Yu-Gi-Oh! EXELIXI Chapter 4: Dark Bribe, a yu-gi-oh! 5d's fanfic

Before you ask: No, my story's still technically on hiatus. However, you'll be thankful to know that after going through quite the ordeal, I've finally started writing chapter nine. But in case you're wondering why I'm updating now, it's because my birthday's next Sunday (July 20), and I thought I'd do something special. But hopefully, everything will be back on track fairly soon.

Before I continue, I want to say that some of you who reviewed the chapters released thus far were quick to point out some mistakes I've made. They happened to be, in order received, me saying Kaiba's eyes were violet when they were supposed to be blue, me misunderstanding the effect of "The Big Cattle Drive", and me naming "Infernity Flux" "Infernity Wall" and vice versa. You'll be happy to know that all those mistakes have been corrected, though I disliked the one I had to do for chapter two. Not because I'm stubborn in this case, but the changes I actually did seemed like a copout at the end. I've also done some minor changes for the previous three chapters, for the sake of consistency later on in the story. Still, for making those mistakes: I apologize.

Also, and forgive me if I sound rude when saying this, but please, when you review, please give me actual critique. Stuff like "I look forward to chapter five" is not "critique". Thank you.

Enjoy chapter four, everyone.

Our story continues on the morning after the events of Mira's duel with Amphiaraus. At this moment, Mira and the gang were having their breakfast. Mira was having a beaten egg poured on steamed rice, Homanu was having miso soup, and Kero was having some toast with strawberry jam.

Ever since they awoke, Homanu saw that Mira was acting unusually thoughtful. "Mira, are you okay?" he asked her. "Is that nightmare still bothering you?"

"…Yes," said Mira. "But I don't want to talk about it…"

"Okay… But if you need to talk to someone, I'm here."

"Maybe she was dreaming about Sukarae," Kero said with his mouth full of toast and cereal. "Even you saw how powerful she was—I mean, you're the one who told us what kind of deck she had! So maybe she had a nightmare about facing off against her, and losing to her this time!"

"As always, Kero, you never fail to not help in situations like these…" Homanu sighed.

"I don't 'not help'! Look, all I'm saying is-"

Before he could finish, he and the others heard a faint hovering noise above their apartment. "Guys, do you hear something?"

"We sure do!" said Mira, getting up from her seat. "Let's take a look!" She ran outside of the apartment, with her friends following behind.

As soon as they got outside, they saw the official blimp of the famous KaibaCorp slowly flying over all of Satellite. All of Satellite's citizens knew the blimp belonged to KaibaCorp—not just because the company's logo was printed on the side, but because they could see Seto's enlarged face on the blimp's video screen.

"Attention, all duel fans of Neo Domino City, Satellite and everywhere else in the world!" Seto announced. "I am more than pleased to announce the arrival of what may be one of the biggest tournaments of the year—perhaps, even bigger than the Battle City Finals and the World Racing Grand Prix!"

"He's announcing a tournament right after the Neo Domino Summer Riding Championship?" Kero wondered. "That doesn't sound like him!"

"Oh, trust me," said Homanu. "In a way, it does…"

"In exactly one month, the Atlantis City Grand Prix, where duelists from Neo Domino City, Satellite and the rest of the world will form teams of three and compete to see if their team has what it takes to be the best of the best! Further instructions and qualifications will be explained in pamphlets located at Neo Domino City police stations near you.

"Until then—be prepared, or be square!" The video screen shut off as the blimp slowly turned to fly back to KaibaCorp.

CHRONICLE 004
DARK BRIBE

"'Atlantis City Grand Prix', huh?" Mira said, scratching her head. Turning to her friends, she continued, "Homanu, you do have a point of Seto wanting to start a tournament after another one of his tournaments ended. But Kero, you also have a point about Seto doing such a thing being suspicious."

"Yeah, but I now take it all back!" Kero beamed. "Now his tournament sounds like fun!"

"You do?" Homanu said.

"Yeah! I mean, come on! This tournament is perfect for us! The three of us are all best friends, so we're pretty much destined to compete and win this thing!"

"Except for one problem," Mira said. "Homanu and I have Duel Runner licenses, but you don't!"

"Mira's right," Homanu added. "How can we get into this tournament if you aren't certified to drive a Duel Runner? Heck, you don't even have your own Duel Runner to begin with!"

"Um… You can make me a Runner, right? Come on, Homanu—you're excellent in mechanics!"

"Sorry, Kero, but the answer is no. We don't have enough of the materials we need to make a Duel Runner, and we don't have enough money to afford those materials! Plus, there's the time it takes to make sure the Runner's in perfect condition, seeing how much punishment it can take, and a lot more!"

"I never thought of it that way… I guess there's only one thing to do…!"

"Forget about the tournament altogether?" Mira suggested.

"I'll get a Duel Runner myself!"

"Are you crazy?! How could you possibly get a Duel Runner all by yourself?!"

"I'll find a way!" Looking down and seeing he was still in his sleepwear, he resumed, "Right after I get dressed, of course…" He quickly ran back into the apartment. Around a minute later, he was dressed in his everyday clothing, and ran out of the apartment and towards Satellite's slums.

"Wow, I've never seen Kero so excited like that," Mira said. "Do you really think he'll find a Duel Runner on his own?"

"Maybe, but I dunno," Homanu said.

"Five hundred fifty yen says he can't," Mira playfully teased.

"Oh, it's on!" her male friend replied. They giggled as they ran back inside.

Elsewhere, Kero was walking through the streets of the slums, where he saw all kinds of tents with people selling various kinds of goods. There was a tent selling fresh produce, one selling fine pottery, and even a stand selling sushi. But Kero had no interest in any of those.

