"Yusei, I'm really sorry about yesterday," Leo apologized. "I was just trying to help."
"It's okay, but cheating's never the answer. Besides I don't need to cheat to beat Griger. You weren't the only one who needed to apologize last night," Yusei added, sounding exhausted.
Lise groaned and crossed her arms behind Leo. She looked tired too. What was I thinking last night? Now I'm just a pitiful little girl to him.
The dark-haired boy scowled thoughtfully at Lise. Leo looked from one to the other, not processing what was going on.
"You know what," Yusei removed his helmet and dismounted his runner.
"What are you-" Leo began, watching his friend walk over to Lise.
Her unhappy expression turned to shock when Yusei lifted her up onto his shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing? Put me down!" Lise cried, struggling fruitlessly.
"Let's try this," Yusei ignored Lise's protests and carried her off to a supply crate similar to the one his runner had been inside at the Security Impound. "Hey Leo, let everybody know I might be a few minutes late!"
"Um, okay," even more confused than before, Leo dashed away.
"Better yet, tell them Yusei's completely insane!" Lise called after him, pounding Yusei in the back. "Put me down!"
"Fine!" and he carefully guided Lise back to the ground behind the wooden crate.
Seething with anger, she didn't look happy with him. Lise shoved Yusei away from her. "What the hell is wrong with you? Gimme a warning if you're gonna do something weird!" She crossed her arms and glared defiantly at Yusei.
He stared persistently at her penetrating gaze. Their expressions mirrored each other's. "I just want to know why. Last night you said you hate yourself; why?" Yusei finally broke the silence.
"I told you I don't know."
"Have you always disliked yourself so much?"
Lise's shoulders slumped and she took a sad breath. "Look, I just don't see anything worthwhile in myself. It's my problem, and it doesn't concern you."
"Well, I'm getting myself involved," Yusei stated firmly. "When you want some help, lemme know. I'm more than willing."
"Why?"
"Because…because um…I uh," Yusei stuttered.
"Hey, are you gonna duel or are you gonna talk, Yusei? They're waiting for you!" Leo shouted, running back into the room.
"You'd better go," Lise said, watching Yusei carefully.
"Yeah," Yusei groaned. He mounted his ride, and reached for his helmet.
Lise leaned down and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Good luck," she smiled awkwardly, her cheeks pink.
Yusei nearly dropped his helmet, but he managed to slip it on. "Thanks," he said, blushing, and zoomed into the arena.
Fish sped down the stairs a second later. She clutched an aching stitch in her side. She had run the entire way there. "Hey what happened? Leo said Yusei was being weird," she said when she caught her breath.
"He was. Why did he pick you up?" Leo asked Lise.
"He was just being an idiot," Lise said passively, but she smiled.
Fish's eyebrow disappeared into the brim of her hat. "He didn't hurt you did he?"
"No, of course not."
"Fine, let's go watch his duel."
/
A blast of theatrical smoke filled the entryway, and Yusei shot into the stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Yusei!"
Circling the duel arena, Yusei awaited Griger's entry. A sound similar to a plane engine revved up in the wings.
"What's that sound, an earthquake?" Yanagi squealed.
Griger and his three wheeled style monstrosity of a runner burst onto the track.
"Will ya look at that? It's the most incredible duel runner I've ever seen! It's a whopper of a chopper. It's the wheels with appeal. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Griger and his beast!"
Griger joined Yusei, circling the track. The larger of the duelists smirked.
"That's some duel runner! Yusei's gonna have his work cut out for him," Tanner observed, sweat drops falling across his brow.
"What'd I miss!" Leo asked, reclaiming his seat.
"Just that," Luna pointed. "Griger's runner!"
Leo followed his sister's finger to Griger's runner. The shiny part up front resembling a cow's skull gleamed in the sunlight. "That's the part I saw in Griger's garage! No wonder he had an alarm! That thing looks so cool!"
Yusei and Griger parked at the starting line.
"You call that thing a duel runner, Yusei? Did it come with training wheels for ya?" Griger taunted.
