//------------------------------// // A New Buddy in Town! // Story: Friendship is the Future! // by Fear Ripper //------------------------------// “Next stop: Ponyville.”  The intercom of a train announced to the occupants. Said bullet train screeched to a stop at the designated station. The train doors opened letting out all the passengers who were getting off at the station. People of many shapes and sizes could be found, but one young man, in particular, stood out above the rest. He had jet black hair with a single red streak and standing at about 6 ft. in height, looking to be about fifteen to fourteen years old. Over his shoulder, he slung a plain brown satchel. He was wearing a bright red, assassin-style hoodie with grey outlines and the zipper off to the right of his torso instead of up the middle like most hoodies. His jeans were light blue, and he wore black sneakers. Around his waist was a brown belt, which on the side held a rectangular holster. From the look of his body structure, he had a lean, muscular frame. ‘Finally here! Man, sitting on that train for so long made my legs stiff.’ He spoke his mind with a smirk, before making his way out of the train station. On the way to his destination, he took in the scenery of the town he found himself in. A nice and quaint looking town with a nice amount of nature, but also keeping it modern. He passed by many shops and towers, and those around him looked like they were just enjoying their day in the beautiful town. “This town is so nice. Everywhere seems so peaceful.” He said wistfully. “Well it won’t be like that for long.” A sudden male voice rebutted. From the rectangular holster on the young man’s belt, a spark of light flew out and hovered next to him. “If our sources are correct, then we’ll be able to find them in this town. It’s probably likely that he is here as well. We gotta be careful Brave Heart.” The now named Brave Heart smiled confidently. “Don’t worry buddy. With you and I working together, nothing will get in our way!” He cheered. “But you can’t do it alone young Brave!” An elderly voice called out. Suddenly, seven more lights flew out of the holster. “Yeah! Ki! Don’t leave us out of the fight! Ki! We’ll give them a good pounding once we find buddies of our own. Ki!” A raspy childish voice challenged. Brave sighed.”Why can’t I just fight with all of you? Do we really need to drag civilians into our fight?” “We understand you’re reluctant Brave.” A deeper voice chimed in. “Under normal circumstances, I would wholeheartedly agree. But as skilled as you are, you can’t handle all of our styles at once. You and Drum are the most compatible out of all of us.” “Nin.” Another deep voice agreed. “Plus even with all of us, we’d still be at a disadvantage. There’s only eight of us plus you, and He has an army. It’s only fair that we have one of our own, no matter how small.” A raspy rocker voice added his opinion. “I just hope my buddy is a cute girl!” A joking voice laughed out. “As long as mine is strong I will fight by their side.” A deeper, raspy voice finished. Brave rubbed his nape and sighed. “Alright, I get it everyone, but for now I gotta find my new apartment. Everyone back in the deck.” The lights flew back into the holster on his waist. As he continued his trek through the city, he was stopped by a sudden yell. “I said no!” A girl’s voice rung in the air. He turned his attention to an alley he was passing by. There were three guys that had a girl backed against the wall. The thugs didn’t look like that much, just the generic teenage thug look. The girl, however, had caught Brave’s attention. She looked like she was about Brave’s age. Her hair was a dark purple color with a pink stripe on her right side. Her violet eyes were covered by a pair of black-rimmed glasses. She wore a simple lilac T-shirt with an image of a star surrounded by smaller stars on her shirt and a darker purple skirt that reached her knees. “C’mon girl, give us a chance. We’ll be sure to show you a good time.” The lead thug kept laying it on. The violet-haired girl glared at him. “I have better things to do than entertain you, now I’ll be leaving.” The thug snarled before smirking menacingly. “Oh really? Then I’ll have to charge you for wasting our time.” “I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Brave called out with a smirk. The four of them turned their attention to Brave. “Huh? What are you? Some kind of hero or something?” “Oh, I’m no hero. I prefer the title, “Heartful Fighter!” Brave announced. The thugs laughed, “The Hell is that supposed to mean? Well, you asked for