"C'mon, c'mon, it's gotta be around here somewhere…!" Kero said, looking back and forth almost desperately. "I mean, how hard is it to find someone who sells used Duel Runners?!"

"Used Duel Runners! Get your used Duel Runners here!" a voice caught his attention. Kero ran to the source of the voice. It belonged to no one other than a slender man around twice his age, wearing a tattered plaid shirt and muddy beige pants. The best part was, at least for Kero, was that the salesman was standing in front of a lot with more Runners than Kero could count.

"Jackpot!" he squealed silently. Running to the salesman, he greeted him: "Hello, good sir! I just so happen to be looking for a used Duel Runner!"

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place!" the salesman spoke. "Was there a certain kind of Duel Runner you were looking for?"

"Not really. Just one I'd be able to ride."

"Hmm…I think I have one for you. Would you please follow me?" Kero followed the salesman to the long line of Runners. Eventually the salesman presented to him a green Runner with blue handlebars and magenta Monster Card Zones. "I know the colors don't mix very well, but it's the best we've got for someone like you."

"Who cares what colors it has?!" Kero squealed, stroking the Runner lovingly. "As long as I can ride it, I'll take it! …Is it alright if I give it a small try, just to see if it works?"

"I don't see why not! …Just don't go too crazy with it, okay?"

"No problem!" Kero climbed upon the Runner and pressed a button that started its engines. Much to his satisfaction, the Runner's ignition ran smoothly, and the Duel Screen was functioning properly. Alas, one problem still remained.

"Um…my feet don't seem to be reaching the pedals…" It was true; Kero's legs were merely too short to reach the pedals.

"Then I guess you can't have this Runner, I'm afraid," the salesman said sadly.

"No! No, wait! I can fix this problem! I just need, uh…platform boots! Yeah! I'm sure that if I had a pair of those, I'd reach the pedals, no—WHOA!" He lost balance on his Runner and caused it to tip sideways. Unfortunately, the direction it tipped in was next to the line of the Runners, resulting in the domino effect and knocking over every Runner the salesman had.

Although no real damage was done to the Runners, the salesman was still furious. "Get out! Get out, and don't come back you're tall enough to ride a Runner!"

"FINE, I WILL!" the tearful Kero screamed, stomping out of the lot.

"This stinks…" Kero sniveled, dragging his feet across the dirt with his hands in his pockets. "I'm never gonna get a Duel Runner at this rate! And I really wanted to enter the tournament…"

"'Scuse me, kid?" a raspy male voice caught his attention. "I couldn't help but overhear you about needing a Duel Runner." The voice belonged to a man in his mid to late twenties. He had filthy black hair, brown eyes, thick yellow teeth and a five o'clock shadow. He was wearing a tattered blue sleeveless shirt, black jeans with a whole in the left knee and black boots. He was standing between a wooden desk and a large red velvet tent. There was a sign on the booth, with the Japanese Kanji translating to 'JUNK MAN; GOOD DEALS, 100 PERCENT SATISFACTION' written in red.

"I'm not a kid!" Kero exclaimed. "I'm seventeen years old—I just look like a kid, is all!"

"I see. Oh; allow me to introduce myself. Jenner happens to be the name. And as I've said before, I couldn't help but overhear you saying something about wanting a Duel Runner!"

"Yeah. Why should you care? It's not like you have a Duel Runner that my legs can reach…!"

"Actually, I think I do!" He crept back inside his tent. In no less than thirty seconds, he wheeled out a Runner towards Kero. It was one that resembled the previous Runner Kero tried at the lot. This one was white, had red handlebars and Monster Card Zones of the same color. "Well, go on and try it!"

Kero hesitated, but got himself to climb upon the Runner. Much to his surprise, his legs could reach the pedals. "This…this is perfect! Where did you get this?"

"Oh, I have my ways…"

"You know what, I don't care! I just wanna have this bad boy!"

"It's the only model of the Duel Runner I have at the moment. But since you're that desperate for one, I'll be willing to sell it to you for a much reasonable price!"

"Great! How much is it?"

"A measly four hundred thousand yen!"

"Well, that doesn't seem so ba—FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND?!" Kero cried, his eyes popping wide open.

"Hey—Duel Runners don't come cheap these days!"

"I…I guess that makes sense. But I don't have four hundred thousand yen! …I guess that's another opportunity going down the crapper…"

"Hey, don't give up just yet!" Jenner said, comforting him. "Being a businessman, I also accept trades."

"What kinds of 'trades'?"

"It's simple, really. You give me your deck, I see if it has any cards that catches my eye, you give me the card, and voila! The Duel Runner's yours!"

"Um…okay," Kero said, taking his deck out of his pocket and handing it to Jenner. "But I doubt you'll find anything that interesting…"

"Well," Jenner said, skimming through the deck, "there's only one way to find ou—oh my my, what have we here?" The card he was looking at was a Fusion Monster. Its Attribute was LIGHT and its Level was Eight. Its artwork was a pitch-black space jet with orange lining.

"Oh, it's a card I got from a tournament I won a couple years ago," the smiling Kero explained. "Lemme tell you—it's one of a kind!"

'One of a kind', eh? Just the kind of card I was looking for… the grinning Jenner thought. "I'll tell you what—I'll give you this Duel Runner, no money down, if you give me this card!"

"I dunno…it's the only one I have…"

"Then I guess you'll have to give up on your chances of entering the tournament," Jenner taunted. "Or are you willing to give me this card so that opportunity doesn't go to waste?"

Kero was certainly in a predicament, for Jenner had a point. On one hand, he would keep the card he was unsure of giving up, but would ruin his hopes of entering the tournament. On the other hand, if he did give away the only-existing card of its kind, he would be able to experience the Turbo Dueling experience he was missing out on for so long. After much thinking, he came to a final decision.

