#variable cord

Variable Cord shifted its footing so that its sharp middle talon loomed above the boy’s face, its golden glow casting eerie shadows across his featues. Tasuku only let out a breathless laugh, born of equal parts fear and adreniline. Taking that as an answer, Variable Cord pressed its foot down, center talon swerving away at the last second to dig into the ground above his shoulder. Tasuku let out a cry at the sudden pressure, arms raising in a feeble attempt to push the talons off of him as he writhed underneath. His body trembled with strain and breathlessness and his hands slipped across the dragon’s rough scales, his face turning to press into its middle talon.  Variable Cord shifted to push back against his head, turning Tasuku’s face upwards again before slowly sliding its talons down his body. Tasuku’s closed eyes fluttered open with the burning sensation of claws dragging across his chest and over his arms, air suddenly returning to him in a painful gasp. Before he could stop himself, his voice came out in a weak wimper, his hands balling into fists as his trembling increased. Its talons lifted, toes curling and then pressing down against his tender skin, the pressure sending waves of pain through his body that brought tears to his eyes. His vision was an unfocused blur of gold glow and dark silhouette, his lungs paralyzed with the shock of the pain even when the weight on his chest was weak so he could only let out choking cries. 

“You’re so boring, Tasuku. Where did your spunk from before go?”

The rounded edge of Variable Cord’s talons dug harder into his gut, this time producing a scream as all the air in him was forced out. The strain overwhelmed his senses, so he didn’t even notice Variable Cord revert into its human form until the much softer touch of fingers cupping his chin made him refocus his vision, his breath still coming in heaving gasps as he looked dazedly into the face of Suzaku Kenran.

“Ah, your expression really does look better from here.”

He straddled Tasuku’s weakened body, the latter too fatigued to resist as Suzaku traced the trail of a tear down his cheek, dragging a nail against his neck in a way that caused Tasuku to wimper softly into his touch. Suzaku made a satisfied grin at the sound, leaning back to more fully examine his work.  Letting his trailling finger dip into his collarbone, he started to trace the angry red slash of his talon, Tasuku hissing in a breath as he pinched the skin half-way, watching blood pool between his fingers with a soft chuckle.

“H-Hey,” Suzauku looked up at the dry sound of Tasuku’s voice, the latter lookng at him with a half-lidded gaze, “how painful is it when you’re destroyed in battle?” Suzauku put on a smile, eyes narrowing with amusement. 

“Why? Already planning how you’re going to repay me for this?”  He dug his knuckles into Tasuku’s gut, twisting them deep against his wound and making him wince.  “If you try to make it even, I’ll just get harder on you, you know. Unless you think I’ll back down first?” 

Tasuku sucked in a breath, bracing himself against the pain to make a reply, but before his voice recovered, Suzaku sent a solid punch into his gut, his whole body bucking with the impact.  The buddymonster slowly stepped off the boy, smiling coyly as he examined his unconcious features. With a contented sigh, he bent down and scooped him up in his arms. 

“Don’t worry- as your buddy, I’ll be sure to get you safely home.”  He looked down again at the long vertical scar down his front, letting out a laugh. 

As he started the walk home, he thought of the strength in his buddy’s red eyes, firey and determined to the last. He laughed again to himself- did he really think his frail human body would be able to take more punishment than the omni storm lord?  Thinking of the revenge the boy was likely dreaming about, a shiver went down the neodragon’s spine, his smile tightening. 

Tasuku grits his teeth, looks with a heavy heart at everyone watching him with desperate eyes. If he loses this fight, their only lead to finding Yamigedo will be gone- and with it, any hope of getting back their friends. He lets out a sigh, pulls the card away from his gauge. 

“I call Sixth Omni Storm Lord-” 

“That’s not it.”

His voice stops in his throat, and when it returns, it cracks painfully against his words. 

“I buddycall... Sixth Omni Storm Lord, Variable Cord, to my center, and gain one life with buddygift!” 

“Yes, don’t forget this is a gift I’m granting you, human.”  Variable Cord appears, tall and magnificent on his stage, great wings stretching to their impressive wingspan. Everything about it looks wrong to Tasuku, who yearns to see tough, battle-hardened green scales mounted with white and gold- who sees a golden glow and wishes it were neon blue.

“I add my four held cards to Variable Cord’s soul.” He looks down at the dragon arms in his hand as they disappear under Variable Cord, watches the mechanical enhancements surround the neodragon and imagines them malfunctioning, spluttering sparks and tearing jolts of electricity down its body. The image is equal parts painful and liberating as he fliches at the vivid memories that inspired them, dragging his mind back into the fight as Variable Cord gives him a knowing look.

