Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh!-Kazuki Takahashi/Konami
After getting the message sent from Mina, both Kenichi and David searched through the roads for their missing Signers. Not too long after, a signal made itself known in front of them.
"And off-road, too! There must be a combat lane there!" Kenich alerted, "You think it's one of ours?"
"Only one way to find out. Let's go," David ride with his partner for the nearest off-road track.
In the middle of the combat lane, the duelist who has just unmasked and declared herself Sherry LeBlanc sat astride her duel runner opposite Yusei and Magic on theirs.
'So let me get this straight...' Margaret thought, 'This is the girl threatened Yusei with a bomb then dragged him to a turbo-duel? I don't like this...' "...Wait a minute!"
Magic's sudden outburst caught Akiza and Yusei's attention. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"'What's up'?!" Magic exclaimed. "What's up with that whole 'a woman turbo-duelist' thing just then?! What does that make me?!"
"Well, I'm just saying this is my first time seeing a female..." Akiza trailed off, then backtracked to what she just said. "Oh! I'm sorry! That came out so wrong!"
Yusei noticed too, but decided to return to the task at. "Hold on, You 'came to steal' me? What does that mean?"
"Like those vicious brutes who abducted you, I want you on my team," Sherry replied. "You and I will ride together in ze World Grand Prix, and win it all!"
"Oh, yeah?"
"I am not asking you to answer me today. Zis is a sort of meet-and-greet. Let us have fun." She put her helmet back on and rode on ahead.
"You're on!" Yusei then turned to Akiza. "So you up for finishing this duel?"
"You'd better believe it," Akiza said. "I've never seen a turbo-duel from this point of view; I wanna see how it ends! That, and I don't trust this girl."
"Testify, sister!" Magic agreed, "If she tries to pull something, I wanna be there to help! So let's move it!"
"All righty then. Just hang on tight!" Yusei and Magic took off once again, riding after Sherry and her partner.
"Let us continue our duel!" Sherry declared.
Yusei: 2300 (10)
Magic: 4000 (10)
Sherry: 3900 (10)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (10)
"And let's continue where we left off: where it's my turn!" Magic drew her next card, "And I activate Crusader's special-ability! He gains 600 extra ATK points (ATK: 1900-2500) while my tower gains another counter (CTR: 3)! Next, I summon Frequency Magician to the field!" the sound-emitting tuner appeared (ATK: 800/CTR: 1), "And once he's called out, he gets a spell-counter of his own! Then, by removing that counter I can give another monster on my field an extra 500 ATK points until this turn's end-phase!" the mechanical gloves on the magician emitted an enchanted soundwave that enhanced Crusader's power (ATK: 2500-3000), "Crusader of Endymion, let's give Yusei a hand! Attack Sherry's monster!" Crusader charged towards the floral warrior. But instead of its intended target, it ran into Card Blocker, the smaller knight pushing back against Crusader's attack. "Did I miss something?! That monster was supposed to be destroyed!"
"I activated my trap, Pinpoint Guard," the mystery duelist revealed one of his two reverse-cards, "From this card, my Card Blocker returns from the grave in DEF position; and during that turn, it cannot be destroyed by attacks or effect."
Magic growled, "Fine! Then I'll tune level-4 Crusader of Endymion with level-2 Frequency Magician, in order to synchro-summon Tempest Magician!" the two monsters merged into the scythe-wielding sorceress (ATK: 2200/CTR: 1), "And just like Frequency Magician, she gets her own counter as soon as she's summoned! And by discarding 4 cards from my hand, my Tempest Magician make up for it with 4 more counters (CTR: 5)! And this is where it's all put to good use! By removing all the spell-counters from the field, you get hit with 500 points of damage for each one! You can do the math, can you?" Magic grinned as Tempest's scythe glowed, "Let's see your partner block this! Tempest Magician, go for it!" with a swing of her blade, Tempest Magician sent eight arcs of magic flying straight towards Sherry.
"I activate my trap card, Nature's Reflection," the mystery duelist opened his last reverse-card, Sherry meanwhile swerving out of the paths of each attack, "During this turn, any effect activate by an opponent that deals non-attack damage returns to that opponent." when Sherry managed to avoid the eighth arc, they all made a return trip towards their origin.
"I activate Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment!" Magic opened her reverse-card, "This lowers all effect-damage on me to zero!" a barrier formed to reflect the arcs of magic. The arcanite duelist sighed in relief. "Talk about cutting it close..."
"It's my turn," the mystery duelist drew his next card, "I summon Ghost Gardna in DEF mode," the defending white specter appeared (DEF: 1900).
Magic groaned seeing the monster. 'Great. Another monster standing in my way!'
"I place one card face-down, and end my turn." the duelist concluded.
"It's my move!" Yusei drew his next card, "I summon the tuner-monster, Turbo Synchron!" the racing-themed tuner appeared (ATK: 100), "And now I'll tune it with my Junk Warrior in order to synchro-summon Turbo Warrior! Let's rev it up!" the two monsters merged as Yusei chanted:
"Clustering bonds weave a greater force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Turbo Warrior, let's rev it up!"
The red semi-themed warrior formed out of the synchro-summon (ATK: 2500), "But before attacking, I'm going to activate my Turbo Warrior's special-ability, which will slash the 2700 ATK points of your Fleur de Chevalier in half, because your monster's level is greater than 6!" Turbo Warrior's claws fired a dark blast infecting the knight's power.
