"I will attack Valkyrion, the Electromagna Warrior with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
The dragon of crystalline scales surged up towards the polluted skies. It's body twisted and spun, almost as if partaking in an ancient mythical dance.
As it flew, a light shower of transparent, sparkling dust trailed off the dragon's pristine body.
Despite the imminent danger he was in, Naruto found himself enthralled by the beauty of the majestic beast.
"Attack with Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"
Suddenly and aggressively, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon dove towards Naruto and his Valkyrion. It's speed is much faster than before as it spun and twisted, almost like a wild, sentient tornado.
Naruto's Valkyrion stood in front of its master dutifully, its blade raised to strike. Yet, at the last moment, it swung too shallow and was sliced in half by the wings of the twisting dragon.
It was at that moment that something felt very wrong. As his monster exploded into hundreds of pieces, Naruto felt himself pushed back by an irresistible gale.
The next thing he knew, he was lifted off his feet and slammed through the glass windows of a nearby dilapidated building. The glass broke and Naruto was promptly tossed inside, where he rolled along the dirtied floor until he collided to a stop by the wall on the other side.
It felt as if he got caught in a real explosion and every inch of his body ached with something fierce.
What was that? Naruto wondered to himself. Did I just take damage from a duel? How is this possible?
A series of slow, hesitant footsteps followed. Whoever this was, he or she seemed to be approaching him
"Naruto…"
"Ouch…" Naruto groaned as he lifted himself off the floor, his body wracked with pain. He turned his head to whoever just spoke to him.
It was his friend. The one that he dueled just moments before.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" The boy reached a hand towards him.
Yuugoo… Did Yuugo do this to me? How could a normal human be capable of this?
Naruto stared at the hand extended towards him with a newfound fear. At that moment, it was as if something in him snapped.
"S-Stay away!"
He immediately covered his mouth in regret. But, it was too late.
"Oh...I see." The hurt reflected in his friend's eyes were visible, and haunting.
Naruto shot up from his bed with a scream. He quickly looked around his surroundings and saw that he was back in reality.
The boy pinched the bridge of his nose as he wondered if it was a cosmic sign that he recently kept remembering events from that day.
The room he was in was a tiny one surrounded by walls of flaking paint. His "bed" consisted of two threadbare bed sheets that helped to keep him warm at night.
From the soft light that poked through the lone window of the room, Naruto could tell that it was some time early in the morning.
He put on his jacket, grabbed his deck and his duel disk and headed to freshen up for the morning. Just a few days ago, Yusei had asked him to help him out with testing his D-Wheel again.
Naruto hoped that this time, Yusei's D-Wheel would prove to be a little bit more stable than last time.
"Ah!" Rally gasped as Yusei sped him by. He ran excitedly by Yusei's side once Yusei came to a stop.
"This is your best time so far!" Rally cheered as he showed Yusei the stopwatch. "You will be able to clear the pipeline easily!"
Naruto pulled by the hut a good moment later. Unlike Yusei's red D-wheel, his D-Wheel was colored by orange paint.
A vague figurehead of a fox mounted in the front of his bike. He remembered recycling that part from the junkyard—apparently it was once a part of a popular children's ride. The body of his D-Wheel was slim and had a streamlined design, nine metallic pipes could be seen sticking out at the back.
"But are you really going to go through with it?" Taka asked with a concerned expression. "Surely, Security will try and stop you."
"I have to settle things with Jack." Yusei answered bluntly.
"Don't worry about Yusei!" Naruto winked as he placed his arm around Yusei's shoulders. "I will be going with him to make sure that he stays safe!"
"Naruto?" Yusei looked at him in surprise, as this was the first time that he heard of this.
"Well, let's just say I have some business to settle in the city as well." Naruto grinned. "It won't hurt to meet Jack again. It's been a while since we last fought over a bowl of ramen."
"Well, if Naruto is going too then I guess it's fine." Blitz shrugged.
"Stay safe you two!" Rally cheered.
Naruto gave them a thumbs up. "We will!"