"I'll take the Runner," he said, sliding the card towards Jenner.

"A wise choice, my friend," Jenner said, wheeling the Runner to Kero. "You've certainly made yourself a fine purchase, Mr.…um…"

"Kero. Kero Nobuyuki." He climbed upon his Runner and was about to start its engines.

"WAIT!" Jenner screamed, much to Kero's surprise. "…I mean, uh, you don't know how to exactly drive a Duel Runner, do you?"

"Oh, yeah—I forgot!"

"So why don't you just wheel your Runner home without starting it up? That way, there won't be any accidents! Makes sense, right?"

"Of course! Thanks, Jenner!" Kero said, quickly wheeling his Runner towards his home. "Oh, man, this is the bomb!" Kero cheered.

"Trust me, Kero—you have no idea…" Jenner muttered under his breath, chuckling evilly.

Back at the apartment, Mira and Homanu were waiting patiently for Kero's return.

"How long has it been since he left us?" asked Mira.

"I'd say about twenty minutes," Homanu replied, looking at his digital watch. "Do you think he's managed to find a Runner?"

"I dunno-"

No sooner had she said that when Kero proudly walked into the same room his friends were in. "I'm ho-ome!" he chimed.

"Yo, Kero!" Homanu greeted him. "Did you find a Duel Runner?"

"Oh, I sure did!"

"Okay, Homanu, pay up!" Mira said to Homanu. Homanu just chuckled as he handed her the money. Turning her attention towards her other male friend, she resumed: "So, where's your Duel Runner?"

"Right outside! C'mon, I'll show you!" He motioned to his friends as he ran out of the apartment, his friends eventually following him.

When they got outside, they saw the Runner Kero acquired from Jenner. "Well, guys? Whaddya think?"

"This looks okay," Mira commented, looking around the Runner. "Not the best kind of model, but it still looks like it's brand-new."

"Just one question," Homanu said. "How did you manage to get the money to afford this?"

"What money? I just gave a good card to some guy, and he gave me this!" Kero cheerfully replied.

A guy giving a valuable Duel Runner to someone in exchange for a card… Homanu thought. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? And why do I feel like I've heard of someone like him before…?

"Hey, I have an idea!" Kero said. "Why don't I have a practice Turbo Duel with one of you guys? That way, we could see if I have the skills to become a turbo duelist!"

"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Mira said thoughtfully.

"I'll be your opponent," Homanu said. "I just hope you're ready for defeat, Kero!"

"We'll see about that!" Kero beamed. "C'mon, get out your Runner so I can take you down!"

"Oh, you're on!" Homanu ran inside the garage to get out his Duel Runner.

In almost no time at all, Homanu and Kero were on their Duel Runners in front of the Daedalus Bridge. Both duelists were wearing their helmets and their Duel Gazers underneath. At this moment, Homanu had just started the engines on his Runner.

"You ready for this, Kero?" Homanu asked his opponent.

"I've been watching you guys Turbo Duel since we first became friends—so I was pretty much born ready for this!" Kero replied. He pressed a button on his Runner that caused its engines to ignite, as well.

"Then let's go!"

Both duelists pressed a different button on their Runners that caused their consoles to light up. Each console displayed the virtual copy of Speed World Two appearing from the center, which in turn displayed their respective opponents' currently empty Duel Fields. "Duel Mode engaged," the computerized female voice announced. "Autopilot standing by." The wave of light purple energy flowed out of the Runners and shrouded the dueling area.

Both duelists pressed a button on their helmets that caused their Duel Gazers' lenses to flash for a split second. Mira did the same with her Duel Gazer. "Augmented Reality Vision Link established," the same computerized female voice spoke as the wave of green digital energy flowed around the dueling area. Virtual screens also began popping out of nowhere.

"Alright, Kero," Homanu announced. "Let's-"

"Wait!" Kero interrupted. "I forgot my Wrist Dealer!"

"Really, Kero? This is your first real Turbo Duel, and you had to forget something?"

"I'll be right back, I promise!" He quickly climbed off of his Duel Runner, with the engine still running, and ran back inside.

"That Kero… Will he ever learn?" Homanu grumbled.

"Hey, give him a break," Mira said. "This is first Turbo Duel; he can't help it if he's excited like that!"

"You're right. I'll bet he's just bursting with it right now!"

Suddenly, a beeping sound came from Kero's Runner, and it instantly exploded! The force of the explosion knocked Homanu and his Runner to the side, and also caused Mira to fall and slam her back against a nearby wall. Fortunately, both Mira and Homanu only suffered minor injuries. And although Homanu's Runner now had burn marks on one side, it still remained in one piece. Unfortunately, all that was left of Kero's Runner was a pile of smoking debris. Everyone who heard the explosion ran to see what had just happened.

"It's okay, everyone!" Mira said, trying to calm down the crowd. "Nothing to see here! Just a minor prank, I'm sure!"

"'Minor prank'?!" Homanu harshly whispered. "You call us nearly getting killed a 'minor prank'?!"

"Hey—I'm not the one who's trying to kill us!" Mira harshly whispered back.

"Guys, what happened?!" Kero cried, rushing to his friends. "I was getting my Wrist Dealer when I heard this loud bang and—MY RUNNER!" Desperately, he scooped up the charred debris, only to have it crumble into ashes.

"WELL, THIS IS JUST FANTASTIC!" he ranted. "Now I'll have to find ANOTHER rare card to give to Jenner so that I get ANOTHER Duel Runner!"

"Wait a minute—who gave you that Runner?!" Homanu cried.

"Some guy named Jenner did. Why do you ask?"

