DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! was created by Kazuki Takahashi.

Yudai waited patiently as he stood on a street corner next to his Duel Runner. It was his day off, and he was out of uniform, instead wearing a yellow and white jacket over a light gray tank top and dark gray jeans. He had originally planned to spend the day hanging out with Wataru, but had had to cancel on his cousin when he got a message from Officer Ikenami to meet with him here. And while he was admittedly a little early, he'd nonetheless been waiting for nearly a half hour after she'd requested his presence.

Still, Yudai had to admit that waiting on Ikenami was at least better than what he had been doing so far today: Looking up information on the card he found the other day. There were no records of a 'Neo-Fairy Teal' card in any card databases he'd checked, but every scan he'd done on the card suggested it was legit. Something felt very off, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Hikaru!" a voice called, Yudai turning to his left to see Ikenami riding up on her own Runner, removing her helmet to let her long, dark hair spill out. "Sorry I'm late. I was just getting off duty when we got a call in."

"Don't tell me, another case about a Turbo Duelist causing others to crash?" Yudai guessed, getting a nod. "What is going on in this city lately? This is the fifth one this month."

"It gets odder, if you can believe it," Aoi replied, her tone getting a little grave. "Reports suggest that these Duelists received strange cards from some outside source, and that, after adding them to their decks, it made the damage done in battle real."

Hikaru's eyes widened in shock. "How is THAT possible?!"

"To be honest, it's not the first case of this I've heard of," Aoi admitted. "My teacher, the one who taught me all I know about Turbo Dueling, once told me about the Ark Cradle incident from long ago, and how there were apparently cases where Duelists could inflict real damage on each other. One case he mentioned was the existence of 'cards of darkness', which were given to Duelists by outside forces."

"Could these cards be what's responsible?" Yudai inquired.

Ikenami considered it for a moment. "The descriptions don't line up exactly, but it could be a lead nonetheless. Just keep an eye out nonetheless. So far, the cards I've heard about were seemingly otherwise unknown cards. No one had ever heard of them before, and there were no traces of them in the databases. Furthermore, it seems that, after their owners were defeated, they just...vanished."

Yudai's blood ran cold as he took in Aoi's words. 'Previously unknown cards given through mysterious circumstances'? Then, could the one I got the other day be...?

Aoi looked into Yudai's eyes, catching his deep thinking. "...Cadet? Is something wrong?"

Yudai shook his head. "...It's nothing. Anyway, what was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

Ikenami looked suspicious, but dropped it for now. "Well, as you know, graduation from the police academy is coming up soon-"

"I-I wouldn't say I'm THAT close to graduating," Hikaru interjected quickly, blushing a little. "I'm sure I still have a lot to learn."

"You've learned plenty, Yudai," Aoi replied honestly. "You still have a little to learn about listening to orders, but your skills are exactly what we need, and your desire to uphold the law and protect the people of New Domino City are genuine."

Yudai smiled at this compliment. "Th-Thank you, ma'am."

"With that said, there's one thing I've wanted to do to test you," Aoi noted with a grin. "A Turbo Duel to determine your readiness in the field."

Hikaru's eyes widened in surprise, having never expected to be challenged by Ikenami. "...O...Of course! I'll do my very best, Officer Ikenami!"

Aoi rolled her eyes, putting her helmet back on and Yudai got on his Duel Runner, placing his own helmet on. "And for this Duel, I have a surprise: The brand new Speed World MAX, which was uploaded onto all our Duel Runners today!"

"Speed World MAX?" Yudai asked, pulling his Runner up next to Aoi's. "What's different about this one?"

"When a player takes damage, 1 of their Speed Counters is removed for each multiple of 1000 damage that player took," Officer Ikenami explained. "Also, in addition to the effects granted by removing Speed Counters from Speed World 2, if you remove 12, you can draw 2 cards."

"So, more strategy involved in using it," Yudai summarized, grinning a little as he hit a button on his Runner's controls. "Sounds good to me. Field Spell, Speed World MAX, set on! Turbo Duel..."

"ACCELERATION!" both Yudai and Aoi yelled, speeding off on the Duel Runners. As their Duel began, the displays on their Runners revealed the route for them to proceed along, the city's automated displays letting civilians know a Duel was taking place and to avoid going in their lane.

"I'll let you have the first turn!" Aoi declared, intentionally slowing down to let Yudai make his way through the first corner of their route.

"DUEL!" both Turbo Duelists shouted, drawing their opening hands.

"My turn! Draw!" Yudai yelled as he drew his sixth card, his eyes narrowing at his hand.

