Fun Fact: Yuto and Serena re kind of awkward around each other. You'd think that the two quieter, more dignified members of their respective groups would work well together. But nope, they don't really know how to talk to each other, or even hold conversations.
Description: Yugo and Rin conclude their duel.
Yugo: 3 Speed Counters
Rin: 4 Speed Counters
When we last left off, Yugo Accel Synchro Summoned a new monster: Clear Wing Accel Dragon. (ATK 3300) Backing this dragon was Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (ATK 4075),a face-down Spell or Trap card, and the two Speedroid cards in his Pendulum Zones. He had two cards in his hand, and 5800 Life Points.
Contrast Rin's field, which had Windwitch - Melodious Bell (ATK 4950), the Continuous Spell, Speed Relay and a face-down Spell or Trap card. She had three cards in her hand, and 5600 Life Points.
"Ready to eat cuck, Rin?" Yugo asked his opponent.
(Yugo: 5800 → 5100)
"Whoops."
Rin rolled her eyes. "So you want me to eat you?"
"Hehe, yeah," Yugo giggled. "... Wait, no. No! I'm not a cuck!"
Yugo's voice wavered a bit there. He could feel the disharmony between him and Yuya take over. He could tell that even Yuya was laughing at that.
Now it was Rin's turn to giggle. "You dumbass."
(Rin: 5600 → 4900)
"That counts as swearing?!" Rin snapped. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"
It was once again Yugo's turn to laugh, much to Rin's chagrin. Boy, she sure wouldn't be upset if Yugo laughed so hard that he lost control and smashed his bike into a telephone pole...
Actually yes, she would be upset about that. She'd feel terrible.
"So what's your dragon gonna do?" Rin asked.
"Who? Accel?" Yugo asked. "Oh! Clear Wing Accel Dragon gains 500 ATK for every Synchro Monster in our Graveyards!"
"That's... wow!" Rin gasped. "There's my Cold Bell, Winter Bell, and Wind Turbine, for 1500..."
"... And Hi-Speedroid Kendama, and my own Wind Turbine, for another 1000."
"That's 2500 ATK points!"
Accel Dragon spread its many wings. In their glass, images of all the fallen Synchro monsters could be seen. Their images lit up, and the dragon's wings were wreathed in brilliant flames. (Clear Wing Accel Dragon ATK 3300 → 5800)
"And that's enough to destroy Melodious Bell."
Rin gulped.
"Battle!" Yugo declared. "Clear Wing Accel Dragon attacks Windwitch - Melodious Bell!"
The dragon rose to the sky and spread its wings. The flames descended down upon Rin and her field in the form of meteors. As each meteor crashed into something, it let out an explosive boom, followed by a release of smoke.
From Yugo's point of view, he could only see a moving cloud of smoke. From his microphone, he couldn't hear Rin, but recordings of the meteors' impact against her and her field.
But soon, the smoke started to clear. Rin, her D-Wheel, and the field were no worse for ware. But Melodious Bell's body and dress were tarnished with bruises and dents. Speed Relay was up and floating behind Rin, though would soon shatter into sparkled.
(Rin: 4900 → 4050)
Rin was egao-ing proudly. She raised a hand to give Yugo a thumbs-up. And cue more screams and shouts from the audience around them.
Yugo's eyes widened. "What now?!"
"I activated Speed Relay's second effect!" Rin said proudly. "When a Synchro monster I control would be destroyed, and I have more Speed Counters than my opponent, I can send this card to the Graveyard."
She looked to her monster and nodded, before continuing, "My monster isn't destroyed, and my opponent gains Speed Counters equal to half of mine."
(Yugo SC: 3 → 5)
"Speed Relay's a good card," Rin explained to him. "It represents the best of racing: moving faster; surviving obstacles; and even if your setbacks let your opponent move on ahead, you can still persevere!"
Rin closed her eyes and egao'd. Fernando, you just saved my butt. Thank you so much.
Yugo scratched his chin. "Well, we should have known that card was good... It's limited on the Neo Riding Duel banlist, after all."
"The what now?" Rin said, blinking repeatedly. "Uh... Hey... So hey! Are you going to end your turn here, Yugo?"
Yugo gritted his teeth. "No..."
"but what cat can you do to stop me?" Rin said. "Are you going to attack me with Dark Rebellion?"
"No..." This time, Yugo's voice was small and quiet. "I'll... end my turn, I guess."
Well, Yugo's move wasn't that great. And now, the audience wasn't cheering for him; any noise was reserved solely for Rin and her amazing save. But on the plus side, Yugo was ending the turn with his two powerful dragons to protect him. Note to self: Pad this paragraph out with some random crap later, pretend that it's relevant to the duel or some shit. Make it sound nice.
Yugo: 6 Speed Counters
Rin: 5 Speed Counters
With Rin's next draw, she now had four cards in her hand. And oh boy, was this new card a treat. In fact, it was absolutely perfect for the situation... if she didn't also have those two powerful dragons to contend with.
Stupid 777 rules. If they weren't in place, she would be able to swear up a storm and crush Yugo into submission with words alone.
Look at your Graveyard, Serena said.
Oh? So you're finally going to work with us? Rin asked her.
I'm still with the boys, Serena told her, huffing. But I can at least give a piece of advice, right?
Whatever. Rin tapped the Graveyard Zone on her screen. She was instantly greeted with the pictures of the top five cards in her Graveyard, starting with Speed Relay.
Wait... Speed Relay had a Graveyard effect!
