophecy magic specialized in superior stability. They quickly built hand and perfected their board for practiced game states, such as Oracle Guardian, Gemini and Silent Tom together. Its strength came from confidence in a standard and utilizing the ability to blow out a huge amount of counterblasts at once to go from losing the game to having way too much guard to lose. It was a good thing Jessie had gotten grade one units to boost with this time around to keep her advantage leveled... He couldn't pull what he did against Tamotsu where he was getting lucky with triggers, the panda held up powerfully without needing combo pieces to pop off.

The comic relief provided by the young lass felt like a mask hiding the superior skill in contrast to the boy's own. Even so, not even Oracle Think Tank can guard forever. Though Hana couldn't deal six damage before deck out against Sakuya, Jessie had the benefit of Ancient Dragon, Hypnohang, having gone back to his "Spino" lineup instead of trying to Legion. This allowed Tyrannobite and itself to keep attacking, on top of Pearly Titan's enormous attacks. Though Tyrannobite couldn't hit the vanguard by itself without triggers, it could always force a card out of hand to either make her save Tom or call a new attacker.

So it came down to Super Ancient Dragon, Pearly Titan versus Sword Deity of Divine Sound, Takemikazuchi. Both needed one turn to either kill or build massively, and the panda got the initiative in doing so by blowing four counterblasts with Battle Sister, Lemonade Counter Charging two to use the G Unit and Akagis. She had drawn four cards and basically had no minus out of it. "This pudding is destruction itself." The panda declared, retiring one of the Akagis for Battle Sister, Pudding. Then, like a bolt out of the blue, she hit three Critical Triggers for a full power Pudding.

"What the hell?!"

"Shatter and break apart." The dessert demon demanded with a wave of the hand as the destruction-addicted nun's eyes shined red, armed with numerous gatling guns at her back. Pudding laughed manically as she rained hell in bullets unto the empire's terrain, causing havoc the dinodragons were all too familiar with and usually the causes of. Thankfully, a redheaded guardian shamaness appeared: Savage Guardian. Though not an Ancient Dragon, she still arrived on time to use her primal magic birthed through animal worship. Her cute, white rabbit ears twitched upon the creation of a massive shield, stopping the hail of lead. "Tch."

"Ah... man, that was way too close for comfort..." Jessie panted, wiping sweat from his forehead with an arm. He wasn't sure if she was strong or crazy, given calling Pudding didn't even further her game plan in any way... "Alright... My turn." He had to kill now, which would be hard given the random thirty thousand shield she just acquired. Still... maybe the pointless Pudding call would help? Regardless, he decided to get a little risky, Break Riding Spinocommando over Spinodriver to draw two... then forewent the extra Critical to Stride Pearly Titan. It didn't necessarily further him beyond letting him replacing the Tyrannobite he had to intercept with, but it did net him a second Hypnohang and Gioconda, which let him make a spicy play. But first, he would use the Stride's skill.

"I retire one of my rearguards and your pudding-"

"Retire the Akagi."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"No, I wanna retire the P-"

"Akagi."

"But-"

"Akagi."

"I-"

"Do not touch Pudding!!"

Jessie can't seem to catch a break... "Fine... the Akagi..." It didn't even matter! Whatever, the boy went on to attack with two Hypnohangs and Pearly Titan, but one of the Hypnohangs retired the other to stand, which is where his plan came into place. "Through Spinocommando, the Hypnohang I just retired comes back, so I can get another two attacks off of it through its skill!" And therein lied the decisive finisher. Attacking with one column, then the other retires the affected Hypnohang, reviving it and standing again. Then the second column attacks again, while the revived Hypnohang strikes twice, all coupled together with the Super Ancient Dragon that was towering massively with sixteen thousand additional power. He was right in believing that even Oracle Think Tank could only Perfect Guard so much, as the panda couldn't block the attack.

Leaving the Jaeger with his second victory.

"Alriiight!" Jessie roared enthusiastically, obtaining his second gold card.

"My pudding..." The panda said sadly. "That was fun at least... Here you go." She offered the boy his reward, but Jessie traded some change with her instead. "Huh?"

