FYI, Morale Angel is a fictional card. Just letting you all know. Now to Part XIV.
"Alright Stardust Dragon, attack!" Yusei declared as his monster launched what looked to be the final attack. Jack's dragon slowly disintegrated in the assault until there was nothing left of it.
"I use my face-down card, Raider's Retribution," Atlas said as his trap flipped up, shielding him from the attack. "If a monster of darkness on my field is destroyed and I take battle damage from its destruction, this trap reduces that damage to zero and fires it back at you with twice the force." A dark-purplish laser strike from the trap hit Yusei, bringing his life points to 1,200.
"Then I guess one trap card deserves another," the black-haired duelist countered as he activated his remaining face-down card. "With Synchro Destructor, since Stardust Dragon took out a monster on your field, half of that monster's attack strength comes out of your life points. But since it was a synchro monster as well, that damage is doubled!" Jack panned up to see Red Dragon's silhouette coming right at him. The sheer power brought his life points to zero and his runner to a steaming halt. It had been decided; Yusei took down Jack Atlas.
The crowd was extremely quiet. They had witnessed something they had never thought possible: Jack losing a duel. Plus, this loss was official. Yusei rode up next to Jack to ensure he was perfectly fine, at least physically.
"Looks as though the better duelist won," Atlas said in a low tone. "Well done, Yusei."
"I did what I could to win," he replied. "Had I not drawn Morale Angel, you'd have won." Yusei restarted his bike and rode away from the arena. Atlas decided to draw the top card on his deck, just to see how the duel might have gone had he drew this card. Sure enough, it was Crimson Fire. That would've put the duel in Jack's favor.
Yusei returned to the Tops to be welcomed by an overly ecstatic pair. It was most likely safe to say that the twins were maybe the only ones rooting for the wielder of Stardust Dragon.
"Way to earn your stripes," Leo congratulated Yusei with another fist bump. The two looked over to see Luna just standing a foot away, being a little shy.
"Your card was the X-factor in my victory today," the black-haired duelist said as he returned Morale Angel to its owner. "Consider this the equalizer: if I helped you to keep on living, you helped me win today." The girl held the card in her hand and wrapped her arms around Yusei as a thank-you.
The doorbell rang as an envelope slid through the mail slot. Leo hopped over to retrieve it and see what it was. The return address was the hospital where Luna received her transfusion.
"Well, what is it?" the female twin asked in anticipation.
"From what I understand," the boy read, "there's some kind of gala happening tomorrow night for those who've had a blood transfusion. This event is meant to celebrate the lives of those who got to live on and to thank the donors responsible for helping these people in their time of need. It's a formal event, and Luna, you can bring two guests with you."
"Well, than I guess you two should accompany me tomorrow evening," she stated.
After the sun had set for the day and New Domino switched from "ON" to "OFF," Yusei took charge of dinner and fired up some cuisine from the Satellite: a vegetable stew with ham chunks, lima beans, and a tomato-red broth. The twins found it delicious and managed to clean through the entire batch.
Since Leo ate the most of all three, he lied down on the couch, hoping he'd be hungry again soon.
"Is your brother always like this after he eats something good?" Yusei asked the female twin.
"Pretty much," Luna chuckled, "but he'll rebound in no time. There's also something I have in mind for tomorrow evening. It involves you, though."
"What are we going to do tomorrow night?" Yusei quizzed the girl, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going to see if I can speak to everyone tomorrow night and tell them my story of survival," Luna spelled out.
"Okay…..what's my role in this?" the black-haired duelist asked.
"I'm going have you come up on stage so I can show everyone who saved my life," the girl continued. "Plus, I'll have to say that you're from the Satellite."
"You're going to do what now?" Yusei responded, slightly surprised at Luna's plan.
"Look, I had my doubts about what person you'd be," Luna explained. "But I think that if I show people that not all those from the Satellite are bad, then you'll be accepted."
Yusei took a brief exhale and pondered about what the girl had in mind. There was the possibility that the city security forces would arrest him and throw him in the slammer for trespassing into the city. On the other hand, maybe those in attendance would look past Yusei's roots in the Satellite and recognize his generosity. There was no clear sign as to what would've happened.
A full day passed when the event arrived. Yusei stayed in his usual attire, seeing as he didn't have any formal wear. Leo was decked in a royal blue jacket and shorts with a red tie. Luna was dressed in her light pink dress with a light purple sweater to help keep her warm.
The trio decided to walk to the gala, since it was being held in a convention hall right down the street. The red carpet leading inside had a row of flowers on either side. There was even a doorman to keep watch over who went in.
A huge number of people showed up as well. Just about every table had filled up in the convention hall. A loose estimation of those for the gala would be over 150.
"Well, Luna," Yusei said to get her attention, "let's hope your plan will work. If not, there're more than enough people here to haul me to the Facility."
"Don't worry," the girl reassured her savior. "Things will work out."
Will Luna's plan work? Is it possible that Yusei could go to the Facility? Did anyone catch my reference to Pinky and the Brain? Keep reading to find out. Review as well.