Chapter 3: Escape! Nitro Warrior Vs. Goyo Guardian!
Late at night, the lights of the sewage plant, including its huge pipes, glitter beneath a slightly foggy full moon.
Yusei watches the moon through a crack in the pavement. The clock ticks to 11:15 PM on Yusei's runner screen.
"Yusei!" Says Nerve.
Yusei, already on his runner, looks over at him.
Nerve's standing with Taka, Rally and Blitz on the walkway beside the tunnel. "I'm praying for your success." Nerve says. "I know you can do it. Now that you've come this far, I won't say anything anymore. Go!" Says Blitz. "And when you meet Jack… Well, whatever. Come home as soon as possible." Taka says. "Oh, wait!" Says Rally. He jumps down and hurries over to Yusei.
"Here's a good luck charm." Rally says. He hands Yusei a card, and he looks at it. "This is…" Says Yusei. "Turbo Booster!" Rally says. The card picture is of a yellow, jet-powered robot with two big, detachable rocket-powered arms. "But, you love this." Says Yusei. Rally nods. "Yeah, but it's fine. Use it to get through that pipeline." Rally says. Yusei starts the engine, puts on his helmet and visor. "I promise to return it." Says Yusei. "One last thing, Yusei. When you find Sakura…" Rally says.
"You mean if he finds her, Rally." Says Blitz.
"No, I mean when he finds her. 'Cause, I know he will. Tell Sakura, I said hi. Or better, we all say hi." Rally says. "I will. And, I'm not comin' back until I find Sakura. I'll deal with Jack and make him tell me where she is." Says Yusei. Rally nods. "Go find her, Yusei." Rally says.
Yusei starts the engine and takes off down the tunnel.
"Do your best!" Says Rally, cheering.
Yusei skids onto the bottom landing, then races up the stairs and flies out into the street. Yusei lands, smoothly, turns around, and rides up the street, kicking up sparks from the torn pavement.
At Sector Security Headquarters, a red dot blips on a monitor, moving rapidly. "This signal! The same D-Wheel as before has appeared!" Techie says. "What?" Asks Ushio. "I'm going to switch to the rooftop camera right now." Techie says. To the aerial view of Yusei and his runner on the screen. "Alright! Continue the pursuit! Don't lose sight of him! Transfer all information to me!" Says Ushio.
On the streets, on his runner. "Damn! I don't know where he's planning to go, but this time… I'll squash him!" Ushio thinks to himself.
The factory towers belch black smoke, as trash continues to pour into the factories.
Yusei races onward.
Nerve checks his watch, 11:56 PM, as Yusei's four friends run down a tunnel. "Look at the time already. Let's hurry." Nerve says. They climb a ladder and run onto the rooftop. Nerve has binoculars and Blitz is opening the laptop. "Where's Yusei?" Asks Rally. "Look. There he is." Nerve says.
"This is a warning. You are not allowed to come any closer. Turn back right now." Says the computer.
Yusei races toward the fence.
Trudge suddenly comes out of nowhere and rams him from the side. "We meet again, you piece of garbage. A punk like you is not allowed to come here! Leave!" Ushio says.
Yusei ignores him and races ahead.
"What is that punk planning to do? He can't be…" Says Ushio.
Yusei runs over a traffic barrier and leaps the fifteen-or-so-foot fence, bouncing a bit as he lands.
Yusei's friends cheer.
"Control! Hurry up and open the plant's fences!" Ushio says.
The gates open, as he speeds through them, hot on Yusei's heels. "Damn that punk! I won't let him escape!" Says Ushio.
"Security's chasing after 'im." Blitz says. "Go, Yusei!" Says Taka.
Yusei's now racing down a straight corridor.
Ushio's only about ten feet behind. "This location is the perfect place to use the special pursuit deck!" Ushio says.
Yusei looks over his shoulder, startled by his confidence.
"I forcibly activate a Field Spell! 'Speed World'!" Says Ushio. "Duel mode on. Autopilot standby." The computer says.
A 'Speed World' spell shows on Yusei's screen, and the duel disk unfolds from the dash. "What?" Asks Yusei, in a gasp. "Duel mode on. Autopilot standby." The computer says.
"What is that?" Asks Taka. "A Field Spell?" Rally asks. "There's no time to duel!" Says Nerve. The clock on the monitor reads 11:57 PM.
"How's that! This connects with 'Speed World' and pulls the opponent into the Field Spell! I don't know where you're planning to go, but if you want to keep going forward, then you have to battle me! Duel!" Ushio says.