"The ride doesn't make the duelist, Griger."
Ready…Set…Duel!
Yusei: 4000
Griger: 4000
"I'll make the first move, Yusei. I draw! And I think I'll start with this: Spell Reactor RE! And next I'll throw down three facedowns! You're up!"
"First I'll throw down a facedown, and then I'll summon my Speed Warrior!"
"In that case I activate my facedown trap card Hidden Soldiers! Now yours truly gets a level four monster from my hand. And I got just the one for you; he goes by Trap Reactor Wi Fi! And with this card on my field, Yusei, I only need one more for a big surprise!"
"I think I know what Griger's got planned guys," Dex's said with trepidation.
"For the first round Speed Warrior's on the field, he gets double his attack points! Now, send that Reactor back to the shop!" Yusei's monster skated in for a powerful attack.
Yusei: 4000
Griger: 3400
When the smoke from the attacked cleared, Spell Reactor wasn't destroyed!
"Don't tell me you're shocked!" Griger said. "I had two facedowns on my field, and one of them was Fake Explosion. Not only does this trap knock out your low level attack, but I get a bonus. As in, a level five monster from my hand! Bringing you your surprise early, Summon Reactor SK, join the party!" All three reactor monsters joined Griger's field. "Now I'll activate my Delta Reactor! This card sends Summon Reactor, Trap Reactor and Spell Reactor to the graveyard! I hate to do this to you, Yusei, but like I told you last night; one of us has to lose and today it's you! I summon Flying Fortress Skyfire!" The colossal flying military weapon of a monster hovered above Griger.
(Flying Fortress Skyfire: Atk: 3000 Def: 2500)
"Whoa! Griger brings out his big bang beast in the second round!"
"If you thought it was loud in here before, just get a load of this! You lose 800 points of damage if you ever summon a monster, or place one card facedown, and if that weren't enough, the card you just played will be destroyed," Griger explained. His monster covered Yusei and his monster completely in shadow. "Just face it, friend, you can't make a move without getting hurt! My family needs me which means that you're going to have to lose this match, Yusei!"
"As we go into round three, Griger's in the driver's seat!"
"It's my turn." Griger smirked. "Flying Fortress Skyfire, take out Yusei's Speed Warrior!"
The flying plane of power pummeled Speed Warrior with a barrage of bullets.
Yusei: 1900
Griger: 3400
"Yusei has taken a lashing! He's spinning out! He's gonna-wait no! He's managed to gain control, but that direct attack has forced Yusei to shift gears-and his game plan. As it looks like the 2100 damage he took cost him all the speed counters he gained so far!"
Yusei's friends in the stands openly winced.
"That's not good…"
"It'll be hard to catch up…"
"You seem like a nice enough guy, Yusei, but you've gotta fall! I've got too much riding on this duel to risk losing it!" Griger announced.
"And so do I!" Yusei countered. With Skyfire on the field, he can destroy the first card I play every turn…so… "From my hand I summon Shield Warrior in defense mode!"
"Too bad your warrior can't shield itself from my assault! Remember, when you play a card, that card is destroyed and Skyfire rains 800 points of damage from above!" Griger said. His monster released missiles that depleted Yusei's lifepoints again.
Yusei: 1100
Griger: 3400
"Yusei spins out again!"
"I place one card facedown and end my turn!"
"He's done," Leo declared sadly. "Griger's got it set up so that he can't even summon a monster without it getting obliterated right away! Man, Griger won't quit! He's just a hulking tower of ruthlessness!"
"You didn't notice that when you were dueling him?" Luna asked disbelievingly.
"Leo was just too excited to notice things like his opponent," Yanagi said.
Tanner spoke up. "I wouldn't put this duel in the books just yet. Yusei can win this."
"He can?"
"You betcha! Now, what do we know about this Flying Fortress Skyfire of Griger's?"
"Well, we know it's big, we know it's loud, we know it's powerful, and we know that once a turn it destroys a card Yusei plays the second he plays it!" Dexter outlined.
