(GS3) Field: Cardfight Training Area

[Cherry]

Yugure almost used that claymore in a way she didn't want to. She almost attacked him to kill. Why did she hate the invaders? If every reason could be listed, it'd be eons into the future when the woman would be done telling. ... Instead, there was no reason to answer such a heavy cause of Reverse. Praising it as the best thing to ever happen to the game, and stating he'll make her reversing quick and painless...

The Chosen Sword simply aimed the weapon at him.

"I urge you again to surrender peacefully."

[Beryl]

Most of the testing over the course of the day had been a resounding success. Satoshi had provided the scientists a resounding amount of information. There was a chance they could pinpoint the location of the Seed thanks to this, something he was looking forward to. In addition to that, analysis of what was called Void energy had provided some insight into the power the rebellion was up against.

Now he was taking a break. Laying still all day had made him stiff. He stretched by going for a walk, only to run straight into quite the scene. A Reversed fighter cornered by Yugure. Seifer, Rosalia, Darren, and someone he didn't recognize nearby. What was a Reverse fighter doing here? Most of the directives had pointed away from this facility since it was freed from the control of the rings to search for the Seed.

The Chosen Sword looked apt to kill. That didn't exactly help the situation, since all she really had to do was turn and find him, discovering he was a bloody general of the whole thing. That said, this wasn't exactly a welcome guest.

He walked up next to Yugure and raised his marked hand, the rings glowing. "I'm going to have to second Yugure, soldier. Stand down. This is not where you should be right now."

[Cipher Izanagi]

Seifer's rage seethed until it was almost uncontrollable, well until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Noticing Yukino's own rage, and that she'd attacked, it was his turn to help though, as much as he wanted to not do this. He placed his hand on the hilt of the Blaster Dark sword, just above Yukino's hand, pushing it down slightly and shaking his head. His purple black aura disappeared as he stepped forward, making eye contact. He was now standing between the reversed Hazama and Yukino. "I am... Was... I don't know. Still am I guess, one of the Generals of the Link Joker invasion. This clan is an abomination, and yet... Something about it can be assimilated. You're not entirely wrong, but at the same time. You're completely wrong. Link Joker and Cray can live in harmony, if only those who have a spell cast upon them... Were to understand that fighting is futile." he stepped forward taking a pose similar to the one found on the card art of Nouvelle Vague. "Hazama. There's a lot you still have yet to really learn about Link Joker. Things I myself have learned. If you knew and understood, you'd be the same way as us. ..Though with how you were a year ago, I doubt my words would reach you, as much hope that I have in that happening as I do... Sad to say." he gave a sigh shaking his head and dropping his arms. "Nee-san, he's not worth the anger. If we give into that, we're only playing into their hands more." odd, the male was speaking as if he was older than he was, but it may just be the situation at hand bringing that out. "Hazama, if you really wish to understand though... Go find Tsubasa." he ended that with just staring at Hazama with empathy.

[xateramusa]

Xateramusa stood up and looked at the guy too, she slowly leaned on Darren for some support standing. "Thank you Darren for helping me. But dont look to much into it. Just cause i trust you dosnt mean i will trust them." She said looking at the others unaware that she had jsut admited to trusting Darren.

[RosaliaIzanami]

Rosalia watched the fight quietly, but in the end, Darren didn't fall. She felt a smile return to her lips as Xat seemed to be saved, but rested her hand on Darren's shoudler as he pointed to Hazama. "You should relax.. You fought really well.. We got this, so sit back and take a break for once," the female smiled, then moved away to join up by Yugure, Seifer, and now Satoshi. The redhead lost her grin as she watched the Reverse Fighter... and Yugure had a giant sword? It looks familiar to Blaster Dark's... huh. Never thought that could exist, but when you have the fact invaders from another planet are fighting them through cardfight, a lot of things could happen. She was about to say her piece with "why can't you accept Link Joker", but Seifer and Satoshi beat her to it. But at the end of Seifer's little speech... Was he letting Hazama go? She stood between Yugure and Seifer, looking between the two before staring at Hazama. "I've been Reversed once, and I don't plan on going through the pain and suffering again.. That's all I'll say..."

[Helios]

He stares at Seifer who is stepping aside to let him pass. "Wise man,"he said to him. But before he leaves, he says one last thing to his opposer, Just so you should know, Link Joker is my friend. No matter how far apart they may be, I will always come for them no matter what the cost. Even if my soul was taken right now, I would do it for Gunner and the rest of my friends.