"Kero, tell me exactly how you got this Runner!" Homanu hastily directed. Kero hesitated at first, but got himself to tell Homanu the whole story, including him meeting Jenner for the first time, and the card he gave away for the now obliterated Duel Runner.

"Christ, I was afraid of this!" Homanu groaned. "Kero, Jenner's a total cheat!"

"A cheat?!"

"Totally! He's known for cheating people out of their valuables for goods he himself claims are good, when really they're junk, useless or could kill people! I should know—I knew him while I was part of the biker gang I used to join!"

Kero couldn't believe what he was hearing. "SO THAT MEANS…" he babbled, "…AND THAT THING…AND NOW I—I'VE BEEN GYPPED!

"That settles it—I'm gonna find that bastard and give him a piece of my mind!"

"Kero, you don't understand," Homanu warned him. "This guy's more dangerous than you think. He could kill you the first second he recognizes you!"

"I don't care! I got myself into this mess, and now I'm gonna get myself out of it!"

"But Kero-"

"Let him go," Mira said to Homanu. "His mind's made up." To Kero, she instructed. "Just keep that Duel Gazer on your face, and on at all times. That way, we'll be able to keep track of where you're going, should you be taking any new routes!"

"Right!" Kero said. He ran back inside, and eventually returned with three white rectangular box-like objects of his own attached to his belt. Afterwards, he ran towards the markets of the Satellite slums.

"I hope Kero knows what he's doing," Homanu said worriedly.

"Be thankful he didn't ask one of us to get the card back for him," Mira said. "Now, c'mon—let's set up everything to keep track of him!" After Homanu nodded, the two friends ran back inside the apartment.

Back at Satellite's street markets, Jenner was making a trade with another one of his customers. His customer was a man his early to mid-thirties with gray eyes and a purple bandana, wearing a white T-shirt, a pair of khaki pants, and brown loafers. He also had three criminal markings on his face, two on his cheeks and the third on his forehead in the shape of an 'M'. Another one in the shape of a dot was on his upper right forehead.

The man had just handed Jenner a copy of a Synchro Monster. It was a Level Seven monster picturing a white serpent-like dragon with long yellow hair.

"Thank you, kind sir!" Jenner politely said to the customer. "You've certainly made a wise choice by trading in your Ancient Sacred Wyvern for your new iPhone! And I must say—you've certainly gotten a good taste in cards!"

"And thank you for the iPhone, Jenner!" the customer said. "I'll be sure to have hours of fun with it!"

As he turned to leave, he didn't notice that Jenner was smirking evilly. You'll have 'hours of fun' with it, all right… One or two 'hours of fun', to be exact, until you find out I've programmed an incurable virus into it!

Not before long, Kero angrily confronted Jenner and slammed his palms on his booth. "Ah, Kero! Didn't expect to see you come back so soon! Having a good time with your new Runner?"

"If you mean me nearly getting my butt blown to a crisp by something that turned out to be a bomb," he shouted, "then I'm having one HELL of a 'good time'!"

"Ooh, sorry to hear that!" Jenner said, obviously faking his innocence. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to ya?"

"You can, actually! Give me my card back, now!"

"Sorry, kid; don't accept refunds. I thought I told you that already."

"You never told me you didn't accept refunds!"

"Well, I guess there's nothing you can do, then!"

"There's something you can do, though—give me back that card! And I'm not leaving until I get it!"

"Is that so? In that case: Bye!" After quickly putting on a rather large backpack, he ran away from his booth and down the street.

"HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE!" Kero shouted, chasing after Jenner.

For miles, Kero was chasing Jenner down the dusty road. Jenner went through every alley and once knocked down a stack of crates to try and shake Kero off his trail. But no matter what he did or where he went, Kero never left his sight.

The chase eventually ended at an abandoned warehouse in some kind of harbor. The warehouse had a lot of run-down machinery, including a crane whose chain was slowly swaying. The only light source in the warehouse was coming from the sun shining through its large ceiling windows.

"Okay…no more running around…!" Kero said, inhaling and exhaling heavily. "Are ya gonna…give me my card back…or not?"

"If you're that desperate to get your card back, I suppose I can make a deal with you," Jenner said.

"How do I know this isn't gonna be another one of your tricks?!"

"Please, let me finish!" Jenner barked. Calming down, he continued, "We have a duel—right here, right now. Win, and maybe you'll get your card back. But lose, and your whole deck is mine!"

"Whatever it takes to get my card back!" he said, quickly slipping two of the three rectangular boxes on his right wrist as opposed to the usual left. After pressing a button, a panel resembling the right wing of Gradius from the classic Konami games of the same title materialized. The panel had five red-colored Monster Card Zones.

"Good thing I came with this!" Jenner said, taking three rectangular boxes of his own. They were all gray; and when he constructed his Duel Disk out of two of them, it was the standard model with three panels, two of them containing two Monster Card Zones. Afterwards, Jenner took out a Duel Gazer from his bag. Again, it was the standard model consisting of a gray microphone with a turquoise lens.

Both duelists pressed a button on the side of their Gazers, causing them to flash for a split second. "Augmented Reality Vision Link established," the female voice announced as the wave of green digital energy flowed around the dueling area. After several virtual screen scattered around the area, the decks in both duelists' Disks automatically shuffled, and they drew five cards apiece.

"Let's duel!" they both shouted.

"Mira! Look at this!" Homanu shouted, back at the apartment. He had one of his rectangular boxes set up in a laptop, which he and Mira were watching. On the screen, they saw a chibi version of Kero holding up his constructed Duel Disk, on the front of a map of Satellite.

"Kero must've started his duel with Jenner!" Mira said. "The question is, where exactly is he?"

"I don't know, but hopefully it won't be too hard to figure it out!" her friend replied, hastily trying to pinpoint their other friend's location.