"And as soon as Griger destroyed Shield Warrior, Yusei placed a card facedown."
A smile made its way onto Dexter's face. "I get it! You're thinking that summoning Shield Warrior was a diversion!"
Tanner nodded.
"His real goal was that facedown!"
"I'll betcha a corn dog that card's a game changer, like mirror force!"
"It's my turn!" Griger yelled, accelerating rapidly. "Here I come! Behind you, Yusei! Get ready for a direct assault!"
"That's what I was hoping for!"
"But why?"
Skyfire unleashed another cascade of yellow shots that rained down around Yusei's runner.
"Because I can play Wasteland Tornado! I can use this card to lay waste to one trap card! And the card I'm destroying is Limiter Break!" Yusei gestured to his other facedown.
"Why are you destroying your own card?"
"Cuz this card should give me the power to summon Speed Warrior from my graveyard. And with a monster in defense mode, I won't take any damage!"
Skyfire's attack changed targets, and vaporized Speed Warrior for the second time.
"You may have dodged my assault, but I managed to rid you of one of your facedown cards! And I didn't have to get rid of any of my own cards to do it!"
This guy isn't messing around…He figured out my game plan!
/
"Tanner, he didn't play Mirror Force! Where's Dex's corn dog?" Leo asked, frustrated.
"Well, we never shook," Tanner said back-handedly.
/
"Damn, this is bad," Lise commented, watching the duel intently.
"Depends on your point of view," Fish added in her professor voice. "You like Yusei and therefore do not like his situation. I do not like Yusei, and therefore I am enjoying his situation. Popcorn?"
The dragon girl blinked at her friend and rolled her eyes. "Remind me again why you're my friend…"
"As to that, I do not have an answer," Fish grinned, stuffing her face with popcorn.
/
"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Griger said.
"It's my move!" Turbo Booster emerged from Yusei's deck. "Rally…From my hand I summon Massive Warrior in attack mode!" A four-legged blue stone creature appeared. It carried a circular and rugged stone in its four arms.
(Massive Warrior: Atk: 600 Def: 1200)
"With another monster summoned, another monster gets leveled! And another 800 points of damage are coming your way due to my Skyfire's special ability!" Griger retold his opponent. Skyfire's missiles shot at Yusei, but his monster interceptsedthe attack. Massive Warrior went unceremoniously to the grave.
Yusei: 300
Griger: 3400
"Whoa! Griger has lapped Yusei!"
/
"Who gives a damn! It doesn't matter! What does lapping anybody have to do with winning the duel!" Lise shouted at the monitor.
Fish downed the last of her popcorn and tossed the bag into the garbage. "As much as I'm enjoying seeing Yusei get his ass handed to him, I have to agree. Turbo dueling is so overrated, and that announcer needs to shut up."
/
"I'm playing the speed spell Zero Reverse! And now I resummon Massive Warrior!" Again, Yusei's field housed Massive Warrior.
Why would he summon a monster that can't attack? Griger contemplated.
"Remember, we've got something in common Griger. We're both looking out for our own. And if I plan on winning this battle, I'll need my friends to get me there. This is for you, Rally! I summon Turbo Booster in attack mode!" Two monsters made an interesting pair on Yusei's field. The familiar top-like monster of Rally's was ready to do some damage! "Now Massive Warrior, attack Griger's Skyfire!"
"You're just sending your monster to its doom."
"Not with Turbo Booster's special ability! You see, by releasing this card, I can take down a monster of yours as long as it's fighting one of mine."
Turbo Booster used its rocket arms to shoot Massive Warrior at Skyfire in a spectacular death spiral.
"But because of the battle, I'm still able to win this duel!"
"I don't think so! Massive Warrior can make my battle damage become zero!" Yusei countered.
Massive Warrior slammed straight into Skyfire, blasting a hole through its middle. Turbo Booster vanished, and Massive Warrior stayed.
"Whoa! Talk about a comeback! Yusei has blasted Griger's Skyfire outta the sky!"
