Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh!-Kazuki Takahashi/Konami
CFGX: "I know this story has been losiong interest, but I'm still trying to make more chapters. In the meantime, I'm still awating submissions for teams. If I could get enough, perhaps I could focus more on this story. Remember the form from last chapter..."
"What?!" Jack exclaimed, his tone loud enough to scare off the birds outside, "You want to duel me?!"
"Wait, but why wouldja wanna do that, Yusei?" Crow wondered, "We're all on the same team!"
"Right, so why not take advantage of each other?" Yusei suggested, only succeeding in Crow giving him a weird look, "I need to find a new way of battling that doesn't involve summoning synchro-monsters."
"No synchros? But why?" Jack asked.
"Because of the Ghosts," Yusei said, "Remember when we dueled them?"
"Sure, but ya won," Crow then did a double-take and gasped, "Oh wait, you barely won. That Wisel's special-ability! It seals away synchros!"
"Same with me and Seael!" Margaret added, "But Crow's right, we won those duels."
"Right, but it's not like we can rely on Majestic Dragon or the Assault Mode to let us off," Yusei said, "But if more duelists like the Ghosts appears, we may not be so lucky," he then looked back up over the stairs to Jack, "Which is the reason why you and I need to duel; so that I can prepare for that day."
You're on, Yusei!" Jack vaulted down the stairs and stopped in front of Yusei, "Synchros are fine; but if you wanna duel, you're on."
"All right."
"Hey, I want in on it too!" Margaret said, "Not that I don't have anything else better to do but..."
"I don't!" Crow said, setting down the box he was carrying, "Well then let's do it!"
Later...
Yusei, Jack, Crow and Magic can be seen riding across one of the New Domino bridges.
"This should be interesting," Crow said, "Yusei counts on his synchros, I wonder how he'll change his game plan?"
"I'm ready when you are," Jack said.
"Go!" Yusei signaled.
"Activating field-spell: Speed World 2!" simultaneously everyone triggered their Speed World system and the field-spell came to life.
"Duel mode engaged; autopilot activated," the computer announced, "A turbo-duel is about to commence. All non-dueling vehicles must vacate the combat lane immediately. Formulating cross-town duel course, and awaiting Central Grid Authority's official authorization... Authorization has been granted."
"Then let's rev it up!" Yusei said.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Yusei: 4000 (0)
Jack: 4000 (0)
Magic: 4000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (0)
'Ghost was able to neutralize my synchro monsters when I summoned them. I wonder if there's a way to put their power to use, but without putting them in harm's way?' "Let's do this!" Yusei drew his first card, "First I summon Shield Wing in DEF mode!" the green-scaled avian appeared (DEF: 900), "Then I'll place one card face-down and end my turn!"
"It'll take more than defense to beat me," Jack looked over his shoulder to the monster, unimpressed, "Especially when it's a defense as pathetic as the one you just mounted! My turn now!" he drew his first card, "And first, I'll summon Twin-Sword Marauder!" the twin-bladed warrior appeared (ATK: 1600), "He's got 'twin swords' because when Marauder attacks a monster in DEF mode, he gets to wage an extra assault. Now go, Twin-Sword Marauder! Attack Shield Wing!" Twin-Sword Marauder collided with Shield Wing midair, and bolts of energy radiate from the strike.
"Shame on you, Jack, you should know that Shield Wing can withstand 2 attacks per turn."
"And you should know that since Marauder's ATK points are greater than Shield Wing's DEF points, you take the difference as damage!"
Yusei: 3300 (2)
Jack: 4000 (2)
Magic: 4000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (0)
"That's one attack, and here comes number two! Hope keeping your monster alive was worth it! Hit 'im again, Marauder!" the marauder charged forth once again.
"Hang tough, Shield Wing!"
"Oh, he may hang tough, but your life-points sure won't!"
Yusei: 2600 (2)
Jack: 4000 (2)
Magic: 4000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (0)
"Wow, it'll be tough for Yusei to come back from that!" Crow said.
Yes it will, Crow; especially since this card is now automatically summoned because the warrior-type monster on my field failed to destroy a monster during battle! Come forth, (*) Sword Master(3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 0)!" an arabian-styled warrior appeared with a large sword in hand (ATK: 1200), "Your Shield Wing may be able to withstand two attacks, but as they say: the third time's the charm! Actually, make that harm!" Sword Master slashed Shield wing to pieces, "And once again you take the points difference as damage."
Yusei: 2300 (2)
Jack: 4000 (2)
Magic: 4000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (0)
"Whoa, this is turning into a blowout!" Crow exclaimed.
"There. I'm through."
"Good. Now my duel can finally start! My move!" Magic drew her first card, "Get ready! I summon Defender, the Magical Knight in DEF mode!" the blue-armored magician appeared with his shield held out in front of him (DEF: 2000), "the I place 2 card face-down and end my turn!" two reverse-card appeared.
