x 1 ½ years later x

I checked all of the power levels of the test engine as Jack revved it, "So far, so good."

From behind me Crow cheered, "Go all of the way!"

The energy levels rapidly rose as the engine roared, causing a warning to pop up on my screen: WARNING - OVERHEATING

"Jack! Stop!"

Crow echoed me, "Stop, idiot, stop!"

A huge explosion rocked the building as a large piece of metal nearly flattened Crow and I. By pure luck I managed to catch it with the side of my arm.

Smoke filled the room as I shoved the metal away from myself, and I scanned the room to inspect for damage. Most of the mess seemed to be the smoke and the scattered pieces of metal all over the garage, "Zora is going to kill us, and Dad is going to take my computer away."

Jack burst out of a pile of rubble, "What happened?"

"Turns out that the engine couldn't handle that much energy."

Both of us had our attention drawn to Crow as he dusted himself off, "That's what you get for pushing it so far."

My hearing threatened to leave me as Jack erupted, "You were the one who told me to go all of the way!"

I started to gather up the scattered pieces of metal around the room as they started to bicker, "Since when do you listen to what anyone else says? And anyways, any person with a brain would know to stop when they hear something out of the ordinary."

"Why you little-"

A bang startled all of us as the door swung open, "What did I tell you ruffians about experimenting in my basement!"

Jack and Crow both stumbled over each other, trying to apologize.

"Zora-san, we're sorry that we made so much noise."

"It won't happen again."

As they scrambled to get back on her good side, Dad poked his head in, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

Sighing, I walked over to Zora, bowing, "I apologize. This all happened because I didn't make my instructions clear."

Immediately she cheered up, coming down the stairs to my side, "Oh, don't worry about a thing! I'm sure that you are just doing your best to change the world. You probably have a ton on your shoulders."

Zora leaned over to whisper in my ear, "We ladies need to stick together."

Nodding, trying to hide my smile, I watched her give a final word to the guys, "Don't hold Yusei back!"

She started to flounce up the stairs, to where a crowd had started to gather. Before she got to the top, I heard a car pull to a stop.

"I'm sorry if my renters made a bad enough ruckus to have Security called."

All three of us exchanged confused looks while keeping an eye on the door. None of us quite caught what was said, but within a couple seconds, Mina and Trudge came in. Trudge closed the door behind them, and I walked to the control panel to turn on the fan, "What brings you two here?"

Trudge glanced at our rubble around the room, "Still trying to develop that new engine?"

Crow nodded, "Yeah. but between Jack and I having to work, and Yusei helping her dad so much, we don't have a lot of time on our hands."

Mina looked at all of us, "You guys are famous now, especially Yusei and Jack. You could get sponsors."

Jack flopped down in a chair, crossing his arms across his chest, "No thanks. We want to prove that we are citizens now. That means working our way up the ladder with our own two hands."

I nodded, walking over to them, "To be honest, Dad has a fair amount of money, so we don't even really need sponsors. But we are entering this tournament to see how we can help the city. A duelist is no good if they aren't useful for something besides dueling."

From his chair, Jack glared at both officers, "But you didn't come all this way to talk about runners, so what's your real motive?"

There were a couple awkward seconds where the two of them looked at each other before Mina sighed, "Sharp as always, Atlas-sama."

Trudge spoke up, "Have any of you heard about the Ghost?"

Jack and I both shook our heads no, but Crow nodded, "I heard that he makes people crash after he duels them."

"Unfortunately, that is true. As far as we know, there is no legal way to make your opponent's runner crash, but we don't know exactly what he is doing. No one has survived an encounter with him, so we need someone to volunteer to lure him out."

Instantly I knew the purpose of our visit, as did someone else, "If you are asking my daughter to put herself in harm's way, then you can forget about it."

Everyone else looked at the stairs leading to our apartment, where Dad was standing with arms crossed. If looks could kill, both Mina and Trudge would be dead five times over.

We used to joke that Martha was overprotective, but she has nothing on Dad.

Trudge bowed deeply to him, "I was just coming to ask if she wouldn't mind. She's the best duelist in New Domino right now."

Crow grabbed them both by the arm, "The three of us are all too busy! You guys are Security, you deal with this!"

