//------------------------------//
// Intercept 
// Story: The One Who Leads The Way 
// by TundraStanza 
//------------------------------//

	It wasn't long after Céri Dylanson waved goodbye to Nurse Redheart when a strange voice permeated his mind.

"I'm bored. Stand up, my avatar!"

Wait, was he supposed to pick up a line or something?  How was he supposed to answer calls that used his passphrase?  After a few seconds of looking left and right like a kid lost at the mall, he sighed.  Well, what was the worst that could happen if he just picked a completely unoriginal phrase?

"Um... beam me up, Scottie?" Céri said while shrugging his shoulders.

Something sounded like a small explosion on the floor.  When he looked down, he saw a blue Vanguard symbol.  It was spinning around and glowing brightly.  He yelped and tried to use his arm to avoid going blind.

---
After a few seconds, he took a chance to peek, and gasped at his new surroundings.  What should've been the inside of a house had become a twisting and turning emporium.  Everything he saw attached to the "walls" was exotic.  There were a few masks of various shapes, bottles and vials of all colors and sizes, and even a very convincing witch's cauldron.  That particular decoration had bubbling liquid that wasn't sure if it wanted to be green or purple.

"Look a little less lost, partner.  You're way too conspicuous when your eyes dart around."

Céri snapped to attention and looked to the vague vicinity of the voice's origin.  What he saw was a pair of golden lights slowly bobbing up and down.  Within a few seconds, a face and the rest of someone's body followed suit.  It kind of looked like a male teenager with scruffy brown hair, a pair of red headphones wrapped around his neck, a jacket that seemed too stiff, and the exact same shade of gray on the slightly wrinkled pants.

"Are you okay, man?" asked Céri. "Your eyes look like they're radioactive yellow."

The other guy scoffed. "Well, they should.  I am a Shadow: the true self." He pulled out what looked like two kunai and spun around in place. "Wage slave by day, hero by night. I am Captain Ressentiment!"

Céri took a step back and held up his hands, palms facing forward. "That's a... mouthful."

"Meh." The 'captain' threw one of his knives up.  It spun through the air before he caught its handle. "If that's too hard for you to remember, just call me Yosuke Hanamura.  I mean, that's basically who I am... with a few exaggerated quirks."

Céri lowered his hands about an inch. "Is one of those quirks tossing around your throwing weapons carelessly?"

"Nah, the real Yosuke did that too.  I just get bored more easily than he does."

"The 'real' Yosuke?" Céri tilted his head in confusion. "You mean you're another cos-player like that Freddy Kreuger look-alike?"

"No... well, okay.  That's part of it." Yosuke twirled his other kunai. "It's just that on top of that, I also turned into his Shadow.  I guess that's what I get when a strange merchant hands out free contact lenses."

"Heh, it was a deck of trading cards that threw me under the bus."

"Yeah, I was curious about that." In a swift motion, the kunai were hidden from sight. "Is it just Yu-gi-oh's shadow games magic at work, or what?"

"Wrong manga, wrong anime." Céri shook his head and pulled out his Vanguard cards. "Cardfight Vanguard is a bit more like a comprehensive game for those that like the Magic: The Gathering play style, but doesn't weigh their decks down with mana."

"Sounds interesting." Yosuke crossed his arms. "Show me how to play."

"Um... alright.  Wait!  Would the owner of this place mind if we marked up a table that we can sit across from each other?"

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about that." Yosuke waved dismissively. "The broad's zebra magic can clean just about any surface."

Zebra magic? Going to have to look into that later. Céri shook the thought from his head. "Okay, next order of business.  Do you want to use an Angel Feather deck or a Shadow Paladin deck?  They're the only two I have at the moment."

"One of them even has Shadow in the name?" Yosuke smirked. "Well, the choice is obvious, isn't it?"

"Just thought I'd ask any-"

"Angel Feather."

"-way.  What?" Céri blinked twice.

"The locals have been showing me the courtesy of someone from the darkness for the last two months." Yosuke spat to the side. "I think it's time I tried something a little more... positive."

"Huh. Never thought of it that way," admitted Céri. "Alright, here."

---

While it wasn't a tournament approved playing mat, Céri and Shadow Yosuke had gotten the gist of the various spots labeled on the slightly moss-covered table for either player.  Five circles with an "R" in their centers surrounded the main circle with a "V".  A rectangle labeled "Deck" was on the right with a rectangle labeled "Drop" just underneath.  On the left, was a "Damage" rectangle of a larger area.  There was a slightly larger circle between either player's "V" circle that had the word "Guardian" in it.