"Then I'm up!" Crow started his turn, "Since you're the only one with a monster on the field, let's balance the equation by summoning Blackwing Sirocco the Dawn!" the blue-crested Blackwing avian appeared (ATK: 2000), "And since there's a Blackwing on my field, I got a couple of monster ready to join the party! So say hello to Blackwings Bora the Spear and Gale the Whirlwind!" the green-crested avian tuner appeared (ATK: 1300) along with the spear-holding avian warrior (ATK: 1700), "Next I activate Gale's special-ability, which cuts the points of one of your monsters in half! Go!" Gale launched a giant tornado against Defender, who stood strong against it with his shield (ATK: 1600-800/DEF: 2000-1000), "Now for Sirocco's special-ability! He combines the ATK points of every Blackwing on my field to one of my monsters. So now Bora the Spear is attacking for three this turn!" the Blackwings' power was absorbed into Bora, who the preceded to attacking with its cyclone-covered spear (ATK: 1700-5000), "And it works wonders for Bora because when he attacks a monster in DEF mode, you take the difference as damage!"
"I activate my face-down cards, the speed-spell Shrink and the trap Pitch-Black Power Stones!" Margaret opened her two reverse-cards, "With the quick-play spell Shrink, by removing both my speed-counters, the original ATK points your Bora the Spear has are cut in half!" a blast of energy shot from the card into Bora, absorbing half its original strength (ATK: 5000-4000), "And Pitch-Black Power Stone gathers up 3 spell-counters, one of which I can give to Defender this turn!" the gem in Defender's shield glowed (CTR: 1), "And that's the counter I'm using to activate Defenders ability, defending him from your attack!" Bora's attack collided with Defender's shield, which proved to be more effective despite its low power. Bora pulled back without managing to make a dent.
Yusei: 2300 (2)
Jack: 4000 (2)
Magic: 1000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (2)
"Then I'll place one card face-down to end my turn!" Crow concluded.
"Now's my turn!" Yusei drew his next card, "For my first move, I summon Junk Synchron in DEF mode!" the rust-colored tuner appeared (DEF: 500).
"A tuner-monster?!" Crow exclaimed.
"And since Junk Synchron's been summoned, I can now bring back from my grave to the field a level-2-or-below monster in DEF mode. And the monster I'm summoning back is Shield Wing!" Shield Wing returned through a blue portal.
"A level-3 tuner-monster and a level-2 monster..." Magic wondered.
"Usually there'd be no doubt, Yusei'd go ahead and synchro-summon Junk Warrior," Crow said, "But since he swore off synchro-summoning, it's anyone's guess!"
"And now because I have two monsters out in defense mode, I can summon forth this card from my hand: (*) Backup Warrior(5/ATK: 2100/DEF: 0)!" a shoulder-like warrior appeared with a backpack equipped with three large barrels (ATK: 2200), "Then I'll play a trap, Synchro Deception!" Yusei opened his reverse-card, "Ya see when the monsters needed to synchro-summon are gathered on the field, by sending Junk Warrior from my extra-deck to the graveyard, Backup Warrior's attack points increase by half of Junk Warrior's ATK points! In other words, Jack, Backup Warrior's strength now goes up by 1150 points (ATK: 2100-3250), "Now go, Backup Warrior, take out that Sword Master! Rapid Blast Barrage!" the warrior fired his lasers and destroyed Sword Master.
Yusei: 2300 (3)
Jack: 1950 (3)
Magic: 1000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (2)
"I end my turn." Yusei concluded.
"Interesting. So instead of summoning a synchro monster, you used its components to increase another monster's ATK points," Jack deduced, "Guess that's one way to keep them 'in' the battle but off the battlefront. However in my opinion it's quite a cowardly way, Yusei! My turn!" Jack drew his next card, "First I summon Dark Bug from my hand!" the blocky bug appeared (ATK: 100), "And I can assure you he's gonna bug you, because when he's successfully summoned I'm then allowed to summon one tuner-monster from my grave! Return to battle, Sword Master!" the arabian warrior returned (ATK: 1200), "And now I'll tune my level-3 Sword Master with the level-1 Dark Bug and level-4 Twin-Sword Marauder to do what you should've never questioned doing, Yusei! I'm going to bring out the ultimate, the all-powerful, the Red Dragon Archfiend in a synchro-summon!" the three monsters merged and Jack's ace red dragon appeared (ATK: 3000), "Now then, here's where I prove that you're wrong about synchros, Yusei! Go, Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Backup Warrior!" the dragon ripped its burning clar through the warrior and destroyed it.
Yusei: 1400 (3)
Jack: 1950 (3)
Magic: 1000 (0)
Crow: 4000 (2)
"Yes!" Jack swerved sideways and hit the brakes. Yusei and the others braking as well.