Each duelist starts with 4000 life points each.
"I go first! I summon Gate Blocker in defense position!" Says Ushio.
Gate Blocker has 2000 defense points and is a Level 4 monster.
"Huh?!" Yusei asks.
"Now he won't be able to increase his speed!" Says Blitz. "He won't make it in time!" Rally says.
"Then, I set a card and end my turn." Says Ushio. His speed counters go up one.
Yusei's remain at 0.
"Kid, it look like your Speed Counters aren't increasing. Normally, when the Field Spell 'Speed World' is active, we gain a Speed Counter during each Standby Phase. However, when Gate Blocker is face up on the field, you don't receive the effect of 'Speed World'! Therefore, you Speed Spells are…" Ushio says.
"...sealed away." Says Yusei.
"This is an incredible monster that greatly sways the balance of a duel, so it has limits on when it can be used. However, my deck is a special deck that has received special security privileges, so I can freely use Gate Blocker! You can't escape from me anymore." Ushio says.
"So, that's the power of authority." Says Yusei.
At the monitor, the clock beeps midnight, then a three-minute timer starts counting down. "It's midnight!" Taka says. "He only has three minutes! At this rate, he'll be caught while he's still dueling!" Says Blitz. "Yusei! Break down that wall!" Rally says.
At the duel. "I don't like this. I'm..." Says Yusei. He can almost see Jack's sneering face, triumphant at his failure. "...going forward!" Yusei says.
Monitor. "Yusei!" Says Taka. "Go!" Rally says.
Duel. "My turn. I summon Speed Warrior!" Says Yusei.
Speed Warrior has 900 attack points and is a Level 2 monster.
"Ha! I remember that on the turn that it's summoned, its attack points are doubled during battle. But, that's not good enough. It's still less than Gate Blocker's defense points!" Ushio says.
Speed Warrior's points rise to 1800, but fall short of Gate Blocker's 2000 defense.
"Rally, I'm goin' to use your lucky charm." Yusei thinks to himself. "Then, from my hand, I Special Summon Turbo Booster." Says Yusei.
Turbo Booster has 0 attack points and is a Level 1 monster.
"It appeared! It's Turbo Booster!" Rally says.
"Battle!" Says Yusei.
Turbo Booster's arms attach to Speed Warrior, like a pair of rocket-propelled shoes, and Speed Warrior launches itself at Gate Blocker.
"I release Turbo Booster!" Yusei says.
"So, you're even willing to do that." Says Ushio.
"Releasing Turbo Booster has that much value." Yusei says.
"He fired Speed Warrior using Turbo Booster." Says Rally. "Turbo Booster's monster effect destroys one Normal Summoned monster and the opponent's monster that it battled! This'll work!" Nerve says.
"Not good enough! Even if you destroy Gate Blocker, Gate Blocker has greater defense points! The damage is going to come back and hurt your life points!" Says Ushio.
"I'll still do it!" Yusei says.
Speed Warrior destroys Gate Blocker and Turbo Booster, and Yusei takes 200 points of damage, leaving him with 3800.
"He did it! Thanks, Turbo Booster!" Says Rally. "Go, Yusei!" Taka says.
Yusei and Ushio turn a corner.
"Rally, thanks to you, I can go forward." Yusei thinks to himself. He jumps through a shaft of some sort and hits the ground sparking.
Ushio isn't too far behind him.
"He entered!" "That punk!" Says Ushio. "Is he planning to escape from Satellite? That garbage doesn't know his place." Ushio thinks to himself.
"Hey, that Security guy also entered!" Blitz says. "They're going to duel inside?" Asks Rally. "This is bad! Hurry up and finish him, Yusei!" Nerve says.
"I won't let you escape! I activate the trap card 'Broken Blocker'!" Says Ushio.
Two Gate Blockers appear in front of Yusei, with 2000 defense points each.
"He still had more." Taka says.
"I can activate 'Broken Blocker' when a monster in defense position whose defense points are greater than its attack points is destroyed! I can Special Summon two monsters from my deck whose names are the same as the monster that was destroyed! See that! That's what authority is all about!" Says Ushio.
"I set two cards and end my turn." Yusei says.
"There are only two minutes left! What are you going to do, Yusei?" Ask Blitz. "He's fine." Rally says. "Huh?" Asks Blitz. "Yusei's going to turn the tables!" Rally says. "But, there's less than two minutes left! He's goin' much slower than during the simulation!" Says Taka.