As he was doing this, the amethyst on Mira's necklace suddenly began to shine faintly. As Mira held it up to her face to look at the amethyst, a vision suddenly went through her head. She saw Jenner grabbing Kero up to his face by his collar, while Jenner was holding a pistol up to Kero's head.

Seeing this made Mira more than horrified. "Homanu! Find out where Kero is, quickly!" she shouted.

"Okay, okay!" Homanu said, quickly typing. Suddenly, the screen beeped for a moment. "Okay, he's at the abandoned warehouse just south of the harbor at Block Twenty-Six! …Say, I've never seen you care for Kero that much…"

"I can't explain, but we have to find him right now! He could be in danger!"

"Is he really that much in danger? And how come you brought that up?"

"I told you, I can't explain! Now let's go!"

"Okay, fine!" Homanu said, closing his laptop to form the rectangle. After attaching the rectangle to his waist, he and Mira grabbed their Gazers and rushed downstairs to the garage.

I really hope you'll be okay, Kero…! Mira worriedly thought.

KERO: 4000 LP / JENNER: 4000 LP

"Non-cheaters go first! I draw!" Kero shouted, drawing with his left hand. "I summon Jade Knight in Attack Mode!" A blue portal appeared next to him in the air rather than the floor. Flying out of the portal was a silvery white space jet with emerald lining on the tips of its wings, which floated above Kero. [ATK: 1000; LV: 4]

"I place two cards face-down, and end my turn!" After sliding two cards vertically into his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot, two vertical backing appeared underneath the space jet.

"My turn!" Jenner shouted, drawing with his right hand. "I'll kick things off by activating the Spell Card, Deal Draw!" A Spell Card materialized onto Jenner's side of the field. Its artwork was a black-cloaked goblin resembling the one from Card Trader before a Goblin of Greed. Between the two goblins was a podium with a red button underneath an open glass case. The same podium pictured on the card appeared in front of Kero, leaving him speechless.

"With this card in play," Jenner explained, "during each of your turns, you won't be allowed to draw a card just yet. Instead, you have to guess the name of what you're about to draw, and then show it to me. If it's the card you guessed, then it goes to your hand, no problem! Otherwise, that card goes right into your Graveyard!" Kero only grumbled at this.

"However, this card's called 'Deal Draw' for a reason. When this card activates, you can press the button and not use this effect, but only if you pay one thousand Life Points afterwards!"

So if I want to keep whatever I draw, I'll have to give up Life Points, Kero thought. But if I want to keep my Life Points, I'll have to guess what I'm about to draw, and risk losing what I need! This duel's gonna be tough…

"Continuing my turn, I summon Archfiend Interceptor in Attack Mode!" Another light blue portal appeared on Jenner's field, and a six-armed fiend dressed as a football player floated up from it. [ATK: 1400; LV: 4]

"Archfiend Interceptor, attack Jade Knight!" A purple ball of energy in the shape of a football formed in two of the fiend's hands. The fiend then flung the football at the emerald-coated space jet. As soon as the football hit the jet, the jet exploded. [LP: 4000 – 3600]

"Big mistake!" Kero shouted. "When you destroy my Jade Knight in battle, I'm allowed to take a Level Four, LIGHT-Attribute, Machine-Type monster from my Deck to my hand! But there's more!

"I also activate my face-down card, Option Hunter!" A Trap Card picturing three magenta crustacean-like jets lifted up. "When you destroy one of my monsters in battle, I gain Life Points equal to its original Attack Points—in this case, one thousand!" A white aura shrouded Kero for a few seconds. [LP: 3600 – 4600]

"And now, to get my monster!" A card automatically slid out of his deck, which he placed into his hand.

"I have to admit, I guess I underestimated you back there…" Jenner grumbled, sliding a card into his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot. A vertical backing materialized behind the football-playing fiend. "But like most people say, this duel's far from over! Now, make your move!"

"I will!" Kero said as he was about to draw his card.

"Ah-ah-ah! You know the rules! You have to guess the name of the card you're about to draw, before you draw it! Or would you rather pay a thousand Life Points and forget about it?"

I have forty-six hundred Life Points, Kero thought, observing his Life Point meter through his Gazer, so I should be safe… At least for now…

"I'll pay the thousand Life Points!" After pressing the button, he felt a mild electrical surge go through his body. [LP: 4600 – 3600] After he drew his card, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw what he just drew.

It's Mystical Space Typhoon! I can use this to destroy Jenner's Deal Draw, and then I won't have to worry about it anymore!

"I activate the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon!" After swiping the card through his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot, a Spell Card picturing a storming tornado materialized. "This card instantly destroys any Spell or Trap Card on the field! Say goodbye to Deal Draw!" The same tornado shot out of the card and began heading towards Jenner's Deal Draw.

"I won't be saying 'goodbye' to it just yet, because I activate my Magic Drain Trap Card!" A Trap Card picturing a gray-skinned warrior clad in demonic silver armor staring blankly into space lifted up. A being of blue ectoplasm resembling the same warrior was clutching onto him. "When you activate a Spell Card, that Spell Card automatically gets negated and destroyed! However, you can negate this card's effect; but only if you discard a Spell Card from your hand!"

"I…" Kero began, desperately looking at his hand. Luckily for him, he had two extra Spell Cards in his hand. Unluckily, though, he felt they were equally of great importance to him.

"…I choose not to discard a Spell Card," he concluded, sighing. With those words said, the tornado immediately died down.

"Instead, I'll summon my deck's top star: Gradius!" Another light blue portal appeared beside Kero. Flying out of it was a silvery white space jet decorated with red lining. [ATK: 1200; LV: 4]

"That weakling's your 'top star'?" Jenner taunted. "Please, I've seen better 'top stars' from decks focusing on the Ojama Trio!"