He walks off holding Gunner in his hand as a tear forms in his eye, I will never...let you go. And what you call suffering, I call love.

[xateramusa]

She watched them all gather to help the one who turned her hoping he would come to he sences. Sadly she didn't wait to see the results and begins to walk away. 'its better this way, they wont get hurt by being around me.' she thought as shira appered beside her but only to her eyes. "we have to find the one thing that is controling everyone. Cray is falling fast. We must hurry." She told xat before dissapering Xat took the time to slip quitely away.

[Hope]

Hana sent a text message to the Cardfight Club:
"Trouble at Shopping District. Need Help. - Hana Isabella Espoir"

[Cherry]

Satoshi's mark hand glowed, Seifer not only opted to stop her, but revealed he's one of the generals. In addition to that, Hazama has the gall to say "wise man". Those weren't words of wisdom, she wouldn't accept that they were. These DEMONS had no right to co-exist with any of them. They were harvested or killed by Link Joker, there was no accepting this terrorism! What kind of madness with Seifer spewing?! Yugure was seething with fury that would make Raging Form look tame...

"Link Joker and Cray can live in harmony, if only those who have a spell cast upon them... Were to understand that fighting is futile."

Horrible, horrible flashbacks. Comrade after comrade locked, seeing units Reversed, wails of agony upon being converted, tears in response to being sealed. It began driving Yugure to the true essence of her bloodlust for the invaders - to see them all maimed and skewered. Grinding her teeth, something snapped. Watching Hazama leave in such an infuriating manner, as if he wasn't at liberty to get struck down by her blade, and having "bonded" with something "beloved". She didn't want to do it, she didn't want to do anything to Seifer.

But hearing such words sent her into a frenzy.

"Bullshit!!" Yugure screamed, lifting up Blaster Dark with two hands, and nearly striking him with it! Ahmes launched himself out of Seifer's Kagero Deck Case, and clashed swords with her.

"Yugure, no! Calm down!" The ace of light shouted, managing to stop his vanguard in her tracks, but not the understandable rage exploding forth. It was superhuman how the woman was nearly pushing him back, as if rivaling his strength like Yunos would. No... it was rivaling his own brute strength and posture.

[Cipher Izanagi]

Seifer's phone buzzed but then... He heard a clash of blades and whipped around to see... Ahmes and Yukino clashed. This was getting really bad. Really really bad... The Swordsman of Light was clashing with her and... She was was to enraged. She seemed to be like... Yunos now? Well, whatever. He was going to take a risk, and probably regret it. Pushing Ahmes out of the way, was probably a bad idea as he let the blade bite through his skin and pierce all the way through. Yeah... Really bad idea was really bad, since it hurt a lot, and his blood was now on the floor. But, this seemed like the easiest choice to make. Only one really. Fighting through the pain of having a large piece of steel sticking out of his abdomen he grabbed the ivory haired woman and hugged her, setting her forehead on his shoulder has he did so, panting through the pain. It had pretty much come down to brother power go, but this really did hurt. Could he survive it? Stupid stupid Seifer acting without thinking sometimes. "I wasn't threatening... The resistance... I was... Threatening Link Joker... None of this is your fault..." he coughed a bit, blood trickling down the sides of his mouth. What was he going to do now? ...The pain stopped, he just felt kind of... cold.

[RosaliaIzanami]

Rosalia was distracted for a moment, checking her phone. A text from Hana?... Then again, she didn't know that Hana was Reversed or not, just for the record... but she wouldn't be going anywhere when she heard what sounded like thick water hitting the floor... When she looked up a little, just passed her phone while still staring at the ground, a crimson coloring bloomed. She only blinked at first, her brain having trouble processing what it was, even as she looked up to see Yugure having swung her massive sword, and was currently being hugged by a bleeding Seifer. She only stared, the shaking that once ravaged her body from fear of Reverse, now returned while her mind was still reeling. "S-se.... Seif-f.. er?..." Rosalia took half a step forward, then another, and another, until she had touched the scarlet-stained blade, her fingers smearing the blood until she pulled it back, and merely stared at her hand. She couldn't do anything else except stare, now lifting her gaze to Seifer's back and watched the crimson soak into his clothes, silent tears running down her cheek.

