"How does it feel?

"Eh?"

"To have the one thing you worked hard for taken from you not instantly, but gradually? Painfully? Do you remember those feelings, Aichi? Back when you were a wimp?"

"Psyqualia . . ."

"You wanted to be with Kai, right? Are you seriously just going to let that mysterious force take away your whole life's purpose like that?"

"No, but . . ."

"But what? Our clan is in danger because of VOID, and you lost Kai without even knowing if he or his teammates are even alive! Aichi! Pull yourself together!"

"You don't understand! Kai's the strongest Vanguard fighter I know, and if Leon, of all people, defeated him . . . What chance do I have against him?! Huh?! Tell me!"

The young boy's eyes had transformed from one of sheer terror to one of anger and confusion. It almost gave me the shivers how hopeless he had become, how his mind had become so cold enough. I don't particularly understand why Takuto had to wake me up again to deal with this kid. I don't even particularly understand why he had to wipe out the boy's memory of me just to return it again after he won some stupid tournament. That Takuto. He never did make much sense to me.

"I'm not the master of probabilities, Aichi, so I can't answer that," I begrudgingly admitted, "but I know you're capable of defeating him. There's only so much that jerk can do with VOID on his side. Hell, you've tamed me a good deal enough, so I know you can beat VOID."

He looked at me again, his expression softening a great deal to one of confusion. "You seem to have a big grudge with VOID ," he pointed out, placing one foot forward as if he was planning on catching up to me in the event I didn't answer the question and ran off.

"Ehhh. You got me," I said, raising my hands in mock-surrender. "Despite what those crazies have told you in the past about Psyqualia, the force isn't the same with everyone. In fact, even among the few chosen to bear Psyqualia, there has to be a different kind of force for everyone; otherwise, put the wrong force in a person, and they either become physically ill or mentally ill or, in some rare cases, they actually die. It's quite tragic really,"

"You . . ." Aichi stepped back in disbelief, "You sound like you speak from experience."

"As a matter of fact . . ." I drew in my breath and exhaled slowly, "I do speak from experience. You aren't the first boy I've been selected to reside in. I've lived in three others before – three of whom you are most familiar."

"Those Chosen by the Wind"
A Cardfight! Vanguard one-shot
_

Aichi's eyes widened with surprise at my statement. "Who? Who are they?" he cried out in anguish. "Are they okay?"

"To answer your second question, they are okay physically, although one had to be transferred to a hospital at one point, if I remember correctly," I responded slowly. "Mentally, it's a whole different story."

"And to answer my first?" the boy inquired further, clearly not believing what he was hearing.

I drew in my breath again and exhaled slowly. "If I remember their names correctly," I paused, because it wasn't a matter of remembering, it's a matter of if I should tell the boy, "and the order I resided in them . . . Tetsu Shinjou . . . Taishi Miwa . . . and Toshiki Kai."

At the mention of Kai, he fell down to his knees, shoulders dropped. "Kai-kun . . . had Psyqualia?" He whispered, his voice cracking. He shook his head violently as if denying what I had just told him, probably holding back tears, and responded angrily, "No! There's no way Kai-kun would have had that power! He – He doesn't understand it at all! How could someone so determined and set in his ways like him . . . ?" He couldn't finish his sentence as he exerted most of his energy furiously wiping his tears of frustration from his eyes.

I walked calmly over to the boy and knelt down on one knee before him, placing my hands on his shoulders. I should have known better than to tell him that his beloved friend was accursed with my presence in the past. But, he wanted to know the truth, and that's exactly what I gave him. I normally don't care for humans this much, but this boy . . . Sendou Aichi. He's so determined to do anything he wants to do, but his very nature holds him back. It's quite depressing for someone like me to watch. It's even surprising to me that even in this boy's feeble state, he was able to face me directly and tell me to cool down with the hunger for power and strength, that we should cooperate with each other to achieve what we each want to do.

But this boy.

This isn't the Aichi I know.

As far as I'm concerned, VOID had already taken over his emotions. If I don't act fast, and if I don't explain that other boy's situation to him – Leon Souryuu, was it? – not only is Cray and Earth at stake, not only is the Souryuu child's life at stake, but Aichi's very existence is at stake as well.

Forget VOID taking over Earth. That should be the least of everyone's worries. God, that Takuto. Always under explaining everything.

"Aichi . . ." I started to say, "listen. I'll explain everything to you if you promise to cheer up. Fortunately, time has been frozen to where not even VOID can do anything thanks to Takuto, but his power can only do so much."

Aichi's eyes started to dry in that instant as he looked up at me with an expression that said, "Go for it."

"All right then," I responded, adjusting my position to a standing position. "I'll try and make this quick, but there are no guarantees."

"Just tell me everything!" the boy protested, his voice cracking. "I just want to know at the very least what's going on."

I took in a deep breath, and then responded as I exhaled, "Okay, Aichi. Now, I want you to close your eyes and imagine a place where harmony and iron-fisted ruling go hand in hand . . ."

