Author's note: I don't depict everything that goes on during Cardfights, pertaining to what the units do. So use your imaginations ;)

Sometime ago in a distant galaxy, two deities, one with white hair and white armor and another with black hair and black armor, clash and battle causing major disturbances in space. "Brother! Stop this!" The white-haired deity shouts to the black-haired one, but he doesn't listen and charges full speed at him. Their swords meet causing a shockwave that ripples across the galaxy. They push each other back and the white-haired deity raises his sword as it glows with a blinding white light. The black-haired deity does the same, but his glows a menacing violet light. The two of them then charge at each other at full speed until they clash one final time, this time the shockwave sends them both flying out of the galaxy and fade away in weakness… turning into cards…

"AH!" a blonde haired late teenage boy screams as he opens his eyes, broken from sleep. He shoots up out of his bed, only to hit his head on the ceiling of his room, which is messy with clothes and game/music cases scattered everywhere. "Ow…" he groans as he rubs his head. "Weird dream…" he speaks to himself as he climbs down the latter out of his bed in his gray pajamas. "Well, at least it's over…" he says, but then looks at the clock beside his bedroom door and notices it says 7:53 causing him to panic, "Shoot! I'm late!" he exclaims and scrambles over to his dresser, and changes out of his pajamas into a white dress-shirt and blue pants. He then grabs a set of head phones off the top of his dresser, puts them around his neck, grabs a deck of Vanguard cards on the shelf next to the bedroom door and rushes out of his room, through the living room, and out the front door of his apartment.

He runs down the stairs to the lobby of the apartment complex where he is stopped by a young lady sitting on a couch reading a magazine, "Late again Leo?" she addresses him.

"Come on Isla, I can't chat, I'm gonna be late." He replies and runs out the front door without even waiting for a response.

"Heh heh, that boy never changes." The girl chuckles.

In the year 203X, humanity has evolved to the next stage. Buildings that raise high into the clouds, highways in the sky, and robots roaming and cleaning the streets. But most of all, the evolution of the popular card game, Cardfight! Vanguard. The game is played all over the world and gaining new players each passing day. Now, it's time for a new chapter in the story of Vanguard. Leo looks up at the tallest spire-like building in the city.

Drive 1 – Stand up, VANGUARD!

Leo continues to run down the street on his way to school. He checks his phone and the time says 8:07. "Crap! I gotta hurry!" he says as music plays through his headphones that are connected to his phone.

"Trash Detected!" A garbage bot states as it picks up a crumpled soda can and puts it in its mouth as it says, "Trash Collected."

Just then, Leo vaults over the bot, that's only about chest height, and it starts malfunctioning. "See ya!" Leo says to the robot as he continues to run. However, he doesn't notice the other garbage bot straight ahead of him until it's too late. He tries to slow down as to not run into it, but does so anyway. "AHHHH!" Leo screams as he tumbles toward the ground and lands face first on the cold, hard, cement, and as he falls, his Vanguard cards in his bag fall out and scatter everywhere. "Ugh… damn it…" he says as he picks himself up. He notices his cards having fallen out and stops to pick them up. Meanwhile, a girl on the other side of the street with short red hair, stares at him and gives him a slight look of concern, but continues on her way.

Eventually, Leo arrives at school, Hasegane High School. He rushes inside and makes his way to his class room. "I'M HERE!" he shouts as he throws open the door, but notices everyone already seated and the teacher looking up from his book. The teacher gives him an annoyed look, making him concerned.

"Leo Katsuro…" the male teacher says.

"Yes?" Leo asks.

"I understand this is your first time back after winter break, so I'll let you off with a warning for now. But from now on, don't be 20 minutes late!"

"Y-Yes teacher…" Leo says and bows, then makes his way to his seat. He sits down next to another boy, a little older than him, with spiky black hair who gives him a displeased look.

Later, after class, Leo heads to the school lounge area where he lays back on a couch listening to his music through his headphones with his eyes shut. He then sees a large shadow approach him. He opens his eyes and sees the boy he sat next to in class. "Lazy as ever I see." The boy says to him.

"Ren-kun." Leo says to him. The boy's name is Ren Nagatoki, Leo's friend since he transferred to Hasegane High a year ago. "Heh, well you're as studious as ever…" Leo scoffs at him as he turns down the volume on his headphones.

