Chapter 011: Paralyzed! Wrath of Gredora

Makoto was sleeping on the roof of the Kido Estate. It was probably the first time he could actually sleep since receiving the invitation for the Tournament of Champions.

Hanako found him just in time.

"MAKOTO ONII-CHAN! WE NEED TO HURRY!" She had enough years of experience dealing with this nonsense that she could scream loud enough to wake him up.

"Hana-chaaan... Five more minutes..."

"Your fight begins in five minutes!" Hanako was not very happy about this. "If Rex Kido finds out you slept through all the other fights today, you'll get disqualified!" Makoto finally woke up at that point.

"Hana-chan! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" Makoto finally asked.

"I would have if I could find you!" Hanako answered. "You only overslept by six hours, and skipped breakfast and lunch!"

"Six hours?" Makoto asked. "There were only three other fights today..."

"There was a fight between two Bermuda Triangle fighters that lasted three hours..."

"Good thing I slept through that," Makoto answered.

"We need to hurry!" Hanako then said, before grabbing Makoto's hand and bolting towards the door. "Did I forget to mention how much of a heavy sleeper you are?"

Hanako and Makoto were late, obviously. However, the two current fighters inadvertently bought them a little more time since their fight dragged on a little longer than expected.

"Artemis, attack the vanguard!"

"Guard!"

"Twin Drive!! Critical Trigger! Second check, Critical Trigger!"

"A double critical?!"

"Even more so, a double critical for my entire front row! Twilight Hunter, Artemis attacks your Vanguard, boosted by Shooting Star, Ratri!"

"Uh... no guard..."

"Alright! I win!" The winner was none other than the Copycat Fighter. As he stepped away from the fight table, he and Makoto stared each other down. The face on the mask was cold and unmoving, but Makoto could tell the face behind the mask was intimidated.

"Next up: Makoto Sakaki vs. Regina Stratos!"

The two fighters stepped up to the fight table with smiles on their faces. Well, Makoto tried to smile; he was still waking up.

"Let's just have a good time, Regina," Makoto said to her.

"Just be careful," she answered, "My deck might sting a little." Both fighters chuckled a little.

"Ready?"

"Absolutely."

"Stand Up! Vanguard!"

"Starburst Dracokid!" "Outstanding Mutant, Promularva!"

"I'll let you have the first move," Makoto said to Agrise (Regina).

"That's fine by me. Draw. Then I ride Phantom Black." Agrise began her turn. "Promularva's skill lets me draw one card. I end my turn."

"Go get him, Chōchō-chan!!!" Ryo began to scream from the crowd. "Squish him like the bug he is!"

"Stop talking, Teizoku-san!" Her shouting made Ryo cower in a corner of the room.

"I draw, then ride Starburst Squire!"

"Interesting..." Agrise noted, "Continue..."

"Then I'll call another one behind it. Attack!" Makoto then said, "The rear-guard Squire's skill: Discard a card from my hand to give it 5000 Power."

"No guard."

"Drive Check. Draw Trigger! Power to the Vanguard and draw, then Starburst Squire's skill lets me draw two more cards." Makoto now had eight cards in hand.

"Draw," Agrise then began her turn. "Ride!" In their imaginations, a large spider web enveloped the field. From it emerged a large beetle-esque creature. "Light Horn Mutant, Dangerous Horn!" Makoto took a good look at the card and noticed something was off.

"12000 Power?!" Makoto observed. "It's only a grade 2!"

Agrise showed Makoto a card from her hand. "And now it stays at 12000 Power. Call! Punish Stag!"

"I've never seen that card before!" Makoto noted.

"Then let me show you what it does." Agrise then pointed to Makoto's lone rear-guard. "See that rear-guard?" Makoto nodded in agreement. "You can't stand that rear-guard at the start of your next turn."

"What?!" Makoto was shocked to hear these words.

"This is the true power of Megacolony," Agrise replied, "Machining was always the inferior Megacolony deck. A mere taste of what the clan can do.

''This is not good. That card helps me complete my combo!''

"Dangerous Horn, attack the vanguard!"

"I won't guard that one!"

