Chapter 12: The First Turbo Duel
"You're not still worried about that note, are you?"
Joey had been looking at the note he was handed at the end of his last duel again, and despite what the others told him, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with it.
"It's not the note I'm worried about," Joey said. "Just looking at dese initials again. It doesn't make sense!"
The others looked at the note again to the initials given: LI. It was true, they didn't give any clue as to who wrote the note or to whom the intended recipient was. As they looked at it in silence, though, nothing came to mind. It was just a note given to him by a strange girl.
...unless...
"Hang on," Yugi said, bringing out a pen. He then took the note and added two lines to the initials to form a new set. "I thought so."
LK
"LK?" Tristan asked. "What's that?"
"Leila Kimber," Yugi answered, and the others were shocked.
"What're ya saying, Yug?" Joey asked.
"I think Gwen and Leila had a chance encounter before your duel, Joey," Yugi replied. "I don't think the note was even intended for you. It may have been intended for her."
"But how would they know each other?" Tea asked.
Yugi looked down at the note again. "I don't know," he said, then turned his attention back to Joey before continuing, "but in whatever way they're connected, I'm sure that this note wasn't meant for you, Joey."
"So you're saying dat dis note isn't predicting me losing?" Joey wondered.
"Not at all!" Yugi said confidently.
With that, Joey leapt up and said, "Well then what're we waiting around here moping for? I've got a duel to win!"
"So what duel room is it in this time?" Tristan asked.
Joey checked his PDA and...
"Nyeh~?!"
"What is it?" Yugi asked.
"I'm supposed ta meet my next opponent...on da race track?!"
The others were surprised. "There's a race track up here?" Tristan wondered.
"I don't think I remember seeing one around," Tea said thoughtfully.
Everyone wondered about this race track they heard of. Where was it, and why was Joey's next opponent on it?
"What if we asked Andrew?" Yugi said.
The others looked at him. "Hey, you're right! If anybody knows where dis race track is, he definitely would!" Joey remarked, and he tapped the PDA in order to find Andrew's location. After a moment, he said, "Alright, I know where he is! Follow me guys!"
And with that, Joey took off down the hallway!
"Wait for us!" Tristan shouted as the others pursued Joey.
Eventually, they came across a door that would lead them to the outside. Joey held his hand at the handle and hesitated but only for a moment as he charged through the door and into the light.
And then a roar and a blur, and they found themselves in a pitstop alongside the race track. And there was Andrew, watching the track. He turned around and saw them as they approached.
"Oh good, ya made it!" he greeted the group.
"What is all o' dis?!" Joey asked.
"It's the race track!" Andrew answered simply.
"But what're we doing here?!" Joey pressed.
"Isn't it obvious? You're dueling here!" Andrew replied.
"WHAT?!"
At that moment, a strange vehicle drove up and stopped right by the pitstop. It was unlike anything the gang had seen in their life. It had four very large tires that connected to something resembling a cross between a go-kart and a pod. There was a pair of handles on each side of a large oddly shaped gap in the vehicle, inside of which was a Duel Disk!
"What da heck is dat thing?!" Joey yelped.
Andrew smiled and said, "That, Joey, is your Duel Runner."
"My what?!"
"That's what you'll be dueling your next opponent in."
The others gasped. "Joey's going to duel someone in that?" Yugi asked.
"Yep," Andrew nodded. "Your opponent's...well, different from most duelists."
"Who's he supposed to be?!" Joey yelped.
"She, actually," Andrew answered, "and she's what you might call a professional at the sport of underground Turbo Duels."
"Turbo Duels?" Yugi had never heard of anything like it before. Hearing that they were underground, though, made the whole thing sound questionable.
"Yeah, I'd never heard of em before either," Andrew continued, "but then again, considering they're an underground sport, I'm not surprised that not many people have heard of them. The way I understand it, they work just like normal duels, except that you're not just trying to beat your opponent in the duel; you're also racing them to the finish line!"
"Nyeh~?!" Joey was greatly startled by this. While it's true he used to be in a dubious position with a gang some years ago, he hadn't dealt with them in a long time and hadn't messed with the wrong side of the law for an equally long time! That said, Joey wasn't exactly well known for his driving capabilities.