"My turn. I summon Gonogo in attack position!" Ushio says.
Gonogo has 1350 attack points and is a Level 3 monster.
"Go, Gonogo! Death Flat!" Says Ushio.
It does.
"Rrrgh…" Yusei growls under his breath. His life points are reduced to 3350.
"Hey! There's no place to escape!" Ushio says.
Monitor. The others all gasp. "Yusei!" Says Rally.
Duel. "My turn. It's here. I summon the Tuner Monster Junk Synchron!" Yusei says.
Junk Synchron has 900 attack points and is a Level 3 monster.
"Then, I reveal the Continuous Trap 'Graceful Revival'!" Says Yusei.
"Ugh! What's happening?" Ushio asks.
"With this, I can Special Summon one Level 2-or-below monster from my graveyard in attack position. Come, Level two monster Speed Warrior! Junk Synchron tunes Speed Warrior! The star come together to call forth a new power! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Come, Junk Warrior!" Says Yusei.
Junk Warrior has 2300 attack points and is a Level 5 monster.
Monitor. "Alright! He successfully summoned Junk Warrior!" Taka says. "I'm counting on you, Junk Warrior." Says Rally.
"Scrap Fist!" Yusei says.
Gonogo's destroyed, and Ushio's life points fall to 3050.
"I already know your strategies! It's now going to start getting interesting!" Says Ushio. He draws and his speed counters go to 4. "My turn!" Ushio says. He looks at what he drew. "Hmph. I summon Jutte Fighter!" Says Ushio.
Jutte Fighter has 700 attack points and is a Level 2 monster.
"That's a Tuner." Yusei says.
"That's right! I can Synchro Summon too! Here I go! Jutte Fighter tunes Gate Blocker! Synchro Summon! Goyo Guardian!" Says Ushio.
Goyo Guardian has 2800 attack points and is a Level 6 monster.
"Ah!" Yusei says.
"See that! This is authority! Go! Goyo Lariat!" Says Ushio.
"Agh!" Rally says.
"Hahahaha! I'm not done!" Says Ushio.
Goyo Guardian lassos and captures Junk Warrior. Yusei's life points are reduced to 2850.
"When Goyo Guardian destroys your monster, it can negate its destruction and take control of it! When this happens, the monster's put in defense position!" Ushio says.
Junk Warrior has 1300 defense points.
"Your monster's mine!" Says Ushio.
"One minute forty seconds left!" Blitz says. "Yusei, hurry! You're taking too much time!" Says Rally.
"My Speed Counter is four! Alright! I'll keep piling it on! From my hand, I activate a Speed Spell! 'Sonic Buster'!" Ushio says.
"You used a Speed Spell." Says Yusei.
"Of course. I'm a D-Wheeler! This card deals damage to your life points equal to half the attack points of a monster on my field!" Ushio says.
Yusei's life points take a hit, he's down to 1450.
"In other words, you take half of Goyo Guardian's two thousand eight hundred attack points, which is one thousand four hundred points of damage! Then, I activate another 'Sonic Buster' from my hand!" Says Ushio.
"Huh!" Yusei says. His points take another massive hit, he's down to 50 and is falling behind Ushio's runner.
"Aaah! This is bad." Says Taka. "He's next to Yusei!" Blitz says.
"Sucker! You can't escape from here! Your garbage deck never had a chance of defeating my deck!" Says Ushio.
Yusei's riding right alongside him, barely keeping pace. Yusei's eyes are hidden by his visor. "You keep saying garbage over and over. Don't you know any other words?" Yusei asks.
"What?" Asks Ushio.
"It's my turn! I summon the Tuner Monster Nitro Synchron!" Yusei says.
Nitro Synchron has 300 attack points and is a Level 2 monster.
"Another Tuner? You don't have a monster you can Synchro with. Resistance is futile, you piece of garbage!" Says Ushio.
"I have one right there." Yusei says.
"Huh?!" Asks Ushio.
"I activate a Speed Spell! 'Dash Pilfer'!" Yusei says.
"No way! You don't have any Speed Counters. How can you use a Speed Spell?" Asks Ushio.
"I have Speed Counters." Yusei says.
"What! 'Slip Stream'? I remember. You planned this back then!" Says Ushio.
Flashback. "Alright! I'll keep piling it on! From my hand, I activate a Speed Spell! 'Sonic Buster'!" Ushio says. "That Speed Spell was the trigger!" Says Ushio, in voice-over. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "That's right. I was waiting for you to use a Speed Spell. When I have fewer Speed Counters than you, I can activate this 'Slip Stream' card when you use a Speed Spell. On my next turn, I'll have the same number of Speed Counters as you!" Yusei says.