it. Teach him a lesson.” The lead thug ordered his underlings. The two of them approached Brave, who only stood his ground. The two lackeys approached to attack Brave, only to be flipped onto their backs as they went in for a strike. The two lackeys tried to attack again and again, only for Brave to dodge and flip them around even more. Not only he made those two hit the ground, he even makes them strike each other. “Stop messing around guys! Take him out already!” The leader shouted. “Okay, whatever fighter, you’re gonna pay for that!” One of the lackeys shouted as he charged, only to be flipped around again. “Now I’m angry!” The leader pulled his phone out and started typing. He smirked before showing Brave his screen. “Fifty of my crew are on their way here now.” The girl cowered a bit. “Fifty!?” She squealed fearfully. “You’ll need a lot more than fifty,” Brave said confidently. “Being the warmth inside the darkness and being the light to lead the way to a better future, the Heartful fighter is here!” He announced. “What is this crap you are sprouting!?” The leader shouted confused. Brave smirked, “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time now to fight a hundred opponents at once. So go ahead, call a fifty more!” He challenged. Brave’s sheer confidence made the thug’s resolve waver. “This guy's crazy.” The leader said with a defeated look before he began to walk away. “C’mon guys, this ain’t worth our time.” His lackeys were confused at first, but they nevertheless obeyed and following his lead. Brave sighed in disappointment. “So it was just a bluff. Disappointing!” He said before noticing the girl, who had led out a breath of relief. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Brave asked as he approached the girl. “No, thank goodness.” She sighed before she smiled and bowed her head towards Brave. “Thank you for saving me from those bullies.” “No problem, just doing the duty of the Heartful Fighter! Catch ya later!” With that said, Brave ran off to his own devices. The thug leader was walking through the night streets without his entourage. “Tsk! That kid, that Heartful Fighter! Grrr! If I ever see him again I’ll show him who’s stronger.” He ranted to himself. “Is revenge what you seek?” An ominous voice hissed. Suddenly, a glowing card-shaped object appeared directly in front of the thug. “If that is true than accept the power of the Hundred Demons!” The card shined brighter as the thug’s eyes quickly became hollow and an evil grin then adorned his lips. (The Next Day) “*YAAAAWWWWWWN*!” The yawn of our young hero rung through the air as the morning sun shined above Ponyville. Brave was trekking through the streets as he made his way to his new school. Instead of his outfit from yesterday, he was wearing his new uniform, which consisted of a white, short sleeve dress shirt with maroon cuffs, along with maroon slacks and his regular red sneakers. However, still wore the brown belt with the holster. “Man, why do I gotta go to school? Shouldn’t all my time be spent searching for our enemies?” Brave complained. “You would think to fight for the fate of the world would get you more perks.” “Quit your whining kid.” The first voice, who was named Drum, spoke at the same speck of light flew out of the holster. “School is important. I would like it if we could be searching for the enemy as well as Them right now, but taking it easy is also healthy for you. You need to live a normal life too after all.” Brave rolled his eyes, “Alrighty mom. Well, at least I’ll be making more friends!” He chanted optimistically. While cheering, he didn’t notice another person intersecting his path. This caused them to bump into each other and while the collision wasn’t hard enough to knock them over, they stumbled a bit as the two regained their balance... “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Brave apologized to the one he bumped into, only to see it was the same girl he saved from yesterday. Instead of her casual outfit from yesterday, she too wore a school uniform. It consisted of a white blouse with a yellow vest over it that had maroon accents, as well as a maroon skirt. “No, it’s fine.”  The girl said just before she recognized Brave as the boy from yesterday and smiled.  “Oh! It’s you!” “You’re the girl from yesterday.” He said before he examined her uniform. “A Canterlot High uniform? Hey, that means we’re going to the same school.” “It would seem so.” The girl then held her hand out to him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you.” Brave smiled brightly as he shook her hand. “Name’s Brave Heart.Let’s be great friends!” While they were walking the trail to Canterlot High, another light speck flew out of the holster discreetly. “Ohhoho~! What is this?” The rocker voice teased. “The damsel in distress reunited with her knight. No! Could this be? A love of destiny!?” “Shut it, Asmodai!” Brave whispered harshly. “Get back in the deck before someone notices!” The now named Asmodai flew back into the holster and luckily, Twilight didn’t notice the light since she was focused on Brave. Seeing they both went to the same school, the two decided to walk there together while learning a bit about each other along the way. “So what grade are you in?” Brave asked. “I’m a freshman, I actually just transferred in this year. My family and I just moved here.” Twilight answered. “Wow! What a coincidence, so did I. I actually just got here yesterday before we had our little run in.” He joked. “Well, at least I’ll be going in with a friend now instead of heading straight into it alone.” “Friend?” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Yup! From this point on, you and I are gonna be the best of friends!” Brave declared to her. Twilight chuckled nervously since she wasn’t sure how to feel about someone she just met saying suddenly that they are gonna be best friends. It didn’t help that she isn’t the most social of girls. “Hey!” A voice called out which sounded familiar to Brave and Twilight. They turned to see the thug leader from yesterday. “Oh, it’s you again. Come back with those hundred opponents you promised me?” Brave challenged him. “Shut up! I’m going to make you pay for humiliating me! Your little girlfriend too!” The thug yelled as he pulled out a glowing card from his pocket. Brave’s eyes widened in astonishment as looked upon the very card that the thug held in his hand. “That’s-!” Before he could finish, however, a strong gust of wind was shot from the card and towards the surprised duo. “Look out!” Brave shouted as he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and pulled her towards him as he got away from the approaching wind. It was in a nick of time for where they once stood was suddenly engulfed in ice. “W-what!? How’d he do that!?” Twilight stammered as she looked at the frozen pavement that gust of wind created. If she or Brave didn’t get away in time, they would have ended up being encased in ice. “No time!  We gotta move!” Brave yelled as he tightened his grip on her arm and led Twilight away from the thug as quickly as possible. “Running like a coward? Where’s that bravado from yesterday, so-called Heartful Fighter!?” The thug taunted as he gave chase while holding onto the card that brought forth that wind. Both Brave and Twilight manage to stay ahead of the thug while dodging the ice attacks that he threw at them. However, they couldn’t shake him off and the two ended up running down a random alleyway. However, the alleyway turned out to be a dead end and now the duo found themselves cornered by the thug. “Well, well, well, look at this.” The Thug approached them slowly with an evil grin. “Two pests caught in a trap. What are you gonna do ‘Heartful Fighter?’ Huh?” Twilight shook in fear as the thug kept lurching towards them, but Brave stepped forward. Standing his ground, he crossed his arms with a confident smirk on his face. “Actually, this is exactly where I wanted you. Obviously, a normal human couldn’t do what you just did. You’re just a puppet being controlled by your master. Show yourself, Hundred Demon!” Brave demanded to the thug or more specifically, the card that he had in his hand. Freeing itself from the thug’s grasp, that very card flew straight into the air as it begun shined brightly. What appeared in its place was a demonic-like figure. He had the appearance that is akin to a gargoyle with blue and purple scales covering his body along with four red eyes, as well as the fifth eye on his forehead. “W-w-what is that?!”  