"Take it. It's fine by me anyway."

"Ooohhh... Thanks!" The small smile she gave felt as heartwarming as Aoi's usual big grins, so he was glad to get it out of her with this.

---------------------------------------

In the meantime, a new fight at the hills had broken out. The wind blew fiercely at random intervals, causing the grass of the plains to flutter in the breeze. "Aoi Undyne..." Killer Queen hissed, knowing this name after discovering who Fubuki's friend was. "Long ago, I was defeated not by losing a game of Vanguard, but from being..." Chrisaline cringed as she reminisced, muttering to herself. "... Talked down by Kaiyo Fubuki. My sweet little loser... She told me about how winning wasn't everything, and a voice kept encouraging her to press onward, despite the overwhelming losses and despair before her... I couldn't understand it, and I lamented my weakness as I began to feel she may have even been... correct. To think that I would be convinced failure is not always disastrous... Always have I longed to understand once I was resurrected after my death with hers in the war, and now that I've finally come to meet who you are...

... I can say with certainty...

You make me sick."

Aqua Force vs Megacolony again, only this time there was no surprise archetypes. Aoi played Ripples, which Chris had come to know easily through the competitive scene of Vanguard. The game was even between the two, Aoi playing carefully against the insect horde's natural abilities to stranglehold her units from consecutive attacks, but still cleverly applying some much needed pressure after Chris' initial Paraspear turn due to a lack of Darkface and not many rearguards to stun. Cyclomatus had been ridden, and the gumball's starter had never come out of soul thanks to her Ride Chain. So, while this was once again set up for the "trap", Aoi attacked bravely, unleashing the vibrant assault of the unified forces under Genovious' command. The brat didn't even Stride, her Legion between Militiades and Genovious ahead of its time during the Reaper Invasion in supplying a stand and a draw, along with swinging for a solid number with usual consistency... In a way, similarly to Dragonic Overlord the Cross, they were sufficient enough to not have to rely on G Units.

The Chinese champion was having a great time while the moth girl was becoming irritated with the overabundance of cheer and pep in her foe's voice. Nevertheless, both wore confident smiles and scowled in frustration whenever a problematic play came, matching one another blow for blow and - in a way - attitudes toward their fight. "You're pretty good to be keeping up!" Aoi spoke happily, coming off as bragging a bit. Thanks to being a consecutive winner of nationals, most fighters struggled against her, even if she wasn't as strong as she thought she could be. That's why it was surprising Chrisaline could match her so perfectly and even do better by playing a deck that relied on brilliant outplays. As annoying as it was, the sadist found herself growing a bit... too excited, flaunting a bit more of her psychic power than necessary by levitating off of the ground while her foe ran about at superhuman speeds, the two practically turning the hills into their battlefield. A girl who was reborn as a reincarnated seed versus the one who was reborn via absorbing power from the original seed...

It almost felt like they were meant to be clashing as ferociously as they were.

"You, like everyone else, will fall victim to my strongest play!" Chrisaline declared, "Break Ride! Kill opposition to the queen, and have them kneel! Intimidating Mutant, Darkface! Then, Stride Generation! Force Spear Mutant Deity, Stun Beetle!!" The devastating trap that has ended careers was set off, stunning all of Aoi's units and forcing her into a dangerous deadlock. Should she guard, that's less she has to replace her stunned units with... Should she not, Stun Beetle will hit and its toxins will practically spell game over the same way it did for Seth. Unfortunately, Aoi had to devote quite a bit for her Legion turn, as Ripples practically demanded a full board to maximize the benefits...

"Ugh... No guard."

"Hahaha!! Die!" Chrisaline howled psychotically as Militiades and Genovious were completely paralyzed and Aoi's G zone practically grayed out. It was lucky Aoi didn't get hit with a swarm of Criticals, so that made it easier to defend, but... The images of the girls were meshing together as showing for a game between strong fighters, having the massive mutants whether they be genuine mutations or technologically empowered stare down the naval forces crippled by webs, toxic gas, and poisoned wounds. The cornered rats grit their teeth, enduring the pain as they glared at the titans before them. Aoi did the same, staring up at the maniac above as she was in a bad situation...