Chevalier de Fluer: (ATK: 2700-1350)
'Amazing!' Akiza thought. 'He just turned the advantage of having a high-level monster into a disadvantage!'
"Now, Turbo Warrior, attack!" Turbo Warrior scraped its clars against the knight, who still remained after the attack.
Yusei: 2300 (12)
Magic: 4000 (12)
Sherry: 2750 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (12)
"Why wasn't it destroyed...?!" Akiza gasped.
"Because it is protected by ze trap For Our Dreams!" Sherry revealed her reverse-card. "By sending one monster on my field to ze graveyard, I can spare another monster its inevitable destruction! And, since Fleur de Chevalier 'as emerged from ze battle unscathed, she regains her full strength!"
'Now she has the power to take out Turbo Warrior on her next turn!' Akiza grimaced, then looking down at Yusei. 'Unless...'
"I reveal my trap, Synchro Out!" Yusei opened his reverse-card. "Now I can de-tune my synchro-monster and bring Junk Warrior and Turbo Synchron back to the field until my End Phase!"
'But why do that?!' Akiza wondered. 'Her Chevalier could wipe the walls and scrub the floor with both of those guys!'
'It seems Yusei's committed quite ze faux pas,' Sherry thought. 'Unless, of course...' she then glared down to Yusei's other reverse-card, 'that face-down card happens to be Urgent Tuning! And if my hunch is correct, then you could use that card to resurrect Turbo Warrior, so that it can attack my Fleur de Chevalier again! But then my Chevalier's special-ability would activate and negate ze effect of your trap card, and destroy it. I, however, believe that one with your knowledge would know zat... so there must be something else. Something very clever...'
"Talk to me. What is your strategy here?" Akiza wanted to know. "Well?!"
"Sherry, you can use Chevalier's ability once per turn," Yusei said. "you gonna do it?"
"And prevent you from getting rid of Turbo Warrior? Now why would I go and do something as foolish as zat! No, Yusei Fudo, I want to see what it is you are hoping to accomplish! Adieu, Turbo Warrior!"
"Well, then I'll show you by summoning Turbo Synchron and Junk Warrior!" Turbo's original component's returned. "And with them on the field, I reveal the Urgent Tuning trap card!"
"Magnifique! Zat was what I was waiting for! With Chevalier's special-ability, I can prevent your tuning and obliterate your trap card!" the knight sliced the card in two, "Now you are without traps, Yusei Fudo! But I imagine you expected zis would happen, and so you prepared yourself... with a spell!"
"I don't believe it!" Magic gasped. "She thought that far ahead?!"
"Which is why I am now, at zis point, revealing my trap card: Chain Close!" Sherry revealed her reverse-card. "Zis card will prevent you from activating whatever spell you may have been planning on using!"
'She just shut Yusei down completely!' Akiza gasped. 'With no traps and no spells, there's nothing stopping her from using Fleur de Chevalier to take out one of his monsters on her next turn!'
"You're right, Sherry, I did prepare myself with a spell... but I also prepared for your trap! I'm going to attack Fleur de Chevalier with Turbo Synchron!"
"But it won't win!" Akiza reminded Yusei. "It doesn't have enough ATK points!"
"Then I'll activate its special-ability, and force your Chevalier into DEF mode!"
Chevalier de Fluer: (DEF: 2300)
"Zat does nothing for you! Zat little synchron has no hope of crashing through Fleur de Chevalier's defense," Turbo Synchron attacked Chevalier and bounced off, "and with defeat comes damage!"
Yusei: 100 (12)
Magic: 4000 (12)
Sherry: 2750 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (12)
"Only 100 life-points left! Yusei, d'you realize what you just did?!" Akiza then gasped when she saw Yusei still smiling. She could hardly believe her eyes, feeling forlorn, on the outside looking in on something she can't understand. "...Yusei?"
"You only have 100 life-points remaining, Yusei Fudo! What will you do?"
"I activate my Turbo's ability! See, when it attacks and loses, its ability lets me summon a monster from my hand, as long as its ATK points aren't greater than the damage I took. So I'm summoning (1) Junk Collector(5/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2200)!" a worn metal doll appeared wearing a tattered green cloak and a large bookbag full of spare parts (ATK: 1000), "And now I activate Junk Collector's special-ability. This forces me to remove a trap card in my graveyard from play entirely; but in doing so, it lets me activate it! See, I had a feeling you'd send Urgent Tuning to the graveyard when you had the chance!
"Nice move!" Sherry smirked.
"Oh yeah? If you thought that was nice, then this next move is totally gonna blow you away!" Akiza said.
"That's right, Sherry; now I tune Junk Warrior with my Turbo Synchron, in order to synchro-summon Turbo Warrior!" the two monsters merged once again and Turbo Warrior returned (ATK: 2500). "Let's rev it up!"
"So much sacrifice for one monster!" Sherry chuckled. "It seems you're not afraid of flying too close to ze sun!"
"Go, Turbo Warrior! Take out Sherry's Fleur de Chevalier!" the battle repeated itself, this time Turbo Warrior was able to destroy the knight. "It's your move."