Twilight cried out in fear as looked upon the unknown being that floated before her and Brave. “So you know my kind human? Well then let me introduce myself. I am Ice Prison Emperor, Cocytus Greed. And I must say, that female human is exerting a nice amount of fear. Although, you seem to lack it. Why is that?” Cocytus Greed asked, paying no heed to Twilight’s previous outburst. “This isn’t my first time running into one of your kind.” Brave then reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver, spherical object with a circuit-like pattern on it. “And it won’t be the last. Proto-barrier! Activate!” He threw the sphere into the air and while mid-air, the circuit-like pattern glowed green until it exploded in a burst of energy. The energy then started to enveloped Brave, Twilight, Cocytus Greed and the thug as a bright light blocked their sight. When the light faded, they found themselves in a completely different place. The space around them looked like space but filled with more universal colors. Twilight and Brave were standing on a pedestal made of silver octagonal panels, along with three other similar pedestals to the left, right, and center in front of them. Cocytus Greed and the thug were standing on a similar pedestal on the opposite side of them, only separated by a larger stage in between. “W-w-w-where are we?” Twilight panicked. “What’s going on here!? Am I going crazy!?” “Twilight, calm down,” Brave said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you got mixed up into this. But I promise you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Okay?” Twilight hesitated for a moment, not quite sure how to feel about her situation. But after seeing the confident look in Brave’s eyes and the comforting feeling from his hand on her shoulder, she finally calmed down. She let out a deep breath before nodding to him. “Alright.” “Human!” Cocytus Greed shouted as it looked around. “Where have you brought me? A prison?” “Nope. This is a Proto-barrier, a pocket dimension I activated from the Proto-sphere. The only way out…” Brave reached for the holster on his hip and pulled out a red, metallic card deck case with a large blue jewel in the center. “Is to Buddyfight! We’ll only be free when one of us wins.” “Buddyfight?” Twilight questioned. “Finally! I can now take this deck out!” Drum’s voice rung out as a light speck flew out of Brave’s deck case. It began to shine before it formed into another monster. This one was a bipedal, humanoid dragon dressed in a cyan blue, Chinese brawler outfit. “A-another one?” Twilight backed away from it. “Don’t worry girl, I’m one of the good ones. I’m Brave’s buddy.” Drum confirmed. Twilight looked to Brave, who only gave her a thumbs up. “So you are the human that opposes the Crimson Master and Master Yamigedo. Very well human, prepare for defeat!” Cocytus GreeD announced before the thug also held up a deck case, but it was black. “Ravenous fiends walking a wicked path! Witness their awesome power! Luminize!” The deck case changed its form into a gauntlet that covered the thug’s right hand, but the blue jewel stayed intact in the center of his palm. Six cards floated directly in front of him as he finished announcing, “Hundred Ancient Warriors!” “Alright! Time to battle!” Brave cheered. “Blazing their way through the battlefield with hearts full of courage! Pave the path to victory! Luminize!” Brave’s deck also changed shape into a flame-shaped holster that was strapped to his chest right over his heart. There were also six cards in front of him. “Heart of Blazing Spirit!” “What are those devices?” Twilight asked. “They’re called Core Gadgets.” Another voice rang. Another light flew out of Brave’s holster and formed into another monster. This one looked more like a human male. Although he did have a demonic look to him with the light purple tone to his skin and the horns popping out of his head. “Hey, there cutie. The name’s Demon Lord, Asmodai. Since Brave and Drum will be busy with the fight I’ll be here to add commentary to the peanut gallery. Specifically you.” He introduced himself. “Oh right, I was explaining something. The Core Gadget takes the shape of an object that reflects a fighter's inner hopes and dreams, either taking the shape of a personal symbol of strength for that fighter. It also allows the user to Luminize their decks so they can fight where and whenever.” “Their decks? Then this is just a card game?” “There’s a little more to it than that, but yeah, it's a card game. I’ll explain everything along the way if you get confused. First of all, every fighter starts with ten life points and six cards.” Asmodai said as he started to explain the rules of the game to Twilight. “It’s time to raise the flags!” Brave and the thug announced. “I Fight for Dragon World!” Brave claimed as Drum waved the Dragon World Flag. “I fight for Ancient World!” Thug claimed with Cocytus Greed holding the Ancient World Flag. “Flags?