... or so Chris thought.

"Then I'll just have to do this!" The gumball drew her card, a blue stream of light following her hand as the wind picked up once more. "Flash Ripple, Odysseus!" One of the star players behind the archetype's power arrived to the despairing scene, instilling hope to his injured brethren as he rose his saber high. "Skill! I can move one of my rearguards - one of my stunned rearguards - to soul! Then, I Superior Ride a Militiades from my deck!"

"Superior Ride?!" Chrisaline's expression contorted to shock and horror as the game-deciding poison of Stun Beetle as not only bypassed, but she had wasted two counterblasts just to see it happen! She thought she knew about this Aqua Force deck, but didn't even think of the loophole, too concerned with trying to make her opponent suffer. "Damn it!" She hollered as the savior general revitalized hope into his forces, restoring the leading duo's health and cleansing them of the poison.

"Further, I get to call a Ripple rearguard from soul of the same grade! So I dodge two of your stuns! Even if things look bad, I'm never giving up!"

"Annoying brat! You still have to replace your other cards! Just wallow in the despair of the overwhelming odds!"

"Never!"

Even if she had to use more of her hand to mount a proper counterattack, Aoi still pushed hard against her foe, who was becoming more and more furious.

"Irritating pissant! Behold! Wild-fire Mutant Deity, Staggle Dipper!" Finally, Chris was pushed to use a G Unit she had never gotten to before... or rather, had chosen to hold back until now. A monstrosity of a godlike insect with a large, towering form but thin in structure. A black and green demon with a wide grin and two giant guns - one in each hand - aimed for his targets. "Regret your transgressions as you die! I give three of my units one thousand power per your rested unit!"

"Wait, rested unit?!"

"That's right, good on you for playing legion, shitstain!" The normally haughty, arrogance demoness felt her eye twitch with glee and fury as a familiar insult from a historical villain spat at the leader of a generation came out of her mouth. "I give seven thousand power to three of my units, making a twenty one thousand spread! Let's see your hope last out against this!" Wisely, Chris didn't even bother giving it to anything in the vanguard column. Instead, one rearguard column gained one of the boosts, while the other gained two, making for massive attack after massive attack. Aoi wore a nervous grin, mixed with excitement as the assault proceeded, absolutely slaughtering her hand. This was a dire situation, as despite Chris not having Counterblasts for Darkface's skill, Aoi had to toss her sole grade two out as an intercept while spitting out the rest of her hand. She couldn't rely on Stride, had to topdeck a strong beater, and those were both assuming she'd survive.

A miraculous sixth heal came, but it did not stop Chris from taking every card in the child of potential's hand.

"Ha... haaaa... Oh no..." The gumball knew she was in it deep now, having angered the most violent of Zoo's staff. Megacolony's clan leader was actually livid for the first time in the event, and that remained as Aoi's smile never faded.

"Why are you SMILING?!"

"Ah! Because... Because the worst of times are when a fighter has to force their biggest smiles!"

"You're making that up! The sweat shows that smile is nothing more than an empty bluff! It's hopeless!"

"It's only hopeless if you want it to be! That's what someone a long time ago told me!"

"RaaaaaaAAAAHHHH!!" Chris was ready to tear her hair out. "No cards in your hand! Five damage! And I get away with so much still - I have plenty of shield! You can't beat me!"

"You don't know that!"

"You make me sick! Aoi Undyneeeeee!! You cannot logically defeat me! I hate people like you! People who blindly follow some pointless emotion! You're like that one obnoxious reaper drone who got her kicks out of despair and nothing else!"

"Well, I'm sorry I make you sick! I really am! But I have faith and I choose to believe!"

Hope versus Despair shared an exchange of words as Chrisaline's real disdain had revealed itself, grinding her teeth as she snarled with anger. Aoi prepared herself to take her turn, drawing while considering her options. At this point, the psychopath had stopped caring due to how upset she was, unable to break the girl before her who carried herself with blind optimism, even referencing one of her old "war buddies". The woman raised her hands, digits wriggling about stiffly as if trying to hold back her frustration... Alas, it was pointless. Seth had given her a taste of letting herself loose, and this was well over her breaking point... so Chris simply... let it boil over.