That evening, after they made their final preparations, Naruto met Yusei at his house and departed for the pipeline together.
Just moments after their departure, they sensed that something was wrong as the sounds of distant sirens filled the air.
"Security?" Naruto wondered aloud as he turned his head to the road behind him. Sure enough, two security officers were speeding towards their way.
"It's that guy again." Yusei commented as he looked back as well.
"You know him?"
"Yeah. I beat him in a duel once."
"Then I guess it is not someone that we should be stressed about." Naruto laughed.
"Damn you! This time I'm not letting you get away!" One of their pursuers shouted. He had a muscular build, squared jaw and prominent eyebrows. "Sasaki! I will let you handle the other one! The D-Wheeler in red is my prey!"
"Roger, sir!" Sasaki gave a salute as he chased after Naruto.
Unlike his superior, Sasaki had a slimmer build and no noteworthy facial features.
"Heh." Naruto taunted as he stepped on the gas. "Catch me if you can!"
After a brief while of pursuit, the Security with the prominent eyebrow seemed to have caught on to where they were going. "Hey! They are heading towards the pipeline! We need to stop them! Activate Speed World now!"
"Roger, sir!"
Naruto blinked blankly for a moment until he noticed the changing graphics of his D-Wheel's monitor. Speed World had been forcibly activated and now he was entered into Duel Mode.
"Huh." Naruto mused. "That was unexpected. If it's a duel you want, then I will just have to finish it quickly!"
"There is no way I'm letting that happen!" Sasaki retorted.
"I will take the first turn! I draw!" Naruto swiped a card from the top of his deck.
T1 Naruto H:5→6 LP: 4000
Naruto's Speed Counter: 0
Sasaki's Speed Counter: 0
"I will summon my childhood favorite! Appear, Beta the Magnet Warrior!" Naruto declared as he slapped a worn-out card onto his Duel Disk.
Beta the Magnet Warrior LV 4 EARTH Rock/Normal ATK: 1700
A dorky looking creature with a yellow body appeared, two magnet-like horns curved out from both sides of his circular head. His hands held two U-shaped magnets that served as its improvised weapon.
"I will then set one card and end my turn." Naruto smiled as he looked at Beta. "I will leave everything to you, buddy!"
"Ha!. As expected from Satellite garbage."Sasaki chuckled. "Your monster is just as worthless as you are!"
"It's my turn!" Sasaki ripped out the top card of his deck forcefully.
T2 Sasaki H:5-6 LP: 4000
Naruto's Speed Counter: 0→1
Sasaki's Speed Counter: 0→1
He smirked upon seeing what he drew. "I will send three Level 10 monsters from my hand to the Graveyard and Special Summon Montage Dragon from my hand!"
"Go! Go! Go!" Sasaki chanted as he dumped three copies of the Level 10 Ultimate Obedient Fiend into his graveyard.
Flying in from a light blue portal was a winged, muscular tri-headed dragon. A thick mask made of bones could be observed on each of their heads. When the dragon roared, the counter that displayed its attack value skyrocketed.
"N-Nine thousand attack points!" Naruto stuttered once the counter stopped. "That's ridiculous!"
"Haha. I have sent 3 Level 10 monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, that's why! And Montage Dragon's attack points become 300 times the combined level of the monsters that I sent to the Graveyard for its summoning!"
Montage Dragon EARTH LV 8 Dragon/Effect ATK: 0→9000
The security officer turned to the side of the wheels, skidding along the ground as he faced Naruto. "It's over! Montage Dragon attack Beta the Magnet Warrior!"
Montage Dragon reared back its heads, before launching forward a triad of destructive beams.
"Not so fast!" Naruto swung his arm, causing a trap card to rise up on his field. "I will activate Ground Capture. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can halve the damage I take from the attack."
A large seismic hand rose from above Naruto to intercept the beams, but was quickly obliterated.
"Arrrghghhhhh!" Naruto screamed as his D-Wheel spun out of control, moving him further and further from the place that he wanted to reach. (Naruto LP: 4000→350 Sp. Counter: 1→0)
"That's right! Scream! Writhe! Crash! This is the fate befitting of you Satellite garbage!" Sasaki laughed.