"Pretty much, the winner's either the one who crosses the finish line first or who reduces their opponent's Life Points to 0, just like a normal duel," Andrew continued. "There's a reason it hasn't been widely seen, though, considering the number of accidents that occur."
Joey just about fainted at that moment. He would've fallen on the ground too if Tristan hadn't caught him in time. Dueling was one thing, racing was another. Putting the two together? That could only spell trouble for Joey.
At that moment, another Duel Runner appeared. The rider stopped the vehicle and dismounted at the pitstop. They took off their helmet to reveal a young brown-eyed girl, who then walked over to the group in her special racing suit. Luckily, by the time she got there, Joey had arisen from his brief fainting spell.
"Well then, let me introduce you to your opponent," Andrew said, walking over to the new rider. "This, Joey, is DK."
"DK? You mean like Donkey Kong?" Joey asked.
"Driving King, actually," Andrew corrected.
"But...she's a girl?"
"It's just a nickname anyway," the female rider said, extending her hand. "If you want, you can call me Monica."
"Heh, well you can just call me Joey," Joey said, shaking her hand.
"Don't expect me to go easy on ya just because you've never done this before," Monica smirked, turning back to her Runner and mounting it once again, driving it back onto the course. Joey turned back to Andrew, a terrified look in his eyes.
"Please tell me dis'll be easy for me," he pleaded.
"Don't worry, the course was designed for people who, like you, are pretty new to the whole Turbo Duel concept," Andrew replied. "Same thing with the Runner there, although from the duels I've seen you'll need to be on par with Monica if you wanna have even a slim chance of winning."
"Great, just what I need," Joey muttered, collapsing to the floor.
"Oh get up and get dueling!" Andrew slapped Joey on the back and shoved him over to the Duel Runner. Joey hesitantly examined the vehicle before boarding onto the driver's seat and getting a grip on the controls. Gripping tightly, he turned the handle, and the engine roared to life. A huge smile spread across Joey's face suddenly.
"Joey, catch!" Andrew called out, tossing a helmet over to him which he caught and put on his head. "And as for the rest of you guys, come on up here with me!"
The others followed Andrew up a flight of stairs as Joey eased the Runner over to the pit. The stairs led up to the stands where a crowd of duelists were seated as well.
"Seems a number of people are eager to see the Turbo Duel," Yugi noted.
"Oh there's always a crowd of some kind," Andrew remarked, "although this is probably the largest crowd so far! Go ahead and take a seat."
"What about you?" Tristan asked.
"Well, I gotta get up to the main booth and help out with the race," Andrew answered.
The others gasped. "You're helping out with the race?" Tea asked.
"Of course!" Andrew replied. "Matt asked me to take care of it while he watches. It's kinda my thing to do, make sure everything goes well, provide witty commentary - that sorta thing."
"Matt asked you?" the other three asked.
Andrew sighed. "Well, he is my bro after all."
"HE'S YOUR BROTHER?!"
"Yeah, I thought you guys would've figured that out by now!" Andrew remarked. "Anyways, gotta get going! Catch ya guys later!"
And with that, he dashed off and up the stairs, leaving the gang stunned.
Meanwhile, down at the race track, Joey was assisted with preparations by a small crew. They checked on various schematics and assisted Joey with inserting his Duel Disk into the specialized slot for him, as well as suiting him up with a racing suit, a pair of racing gloves, and his own jacket. After acquainting himself with the controls, he steered the Runner over to the starting line as directed by the pit crew. Monica pulled up in her own runner next to him.
"I hope you're ready for this," Monica said.
"Heh, I think you should worry less about my driving and more on my dueling!" Joey taunted.
Atop the control tower overlooking the race course, a large group of people using several monitors were preparing for the race to begin. Andrew joined this group and walked over to a small group of people. One of them was a short guy, easily mistakable for a little kid, while another was a tall and beautiful girl. The two were overlooking the shoulders of another girl, whose glasses reflected the light of the monitor as she typed over the keyboard. All three of them wore the same dark blue uniform with a small white dragon pin.
"So how goes the administrating?" Andrew asked.
The small guy looked at him. "Not too bad," he answered. "No one's been caught cheating, that's for sure. Which sucks cause I really wanted to pound someone into dust for that!"