"Jack...?" Crow asked.
"Duel mode disengaged," the computer announced, canceling the program as the monsters vanished.
Jack rode over and stopped beside Yusei, "This duel's over. We both know how it's going to end, there's no point going any further. D'you understand now, Yusei? Synchro monsters may not be perfect, but they're still the best weapon we've got."
"No one's saying they're not a great weapon, Jack," Crow said, "it's just that the Ghost was able to trap them."
"The Ghost is long gone. ...And so am I!" Jack then rode off down the read, leaving them.
"O-kay..."
Crow did not notice but Margaret couldn't help but watch Yusei's hands shaking on his grip, 'This is not looking good. If this keeps up then this whole team will fall apart...'
Unknown to all of them, someone had been watching them from afar. But now he decided that there's nothing else to witness as he walked off, "I've seen enough."
An intense chill ran down Yusei's spine as he felt some omninous presence. He looked over his shoulder to where it would have been only to find nothing, 'Someone's out there...'
"Now what's all the commotion about?" Jason wondered as he stopped in the Daimon area arena. Katherine called him saying there's something 'amazing' going on there and Gabriella's in the middle of it. By what she said it can't be anything bad. He climbed off his runner and searched around through the crowd already there.
"Jason! Over here!" Jason turned to the front of the crowd see Katherine hopping barely over the crowd waving to him.
"So what's going on?" Jason asked after weaving through to the front where Katherine is.
"Look at that!" Katherine pointed out to the painted field where her guardian's standing.
"Gabriella!" Jason alerted Gabriella to his call.
"Jason, you're here," Gabriella said.
"Is there something I need to know about?" Jason asked, then looking down at Gabriella's duel-disk, "So what's the occasion? I hardly see you duel anymore?"
"It's...complicated," Gabriella asked, "Can I tell you after this is over with?"
"Alright," Jason nodded backed away into the crowd next to Katherine, "Just one question; who's she supposed to be dueling?"
"She's dueling her!" Katherine pointed out to Gabriella's opponent, another young woman with a flame-style bandanna and shawl.
"Anytime you're ready!" the woman said and activated her duel-disk, Gabriella doing the same.
?: 8000
Gabriella: 8000
"If you don't mind, I would like to take the first turn," Gabriella drew her first card, "I summon (1) Fabled Oltro(2/ATK: 800/DEF: 500) to the field in DEF position," a masked, imp-like baby appeared sucking on a pacifier in its baby walker (DEF: 500), "Next, I activate his special-ability by sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, so I can special-summon a level-3 Fabled monster from my hand, like my Fabled Dyf," the elderly dragonkin fiend appeared (ATK: 1400), "Next, since Fabled Soulkius is in my graveyard, I can send two card from my hand to the graveyard to bring Soulkius back on the field," after discarding her two cards, the winged, red-masked fiend appeared (ATK: 2200), "And since I sent a Fabled monster from my hand to the graveyard this turn, I release Fabled Dyf to summon that same monster to the field. So Fabled Dianaira is summoned from the graveyard," the dragonkin vanished and was replaced by the armored, golden-masked colossus fiend (ATK: 2800), "I'll end my turn there."
"Then it's my turn!" the duelist drew her next card; and before it even got into her hand, her arm swung over behind her, pointing towards a random watcher holding a tape-player. Turning it on, they played a festive tune that seemed to excite the crown around them. Murmurs and clamors were all around, "Let's get this party started by summoning (2) Jurrac Guaiba(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 400) in ATK mode!" a long-necked, bipedal dinosaur appeared with red-and-yellow flame-styled scales with blue scales and blazing talons and spine (ATK: 1700), "Now! Attack Fabled Oltro!" the dinosaur spat out a stream of fire from its blue-faced maw and incinerated the Fabled, "And guess what! When Guaiba destroys a monster, I can summon a Jurrac monster with 1700-or-less ATK points from my deck! So (3) Jurrac Velo(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000), come and join the party!" an emerald-scaled and crimson-mawed raptor appeared with burning cobalt talons (ATK: 1700), "And with one card face-down, I end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn," Gabriella drew her next card, "When Fabled Kushano is in my graveyard, I can discard a Fabled monster from my hand to return it back to my hand," she traded one of the cards in her hand for Kushano, "And since Krus is the Fabled I discarded, her special-ability allows me to special-summon one of the Fabled monsters from my graveyard as long as it's level-4-or-lower. So I summon Fabled Raven from the graveyard," the dark avian-like fiend rose to the field (ATK: 1300), "Next, by sending discarding two cards from my hand, I increase Raven's level by