The Argument

"Hey Taki," Kaito said. Taki caught his breath and tapped his fingers nervously on the edge of the elevator.

"What should we do?" he asked, gesturing to the two elevators in front of them.

"We can only go up, so let's get moving!" Taki replied, eager to put the Card Hermits' knowledge into use.

"Just hold on a sec, Taki," Kaito said, causing Taki to shudder as he withdrew his hands from the elevator doors.

"What do you want, Kaito? Time is not on our side," Taki said impatiently.

"What if my father took the other route? He may have left some clues behind," Kaito suggested.

"What are you thinking, Kaito?"

"That I take the elevator on the left and you and Rena take the one on the right!"

"We're not separating again, are we?"

"It's best to find the clues he left behind, Taki," Kaito said.

"Rena, you watch Taki's back," Kaito instructed.

"Roger that, Kaito," Rena replied, but Taki interrupted her.

"Hey, who put you in charge? Are you sure you can go up there all alone? Let's team up. It'll be safer with my abilities to card battle too," Taki said.

"Of course. Truth be told, you might slow me down with your so-called ability," Kaito retorted.

"Say," he paused, walking up to Kaito in the moment. Kaito was suddenly hassled by the collar of his shirt, straining a little tight against his throat. "Say what, Kaito?"

"I will slow you down?! I think you're the one with a ball and chain. How do you think I beat all these [card fighters](poe://www.poe.com/_api/key_phrase?phrase=card%20fighters&prompt=Tell%20me%20more%20about%20card%20fighters.) single-handedly?!"

"You get your dirty hands off me, loser!"

"Guys, calm down," Rena nervously said.

He lashed out blindly, connected his hands, and straightened up his wrinkled blue sweatshirt. "You know, you look very familiar to that wimpy sore loser I beat in the finals, Taki."

"You want to find out?"

"Guys, enough!!" She swung up and down her arms, smacked the side of her legs, and stepped between them both to a standstill. "Gosh, this is really childish of you guys. Can you ever get along? Kaito, if it weren't for Taki, we would be brainwashed or defeated. I couldn't do it without him. You wouldn't have gotten this far as we did our part too, you know. You don't treat him like that."

"Sorry," Kaito sighed.

"And Taki, don't let him get under your skin like that. He's a very competitive ego Card Fighter."

"I'm sorry too," Taki chimed in.

"I don't like this idea of him going alone, Taki, but I'll let it slide for now. He is his father's son. I'm sure he can handle himself well."

Taki stepped up to Kaito, their faces only inches apart. Both were breathing heavily, their eyes locked in a fierce gaze.

"I don't care how good you are. You're not going alone. You're going with my companion Rena for the ride," Taki said abruptly.

"But Taki!" Rena protested.

"It's okay, Kaito," Kaito interjected, holding out his hand. "He's probably right. They aren't average card fighters I've faced before, and that accomplice is not a cakewalk to cross."

Taki stood firm, unwilling to budge on his decision.

"Fine," Rena finally relented. "But you better watch your back, Taki! We've got a lot to talk about when this is over."

But as he stepped into the elevator, Taki couldn't shake the feeling of unease in his gut. The thought of those brainwashed zombies.

"It's not going to be easy from here on forward," Kaito warned as Taki entered the elevator.

"You're think of that the same way, Kaito," Taki replied before the doors closed.

As Taki rode the elevator up, he thought about the challenges that lay ahead. He knew that he had to stay focused and keep his wits about him if he wanted to come out with everyone else alive.

As the elevator doors opened with a "Ding, Ding, Ding," Taki stepped out onto a new floor that had miraculously been spared from the ravages of the zombie apocalypse.

The fresh scent of new carpet and paint filled his nose, a stark contrast to the decaying world outside.

But Taki's moment of peace was interrupted as his eyes caught sight of a group of brainwashed zombies on the third floor.

He approached one of them, tapping its shoulders gently.

"Excuse me, sir, are you alright?" Taki asked.

"You are the one to dare to challenge Lord Max!? the zombie, retorted.

I will stop you here!"

"Hey!? Ah, it ain't no good.

I can't get through to him.

Thd zombie remained silent slowly slip-on out his deck.

"This guy been completely brainwashed!

I know what I must do.... Taki up his fist  in the face of determination. It's Card Battle time!"

Taki moved up and down, the force clocking the energy dice and smacking it in the middle of the table.