No wonder this card was limited, Rin thought. Three effects?
They're just piling things on cards now, Ruri said.
Back to the duel at hand though. Rin tapped Speed Relay's card, then pressed the "Activate" button that popped up.
"I activate Speed Relay's Graveyard effect," Rin explained. "If my opponent has more Speed Counters than me, I can banish this card, then roll a six-sided die." A large die appeared behind Rin, floating behind her. It was white, with scarlet dots, and it was the size of one of Rin's D-Wheel's wheels.
"Whatever number that pops up, I get that many Speed Counters."
The die jumped up into the air. It rolled and bobbed in high above the field, above the heads of the duelists, and the monsters. The number of dots seemed to shift and change as the die rolled; one side could have five dots, but would change to four. Another side would have three dots, then change to six.
Finally though, the die fell to the field. It landed on one of its sides, and the side with three dots was at the top. The die then shattered, and Rin's Speed Counters went up. (Rin SC: 5 → 8)
"... That's it?" Rin said under her breath? "A three? Lame."
Wait. She could feel a spark of something there. She could feel Yuzu's own thoughts agreeing with hers!
Rin! came Yuzu's voice. Let's rev it up!
Rin nodded. Right.
"Everyone, the fun has just begun!" the girls announced. "I pay seven Speed Counters to draw one card frommy deck."
(Rin SC: 8 → 1)
With a dramatic flair (a habit of Yuzu's), Rin drew a card from her deck. She flipped the card over and brought it close to her face, ready to take in the wonder of her newest draw.
In their mind, Rin and Yuzu could see Ruri egao-ing. They could feel her power drift through this card, and into their arm. A card Rin already had in her deck, but one she didn't expect to see in her time of need.
This is? Rin thought.
I can't let us go down so easily, she told them. We do this together.
They smiled. We want to win.
"We activate the Spell, De-Synchro," the girls announced.
Rin placed the card down, and an expanded image of the card appeared behind her. Then, Clear Wing Accel Dragon's image appeared in the artwork, reflecting its look on the field.
"We return Clear Wing Accel Dragon to the Extra Deck."
The picture added a series of ten Synchro rings, which surrounded the image of the dragon. The dragon itself started to fade from the artwork, until it was gone. And once the dragon was removed from the artwork, the card, and the real Accel Dragon, both shattered.
"If all of the monsters that were used for the Synchro Summon of that monster are in our Graveyard, we can Special Summon all of them."
"But since ourmonsters are not in your Graveyard," Yugo said. "So, we get nothing..."
Rin nodded. "I'm sorry to say, all your hard work was for nothing."
But Yugo egao'd. "Don't be so sure of that, Rin."
Yugo rose his hands up. He waved to the members of the crowd, trying to draw their attention to him. And it was working, because peoples' eyes were now falling on him.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Yugo announced proudly. "For my next trick, I'm doing to pull a dragon out of my hat!"
"You what now?" Rin questioned.
"When Clear Wing Accel Dragon leaves the field, I can Special Summon a Level 9 or lower Clear Wing monster from my Extra Deck, with its effects negated. Clear Wing Mirage!"
The ghostly image of Clear Wing Accel Dragon formed in front of Yugo. The image started to solidify and become less transparent. Solid Vision technology now made the dragon real again.
But then the form started to shrink. The extra wings folded into the main wings, and the body became more and more mechanical. The dragon was essentially reverting back to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. (DEF 2500)
"Of course, we wouldn't put Clear Wing in danger like that," Yugo went on. "During this turn, the monster I Special Summoned cannot be destroyed by battle."
The audience was back to cheering for Yugo now. He could see some people pull on their faces and scream. A woman was grabbing onto another woman and shaking her violently. One man threw a ticket onto the ground and started swearing loud enough for Yugo to hear.
He looked straight ahead, to Clear Wing. "She can't hurt you now."
"But we can hurt you," Rin declared. "We activate our face-down: Night of the Windwitch!"
A big Trap card rose up from behind Rin's bike. The artwork depicted a dark night's sky. A moon hung high over a flower-filled field. A witch flew through the air on a broom, while her bird familiar flew by her side.
"We can Special Summon a Windwitch from my hand," Rin explained. "Then, we can switch the battle position one monster our opponent controls. Under My Spell! We call forth our Windwitch - North Wind!"
Rin placed a card down on her Disk. Windwitch - North Wind materialized, flying right beside its master. (ATK 2600) Meanwhile, Clear Wing was fully under the spell of the witches. It stretched out its body and spread out its wings. (Clear Wing DEF 2500 → ATK 2500)
"When Windwitch - North Wind is Special Summoned, we can inflict 500 damage for each Windwitch monster we control."
North Wind waved her magic wand. A thick mist poured forward. It ran down the track, chasing after Yugo. Yugo, in response, revved up his bike and started driving faster. He was on the other side of the track, so maybe there was enough distance to-
He felt the mist roll over his body. It had a bone-chilling coldness to it. He could feel some of his body tingle from the frost. (Yugo: 5100 → 4100)
"Battle!"Rin declared. "Windwitch - North Bell attacks Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
North Wind waved her wand, and more thick mist poured through the field. Clear Wing was drowned by the fog. It let out a pained roar as its body started to coat with ice. (Yugo: 4100 → 4000)
"Clear Wing!" Yugo yelled. "We're sorry!"
Yugo held out a hand to the dragon, almost trying to reach out and touch it. Clear Wing looked to Yugo with sad, worried eyes. It broke his heart.