The enormous fighter plane of a monster collided with the track. An enormous explosion covered roughly a quarter of the field.
"You may have grounded my air assault," Griger grunted, driving out of the wall of smoke. "But let's see how you handle my Chariot Pile trap card!" The hubcaps on Griger's runner split from the tires and were replaced with large needle-like weapons. The four spikes spun menacingly with the circular motion of the tires. "You won't defeat me, Yusei! There's too much at stake here!"
Griger closed his eyes. Because I have to make Goodwin pay for what he did to my village.
"I respect you as a duelist, Yusei, but I have something I must do! And you're just a road block standing in my way!" Griger yelled, drawing a card. "Chariot Pile's effect activates; so once a turn, my Chariot can hit you for 800 points of damage. Looks like your lifepoints are about to get speared, Yusei! There's no way you can outrun my attack!"
"Maybe, but I can certainly outmaneuver it by sacrificing my Massive Warrior!"
The monster used the circular stone it carried to block the spikes on Griger's runner. The effect negated, Massive Warrior vanished once again into the graveyard.
"You can try to defend yourself all you want, but you're only delaying your own defeat!"
"It's my move!" And if I don't pull this combo off, I'm done for! "I summon to the field Junk Synchron! And because I successfully summoned it out, I can also summon a monster out directly from my graveyard! So I resummon Speed Warrior! And because Speed Warrior's here on the field, I can now give him a little tune up!" Speed Warrior morphed into two stars while Junk Synchron changed into three green rings that surrounded and transformed the two monsters into "Junk Warrior: let's rev it up! Send his lifepoints to the junk pile!"
"Not good enough, Yusei! I'm afraid that Chariot Pile has another effect! When you're monster attacks me directly, I can sacrifice 800 lifepoints to deflect your monster's attack and destroy your monster!"
Yusei's Junk Warrior collided with a barrier and exploded into golden chips.
Yusei: 300
Griger: 2600
"Man, Yusei just can't seem to keep a monster on the field…" Leo said sadly.
/
"Aw man! Just when I thought this was turning around!" Lise whined.
Fish shrugged indifferently. "Oh well, at least the MC seems to have disappeared. My urge to kill him has significantly lowered."
"That won't last long."
/
"I set a card facedown and end my turn!"
"I summon Black Salvo!" A circular bomb-like monster with a mischievous face appeared on Griger's field.
(Black Salvo: Atk: 100 Def: 1100)
Four smaller bombs vomited out of Salvo's mouth and exploded one by one. When the smoke cleared, a new monster emerged. "So with the power of my Black Salvo, I'm bringing back my Trap Reactor Wi Fi! And now I tune my Black Salvo with my level four Trap Reactor Wi Fi!"
"A synchro summon?"
"You're surprised? You're not the only duelist who uses Synchro monsters, Yusei. I give you...Dark Strike Fighter!"
A small, red plane-like monster took to the field.
(Dark Strike Fighter: Atk: 2600 Def: 1800)
"And now it's going to attack you directly!"
"Not if I activate my trap card Synchro Spirits! By removing a Synchro monster in my graveyard from play, I can resummon the monsters that were originally needed to summon it! So I'm taking Junk Warrior out of the duel! Now Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior can return to the field!"
Both monsters emerged from the grave. Speed Warrior stayed put while Junk Synchron intercepted Dark Strike Fighter's attack, but Junk Synchron was sticking around!
"What's this? How did he survive that attack?"
"By taking Shield Warrior from my graveyard and removing it from play, I can negate all battle damage!"
"Then I think I'll activate Chariot Pile's effect! The only way for you to negate this damage is to sacrifice your other monster!" Griger quipped.
"Well, that's exactly what I'm gonna do," Yusei replied.
Speed Warrior purposefully threw itself into the trap's effect. The monster was once again destroyed.
"You've got an answer to everything I throw your way, don't you? Well, let's see what you do about the Ultimate Flare trap card, which allows me to summon an Ultimate Flare Token!"