"How many times do I have to tell you," Ren tells him as he sits down next to him, "you're supposed to address your elders with senpai."

"You're only two years older than me!" Leo gripes.

"That still makes me your senpai." Ren tells him with a joking smile as Leo clicks his teeth at him.

"Whatever…" he says as he leans back in the chair putting his arms behind his head.

"Hey Leo, have you improved your Vanguard skills at all?" Ren asks him.

Leo simply glances away. "I haven't really been playing it much…" he says.

"Are you not interested in the game?" Ren asks him in concern.

Leo sits up straight and faces Ren, "No! That's not it!" He states, "I love the game, I just… can't seem to find a Vanguard that suits me…" he says looking down.

"Oh yeah, you use that new Kaleido Galaxy clan right?" Ren asks him. "That clan only just recently came out. I'm not surprised you haven't found a good Vanguard for it yet."

"Yeah…" Leo says, "But, I just love this clan. The play style is so cool, and the units are amazing. I just can't find a unit that represents me…"

Ren places a hand on Leo's shoulder in encouragement, "I'm sure you'll find one someday."

"Yeah…" Leo says. Just then, the school bell rings.

"Oh! I gotta get to class. I'll see you tomorrow!" Ren says as he stands up and runs off.

"See ya." Leo says waving back at him and he goes back to listening to his music in peace.

Later that night, Leo sits on his living room couch at his cards. "A Vanguard that suits me…" he mutters to himself as he looks through his cards. He leans back on the seat and lets out a loud sigh "Uuuggghhhh! There aren't any units that are like me!" he complains. He then looks at the time on the clock above his front door, it says 11:15 pm. "It's getting late, I'll think about this in the morning." He says standing up and stretching before heading to his room.

Later, Leo lies in his bed fast asleep and snoring quite loudly. He opens his eyes and he sees himself floating in the same space he saw in his last dream. "What is this place? He wonders. He then sees a shimmering light above him that draws closer to him. That light then transforms into a man with white hair, white and red robes, a black cloth over his left eye, and a silver chest and shoulder armor plate. "Who are you?" Leo asks.

"My name is Cypher. I you are my Vanguard." The man says.

"EHH?!" Leo exclaims in shock.

"You and I have forged a pact." The man continues, "Therefore, I will lend you my power." The man extends his hand to Leo and he unconsciously takes it. A bright light then shines from their joined hands causing everything to go white.

"AHHHH!" Leo screams as he shoots up from his bed hitting his head on the ceiling again. "That dream again…" he says rubbing his head. "I'm his Vanguard? We made a pact?" he asks himself, repeating what the man said in his dream. "Eh, whatever, it was just a dream." He says trying to shake it off, but he then feels something in his hand that's under the blanket. He pulls it out and sees he's holding a card depicting the man he saw in his dream. "W-Was it… not a dream?" he wonders in both confusion and concern, "But if he says he's my Vanguard I'm not complaining." But he has no time to think as he looks at his clock and realizes he's late for school again. "Crap! I gotta go!" He says scrambling down the latter out of his bed and to the dresser to get dressed. He fortunately somehow manages to get to school on time, and all through class, Leo keeps looking and thinking about that card he mysteriously had that morning.

Later that afternoon, Leo walks around in the school lounge until he sees Ren sitting at a table eating a small bowl of rice while studying. "Hey Ren-kun." Leo calls out to him. Ren turns around and waves back as Leo walks up to him.

"Good to see you made it on time today, Leo-sama." Ren says to him.

"Whatever…" Leo replies. "Hey, do you have time after school today?"

"Why do you ask?" Ren wonders.

"I was wondering if you could Cardfight me." He requests. Ren is taken aback by the request.

"Of course." Ren replies, "We can even go to my card shop."

Now Leo's the one taken aback. "Hold up, you own a card shop?" he asks.

"Yep. Me and my sister run it together. We even live in the apartment just above it." Ren explains.

"How long have you owned this shop?" Leo asks.

"A few years now." Ren answers.

"So wait! You're telling me you've owned this card shop since I've known you?! Why did you tell me about it?!" Leo asks.

"You never asked." Ren replies slightly annoying Leo. "More importantly, did you finally find a suitable Vanguard for yourself?"

"Yep! Though to be honest, I'm not sure how I got it…" Leo says and Ren looks confused. "It just appeared in my hand when I woke up this morning. I even had a dream about it that night without even seeing it before."