two (Lvl: 2-4), "And one of the cards I discarded was Fabled Lurrie, so I'm allowed to special-summon the monster from my graveyard," the Fabled imp appeared (DEF: 400), "And now I tune Fabled Soulkius with Fabled Raven in order to synchro-summon Fabled Leviathan!" Raven broke down into four synchro-gates and lowered themselves around Soulkius. From a column of light came the king of the Fabled, the decorate-armored fiend sitting lazily on his throne (ATK: 3000), "And when Leviathan's synchro-summoned, I can add three Fabled monster from my graveyard back to my hand," Gabriella added three more cards to replace his hand, "Next, I normal-summon Fabled Raven back to the field from my hand," the avian fiend returned (ATK: 1300), "And just like before, I discard Fabled Krus and Fabled Soukius to increase Raven's level by one (Lvl: 2-4), "That once again activates Krus special-ability, which allows a level-4-or-lower Fabled to be summoned to the field from the graveyard. And the monster I choose to summon Fabled Kushano!" the book-toting winged Fabled appeared (ATK: 1100), "And now I tune Fabled Lurrie with Fabled Raven in order to synchro-summon Fabled Ragin!" the two Fabled monsters merged and became the armored Fabled knight (ATK: 2300), "And when Ragin is synchro-summoned, I'm allowed to draw until I hold two cards in my hand," Gabriella drew two cards, "And from there I tune Ragin with Fabled Kushano to synchro-summon Fabled Valkyrus!" two more Fabled monsters merged and formed the armored Fabled general (ATK: 2900), "Next I activate Valkyrus' special-ability and discard a fiend-type monster from my graveyard to draw an extra card," Gabriella discarded one of her monsters to draw once more, "Next I activate the spell Monster Reborn to summon Fabled Urustos from the graveyard," the skeletal, reaper-like Fabled appeared (ATK: 1500), "And since I have two or less cards in my hand, all my Fables that are on my field gain 400 ATK points!"
Fabled Dianaira: (ATK: 2900-3300)
Fabled Valkyrus: (ATK: 2900-3300)
Fabled Leviathan: (ATK: 3000-3400)
Fabled Urustos: (ATK: 1500-1900)
"Now, I attack Jurrac Guaiba with Fabled Dianaira!" the colossal Fabled destroyed the dinosaur with a swipe of its metal claw.
?: 6500
Gabriella: 8000
"Next, I attack Jurrac Velo with Fabled Valkyrus!" Valkyrus fired a bolt of dark lightning and destroyed the second dinosaur, leaving nothing but flickers of flame remaining.
?: 4900
Gabriella: 8000
"Thanks! You just helped activated my monster's special-ability!" the duelist said, "After a battle when Velo has to go away, one of his little brothers get to pick up where he left off! So I'm bringing out (4) Jurrac Stauriko(2/ATK: 500/DEF: 400) from my deck in DEF mode!" the flames expanded and erupted and a blue-and-green dinosaur popped out with three flaming spines (DEF: 400).
"Fabled Leviathan, attack!" Leviathan Lazily pointed out one finger and fired a black lightning that destroyed the third dinosaur.
"Whenever Jurrac Stauriko goes, he leaves behind a little present: two Jurrac Tokens (1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)!" a pair of heating dinosaur eggs emerged from Stauriko's fiery remains (DEF: 0x2), "And there's more! I got one more Jurrac ready to join the party! (5) Jurrac Herra(6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1500)!" a bipedal emerald-and-gold dinosaur appeared, equipped with a pair of fire-spewing barrels on its back (ATK: 2300), "This Jurrac is the type that comes out whenever another Jurrac that's in DEF mode leaves the field after battle!"
"Fabled Urustos, attack one of her Jurrac tokens!" Uraustos brought out a scythe and cut one of the eggs on half, "I end my turn there."
"It's my turn!" the duelist drew her next card, "And I summon (6) Jurrac Monoloph(3/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200) to the field in ATK mode!" a small blue-and-yellow tyrannosaur with a flaming spine appeared (ATK: 1500), "Next I activate the quick-play spell card Forbidden Chalice! It adds 400 ATK points to a monster on the field, but negates its special-ability!" a cloud of rain poured down on Dianaira (ATK: 3300-3700), "And next, I activate the equip-spell Mist Body! This card equips to any monster on the field, making that monster immune to enemy attacks! And the lucky monster getting this awesome accessory will be Fabled Leviathan!"
"But wait a minute! Wouldn't protecting Gabby's monster hurt her instead of help her?" Katherine wondered.
"Next I activate the spell Gift of the Martyr! The only downside of this card is that Herra has to step off the dance floor. Sure he's gone, but not forgotten! Because he's gonna have one last dance with Monoloph, adding together their ATK points!" Monoloph hopped onto Herra's back. The two dinos screeched in jubilation (ATK: 1500-3800), "And that works great for the both of them, because Monoloph can attack all monsters you have on the field!"
"So that's how she plans to counter Gabe's army of monsters," Jason realized, "But that still doesn't explain why she decided to protect Leviathan..."