"Now Creighton," the tall beautiful girl said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "we're only here to watch over the tournament, not-"
"Yeah yeah, not go around beating the tar out of people," Creighton groaned, shrugging her hand off. "You say that all the time!"
"Shannon's right though," the girl at the computer said without looking away for even a moment, "you get much too excitable sometimes."
"Whaddya mean too excitable?!" Creighton demanded. "Are you saying that-"
"Enough," Andrew said, grabbing Creighton's shoulder. "You guys are supposed to be admins of the tournament, not little kids. That's the whole reason Matt called on you guys in the first place, cause he trusts you to run the tournament the way he wanted to."
Creighton looked back at Andrew before once again retrieving his shoulder. "I know that!" he retorted. "What I never got was why he didn't just make you an admin too."
At this, Andrew smirked. "Probably because I actually got past the preliminary rounds with my own deck and not a test deck borrowed from my brother," he replied.
"Why you-"
"Zip it, Creighton," the girl at the computer repeated sternly. "Just go duel Shannon for a bit, cool your temper and release some energy."
"Fine," Creighton grumbled. "Come on Shannon, we're dueling right now!"
With that, Creighton ran out of the room. Sighing, Shannon followed him, murmuring something inaudible to the other two. Andrew then drew his attention back to the girl at the monitor.
"So Izzy," he asked, "how goes the computer monitoring?"
The girl at the computer paused with her typing and looked at Andrew. "It goes well," she said. "We should be ready to start the race at any moment."
Andrew smiled. "I can see why Matt entrusted you with the security detail," he said, putting on a headset. Izzy just smiled and resumed her work.
Andrew drew his attention over to the main monitor, a large screen that showed the overall race track and the two runners. Each indicated the driver with an accompanying picture to show which runner had which duelist. He nodded and picked up a microphone from the table nearby.
"Alrighty then," he said into the mic, "let's get this Turbo Duel on the run!"
Andrew's voice echoed into the stands and was well received with the cheering of the duelists in the stands. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan, who had all managed to find seats for themselves, joined in the cheering, shouting out, "Good luck Joey!"
At the starting line, Joey revved his engine to signal he was ready, with Monica revving her own in response. The crews ran out of the way and got into the pits, while the monitors on the Duel Runners showed the race track.
"Alright, duelists, you know the rules!" Andrew's voice came out through the speakers. "First to finish wins, first to lose all their Life Points loses, and first one to hit the corner and take the first curve goes first! Now then, on your marks!"
A small light box over the duelists heads lit up with a red light.
"Get set!"
Then it became a yellow light.
"GO!"
And then it changed to green, and the two Duel Runners took off! The duelists sped off towards the first corner of the track!
"And they're off! Looks like they're neck-and-neck right at the moment, not one of them taking a moment's chance to give their opponent the lead!"
Sure enough, Joey was keeping pace with Monica as they sped up to the first curve!
"Ohhhhhh maaaaaaaan!" Joey howled as the speed kept getting faster and faster! And then, just before the curve, Joey hit the break and slid! As his Duel Runner slid on the safety railing, Joey watched as Monica drifted right by him!
"And it looks like the DK Monica is taking the first turn!" Andrew announced.
Monica looked back at Joey, who just recovered from the curve. "I hope you're ready," she said, "cause this is where the real fun begins!"
Monica: 8000
Joey: 8000
"My turn!" Monica said, drawing her first card. Placing it within a small holder that kept her hand in place, she drew out a new card.
"And now I'm summoning Speedy Dragon (4/1600/400) from my hand in Attack Mode!" she announced, playing it on the table-like surface in front of her.
A yellowish dragon wielding two bladed arms appeared next to Monica's Duel Runner and then immediately sped off to Joey's Runner! The dragon slashed down on Joey and his Duel Runner!
Monica: 8000
Joey: 6400
"Gahhh! What the heck?! You can't attack me on your first turn!" Joey yelled out, shaking his fist!
"Tell that to my Speedy Dragon's special ability!" Monica retorted. "You see, when I summon him out during my first Main Phase, I get to go right to my Battle Phase and attack you or a monster you control immediately, no questions asked."
"What?! But that breaks Duel Monsters 101!"
"Like I said, no questions asked," Monica continued, "although I'm not sure what you have to complain about. My Speedy Dragon's other ability reduces his ATK by 500 each time he does make an attack."