" . . . a place where all of the units lived together in harmony – no clan rivalries, no threats of Armageddon. The Planet Cray. Everyone lived at peace with each other with Blaster Blade and Ezel as the heads. However, as you well know from past explanation, war eventually broke out among the clans. Two of the Oracle Think Tank units – Sphere Magus and Lozenge Magus – soon realized that this war would not solve itself on its own and would eventually need the intervention of humans. With their power, in addition to the majority of the Oracle Think Tank units, they were able to create Cray transmitters – beings that resemble humans, but, in actuality, are units subject to the rule of the human's avatar – that would train and improve their respective human in order that he or she can effectively lead their clan in this war. These transmitters go by various names, although the most popular two among humans seem to be Psyqualia and VOID.

"However, one of the transmitters, who happened to go by VOID, heard one day of the Aqua Force legend. He tried to stop the war between the clans in order to go find the missing one, but no one seemed to pay him any mind. Enraged that no one listened to his request, he began killing off units on Cray, one by one, instead of doing his job of enhancing humans to end this war."

I had to pause in my story by closing my eyes to keep my emotions under control. Whenever I recall that hideous event in Cray's history, I always feel the urge to kill the next thing I see. The way VOID dissected the bodies after he killed them . . . Despicable. The clans didn't have any time to rescue a lost clan. We had to finish the war first to prevent more lives being lost. But that VOID . . . He didn't see it that way.

"Blaster Blade, Ezel, and various other unit leaders tried to reason with this particular Cray transmitter because they didn't want any more bloodshed. But VOID refused their offers for peace, and, instead, ran off to Planet Earth. This caused panic among the clan leaders, and after much discussion, our creators – Sphere Magus and Lozenge Magus – in addition to our co-creator, Takuto Tatsunagi, approached us and said that we were all to go to Earth, find VOID, and stop him. And the only way we could do that is if we inhabited humans and find VOID's inhabitant. Unfortunately, we were designed to not last very long if we were not residing in the human that complemented us, so most of us were . . . 'human hopping', shall we say."

At this point, it would appear they boy had an outstanding imagination – or was it my fault? – because his face turned pale at that statement, as if he was going to throw up. "So . . ." he interrupted cautiously, "you're meaning to tell me that because of VOID, all of your kind was going around, potentially endangering lives until you found your match, in order to find him and stop him?!"

"Exactly," I responded bluntly. "I first went to Tetsu to see if VOID was anywhere near his surroundings, although I didn't last very long because he constantly had fits of fainting whenever I tried to transport him to Cray. So then, the next person I went to was Miwa. I survived a little longer with that guy than Tetsu, but he constantly got headaches and was constantly complaining about them, even after I successfully transported him to Cray and enhanced his abilities."

"Is that why Miwa seems to know how to explain a card fight to others so well?" the boy mumbled almost incoherently.

"That wasn't the purpose, but you're right. His understanding of the units involved your earthly version of our war – Vanguard – seemed to heighten immensely." I responded hastily.

Then, there was a silence between the two of us. I didn't want to tell him about Kai unless he wanted to, but I can't stand to leave the boy in non-blissful ignorance either. But, then again, I don't know how much longer Takuto will have this space available for us before VOID breaks in. So I started to say, "So, about VOID . . ."

"Wait a minute!" Aichi barked, clenching his fist and shaking it. "What about Kai?!"

I looked away from the boy for a moment. I didn't have the heart to tell a kid, of all people, what happened to his beloved friend. Kind of ironic, considering I used to be known as being the most apathetic of all the Cray transmitters. Darn those Oracle Think Tankers. Figures they wouldn't make all of us personality change free.

"As for Kai . . ." I started, "he was the most compliant and most able in terms of our mission before I approached you, Aichi. However . . ."

"However?" Aichi edged me on with a hint of high irritation in his voice.

"However, one day Kai became ill to the point of hospitalization, right after I had taken him to Planet Cray for the fifth time. And Takuto had said that if the human was sick, fat chance of ever getting out until the human becomes well. But, what Takuto had failed to remind each of us that Lozenge Magus told us when we were all first created that if we were draining of power, our respective human, if we were not compatible with him or her, would be drained of his or her life force. I found that out the hard way. Both Kai and I nearly died within that week before I figured that out," I responded slowly, but that seemed to irritate Aichi's emotions even further.

"Kai . . . Kai-kun nearly died?!" Aichi screamed angrily, frustrated tears forming in his eyes. "How – How could you let that happen?!"

"I didn't," I responded as-a-matter-of-factly, staring straight into his eyes. "Life happens like that, Aichi."

"He – He obviously lived after that . . ." Aichi interjected, although shakily, intimidated by my glowing eyes. "I remember visiting him in the hospital when he got sick . . . He seemed so sick, so frail, so unlike my image of Kai-kun. Even in that state, though, I admired him. He was sick, but he was calm about it, like it was no big deal."

"Um. Yeah. You're welcome," I coughed. "He would have been freaking out, otherwise."