"Now let's have a dance to remember! Attack!" Monoloph rose ontop of Herra towards the army of the Fabled. Herra used its powerful legs to jump high above the field, where the dinos took aim and opened fire, both with their flaming maws and Herra cannons combined into a blazing inferno incinerating all but their king within its path. Herra left the field and Monoloph to land in its tiny little feet.
?: 4900
Gabriella: 3900
"And after placing one card face-down, that ends my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn," Gabriella drew her next card, "Leviathan, attack her Jurrac token!" Leviathan destroyed the egg, "I end my turn there."
"It's my turn!" the duelist drew her next card, "I summon (7) Jurrac Iguanon(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 700)!" a blazing blue-and-green iguanadon appeared (ATK: 1700), "Now for some choreography! I tune my level-3 Jurrac Monoloph to my level-4 Jurrac Iguanon!" Monoloph broke into three synchro-gates and moved through Iguanon. Gabriella's opponent started stamping her feet into another dance, all while she chanted:
"It's all touch-and-go!
My jurrasic beat will grow!
Now let's Synchro-Summon (8) Jurrac Giganoto(7/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800)!"
The column of light became a blazing pillar of flame, where out came a large blue, red and yellow carnivorous dinosaur. Similar to Monoloph, it had two spines lit aflame and its tail sporting a burning tip (ATK: 2100), "As long as this monsters on the field, all Jurrac monsters gain 200 ATK points for every Jurrac sleeping in my graveyard! I got 6 at this point, so Giganoto gains 1600 ATK points (ATK: 2100-3700)! Attack Fabled Leviathan!" Giganoto fired a stream of flame over Leviathan, who managed to block it with his giant crimson wings.
?: 4900
Gabriella: 3200
"And that ends my turn!"
"It's my turn," Gabriella drew her next card, "I activate the spell card Pot of Avarice. It lets me remove five monster from my graveyard and shuffle them into my deck. Then I can draw two more cards," Fabled monsters Raven, Krus, Lurrie, Kushano returned to the deck while Ragin was sent to the extra-deck. Afterwards, Gabriella drew two cards, "Next, I switch Fabled Leviathan to DEF mode," Leviathan gained a blue aura (DEF: 2000), "I end my turn."
"It's my turn!" the duelist drew her next card, "I activate the trap card Final Attack Orders! As long as this card is out all monsters stay in ATK mode!" after the continuous-trap card opened, Leviathan switched to ATK mode (ATK: 3000), "Next I activate my face-down card, Rising Energy!" she opened her reverse-card, "By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, this trap adds 1500 ATK points to Giganoto for this turn! And with an extra Jurrac Monoloph in my graveyard, he hains an extra 200 (ATK: 3700-5400)! Then I'll have Giganoto attack Leviathan!" Giganoto fired a stream of fire at Leviathan.
?: 4900
Gabriella: 800
"And with that, I end my turn and Rising Energy's effect wears off (ATK: 5400-3900)," the duelist concluded.
"It's my turn," Gabriella drew her next card, "I activate Fabled Grimo's effect from my hand. By sending her to the graveyard, I can add another level-4-or-lower Fabled monster from my deck to my hand. And the monster I choose is Fabled Raven," Gabrella pulled the card from her deck, "Next I summon Fabled Raven to the field," the avian Fabled reappeared (ATK: 1300), "Next I discard one card form my hand to increase Fabled Raven's level by one (Lvl: 2-3). And since the monster I discarded was Fabled Lurrie, he can be summoned to the field," the little Fabled returned (ATK: 200), "And now I tune Fabled Lurrie with Fabled Raven to synchro-summon Armory Arm!" the two Fabled monsters merged and a giant clawed gauntlet stood in their place (ATK: 1800), "And now I equip Armory Arm to Fabled Leviathan, increasing his ATK points by 1000," the gauntlet latched itself around Leviathan's right arm (ATK: 3000-4000), "Fabled Leviathan, attack Jurrac Giganoto!" Leviathan reached out with his gloved gauntlet and struck down the dinosaur.
?: 4800
Gabriella: 800
"And when a monster is destroyed by a monster equipped with Armory Arm, the destroyed monster's ATK points are inflicted to the opponent as damage!" Leviathan raised his gauntlet and fired a large bolt of crimson lightning at the duelist.
?: 2700
Gabriella: 800
"Yay! That dino's gone!" Katherine cheered, "Now Gabby has the advantage!"
"Now don't go jumping to conclusions yet," Jason warned, "She still has more life-points than Gabriella, so it's anyone's guess how this turns out."
"THIS, DUEL, IS, OVER!" the duelist shouted from the top of her lungs. At that moment the music stopped completely.
"Over...?" Gabriella wondered, "Does that mean...you're giving up?"
"Not giving up, just finished," the woman said, bringing out a towel to wipe the sweat from her brow, "Thanks for giving me such a great duel!" she swung around and grabbed the jukebox before skipping away from the arena.