Speedy Dragon (4/1600/400 - 4/1100/400)
"And just like that," Andrew's voiced announced, "Monica has taken the lead not only in the race but even in the duel, quickly hitting Joey's Life Points on the very first turn!"
"And now I'll end my turn by Setting these cards face-down!" Monica said, playing two more cards on her field.
Man, dat's rough, Joey thought to himself. It's not even my turn, and I'm already way behind! I better catch up if I wanna have a chance of winning dis!
"My turn!" Joey said, drawing a card.
"Our duelists better watch out!" Andrew's voice came out again. "They're about to hit another curve!"
"NYEH~!"
Monica managed to take the curve very smoothly, while Joey, caught by surprise, rammed up against the railing once more, causing sparks to shoot out!
"Boy, am I glad that we had those railings put in!" Andrew's voice called out. "Just imagine the carnage if that wasn't put up for safety!"
Meanwhile, in the stands, the crowd watched the race on several monitors placed over them. Yugi and the others were among those watching the race on the monitors. "Be careful, Joey," Yugi said to himself.
At that moment, Joey managed to break off the railing and readjust himself. He sighed for a moment, albeit too soon, as his jacket sleeve had somehow caught on fire! Yelping, he managed to put it out with his glove, sighing in relief once again.
"Alright den," he called out, "now dat dat's out of da way, I summon Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200) in Attack mode!"
The ever-familiar lizard man came out once more to Joey's field, speeding by next to Joey's Runner!
"And it looks like Joey's going on the offensive, no doubt working on slowing Monica down to take the lead!" Andrew's voice announced again.
"Here goes! Alligator's Sword, attack Speedy Dragon!" Joey called out. The lizard man sped up and charged at the yellow dragon, his sword raised high!
"I don't think so," Monica said. "Activate Trap card! Brake Barrier!"
At that moment, Monica's trap opened up, and suddenly she hit her brakes, causing a shield of sparks to rise up and shower Alligator's Sword!
"What in da world?!"
"Sorry, but my Brake Barrier trap allows me to negate your monster's attack and reduce its ATK power by 700 points!" Monica explained, easing off on her brake pedal and speeding up once again.
Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200 - 4/800/1200)
"Nyehhh, I'm just gonna play dis face-down," Joey said, Setting a card on his field. "And with that, I end my-"
"Almost!" Monica said. "Now I activate Time Limit!"
Monica: 6000
Joey: 6400
"Now what?!"
"With Time Limit," Monica explained, "I get to pay 2000 Life Points and set a limit for this duel. Either one of us reduces the other's Life Points to 0 or crosses the finish line within the next 20 turns, or else this duel will end in a Draw!"
"Say what?!"
With that, both players' screens displayed a small clock with the number 20 in it.
"So wait, does dat mean we're already down a turn?!" Joey asked.
"Not exactly," Monica explained. "The counter will go down during my next End Phase and go from there. That means you have until the 22nd turn to beat me. Course, I usually win before then anyway."
"Alright, fine, I end my turn!"
(Time Limit: 20 turns)
"Good, now it's my turn," Monica announced, drawing a card, "and it looks like I'll be activating my Acceleration Evolution! Spell card!"
Suddenly, Speedy Dragon began to glow and transformed, reemerging as a red dragon with steel-grey pipes and an impressive motor in its chest!
"Meet my Turbo Dragon (6/2200/1100)!" Monica called out, to which the dragon roared out at Joey's monster!
"Oh man!" Joey yelped.
"That's right," Monica said. "With Acceleration Evolution!, I'm allowed to send a Speedy Dragon on my field to the Graveyard in order to play a Turbo Dragon from my hand or Deck! And now with that out of the way, Turbo Dragon's effect activates, negating all other monster effects and allowing me to attack all your monsters!"
And with that, the red dragon charged over and prepared to slash at Alligator's Sword!
"Not so fast!" Joey said. "I activate a Trap of my own!"
Suddenly, Turbo Dragon was tangled in chains, which were being held by Alligator's Sword!
Turbo Dragon (6/2200/1100 - 6/2200/1100)
Alligator's Sword (4/800/1200 - 4/1300/1200)
"Hehe, looks like my Kunai with Chain's still got it!" Joey said. "With it, I was able to switch your monster to Defense mode and boost my Alligator's Sword's Atk by 500!"