Dad nodded as Crow 'escorted' them out, locking the door behind them, "Let's get back to work."

I looked at Dad, "How many prototypes did you go through?"

"More than this, I can assure you."


I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I stared at my computer screen, "Any idea on how to get the power level to stay under control?"

Dad scanned through the files, "I think that everything you have changed should work-"

The screen suddenly became heavily pixelated, "What the…"

We exchanged glances, Dad's face filled with the concern that I felt, "I hope that was nothing major."

A minute later, my cell phone rang, "Yusei here."

"It's Crow. Trudge crashed! He's going to the hospital right now!"

He hung up before I could say anything. Closing my phone, I turned to the stairs, "Jack! Trudge is in the hospital! We're going right now."

Jack's steps thundered down while Dad got his car ready for the trip. I hopped into the front seat, while Jack threw himself into the back seat,

The trip to the hospital was insanely tense, Jack tapping his foot the entire time. As we pulled to a stop, Jack and I leapt out of the car and raced inside. Mina and Crow were sitting in the hallway outside of Trudge's room, "What happened?"

Crow stood up, relief filling his eyes, "Trudge went out to duel the Ghost since we wouldn't help him, and apparently lost to him. He's being prepped for surgery right now."

I pulled him into a hug, and seconds later we saw Trudge being wheeled out of the room next to us.

Before I could react, Crow broke free from me and ran to the side of his bed, "Trudge!"

His eyes locked onto me, despite the distance I was away from him, "Don't use synchros against the Ghost."

One of the doctors pushed Crow away, rushing down the hall as fast as they could.

Dad walked up, "We better go home. Come on Crow, we can put your runner in the back of my car."

We quietly followed him, loaded up the Blackwing, and drove home.


After we had unloaded Blackwing, Dad pulled me to the side, "Yusei, I take back what I said earlier."

Hope filled my chest, and I approached the other two, "Dad just gave his blessing for us to go wreck this 'Ghost' character."

Crow looked up in shock, "What?"

Jack grabbed his helmet, "Then we better go now. Crow, get on your runner."

Both of us ripped the covers off of our runners while Crow started his back up. Meanwhile, I couldn't stop a smile spreading across my face as I revved Justice's engine for the first time in a month, "Let's head on out."

We pulled out of the still open garage door, and I heard Dad close it behind us. The two of them turned on the private network, while Jack glanced around, "It seems so strange to have this many bridges between Satellite and the city."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Crow looking around, "Seriously. But it's pretty sweet that we can duel on the freeways now."

"Not to be a bummer, but that's why Ghost is such a threat. These duels aren't monitored."

They both looked away from me, and I sighed, "Jack, take the red highway. Crow, green. I'll take blue. Call the second Ghost shows up."


Crow's voice came through the speaker, "I am so tired. When is this freak going to show his face?"

Jack sounded like someone stole his soul, meaning that he was going to drown in coffee tomorrow, "Maybe he only attacks one person a night."

"Dad won't be happy if we miss our sleep two nights in a row. But I am sick of waiting."

A flash from behind me caught my attention, and my review camera showed me a duel runner. Quietly, I activated the program I 'borrowed' from Security, and it came up with no registered matches, "Guys, he's here!"

Two voices swore at the same time, and I pressed the button on my runner, "I activate Speed World 2!"

My runner's computerized voice spoke up, "Awaiting New Domino City Authorization. Authorization granted. Central lane activated."

Yellow lights came up between us and the other vehicles on the road, encouraging everyone to get out of our way. Then I saw parts of the road ahead of us raise up to connect us to the dueling track named Central.

I could feel the excitement of Turbo Dueling fill my soul as he took the first turn, "I summon Wisel Core in attack mode and place one facedown."

Wisel Core-0

This has to be a trap, otherwise nobody would be this stupid.

"I summon Max Warrior in attack mode."

Max Warrior-1800

"When he declares an attack, his points raise by 400."

Max Warrior-2200

He chuckled, and I noticed that his voice was strangely...metallic, "I activate Labyrinth of the Kline. All battle damage become 0, no monsters are destroyed, and the attack points of the attacking monster are switched with its defense points for the rest of the turn."

