"So, Wuliang, what's your wish? What's your motivation for winning this thing?"

He couldn't believe the chance he had been given. He hadn't thought it possible after everything but... Now that it was here, he was going to do it. He was going to fulfill the promise.

So he answered, "You'll see. Less talk, more battling."

"Hey, why are you ducking under the railings, Kumori?" Light blinked at his Buddy, who was indeed doing that. 

Kumori giggled. "Fic doesn't know me yet. It's not the time for him to know." 

"So this version of Wuliang's father was before he met you?" Yuga asked. 

"Yep," Glasssweeper smiled as he sat on Alec's head. "Trust me, though, I may be Wuliang's Buddy for Biome world, Jackjack for Legend World and all that, but when it comes to the Tomodachi SRS flag... His Buddy is amazing." 

"Like your Dada, I see. Alright." Fic nodded. 

Bunbuku grinned, and yelled, "BUDDYFIGHT!!!"

Time to put everything he had into this! 

"Open the flag!! Tomodachi SRS!" Both chorused at the same time. 

"What flag is that?!" Noboru's eyes were wide. It looked so different!

"It's a flag that allows the usage of any 3 monsters regardless of size and lets us start with 12 life and 3 gauge!" Wuliang explained. 

"3 GAUGE AND 12 LIFE!?!?!" Gao gasped. Even his Thunder Empire Fangs only gave 1 gauge and 11 life!

"Fic knows how to make an entrance," Venu mused. 

Fic bowed with a smirk. "I'm a writer. Of course I know how to. But anyway, my Buddy is Dimensional Traveler, Cell God Madeleine Juah!"

Tenade gasped, "A Cell God?!"

The aforementioned partner grinned as she floated beside Fic. "Nice to see you, 10 year old Wuliang!" 

"Nice to see you too, Aunt Ditra! Mine is the first Pokemon I befriended! Flying Fish of Legend, Yuci!" 

"I'm surprised they didn't Luminise, though," Jinhyuk remarked. 

"We're getting there. Let's go Wuliang!" Fic called out

"Gotcha, Leader!" Wuliang grinned as he grabbed a differently colored Core Deck Gadget; a fishing rod similar to his usual item. "A test of courage, will, and nature is here! I'm not about to lose this fight! Luminise, Gaiazuna Blasters!"

"The hearts of hundreds unite for an Xros Unity! Luminise, SRS All Stars!" he smirked as he said, "I have the first move! Draw! Charge and Draw! I call to the right Ventus Cimoga, Angelia!"

"I'm ready to battle!" the Bakugan grinned. 

"To the left, I call Former Tyrant King, Kyuma the Vamdemon! I pay 1 gauge to have him Digivolve into Darkdramon!"

Darkdramon roared as the Digivolution ended. 

"Oh wait till you see his alternate forms," Glasssweeper chuckled, which made Kumori look over, "What do you mean alternate forms?"

"So he has alternate Megas or Champion forms like we do?" Ruri asked. 

"Not quite," he hummed. "Let's just say that even if our Fic isn't a fighter anymore, he can still pack a punch with his Buddyfights." 

"Finally, I equip, Pyrus Nanogear, Blade of Fury! And then! I activate Angelia's first effect! I add her Nanogan card to my hand, and call Zephyr to the center! Crossnize effect activate! With that, her Crit becomes a total of 5! Angelia, attack the fighter!"

"Got it!" she nodded as she rushed at him. 

"Ugh!"

Wuliang's life: 12 -> 7

"My turn ends." Fic grinned. 

He took in a deep breath. Papa was strong. Yes, that was true. But he wasn't Dan Kouzo and Amanokawa Hiro's disciple for nothing! "Alright, my turn! Draw! Charge and draw! I Buddycall Yuci to the center, and then I pay 2 gauge to call Shadowside Jibanyan to the right! I'm not done, though! I'm also calling Former Yo-Criminal Mikettio to the left! I equip! Mystic Taser! Its effect activates! I paralyse and send all cards on your field to the drop zone!"