"I won't give up!" Naruto gasped as he finally got his D-wheel back under control. "With Ground Capture's effect, when I take 1000 or more damage, I can draw 1 card!"
"Hmph!" The security officer grunted. "Draw a million cards! It still won't help you! I will set 2 cards and end my turn. It's back to you, you cockroach!"
"It's my turn! Draw!" Blue eyes scrolled over to his hand. His lips stretched into a light grin. It's here!
T3 Naruto H:5→6 LP: 350
Naruto's Speed Counter: 0→1
Sasaki's Speed Counter: 1→2
"When only my opponent controls a monster, I can Special Summon Adamancipator Researcher from my hand!"
Adamancipator Researcher LV 4 EARTH Rock/Tuner/Effect ATK: 1500
A blue portal opened up next to Naruto, and seconds later, a green-haired archeologist came flying out, his green hair tussling in the wind.
"You said that people of Satellite only have garbage cards right?"
"That's right!"
"That's where you're wrong!" Naruto shouted, his hand balling into a fist in front of him. "With rock-hard determination and steely resolve, even garbage can turn into diamonds! I activate Adamancipator Researcher's effect! Once per turn, I will excavate the top 5 cards of my Deck. Then if there's a non-Tuner Rock monster that's Level 4 or lower, I can special summon it to my field!"
Naruto drew five cards from his Deck in a single motion. He then fanned them out to show his opponent, revealing Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite, Avatar of the Pot, Doki Doki, Giant Soldier of Stone, and Rockstone Warrior.
"I will Special Summon Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite! Then return the rest to the bottom of my Deck."
Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite LV 4 WATER Rock/Effect ATK: 1500
A large blue crystal appeared in front of Adamancipator Researcher. In the center, one could make out the faint silhouette of a draconic creature.
"Only once per turn, when Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite is Special Summoned by the effect of an Adamancipator card, I can draw one card from my Deck!"
"I will then tune the Level 4 Adamancipator Researcher with the Level 4 Adamancipator Risen - Dragite!"
"Ancient dragon slumbering in a crystal coffin. Awake once more, and bring light to the world! Synchro Summon! Adamancipator Risen - Dragite!"
A quartet of four emerald circles surrounded the crystal as Adamancipator Researcher placed his hand on it. In a way, it was almost as if they were caught in the middle of a magical formation. Then, slowly, the crystal started to crack and the creature trapped within started to thaw.
Finally, it bursted free, revealing itself to be a majestic winged dragon whose body seemed primarily made of a pure, untainted blue crystal. One could be easily forgiven for mistaking it as a dragon made of blue ice.
Even as the dragon flew about the cramped pipeline, crystal remains of its former prison continued to fall from its body, like a majestic shower of sparkling dust.
Adamancipator Risen - Dragite WATER LV 8 Dragon/Synchro/Effect ATK: 3000
Naruto rode proudly next to Dragite. After all, this creature was his original ace monster.
Sasaki stared at the crystalline dragon with his jaw ajar. He never expected a Satellite scum to own something this beautiful….
"Who did you steal this card from?" He accused, but quickly dropped the issue. "It doesn't matter! It still can't beat over my Montage Dragon! But just to be sure, I will play my trap card: Crackdown!"
A continuous trap card rose next to the security officer, and a lasso quickly shot forth and barreled towards Adamancipator Risen - Dragite.
"I will target Dragite with my trap card and take control of it!"
"Not happening!" Naruto retorted. "Adamancipator Risen - Dragite's effect activates! Once per turn, while I have a Water-attribute monster in my graveyard, I can negate the activation of a Spell or Trap card and destroy it!"
"Go! Crystal Protection!"
Adamancipator Risen - Dragite flapped its wings and erected a round barrier around itself that bounced away the lasso from Crackdown.