Max Warrior-800

Glancing at my hand, I kept going, "I can summon Turbo Booster when I have another monster on the field. Then, if my monster battled and that monster didn't get destroyed, Turbo Booster releases itself to destroy your monster."

Turbo Booster-0

After his monster was gone, he pulled up next to me, "You fell for it."

Panic filled me as he kept laughing, "When Wisel Core is destroyed by an effect, I can summon my Meklord Emperor Wisel parts! Wisel Infinity, Wisel Top, Wisel Attack, Wisel Guard, and Wisel Carrier!"

Meklord Emperor Wisel Infinity-0

Meklord Emperor Wisel Top-500

Meklord Emperor Wisel Attack-1200

Meklord Emperor Wisel Guard-1200

Meklord Emperor Wisel Carrier-800

Out of all of the monsters, only Guard was in defense mode.

The monologue kept going, "Then Infinity's effect combines them all into Meklord Emperor Wisel!"

Meklord Emperor Wisel-2500

While my frustration rose, so did the sun, "I place two facedowns and end my turn."

Ghost started to laugh, "Meklord Emperor Wisel, attack directly!"

I clicked the button, "I activate Shock Reborn, which cuts the battle damage in half."

The spell slowed down the blade of his monster, but the resulting explosion pierced me.

Life Points Yusei=3150

Oh crap! Not another Shadow Duel!

Shaking off that thought, I looked up, "Shock Reborn lets me summon a monster from the graveyard with the same amount of attack points or less as the damage I just took. Come out Turbo Booster!"

Turbo Booster-0

Ghost was still smiling, "I place one facedown and end my turn."

I drew my next card, and looked at the possibilities, "Ok, I use Angel Baton, which lets me draw two cards if I discard one."

"Now I summon Debris Dragon, which brings a monster with 500 or less points back from the graveyard. So I'll bring back the monster I just sacrificed, Gauntlet Warrior!"

Debris Dragon-1000

Gauntlet Warrior-400

"Finally, I combine them all together to create my best friend and protector, Stardust Dragon!"

Stardust Dragon-2500

Concern emanated from Stardust as he emerged, and from behind me I could feel the relief coming from my brothers, who had joined us when I was distracted.

Pushing aside my concerns, I flipped up another card, "Now I use Meteor Stream, which increases a Synchro's points by 300 for the rest of the turn."

Stardust Dragon-2800

I pointed at his giant monster, "Take out Meklord Wisel!"

That annoying laugh came from behind me again, "Wisel Guard's effect activates, and he takes the blow instead."

Briefly, a wave of irritation flowed through me before I spoke, "Meteor Wave gives Stardust the ability to use piercing damage for this turn."

Life Points Ghost=2400

As Stardust's points dropped to normal, I sighed, "I place one facedown, and end my turn."

Ghost didn't start his turn right away, but when he did, I wished he hadn't, "I summon Wisel Guard 3 in defense mode."

Wisel Guard-2000

I twisted around in my runner, "Why are you so determined to kill Turbo Duelists?"

His eerie laugh chilled me to the core, "I'm not after the duelists. I am trying to get rid of the useless things called Synchro monsters."

Don't use Synchros against the Ghost, Trudge's voice echoed inside my mind

"Excuse me?"

Ghost looked insanely excited, "Synchros are proof of humanity's evolution. We don't need them! Once per turn, Wisel Infinity can absorb a Synchro monster."

The infinity symbol in the center of his monster glowed, expanding as green streams of light shot towards Stardust. Horror came from Crow and Jack as Stardust was wrapped up in the cords, then brutally pulled towards it.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

I watched helplessly as my dragon was sucked inside of Ghost's monster.

Why don't I ever listen to warnings?

Ghost screamed with laughter, "Then that Synchro's points are added to my Meklord!"

Meklord Emperor Wisel-5000

"Now attack Fudo Yusei directly and end his life!"

Despite the inappropriateness of the timing, my first thought was, He wouldn't call me a guy if he could see me clearer.

Second thought was pure panic as I pressed a button on my disk, "I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow! It negates your attack once per turn and then sets itself back on the field."

He went nearly silent, "I place two facedowns and end my turn."