Not many options here, Hikaru thought before grabbing hold of a card. Still, maybe I can throw her off a little...

"I Normal Summon Watapon (200/300)!" Yudai called, confusing Aoi as his pink puffball appeared alongside his Runner in attack position. "Then I set one card face-down! Turn end!"

That's not like him to waste his Normal Summon on a Watapon, Ikenami thought, her lips twisting into a smirk. What are you up to, Yudai Hikaru?

"It's my turn! Draw!" Aoi exclaimed, pulling a card free from the top of her deck as both she and Yudai gained a Speed Counter. "I Normal Summon the Tuner monster, Crystron Citree (500/500)!" Officer Ikenami slapped a monster card down on her disk, causing it to create a hologram of a small green and gold robot. "Battle! Crystron Citree, attack Yudai's Watapon!" Ikenami's small robot immediately flew over toward Watapon and threw both feet out, looking to stomp on it.

"Trap card, open: Defense Draw!" Yudai shouted, his face-down card flipping up to reveal itself as a trap. "I take no battle damage this turn, and I draw 1 card!" Hikaru added a single card from his deck as Watapon was smashed to data bits by Crystron Citree.

Aoi let out a small laugh. "So, you summoned Watapon as a means of drawing me out! Clever! I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Yudai grinned as Aoi's two cards appeared on the field before drawing for the start of his turn, his and Officer Ikenami's Speed Counters increasing to 2 each. "Then it's back to my turn!" Looking over his hand, Yudai spotted one particular card of interest: Speed Spell - Angel Baton.

If I use this card to add more to my hand, I could draw another Watapon and Special Summon it to the field, Yudai thought, glancing at his Speed Counters. And it looks like I have enough to try...

"I play Speed Spell - Angel Baton!" Hikaru called out. "While I have 2 or more Speed Counters, I can draw 2 cards, and then send 1 card from my hand to my Graveyard!" Sending the spell to the Graveyard, Yudai then drew his new cards, and smiled triumphantly at the Watapon among them.

"Trap activate: Coast Guard!" Aoi hollered, catching Yudai off-guard as her trap was sprung. "For the rest of this turn, my opponent cannot Special Summon monsters!"

Damn, she figured me out! Yudai realized. Looking his cards over now, it was clear that Watapon wasn't going to be of much help, so he discarded it to the Graveyard. Still, I might have one other solution...

"I Normal Summon Clumsy Angel (2100/0)!" Yudai exclaimed, bringing out a klutzy-looking female angel to the field. However, as soon as she appeared, she promptly fell over, exploding into bits of data.

"What the hell?" Ikenami demanded, baffled.

"When Clumsy Angel is Normal Summoned, she is automatically destroyed," Yudai explained, discarding Clumsy Angel before setting a pair of cards in his Spell/Trap Zone. "I set two cards face-down! Turn end!"

He's wasted his Normal Summon again, Aoi thought, confused, until realization hit her. Of course! Coast Guard only remained active until the end of the turn! He plans to resurrect her next turn, when he's free to Special Summon!

Ikenami looked at the holographic face-down cards floating next to Yudai's Duel Runner. One of those face-down cards must be meant to bring her back. I'll have to be prepared for her, and I know just what to have ready to face her...

Meanwhile, Wataru was in the process of leaving the apartment complex with his deck and Duel Disk. He didn't really hold it against Yudai that he had to cancel their plans, since that was the nature of his job. Still, it was a bit of a pain, and he didn't necessarily feel inclined to stay at home all day, so he left a note for Yudai and headed out.

"Hey there!" someone yelled, Wataru looking ahead to spot a boy about his age. "You're a Duelist, right?!"

Wataru blinked, holding up his disk. "...Yeah, that's pretty much what this is for."

"Awesome!" the boy yelled. "I'm Ross! You wanna Duel?! There's a great open space about a block away from here!"

Wataru gave a wide, toothy grin. "You're on! Let's go!"

With that, the two boys dashed off to an open, vacant lot a block away, completely unaware that they were being watched from an alley not far off. In it, a man grit his teeth angrily before getting onto a monowheel-looking Duel Runner, revving its engine.

"My move!" Aoi shouted, adding a new card to her hand before placing a monster card on her disk, all the while she and Yudai each gained one additional Speed Counter. "I Normal Summon Crystron Thystvern (1500/1500)!"

Yudai watched as a violet-coloured draconic-looking robot appeared in the air next to Crystron Citree. Here it comes: Her signature monster.