Hans got 5 and Taki got 2. He chose Taki to take first place, as Hans went second.

I really need fix my deck," Taki whispered the words, turning to flip each  his seven cards  upside on over sighed the way down.

Taki sends one card to the fort, ending his turn.

Hans sends two cards to the fort ending his turn.

Taki added one new card to the fort, declared an attack to his opponent.

The attack succeeded, doing 300 dmg to Hans main hp.

Taki ends his turn.

Hans folds, add one new card to the fort ending his turn.

Taki added a new card to the fort, dud the special ability of his new card.

Had folded, ending his turn.

Hans added no new cards to the fort.

Have folded, ending his turn.

Taki added two new cars to the fort, dud the special of his another new card, have folded.

  Ended his turn.

Hans applies two new cards to the fort, have declared two of his cards to attack Taki.

The attack failed, Taki defended had ko one of the two of Hans as both of Taki's survived.

Hans ended his turn.

Taki added a  powerful card to the fort, have declared one of his cards to attack Hans.

The attack failed,  Hans was able to defend having his card available to ko as the attacker of Taki's cards  has survived.

Taki ended his turn.

Hans added no new cards to the fort, had declared two of his cards to attack Taki.

The attack failed, both of Hans cards are ko'd, as one of Taki cards is ko'd too.

Taki added an powerful card to the fort, and declared one of his cards to attack Hans.

The attack failed,  had ko'd both there cards.

Taki had ended his turn.

Hans added no new cards to the fort, have declared his last one to attack Taki.

The attack succeed, doing 300 dmg to Taki's main hp.

Taki added no new cards to the fort, overdrive his opponent Hans.

The attack succeeded, doing 2200 dmg to Hans hp.

Hans had been ko'd.

[Congratulations Taki on you're 5 win in Card Battles]

Ahh-owww."

As Hans stumbled after the battle, a wave of nausea engulfed him. He felt hot and his sight narrowed, but Taki was quick to lend him a helping hand. "I got you!" Taki exclaimed.

"Where-where am I? Am I in Card Tower!?" Hans asked, still disoriented.

"It looks like you've finally come to your senses," Taki replied with a smile. "You're okay now."

"Thank you, kid! You're one great guy.

Can offer you something?" Hans asked gratefully.

"You don't need to thank me," Taki responded. "We're both card fighters right?"

"Well, you sure are a really good guy. Whenever you want a card battle, I'm your guy, okay?" Hans offered.

"Okay, deal," Taki responded, readying his fist towards Hans and causing him to chuckle. "But I won't lose, Hans! You can be sure of that!"

Taki wandered around the floor and spotted a girl leaning against the wall in the shadows and approached her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Taki asked her.

"Oh, me?" the girl sneered. "Your pathetic deck is of no value to go against me. Care to try?"

"You're not wrong," Taki admitted. "But I'll be changing my deck soon, so don't you worry.

Well then, smiley, it's card battle time!"

Taki jiggled the dice in her hand, visualizing the battlefield as she prepared to roll. She smoothly rolled the dice, tapping each edge against the table with precision.

As the dice came to a stop, Taki's opponent hit a two while Taki hit a five.

Seven cards appeared in front of both their tables.

Taki discarded one of his  cards.  And  added  an  tanky card  to the fort.

Eneded his turn.

Naoki discarded one card to the field, have added   up to  have used an action counter card "Holy Star"

She rolled the dice to have grant her three random more free force icons for herself, ending her turn.

Taki added one card to the fort have dud a powerful special ability of his card having 0 force icons to go.

And have discarded one card, have declared one of his cards to attack Naoki.

The attack succeeded have done 300 dmg to Naoki main hp.

Taki ended his turn.

Naoki added one new card to the fort, have folded ending her turn.

Taki added one new card to the fort, had declared two of his cards to attack Naoki.

The attack failed,  it ko one of Naoki cards as both of Taki's cards  survived.

Ended his turn.

Naoki added no new cards to the fort, have folded, ending her turn.

Taki added one new card to the fort, have folded ending his turn.

Naoki discarded one card to added an  two new cards to the fort have folded. Ended her turn.

Taki added three cards to the fort have discarded one card, had declared three of his cards to attack Naoki.

The attack failed, it ko all of Naoki cards to Taki's cards  all survived,  badly injured.

Ending his turn.