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “In Buddyfight, each fighter raises a flag of the world they are fighting for. Which only allows them to use monsters that belong to that specific world. So Brave can only use Dragon World cards and his opponent can only use Ancient world cards, but both of them can use generic cards as well.” Asmodai explained. Turn 1: Brave [Brave: LP-10 G-2] [Thug: LP- 10 G-2] “I’ll be taking the first turn,” Brave announced. “Charge and Draw!” Brave took one of the cards from his hand and guided it to two larger cards that were floating higher above Brave. The card he sent to them also enlarged in size, as Brave drew another card from his deck. “What are those cards up there?” Twilight asked Asmodai. “That’s the Gauge. Some cards come with a cost of a certain amount of Gauge, so when they use that card they have to pay the number of Gauge specified. At the beginning of the fight, each fighter has two Gauge. Each fighter has to draw a card on their turn, but they do have the option of Charging, which is taking one of the cards from your hand and placing it in the Gauge. If the fighters do so, they can draw another card in its place. There’s a limit to Charging however and that it can only be used once per turn.” “I call Crimson Battler, Extreme Blow Dragon to the center!” Brave announced as a magic circle appeared on the center pedestal and came forth ared-scaled Dragonoid monster. This one was large and muscular with four horns on his head. Wearing gray and gold armor and armed with metal knuckles. “Let’s have a clean fight!” Extreme Blow called out. “Now go and attack the fighter!” Brave ordered. With a blazing fist of fire, Extreme Blow struck the thug in the chest. A hologram of the number ten appeared over the thug, which then decreased by three. “End of Move.” A mechanical voice announced out of Brave’s Buddy Gadget. Turn 2: Thug [Brave: LP-10 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-2] “And that’s how you cause damage in a fight,” Asmodai explained another mechanic of the game to Twilight. “You see each monster has what is called a Critical. The number of damage the fighter takes is equal to the amount of the Critical of the monster that dealt the damage. The fighter that goes first is only allowed to attack once, and when the fighters life points drop to zero they lose.” “Your move.” The same voice came out of the thug’s Buddy Gadget. “Draw. Charge and Draw.” the Thug added to his Gauge. “I call Demonic Fairy Dragon, Sorciere to the right. Blade Dragon Emperor, Vorpal Spartar to the center. Finally, Island Dragon of the Origin, Little Land Mu to the left.” Appearing from a magic circle on the thug’s right pedestal was purple Dragonoid whose body appeared to be made of some form of energy.  The same manner of summoning also occurred on the center and left pedestals, which two dragons appeared. On the center was a large black-scaled dragon with blade-like spikes adorning its body while on the left was a smaller dragon with a flourishing island on its back. “Wait!  He just called three monsters at the same time! Is that against the rules?!” Twilight asked in surprise. “Not really.” Asmodai chimed in. “You see, each monster has a size of either zero, one, two, or three. They can summon as many monsters as they want as long as the total size of them is equal to three. Seeing as Sorciere is size one, Spartar is size two, and Little Land Mu is size zero, they can all be summoned to the field all at once.” “Sorciere, attack the center monster!” The Thug ordered the Dragonoid roared as it flew straight at Extreme Blow before slashing its claws through him, causing that Dragonoid to disappear. “Now, Double Attack on the fighter!” Sorciere then flew toward Brave and attacked him as well with its claws. The gashes of its claws were shown on Braves body as red lights before they then disappeared. Brave’s own hologram of his Life Points appeared above as it went down by two. “It attacked twice?” Twilight said as she uncovered her face from the strong gust of wind that came from Sorciere’s attack. “All monsters can have different abilities when the conditions are met. Since Sorciere’s Power was higher than Extreme Blow’s Defence, it destroyed him. As for Sorciere’s ability, it gains Double Attack for this turn whenever it destroys a monster.” “Now Spartar and Little Land Mu! Attack the fighter as well!” The two monsters charged and delivered their own devastating attacks on Brave, which brought down his Life Points by three. “End of Move.”  