And Yuya's heart. And Yuto's. And even Yuri's.
"We're sorry..."
"We activate a Quick-Play Spell from my hand!" Rin interjected. "Call of the Windwitch!"
By now, Yugo had moved down the track, and was now behind Rin. From where he was now, he could see a large Spell Card rise up to face him. The art depicted a crescent moon against a night sky. A witch flew on a broom stick in front of it, spreading sparkles from the back of her broom.
"During either player's Battle Phase, we can target a Windwitch monster we control; we can summon a monster from our hand with a Level less than, or equal to that monster's, but it cannot attack."
Windwitch - North Bell waved her want and pointed it upward, signalling her support. She was selected by her summoner to cast a spell and bring forth a monster. And her own summon was a familiar little familiar, a cat named Windwitch - Snowball. (ATK 400)
"When Snowball is Special Summoned, we can immediately use it in a Synchro Summon," Rin explained. "We tune our Level 6 Windwitch - North Wind our Level 1 Windwitch - Snowball!"
Snowball jumped onto North Bell and started its clawed assault. North Bell let out a shriek, but it was still helpless before the cat's nails. Snowbell tore her apart, reducing her to nothing but six little spheres. With its kill completed, Snowbell morphed into a ring and surrounded the orbs. Everything swirled together and created a light that shone before the duelists.
"Midwinter wind. Make ice and snow my power and blow through!" Rin chanted. "Synchro Summon! Level 7, Windwitch - Winter Bell!"
The light spread its wings and became a flying... airplane lady with a pair of honkin' airplane noses. (DEF 2000)
"Winter Bell's effect: we can target a Windwitch monster in our Graveyard, then inflict damage to you equal to that target's Level, multiplied by 200."
The image of another Winter Bell was imposed over the Winter Bell on the field. But the image was blown away by a frosty, chilly wind, which flew back over to Yugo. Once again, Yugo was assaulted with a full-frontal blast of cold air. (Yugo: 4000 → 2600)
"We're not done!" Rin continued. "Windwitch - Melodious Bell attacks your Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
Melodious Bell spread her arms. An aurora poured from her chest and flowed towards Yugo. The light fell down on Clear Wing, and the monster was engulfed. It let out another piercing, mournful roar for all to hear.
(Yugo: 2600 → 150)
But soon the light faded, leaving Clear Wing to fly behind Yugo. North Wind's ice shattered away from its body, though the dragon still shivered from the cold. Dark Rebellion flew back, taking its new place beside Clear Wing to support it.
The Yu boys were in a tough spot, Clear Wing was hurting, and Dark Rebellion was filled with anger. Yugo was starting to feel sick to his stomach. He kept Clear Wing alive, but he failed to protect it from Ray.
But the people in the audience didn't care about their pain. They only cheered for Rin's amazing turnaround. They were chanting her name and screaming for more. The announcer was throwing out buzzwords to hype her up. They were all in awe and wonder over her performance.
Yugo closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Maybe Rin's right. Maybe I can't protect those I care about.
Don't talk like that! Yuya told him. We can keep on fighting.
Clear Wing is still around, and Dark Rebellion is backing us up, Yuto offered.
Rin hasn't knocked us out yet, Yugo. We can keep fighting!
That's it! Yuri barked. That Rin has been getting too big for her britches.
What?Yugo asked him.
The rat dared to challenge the dragon.
Rin's not a rat!
We simply can't let her hurt our dragons any more, though, Yuri countered. Shall we teach the girls a lesson?
Hmm... Hmm...
"Give up, Yugo," Rin said to him.
Yugo opened his eyes, and he and his brothers returned to the waking world. "I- whuh?"
"It's not too late to surrender," she told him.
"And why would we do that?"
"Because we care about you. We don't want to see you hurt."
Rin looked back to Yugo. "And we don't want to hurt the dragons. But we must do what we have to."
"YOU don't have to do anything," Yugo replied. "WE have people to protect."
"So do we!" Rin barked. "We're going help Martha and the kids our own way. But first, we need to protect YOU!"
Yugo gritted his teeth. His face was bright red. It was like he was a child, being lectured by his mother. And in front of a big audience, no less.
"We're not going to allow-"
"We don't care what you allow!" Rin roared. "We're not allowing you get yourself hurt!"
Oh, did the boys have strong words for Rin now! ... But Yugo bit his tongue. He lowered his head in shame, not wanting to meet her directly.
"W-we're not a kid," Yugo said meekly. "D-don't go treating me like one."
"We wouldn't have to if you acted like an adult."
Rin turned away from him. "We set a card face-down. Our turn ends here."
Rin's turn ended with her two Synchro monsters out to defend her, while a face-down Spell or Trap waited in the wings. She had one card in her hand, and 4050 Life Points.
Yugo: 7 Speed Counters
Rin: 2 Speed Counters
It was Yugo's turn, but he wasn't drawing any cards just yet.
He- he was sure he could win here. Just summon Crystal Wing and attack for game, right? Rin was wrong, and he was going to prove it.
But Rin's words cut deep. She always had a talent for getting to him. For the first time, he was worried about his situation here.
What if he summoned Crystal Wing, and Rin just destroyed it with her face-down? Then his dragon would still be hurt, and he'd still lose. Or what if he did win, but he lost any of the fights that came after? Then Rin would be right about him failing, he and his brothers would be trapped under Garome, and he wouldn't have helped anyone.