[Beryl]

Well, this was bad. Really, really bad. Wanting to put a sword to Seifer was not going to go well at all, especially since he was most definitely one of the generals that needed to be present for the Seed.

But inside Satoshi's mind...

---

Cheru sat, laid back in a reclining chair in the recesses of Satoshi's mind with him. She was sucking a lollipop, still wearing her hoodie. "Havin' fun with control again?"

He furrowed his brow. "I still don't really understand why you gave it back to me in the first place."

The little devil shrugged. "Well, I talked Nebula Lord into it, which took a lot of time, trust me." She crunched the lolly and threw the stick out absentmindedly. After clacking to the floor, it instantly disappeared. "Only reason he accepted in the end was 'cause I told him it would be more fun for the invasion if we crushed their hopes. Ain't a lot of fun when people're desparin' all the time, y'know?"

"Right..." Satoshi rubbed his temples, trying to process this. It still didn't make much sense. Nebula's hold had been so dominant, and things had been going so smoothly. "Then how much longer do I...?"

"A bit, you could say. We need these guys t'find the Seed first." Cheru whipped out a new lollipop, this one butter-pecan flavored. She licked it once, smiled, and settled it in her mouth. "Then the real party can start. But it does require a little bit o' manipulatin'." She made a quick gesture. "Luckily, Hana's helpin' with that."

Right. Hana had been Reversed. The Vanguard of Cray was bereft with the powers of Void. What a way to end up...

"'Course, I've been meanin' to mention to you that there's another reason I'm givin' you this chance."

Satoshi turned to look at her, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"...Well, 'cause of how you reacted to what's-her-face." Cheru racked her brain, trying to remember. "'Newell,' I think it was?"

"Noel." Satoshi rested his chin on his hand. "What's she got to do with anything?"

"Well, y'see, not gonna lie t'you. After bein' in your body for a year and a half or so..." Cheru shook her head. "I'm pretty sure it was crazy t'pick you of all people t'have Nebula Lord. 'Cause you're too damn feely fer yer own good." She shrugged. "Let's just say I kinda think yer not exactly wrong in feelin' those ways, either."

The farmboy grinned. "Are you saying you think there's something to not being cruel and calculated?"

She grinned back. "Nah, I'm sayin' that feelin' is just as valuable." This made him lose the grin, confused again. She put her hand behind her head in her lounging position. "Lemme try and explain what I mean. As part of the invasion, we're pretty sure that hostile takeover was very much an option, but after bein' in your head...and from what I've been told, a few o' my comrades in others...we saw what feelin' was like, and diplomacy, an' all that nonsense." She took a hand down to rub her chin. "And y'know, gotta say, maybe it would've been better if we did, right? If we had come to yer Council o' Cray and said, 'Hey, we got exiled, y'mind helpin' us out?' But that's not what Void works with. 'Least, not from what our head honchos're sayin'." She moved the lolly in her mouth to the other side. "Nah, they're definitely out for blood. We Star-vaders, we kinda just want a place to be, but Void's pushin' us over the edge to takin' everything for ourselves. But it's kind o' hard to disobey direct orders from---"

"I think I get it." Satoshi breathed softly, taking all of this information in. Cheru didn't need to say anything else. It kind of made sense, in a way, and he was somewhat grateful to know that these invaders were, if anything, attempting to find a way to co-exist. The matter, of course, was finding a way to make them not overstep their boundaries in the way Void was making them.

He wiped his forehead for a moment, then spoke once more. "If there's one thing I can give to you guys, it's that as a clan...you actually remind me of most of the Paladins, and Neo Nectar, the clan I was known for."

Cheru tilted her head. "How'zat?"

"Well...even with the power of 'Lock,' you all have a common goal and rely on your Vanguards to lead you to reach that goal, even if that goal is malicious and destructive. Your rearguards are equally as supported as your Vanguards, as well. So...yeah, in a way, I can respect that." He shook his head. "I doubt people will actually understand that, given how things have gone down, but..."

Cheru leaned forward out of her comfortable position, taking the lollipop stick out of her mouth and twiddling it between her fingers. "There was this prophecy made one time about the interactions between the clan we're considered a part of, Link Joker, and the whole planet of Cray." She looked down, looking slightly bothered for the first time. "It was that diplomacy was definitely the key to our clan's return and survival. That this was learned through Neu Edelweiss, bearer of the Messiahs." She shook her head, frustrated. "That dream sounded so grand, but now with all of this..."