Like Brave’s Buddy Gadget, the one that the thug is using also spoke in a similar if colder manner. Turn 3: Brave [Brave: LP-5 G-3] [Thug: LP-7 G-3] “Nice turn dude. You manage to take out half my Life Points, but don’t think you’ve won just yet. Draw! Charge and Draw!” Brave increased his Gauge and drew a card from his deck. “I now call Break Shoulder Dragon to the left!” On Brave’s left pedestal was now another red-scaled Dragonoid, who appeared similar to Extreme Blow if not for his grizzled face and more fearsome armor. “And to the right, I call my buddy to the right! Crimson Battler Drum Bunker Dragon!” “Alright!” Drum shouted excited. He stabbed the Dragon World flag into the ground and jumped straight into the right pedestal. “Let me at this punk!” Brave’s Life Points appeared again, but this time it increased by 1. “He gained one life point? How?” Twilight asked. “You see, every fighter has to choose a buddy monster before the fight starts. Since Drum is Brave’s buddy, then the first time he is called to fight Brave gains one life point. It’s called Buddy Gift.” Asmodai answered. The thug laughed ominously. “Call whatever monsters you want, it won’t make a difference. I’ll take you down either way! I’ll prove I ain’t soft! That I’m stronger than you!” Brave said nothing as a serious expression adorned on his face. Moments later, it was replaced with his usual smirk. “You know, I never got your name.” That question surprised the thug for he was not expecting a response like that. “What’s it to you? Were in the middle of a fight here!” “Well if I don’t know your name, then we can’t be buds!” Brave announced cheerfully. Everyone except for Asmodai, who was chuckling, was shocked at what Brave said. “What in the world are you saying!?” Twilight shouted. “He’s just a street thug! He threatened me yesterday and attacked us with that demon! Yet you want to be friends with him!?” “Yeah! What the girl said!” The Thug yelled in agreement. “I’m the thug here! Aren’t you ‘hero’ types supposed to despise guys like me? Someone who bullies the weak and goes against your morals?” “Sorry to burst your bubble, you guys.” Drum interrupted. “But that's not the kind of black and white view Brave has. It’s not ‘The Way of the Heartful Fighter,’ or as he said.” “My buddy’s right,” Brave spoke out. “Everyone deserves to have a good bud in their life, no matter what. No matter what they've done or what they've said, no matter if their sins are uncountable, or if their greed is too great, even if they see the pleasure in hurting the innocent or harm those who live for the next day. They deserve, more importantly, they need friends. From what I can tell you didn’t always use to be this way. You just need a good bud to set you straight!” Twilight couldn’t help but gaze at Brave in awe as his words ring through her mind. ‘He sounds just like Big Sis Celestia.’ She pondered in her head. “Hahaha! Same old Brave.” Asmodai laughed. “The guy who’s gonna be friends with the entire universe. Or at least that’s what he says.” The thug was in a similar state of awe as Twilight. ‘No one’s ever spoken to me like that. He just, wants to be my friend, without even knowing me? Who I am, or what I’ve done?’ Cocytus Greed, however, could feel the negative energy fade from his vessel. To make sure he could still have influence over his puppet, he channeled his own negative energy and flowed it into the thug. He struggled for a moment before his face twisted in anger and his eyes glow green before yelling. “Just shut your trap and make your move! I’ll defeat you for Master Yamigedo!” Brave didn’t waver at the change of attitude. “Alright, but let’s make a deal. When I win, you gotta become my bud!” He challenged as she held up another card. “I pay one Gauge to equip on Crimson Fist, Dragoblaze!” On Brave’s right arm, a golden-armored gauntlet materialized. “What’s that card Asmodai?” Twilight asked the Demon Lord in wonder “That Twilight is what’s called an Item card. It’s a special card that allows the fighter to fight alongside their monsters.” Asmodai explained. “Although if you want to use an item you can’t have a monster in the center position and that would leave leaving the fighter wide open for a direct attack.” “Why’s that?” She asked. “Whenever monsters are in the center position, your opponent can’t directly attack until the center is empty.” He replied. “Also, when a fighter has a monster in both the right and left position and has an item equipped, it’s called the Triple Offensive Maneuver and that is Brave’s favorite move.” “Okay Drum, attack the Vorpal Spartar in the center!” Brave ordered. “It’s Crimson Time!” Drum announced before he lunged at Vorpal Spartar. “I don’t think so! I cast Dragon Flame Cascade!” The thug then activated a card and it destroyed both Break Shoulder Dragon and Drum. Before Twilight could even ask, Asmodai answered her question. “There are also Spell cards that can be used. Some are easier to use than others cause some of them come at a cost like monsters. The specific Spell he used was Dragon Flame Cascade, a counter Spell that destroys all monsters with two thousand or less Power or Defense.” “So that’s why Brave’s monsters are destroyed,” Twilight muttered before then she saw Drum reappear in a flash of green light. “Wait a minute? Drum’s back in play?” “That’s probably because of his own ability, Soulguard.  