Aichi looked at me incredulously, but before he could say anymore, I continued, "Fortunately, like you said, he did get better, and I was able to leave his body, but not before he had developed this fear of what he considered the unknown forces – the forces he didn't understand. He seemed to be the type that wanted to be in control of everything, and when something goes out of his control, he just breaks down. What an interesting guy he was. Kind of similar to you, actually.

"But, anyway. Now that you know my experiences with three of your comrades, it's high time I explain to you why VOID is so dangerous. Like I said before, if a Clay transmitter is not compatible with a human, they don't last very long. However, this particular VOID is different from the rest of us."

"What do you mean? I thought you were all created in the same way," Aichi interrogated with a hint of curiosity and confusion in his voice.

All of a sudden, I heard something cracking, which meant our time in this space was limited. Takuto was weakening, which meant I had to transmit the most important message Aichi needs to hear before it was too late.

"Yes, but, for some reason, VOID's power seems to evolve more and more as each of his humans become weaker and weaker, whether or not the human is compatible," I responded quickly. "Therefore, the Souryuu child is not gaining power, but losing his very life. If that boy isn't stopped, not only will Earth and Cray fall into ruin, but he will lose his life with no guarantees of getting it back. And VOID doesn't seem particularly interested in keeping the peace and balance of it either. Aichi, you have to save him. It wasn't Leon who took away Kai from you, it was VOID. Please, Aichi!"

Aichi's mouth gaped open at all this information that was just thrown at him so quickly, but he quickly gained his composure and put a more determined expression on his face. "I understand," he responded. "I understand now. I will fight Le-No, I will fight VOID. And I will save Earth and Cray, as long as you do it with me . . . Psyqualia!"

I nodded my head, smirking at the boy's determination. All of a sudden, the boy's deck began to glow brightly of blue and gold, and I saw the two units – Blaster Blade and Blond Ezel –emerge from the two decks. Both units were smiling as they turned their glances in my direction.

"Psyqualia . . . or should I say, Sendou Aichi?" Blaster Blade began, gently smiling. "Thank you for looking after this young boy. I had become quite worried about him ever since VOID sealed my clan and me away, but I see that he is in good hands now."

"And with Bladey's help and mine, we'll definitely take that VOID thing or whatever down!" Blond Ezel remarked enthusiastically. Before today, I could never tolerate that unit. He seemed a little too boisterous to me. But his enthusiasm brought in a much more calm and positive atmosphere to this little space, which was gradually cracking still.

"Blaster Blade . . . Blond Ezel . . ." Aichi remarked, happy tears forming in his eyes for the first time in a long time, "Thank you."

"No, Aichi. Thank you," Blaster Blade remarked, extending out his hand, "You have done what no other man or child your age would dare to do, only dream of. You've really grown up, young boy, from when I first met you. I am glad Sendou over there took good care of you, although you two have had squabbles in the past, as I remember clearly."

"Blaster Blade . . ." Aichi whispered happily, the tears from happiness still threatening to fall. I would imagine this meeting is a big deal for him. Blaster Blade tends to give everyone he meets a huge sense of hope and wanting to grow further. To be complimented by the leader of Cray . . .

Consider yourself lucky, kid.

The space that we were all in began to break in even larger cracks, which mean Takuto's power was completely gone. It was time. It was time we faced VOID . . . and destroy him.

"Let's do this," Blond Ezel remarked, smirking.

When the space we were in completely collapsed, we found VOID, in Leon Souryuu's body, staring at us with his murderous eyes, intent to kill, and only to kill. That guy was giving me the creeps, even if I've looked at him for all these years.

"Sendou Aichi . . ." VOID as Souryuu Leon began. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? Your precious Toshiki Kai couldn't even defeat me. What makes you think you will?"

"Why you - !" Kamui remarked angrily behind us.

"I will defeat you, Souryuu Leon, and I will save you in the process!" Aichi declared in the most determined way I have ever heard him.

"Save? Don't make me laugh. I don't need saving. The only thing worth saving here is my clan, Aqua Force!" VOID remarked. I knew at that moment that VOID had completely taken over Leon. Otherwise, why wouldn't Leon want to save himself? Or the Souryuu family?

Aichi didn't respond, but placed his deck on the table, closing his eyes.

Psyqualia . . . Blaster Blade . . . Blond Ezel . . . Everyone, lend me your strength. Aichi thought.

He then opened his eyes and glared at VOID, saying, "Let's do this, Souryuu Leon!"

A/N: Well, I finished my first Vanguard fanfic. On Christmas, nonetheless. Well, it's still Christmas Day for me by the time I'm typing this note.

This was particularly hard to do, considering I haven't written fanfics outside of YGO before, so by all means, if you have any ways to improve this fanfic, gladly mention them in your review, if you are kind to give one. I really enjoyed doing this, especially since Cray and the whole concept of Psyqualia, I felt, was not explained very well in the anime.

Thank you for reading this fanfic and for your review, if you are kind to give one. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hakase Fudou, December 25, 2012