"I'll show you exactly what I mean! To prove it, I'll equip Gradius with Cyclon Laser!" After swiping yet another card from his hand into his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot, a Spell Card picturing a pair of laser cannons shrouded with blue electricity appeared. "This card gives Gradius three hundred extra Attack Points! Plus, when it attacks your monster in Defense Mode, the difference in Attack and Defense Points is dealt as damage to you!" The same pair of laser cannons appeared and attached itself underneath the space jet. [ATK: 1200 – 1500]

"I'll further increase Gradius' power with my Metalmorph Trap Card!" A Trap Card picturing some kind of monster coated with silver liquid metal armor appeared. "This card gives Gradius three hundred more Attack Points, as well as three hundred extra Defense Points! Plus, when it attacks one of your monsters, it absorbs half of its Attack Points!" The space jet was coated with the same silver liquid metal armor. [ATK: 1500 – 1800]

"To top things off, I Special Summon Gradius' Option!" A space capsule composed entirely out of red plasma appeared next to the space jet.

"I can only Special Summon this card by picking any Gradius on my field. When I do, its Option's Attack and Defense Points become the same as the monster I selected!" The space capsule immediately transformed into a clone of the original space jet, complete with its laser cannons. [ATK: 1800; LV: 1]

"Gradius, attack Archfiend Interceptor!" Blue electricity began to charge in the laser cannons of the original space jet.

"Ya sure y'wanna do that?" Jenner warned him. "'Cause if you attack my Archfiend while it's in Attack Mode, you lose five hundred Life Points!"

"Then I guess I'll take that five hundred, since your monster will be destroyed, anyhow!" Another purple football of energy formed in the fiend's hands, which the fiend flung at Kero's stomach. [LP: 3600 – 3100] Afterwards, the electricity in the cannons shone brighter. [ATK: 1800 – 2500] Finally, an electric blue laser shot out of the cannons and at the fiend, vaporizing it. [LP: 4000 – 2900]

"Gradius' Option, attack Jenner directly!" Electric blue energy began forming in the space jet clone's cannons, as well. And it, too, fired an electric blue laser directly at Jenner. [LP: 2900 – 1100]

"I end my turn!"

I can't believe this little runt's kicking my ass so easily! Jenner angrily thought as he drew his card. Well, I'll show him what happens when people like him screw around with me!

"I activate the Spell Card, Tremendous Fire!" A card picturing three blue-robed figures surrounded by fire materialized. "This card inflicts you with one thousand points of damage! In return, I take five hundred points of damage!" Two fireballs appeared, both differing in size. The larger fireball struck at Kero, while the smaller one struck at Jenner. [LP: 3100 – 2100] [LP: 1100 – 0600]

"And why would you activate a card in which you would take damage, too?!" Kero demanded.

"Shut up! I know exactly what I'm doing! To prove it, I'll summon my Mugger Thug in Attack Mode!" Another blue portal appeared on his field, and a stereotypical street thug floated up from it. He had a green Mohawk and a leather vest, whose weapon was a rusty chain. [ATK: 2200; LV: 4]

"Let's see if I'm right about one thing," Jenner said, rubbing his chin as he observed Kero's two space jets. "You say your Option will always be the same as the Gradius it's copying. So that means if the original gets destroyed, the Option is destroyed, right?"

"Y…yes…" Kero whimpered.

"That's just the word I wanted to hear! Mugger Thug, attack Kero's original Gradius!" The street thug laughed as he rapidly began twirling his chain.

"Oh, no!" Kero whimpered. "That means when you destroy my Gradius and then my Option, I'm defenseless!" After a few seconds, he noticed the thug was still twirling his chain. "Wait…why isn't he attacking?"

"You might say he's not ready to attack just yet," Jenner replied. "You see, when Mugger Thug is about to attack, you have the option of negating the attack. But it'll cost you one thousand Life Points! Yes, it's some chunk of change; but think about it. If you pay the thousand Life Points, you'll be able to save your monsters!"

I can't afford to give up any more Life Points! Kero panicked in his mind. Not with his Deal Draw in play! …But if I don't pay the Life Points, I'm gonna get closer to being done for!

"Hurry it up! I haven't got all day!" Jenner impatiently demanded.

"I'll… I'll pay the thousand Life Points!" Kero shouted. Upon hearing this, the thug leapt towards Kero, punched him in the stomach, and reached into his pocket, only to take out a fistful of virtual yen. [LP: 2100 – 1100]

"I honestly don't know whether to call that move smart or cowardly," Jenner grunted as he slid two cards vertically into his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot within a single swipe. Two vertical backings appeared behind the thug. "But let's see if you can get out of this!"

Now he has two face-down cards?! Kero panicked in his mind a second time. Oh, man, this isn't good! I could attack Jenner and win the duel, but I don't know if either of those cards will turn the tables! And then there's Deal Draw, which will likely make me lose even more Life Points! ARGH! If only I had the cards I needed in my hand-

An idea suddenly rushed through his head. Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?!

"It's my turn!" Kero said. "And this time, I won't pay Life Points to use your Spell Card's effect!" Within a single swipe, he closed the glass case, encasing the button.

"Suddenly feeling brave, are we?" Jenner said. "Well, go ahead and guess which card you think you're gonna draw!"

"I will! The card I think I'm gonna draw is…Limiter Removal!" He tightly closed his eyes as he drew his deck's top card. "Aw, man! It's Lightwave Tuning!" He showed to Jenner a card picturing a spherical green fairy in front of a virtual background. He grumbled as he slid the card into his Disk's Graveyard.