"I tune my Level 3 Crystron Thystvern with my Level 2 Crystron Citree!" Ikenami called, Crystron Citree's body glowing bright green before exploding into a pair of green rings for Crystron Thystvern to begin flying through. "Brilliant ametrine, shimmer and sparkle with the life-giving might of water! Empower the graceful machine!" Crystron Thystvern let out a roar as a trio of stars began glowing in its body, a brilliant line of light shooting through it and the rings. "Synchro Summon! Arise, Crystron Ametrix (2500/1500)!" The light faded, revealing a tall, dark purple robot standing in place of the two monsters that were once there. "Battle! Crystron Ametrix, attack Yudai directly!"

Yudai watched as Crystron Ametrix threw a dive kick toward him before hitting a button on his Duel Disk, causing his face-down card to flip up. "Trap activate: Call of the Haunted! By targeting 1 monster in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon that target in Attack Position!"

"Knew it!" Aoi hissed.

"Revive, Clumsy Angel!" Yudai ordered, Clumsy Angel appearing on the field to oppose Crystron Ametrix.

"It's still too weak!" Ikenami observed. "Crystron Ametrix, destroy Clumsy Angel!" Aoi's robot proceeded to continue its attack, only this time aiming a kick at Clumsy Angel's head.

"I activate the Trap card Blast with Chain!" Yudai shouted, his remaining face-down card flipping up to cause Clumsy Angel to gain hold of a lethal-looking chain hooked to an explosive. "I target 1 face-up monster I control and equip this card to it! Now Clumsy Angel gains 500 ATK!"

"Shit!" Aoi cursed as Clumsy Angel swung the chain at Crystron Ametrix, shattering it to pieces as her Life Points dropped by 100. "Trap card, Torrential Reborn! When a face-up WATER monster I control is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon them, and then inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each one!"

"What?!" Yudai cried, just before a wave of water launched out from the card and shook his Duel Runner hard. He grit his teeth hard as he righted himself, his Life Points descending to 3500, all the while Crystron Ametrix returned to the field.

"I set one card face-down!" Aoi declared. "Turn end!"

Crystron Ametrix's effect allows its owner to Special Summon one Crystron monster in their Graveyard, but she didn't use it, Yudai thought, his eyes narrowed as they drifted to Aoi's face-down card. So, is that a Trap to strengthen Ametrix, or a bluff?

"My turn!" Yudai yelled, ripping a card off the top of his deck as he and Aoi's Speed Counters both reached 4. Looking at it, he heard a feminine giggle that seemed to come from his Extra Deck.

White Potan, Yudai thought, looking over his new card before glancing at Clumsy Angel. Clumsy Angel IS a Tuner Monster. I could tune it to a Level 1 monster like White Potan, but...

"Reports suggest that these Duelists received strange cards from some outside source, and that, after adding them to their decks, it made the damage done in battle real," Yudai recalled Aoi telling him previously. "So far, the cards I've heard about were seemingly otherwise unknown cards. No one had ever heard of them before, and there were no traces of them in the databases."

Yudai shook his head, growling a little at himself as he came to a conclusion. "Battle! Clumsy Angel, attack Crystron Ametrix!"

Ikenami smirked as Yudai's monster swung her chain at Ametrix. "Trap card, open! Reinforcements! I increase Crystron Ametrix's ATK by 500!"

"Shit!" Yudai cursed, watching as Ametrix's ATK increased to 3000, allowing it to easily kick clean through Clumsy Angel and destroy her, causing Yudai's Life Points to drop by 400. "I set one monster face-down! Turn end!"

Aoi's face softened slightly as she got over her small victory, instead finding herself focused on Yudai's conflicted glance. Something's wrong. That was too thoughtless a move by Yudai. Was he simply calling my bluff, or is something else going on?

Aoi gave her head a small shake, deciding to continue as she and Yudai each reached 5 Speed Counters. "My turn! I Normal Summon Barrier Statue of the Torrent (1000/1000)!" Ikenami placed the monster card on her disk, creating the image of an amphibian statue armed with a trident. "Battle! Barrier Statue of the Torrent, attack Yudai's face-down monster!" With that order, the statue came to life and stabbed its trident into the face-down card, revealing White Potan for a moment before monster and card were destroyed. However, in that moment, White Potan spat a white glob at Aoi's Runner, causing it to shake a little as Aoi's Life Points dropped to 3400.

"When White Potan is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, it inflicts 500 damage to my opponent!" Yudai explained.

"Crystron Ametrix, attack Yudai directly!" Aoi ordered, to which her robotic minion slammed a foot into Yudai's Duel Runner, causing it to almost spin out of control as his Life Points dropped down to a mere 600 and his Speed Counters were lowered by 2. "Turn end!"