No. He had to have faith! But he couldn't. He was just so tired of trying. All the passion and energy he once had was leaving his body.
And as he looked up to Melodious Bell and onto his field, he knew that he truly was powerless.
His hesitation was causing dissent amongst the crowd. Yugo could hear the jeers directed at him. They could see his embarrassing moments, his weaknesses, his failure. They were all watching and booing him. They probably knew that he couldn't help anyone, either.
I really messed up, guys, Yugo thought. At least, if Rin wins, she'll be helping Martha and the kids.
"IS YOU YEAR GIVING UP?!" the announcer screamed. "EVERYBODY, LET'S MOTIVATE THE BOY TO KEEP ON FIGHTING!"
A few people - loyal fans, or people who had placed bets on him - were cheering Yugo on. But this also resulted in more boos from members the audience. People were against him, and some were even waiting, hoping for him to lose.
So, can I give up now? Yugo asked. We did all we could. Let's just give up and go home.
I won't let you give up! Yuya snapped.
But what if Rin's right? She's trying to protect us!
You can't just give up on this, Yugo! Yuya said sternly. Don't let Rin decide what's right for you.
The killer tomato's right, Yuri offered. We're stronger than anyone; people should beg for our help.
But I think Rin's right... Yugo said.
She's not right, Yuto told him.
I made this big fuss about doing this all myself. That I could save everyone. But I couldn't save Rin when she was kidnapped, or stop Yuri, or save Core.
Stop it, Yugo.
At least my big mouth got us here, and Rin can save the day. But I guess I just made her have to watch over me again.
Yugo opened his eyes. He slowly lifted his hand towards his deck and placed his hand on top of it.
Yuto appeared before him. His eyes narrowed as he looked down on his brother.
So you're just going to give up? Yuto asked.
"Yes, I am!"
Yuto shook his head.
"You don't get it, Yuto!" Yugo roared. "I-I'm stupid, and I'm weak!"
Yugo's expression was harsh, and he looked furious. But the anger in his face was undermined by the tears welling up in his eyes.
This time, he spoke in a soft, sad voice. "I'm immature. I'm a failure. I'm good for nothing."
That's not true at all, Yugo! Yuto said quickly.
"It is..." Yugo said quietly. "Rin knows it, everyone knows it. I can't be a hero."
Yugo, stop, Yuto said sternly.
You are a hero, though! Yuya said. Remember yesterday? Rin said that she was so grateful for you never giving up on her.
"Rin acts like I'm her hero," Yugo said ruefully. "I want to be her hero, but I'm not."
"WHAT'S YUGO SAYING?!" the announcer screeched. "MAYBE THIS IS SOME SORT OF MYSTERIOUS ACT?! A PERFORMANCE?!"
Clear Wing let out a loud, mournful roar for Yugo.
Yugo looked back to his dragons. "Clear Wing... Don't worry, I'll end this duel, and you'll be safe."
And Dark Rebellion let out an angry, booming cry towards the sky.
So that's it? Yuto said. You're just going to give up?
I need to do what I can to protect-
You're taking the easy way out.
Yugo's eyes widened. He threw his head forward to face Yuto. Yuto was looking directly at him with cold, brooding eyes.
You CAN protect everyone, he continued. I KNOW you can. And it's my fault for not helping you realize that.
What are you saying?"
I'm saying that you can't turn your back on this, Yuto said to him.
I know you can do this, Yuya agreed. We can do this. I know that if we try our hardest, we can save the orphanage.
Yugo's jaw dropped. "Really? We can turn this around?"
Yuto sighed. But I'll only help on one condition.
What? Yugo thought.
I never want to hear you speak like that again, Yuto answered, egao-ing. Yugo, I never want you to doubt yourself, or speak about yourself like that.
Buh- what?
I knew, from the moment you defeated me, that you were amazing. You need to see that about yourself, instead of seeing what you did wrong.
Yugo blushed. "I've doubted myself so much. I'm a screw-up sometimes, you know?"
Yugo, no.
"But- but that's okay now. It's okay now."
Yuto raised an eyebrow. What?
"If I can do something right, just this once, I'll be fine."
Yugo...
"If I can do one thing right!" Yugo shouted. "Just one thing! It'll be to protect those I care about!"
The audience around them burst into an eruption of claps and cheers. There were still insults and screams directed at Yugo - they would always be there. But Yugo was too busy listening to the excitement and energy of the people who were rooting for him.
"Alright, Yuto!" Yugo announced. "I'm going to try. I- I'm still thinking that Rin might be right. But I'm- I think I'm still going to keep trying anyway."
Together, guys, Yuya said. For the kids.
For Martha! Yugo added.
For stopping Garome, Yuto continued.
For proving Rin wrong, Yuri concluded.
Yuto vanished from sight, and Yugo turned his attention back to the dragons behind him.
"Clear Wing!" Yugo said to his dragon. "Honestly, we're afraid, too! We're afraid of failing again, of letting you and everyone down!"
The crowd was yelling, Rin was calling to him, the announcer was droning on. But for Yugo, they were all background noise. His attention was on Clear Wing, who let out a roar.
"But that doesn't mean we're going to stop trying, Clear Wing!" the boy continued. "We're never going to give up again. And we don't want you to give up, either."
Clear Wing didn't roar. Instead, it egao'd and gave Yugo a nod. Yugo returned the gestures with his own, and he turned his head to face the track in front of him.
Let's put our faith in this next draw, Yugo said to his brothers. Let's try and get something really good, okay?