"Technically, that still counts as drawing a card," Jenner said. "And in a case like that, I activate the Trap Card, Draw Bomb!" A Trap Card picturing a fuse heading towards a duelist using an Academy Disk, in front of a pile of bombs and explosives, lifted up. "When you draw a card, this card slams you with one thousand points of damage!" Surely enough, out of nowhere an explosion occurred on Kero's field. [LP: 1100 – 0100]

"Doesn't matter," Kero said, brushing himself off. "I'm still gonna attack your Mugger Thug! And when I do, I'll win this duel!" Sure enough, more blue electricity began charging in the original space jet's cannons.

"You're not winning just yet!" Jenner shouted. A Trap Card picturing a duelist standing before a monster clad in a judge's uniform lifted up. In the judge's left hand was an ordinary hatchet, while in his right was a hatchet made of gold and jewels. "I can only activate this effect during your Battle Phase. Now you have one of two options: You can either halve the Attack Points of all your monsters, or end this Battle Phase right now! So, what'll it be?"

"I'll use the effect that halves my monsters' Attack Points!" Kero declared. Sure enough, a blood red aura shrouded both of the space jets. [ATK: 1800 – 0900] [ATK: 1800 – 0900]

"You really are desperate to lose, aren't you?! Even if your monster does gain a boost from your Metalmorph, it still won't be enough to take out my Mugger Thug! That means you'll lose next turn!"

"Tell that to my Limiter Removal Spell!" Kero corrected him, rapidly swiping the only card in his hand through his Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot. A Spell Card picturing a speedometer with its dial wildly going to a high amount materialized. "This card doubles the Attack Points of all Machine-Type monsters on my field!"

"Hold on just a second!" Jenner protested. "There's no way you can have more than one copy of that card in your deck! I know for a fact you can have only ONE copy of that card in your deck!" His eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Wait—don't tell me…!"

"Yep!" Kero said, smiling triumphantly. "I already had this card in my hand! See, I suddenly realized that with your Deal Draw, you'd want your opponents to continue paying Life Points until they were sure they got the cards they need in their hands. But what if they already have such cards to begin with?

"I then figured that with that card, I could guess the name of a card I already have in my hand! That way, I won't have to give up any Life Points! Sure, it would cost me a card—but it's worth it!"

"YOU…YOU TRICKED ME!" Jenner shrieked.

"And so did you, when you sold me that lemon of a Runner! And now, it's time for a taste of your own medicine! Gradius and Gradius' Option, power up!" Both of his space jets' engines roared wildly. [ATK: 0900 – 1800] [ATK: 0900 – 1800]

"Gradius, attack Mugger Thug and end this duel!" The blue electricity still began charging in the original space jet's cannons. [ATK: 1800 – 2900] Afterwards, another laser of blue electricity shot out of the cannons and vaporized the street thug. The laser also struck at Jenner, causing him to fall backwards. [LP: 0600 – 0000] A virtual screen displaying Kero's face with 'WIN' written underneath in gold popped open as the same wave of digital energy flowed again, returning the field to normal.

"Alright, we had a deal!" Kero said, approaching Jenner. "Are you gonna give me my card back, or not?"

"I have a better plan!" Jenner shouted, violently grabbing Kero by the shirt collar with his left hand. He then grabbed a nearby pistol and held it close to his chin. "I kill you, and we'll forget this ever happened!"

No sooner had he said that when the two heard the sounds of motorcycle engines. Those belonged to the Runners of Mira and Homanu; they quickly got off of them to run into the warehouse, their helmets still on their heads, only to find this appalling sight. "Oh, no; we're too late!" Mira cried.

"Oh, no," Jenner snickered. "You two are just in time to watch your friend die!" He then noticed Homanu. "Homanu! Long time, no see! I hope you still have the heart to enjoy this!"

"That heart's gone for good!" Homanu shouted. "Put Kero down, before things get ugly!"

"Things are already gonna get ugly—ugly for him, maybe!" To Kero, he said: "Any last words, you little runt?"

"Yes, actually," Kero said, trying to keep his cool. "If you knew there was a gun beside you this whole time, wouldn't it have made more sense to shoot me instead of wasting all this time on a duel?"

"Kero, you're about to die!" Mira shouted.

"I'm just saying!"

"SHUT UP!" Jenner barked. "If you really wanna know: Yes, I did have a gun beside me. But I didn't use it before because I was certain I would win this duel! But I just had to lose there; but you won't live to tell the tale! And that may go the same for your friends, once I'm done with you!

"Now, say goodbye!"

"Not yet, he won't!" a male voice shouted. Suddenly, a man jumped through the windows and was landing towards Jenner. The man appeared to be a policeman, as he was dressed in a gray police uniform and a helmet that concealed his identity. The policeman landed on Jenner and pinned him to the ground. This caused Jenner to release his hold on Kero as Kero ran to regroup with his friends.

"Kero! I'm so glad you're safe!" Mira said, hugging him.

"So am I," Kero said, tightly hugging Mira as well. "I know you guys said you'd find me where I was with my Gazer, but…how exactly did you know I was in danger?"

"Don't ask me!" Homanu said. "Mira's the one who sensed it!"

"But how?"

Instead of answering, Mira quickly changed the subject. "Thanks for saving my friend, Mr.…um…"

"Perhaps this will show you who I am," the policeman said, taking off his helmet. This revealed a familiar face consisting of spiky orange hair, gray eyes, a piercing in his left eyebrow, and three criminal markings.

"Oh my God!" Kero squealed. "You're Crow Hogan! The Crow Hogan!"

"The one and only!" Crow proudly said. Turning his attention to Jenner, he reached into Jenner's pocket and said, "I'll take that!" He took out two cards: one being the Fusion Monster belonging to Kero, and the other the Synchro Monster he gave to Jenner.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jenner shouted. "That's the card you gave to me—YOU'RE the customer I gave the iPhone to?!"