A mace-like weapon materialized on Griger's side. Spikes and a freaky eye complete the look.
"Anyone know what that does?" Leo questioned unhappily.
"Well, let's just say that Yusei's about to get knocked around for another 800 points of damage," Tanner answered.
"And, on top of that, Griger's fighter can now deal damage equal to 200 times the level of the released monster, and-"
"And Ultimate Flare Token is a level ten, even though it's got no attack or defense," Tanner interrupted Dexter.
"That means…uh," obviously confused, Leo started to count on his fingers. "Well uh…"
"Ten times 200 comes out to 2000 points of damage!" Luna clarified.
"Two thousand!"
/
"I'm afraid your fate has been sealed, Yusei!" Griger announced. "There is nothing that you can do to win this turbo duel now! On my next turn, you're finished!"
Yusei: 300
Griger: 2600
"Things are looking helpless for Yusei! He's holding no cards in his hand, and one monster on the field! Everything depends on his next draw!"
"Let's do this!" Yusei cried, and drew his card. "It's time to go! I summon Tuning Supporter in attack mode!"
A second small machine monster joined Junk Synchron. This one had little green eyes, a yellow scarf and a frying pan for a hat.
(Tuning Supporter: Atk: 100 Def: 300)
"Next, I tune my Junk Synchron to my Tuning Supporter! I Synchro Summon...Armory Arm!"
(Armory Arm: Atk: 1800 Def: 1200)
"You're grasping at straws, Yusei. That monster can't defeat my Dark Strike Fighter!"
"Maybe not, but when Tuning Supporter is used to Synchro Summon, it allows me to draw another card straight to my hand!"
"Yusei has managed to squeeze some more life out of his floundering deck!" the MC raised tension in the crowds again.
It all comes down to this…If I don't draw the card I need, I'm finished… Hopefully, Yusei drew his card. Okay, here I go…Now if I don't draw the card I need, Griger's gonna run over the rest of my lifepoints! Yusei peeked at his card.
"Was that a smile?" Leo exclaimed. "Did I see a smile!"
"I activate the Synchro Return Speed Spell! And as long as I have five or more speed counters, I can use this spell to bring back a Synchro monster that I removed from play earlier in the duel! Say hello again to my Junk Warrior! Next, I activate Armory Arm's special ability!"
Armory Arm split open, and Junk Warrior had it fitted to his arm like a glove.
"Now my Junk Warrior gains a thousand attack points! And with that boost, my Junk Warrior is more powerful than your Dark Strike Fighter! So you know what's next; Junk Warrior attack!"
Still connected to Junk Warrior, Armory Arm changed into a giant fiery blazing phoenix of a hand. Griger's monster attempted to save itself by firing missiles at the glowing hand. Unfortunately, the 'hand of fate' had a very messy end planned for it…
Yusei: 300
Griger: 1900
"And next I activate Armory Arm's special ability, and that means that this duel is over!" Yusei declared. "You said that one of us was going to have to lose today, and it looks like that someone is you!"
"Impossible!" Griger protested, but Armory Arm's ability spelled doom anyway.
The giant gold-glowing hand reached for Griger this time and squeezed out every last bit of his lifepoints like wringing out a shirt after it'd been dipped in water.
Yusei: 300
Griger: 0000
Griger's ginormous tricycle blasted out smoke and he spun out of control. The victor rode calmly past him.
"He did it!" Leo and Dex whispered, barely believing their eyes.
"Yeah."
"I knew he could pull it off, I knew it!" Leo cheered.
"That was an amazing move!" Yanagi agreed as he and the others watched Griger spiral to a stop.
"Hey, if the duel's over, how come those spiky things haven't vanished yet?" Dexter pointed out when the smoke had cleared enough for the crowd to properly see Griger's runner.
/
"Well that's too bad," Lazar pouted too.
"Yusei will wake up to his abilities as a Signer soon enough. We must be patient," Goodwin assured his clown friend.