"Weird…" Ren says hold his chin. "Well whatever, I'd be happy to Cardfight you after school." Just then the bell rings. "I take you to the card shop after school today. Meet at the front gate. See ya later!" Ren says packing up his books and runs off as Leo waves back.

"See ya."

Later after school, Leo and Ren make their way to the card shop. They arrive at a tall building on the corner of a street. The sign above the door says Card Shop Galatia. "This is your card shop?" Leo asks.

"Yep." Ren replies. "It's not as big as it seems, the upper floor is the apartment I live it."

"You live here too?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, it makes it pretty convenient." Ren walks toward the door while Leo is still trying process the fact that Leo lives here, but he soon follows after. The automatic doors slide open. "I'm back!" Ren says as they walk inside.

"Welcome back oni-sama!" A girl about Leo's age with short-red hair, who is standing at the front counter, says to him as she comes goes around the counter to meet them.

"Is that your sister?" Leo asks.

"Yep. That's Rei Nagatoki." Ren answers.

"Is this your friend? The red head asks Ren.

"Yeah. This is Leo Katsuro." He tells her.

"My name's Rei. It's very nice to meet you!" She tells Leo giving him a cute and innocent smile causing him to blush.

"N-Nice to meet you too…" Leo tells her.

Ren looks around and sees that the store is crowded with tons of people at fight tables. "It looks pretty busy. Is there an empty table for us to fight?" he asks Rei.

"Yeah, in the back." She tells him.

"Thanks sis." He tells her and takes Leo into the back of the store to the last fight table. The two of them shuffle and prepare their decks and Ren turns on the table. When he does, a speaker in the table says "Stand up… Vanguard." and it displays a range of mountains rendered in full on holographic 3D.

"Whoa!" Leo exclaims in surprise.

"Pretty cool huh?" Ren asks, "This is the newest and latest model of the Fight Table. It's like a mini GIRS."

"This is awesome! So you don't have to imagine the fight anymore?" Leo says in awe.

"It gets even better when we start fighting. So let's get to it!" Ren says with determination.

"You're on!" Leo says happily accepting his challenge.

Then they both declare in unison, "Stand up… VANGUARD!"

"Dimension Surfer (G0/6000)!" Leo declares.

"Crimson Light Dracokid (G0/6000)!" Ren declares. Their two units appear in holographic 3D above their cards and Leo gasps in awe. "This thing even renders the units, with full on animation and mimics their personalities." Ren explains.

"This is so cool!" Leo says in awe. He soon regains his composer and focuses on the fight.

"I'll go first." Ren says, "Ride! Dragon Knight Izayoi (G1/8000)! I move Crimson Light Dracokid back with forerunner. Your turn."

"Right!" Leo states, "Ride! Cosmo Drifter (G1/8000)! I move Dimension Surfer back with Forerunner. Using his skill! I discard a card in my hand and search my deck for a Grade 2 unit and bind it. Then at the start of my next turn, I can Ride that unit from my Bind Zone." Ren looks intrigued. Leo keeps going, "Boosted by Dimension Surfer, Cosmo Drifter attacks the Vanguard (8000-14000)!"

"No guard." Ren declares (Ren: []). "Ride! Tempest Wing Dragon (G2/10000)! I also call Dragon Knight Uthar (G2/10000) and Dragon Dancer Monika (G1/7000)! Mokina's skill (Soul 1-0)! I search my deck for a Grade 3 unit with "Crimson Lightning" in its name and add it to my hand." Ren shows the card to Leo. It depicts a furious red dragon surrounded by red lightning. "Boosted by Dracokid, Tempest Wing attacks the Vanguard (10000-16000)!"

"No guard." Leo declares.

"Drive Check (Critical)! Critical Trigger! Power to Uthar (10000-20000), Critical to Tempest (Crit 1-2)!" (Leo: [] []). "Boosted by Monika, Uthar attacks!" (Leo: [] [] []). "I end my turn."

"Stand and draw!" Leo declares. "At this moment, Dimension Surfer's skill activates! I Ride the unit I bound last turn. Ride! Seeker of Worlds (G2/10000)!" Leo cracks a smile, "Since I rode him thanks to Dimension Surfer's skill, he gets 3000 Power (10000-13000)!"

"Huh… interesting." Ren states.