Naoki added one new card to the fort, have declared both her cards to attack Taki.

The attack succeeded, done 800 dmg points to Taki's main hp.

She had ended her turn.

Taki had a full house, added new card to the fort having nine cards in the arena. Have declared all of them to overdrive Naoki his opponent.

The attack succeeded,  done 2300 dmg to Naoki main hp, have defeated her.

[Congratulations Taki, on you're sixth win in Card Battles.

You're total card points, 1200.]

The girl stumbled forward, struggling to maintain her balance as her eyes grew blurry. She clutched the edges of her dress tightly to keep from falling.

"Owww, where am I?" she groaned.

Taki, concerned, asked, "Are you okay now?"

The girl shook her head. "Am I in Card Tower?" she asked.

Taki breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, you are. You're back to normal now," she assured the girl.

"Thank you," the girl said, nodding her head.

"I just came to card battle and got mixed up in some weird plot," she explained, rubbing her head.

Taki snorted with a giggle. "Ain't that a real kick in the pants, it ruins people's days! Well, at least I got more card battle experience, thanks to you. If you ever need someone to battle against, be sure to only call on me, okay? I want to see the flaws in your card battle style and be the best."

The girl extended her hand for a handshake, and Taki joined in with a firm grip. They both smiled at each other.

"Wanna know more about card battle experience?" Taki asked.

The girl's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, I would love to!" she exclaimed.

Taki leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Naoki. "So, let me tell you about the card battle experience between both players to how to come up top," he joyfully said, eager to show off his card deck and the skills he had acquired.

Naoki listened intently, her mind focused on the details of his battles and experience. Their attention was undiverted by a loud commotion coming from the sides of Card Tower higher up the floors.

Suddenly, Rena emerged from the clearing, grasping her deck of cards against her side while tears filled her eyes. She struggled to catch her breath as she recounted the story of a girl boss battle that Kaito had helped her with.

"You're alright, Rena?" Kaito asked. "You're breathing like you're out of breath."

"I-I beaten Lin, the last girl over there, out of being brain-washed, Kaito," Rena replied through her tears.

Kaito was taken aback by Rena's sudden outburst. "Are you nuts?" he exclaimed. "Look, Rena, I'm not just your tag-along friend or partner.

I am Taki's girlfriend!"

He took a step back, frozen in shock and speechless.

"There, I said it!" Rena exclaimed, smacking the side of her hips as she stood back up. "I refuse to be carried along like I can't do anything or feel useless. I followed along with Taki's card battle techniques, and it helped me win my first Card Battle."

"I didn't know how to tell you or even Taki," Rena continued, her voice quivering. "Will he ever love me the same way back if I tell him? If we don't make it out of here, might as well-"

As Kaito's arms wrapped around her, tears of joy flowed more freely from Rena's eyes. In that moment, there in his arms, she felt a little more confident.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kaito responded. "I was too clouded in being the best card fighter, and I belittled ones that I saw as losers trying to come up. In fact, I was the same way. Taki is a very lucky boy. If I ever were loved like this, I wouldn't even care."

"Let's go now, Kaito?" Rena asked.

"Sure, Rena," he replied with a smile.

"Lets go rescue my father up the next floor ."

Their moment of peace was short-lived as a dark figure emerged from the shadows, slow clapping.

"That's such a loving, touching moment, brother Kaito," Kirilenko sneered, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

"Time's up, brother," he continued. "You're joining my army to destroy the world."

Kaito eyes narrowed as he took a step back from Rena, his hand instinctively reaching for his deck of cards as Kirilenko reaches his.

"I won't let you get away with this," Kaito said, his voice low and steady.

They both faced each other, their card decks slamming onto the table with a resounding thud. The air crackled with tension as the simulation of the battle field formed around them.

Kirilenko smirked, his expression confident and self-assured, while Kaito let out a frustrated grunt.

Rena watched in horror as the two sides prepared to face off. "Leo, don't do this!" she cried out desperately, but her plea fell on deaf ears.

"Thanks for the tips, Taki. I'll make sure to use them against you when we battle," Naoki teased playfully, a mischievous glint in her eye. Taki responded with a confident smirk, his game face on.

"Bring it on, Naoki. I'm always up for a challenge," he replied, eager to put his skills to the test.

Naoki giggled and suggested, "Let's go bother your friend over there," as she slipped out of Taki's embrace and adjusted her glasses.