"Damn it!" Fic scowled. This meant he was wide open!

"Yuci! Attack Papa!"

Yuci hissed and swung his tail at the fighter, taking their life away.

Fic's Life: 12 -> 9

"SS Jibanyan, please!" Wuliang quickly commanded. 

"Of course!" the large Youkai was about to attack-

"I send Nakajima Nanao's Nullification to the drop zone to nullify that attack!"

"An onslaught of attacks to try to stop him... Wuliang's strategy is pretty good," Shin Gao mused.

Shin Ayumi agreed, "This is getting pretty intense, and he's pushing him back!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. There's a reason why, even though our Satoshi and Hiro gave him the title, he managed to hold onto it aside from a few exceptions," Winnie said. "I've seen their battles with Onyx. He's not a slacker." 

Beisan nodded. "He's watched enough Buddyfights to know how to go about winning."  

"So it all comes down to luck," Kanata said, and no one could refute that thought. 

"Nice! But that's not the end! Mikettio!" 

"Not so fast! I cast! Onodera Kyouya's Endurance! I get 2 more gauge after nullifying the attack!"

"Then it's my turn!" He rushed in. Please let Papa not have any defense cards! 

"Ugh!"

Fic's life: 9 -> 7

"My turn ends here."

"Not bad, Wuliang. Not bad," he grinned. 

Wuliang couldn't help the slightly bittersweet smile. There it was; the frustration, the struggle. 

Wuliang had seen his father struggle immensely during this kind of time. And... it hurt him. It was scary, knowing that his father was like this... 

It felt only fair to hold up his end of their promise. 

To let him know that he was always going to be better than he thought. 

"Impressive," Venu remarked.

"This is pretty intense..." Tasuku muttered. 

"It's really exciting though!!" Dan grinned as he and Hiro looked like they were anticipating an awesome fight. 

And Wuliang knew Fic would deliver as he grinned, "But this is where the real battle starts! You may know all my moves but if there's one thing I am it's random! Draw! Charge and Draw! I Buddycall to the right Ditraleine!"

"Alright!" the Cell God jumped to that arena section. 

Fic's Life: 7-> 8

"To the left I call the Fiery Bird of Rage Pokemon, Hygamine!" The bird Pokemon chirped as he flew to the aforementioned spot. "And I equip! Swiss Army Weapon! I set it to the Blade form! This is my improved Eternal Bond Formation! I activate the effect of Ditraleine! I take any card of my choosing from my deck into my hand. I then activate another unique ability we share! Fiery mountains, the watery vortexes between dimensions can't sever this bond we have! Activate! Bonded form, Ditraleine! Ditraleine, attack!" 

"Not so fast! I cast, Amanokawa Hiro's Trouble Magnet! I have Ditraleine's attack diverted to Mikettio who has 3 Soul Cards!"

"Damn it!" 

"WHAT IS UP WITH THAT SPELL CARD NAME!?!?!" Hiro pouted. "Dan and Keita are just as bad!!" 

Winnie snorted in reply as she enigmatically said, "Love at first lockpick."

Both Kumori and Glasssweeper fell over laughing at that, much to the confusion of the others. 

"What's so funny?" Trisan asked. 

"Oh, it's a group injoke thing," Beisan chuckled. "Dan only got to meet Hiro through getting in trouble." 

"... I don't think that's surprising," Michelle mused. 

Luno nodded. "It's Hiro." 

"And Dan," Ichita added. 

Both of them blushed hard at that, but soon...

"Then! I attack! For every Bonded card on my field, I gain 1 crit! Cause I have Ditraleine, my crit is now 3!" They jumped and swung their item at the Pokemon.

"CICI!!!!" The snake Pokemon hissed as it dissipated. 