When he uses Variable to turn the tide of battle, he almost finds himself enjoying the fight again, almost accepting the dragon as a worthy partner in battle. He almost forgets, for a moment, what Variable Cord put him through, until his opponent’s turn ends and Tasuku draws, the image on the card hitting him hard in the gut. Buddy Recall.  He looks at the image of him and Jack, remembers making that card, and the smile falls away from his face, set into a bitter grimace. It’s the only card in his hand, but he refuses to charge it, doesn’t care if it’ll leave him defenseless. In fact, he almost welcomes it- he suddenly yearns to see Variable Cord wiped off the fight field even as he declares his attack.

Maybe he could’ve ended it sooner. Variable Cord looks over at him again as Tasuku avoids attacking the center, but he doesn’t want to see Variable Cord lead him to victory, wants more than anything to see him eliminated from the center, to assure himself that he doesn’t belong there. 

Every time one of Variable Cord’s souls is destroyed, there’s a moment where it winces under the force of the attack, explodes into a shower of golden light before returning with heaving breaths and missing a chunk of its power, only speeding along its demise. It’s a beautiful, gradual weakening that accelerates as it goes, and the sight of it becomes addicting- the sudden destruction, the slow beating, and each time Tasuku feels the breath get knocked out of him. The sight leaves him shuddering and gasping for breath, and while those watching might have thought it was out of empathy, Tasuku feels himself waiting for the next blow with anticipation.  Finally Variable Cord’s souls run out, and he lets out a final, anguished cry as he leaves in a spray of golden sparkles bigger and brighter than those before, and Tasuku stumbles back as if it has a recoil, breathing hard from the repeated breathlessness. He can feel everyone watching him with worried looks, but when he raises his head, he’s grinning. 

Thanks to the soulguard, he hasn’t taken any damage, and even wiping out Variable Cord was enough that his opponent’s turn ends without being able to attack his exposed center. Nonetheless, he’s in the same pinch he was in before, but this time his ragged smile is unfaltering as he looks down at the cards in his hands. His eyes are still filled with the light of Variable Cord’s final defeat, a sight he feels like he’s been yearning for since the deck was placed into his hands.  He draws, and it’s a dragonarm. He looks at Buddy Recall still in his hand and laughs through a strained smile. 

“If you thought you were done with Variable Cord, think again! He’ll be taking more punishment than that!” 

As he calls his “buddy” once more, Tasuku realizes, with blood pounding in his ears, that no matter how powerful the sixth omni lord is, once they’re on the fight stage, Tasuku has total control. He decides when the storm lord fights and who he faces, and the great neodragon is left at his mercy- nothing but a small square of paper between his fingertips.  He can tell Variable Cord realizes it too. Even in his dragon form, Tasuku can see how the energy has drained from his posture, his supiriority and amusment gone now that Tasuku is no longer struggling under the weight of his own pain, his own regrets. Variable Cord knows that from now on, he exists in that deck to be destroyed- that every battle is another sweet chance at revenge, even if it comes at the cost of betraying the one he’s revenging by calling Variable Cord his “buddy”. 

They take a moment to celebrate after his exhausting victory before going back to planning how to seal away Yamigedo, utilizing their new information as they consider their next move. Tasuku is still shaking when he asks to go rest, and they gladly excuse him, deciding he deserves a chance to recooperate. 

Variable Cord has been silent since the battle, remaining in card form while everyone was together, and Tasuku is too tired to notice him leave the deck case until a hand shoots out, pushes back on his neck and pins him roughly to the wall. 

“Punishment? Is that what you put me through back there?” 

His voice is low and menacing as the face of Suzaku Kenran leans dangerously close to his own, icy blue eyes narrowed in thinly veiled rage. Tasuku starts to reply, but Suzaku forces the words back down his throat, his grip tightening painfully as sharp nails dig into his skin.  “That was a risky play you made back there- I thought you were less sloppy.” Tasuku’s eyes flutter with breathlessness, and Suzaku pushes down harder, sending Tasuku into a coughing fit. “I’d be more careful if I were you, considering you need us omni lords’ support for your mission. Unless punishing me is more important to you than sealing Yamigedo?” He suddenly releases the pressure on his neck, and Tasuku gasps for breath, still coughing as Suzaku watches him, waiting for an answer. When Tasuku’s breathing steadies, he says nothing, staring back with piercing red, and after a moment Suzaku tilts his head, starting to reapply the pressure to Tasuku’s neck, feeling him press back against the wall. “Well? Aren’t you going to beg for my forgiveness?”

Tasuku gasps slightly against Suzaku’s hand, hissing in a shallow breath as nails once again bite into his skin. This time, however, his eyes are fixed on Suzaku’s, steady despite the racing pulse underneath his skin. 

“I figured you’d just punish me in return.” 

He barely breathes the words out with what little breath he has, but they still cause Suzaku’s eyes to widen. He looks for fear in his eyes, looks for a bluff, but all he sees is anticipaition. 

“It almost looks like you want me to punish you.”

Tasuku gives a breathless laugh, the shallow rise and fall of his chest quickening.