Why am I hesitating? Yudai demanded of himself, grabbing hold of the top card on his deck. It's like Ikenami has said since I joined the Academy: I already have what I need to win. I just have to trust myself and my deck...

"My turn! Draw!" Yudai shouted while pulling a new card free, his Speed Counters reaching 3 while Aoi's increased to 6. Looking at the card he pulled, he smiled confidently before placing it on the field, causing a red robot to appear on the field. "I Normal Summon The Calculator (?/0)! The Calculator's ATK is the combined Levels of all face-up monsters I control x 300!"

"Meaning it only has 600 ATK, since it's the only monster on your side!" Ikenami pointed out as The Calculator did the math itself using the buttons on its body. "And with Barrier Statue of the Torrent on the field, no monsters other than WATER monsters can be Special Summoned! Without more monsters, your Calculator is too weak!"

Yudai let out a small chuckle at this as he grabbed hold of a card in his hand. "...I wonder about that. I activate Speed Spell - Tune Up 123! While I have 4 or more Speed Counters, I select 1 face-up monster you control! Then a six-sided die is rolled to increase that monster's Level by 1, 2, or 3!" Sure enough, as he said this, a holographic die rolled along beside Yudai's Runner before coming to a stop at 5. "A 5 means The Calculator's Level is increased by 3, making its ATK 2400!"

Enough to destroy my Barrier Statue of the Torrent! Aoi realized.

"Next, I activate Speed World MAX's effect!" Yudai went on, showing another Speed Spell in his hand. "By revealing any number of Speed Spell cards in my hand, and reducing my Speed Counters by 4, I inflict 800 damage to my opponent for each card revealed!"

"Oh no!" Ikenami cried as a blast fired out from Yudai's Duel Runner and hit hers, reducing her Life Points to 3100. Meanwhile, Yudai's Runner slowed down immensely due to the loss of his Speed Counters.

"Battle!" Yudai declared. "The Calculator, attack Barrier Statue of the Torrent!" At this command, Calculator unleashed a burst of electricity from its hands that blew Aoi's Barrier Statue apart, causing her Life Points to fall to 2900. "I set one card face-down! Turn end!"

Ikenami watched as Yudai started to catch up again, his face more confident than it was at the end of his previous turn. "Well done, Yudai. You've undone the lock I had on your Special Summons. In fact, I assume that's what your face-down card is for. However, it won't last!"

"We'll see!" Yudai shot back with a smile.

Wataru grinned as he pulled the top card from his deck free. He still had 2800 Life Points, while Ross was at a mere 1100. Granted, Wataru had no cards on the field, and Ross had his Cosmo Queen (2900/2450) out, but Wataru was about to deliver the finishing blow.

"I Normal Summon Atlantean Pikeman (1400/0)!" Wataru declared, summoning a Level 2 fishman-like Monster with a pike. "Next, I play the Spell card Amulet of Ambition and equip it to my Pikeman! Now, whenever Atlantean Pikeman battles a Monster with a higher Level, it gains 500 ATK x the difference in Levels during that battle!"

"N-No way!" Ross exclaimed, looking noticeably worried as a golden amulet attached to Atlantean Pikeman.

"Let's go!" Wataru shouted. "Pikeman, skewer Ross' Cosmo Queen!" Atlantean Pikeman raced across the field, pike at the ready as his attack power climbed by an astonishing 3000. He then ran through Cosmo Queen, obliterating her and taking out the last of Ross' Life Points. "Yeah, I won!"

Ross let out a sigh, walking over to high five his opponent. "That was an awesome Duel. You're really strong."

Wataru smiled, scratching his nose. "Thanks! You're pretty tough, too!"

"...Children with such weak Monsters..." a voice muttered, causing the two to glance to the entrance of the lot at a man mounted on a Duel Runner, "...shouldn't be fit to call themselves 'strong'!"

"Wh-Wh-Who is that?!" Ross asked, the two kids backing away as the man got off his Runner, slapping his Duel Disk on.

"My turn!" Aoi called, returning the smile as her Speed Counters hit 7, Yudai likewise gaining a new Speed Counter. "Yudai, I warned you! Reverse card, open: Call of the Haunted! Be revived, Barrier Statue of the Torrent!" Yudai watched as Ikenami successfully Special Summoned her once fallen statue back to the field. "Battle! Crystron Ametrix, destroy The Calculator! Without being able to Special Summon more monsters, it will fall, and you'll be open for a direct attack!"

Yudai calmly grinned as Ametrix rushed toward The Calculator, much to Aoi's astonishment. "We'll see! Trap card, open: Rescue Stars!"

Aoi's eyes shot open to the size of saucers, all while the number read-out on The Calculator's screen increased. "What?!"