"Yep. Although, this isn't really a 'card', but a cleverly-disguised tracking device!" Jenner only groaned, knowing that he was deceived twice in one day.

"Okay, boys! Lock him up and throw away the key!" Several police officers ran in, handcuffed Jenner, and dragged him to the police van. After handing the card back to Kero, Crow said, "It may not seem like it, but you've been helpful in tracking down our main man. How can we repay you?"

"Can I have a Duel Runner?" Kero pleaded.

"Kero, don't be greedy!" Mira scolded him.

"Aw, c'mon!"

"Well, I certainly can't get you a Duel Runner," Crow said. "But I'll tell you what: I know a Turbo Duel school a friend attended to get her license. I'll be more than willing to take you there to at least get your license; my treat!"

"Sounds awesome!" Kero said. Suddenly calming down a bit, he turned to his friends. "If that's okay with you guys, anyway…"

"Hey—after what you've been through, you've pretty much earned it," Homanu said. Hearing this caused tears of joy to well up in his eyes as he then embraced his friends, happily sobbing.

"Now, you'd better go home now," Crow warned the three. "Don't want you getting into more trouble, today!" He headed out of the warehouse to climb his Sector Security Duel Runner and ride off.

"I can't believe it," Kero sniveled joyfully. "I'm gonna get my Duel Runner license tomorrow! Soon, I'll be one step closer to getting a Duel Runner!"

"Don't get your hopes about getting your license just yet," Mira warned him. "You don't even know if you actually will get it!"

"That's why I hope I do!"

"Right now, though, let's go home," Homanu said. "I've had just about enough excitement for one day."

"Same here," Mira said. She and Homanu walked to their Runners and climbed upon them. After Kero put on his helmet and climbed upon Homanu's back, the two turbo duelists started their Runners' engines and rode off to home.

"There's just one question you didn't answer for me," Kero said loudly as they were riding. "How did you know I was in danger?"

"Kero, I can't tell you," Mira replied, "but trust me—I did know you were in danger!"

"If you say so!" As they kept riding, Mira thought about her pendant, and how she was able to detect Kero's danger.

Knowing how Kero was in danger is something I'd like to figure out, myself, she thought. It's obvious that my pendant had something to do with it, but I still want to know how it works. Looks like I have no choice but to wait and find out…

FEATURED CARD – CHRONICLE 004

Deal Draw
Spell/Continuous
You can only control 1 face-up "Deal Draw" at a time. During your opponent's Draw Phase, your opponent can pay 1000 Life Points. If they do not, activate the following effect:
●Before your opponent conducts their normal draw, they must declare 1 card name, then draw the card and reveal it. If the card name is not the one your opponent declared, your opponent sends the card to the Graveyard.

EXCLUSIVE CARDS

Mugger Thug
DARK/Warrior – Effect/4/2200/0
When this card declares an attack, your opponent can pay 1000 Life Points to negate the attack.
Image: A stereotypical street thug with a green Mohawk and a leather vest, wielding a rusty chain for his weapon
Origination: Psychid

Draw Bomb
Trap/Normal
Activate only when your opponent draws a card(s). Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.
Image: A fuse heading towards a duelist using an Academy Disk, while the duelist is standing in front of a pile of bombs and explosives
Origination: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime – Episode 125 – Johan, Jim, and O'Brien VS The Three Masked Knights

Next time, on Yu-Gi-Oh! EXELIXI…

Kero is just one step closer to becoming an official turbo duelist!

"This is it," Kero boldly declared as he and his friends entered the school. "Once I step into this school, I—Kero Hitomi Nobuyuki the Fourth—will be closer to obtaining the one thing I need in order to participate in the Atlantis City Grand Prix: My Duel Runner license!"

And it looks like he's not alone!

"Um…not yet," Kero said. "…Do I know you?"

"Oh, we haven't! How clumsy of me; I'm Junpei Hanasaki. A pleasure to meet you." He stretched out his hand, which Kero grasped.

"I'm Kero. Kero Nobuyuki. Are you here to get your Duel Runner license, too?"

"You bet! And once I do," Junpei said, striking a heroic pose, "I will be one step closer to being as heroic as the one and only Zombire: The former God of Death who has learned to love and fight crime, even at the cost of slowly losing his life!"

"…I honestly don't know what that means, but I guess I'll take your word for it!"

But cheating on a test doesn't seem "heroic", now does it?

"Why should I tell you?" Kero whispered back. "You know cheating's not allowed!"

"I know, I know; but I really need the help!"

"Didn't you study?!"

"N-no! Kero, I know it's my fault for not studying for the test, and I'm really sorry if I'm taking advantage of you, especially since we just met. But you have to help me!"

And once the ruse is discovered, it's up to the two to try and redeem themselves!

"And why shouldn't I do that to cheaters like you?"

"Because…um…well… Hey, isn't there a way we can redeem ourselves? You know, like, see who the real cheater is?"

"Well…there is a way to do it, I believe," Professor Akio said thoughtfully. "You two will have a Turbo Duel against me."

"A Turbo Duel?!" Homanu cried. "Right after you think they cheated on the test?!"

"It's a logical way to see which one of them has cheated. Whoever doesn't fully understand the rules of Turbo Duels or how to handle a Duel Runner clearly has no real knowledge of both, whatsoever!"

"…I guess that makes sense…somehow…"

Will Kero and Junpei school the teacher in this upcoming Turbo Duel? Will Kero get his Duel Runner license? Can Junpei see the true error of his ways?

Stay tuned for the next Chronicle: "Speed Warrior"!