It allows monsters to put other cards into its soul to withstand an attack. The number of cards in the soul is the number of how many attacks they can take before being sent to the drop zone.” “I’m back! Now say goodbye to Spartar!” Drum once again lunged towards Spartar to deliver a powerful attack with his drill gauntlets. “And thanks to my Penetrate ability, you take three damage!” True to his word, Drum delivered another attack on the thug and the hologram displaying his Life Points went down from seven to four. “Now it’s my turn!” Brave called out as he leaped from his position to strike the thug with his Dragoblaze. “I cast Dragon Prudent!” The thug countered Brave’s attack by casting a Spell, which a powerful gust of wind blew Brave away before he could lay a blow on him... “End of Move!” Turn 4: Thug [Brave: LP-6 G-5] [Thug: LP-4 G-3] “Your move.” It was now the thug’s turn. “Draw! Charge and Draw! I cast Dragon Emperor Legend!” The effect of the Spell was significant for it increased his Gauge and Life Points by one while allowing him to add another card to his hand. With that done, the thug’s Life Points and gauge both have a total of five. “I’ll now Buddy call! Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed, to the center!” On command, Cocytus Greed then flew onto the center pedestal as one of Brave’s Gauge flew into the thug’s own. “What’s yours is mine and so is your Gauge! When I enter the field, one of your Gauge becomes mine!” He explained the thug then pointed a finger at Drum. “I pay three Gauge to activate Cocytus Greed’s other ability! When I pay the Gauge cost, Cocytus Greed can destroy one card in my opponent's field! SO say goodbye to your buddy!” Cocytus Greed’s astral hands surrounded Drum and encased him in a barrier of wind around him, slowly freezing his entire body. “Win this Brave!” That was all Drum said before he was destroyed. “Now Sorciere! Attack the fighter!” Sorciere delivered a slash attack at Brave, reducing his Life Points to four. “Now Little Land Mu…!!” “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Just before Little Land Mu could attack, a shield with a blue dragon head on it got in its way. The Spell not only nullified the attack but increased his Gauge by one. “You just got lucky. Cocytus Greed, attack the fighter!” “I will freeze you for eternity human!” Cocytus Greed flew towards Brave to attack. “I cast Blue Dragon Shield!” Brave cast the Spell once again, stopping the attack while increasing his Gauge by one. “He had another dragon shield!?” The thug was shocked that both of his attacks have failed. “End of Move!” Turn 5: Brave [Brave: Lp-4 G-4] [Thug: Lp- 5 G-3] “Even so, your luck has run out you bastard! You have no monsters left and your Life Points is low!”  The thug taunted. “I got Cocytus Greed in the center along with two other monsters! Make your final move for I’ll take you down on my next turn!” “Sorry dude, but you won’t have the next turn!” Brave said back with a smirk as he raised his Dragoblaze-clad hand as it suddenly combusts into flames. With that said hand, he drew his card. “DRAW! CHARGE AND DRAW! I pay two Gauge and cast Dragonic Destroy! Now Cocytus Greed in the center is now destroyed!” A portal suddenly opened above Cocytus Greed and from it, a giant Dragonic hand descended down and grabbed him. “This isn't right! My life is my own, and yours is mine as well!” Cocytus Greed tried to reach for his fighter only to be dragged into the portal with the Dragonic hand, destroying him in the process. “Cocytus Greed has a Lifelink 1,” Asmodai noted. “Lifelink 1?” Twilight asked. “It is an ability that takes a fighter’s Life Points away when the monster is destroyed.”  