'Yusei's so close to losing, but he seems to be having fun!' Akiza then looked over to Sherry, who was seen grinning over her shoulder. "And her! The way he duels with her is different than the way he duels with me. It's like when he duels Jack, and Crow. He's full of spirit; he's dueling from the heart. Why isn't he like that with me?'
'What's with Yusei smiling just now?!' Magic thought. 'Don't tell me he's actually enjoying this!'
"You may have vanquished Fleur de Chevalier, but in order to do so you drove yourself to the brink of defeat where you are now hanging on by a thread! With Speed World 2 in play, as long as I 'ave four or more speed-counters, I can deal 800 points of damage for every speed-spell in my hand. And, as it so happens..." the french duelist chuckled, "I currently have ten speed-counters, but no cards in my hand. So your fate today depends on my next draw! Should I draw a speed-spell for my hand, it will be all over for you! But zis is what you live for, is it not? You feel most alive when you're at ze edge! Yet somewhere in your heart you know that such recklessness will be your undoing one day!" Yusei frowned, not wanting to answer.
"Yeah right, how do you know what's in his heart?!" Magic asked, slowly fuming when she received no answer from Sherry. "Well, I'm waiting!"
'I guess as turbo-duelists they 'understand' each other,' Akiza thought. 'The speed, the wind, the rush... it must create a bond between duelists that I've never really known...'
"Let us see if you will fall from your edge!" Sherry exclaimed. "I draw my card!"
"Did she just ignored me?!" Magic angrily snapped.
When Sherry drew her card, there was a tense pause and then... "...I summon (2) Sacred Knight Shield-Bearer(4/ATK: 800/DEF: 1300) in DEF mode!" a bearded man in silver armor appeared with a green shield in hand (DEF: 1300).
Akiza sighed in relief. 'She didn't draw a speed-spell...'
"Next, I activate Shield-Bearer's special-ability: by removing one Sacred Knight card from my graveyard, I am able to draw another card from my deck!"
"So... she gets to draw again?!" Akiza gasped.
Sherry laughed as she drew a second time. Yusei, Akiza and even Magic waited in suspense. "...I place one card face-down, and end my turn!"
"Safe!" Magic sighed.
"I had two chances, but fate was on your side both times," Sherry chuckled. "I simply must have you on my team!"
Magic gritted her teeth. 'This again? Now she's really starting to get on my nerves!'
"Tell me, Yusei Fudo, what is it you are dueling for? Why are you entering ze World Racing Grand Prix with your friends?"
"I don't know. I mean, why do mountain-climbers climb mountains?" Yusei replied. "It's because they're there, isn't that what they say?"
"So in other words, you have no reason! There is nothing driving you but thrill, ambition, perhaps beaux dames?"
"He's entering with us because we're friends! All for one! That enough of a reason for you?!" Magic snapped. But once again, she was completely brushed off by the french turbo-duelist. That sent her temper up a bit more, 'She did it again!'
"So tell me, what're you driven by?" Yusei asked.
"If you must know, Monsieur Fudo..." Sherry bit her lip under her helmet. "I am driven by my hunger for revenge! And I will stop at nothing until I have finally achieved it!"
"For revenge?" Yusei's curiosity perked. "Against who?"
"I will tell you. I was born into ze LeBlanc family. My parents were extremely wealthy, my father the head of a card company he inherited from his father. My childhood was a happy one. Winters in ze mountains; summers at our estate in the country... Horseback riding lessons, piano lessons, croquet games and cool afternoons. And my parents, zey were carefree and kind! But things started to change. Lately my father had been receiving horrible phone calls; my parents tried to shield me from all zat was going on. One afternoon, my father gave me ze most adorable little teddy bear. And zen, zat night...
I was torn out of my sleep by noises; screaming, shouting! Frightened, I went to my parents' room. The room was a mess, things thrown everywhere! My parents were nowhere to be seen. Our butler, Ellsworth, found me; told me not to be scared. Together, we fled the estate.
Ellsworth explained the situation to me. A corporation had been trying to purchase my father's business. When my father refused, strange men began coming around, making threats. And zen, he told me; we could never again return to ze estate. I was just a child at ze time; I understood so little of what was going on! Ellsworth explained that we had to keep moving, zat ze people who had come for my parents would be looking for me! And so we journeyed from country to country, city to city, relentlessly pursued by ze monsters who had taken my parents from me! Along ze way, I learned zat ze corporation was just a front! Ze real organization pursuing me is known as Yliaster!"
Alright, it's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I summon (5) Zero Gardna(4/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) in DEF mode!" a small plane-like robot carrying a large zero-shaped weight under it appeared (DEF: 0), "That's it for me."
"It is my turn," the duelist drew his next card, "I activate the second effect of Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru. By discarding one Koa'ki Meiru from my hand, I can return it from the graveyard to my hand," the monster in his hand was exchanged for the spell card from his graveyard, "Next I activate the spell card Magic Planter. By sending one continuous-spell card from my field to the graveyard, I can draw two card from my deck," Core Reinforcement vanished and the player drew two cards, "Koa'ki Meiru Valifar attacks Zero Gardna," Valifar reached out with an ignited claw.
"I activate Zero Gardna's ability!" Zero Gardna heaved itself and threw up the weight it was carrying in Valifar's path, destroying it before Zero Gardna flew off, "By releasing this monster all battle-damage I take this turn is negated!"