"Hey, but if Yuci is a Buddy, then shouldn't he be getting a Buddy Gift?" Yuga pointed out. 

"You'll see why that isn't the case," Glasssweeper answered. 

"And then! I activate Hygamine's effect! For one turn alone I can have him use his signature move Slingshot Blast to add 3 crit to his 3 crit!"

"But that's-" Zanya's eyes widened.

"A CRIT OF SIX YO!?!?!" Astra and Tetsuya chorused, while Asmodai and Musicmon gasped. 

Six crit was LETHAL!!!! Especially with how Wuliang was at 7 life!

"Go!"

"UGH!!!" he flinched, but-

Wuliang's Life: 7 -> 1

He wasn't done yet, though! "I cast! Megaton Head! The amount of damage I sustained this turn will be given to the other fighter!"

"Ugh!" Fic growled as his life went down as well. 

Fic's Life: 8 -> 2

"Alright, my turn ends here," Fic sighed. 

"Close call," Venu leaned back. 

"Woah this is crazy... Just what is this flag called the Tomodachi SRS?" Gao asked.

Shin Gao chuckled a bit. "It's... a long story. Don't worry, you'll get there someday."

His younger self could only stare at him in confusion while the rest of Team Demigod facepalmed. 

"To this day, how my dads' younger selves haven't realised they got married or that I'm their kid in the future is a mystery," Yuga muttered. 

"Agreed," Jane rubbed her temple. 

"But having Magnus Black and Ficmata Gaea's skills really shows how Wuliang stands out as himself," Glasssweeper smiled. "That's my Buddy alright! He can win in these circumstances!"

"Let's keep going! My turn! Draw! Charge and Draw! Mikettio, SS Jibanyan! Attack Papa!" Wuliang began.

"I cast! Megaton Head! I nullify that attack's damage to 0!" Fic countered. Dang! He really did think fast!

Then! "I attack! This thing has a crit of 3! You're finished!"

Fic then grinned, "You sure? I cast! Arihoshi Secret Technique: Pentagram Shield! I gain 1 Life and 1 gauge!"

"WHAT?!!?!?!" The Arihoshi siblings gasped. 

Fic's Life: 2 -> 3

Wuliang couldn't help but grin. "You fell right into my trap! I cast-"

"Are you sure?"  Fic smirked as he said, "You know that Impact can only be used when there are no hand cards. And I still have 3."

"Whoever said it was Taste of Retribution?" Wuliang felt the smile on his face grow as he yelled, "I cast! Darkus Curse! I take 3 life from the fighter and add them to my own life!"

That would do it-

"Not so fast! I send Nakajima Nanao's Nullification to the drop zone and nullify the attack!"

Ugh! Foiled again! What was going on now!? 

His eyes narrowed as his fists tightened. He gritted his teeth, but managed to spit out, "My turn ends." 

Why did he feel so frustrated? This was genuinely a lot of fun! Then why?..

"Nice try, Wuliang. But what's the point if you keep on letting your full potential remain hidden?" 

What was he talking about?! "I've-"

Papa's face went stern as he said, "Don't even try to lie to me. You could beat Tomoki in a match. And the only reason I won that fight in my time is cause I got lucky. You're no slacker. If you can't fight for the wish you want to reach, you may as well have lost."

His eyes narrowed. "You may be lazy, but you are good, Wuliang. Why hold back? What is your wish?"

"... Papa..."

Such a simple, yet profound statement. But it meant the world to him.

Now he saw why the team spoke of this time fondly. How his Papa always seemed to get past issues with determination and helping others.

"Say it! Scream it to the goddamn heavens! No holding back! Trust me, I know what it feels like. To hold back the emotions until the bottle breaks. it's not healthy." He opened his arms wide as he continued, "You know the wounds, the pain I have, Wuliang. I have never sugarcoated anything. Neither has BE Magnus."

"OOOOOH!!"

“Wuliang... Please."