"OUR TURN! DRAW!"
With a dramatic flair (sparkled and lighting provided by Yuya), Yugo drew a card from his deck. He now sported three cards in his hand, finally giving him more than his opponent.
Yugo looked at the card. Yuri, you gave us the wrong card.
The gift of greed, Yuri said proudly.
You weren't harmonized with us right.
It's better than what you wanted, Yuri insisted. Look at the other cards in your hand.
Yugo's eyes drifted to his hand. And at once, he understood. Ohh...
See, Fusion? I never cost us duels. We're a winner.
"I activate Pot of Avarice!" the banana boy announced. "I can shuffle five monsters from my Graveyard into my Deck, then draw two cards."
Hi-Speedroid Kendama, Wind Turbine, Speedroids Taketomborg and Terrortop, and Performapal Secondonkey were ejected from the Graveyard. Yugo placed the Synchro monsters in his Extra Deck, then put the rest of his cards on top of his regular deck. His Disk's automatic shuffle function did the rest of the work.
Once the deck was shuffled, Yugo drew two cards and added them to his hand. Now he had four cards to play with.
Yuri, this card here! the boys commented. It's genius! Why thank you, Fusion! Don't call us Fusion, Yuri!
Wait, what was that?
"I activate my Trap card!" Rin cried. "Level Net!"
Rin's face-down appeared behind her. It rose up to face Yugo, showing the work of a glowing blue net. Green and blue sparks ran in-between the net's holes, suggesting that the trap was truly electrifying.
"By paying 1000 Life Points, we target one monster we control; monsters with a level lower than it cannot attack during this turn."
Melodious Bell brought her hands forward, and the outer rim of a net appeared in her hands. The net started to materialize below it, giving the monster a veil of protection. (Rin: 4050 → 3050)
"Monsters below Level 12 cannot attack," Rin explained.
"... Fuck," Yugo sighed. "Well, there goes using Crystal Wing to win."
"Do you have any way to fight back, Yugo?"
"Actually, yes," Yugo replied, smirking."We activate the spell, Synchro Panic!"
When Rin turned her head to look back, she would see a large Spell card materialize by Yugo's left side. The art depicted Synchro rings and stars, while five monster silhouettes jumped out of the ground, while surrounded by pillars of light.
"When we have 7 or more Speed Counters, we can Special Summon as many Synchro Monsters as possible that have been Synchro Summoned during this Duel, from our Extra Deck."
"Speed Counters?" Rin cried. "How'd you get that card?"
"We ordered it online like a month ago," Yugo told her. "We got a bunch of cards for Neo Riding Duels."
A horizontal line of three lights appeared on the ground before Yugo. Hi-Speedroid Kendama rose from the first light, by Yugo's farthest right. Then Clear Wing Accel Dragon rose from the ground and flew beside it, and Wind Turbine went on to join them. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Dar Rebellion Xyz Dragon flew above Yugo's head and joined the monsters in front.
The audience was screaming for more now. People were cheering Yuya's name. And Yugo and Yuya were almost the same thing, so it was like they were cheering for Yugo, too!
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Yugo cried out cheerfully. "For my next trick, we play the Spell card, Preda-Parasite!"
A Spell card materialized by Yugo's side. It depicted several Predaplant Tokens and Predator Counters, digging their teeth into the flesh of a green dragon.
"By Tributing one monster we control, we can reduce the Levels of all non-Predaplant monsters on the field," he explained. "They all become Level 1. Xyz monsters are then treated as being Level 1 monsters."
Hi-Speedroid was the monster up for sacrifice. Its body turned into light, and it shattered into dust. Predator Tokens materialized on the bodies of every monster, except for Melodious Bell. For Winter Bell, a Token bit into her neck. Yugo's monsters, however, simply let the Tokens sit themselves on them.
"... You're going to Synchro Summon," Rin concluded.
"We activate our face-down!" Yugo declared. "Re-dyce-cle lets us Special Summon a Speedroid Tuner from our Graveyard, with its effects negated."
The ground before Yugo lit up. Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice rose from the ground and floated over to Clear Wing, where it stood by its side. (ATK 0)
"Then, we roll a six-sided die, and that monster's Level becomes that result."
But no need for another die, because Red-Eyed Dice was all you'd need. The monster threw itself forward and did a barrel roll. When it landed, a side with four dots was face-up. (LV 1 → 4)
Yugo looked to Dark Rebellion. "Shall we dance, my friend?"
Dark Rebellion let out a roar. An angry, but controlled roar that told Yugo that it was ready to go. Though the roar also told Yugo that the dragon was doing this for Yuya and Yuto, maybe Yuri, and the kids, and Martha, and the orphanage. Not for him.
"Harsh," Yugo grumbled. "But at least we can beat Ray together, buddy."
Dark Rebellion nodded, and it flew forward with Red-Eyed Dice. The dragon became a level star, and Red-Eyed Dice became the four rings that danced around it. They combined together to birth a new form.
"Synchro Summon!" shoutedthe banana-man. "Level 5 Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!"
Hi-Speedroid Hagoita was summoned. There. (ATK 2000)
"BUT THAT MONSTER CAN'T OVERCOME MELODIOUS BELL, CAN IT?" the announcer shouted. "DOES THE DUEL KING HAVE A PLAN IN MIND?"
"We sure do!" Yugo declared confidently.