"I set one card face-down. During the end-phase I discard Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru due to Koa'ki Meiru Valifar's effect," the duelist discarded the spell card.
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "Since there aren't any monsters on my field, I can summon The Immortal Bushi that's sleeping with the other warriors in my graveyard!" the resilient warrior returned (ATK: 1200), "Next I summon Junk Synchron to the field!" the rust-colored tuner-monster appeared (ATK: 1300), "And when this guy's summoned, I can summon a level-2-or-lower monster from my graveyard in DEF mode, like the tuner-monster Torapart!" the twin-bodied tuner returned (DEF: 600), "And now I tune The Immortal Bushi with Jun Synchron to synchro-summon Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!" the two monsters merged and formed the spear-thrusting metal centaur (ATK: 2600), "And there's still one more to go! I tune him with Torapart to perform one last synchro-summon!" Gaia galloped through Torapart's synchro-gates as Jason chanted: "Divested stars form a timid soul, discovered in the darkest reaches! Unlock the gates to remove the shadows, and create the titan it will become, on its long-forgotten journey! Synchro Summon! Colossal Fighter, Accelerate!" the stars aligned and a beam of light shot through, releasing a colossal white warrior (ATK: 2800), "And while Colossal Fighter's on the field, he gains 100 ATK points for every warrior-type monster that are in the graveyard, both yours and mine (ATK: 2800-3700).
"Activate trap card, Intrigue Shield," the player opened the reverse-card, and a strange aura surrounded Valifar, "When this card is activated, it becomes an equip-card and can be equipped to a monster on my field. The equipped monster cannot be destroyed in battle once per turn, and I cannot take any battle damage when the equipped monster battles."
'This guy must know about Torapart's ability! That's the only reason I can think of he would activate that trap so early!' Jason thought, 'I guess I'll just have keep my guard up until the time's right,' "I place one card face-cown and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"I activate the first effect of Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru. During the draw-phase of my turn I can add it from my graveyard to my hand instead of drawing a card from my deck," the duelist added the spell card to his hand, "I activate the effect of Core Overload. By sending one Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from my hand to the graveyard, I can increase the ATK points of all Koa'ki Meiru monsters on my field my 1000 points until the end-phase," after discarding the spell card, Valifar's body became engulfed by an aura of searing heat (ATK: 3500-4500).
Jason's eyes widened at the monster's sudden boost of power, 'But that's way more than what Colossal and I can handle!' he looked up to the monster by his side, 'If that attack hits...'
"Koa'ki Meiru Valifar attacks Colossal Fighter," Valifar's wings shot out and shot into the sky before diving back down towards the synchro warrior with its claws lit ablaze.
"Yliaster?!" that word hit Magic like a ton of bricks. "That guy Roman told me about a group like that!"
"Sayer used to tell me about them," Akiza said. "He'd say they were evil and out to destroy the Arcadia Movement."
"From what little I have gathered, they are a secret society with wild ideas about ze universe. Zey operate from ze shadows, and zey will do anything to get rid of those who stand in their way..." Sherry's voice then became visible with anguish. "which is why zey came for my family!"
"I'm so sorry, Sherry." Yusei consoled, almost speechless and as sympathetic as Akiza and Magic.
"Eventually, I discovered ze real reason they are so desperate to find me," Sherry continued, "In the teddy bear my father gave me, he hid something."
"What was it?" Akiza gasped.
"Until I am certain I can trust you, zat will remain my secret. I want you to help me, Yusei Fudo. Yliaster is pulling the strings behind ze upcoming World Racing Grand Prix!"
"Wait, are you sure?" Yusei asked.
"Oui. Zis is why I want more than anything to win: to get closer to zem! Even more than revenge, I need answers, Yusei Fudo! I must know what Yliaster did with my parents and what zey're planning to do! I must win this race! And I know I can do so with you on my team!"
Yusei's already got teammates, Frenchy!" Magic snapped. "He's riding with his friends! And he doesn't need-"
"No one is talking to you!" Sherry countered coldly.
"Whoa! Now you just wait one minute! First of all, you don't know Yusei! I know Yusei! Even since we grew up together as kids I knew Yusei! You don't know-"
"I know plenty! In just a few turns, we 'ave come to know each other's spirits. As turbo-duelists, we have come to understand the winds that stir us from within! During the Grand Prix I will be riding full-throttle on ze cutting edge with everything to lose and everything to gain!" Sherry looked back towards Yusei. "Is zat not ze kind of duel you want in on, Yusei Fudo?! If you race with me, you will find ze drive you seek."
"Don't give her the satisfaction, Yusei! You don't have to answer her!"
"Yusei can speak for himself! He does not need a third wheel making decisions for him!"
"Third wheel?! You try saying that to my face!" Magic floored her accelerator and sped towards Sherry.
"Magic, hold on!" Yusei warned, but to no avail as Magic closed in towards the horseback duelist. But the second duelist cut in to block her path.
"If zis is all it takes to lose your temper," Sherry snide. "then it is a good thing my partner is here to keep you on your leash!"
"Now wait just a minute!" Yusei interrupted. "Whatever happened, I'll have you know that's one of my best friends you're talking to and I won't have anyone talking like that to her!"
Sherry winched from Yusei's sudden outburst, but kept her reaction hidden behind her helmet. "Of course; my apologies," she replied coolly, "I do not require an answer at zis point in time. Just think it over. Let us continue the duel, non?"