"But wait!" Gabriella called, and the girl stopped, "You did challenge me to win, didn't you?"
The woman turned her gaze to Gabriella with a innocent stare, "Sure I wanna win, but don't you wanna have fun, too?" Gabriella gave her own confused stare when the woman smiled, and the music turned back on, "Yeah! We both had fun! And I'm glad I dueled you!" the girl sprinted away, with some of the spectators following the music.
"Yeah...me too," Gabriella couldn't help but let out a small chuckle before finding Jason and Katherine and joining them.
"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Jason asked.
"Right, I almost forgot about that. It's about that duelist I just fought. When we first met she had one of these with her," Gabriella pulled out a small, rectangular object from her person.
"A Duel Terminal...?" Jason asked, "You mean like the ones you and I have?"
"Yes. She also said she was looking for me, like she knew who I was or something... Do you think this has anything to do with whoever gave these to us?"
"I don't know what to think. What I am concerned of is, does anyone else have one of their own? And if so, what do they have in common...?"
Nighttime in New Domino City lights up the new racing tracks in dazzling loops of multicolored streetlights, leading up to a brightly-lid pavilion on stilts above the water where an event's taking place...
"The World Racing Grand Prix Gala! This is cool!" they're standing under the pavilion roof where the party is, formally dressed besides Yusei and Crow. Leo went jumping around the place trying to take in everything at once, "The music! The decorations! The duelists! And best of all, the food!"
"I'll tellya, things have been so intense lately!" Crow said, "This party should really help us take our mind off things, don't'cha think?"
"...Huh?" Margaret was haste to reply, not exactly paying attention, "...Oh, sure, whatever."
Crow glances back and noticed what Margerat was staring at; Yusei's been even quieter than usual, staring straight ahead with a not-too-happy expression. "Huh? Yusei... hello, Yusei?"
'He's been more out of it than usual. This can't just be because of the Ghosts' attack,' Margaret thought, looking at her friend, 'That duel with Sherry must've got something to do with it...' he then saw Akiza looking at him with the same expression, 'And it looks like I'm not the only one who notices.'
"Hey guys, over here!" Carly came over waving to the group. She's weariing her own periwinkle gown.
"Hey, Carly. What're you doing here?" Crow greeted werily.
"What else? I'm doing a story. After all, this is like the premier duel event of the season! Ooh! Check it out, there's Team Unicorn!" she turned and pointed at the guest team with her camera, "Pointy hair and all! Speaking of... why isn't Jack here?"
"...You're right," Crow looked around, "Jack lives for these kinds of events, it's not like him to miss a big party like this. That is, unless-"
"Looking for me?" as if on cue Jack entered the scene wearing an absurdly snazzy suit in his usual white and purple, with gold embroidery around the edges.
"...Unless he wants to be fashionably late."
"'Fashionable' is right," Jack boasted, "nothing beats a tailored suit!"
"What?! Ya had it tailored?!" Crow exclaimed, "Jack, how many times do I have to tell you: we barely have enough money to make our rent and eat! What made ya use a tailor?!"
"Carly. She said I'd look extra-handsome in a fitted suit." and just when it looks like the argument could go all night...
"Your attention, please!" the familiar voice of a certain short-statured vice-director came as Lazar was shown of several holographic screens as he stood on a gallery above the room. His face appears on several holographic screens that float through the air as he speaks. "I am Lazar, and I thank you for joining us tonight to celebrate the commencement of the first ever, World Racing Grand Prix!" the screens shift to show images of the city and its new bridge architecture as he continued, "As everyone knows, New Domino City has undergone quite a few changes as of late, not least of which was the opening of the Daedalus Bridge, which has effectively ended the strife that once existed between the City and the Satellite. Now duelists can come and go through both districts. So what better way to celebrate this triumph, than with a duel event like no other! And I assure you, my friends, the World Racing Grand Prix will be exactly that. Many surprises await, believe you-me, but for now let me just say welcome!"
The crowds either cheered or clapped or both. But not everyone was excited, as both Akiza and Margaret looked solemnly at a spaced-out Yusei.
'...Do I really need a new strategy...?' he thought, his mind wandering back to earlier today when he failed at defeating Jack's Red Dragon Archfiend, 'Could Jack be right? Is it foolish for me to try and duel without using synchros to their full ability?' he was pulled back to reality when that familiar chill from earlier returned. Could someone be spying on him...?
"Hey, guys!" Jason called out as he joined the group, with Gabriella and Katherine following him. Even Crow turned from his own ranting to see him.
"It's been a while. What's up?" Crow greeted, "You're entering the grand prix too, aren't you? So whare's your team?"