"Okay," said the summoned cardfighter. "Choose a Grade 0 Unit from your deck and place it face-down on top of your 'V' circle."

"Got it." Yosuke took a card and did as instructed.

"The rest of the deck goes over here and we each draw five cards."

Yosuke slightly flicked the top cards out of place until he could grab all five of them.

"Before the game begins, you're allowed to redraw as many as five cards from your hand.  An ideal starting hand has a good mix of Grades 1, 2, and 3.  0s are probably okay too, since they usually provide good defensive options later on."

"I think I'm good."

"The next step is to decide who goes first, usually by way of rock-paper-scissors."

Simultaneously, they said, "One, two, three, shoot!"

Yosuke had his full palm showing.  Céri had a sideways peace sign.

"Okay, now that we know the turn order, both of us flip over our starting Vanguard and the game begins.  I like to shout, 'Stand up, Vanguard!' when I play." Céri smiled. "It helps get into the right mood."

"Alright, pal." Yosuke chuckled. "I'll humor you."

Simultaneously, they grabbed their first card and shouted. "Stand up, Vanguard!"

Yosuke flipped his over. "First Aid Celestial, Peniel."

"Frontline Revenger, Claudas," declared Céri.

A couple of light flashed in the shape of Vanguard circles with spikes.  The units actually appeared in miniature forms atop of their respective cards.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you could summon these things," commented Yosuke.

"This... doesn't usually happen," admitted Céri. "Maybe we should stop before something bad happens."

"Are you kidding me?" Yosuke leaned forward excitedly. "The fun just got started! You can't up and leave before you've at least shown me the basics."

I guess they're not big enough to destroy too much while they're like this, decided Céri before holding up a hand. "The first phase of every turn is the 'Stand Phase' where the player resets all of their cards.  But since my Unit is already standing, I can move on to the 'Draw Phase'."  He pulled a card off of his deck and added it to his hand. "Next up, the 'Ride Phase'.  Each turn, the player is allowed to ride a Unit equal to or one Grade higher than their current Vanguard.  Basically, it ensures that no one is getting a free pass to their strongest cards right from the get-go."

"Makes sense." Yosuke nodded.

"Ride!  Black Sage, Karon."

Céri placed the aforementioned card on top of Claudas' card.  The young Shadow Paladin's image was replaced with a slightly different Unit who happened to be carrying a dark book of magic.

"Some starting Vanguards are known as 'Forerunners'," he mentioned. "These can move to an empty circle if you ride a Unit of the same clan on top of them."  He moved Claudas' card to the "R" circle just behind Karon. "Call!"  The young lancer appeared standing on the field once again.

"After that, we have the 'Main Phase'," continued Céri. "During that time, the player can use units from their hand and call them to the Rear-Guard.  These are restricted to Units of the same Grade or lower than that of that player's current Vanguard."  He took a card and placed it on another "R" circle in his back row. "Call!  Transient Revenger, Masquerade!"

A small man with white hair came into being.  He looked all dressed up with no where to go.  The only abnormality was that one of his hands looked like it was concealed by cursed chains.

"And that's about it for a turn," said Céri. "The player who goes first can't attack right away, so I'm moving right to the 'End Phase'.  Now, it's your turn."

"Sweet, here goes!" Yosuke put his hand on his deck. "Stand and draw!"

---
Several turns later...

"Prophecy Celestial, Ramiel attacks your Vanguard!" ordered Yosuke.

"I discard a Shadow Paladin for Dark Revenger, Mac Lir's skill," countered Céri. "Perfect Guard!"

Yosuke growled. "Come on, Twin Drive check!"

The top card of his deck flipped over.  It depicted a dark blue unicorn with rockets attached to its side.  More importantly, however, was the small yellow symbol on the top right of the picture.

"That's a critical trigger," pointed out Céri. "It's good for the attacking player because it can increase the damage caused by an attacking unit."

"But you already shut down my Vanguard's attack." Yosuke blew a short breath of disgust. "Fine, I'm giving all the effects to my Rear-Guard, Shamsiel."

A golden aura shimmered around the chief nurse, and her glasses twinkled.

"Second check!"

Yosuke flipped the next card over.  Its name was Critical Hit Angel.  That name was aptly fitting, considering she too had the small yellow symbol.

Céri gasped. "A double critical!"

"Not bad," said Yosuke, feeling a bit more enthusiastic. "All effects to Shamsiel!"