"Drive Check. Critical Trigger! Power to Punish Stag. Critical to the vanguard." In their imaginations, Dangerous Horn shot a red-hot laser at Starburst Squire. He had no chance of withstanding the heat of the attack.

"Damage Check. No trigger."

"Punish Stag attacks!"

"Guard! Starburst Squire!"

"Tsk. Turn end."

Hanako was watching the fight when Asahi and Hiroto entered the room. They decided to stand next to her and watch the fight as well.

"It's not looking so good for Makoto, huh?" Asahi asked her.

"What do you know?" Hanako asked back. "Come on, Makoto Onii-chan! Wake up and show her how a Sakaki wins a Cardfight!!!"

"Stand and draw!" Makoto said as he began his turn. "Ride! Silent Archer, Tenma!"

"Alright!!! That's just the card we needed!"

"It's only a grade 2..." Asahi replied. "Besides, she's coming."

"Who's coming?"

"Just watch." By this time, Makoto had added Starburst Dragon to his hand by putting a CEO Amaterasu into his vanguard's soul.

"Call! Silent Tom! Shooting Hobby! Counter Blast, and Silent Tom gets 6000 Power. Attack!"

"No guard..."

"My vanguard attacks your vanguard!"

"I'll guard that one! Stealth Millipede!"

22000 Power... Not even a trigger can help with that... "Drive Check. Draw Trigger! Power to the vanguard and draw one. My turn is over." The damage was two to two.

Agrise began to giggle. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"I'm glad you're really enjoying yourself here," Makoto replied. "But get ready, because the fun is really about to begin."

"I agree," Agrise then said. "Stand and draw. Ride!" In their imaginations, cobwebs suddenly sprouted from everywhere. A large humanoid arachnid appeared on top of it. "Evil Governor, Darkface Gredora!"

"Darkface... Gredora...?"

"Imaginary Gift: Protect II acquired. Skill activated," Agrise said as she flipped a damage card over. "It appears you have no rear-guards on your right side." Makoto noticed that as well. "You can't call rear-guards to the right column on your next turn!"

''I can't call any rear-guards?! She's studied my strategy, of course, she should know how to counter it.''

"Call! Phantom Black! Dangerous Horn! Intimidating Mutant, Darkface! Skill activated." She flipped over another damage card. "Your rear-guards in the left column cannot stand at the start of your next turn!"

"This is the true power of Megacolony," Asahi told Hanako as they observed the battle. "Regina has completely shut down Makoto's right lane. And if Makoto doesn't have good cards to place on that left lane, he can't use it either."

"So Makoto only has his vanguard and the rear-guard he placed behind it?" Hanako asked.

"Yep."

"Now, children of Megacolony," Agrise then said, "Feast on your enemies and lay waste to the battlefield!" She attacked with Intimidating Mutant, Darkface. Phantom Black boosted the attack.

"Guard!" Makoto threw down a Critical Trigger and a Luck Bird.

"My vanguard attacks!"

"... No guard!"

"Twin Drive. First check. Second check, Critical Trigger! Power to Dangerous Horn, critical to Darkface Gredora." In their imaginations, Gredora had Silent Archer, Tenma wrapped up in a web tougher than steel but flexible like string.

"Damage check... second check... Draw trigger! Power to the vanguard and draw one."

"It will only get more difficult for you from here," Agrise noted. "My insects will keep swarming the field until you embrace defeat!" Agrise smiled. So did Makoto.

"We'll see about that!" Makoto replied. "I know you have no intention of losing. Neither do I!"

"Dangerous Horn attacks your vanguard!"

"Perfect Guard!"

"Looks like my turn is over," Agrise said with a smile. "Let's see what you can do with limited resources."

Makoto continued to smile as well. "Stand and draw!" Makoto looked at the card he drew. It was Torte.

"Makoto..." Hanako was worried. Asahi could easily see it.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Hanako," Asahi told her. "He's got a plan."

Indeed, Makoto had a plan, but could he pull it off?

"Chōchō-chan!!!" Ryo screamed once more, "I'll always ha your back, Chōchō-chan!!!"

Let's see how much damage I can make before I stir up a hornet's nest...