"Damn it!" The security officer cursed as his trap subsequently exploded into oblivion. But he still had one trick up his sleeve. The moment that Naruto declared an attack, he planned on reflecting the attack back with the Magical Cylinder that he set the turn before.
This satellite scum will never see it coming… He thought smugly to himself.
"I will now activate Adamancipator Risen - Dragite's other effect. Once per turn, I will excavate the top 5 cards of my Deck. Then for each Rock-type monster I excavate, I can return a card from your field back to your hand!"
"What!" Sasaki shouted.
Naruto grabbed five cards from the top of his Deck and fanned it out for Sasaki to see. "I drew Ancient Jar, Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior, Speed Spell - Sonic Buster, Speed Spell - Riryoku and Adamancipator Resonance. That's two Rock-type monsters, which means I will have you return your Montage Dragon and your face-down card back to your hand!"
"I-Impossible!" The security officer cried as Dragite unleashed a blizzard that blew away his field.
"I still haven't Normal Summoned this turn." Naruto reminded as he slapped a new card onto his Duel Disk. "I will Normal Summon Sentry Soldier of Stone in attack mode!"
Sentry Soldier of Stone EARTH LV 3 Rock/Effect ATK: 1300
"Damn it! My field is now wide open!" The security officer noted fearfully as he stared at the dragon and the golem that now occupied Naruto's field.
He stepped on the pedal and attempted to speed away.
"You're not getting away that easily! I will attack you directly with both of my monsters! Adamancipator Risen - Dragite, use Adamantine Barrage! Sentry Soldier of Stone attack with Dual Slash!"
Dragite flapped its wings and summoned forth a spiraling whirlwind of crystalline shrapnels that knocked the security officer's D-Wheel for a loop. (Security Officer LP: 4000→1000 Sp. Counter: 2→0)
Just when the security officer thought the worst was over, Sentry Soldier of Stone was already descending upon him with two overhead slashes.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" Sasaki could only scream in anguish as his Life Points plummeted to zero. (Sasaki LP: 1000→0)
Naruto proceeded to step ahead and watch as Yusei conduct his own duel. When Yusei's opponent's Life Point dropped to zero, Naruto promptly kicked the guy away so that they could go on unimpeded.
"The gate is closing!" Yusei shouted. "Damn it! We won't be able to make it!"
Naruto's brows scrunched. The duel between them and security took much longer than expected.
"We're not going to give up here, Yusei!" Naruto shouted as he rammed his D-Wheel against Yusei's, pushing both of them forward.
"Naruto?" Yusei looked at him, puzzled. "What are you planning?"
"I'm going to get us out of here!"
Naruto stepped hard against the pedal. There was no way he would allow this chance to slip him by.
The pipes of his D-Wheel heated up and shot out nine distinct streams of flames that propelled both Naruto and Yusei forward. As the flames whipped and flickered in the air, it almost resembled the waltzing tails of the mythical nine-tailed fox.
"Arrrrgh!" Naruto yelled as they went faster and faster. The gate in front of them was dropping lower by the second.
From the peripherals of his vision, Naruto could spot a tidal wave of garbage surging their way.
"Let us make it!" Both D-Wheelers shouted as they leaned their weight to the side, tilting their D-Wheel enough to skid along the ground at a low angle. Sparks of ember flew as their D-Wheel grinded against the floor and Naruto winced at the sound of his D-Wheel's screams.
Alas, the goddess of luck seemed to have smiled upon them. Just before the gate closed completely, both of them managed to tumble through the tiny space that still remained.
Naruto panted as he took in this new surrounding. Compared to Satellite, the City might very well be a futuristic utopia.
He looked over towards Yusei and was relieved when Yusei gave him a thumbs up in reassurance. It seemed that both of them managed to make it out in one piece.
"Oh?" A figure spoke to them. His figure encased by the dim glow of the moon. "Isn't this Yusei? …. And Naruto too…."
Naruto recognized that face. As did Yusei.
"Jack!"
They cried out in unison.
A/N: I have included a little bit about Naruto's past and the source of his guilt. Huge thank you for everyone who has liked/favorited/reviewed the story so far.