Frantically, I scanned my hand, feeling concern threatening to boil over. All of my strong cards were synchros, so the best I could come up with at the moment was, "I summon Bicular in defense mode and place 1 facedown."

Bicular-200

Ghost seemed to have gained confidence in the one short turn that I just took, "I activate the trap Wise A3. This allows me to send Wisel Attack to the graveyard to summon Wisel Attack 3."

Wisel Attack 3-1600

Meklord Emperor Wisel-5400

"Now attack!"

My trap card flipped up, "Scrap Iron Scarecrow still exists."

It bounced off my Scarecrow, but Ghost chuckled, "You thought I'd fall for that twice?"

Fall for it? Not the right use of that phrase.

He calmly spoke, "I use the trap Battle Return. If my monster wasn't able to battle this turn, it's points drop by half and it can attack again."

Meklord Emperor Wisel-2700

Wisel launched forward and crashed into my small monster, causing an explosion.

The explosion ripped through me as Ghost laughed, "With Wisel Attack 3, it can now deal piercing damage!"

Life Points Yusei=650

"When Bicular is destroyed in battle, Unicycular is summoned in its place."

Unicycular-100

Ghost kept going, "Then I use Trap Recycle, which allows me to bring back a trap if I discard a card from my hand. So I bring back Battle Return, but I can't set it this turn."

Jack's voice somehow reached us without using the duel network, "Yusei, quit floundering around!"

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes at him, my irritation was only made worse when I drew Sonic Chick.

Ghost laughed yet again, "You Turbo Duelists are useless without your precious Synchro monsters."

"I use the Effect of Speed World 2, which lets me draw another card if I get rid of 7 speed counters."

His laughter was really starting to get on my nerves, "What hope do you have? I have your most powerful monster."

Crimson Dragon, I know it's really forward of me to ask for help, but Stardust and I are in danger. Could you help me out?

My mark flared at the same time as the top card of my deck did. The dragon head shot up my arm onto my back, and the others joined it, letting me feel the concern of the other Signers.

I drew the card, and saw a familiar small pink dragon, "I summon Majestic Dragon!"

Majestic Dragon-0

Flipping my final facedown up, I steadied my voice, "I activate the trap Synchro Material. This allows me to steal a monster from your side of the field to use in a Synchro summon. Come back, Stardust Dragon!"

Stardust Dragon-2500

Stardust screeched at a volume that I hadn't ever heard from him before, and my voice matched his excitement, "And now your Meklord's points drop!"

"No!"

Meklord Emperor Wisel-2900

"You wanted to stop Synchros, and now you get to meet my most powerful one! I combine my monsters together to create Majestic Star Dragon!"

I jumped up off the track as it was summoned, and was surrounded by its bright light.

Majestic Star Dragon-3800

Ghost's voice rattled around as I floated off the ground, "No matter how powerful your dragon may be, it is still incapable of destroying Machine Emperor Wisel."

My face was starting to hurt as I smiled larger and larger, "On the contrary. My dragon can negate any monster effect that I select. So your Wisel Guard cannot stop me."

"WHAT?"

Looking over his monsters, I made my choice, "Since I can pick which monster I can attack, I choose your Wisel Top."

Wisel Top-500

3300 points of damage should finish this.

Life Points Ghost = 0 Defeat!

Together, Majestic Star Dragon and I shot through the head, making it explode behind us. Ghost screamed and went over the edge, his runner exploding upon contact with the ground.

Majestic Star Dragon glided down to where the guys were, who both rushed up to me. I waved to them, "Get on! I don't know how long he's going to stick around!"

Both of them hopped on with their runners, and Majestic Star Dragon landed near the crash, not willing to get closer, "Thank you. I release you now."

It faded away in a glitter of light, and we ran to Ghost.

Sparks flew across his body, and I became suspicious, "Be careful Crow."

Ignoring my warning, he reached out and touched his shoulder, and his whole arm fell to the ground twitching.

Out of the three of us, I was the only one who didn't jump back. Instead, I carefully moved closer, "He's a robot. I wonder if he has a control chip?"


A/N: Thanks to Lets-Go-To-Vermont for reviewing on the original version of this chapter.