The liquid in Shamsiel's needles all turned an eerie pink.  Needless to say, Céri was not feeling so great as he looked between the powered up Unit compared to the last card he had in hand.  There wasn't enough Shield power.

"With a boost from Baruch, Shamsiel rains down on Phantom Blaster Overlord!"

The giant vials of vaccine unleashed a barrage of their prismatic contents.  What should have been a terrifying dragon could only roar out in pain as it took the full blast.  One of the speeding droplets zipped through the edge of Céri's jacket sleeve.  When he saw the new rip, he gasped.  Meanwhile, the top of his deck flung cards to his Damage zone: Blaster Dark, Mordred Phantom, and Phantom Blaster Dragon.  They landed on top of the three cards that were already in the Damage zone from earlier turns.

"Wait... that's six damage, right?" asked Yosuke.

"Y-Yeah, that's right.  You won." He couldn't part his eyes from his slightly torn jacket.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Yosuke waved a hand nonchalantly. "Give it a week or so and you won't even know it's there."

Céri looked up in confusion. "What do you mean?  Sleeves don't fix themselves."

"In Equestria they do," insisted Yosuke. "About a month ago, I got banged up by at least six pointed claws and limbs.  But you wouldn't know it by looking at my clothes.  The rips just sort of disappeared one day while I wasn't even paying attention to them."

Céri still looked skeptical. "It can't be that simple."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Yosuke held his hands behind his neck in a leisurely position. "For all I know, that could've been because I'm a Shadow or maybe Zecora cast some weird voodoo spell on them in my sleep.  Could've been anything really."  He started gathering the cards back together. "Anyway, thanks for that little tutorial and the game.  It was fun."

"Mm, it really was," agreed Céri as Yosuke handed him his deck back. "So... do you know how I get back to the Equestria that I was in?  Kreuger sort of skimped on that detail."

"Yeah... about that..." Yosuke scratched the back of his neck while glancing to the side. "I'm just as lost on that part as you are."

Céri sighed and looked down. "Great."

Suddenly, he heard the call of what sounded like a crazy woman.

"What the heck?" Céri looked around rapidly.

"Oh, she's back."

Yosuke smirked while glancing at the door.  It slammed open just a second later.  A mesh of black, white, gold, and green covered this pony-shaped being.  But all Céri could think of as he was staring was how big her hair was.  Maybe the green eye mask was somehow holding it up even more than it naturally could be.

"Yosuke of Shadows, come along quick!  We are in need of your Persona trick!"

"You got it, Zecora," replied Yosuke.  He randomly pointed over at the other guy in the room. "Mind if we bring another along for the ride?"

The aforementioned Zecora looked curiously at the newcomer.  She trotted closer, squinting, and humming at this stranger.  She pulled out a pair of... glasses(?), glancing up and down.  Finally, she grabbed one of Céri's hands and put the spectacles down onto his palm.

"You are no changeling. That is clear to me. Take these so that through illusions, you too can see."

Céri blinked uncertainly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Those are special glasses, partner." Yosuke pointed out. "If you put them on, you can use them to see through all kinds of things like fog, holograms, magical illusions, and disguises."

"I don't know about all that, but it is kind of foggy out," agreed Céri as he looked out the door.

He couldn't really see anything that special about the glasses.  Come to think of it, they seemed more like lightly shaded sunglasses.  But as he looked through them and put them on, the place where there should have been fog suddenly cleared up into a forest path.  Confused, he took them off.  The fog was back again.  It vanished when he put them back on.

"How do they work like that?" Céri was at a loss for ideas. "And how come neither of you need them?"

"Well, I'm a Shadow," said Yosuke as a reminder. "My eyes were specifically made to see truth for what it is.  Zecora's got her own all-seeing mask on.  That's how she can see."

Zecora nodded once. "Stay close to us and stay within our sight.  Use your powers when the time is right."

The card fighter gripped his Angel Feather Units tightly. "Got it."

The zebra grabbed a few vials from her shelves.  She carefully set them inside her small bags worn around either of her sides.  Then, she galloped out the door.  Yosuke quickly ran after her and Céri soon followed.

---

He wasn't entirely sure how to describe what he was seeing within the next forest clearing.  There were a few ponies that kind of looked like the same build as Redheart, but that was about where his familiarity with this world's species ended.  Something uncannily different was causing the trouble.  Beetle-like wings buzzed atop black-shelled creatures with bat-like fangs.  Occasionally, these "changelings" surrounded themselves with green fire, and it seemed to confuse the defiant ponies long enough to kick them to the ground.

"Now!" cried out Zecora, leading a few scattered ponies into the fray.