The crowd was going wild now. The turn of events lead to completely polarized reactions, as people began fighting in the stands, screaming for their money back, cheering for "You Year" to win, to people begging him to take a dive and help them win their bets. Passions were high, food was flying, and the stadium was practically shaking.
Yugo's field now had the two Clear Wing dragons, Hagoita, and Wind Turbine. But while the field was strong, people could tell that Yugo wasn't done.
"By sending a WIND monster from our deck to our Graveyard, we can increase or decrease Wind Turbine's Level by that monster's own."
Speedroid Speedroid Pachingo-Kart 's card popped out from Yugo's deck. He pulled the card out and dropped it into his Graveyard. (LV 1 → 5)
We see the path to victory before us, the boys thought. Every card we used, every monster we summoned. They've all lead us to this path.
In their minds, they could hear the four Dimension Dragons roar. From the field, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon shouted out a battle cry, refusing to back down. From the deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon cried out in joy and support for their unity. From the Graveyard, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon screamed for victory and triumph over those that try to hold them back. And from the Extra Deck, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon expressed its eagerness to push on ahead and realize their potential.
And now, we will take a step forward.
The boys could feel it through their body: the power of Zarc. Their own power. They could feel every single monster in their hand, deck, field, Graveyard, and Extra Deck giving them support. Their spirits were aligning with theirs, and they all wanted the same thing: to help Yugo become the hero he always wanted to be.
The boys' body was filled with energy. That energy poured over them and their D-Wheel, coating them with a golden hue. The wind itself bowed to them, letting them ride without resistance. The dust in their tracks became a red fire that scorched the field.
"I tune my Level 5 Hi-Speedroid Hagoita, my Level 1 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Accel Dragon with my Level 5 Wind Turbine!"
Wind Turbine's body matched the golden glow. It split into five large, golden Synchro rings. The the three monsters floated into their wings and let their bodies dissolve into golden Level stars. Now together, the pieces of the puzzle united to create the latest and greatest evolution of Synchro Summoning.
"Spread your wings, oh spirited dragon, and let the light shine through them. Go beyond this world's limits, and become the supreme king of the wind!"
Yugo lifted a card up to the sky. A strong wind swirled all around them, and he could feel the full force of its might pour into him. It felt as though the passion of a million duelist filled his heart, and the soul of a dragon was bursting through his body.
Together, he and his brothers made their declaration: "Limit Over Accel Synchro!"
The resulting monster was almost indescribable. It was a brilliant, large dragon that cast a shadow over the entire track. It was a dragon with a sleek body, covered in white armor. The space between it armor - its joints - were a dark blue. It had stout, armored legs with sharp-nailed toes, while its hands were weapons in their own right. The top of its head was dark blue glass, much like its winds. And the wings themselves - not even attached to the body, but floating behind it - were glowing a navy blue color, yet were still clear as crystal. Cyan sparks ran down its body, from its head and down to its long tail.
That was the most basic description. A being like this could never be described well enough by words. Even images could not capture the true idea of the monster. It was so detailed, and it conveyed its own aura of majesty and power, one would have to be there in person to fully comprehend it.
"Level 12, Clear Wing Accel Synchro Dragon!" (ATK 4000)
The crowd was silent before its presence. Even the announcer held his tongue. They could only watch it and wait. And Garome, who watched from his office, dropped his cigar and fell to his knees.
Even Rin and the other girls couldn't speak. All four of them were finally harmonized as they all had the same feelings and thoughts. They were all in complete and total awe of the dragon.
"When Accel Synchro Dragon is Special Summoned, it gains 500 ATK for every non-Tuner Synchro monster used for its summon."
(ATK 4000 → 5500)
Rin gulped. "D-Damn... Yugo, you were able to pull this off?"
But then she had to egao. Honestly, though she sounded shocked, this wasn't a surprise to her. She sort of... expected Yugo to do this.
"We always suspected you'd be able to do something like this," she went on. "Something just so amazing... We just never expected to see it so soon, like this."
"This is what we can accomplish when we work together. When we go over our limits and refuse to let our own fears hold us back."
"And... and I was one of those limits, wasn't I?"
Rin let out a long, heavy sigh. It was almost like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. Maybe it was because now, she knew that Yugo would be okay. Maybe it was because she realized something about herself. Maybe it was because she knew that the fat of the orphanage was in good hands.
"I'm sorry I stood in your way, Yugo," Rin said. "Please, do what you must."
Yugo nodded to her. "Battle Phase. Clear Wing Accel Synchro Dragon attacks Windwitch - Melodious Bell."
The dragon spread its brilliant wings even further. The shadow it cast instead became vivid blue light, illuminating the field. Clear Wing opened its mouth and fired a geyser of white energy down upon the enemy monster.
And then Melodious Bell was gone.(Rin: 3050 2500)
"Clear Wing Accel Synchro Dragon can attack multiple times a turn," Yugo went on. "Up to the number of non-Tuner Synchro monsters used to Summon it."
Rin closed her eyes. Tears started to fall down her face. And a small smirk appeared on her face. She was so happy right now.
"Clear Wing attacks Windwitch - Winter Bell."
And then Winter Bell was gone.
"Clear Wing attacks directly."
And then Rin was gone.
(Rin: 2500 0)
Yugo was exhausted. He had a huge headache, and it felt like his mind was broken into a billion little pieces. His butt was numb from riding so long. The inside of his helmet stank from sweat. And when he and Rin parked their D-Wheels on the starting line, Rin kind of bumped into his and left a little dent.