"You punk! All you have are garbage cards and you still do such annoying things!" Says Ushio.
"'Dash Pilfer'! Free Junk Warrior!" Yusei says.
Junk Warrior's free of Goyo Guardian's lasso and he returns to attack position.
"Oh no!" Says Ushio.
"I can activate 'Dash Pilfer' when I have four or more Speed Counters! I gain control of one of your face-up defense position monsters." Yusei says.
"This is bad. There's less than a minute." Says Nerve. "How about Yusei?" Rally asks. "A little more! Just a little more and he can make it to the maintenance hatch!" Says Taka.
The maintenance hatch Yusei has planned to use as a gateway to the City comes into view down the tunnel, it's there, and it's open, he just has to get there.
"I see! You're planning to go there!" Ushio says.
"You finally noticed. Garbage is going to start flowing in soon. You can leave." Says Yusei.
"You must be kidding! Are you now trying to goad me because you know you're going to lose?" Ushio asks.
"Here I go!" Says Yusei.
Nitro Synchron begins to glow, he floors his engine, and his speedometer reads 251 km/h.
"Another Synchro Summon?" Trudge asks.
"Nitro Synchron tunes Junk Warrior." Says Yusei.
Junk Warrior turns into a maze of golden outlines, punctuated by five glimmering stars, that line up in the center of two green rings, creating a tunnel of light.
"Our thoughts combine to call forth a new power! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Burn up, Nitro Warrior!" Yusei says.
Nitro Warrior has 2800 attack points and is a Level 7 monster.
"On the turn a Speed Spell was used, when Nitro Warrior battles your monster, it gains a thousand attack points for one time only." Says Yusei.
"What?" Ushio asks.
Nitro Warrior's attack points rise up to 3800.
"Nitro Warrior! Destroy him! Dynamite Knuckle!" Says Yusei.
Trudge takes the hit, 2050 life points left. "How dare you!" Ushio says.
"Furthermore… With Nitro Warrior's monster effect, when it battles and destroys your monster, it can switch one of your defense position monsters into attack position and battles it." Says Yusei. "This monster's effect is crazy!" Ushio says.
Gate Blocker has 100 attack points.
"Nitro Warrior's attack points return to two thousand eight hundred, but that's more than enough to destroy Gate Blocker." Says Yusei.
"Rrrrgh!" Ushio growls under his breath.
Nitro destroys Gate Blocker.
"Ohwaaaaugh!" Ushio screams, his life points fall to zero. Ushio's screen shows a big DEFEAT and starts to steam, his runner skids to the side.
"Alright!" Rally, Nerve, Taka and Blitz all say. "He won the duel!" Says Nerve. "But, look at the time." Blitz says. It ticks to zero. "Oh!" Says Nerve. "Hurry, Yusei!" Blitz says. "The maintenance hatch is closing!" Says Taka. "Yusei!" Rally says.
The hatch is closing and the rest of the tunnel is opening up, letting large pieces of debris cascade toward Yusei. "Ogh!" Says Yusei. He dodges, weaves, rides around over the top of the tunnel, skids beneath what looks like a huge cardboard box, continues the skid sideways through the last few feet of closing door. Yusei makes it though, just before the door seals and is bombarded with trash.
Ushio's not so lucky. "Aaaaaagh!" Ushio screams. He's up to his neck in trash before he can blink twice, being carried along by a massive wave. "Remember this, I'll squash you next time!" Ushio says.
"How's Yusei?" Asks Taka. "It's no good. There's no signal." Blitz says. "He's fine! Yusei definitely made it through!" Says Rally. "But!" Taka says. Blitz sighs at the thought, dejectedly. The monitor starts to beep and a red dot moves on the screen's map. They all gasp, in awe. Rally starts to laugh, happily.
Yusei rides out into the light of the full moon in Neo Domino.
"Like I thought, he made it!" Says Rally. "Yusei really made it through!" Taka says. "Yeah! He's incredible!" Says Blitz. Rally laughs.
Yusei rides out of the Neo Domino side of the sewage plant. Yusei skids to an immediate stop and takes off his helmet. "Jack…" Yusei says.
Jack's standing at the edge of a highway that passes above the exit to the plant. "Long time no see, Yusei." Says Jack.
The two used to be best friends turned enemies stare at each other, both completely silent, on the empty, moonlit streets.