"I... ... I know that you created Broken World on a whim. To represent how the world is broken at its core." Wuliang looked down.

Beside him, Yuci curled up beside him, trying to give him comfort.

"Thanks Yuci... Papa, I was young when you started the university life, and... You worked hard. You had a lot of good and bad things. I... I was young but I got that you tried. You keep on trying so hard. And... A part of me felt guilty that you created Biome world just for me. I don't know... I... Was lost."

"Wuliang..."

"All the suffering I went through. All the people I met... They reminded me though. A true Fate Changer changes the lives around them by changing and growing, inspiring growth in others. And... I grew up not knowing you as the various titles others give you. I grew up knowing you as Papa. MY Papa. Who struggled but always made time for me."

Ever since the fight against Gemini I've been wondering. And when I got the letter telling me I could wish for anything.... Well, automatically I thought, 'Maybe if other Broken world monsters had the same luck as Glasssweeper and Jackjack...' I found that I wanted Broken World to fully... Cease to exist by ridding it of all the darkness and having it rewritten and combined with Biome World. I... I know I have a shortcut. I could ask you, Papa. But... I don't want to do that. I want to earn that right. Once I put all my blood, sweat, tears and everything else into my fight, I'll...i get my wish."

He then smiled sadly. "It's not easy, though." Tears began falling as he looked down. "I wish I could be like everyone else and get fired up. But... I know this is the fight I've been waiting for. The one reason I've managed to get through everything. The thing with Timeruler Dragon, Gemini... everything. I wanted to face you, Papa, and, above everything, above my desire, I wanted to face you at your peak. I know that this is a hard period for you, Papa. I've seen you cry when no one is looking. When you think it's not okay to let anyone in. I've seen what happens to you. But.... you beat all those people. You only had 2 losses. You repaid your favour to Uncle Gao ages ago, and it was a close fight with the uncles from the PokeSRS world. You may have lost the battles, but you gained yourself in the process."

"WHAT?!!?!?! WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT?!?" Both Gao and Shin Gao gaped.

"Plot," Was Venu's blunt answer.

"It's what happened recently," Winnie said.

"Wuliang knows how pained his dad is actually feeling. The pain right now... is hard to get rid of, but he wants to give his dad a helping hand. So... He told me, through this battle, he wanted to beat his Papa, and show him that hope still existed."

Team Demigod couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"That's Helios for you," Alec grinned. "He's going to win this battle for sure!!"

"YOU CAN DO IT WULIANG!!" Jane cheered.

Wuliang wiped some tears from his eyes but gave a smile to his friends before facing Fic. "So that's my wish. Papa, that is my wish."

"Wuliang..." Fic teared up a bit. "You really have grown... I'm so happy."

As he wiped his tears away, he asked, "I guess that means that I can rest easy. That's what you really want to tell me, right?"

Wuliang smiled. As expected, Papa picked up on it. "Yeah. You don't have to think too hard about how to care for me. You got the team, and you're trying. That's all... That's all I can ask for."

Fic sniffled, "G-Gosh I really am a crybaby..."

But he smiled. "Alright then. I'll grant you that wish, Wuliang! Let's put everything we have into this! It's my turn!!"

Here, Fic grinned as he called out, "The realm of yin and yang, Giratina's Realm has descended! Where darkness and light clash! Over the flag!"

The flag changed into a different one; an upside down Yin and Yang circle. "Distortion Realm!"

"It's here." Wuliang grinned. He was excited for this moment!!

“Wait, if he's using this..." Winnie gasped.

"It means he's gonna..." Emeruda realised.

"I got this card from Ditraleine's effect. Thanks Ditra! I cast, Nakajima Nanao's Nullification! It sends your Impact card into the drop zone! And it must be used before Final Phase, which is what I'm doing! I CAST!!!! INFINITE SOUL STEALING THUNDERSTORM!! I DESTROY ALL MONSTERS ON YOUR FIELD SOUL CARDS AND ALL, AND I DEAL A CRIT OF 4!"