"Magic, don't let her get to you," Yusei comforted, "It doesn't matter what she say, in the end, they're just words."
"That's right," Akiza nodded, "You did the right thing sticking up for Yusei. Don't let her tell you otherwise."
"Thanks, guys," Magic sighed in relief, "And sorry I had to lose my temper back there. This is where things become different. More importantly, though, what about that other guy that was with you? What's his story?"
"Are you referring to the one in armor," Sherry asked, "I am afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Wait a minute, are you saying that guy's not with you?" Yusei asked.
"If that's true, then who's Jason facing?" Akiza wondered.
"Whatever the case, it is your friend's problem now." Sherry said.
"I activate the Assault Mode Activate trap card!" Jason opened his reverse-card, "And by combining it with Colossal Fighter he becomes Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode!" miles from the sky a blue jet flew down and broke apart before attaching themselves over Colossal Fighter becoming his Assault Mode armor (ATK: 3300), "And once he's summoned, I can send 2 of my warriors from my deck to the graveyard! And for every warrior in my graveyard, your monsters lose 100 ATK points!" one after the other, Jason's warriors rose from the graveyard and charged against the blazing red demon, who simply ignored then as its aura of flames became torn into lesser flickers.
Koa'ki Meiru Valifar: (ATK: 4500-3300)
"Koa'ki Meiru Valifar attacks Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode," the flames revived themselves around Valifar's claw as it incinerated Colossal Fighter's armor, leaving him bare of his Assault Mode.
"When Colossal Fighter goes out of Assault Mode, he gets to come back in his original form!" Jason said, "And since his Assault Mode counts as another monster card when it's destroyed, plus the two additional warrior he helped bring over, Colossal Fighter gets another 300 ATK points from those monsters!"
Colossal Fighter: (ATK: 4000)
'Okay, if I've paid attention to how this guy's been dueling, his monster usually rely on tha Iron Core card to sustain them. He probably figured his Valifar would be safe since it's protected from trap cards. And since he lost his gamble on that all-or-nothing attack, he'll have to destroy Valifar at the end of his turn. And that'll leave him wide open for a direct attack!' Jason waited for his opponent to continue or end his turn.
"Challenger forfeit. Exiting Duel Mode," that took Jason by surprise as the computer reminded him of his opponent backing out of the duel. He slowed down as he watched the silver-armored duelist drove off without even a glance. But as the duelist disappeared down the road, the sound of two more engines filled his ears and he turned around to see two familiar duel-runners coming towards him.
"It's my turn!" she drew her next card, "Tempest Magician, attack that Ghost Gardna!" Tempest's charged towards the specter.
"I activate the Fiendish Chain trap card," the mystery duelist opened his reverse-card, and a series of black chains bound the magician. "This prevents your magician from attacking or changing it battle-position. It also-"
"It also negates her special-ability! I know!" Magic snapped back. "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"
"It's my turn," the mystery duelist drew his next card, "I summon (3) Valkyrian Knight(4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200) in DEF mode," a woman in an ornate red armor and a blue cape appeared (DEF: 1200).
"That's not good," Yusei muttered, "Now the only warrior that can be attacked is that monster."
"Next I activate Speed World 2's effect: by removing four speed-counters I can inflict 800 points of damage for every card in my hand," he revealed his only speed-spell before his runner's rear lights fired at Magic.
Yusei: 100 (12)
Magic: 3200 (12)
Sherry: 2750 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (8)
"Then I activate the same effect once more, sacrificing four more speed counters to inflict 800 more points of damage." his runner fired another round.
Yusei: 100 (12)
Magic: 2400 (12)
Sherry: 2750 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (4)
"Next I activate the Speed Storm speed-spell card. This inflicts 1000 points of damage to an opponent when I control three or more speed-counters." the card came to life and fired a cyclone that crashed into Magic.
Yusei: 100 (12)
Magic: 1400 (12)
Sherry: 2750 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (4)
Tower of Babel: (CTR: 1)
"And during my next standby-phase, I can remove three speed-counters to return the speed-spell back to my hand. I end my turn."
"So by the time his next turn comes, he'll have 8 speed-counters!" Yusei realized, "And with 5 counters to spare..."
"It'll be deja-vu all over again!" Magic exclaimed, "He can deliver 1800 points of damage on his next turn!"
"Which leaves you with one more turn before the end," Sherry finished, "So the question is: can you last through your next turn?"
"There's only one way to find out!" Magic said, "Take it to 'em!"
"You got it!" Yusei drew his next card, "I activate the effect of the Speed World 2 field-spell! By removing 7 of my speed-counters, I can draw another card!" he drew one more card from his deck, "I summon the Drill Synchron tuner-monster in ATK mode!" a spherical robot appeared with multiple drills protruding from him (ATK: 800) "And now, Turbo Warrior! Take out Sacred Knight Shield-Bearer!" Turbo Warrior ripped through the knight. Time to drill this maneuver home! Even though Shield-Bearer was in DEF mode, Drill Synchron can drive forward and deal the point difference to you as damage!" Turbo Warrior followed up his attack and struck Sherry.
Yusei: 100 (5)
Magic: 1400 (12)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 4000 (5)
"And when you take damage from Drill Synchron's special-ability, I can draw another card from my deck!" Yusei drew yet another card.