But as he hastily got off his bike and threw off his helmet, he didn't care. Because all his focus was on the girl standing beside him.
"Ray, this was an amazing duel!" Yugo said excitedly.
Rin looked at him with weary eyes. She leaned against her bike and held her helmet in her hands. But she was nodding to him and egao-ing.
"I'm sorry I got so rough at the end there," Yugo said to her. "But I'm going to make you proud when I duel, okay?"
"I know you will," Rin said. Her voice sounded hoarse, which was a little suspicious to Yugo.
"You okay?"
"I'm just really tired," she admitted. "I just... I need to rest for a bit, that's all."
Haha, loser, Yuri said.
Fuck you, Yuri, Yugo told him.
You're welcome to try, Yugo. You're welcome to try.
The fight, the dragon, the climax, the end. From his office window, Garome saw it all.
By now, he had regained his composure. He was back to standing, and he had lit another cigar for himself. Ash and cigar littered the ground beneath him, and one of his rings had fallen down to join them.
He wasn't happy. He had gotten what he wanted - the boy's victory - but now he realized that he really fucked himself over. Really, he screwed himself harder than he could anyone else in bed. He really oiled up his patoot and rammed himself right-hard.
In his defense, how was he supposed to know that the kid would pull out that... that? Yeah, the kid saved the city, saved the world. But he never pulled out anything quite as foreboding and powerful as that. And he was sure that he only saw the bare minimum of that dragon's abilities.
In retrospect, he should have rigged the fight against him. Now, he had a monster coming for his head. And he doubted that he could stop him, no matter how many duelists he sent, or how much he cheated to weight things against his favor.
Maybe he could call in a favor with a hitman with nothing to lose? Maybe as a last resort; that kid looked like he could set fires with his mind if he was angry enough. Best not to provoke him just yet.
As he looked down on the field, he could see a curious little scene: Jack Atlas, the former Duel King himself, had entered the arena and was walking towards the boy and girl. Also, he had some nobodies trailing behind him.
Garome raised an eyebrow. What's he doing here?
Was he friend? Or foe? Either way, Garome decided to head towards his desk to grab his Duel Disk. He had to make sure that security was at the ready.
Yugo's jaw dropped. Holy crap, holy shit, holy crap, Jack Atlas was here! He (and En, Gongenzaka and that other guy) were coming up to him and Rin! Technically they already dueled, when Yuya last dueled Jack and Yugo was giving his support. But that didn't count. This time, he got to meet and talk to Jack in person!
Ahhhh was he here to congratulate him? Give him support? Maybe Jack was going to be all "I'm super tough and hard to please, so you haven't won be over yet. I'll be watching you, so you better impress me."
Wait Jack was talking to him. Actually, he looked pretty angry. What was he saying? Yugo totally wasn't listening.
"Did you see my duel, Jack?" Yugo asked him. "Did you? I summoned a really cool monster!"
Jack let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Weren't even listening, were you?" Crow groaned.
En barked. The dog was in Crows's arms, cradled like a baby while the man scratched the pup's fluffy belly.
"Good boy."
"Aww, En's here too?" Yugo cooed. "I missed you."
"Yugo!" Jack barked.
At once, Yugo snapped to attention. He straightened out his back, stood upright, and gave Jack a salute.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Jack said angrily.
"I-I was showing respect, sir!" Yugo said quickly. "Yo-you're my-my idol, so-"
"Not that. I'm asking why you're here."
Yugo nodded. "Aah, it's kind of a crazy story."
"We're listening," Crow responded.
Yugo sighed. "Well, after I ate lunch with ENJOY Chojiro, he told me about our orphanage's debts. And then I found out about Garome and Rin told me his location, because she was coincidentally meeting him. So I rushed over here, ran my D-Wheel through his office, and then I dueled Rin, and now I'm going to duel people and save the orphanage!"
Yugo egao'd. He eagerly awaited a response from Jack. Hopefully a good, happy one. Maybe some praise thrown his way, or Jack offering his own support.
Jack looked angry, though. So the response was maybe not that great.
"Quite the revisionist history there," Jack said to him. "Except I don't think you're telling me the whole story."
Yugo started to sweat. "Well, I did kind of agree to trap myself in unending debt if I fail to defeat Garome and his ten duelists. But you know-"
"YUGO!" Gongenzaka snapped. "That was a horrible idea!"
"That's what I said..." Rin muttered weakly.
"Yeah, Yugo," Crow said. "You don't know how much trouble you'd be getting into with Garome."
Yugo scoffed. "Hey, I know what I'm doing."
"Obviously, you don't," Jack interjected. "Because then you wouldn't be throwing your life away, risking your life, and the life of your brothers."
Note that Jack only learned of Garome when Crow came to him with the news. But Yugo didn't need to know that little detail, right?
Yugo grumbled. Because the last thing he needed was yet another lecture about this. And look how the last lecture turned out...
"I'm saving lives and helping people!" Yugo said flatly. "I'm doing what a hero does."
"A hero makes stupid decisions and doesn't get help?" Jack retorted.
"I'm doing more for the kids than you did."
The audience OOOO'd at this. Crow's jaw dropped, and Gongenzaka's eyes went wide. Jack narrowd his eyes and looked down at Yugo with a look of cold, controlled anger. Like a smoldering fire. Or better yet, a volcano that could erupt at any moment.
Yugo bit his lip. He was sweating hard right now. Wh-why did I say that?!
You stood your ground, Yuri told him. Good for you!