Right into his trap! "As if that's gonna be the end of me! I send Nakajima Nanao's Nullification to the Drop Zone to nullify the damage!"

"Darn it! You really are good! My turn ends here." A wide grin was clear on his face though.

"SOOOOO COOL!!" Dia cheered.

"This is getting good!" Aruke grinned. "And it's Wuliang's turn now!"

"That it is! Draw! Charge and Draw! I Buddycall Yuci to the right! His effect activates! I can choose not to use his Buddy Gift the first time he's called, but if I do the Gift comes when I call him a second time!"

Wuliang's Life: 1 -> 2

"So that's why he didn't get the Gift!" Subaru gasped.

"For share, that was brilliant!!" Masato cheered.

"Then!" Wuliang grinned. "You know that you have no more Nakajima Nanao's Nullification cards."

"Huh, so I'm guessing-"

"Yep! Impact Call! I pay 3 gauge and transform Yuci into an Impact Monster! Now, Yuci is a Size 4 monster who has fused with my Mystic Taser and has a crit of 4! Impact! Fiery Fulcrum Legend! Yuci Inferno! This is it!!!"

Fic grinned. "Oh that's what you think! I cast! Arihoshi Secret Technique: Pentagram Shield!"

Fic's Life: 3 -> 4

"Not bad! Not bad! BUT!" Wuliang grinned. "I have my own formation! I Cast! Night Curse Jikan's Requiem!"

"DID HE JUST SAY NIGHT CURSE??!?!!!" All the OD BF kids yelled.

Shin Gao just leaned back and hummed while Shin Tasuku, Ayumi and Tamamo all snorted.

Wuliang continued, "This allows me to skip my opponent's turn! And now, I can do this! I revert Yuci back to his normal form, paying 2 gauge for that, and then I call Aquos Jettra to the left! I get his Nanogan card and call Nanogan Angler to the center! Crossnize effect! Now Jettra has 4 crit! And then it's my turn! To Grandma Gaea who watches over us, let us finish it this turn and show them the power of our bond! The power we have! JETTRA, YUCI, BONDED FORMS ACTIVATE!!! I gain one as well and equip Satoshi's Aural Armour! It allows me to use my Aura powers in battle!"

His eyes glowed blue green as his body was encased with the Aura just wafting off him. Like a protective armour.

"It's so different from mine..." Ichita mused as he thought about how his Aura Mystic form was very limited. Perhaps he could ask Wuliang for ideas.

"Then I cast! Jellymon's Mischief! This sends all your hand cards to the drop zone! You know what this means!"

Wuliang grinned as he held the card. It was finally time to end it!! "A Link Attack! One that can't be nullified if I pay 4 gauge! PAPA, HERE IT IS!!! TASTE OF RETRIBUTION!!!*

*Huh. This was a good battle, though," Fic smiled before he got hit.

Fic's Life: 4 -> 0

Silence..... And....

"W-Winner, Tai Wuliang!" Aruke gasped.

No one was surprised by how Team Demigod were the first to react. Very loudly too.

"THAT'S THE ACE OF NATURE FOR YOU!!! YOU ROCK WULIANG!!" Light yelled. "You kicked ***!!"

"LANGUAGE LIGHT!!!"

"YOU DID SO AWESOME!! MY DISCIPLE!!"

"That was amazing!!!" Miko cheered.

Anastasia gave Wuliang a grin.

But what truly stood out to him?

Both the sheepish yet proud smile of his dad and his boyfriend's proud grin.

He had done it. He had fulfilled his promise, at long last.

Now he could live his life with the others. Permanently or not remained to be seen but... He was going to stay around for sure.

(Little did he know that his Papa's plan involved him living until old age, then passing on surrounded by loving family.

He may not be a human but his destiny could very well be similar to one.)