"I'm revealing the Liberty at Last trap card!" Sherry opened her reverse-card, "When one of my monsters are destroyed in battle, two of your monsters must return to the hand!" both monsters vanished from the field, "Now your monsters have abandon you, leaving you to fend for yourself; something I promise will never happen if you join my team, Yusei!"
"Thanks, but I won't be alone for long." Yusei concluded with two reverse-cards.
'How can Yusei be so confident?' Akiza thought, 'His field's wide-open. If she draws a speed spell or monster on the next turn he's done-for!' she then looked down to his reverse-cards. 'Unless those face-downs are game-changers...'
"It is my turn now!" Sherry chuckled and drew her next card, "I summon (4) Sacred Knight Jeanne(4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1300) in ATK mode!" a female knight in silver armor appeared (ATK: 1900), "Unfortunately, Noble Knight Joan must sacrifice 300 ATK points in order to attack. But zat isn't going to stop her! Sacred Knight Jeanne, take 'im out!" Sherry skid sideways to watch Sacred Knight Jeanne raise her sword and lunge forward slashing.
"I reveal my Synchro Spirits trap card!" Yusei opened one of his reverse-card, "Now if I remove a synchro-monster in my graveyard from play, I can bring back the monsters I tuned to summon it! So by removing Junk Warrior, I can summon Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior in DEF mode!" the two original components appeared, Joan then cutting down Junk Warrior.
"An interesting twist!" Sherry praised, "I wonder what's next? I cannot wait!"
"Here's what's next: my turn!" Magic drew her next card, "I use 4 of my speed-counters to activate Speed World 2's effect and inflict 800 points of damage!" Magic's headlights glowed and readied to fire.
"I activate the trap card, Life Exchange!" the mystery duelist opened his reverse-card.
"No! If that's what I think it is..." Magic's runner fired bolts of energy at him.
Yusei: 100 (7)
Magic: 1400 (8)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 3200 (7)
"And when that happens, since my life-points are higher than your life-points, you take 1000 points of damage!" The duelist said as Magic cringed when a red aura surrounded her.
Yusei: 100 (7)
Magic: 400 (8)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 3200 (7)
"Fine. If that's how you wanna play, I activate the speed-spell: Shift Down! But removing 6 speed-counters I can draw 2 new cards!" Magic drew twice more.
Tower of Babel: (CTR: 2)
"Next, I summon Sunny Pixie!" the small, yellow-wearing fairy appeared (ATK: 300), "And now I tune her with Tempest Magician in order to synchro-summon Arcanite Magician!" the two spellcasters merged and were replaced by a wizard clad in white (ATK: 400).
"So this is Arcanite Magician," Akiza awed, "And you didn't even merge with it this time!"
"I won't need to against these guys!" Magic boasted.
"What is all zis talk about 'merging'?" Sherry questioned, "Is zat supposed to mean zat you are somewhat holding back?"
"Wouldn't you like to know! And by the way, when Sunny Pixie's used to synchro-summon a light-attribute monster, she leaves 1000 life-points just for me!" a sunny-yellow aura surrounded Magic.
Yusei: 100 (7)
Magic: 1400 (2)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist 2: 3200 (7)
"And when Arcanite comes to the field, he gets 2 spell-counters for himself, as well as 1000 ATK points for each one (CTR: 2/ATK: 2400), "Next comes his special-ability: by removing one of my spell-counters, I can destroy a card from anywhere on the field! And with the 2 counters from my Babel trap card..." she then pointed towards the mystery-duelist's field, "I'm destroying your Card Blocker and Valkyrian Knight!" Arcanite Magician fired two rounds of magic that destroyed both warriors, "And now that you don't have a monster out to get in my way... Arcanite Magician, attack his life-points directly!" the magician fired another larger round that hit the duelist square on his runner.
Yusei: 100 (7)
Magic: 1400 (2)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist: 800 (7)
"And the fun's not over yet! I activate my Assault Mode Activate trap card!" Magic trap opened, "Now Arcanite Magician becomes Arcanite Magician Assault Mode!" Arcanite Magician removed his cloak and revealed his purple-and-orange armor (CTR: 2/ATK: 2900), "And in case you don't know what that means, this Arcanite Magician counts as a new monster! So guess what happens next...!" Arcanite Magician fired one more round that crashed into the duelist's runner.
Yusei: 100 (7)
Magic: 1400 (2)
Sherry: 1550 (12)
Mystery Duelist: 0 (7)
Once the points hit zero, the exhaust-spewing duel-runner slowed to a stop, leaving the mysterious duelist behind in the middle of the lane.
"Elsworth!" The name Sherry called out perked the others' ears.
"'Elsworth'? Didn't she mention someone by that name earlier?" Akiza wondered.
"That's the name of her butler!" Yusei remembered. "Then whoever Magic just beat..."
"I was being held up by the help?!" Magic exclaimed, "Well, he's gone now, so there's only one left to take care of!" she glared over to Sherry, where a small hint of anxiety can be seen on her, "I guess you know what happens next, right? My battle-phase may be over by Arcanite still has its special-ability!" Arcanite Magician raised his staff and waves of magic began to seep into the crystal tip, "By removing 2 of his spell-counters, Arcanite Magician can destroy all cards on the opponents side of the field; opponent meaning you!"