"Hey, don't call him that!" Taki protested, running after her as she giggled.

As they approached, a zombie nerd appeared, clutching a stack of books. "Ka ha ha ha! I'll crush all card fighters who dare climb this tower!" he cackled.

Naoki shrieked in fear, "Not you too! Please go easy on Taki. Be gentle, okay?"

Taki chuckled, "What do you mean be gentle? Well, she does have a point. It might be a good time for me to practice my skills down here for a while, to never lose."

He pulled out his deck of cards, "But I won't lose to you, bro! You're going down!"

Diamonds glistened in the sunlight as fallen trees surrounded them. The tension was palpable as the dice were rolled and the simulation began. The dice landed smack dab in the center of the table, signaling the start of the game.

Kyoko hit 8 as Taki hit 6, he chosen Taki to go first as he goes second.

Taki added two new cards to the fort have discarded one to ending his turn.

Kyoko, discarded one card to added too have used an action card, "Worker Of The Bees."

He rolled the dice of full un-lucky, granting him one force icon, had ended his turn.

Taki added one new card to the fort, have declared two of his cards to attack Kyoko.

The attack succeeded, done 400 dmg points to Kyoko main hp.

Kyoko added no new cards to the fort, have commanded his two cards to attack Taki.

The attack succeeded, done 500 smg points to Taki's main hp.

Taki added two new cards to the fort have discarded one card.

Declared his three cards to attack Kyoko.

The attack succeeded, done 600 dmg points to Kyoko main hp.

Kyoko added three new cards to the fort. Discarded two cards, have on folded.  Ending his turn.

Taki added one new card to the fort have demanded his two cards to attack Kyoko.

The attack failed, it had   ko one of two cards of Kyoko's as Taki cards have survived.

Kyoko added no new cards to the fort have chosen a counter card against Taki.

He frozen one of Taki's cards to can't be used, have folded.

Ending his turn.

Taki added two new cards to the fort, have full house.

Had folded, ending his turn.

Kyoko added one new card to the fort, have folded.

Ended his turn.

Taki is full-house to can't add no new cards to the fort, used fusion attack against his enemy.

The attack sort of failed,  the recoil dmg 800 dmg been deducted to 500 dmg, thanks to the defense of Kyoko's cards that bad been ko'd  on 500 dmg hit his main hp.

Taki ended his turn.

Kyoko added no new cards to the fort, have declared one of his cards to attack Taki.

The attack succeeded,  done 300 dmg to Taki's main hp.

Taki has full house,  an still can't add anymore cards.

Taki used fusion attack against his enemy.

The attack sort of succeeded, recoil dmg to Kyoko's main hp deduced to 400 points.

Both of Kyoko's an Taki's one of cards has been ko. Taki second Card survived, as Kyoko's both cards are ko'd.

Taki ended his turn.

Kyoko added no new cards to the fort, have declared two of his cards to attack Taki, an says for fusion attack to Taki.

Oh sh-" Taki gasped.

The attack sort of succeeded, done recoil 100 dmg points to Taki main hp. "Phew." Taki, said with relief. 

Taki singular of cards fought the same as for Kyoko fusion attack cards, that both died to a ko.

Three cards for both players fighting one on one, all got ko'd to the discard pile.

Taki added no new cards to the fort, have declared one of his cards to attack Kyoko.  The attack succeeded, done 300 dmg points to Kyoko main hp. Kyoko is defeated.

[Good job Taki on you're 8th win it against Card Fighter King.]

You now have 2000 card points.

"Kyoko!" Taki called out as he heard her groan. "Hey, are you okay? I tried to take it easy on you, but you weren't showing any mercy either," he said, concerned.

"I-I'm okay, Taki! Thank you very much! I had the strangest dream. I came incognito to cheer you on, but all of a sudden, there was a flash..." Kyoko trailed off.

"That's the sneaky handiwork of Max! But you're okay now, I saved your senses! I'll hunt him down and take him out, but first, I need to save Kaito's father," Taki declared.

Kyoko adjusted her glasses over her nose and asked, "Is that what's going on?"

Taki nodded, "Yeah, that's the plan.

" I'll keep watch over this tower and make sure Max stays away.

You can count on me Taki.

It's the least I can do!"

Taki smiled, "I knew I could count on you. You're a true class president. I'm counting on you!"