I hecked up.
"Do you think I'm a hero?" Jack asked him.
A question that caught Yugo by surprise. "Huh- what?"
"Do you think I'm a hero?" Jack asked again. "I'm not a hero. I'm a champion. My job is to win, not to save people."
"But you're an idol to so many people!" Yugo protested.
"Because I'm strong, not because I help them. And if I wanted to help them, I wouldn't be putting myself into slavery to do it."
Yugo's expression darkened.
"Yugo, it's time for you to return home. You already wasted your time, and you gave Garome even more money for your performances. Don't make things worse."
"No."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "What did you say to me?"
"I said no!" Yugo barked back. "If I'm the only one who'll help Martha and the kids, then whatever! I'll still help them!"
His eyes narrowed, and he looked right into Jack's eyes. "And if you're no hero to them, then you're no hero to me, either."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH. Even the announcer was on the speakers, joining in on the background noise.
"You're a pathetic kid," Jack said coldly.
"What?" Yugo asked. "What do you mean?"
"You think you can take on the world by yourself. That just goes to show what a small-minded, immature child you are."
Don't let him talk to you like that! Yuto said to his brother.
He's baiting us, Yuri said. But take the bait. I'm up for adding another victory to my belt.
"You could have called the Lancers for help, or asked your friends. for help," Jack went on. "Do you really think a kid, even the Duel King, can win against the world of the underground?"
"I didn't want to drag anyone into this," Yugo answered. "I'll do it by myself if I have to."
"You're an idiot," Jack continued. "You know nothing about Garome or this world. About true struggling. All you can think about is being a hero and dueling."
"Are you kidding me?!" Yugo yelled. "I just- I just freaking summoned a huge-ass god-dragon! Most heroes don't pull that off until the final episodes oftheir shows!"
"Did Yuya help you?"
Yugo blinked. "Come again?"
"Did you have Big Brother Yuya help you?"
Yugo looked away. "Hey, we're a team."
Jack chuckled. "All this talk about fighting alone, like some sort of martyr. And yet you can't even fight on your own merits."
"Jack, stop," Gongenzaka said sternly.
Jack pointed an accusatory finger at Yugo. "This talk has done nothing but show me what a pathetic excuse of a man you are, Yugo Sakaki!"
Yugo let out a low, angry growl.
"You have no idea what you're doing, and you need help from others, yet you act like you can do no wrong!"
"Are you going to take that from him, You Year?!" the announcer cried out.
"No, I'm not!" Yugo snapped. "And I'll prove it by beating Jack!"
The audience was cheering for more. People were rising from their seats to applaud Yugo's words. A few others were rising from their seats to walk away and make a few bets. But most importantly, the sentiment was clear: people were backing Yugo on this one.
"I'll prove to you that I have what it takes to kick Garome's ass, even if I can't rely on Yuya's power."
Yugo smirked. "Jack, I used to look up to you. But now I'm going to do what you couldn't do. Because that's what a real Duel King should do."
"You think you can help anyone the way you are now?" Jack asked him.
"Of course."
With that, Jack nodded. "My D-Wheel is outside. I'm here to beat you down when you're ready."
"Good!" Yugo said confidently. "So we'll duel in about half an hour
Don't let Jack get to you, Yuri advised him. I know what Jack's doing.
So do I, Yuya, Yugo responded.
What?
Let's just say that I watched all your talks with Jack and know exactly what he's doing, because it's clear that he's trying to be some wise teacher or something, and he's acting mean and out-of-character to push me to my limits and stuff.
That's... That's exactly right, Yugo.
I don't care, Yugo said simply. He still pissed me off. So I'm going to prove to Jack - to EVERYONE - that I can do it.
Meanwhile, just a few feet away from the drama, Gongenzaka leaned closer to Crow. He whispered, "How is Jack helping us here, exactly?"
"I've come to how Jack quite a bit lately," Crow explained. Whispering back, of course. "We're even thinking of forming a duel team for this Grand Prix coming up. My point is, Jack wants to help."
"It does not seem like it. It just looks like he wants to antagonize Yugo."
"Trust me, Jack wants to be on Yugo's side, too," Crow replied. "But he also wants to test Yugo to his absolute limits, and make sure he's completely ready."
"You make Garome sound like he is stronger than Zarc," Gongenzaka said.
"He's not," Crow admitted. "But Zarc isn't known for cheating or rigging matches."
"Right. He is just known for his powerful cards and desire to kill everyone."
"At least he doesn't have loan sharks that try to break your legs."
"No. He had dragons for that."
Crow had to chuckle at that. "Guess you're right, Gonny."
And En barked, and Crow and Gongenzaka had a good laugh.
Garome could see this all from his office window. He could hear the discussion on the speakers. And Garome wasn't too happy with it.
If Jack won, then You Year might be dissuaded from pursuing the path to Garome. And that in itself was a mixed bag now that Garome saw the dragon that boy summoned.
But if You Year won against Jack, but lost to anyone else, he'd be ensnared in debt. If Garome lost to him, then he'd have to forgive that woman's debt. But then again, Garome's risk was nothing compared to the reward he could get from taking You Year.
He didn't like not having the odds completely in his favor. Frankly, he hoped that it would never happen again.
Oh well. At least he'd make a killing with ticket sales, even if this duel came on such short notice.
Next time: It's Yugo vs Jack: Winner Takes All. Does Yugo have what it takes to defeat his former idol? Or will Jack kick him while he's down?