A blue flame floated in front of Shadow Yosuke.  He smiled at the spinning card before slashing a kunai's tip across it.  A slightly taller humanoid appeared in a wisp of light.  It was wearing a red scarf and a uniquely pattern on the rest of its outfit.  In either upper appendage, it held a large shuriken.  Both it and Yosuke ran forth and started cutting down changelings with their respective weapons.

That looks kind of like what I can do, thought Céri. Speaking of which... huh?

As he through his deck, he noticed something very wrong.  The majority of his cards had somehow been grayed out.  He could still read their names, but it kind of looked like something had sucked the color out of the illustrated images.  The only ones that looked like their usual colorful selves were the Grade 0s.  But he was running out of time to think.  There were some ponies getting scratched up and crushed to death by an ever growing number of changelings.

He shook his head and held up the Angel Feather starter. "Stand up!  First Aid Celestial, Peniel!"

After emitting a Vanguard circle of light, the card brought out the young green-haired angel carrying an aid kit.  She floated forward a few yards, yelped when she tripped on absolutely nothing, and spilled a bunch of first aid supplies over a small swarm of changelings.  A couple of them got tangled up in the loose bandages and went rolling into a bush.  The rest, however, looked rather angry and hungrily at the floating angel.  That was about the moment that Céri noticed some of his cards getting back their original colors: the Grade 1s.

"Ride!  Thousand Ray Pegasus!"

Just as it looked like the swarm was going to gang up on Peniel, an invisible force shoved her backward.  In her place, a large Pegasus with floating robotic needles on either side of it appeared.  It flapped its wings and flew straight up.  The swarm followed after the flying horse without a second thought.

Thousand Ray flew up and over in a broad looping path.  Soon, it was in a position that it could see all of its pursuers.  Peniel giggled and cheered in support.  The Pegasus's laser pointers opened up and shot a bunch of the changelings out of formation.  Though, there were still a lot that were left and ready to dive.  Several of them surrounded themselves in cones of green flame.  The Grade 2s regained their colors.

"Ride!  Crimson Drive, Aphrodite!"

The Pegasus turned into a pool of light.  This light reshaped itself in the image of another angel with a nurse's cap.  She had red-feathered wings, a halo, and a sword with what looked like a heart-shaped light near its tip.  Aphrodite hummed in determination as she took her blade and swung it against a few changeling craniums.  Peniel kept on cheering her Vanguard, at least until she turned around and screamed.

Céri turned around and saw yet another swarm of changelings approaching.  He tried grabbing a couple more of his Grade 2 Units.

"Holy Zone, Penemue!  Iron Heart, Mastema!  Call!"

A couple more medical field angels appeared to face the new swarm.  Penemue was wearing pink and she swung around a couple rolls of gauze like whips.  She was able to swing those around in a makeshift barrier against the majority of the incoming attack.  Mastema looked a bit more wear for tear with one torn wing and slightly bloody bandages around the joints where his limbs connected to his body.  Still, he seemed more than determined to swing his curved blades at the enemies.  His grunts of fatigue and pain actually seemed to strengthen each of his slashes.

Meanwhile, Yosuke and Jiraiya had cut down a significant fraction of the changelings where they were standing.  Zecora had smacked around several of them as well with swift and precise smacks of a single bamboo pole.  Between them and Céri's four angels, the changeling swarm's numbers eventually dwindled to those that were too injured to move or among the squishy messes on the dirt.

The card fighter leaned his back against a tree, breathing heavily. "I guess... there's a limit... to how much... I can... call Units... in a day."

"Another fight like this is sure to dawn," said Zecora solemnly. "But I thank you for helping in this battle we have won."

"Oh... you're welcome." It was about this time that his Units returned to their cards. "But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay out of your next skirmish."

"Before you go, I think there's something I need to find and give you," mentioned Yosuke.  He briefly grabbed the glasses from Céri. "This is Yosuke Hanamura's Shadow. If you ever need an extra warrior or a small tornado, give me a call." He then put them back on Céri's face.

"Wait, how'd you know these glasses were your key?" Céri asked.

"I wasn't sure at first, but there was a slight highlight on them that only I could see," explained Yosuke.

"Our time for rest is soon to end," reminded Zecora. "Do you know which challenger we shall send?"

"I've got a rough idea." The Shadow smirked as he glanced to the card fighter. "See you later, partner."  He then held up a red crystal that seemed out of place. "Bring down the wrath of Dreamer Devilmane!"

Those were the last words Céri heard before he found himself standing on Redheart's doorstep.
---