He answered. “Cocytus Greed Thug’s life decreases by one.” True to his word, the hologram displaying the thug’s Life Points went down to a total of four. “Next, I cast Dragonic Charge!” Brave cast his next Spell and that increase his Gauge by two, bringing it back up to five. The thug growled at the setback but remained confident that he would win on his next turn. “You only have one card left in your hand! Whatever monster you choose to call, it won’t matter in the end!” “FINAL PHASE!” Brave announced, which caught the thug off-guard. “What!?” Asmodai chuckled as Twilight look on confused. “Looks like Brave has this fight won.” “I cast my Impact Card!” Suddenly, an aura of red energy started blazing all over his body like a wildfire. “What’s an Impact Card?” Twilight questioned. “Alright, time for the final lesson.” Asmodai sighed. “An Impact Card is like a final move. While they are very powerful cards, Impact Cards come with a very specific set of conditions for them to be used. The one that Brave played is his Signature Move. To be used, his opponent's life has to be four or less, Brave has an item equipped, and neither of them has a monster in the center. Which mean all the conditions are met for-!” “CRIMSON!” Interrupted by Brave’s shout, Asmodai and Twilight turned to him as the aura around him flowed and condensed into Dragoblaze. “SOUL!” He reeled his arm back as he prepared to deliver the final blow to the thug. “GRENADE!” Finally, he threw his fist and shot forth the condensed ball of energy. The energy sphere struck the ground directly in front of the thug exploded in a mass of fire. With his Life Points fallen straight to zero, his flag, in turn, was destroyed and marked the ending the game. “Game Over! Winner: Brave Heart!” With that, the space around everyone began to glow brightly and enveloped them. When the light faded, Brave, Twilight, Asmodai, and the thug found themselves back in the alley they were in before. The thug was lying on the pavement unconscious and what lies beside him was a destroyed Core Deck Case.  Among it was his cards along with the very one that caused Brave and Twilight much trouble today; Ice Prison Emperor Cocytus Greed. “Oh, thank goodness we’re back in the real world.” Twilight sighed in relief. As for Brave, he made his way towards the thug and scooped up the cards that were left by Cocytus Greed. The thug then started to stir awake and saw Brave standing directly above him. “You… you saved me from that thing. Even after what I did, how I acted.” The Thug said slowly as he recalled what happened... “Yup, and we had a deal.” Brave smiled before offering his hand to him. “The names Brave Heart and from now on, you and I are buds!” The thug hesitated for a moment before ultimately accepting Brave’s hand, who helped him up. “Steel Club.” He finally said his name, which made Brave smile. “Ahem!” The two of them turned to see Twilight giving them a stern look, which was mostly towards Brave. “I don’t want to intrude on your moment, but you still owe me an explanation of what just happened!” “Oh right, sorry about that Twilight.” Brave scratched his head in embarrassment. “Well, where to start?!” “Now I’m the one saying sorry for interrupting,” Asmodai spoke up. “But don’t you two have somewhere to be?” He motioned to his wrists as if checking a watch, which confused Brave for a moment.  In a few seconds, it struck him when he pulled out his phone to check the time and saw it was 8:45. “Oh no! Classes start in fifteen minutes!” Brave panicked before he grabbed onto Twilight’s arm and started dragging her in a mad dash towards school. “C’mon Twilight! We can’t be late on our first day! Later Steel Club, we’ll see each other again!” With that, the two of them left the scene, leaving only Steel Club and Asmodai in the alleyway. “Well, there they go,” Asmodai said as he turned his gaze to Steel Club. “Now don’t go around causing trouble you here? Or else you have to deal with this Demon Lord! Hahaha!” That was all he said before turning back into a small light and begun following Brave and Twilight. “Welcome to Brave and Twilight’s, Buddyfight Corner!” Twilight and Brave stood in a classroom setting with a monitor behind them. “Where we will be teaching you all you need to know about the world of buddyfight!” Twilight announced. “Today we’ll be talking about my awesome buddy, Crimson Battler, Drum Bunker Dragon!” Brave said as Drum’s card appeared on the monitor. “He’s a size 2 monster with 5000 power, 2000 defense, and a critical of 3. When you want to call him to the field you must pay one gauge and put the top card of your deck into his soul!” Twilight zeroed in on his stats. The screen shifts to the cards effects. “Plus, if you have an item with the word fist in its title, Drum gains the Penetration ability! What a great buddy huh?” Brave explained. Twilight winked at the camera, holding up a booster pack of Buddyfight cards, along with Brave who stood beside her holding his Core Deck Case. “That’s all for now class.” “Can you open a Buddy Rare card?”