A scythe appeared in her hand... and it was no normal scythe summoned by she utilizing her real-damaging powers in the event. No... it had a distinctive design, adorned with black rings floating about its silvery design with golden trimming. The blade itself began to form with black shards of Void, catching the eye of the soon-to-be victim as the brandished weapon was immediately recognizable.

The scythe of the jester.

Chris' eyes were wide, her expression of silent fury as she lifted the all-to-familiar trademark of Link Joker's most vile villain next to the Deletors. Aoi froze in place, staring at the reminiscent presence of Chaos Breaker Dragon, unsure of what to do or how to move... It was less out of fear, more out of shock that it would even come to this from what was supposed to be a fun game. If she didn't do something, Chris was going to actually try to kill her...!

"Hey-" Aoi tried to speak, which made her foe tense up and progress her pose to attack, barely held back by words that played in mind.

"Hey now... behave." Yes, Varess kept her on a leash for good reason. Be a good girl, and she could do whatever she wanted within reason. That's how she was getting away with this: no physical harm to anyone. Just a lot of spooking and terror, a lot of arrogance and condescending words. Chris could be herself so long as no one was actually hurt.

... So she stopped, then collected her deck. "I quit."

"Eh?"

"I'm done!!" Chris shouted, throwing a gold card that almost cut Aoi at her cheek. Thankfully, the gumball miraculous caught it. "Take it and go away!!"

"Um..." Aoi wasn't... quite sure how to take this. "T-Thanks then... That was a fun game though, Chris-san! I'm... not sure I understand your problem with me, but-"

"I said go away!"

"Okay, leaving!!" Aoi bolted away in fear.

Chris had her back turned, clutching her trembling fists.

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"I'm definitely not all bad anymore, don't you worry." Koga spoke confidently, her chest puffed out with pride in being a reformed joker. It seems she got the support of the Great Nature Clan Leader, which was a great start to everything! "I'll call for you if I need someone 'handled' or some protection. And that guy should probably straighten his life out before tryin' to hit on my sister again. See ya later!" The cabbage accepted his playful offer of being a guard dog when requested, and couldn't help but take a jab at Carlos. Still, she couldn't sit around doing the latter all day - she had to get her final gold card. So, she waved off Tamotsu in order to find the riddler of the meadow, roaming about more open, lush green area of the five reserves. It was kind of nice to stop fighting, honestly... she had been doing a lot of it, and while it helped her get adjusted to Ahsha, it was still exhausting for both of them.

"Thanks for everything you're doing," Koga said to the emissary. "We're almost finished up here, just have a break for now."

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Which left Varess with Sieg, and he was in a bit of a better mood in hoping the little girl who had approached him was as interested as the woman in red. "If I must..." He still kept his lazy, casual air about him, however.

As Fubuki reached the hills and the battle between Chris and Aoi reached its conclusion, a deafening screech filled with fear and agony from something wasn't human spread through the hills. It was a disturbing noise, one that made both Fubuki and Alysson sick just hearing it. While neither of them could recognize what it was coming from, Chris certainly would. One of her Longhorn Hunters had found something or someone dangerous, and come to regret it immensely.

Alysson remained up on top of the highest hill, too disturbed by the noise to investigate. Fubuki, however, wasn't able to just sit back and do nothing. She ran towards the source of the sound, very concerned about what she might find. As much as she wanted to meet back up with Aoi, that sound wasn't normal.

"Oh for christ's sake, now what?" Chrisaline hissed at hearing one of her Longhorn Hunters screech in pain. Clearly in a sour mood, she flew about to investigate, finding one of her servants having been struck by something - something hard. Whatever it was hit like a truck, as the insect was knocked out cold, lying still and unconscious. It was a good thing it was a mutant monstrosity, because it would've been dead otherwise. "Alright, which one of you wiseasses out there is playing games with me?!" Her eye twitched again, only there was no insanity, just ire.

One fight, and suddenly, Chris has had a long day.