"And Yusei as well," Sherry mentioned, "In case you have forgotten, in a battle-royale every duelist you face is an opponent, including the ones you purportedly spend the duel helping. So if you activate an ability as widespread as this you cannot pick and choose who takes the hit."
Magic's confidence began faltering. "You mean..."
"If you release that ability, you will wipe the slate completely clean. You will destroy Yusei's cards as well as my own."
Magic felt her heartbeat skip. She honestly didn't think of that; and the expression she gave showed it.
"You may claim you are helping Yusei, but the only thing you will accomplish is destroying his only monster and his face-downs, possibly his only means of defending himself," Sherry then glanced down to his field where her monster is, 'As well as trigger my monster's own special-ability...' "Now ask yourself, are you actually willing to gamble your friend's chances of victory?"
Magic looked over to Yusei's Speed Warror. It may be his only monster, but not strong enough against Sherry's knight. If she pulls this off, he'll be able to attack directly with the next monster he draws. But what Yusei's not able to do that and draw a weaker monster or something else? That would cost him a lot. Is this a chance Magic's willing to take? The arcanite duelist looked over to Yusei, not taking his eyes off the road even to acknowledge her. Does that mean he'd rather her figure this out herself? In that case...
"What happens happens!" Magic announced, "I remove 2 spell-counters from Arcanite Magician to destroy all other cards on the field!" Arcanite Magician's staff glowed brighter with magic, waves of orange rippling across the field.
"And that activates Joanne's ability!" Sherry announced, "When this Sacred Knight is destroyed by a card-effect, I may move one spell card from my graveyard to my hand! Your interference has cost Yusei the duel! Now you both will 'ave wished you kept your distance!"
"Actually..." Yusei smirked, "that's just what I was hoping for! You see when a card-effect activates that destroys more than one card, I can activate this!" he opened his reverse-card.
"Starlight Road!" Akiza and Magic gasped.
"Ça n'mettais pas!" the french duelist cursed.
"I'll assume that means you're not too happy," Yusei guessed, "since my Starlight Road's effect saves my Speed Warrior and your Noble Knight Jeanne, and allows me to summon Stardust Dragon!"
Sherry hissed under her helmet at her expectations being backfired. Her plans went downhill thanks to the magician duelist. She was ready to call her out until a large semi-truck crashed through the side of the freeway over the lane, falling straight towards her.
"Oh no!" Akiza gasped.
"Sherry!" Yusei called out to the french duelist. He looked up to the truck and saw the person who took his earlier, flanked by his thugs.
"Hello again!" the leader cackled, "I told you I wasn't a well-balanced person, and that it would not be smart to mess around with me!"
"Leave this to me! Gimme!" Without waiting for permission, Akiza grabbed Stardust Dragon out of Yusei's hand.
"Whoa, hang on, what're you doing, we need to-"
"I'm gonna summon this monster!"
"What?!"
Akiza held the card and gathered herself, 'This is the only way...!' "Come forth, Stardust Dragon!" after the card was pressed onto the duel-disk, Stardust appeared and soared towards the falling truck.
Right before Sherry was about to be crushed, Stardust swooped in above her and caught the truck on its back, shielding her from it. As soon as she realized what happened, she snapped her head over to the person who summoned it. "You're a Psychic Duelist?!" now that the danger has passed, Stardust let the truck fall on its side on the road. That was when an alarm blared on the runners' consoles.
"Emergency. Duel mode disengaged." All three duel-runners deactivated from duel-mode, leaving their duelists annoyed and unsatisfied due to the track being unsafe from the recent event.
"Drat!" Seeing their plan thwarted, the leader decided to cut his losses and escape while the opportunity looks good. But just as they were ready to run off, someone stood in their way, "Move it!"
The butler Elsworth only scoffed as he cracked his knuckles, "Oh I'll 'move it', all right!" In just a matter of seconds the thugs have been reduced to dazed heap on the ground. Elsworth calmly straightened his bowtie and walks over to the edge. Satisfied seeing the three turbo-duelists halted down on the track below. Elsworth turned and walked away.
"Sherry, are you okay?" Yusei asked.
"I am, thanks to you...friend," Sherry smirked, "I've only wished that we were able to finish our match. Tell me, if you and I were to have dueled one-on-one as intended, do you would you have been able to defeat me?"
"The duel's cut short so does it even matter?" Margaret asked.
"If you were a duelist the you should know that it matters greatly," Sherry frowned at the Arcanite duelist, "I originally intended to duel Yusei alone, but your persistence forced me to improvise. That is why I had Elsworth keep you busy while I focused on Yusei. And everything went as planned until you interfered with your magician."
"And its thanks to me that Stardust came out," Margaret pointed out.
"But not by his own power. And that is all I wanted from him: to test his skills as a duelist without compromise. Are you saying that you do not respect Yusei enough for him to rely on his own power?"
"What?!" Margaret stammered, "No, I..."
"What is your input on this, Yusei?" Sherry asked, "Under these circumstances, Stardust Dragon would have vanquished Sacred Knight Jeanne, and zen Speed Warrior would have attacked me, directly. But zat would have left me with 50 life-points, and another opportunity to defeat you. If you were to draw your next card, would you still manage a counterattack, if we were still dueling one-on-one?"
Before Yusei reached for the top card in his deck, he paused and pulled back, "Actually, I'm fine with these kind of results. Like Magic said, what happened happened. I'd rather not worry about what would've happened."