Monica smirked. "Not too shabby," she complimented, "but don't you think I took that Trap card into account? It may be my second Main Phase, but that's no reason for me not to put a card down and use a second Acceleration Evolution! Spell card!"
"Say what?!"
Just like before, the red dragon began to glow and transformed into a blue-green dragon with a multitude of holes and pipes all over it!
"You see, Acceleration Evolution! isn't just for my Speedy Dragon," Monica explained. "I can even use it on my Turbo Dragon to evolve him into Nitros Dragon (8/2800/1800)!"
"Looks like things have turned around again and again!" Andrew's voice called out. "Joey manages to withstand an attack against his monster, but Monica quickly counters by evolving her own again!"
"I'm not done yet!" Monica continued. "Using Nitros Dragon's effect, I can destroy all other cards on my field and destroy the same number of cards that I destroyed on your field!"
"So wait, that means..."
The new dragon opened its mouth wide and inhaled Monica's face-down card, bit down, and then fired a powerful blue fireball at Alligator's Sword! With that blast, Alligator's Sword was destroyed! Joey braced himself amidst the explosive inferno!
"One card on my field, one on yours," Monica said, "although since that was Alligator's Sword, your equipped Kunai with Chain happens to go along for the ride!"
Oh man, now what do I do?! She's got a powerful monster on her field, and I'm stuck with whatever's in my hand! Joey thought, a panicked look visible on his face!
"And now Joey's been put back into a bind with that last combo!" Andrew's voice called off over the speakers. "And the racers are coming up on the course's most dangerous portion!"
"Dangerous?!"
Sure enough, the two were heading off towards a mountainous terrain, with the track spiraling around towards a cliff near the peak!
"That's right, ladies and gentlemen, our duelists are about to climb up Death Mountain and fly off the Cliff of Peril!" Andrew's voice announced. "But don't worry, the Duel Runners will be fine!"
"It's not the Runners I'm worried about!" Joey yelled out. "IT'S ME!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Whoa! What a rush! Even I can't keep up with these cards!
Speedy Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 400 Def, Dragon, WIND
Effect: If you Summon this card during your Main Phase 1: immediately after this effect resolves, it becomes your Battle Phase (even if it's the first turn of the Duel), also this card attacks one of your opponent's monsters, or if your opponent has no monsters, it attacks them directly. If this card attacks, it loses 500 ATK at the end of the Battle Phase.
Brake Barrier (Normal Trap)
Effect: When your opponent's monster declares an attack: negate the attack, and if you do, that monster loses 700 ATK.
Time Limit (Normal Trap)
Effect: Activate by paying 2000 Life Points. When 20 turns have passed after this card's activation, the duel ends in a DRAW.
Acceleration Evolution! (Normal Spell)
Effect: Activate one of the following effects:
● Tribute 1 "Speedy Dragon" you control; Special Summon 1 "Turbo Dragon" from your hand or Deck.
● Tribute 1 "Turbo Dragon" you control; Special Summon 1 "Nitros Dragon" from your hand or Deck.
Kunai with Chain (Normal Trap)
Effect: Activate either one or both of these effects (simultaneously):
● When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; change that target to Defense Position.
● Target 1 face-up monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 500 Atk.
Turbo Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 6, 2200 Atk, 1100 Def, Dragon, WIND
Effect: If this card is Summoned during Main Phase 1: negate the effects of all other monsters on the field, then it becomes your Battle Phase (even if it's the first turn of the Duel), also this card can attack all of your opponent's monsters once each. If this card attacks, it loses 700 Atk at the end of the Battle Phase.
Nitros Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 1800 Def, Dragon, FIRE
Effect: If this card is Summoned: destroy all other cards you control, and if you do, destroy a number of cards on your opponent's field up to the number of cards destroyed by this effect. Each time a Spell card activates, place 1 Nitros Counter on this card. Gains 200 Atk for each Nitros Counter on it. If this card attacks: at the end of the Battle Phase, it loses 1000 ATK unless you remove 2 Nitros Counters from this card.
Wow, now that's some high octane dueling! Will Joey be able to overcome the power of Nitros Dragon? Or will Monica leave him in the dust? Find out in the next chapter!