Satoshi got up and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If it helps, finding the Seed, Reversed or not, should be anyone's goal in trying to change the tide of things, right? I want your clan to have an equal shot. If you need support..." He gave a thumbs up. "I know a few clan leaders that will back you up if they hear me out."

Cheru gave a weak smile. "That's nice 'n' all, but...why? We're doin' a helluva lot to y'all for this t'be fair..."

"Everyone deserves a chance. But we need to see if we can stop Void. It sounds crazy, but...if I have to, I'll become its direct vassal, just so you guys have a chance to live."

Cheru teared up a bit. Satoshi had no idea the magnitude of what he was saying. This could, effectively, kill him if things went the way intended, but still, to choose to do so anyway, just to make peace...

"I-I'll try t'make sure when I hafta take back control, you get it back soon...just don't forget, y'hear?..."

"Promise." Satoshi smiled, patting her head.

---

Brought back to reality, Seifer had been struck. Even so, he was fighting through the pain, truly dedicated...

Satoshi shook his head at Seifer's words. "He's right," he spoke up. "If anything, it's mine, his, and to a degree, others." He walked over and grasped the young man's shoulder. "Undoing this, however, is in no way going to be simple, and it would be best if resources such as this one aren't harmed, for your sake."

[Cherry]

The resistance could've give up - they could've give up. No no, that was the entire reason why she was still alive! Yugure didn't want to give up and let humanity and Cray be harvested! Those under a spell... resistance isn't futile... no... she didn't want to believe Seifer even spewed out those words... Yugure's mind was a complete blur, seeing Ahmes, and then seeing a look of surprise on her Blaster's face as he was pushed aside. A foggy image of the lecherous tongued brunette came next, and she...

What?

What happened?

Trembling, unsteady breaths came from the queen. Seifer had gotten closer to her, but she was certain the blade was still... where he was... Shock, fear, regret, horror, all sorts of emotions overwhelmed her. Even worse, Seifer... hugged her. His arms wrapped around her, and her head came to his shoulder... The man wasn't threatening humanity... It was for Link Joker... But then he subsequently said none of this was her fault. The warmth of his body... was fading...

"Yugure!!" Ahmes shouted, and Yugure instinctively yanked Blaster Dark out of him. That was a terrible decision, as now there was nothing to keep the wound plugged up. Seeing the pouring crimson left her in a gasping silence as she kept a hold of his body.

"N-..."

What... What has she done?!

"Noooo!!"

[Cipher Izanagi]

Well, bad decisions are bad. That's what everything recently has been. But Seifer didn't fully regret it. His ears didn't really work anymore so he couldn't hear the screams, though he could see blurry things... Faces... Were those... He couldn't remember. He started drifting. He couldn't think anymore. He went limp after the blade was removed and his blood spilled out, pooling and staining the floor. It was starting to get a bit colder, and his eyes... They started to see nothing but darkness. Well... Was this what it was like to die? It wasn't what he pictured. It felt to... peaceful. The actual dying bit, not the part about letting himself be stabbed. As he lay there being held by the person he called Nee-San, his breathing slowed tremendously. Almost to a halt, and he just lay there... Limp.

[RosaliaIzanami]

Rosalia didn't quite hear the scream, having been blocked out by a tremendous ringing in her ears. She couldn't move save for her shaking as the brunette collapsed, still in Yugure's arms. That didn't quite seem right, to be held by someone else, but the redhead was paralyzed as it was. But her world was spinning, Rosalia dropping to her knees by Yugure's and Seifer's side. She didn't reach for him. She didn't try saying his name again. She sat there, staring with a half shut gaze, her eyes seeming to glaze over in some sort of trance. The world around her turned gray... much like the world of gray she saw when confused by her connection to Luquier Reverse after being unreversed. Except this world... it was much darker, and fading further to black. The tears that fell in a continuous stream had no feeling amidst the shaking; no sound to her ears as they fell to the floor and her jeans over the ringing. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

The colors...

Fading again to the colorless world...

A colorless world, save for black and red...

That's... when she started screaming... No words, just sounds; shrieks that turned to loud sobs and gibberish. She doubled over and hugged herself, screaming away her pain and sorrow into the floor.