/
"That's it, people. After six rounds of white knuckle action, this duel has roared to a close with a stunning finale! Satellite's Shooting Star managed to whip out a comeback! Take a victory lap, Yusei!" the MC congratulated.
Yusei ignored him and pulled up in front of Griger. "Griger, are you okay?"
The duelist in question rose to his feet. His expression was grim. "I'm fine, but it's not over," Griger said.
/
"What's going on? Turn his mike off!" Lazar ordered.
/
"I was hoping to do this differently," Griger continued, oblivious to the confusion around him. "But if it needs to be like this, so be it…"
"What's he talking about?" Leo wondered aloud.
"I told you about my village, Yusei. I told you about the fire and the destruction, but I've learned the truth. Goodwin isn't going to help me rebuild my village like he promised! How could he when it isn't even there anymore!"
Puzzled shock crossed Yusei's face. "What do you mean?"
"LOOK!" Griger pointed dramatically at the holo-sphere. The image changed to a large rocky expanse of cliffs dotted by small homes. "That was my village; before Goodwin came around."
/
"How's he doing that?" Lazar complained worriedly. "Someone turn off the sphere!"
His boss didn't move. His passive expression showed his disinterest. "Let him have his moment."
/
"I hacked into Goodwin's personal files before the duel. It wasn't a natural disaster! Goodwin came along two years ago and decided to use our valley as a little testing ground. He tried to resurrect his precious Crimson Dragon! But he couldn't control the energy! It was too powerful! And then…" Griger explained as a blinding white light plowed through his village.
/
"He's going to expose everything!" the clown-man yelled fearfully. "We must silence him! Aren't you concerned?"
"Don't worry. No one is going to believe him…"
/
"The village is gone! Everyone who lived there, vanished, nowhere to be found!"
Yusei's eyes widened. Two years ago? "Griger, are you sure about this?"
"I saw the files myself. I'm certain about it, Yusei. And now Goodwin's going to answer for all his lies!" Griger promised and hopped back onto his runner.
/
"Two years ago?" Lise whispered.
"Yeah, funny huh?" Fish stared steadily at the monitor. "This information is definitely true. It sounds like Goodwin. Hey, what's wrong?"
"What Griger said…is it my fault?" Lise croaked out.
"Lise, that's not possible. Whatever happened two years ago is Goodwin's fault, not yours." Lise nodded and Fish hugged her. "Unless you took a trip to the middle of nowhere and went supernova, it can't be your fault..."
/
Accelerating rapidly, Griger circled the track easily.
"Griger!" Yusei shouted after him.
"Now that the world knows what you did, it's time for you to pay! For my friends, my family, my home! Your ivory tower is about to come tumbling down, Goodwin!" Using the curved sides of the track as a jump, Griger flew directly at Goodwin's viewing booth.
"NO!" Yusei came out of nowhere and imitated Griger, but flew at him in the opposite direction.
"Yusei!" Taken aback, neither duelist had time to alter their course. Yusei's runner barreled into the spike attachment on the right rear tire of Griger's runner. Knocked astray, the spike plowed straight at Goodwin and Lazar. The spike spun menacingly in its race for the two schemers, and shattered one of the booth's windows.
Lazar screamed and fell to the floor. Instead of panicking, Goodwin put out a hand and held the spike at bay.
"How are you doing that?" Jack wondered angrily.
Goodwin didn't reply even when the spike stopped. His glove came off in tattered pieces to reveal a mechanical hand.
/
Yusei and Griger's duel runners slammed back to Earth. Luckily, both guys ended up unscathed. Though Griger's runner blew out smoke again. Griger dashed over to Yusei and grabbed him by the jacket. "Yusei! How could you? I had him!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that Goodwin lied and used you, but listen; going after him won't solve anything or get you your answers," Yusei replied, his tone sad but defiant.
"What do I do?" Griger asked desperately.
"You trust me and my friends to figure things out."
Griger shoved Yusei in frustration, and screamed into the sky. "GOODWIN!"
/
Safe in his viewing room, Goodwin let the metal spike fall. It made a small clanking noise when it hit the floor.