"I call Interstellar Explorer (G1/7000)! I use his skill! I shuffle him into my deck and add a Grade 3 Kaleido Galaxy unit to my hand." The unit Leo adds is the unit he mysteriously got from his dream. "Boosted by Dimension Surfer, Explorer attacks the Vanguard (10000-16000)!"

"No guard."

"Drive Check (Draw (Sentinel)). Draw Trigger! I draw 1 card." (Ren: [] []).

"Not bad, however…" Ren states as he begins his turn, "Ride! Crimson Lighting Dragon, Zhaos (G3/13000)!" A large red dragon appears on the holographic field, bigger than any other unit currently on the board. "Imaginary Gift: Force! Apply it to the Vanguard (13000-23000)! I call Tempest Wing Dragon (G2/10000)! Tempest Wing's skill (Ren: [X] [])! I bind one of my opponent's Rear Guards. Bind Dimension Surfer! I also call Dragon Dancer Agatha (G1/8000) and Crimson Lighting Dragon Igor over Tempest Wing (G2/10000)! Agatha's skill ([X] [X])! I bind one card in your hand at random!" Ren binds a card, though it wasn't Leo's Grade 3. Ren then smiles confidently, "Zhaos's OverDrive!"

"OverDrive?!" Leo questions.

"It's a special skill of Zhaos. For every 2 units of yours I bind this turn, Zhaos gets +1 OverDrive (OD: 0-1)."

"What's that do?" Leo asks.

"You'll have to wait and see." Ren tells him. "Next Igor's Thunderstrike 2! Add 3000 Power to him and one other unit! I choose Zhaos (10000-13000) (23000-26000)! Uthar's skill! Counter Charge 1 ([X] [])! I use Dracokid's skill ([X] [X])! Send to the Soul (Soul: 2-3). Bind Interstellar Explorer as well as the top card of your deck!"

"What?!" Leo exclaims, but does so.

"Since two more units were bound, Zhaos gains one more OverDrive (OD: 1-2)! I call Dragon Dancer Sayuri (G1/7000)!"

Board State

(G2/13000) – (G3/26000/OD:2) – (G2/10000)

(G1/8000) – (G1/7000) – (G1/7000)

"Here we go," Ren says getting ready for battle. "Boosted by Sayuri, Zhaos attacks the Vanguard (26000-33000)! Sayuri's Thunderstrike 2! Add 5000 Power to the Vanguard (33000-38000)!"

"You're attacking with the Vanguard first?" Leo asks in confusion. "Ugh, Complete Guard!"

"Twin Drive (none/none)!"

"You didn't get any triggers. So your attack was pointless." Leo tells him.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Ren states making Leo flinch a little. "I still have overdrive! I can Drive Check one additional time for each OverDrive Zhaos has!"

"What?!" Leo exclaims.

"However, any card revealed with an OverDrive check goes to the Drop Zone instead of my hand. OverDrive (none/Critical)! Critical Trigger All effects to Igor (13000-23000/Crit 1-2)! Boosted by Agatha, Igor attacks the Vanguard (23000-31000)!"

"No guard." (Leo: [] [] [] [] []).

"Boosted by Monika, Uthar attacks the Vanguard (10000-17000)!"

"Guard (Shield: 15000)!"

"Not bad Leo. I end my turn." Ren states.

"Stand and draw." Leo declares, but before he can do anything else, he hears a voice inside his head.

"Call upon me, my Vanguard!" the voice says making Leo freeze.

"Hey, did you hear that voice just now?" he asks Ren.

"What voice?" he replies.

"I am not a figment of your imagination… now, Ride me!" the voice says again. Leo looks down at his hand and stares at the mysterious card.

"Is it coming from this card?" Leo takes a gamble and begins his turn. "Ride! Guardian of NEXUS, Cypher (G3/13000)!" The same man from Leo's dream appears on the field. "Imaginary Gift: Force! Apply to the Vanguard (13000-23000)! I call Transguard Knight Arlo (G2/10000), Transguard Scout Benkai (G1/8000), and Deep Space Ranger (G1/7000)!"

"Use my skill boy!" The voice says again. Leo still doesn't understand what's going on, but he continues to role with it.

"I use Cypher's skill (Leo: [X] [] [] [] [])! Bind Benkai! Next I use Deep Space Ranger's skill ([X] [X] [] [] [])! Call Benkai back to the field with any bonuses that would have been applied from the card that bound him!"