"My team?" Jason asked, "Actually, David's outside on guard duty, and Kenichi's, well..." he pointed over to one of the buffet tables wher Kenichi can been seen helping himself to varieties of meat. Just when he was about to consume a large steak, someone's fork had jabbed into it. The two locked eyes with fierce expressions in common as the began a tug-of-war over the plate, "I...better break that up," Jason then rushed over to the table while another came to break the fight as well, by swiping the plate from under them both.
"Easy there! There's a whole lot more where that came from," the one in the cowboy hat said as he held the steak out of swiping range, "Lets not fight over one plate!"
"What gives?! I had it first!" his partner, the one with the blonde pompadour said.
"Hey, get you eyes checked!" Kenichi snapped, "I had my fork in it first!"
"Kenichi! Please!" Jason hissed.
"If you guys are gonna fight over it then neither of you may as well have it," the one with the hat said, "It's better than going at each others' throats when there's an entire buffet to choose from."
"Fine! But they better have more t-bone ready..." the one with pompadour stomped off with Kenichi storming off to the opposite direction.
"Sorry about my teammate there," the one wearing the hat said.
"Yeah, mine too," Jason said, "Hey, does that mean you competing in the grand prix as well?"
"Yeah! And I'm guessing so are you," the young man tipped his hat, "Name's Axel, by the way."
"My name's Jason. Nice to meet you."
Suddenly the KaibaDome master-or-ceremonies popped up on the screens, "Greetings, one and all! It is my great honor to announce a very special feature in this, our premiere Grand Prix!" the lights dim, and a holographic model of New Domino's dueling tracks appears in the air above the room. Small specks of light race along the tracks like fireflies on duel runners. Some of the tracks even seem to loop-the-loop. Everyone present watched in awe at the new roads, "What you see before you is a new duel course currently under construction in New Domino City! But, this is not just any duel course; these roads can transform to create tracks the likes of which you've never seen! But, in order to duel on it, you'll need to prove your Duel Monsters mettle and win your way to the finals! Good luck, duelists!"
Elsewhere in the building, Lezar walked through the hallway entering a sitting room in which the four cloaked figures were sitting on couches observing the festivities on a screen.
"I am pleased to report that the gala is a great success, my Directors." Lazar bowed.
Well done, Lazar," the largest one praised.
"But of course."
"The fools don't have a clue what's really going on!" the smallest one giggled.
"And it's important that it stays that way," the middle one suggested, "After all, if these duelists find out what we're up to, this will all be in vain."
"That's right. If we're going to use their power, they need to 'believe' they're using it to win the Grand Prix," the female figure reminded, "Then, when their duel energy is ours, and ready to be channeled for the Grand Design, it will be too late for them to stop me- oh, that is, too late for them to stop us."
The middle figure turned away to conceal the sneer of rage on his face.
Back at the party, while everyone else were occupying themselves, Yusei was still brooding a short distance away.
"Yusei Fudo?" he snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his name. He was being addressed by three guys in blue jumpsuits. The one speaking to him had dark red, spiky hair. "It is you; you're the duelist who won the Fortune Cup a while back, am I right? I've heard about you; good things!" Yusei was a bit taken aback, frowning in suspicion, "Sorry, allow me to introduce ourselves; we go by the handle 'Team Unicorn'."
"Team Unicorn?!" Crow joined the conversation, stoked to meeting them, "I know you! You guys have, like, every team-dueling record that's out there! You're the guys who made team dueling so popular!"
"And you are...?"
"The name's Crow; I'm one a' Yusei's teammates."
"Uh, excuse me..." with one last suspicious glance at Team Unicorn, Yusei turned and walked away, though not going unnoticed by Margaret.
"Yusei, what gives; whereya goin'?!" Crow flashed another quick grin at the team for a moment, "Uh, sorry, he's really not usually like this. Uh, pardon me for a second." he was ready to follow Yusei until he was held back by Margeret.
"How about you stay here while I take care of Yusei," she didn't stand around long enough for Crow to ask why as Margaret followed Yusei through the gala. "Yusei! Wait, hold on!"
"Let go!" the moment Margaret reached out Yusei swatted her hand away.
"What is wrong with you, lately? Are you still worried about the Ghost? Or is Sherry still the problem?!" Yusei stopped by the time she was done, but she was far from finished, "Whatever it is that's bothering you it needs to be straightened out! But that's not gonna happen until you decide to let us help!"
"Sorry, not this time, okay?" Yusei walked further away, leaving Margaret to grimace.
'Why does this have to happen at a time like this...' Margaret thought. Just as she kept looking on, she didn't notice someone else scurrying away until a giant duel runner, bristling with punk-metal spikes, crashes through the window. The party was immediately in chaos! Everyone tried to run for cover as the huge guy on the runner happily perpetuates the mayhem. Huge, big bulging muscles, tanned complexion, T-shirt with a skull and crossbones, electric pink mohawk and prison dye shaped like a lightning bolt between his right eye and mustache. The thug was now parked in the middle of the floor. "Hope none a' you uppacrusts mind me crashin' your party!"