Secretly unsatisfied with the results, Sherry sighed, "A moot point at best. Besides, we do have a long road ahead," she revved up her runner's engine, "Until next time, Yusei Fudo," she then looked over his shoulder towards Akiza, "and you. I am in your debt. I hope to ride against you one day. Or with you!" Sherry gave a wink and drove off, leaving Akiza off-balanced and blushing, "Au revoir, et salud!"
The sound of more duel-runners came from the end opposite of where Sherry left and Jason arrived with Kenichi and David with him.
"I take it you were in a duel yourself," Yusei said, "Did you find out anything about that guy you were dueling?"
"Other than the cards he used, all I know that he had no problem running off when he's about to lose," Jason said, "What about you guys? Did his friends say anything?"
"Well, from what they told us, he's not even with them," Akiza said.
"But he looks like that suit of armor one of that other duelist hid under before she went after you," Margaret said, "Remember her?"
"So he's working on his own...but then again if what you say is true Margaret, could he be working for the same guys behind the Ghost incident?" Jason wondered.
Unbeknownst to them, the armored duelist was looking down on them from one of the other roadways, with someone else beside him listening into the conversation on his duel-runner through Jason's still-hacked systems.
"I don't know what all the fuss is about on this guy, but at least you got a good test-run. Let's go," Primo lead the silver-armored away on their runners.
"Hey, it could be worse," Kenichi said, "I'm just glad we made it out in one piece."
"But whoever he is, if he's after Jason, he might come back for him later," David said, "So there's one thing to worry about."
"If that's true, I'll be ready for it," Jason said, then started up his duel-runner, "Until then, let's call it a day," he drove off for the lane's exit with David and Kenichi following.
Once again with two runners left standing, Akiza had been noticing Yusei staring into space, "Something wrong Yusei?"
"Hm?" Yusei pulled himself away from his thought, "No, it's nothing. Let's get out of here," he then started his runner back up and carried Akiza back to the city with Margaret following on her own wheels, whom which noticed something strange around her friend.
'Something's definitely wrong here; Yusei's just not saying anything,' Margaret thought, then looked back to what Sherry had said...
"Tell me, Yusei Fudo, what is it you are dueling for?!"
'Just as I thought, this Sherry girl's starting to get to poor Yusei,' Margaret grimaced, 'Well, I'm got gonna sit and wait for him to doubt himself any further. He's already got a reason for dueling, and I'm gonna help him remember.'
In one of the New Domino harbors, a large cruise ship made it to shore. Everyone there for the ride was more than ready to disembark.
"Hey, did you hear about that huge party?" one of the worker who were working nearby said.
"What about it? Don't cruises usually have those?" another said.
"No, I heard this time it's even bigger. Apparently one of the passengers a real party animal and everyone else got sucked in."
"Really? Wish I can meet 'im."
As they continued with work, they failed to notice a certain passenger jumping clear off the boat onto the harbor, a feat near-impossible to do especially wearing sandals. She's a young woman with short ginger hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. She wore denim pedal pushers and a flame-pattern shawl over a small red top, and a bandanna tied over her head with the same pattern as her shawl. Pulling out a small rectangular device she opened it and looked into it.
"Yep, this is the place! I'm getting close now!" she laughed a bit as she sprinted off from the harbor and towards the city in front of her, "This is the big break I've been waiting for! I'm really gonna give this city something to celebrate!"
CFGX: "Okay, here's where I ask for help with the upcoming grand prix. I plan to have OC teams compete in the tournament and I was hoping you all would help me add OCs to the roster, the same as you may have with Fenikkusumaru. In risks of spoilers and disappointment of this arc never coming to light, I think I should explain:
Just as I did with the Fortune Cup, I plan for the WRGP to have an exhibition racket, with teams representing their own country and/or region on each part of the world. Among those countries I plan for teams to represent: North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Russia and Asia. You may submit up to 3 characters in a team representing a country or region. Here's the OC form I have planned for this occasion. You can copy it on my updated profile:
Team Name:
(1) Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
History(Optional):
Deck:
(2) Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
History(Optional):
Deck:
(3) Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
History(Optional):
Deck:
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Junk Collector
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV5 ATK/1000 DEF/ 2200
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: During either player's turn: You can banish this face-up card you control and 1 Normal Trap Card from your Graveyard; this card's effect is the same as that Trap Card's.
(2) Sacred Knight Shield Bearer
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/800 DEF/ 1300
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you can remove from play 1 LIGHT Warrior-Type monster in your Graveyard to draw 1 card.
(3) Valkyrian Knight
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1900 DEF/ 1200
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: Your opponent cannot target face-up Warrior-Type monsters for attacks, except "Valkyrian Knight". When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can banish 1 Warrior-Type monster and this card from your Graveyard to target 1 Level 5 or higher Warrior-Type monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target.
(4) Sacred Knight Jeanne
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1900 DEF/ 1300
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: If this card attacks, it loses 300 ATK during the Damage Step only. When this card is destroyed by a card effect, you can select 1 Spell Card in your Graveyard and add it to your hand.
(5) Zero Gardna
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/0 DEF/ 0
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: You can Tribute this card to activate its effect. If you do, monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle and you take no Battle Damage, during this turn. This effect can be activated during either player's turn.
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