"What?!" Ren exclaims.

"Benkai would have come back next turn with double his power, but thanks to Deep Space Ranger, he gets that bonus now (8000-16000)! Benkai's skill! Counter Charge and Soul Charge 1 ([X] [] [] [] []) (Soul 2-3)! I call Comet Flame Dragon (G3/13000)! Comet Flame's skill ([X] [X] [X] [] [])! I bind 2 units from my deck and I can call them at the start of the battle phase with +5000 Power! I bind Transguard Mage Vivi and Harbinger of Beyond!"

Board State

(G3/13000) – (G3/23000) – (G2/10000)

(G1/7000) – (XXXX) – (G1/16000)

"It's the start of the battle phase, so I call Vivi (G2/10000-15000) and Harbinger (G1/8000-13000) replacing Comet Flame and Ranger respectively. Vivi's skill! When called from the bind zone, Soul Charge 2 (Soul 3-5)! Next Harbinger's skill! Add 2000 power (13000-15000)! When I call 2 or more units at the same time, Cypher gains 1 OverDrive (OD: 0-1)!"

"Interesting…" Ren states.

"Boosted by Benkai, Arlo attacks the Vanguard (10000-26000)! Arlo's skill! I call 2 units from my bind zone and add 2000 power to each! I call Dimension Surfer (G0/6000-8000) and Interstellar Explorer replacing Benkai (G1/7000-9000)! Then Arlo gains 4000 power (26000-30000)! Since I called 2 units at the same time, add another OverDrive to Cypher (OD: 1-2)!"

"No guard." Ren declares. (Ren: [X] [X] []).

"Boosted by Dimension Surfer, Cypher attacks the Vanguard (23000-31000)!" Leo declares.

Ren thinks for a minute about what to do… "Guard (Shield: 15000+15000=30000)!"

Twin Drive!" Just then, Leo hears the voice again.

"Imagine it! Picture your victory with a clear mind, and the cards you desire will come to you!"

"First Check (Critical)! Critical Trigger! All effects to Cypher (31000-41000/Crit 1-2)!"

"Why would you do that? You don't even know if the attacks gonna go through yet." Ren questions, but Leo appears to ignore him.

"Second Check (none)! Over Drive (Critical/Draw)! Critical Trigger! All effects to Cypher (41000-51000/Crit 2-3)! Draw Trigger power to Vivi (15000-25000)!"

"No way! He got 3 triggers?!" Ren exclaims in shock. The attack breaks through the shield (Ren: [X] [X] [] [] []).

"Boosted by Harbinger, Vivi attacks the Vanguard (25000-40000)!"

Ren looks at his hand pondering his situation, he realizes he can only muster up 20000 Shield at max, not enough to block Vivi's attack. "No guard…" he declares as Vivi's attack strikes Zhaos as Ren checks his sixth damage, (none). The holograms then disappear as the table turns off (Ren: [X] [X] [] [] [] []).

The match has ended with Leo as the victor. "That was a great fight Leo." Ren says extending a hand to congratulate him, but Leo appears to be spacing out. "Leo?" He calls to get his attention. Leo then snaps back to reality.

"Huh?! Oh sorry, I kinda spaced out there…" he tells Ren then takes his hand and shakes it. "That was a great fight."

"I'm glad you found a Vanguard fitting for you." Ren tells him.

"Yeah." Leo replies, "But I still have no idea what that voice was…" he says in his mind.

Several hours later after the sun has set, Leo leaves the card shop as Ren and Rei lock up. "See you guys!" Leo says to the siblings as he leaves.

"See ya later." Ren tells him.

"Bye!" Rei waves at him. Leo waves back and continues on his way.

As he runs, he pulls the Cypher card out of his pocket and stares at it. "I may not fully understand what this card is or where it came from, but I'm just glad I now have a suitable Vanguard." He says to himself.

Meanwhile, in the space Leo envisioned in his dream, Cypher sits there, floating in the space with his arms crossed and deep in thought.

Next Time:

The unit Leo mysteriously received, Cypher, starts talking to him more and more, but for some reason, only Leo can hear him, and he annoys the heck out of Leo. Also, Ren formally introduces Leo to Rei and pits them in a Cardfight against each other.

Drive 2 – Knight of Golden Rose