"Until the end of this turn, The Calculator's Level is doubled from 5 to 10!" Yudai explained as The Calculator's ATK likewise doubled from 1500 to 3000. With this much power, it unleashed a massive wave of electricity that fried Ametrix, causing its body to fall apart while Aoi lost 500 Life Points.

Aoi grimaced slightly, knowing she'd been caught off-guard, but kept calm. "...Well done, but I still have 2400 Life Points left! Let's see how you deal with-"

Before Ikenami could finish her sentence, the two heard a loud explosion to their right. Staring off into the distance, they watched as a thick cloud of smoke rose up into the sky...not far from where Yudai's apartment was. Hikaru felt his blood turn ice cold at the sight of it.

"...Wataru!" Yudai shouted immediately. "I left him at home!"

"We'll finish this Duel another time!" Aoi yelled, deactivating Duel Mode for their Runners. "We have to get there immediately!"

"Roger!" Yudai replied, the two speeding to the closest exit off the bridge and heading toward the site of the explosion. "...Wataru...PLEASE be okay...!"

This Chapter's Fan-Made Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards

Speed World MAX
Card type: Spell
Property: Field
Effects: If a player activates a non-"Speed Spell" Spell Card, they take 2000 damage. Except during the first turn of the Duel, during each player's Standby Phases, each player places 1 Speed Counter on their copy of this card (max. 12 each). When a player takes damage, remove 1 of their Speed Counters from this card for each multiple of 1000 damage that player took. You can remove any number of your Speed Counters from this card to activate an appropriate effect:
● 4: Reveal any number of "Speed Spell" Spell Cards in your hand, and inflict 800 damage to your opponent for each card revealed.
● 7: Draw 1 card.
● 10: Destroy 1 card on the field.
● 12: Draw 2 cards.

Coast Guard
Card type: Trap
Property: Normal
Effects: Your opponent cannot Special Summon monsters until the end of this turn.

Clumsy Angel
Card type: Monster
Attribute: LIGHT
Types: Fairy/Tuner/Effect
Level: 3
ATK/DEF: 2100/0
Effects: When this card is Normal Summoned: Destroy this card. Your opponent cannot target this card with card effects.

Rescue Stars
Card type: Trap
Property: Normal
Effects: Target 1 face-up monster you control: Until the end of this turn, its Level is doubled (max: 12).

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, let's talk a bit about the decks of the main characters. If you haven't guessed it by now, Yudai's deck largely focuses on LIGHT and/or Fairy-type Monsters, with The Calculator being the current powerhouse of his deck. To get the most out of The Calculator that he can, he typically tries to flood the field with low-Level Monsters, then use cards like Rescue Stars or United We Stand to further pump Calculator's ATK up. Also, because he has three copies of Watapon in his deck, he tends to favour a lot of cards that involve drawing new cards, since obtaining Watapon through one of them allows him to Special Summon it directly to the field. And Monsters like Marshmallon and Clumsy Angel are good at either delivering damage or holding the opponent at bay until he can set up for his big move. In terms of his general play style, Yudai is very good at making calculations in battle and keeping the odds in his favour. However, he has a tendency to overthink things at times. Also, while he honestly tries, he can have trouble putting complete faith in his cards, instead trying to rely on logic and numbers to win him through, something he has to remind himself about from time to time.

Aoi uses a Crystron Deck, and if you don't know, Crystron Monsters are all Machine-type WATER Monsters who are based off of various minerals and are generally themed around the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. For example, Crystron Thystvern was based off an amethyst and the Azure Dragon of the East. The general play-style of a Crystron Deck is usually to swarm the field with Monster cards and start Synchro Summoning. However, in addition to this, I also included a few cards (like the Coast Guard card I designed) to ensure that Aoi is the only one who will be Special Summoning, thus keeping the advantage with her. Admittedly, this isn't really the best introduction to them. Don't worry, though, we'll get a better look at what she's capable of very soon. As a Duelist, Aoi is very confident, able to keep her cool when she's on the defensive, and knows how to keep the pressure on her opponents. And, between her Dueling style, plus the belief she instills in her own students at the academy to believe in one's deck, you can probably guess who her teacher was. However, she's not perfect by any means, and can get caught off-guard if she gets too overconfident.

I won't get too much into Wataru's deck, seeing as how we didn't see much of him in action this chapter, but I will say that he shares Yudai's affinity for low-Level monsters. I'll get more into it later on, as well as the decks of other major characters who pop up. For now, check back next time as Yudai finds himself in a Duel against a familiar foe with an overwhelming new power. Ja né!