"That's Debacle; he's a local tough guy." Carly muttered aside to Jack, Crow and the others while guards surrounded Debacle.
"I heard about your little contest!" Debacle waved his poster to the crowd, as well as a huge fist, "but guess what, it ain't happenin' unless I gets a cut a' the prize dough!"
"Arrest him!" Trudge lead a battalion of guards at Debacle, but have easily been sent flying.
"Comin' through!" Debacle started riding, scattering bystanders and overturning tables.
Apparently Primo was the only one amused by the spectacle, "I like this fellow's style." he chuckled.
"Lemme clear those tables!" Debacle mowed across the room scattering tables and chasing people off, "Who wants some!" Soon the only people standing in his path were a pair of children, too frightened to even move.
"Kat! Rico! Get outta the way!" Jason cried, sprinting off to stand between then and the giant steamroller. Just as he was carrying them to safety, Akiza stood in front facing Dabacle, her duel disk already activated on her arm. "You wanna get flattened? Fine!"
"Come forth, Black Rose Dragon!" Akiza's card shimmered with power as she threw it onto her duel disk. Debacle shouts in terror at the sight of Akiza's monster as it whipped him back with her vines, causing him and his runner to tumble back until he crashed through another window. His runner was overturned on the dark patio outside.
"H-how dare you!" The stammering thug looks up at the petite female duelist whose gown perfectly matches her monster's petaled wings. She's smiling slightly, an unnatural glimmer in her eyes.
"All right, men, surround him! You're coming with us!" Security decided to take advantage of the moment and rushed in.
"You'll never catch me!" Debacle jumped back on his runner; the big back wheel allowed it to flip itself back over. The officers scattered before he can land his front wheel on any of their helmets.
Axel and Toru were both watching as the colossus sped away across the wide terrace.
"I guess that's one way to crash a party..."
"We better grab that doggy bag and go..."
The two nodded.
"Quickly! Take to your duel-runners!" Trudge commanded.
But unbeknownst to Akiza she was being monitored from the group in the sitting room.
"A psychic duelist?" the colossus noticed.
"I've have enough of these theatrics!" the swordsman stood in disgust, "Time to put an end to this."
"That won't be necessary," the female said, "I already have someone else on it."
Out on the tracks and roads below the pavilion, Debacle zoomed out while being pursued by about ten Security runners. "Stop, in the name of the law!"
"You Sector slobs just don't give up, do ya?" Debacle pulled ahead so that the Security runners just can't keep up. David Carten, leading the charge, was startled as yet another duel runner joined the chase, overtaking him and leaving him in the dust with ease, bulleting after Debacle.
Pulling up a screen on his runner, he tried pulling up the bike's profile... "Unregistered runner? Could it be... the Ghost?!" he looked ahead as the mysterious rider was coming up fast on Debacle.
Back at the party, Security officers are comforting injured or traumatized guests, and reporters are buzzing around. when Trudge received a call on his earpiece. "What?! Did you say the Ghost is on the scene?!"
Debacle careened out of a huge cloud of fire and smoke, skidding all over the road. "Please, I'll surrender but no more duelin'!" he pleaded as his opponent kept chase. The fact that there was no longer a duel-runner chasing him seemed trivial compared to what exactly he was facing...
"Pleading mercy is futile..." the mystery duelist replied soulessly, before raising an arm and firing a rocket straight towards Debacle.
Yusei, Jack, Crow and the rest of the group ran through the hallway after hearing the news. "I don't know how the Ghost is back," Jack huffed, "But I do know this much: Jack Atlas is going to take him down!" after leaving they made it to the large parking lot where they came from, "Come on, we've got to try and catch up with him!"
But before they could get to their duel-runners a stranger came out from behind a column was blocking their path, "Hey, outta the way," Crow demanded, "we're in a hurry here!"
The person had dark, spiky hair, wearing a pink visor and the blue jumpsuit, with a sort of mantle of armor around his collarbone and shoulders made of grey plastic or metal.
"Do we know you?" Leo asked.
When the stranger walked up to Yusei, he caught a glimpse of a pair of sharp grey eyes through his visor. That's when Yusei somehow knew! 'It's those same eyes. The ones that've been watching me...!'
Axel and Toru were coming up to the parking lot where they saw the confrontation in progress.
"Hey, isn't that Yusei Fudo over there?" Toru asked.
Axel took a closer look. "Hey, you're right! And that's Jack Atlas! Wonder what's up..."
"Why don't you ask them yourself." the two Crash Town duelist got spooked when a third voice chimed in, causing them to jump from their hiding place. What came out with them was a woman with wildly-spiked blue hair. She wore a uniform in two different shads of crimson outlined in yellow highlights including a grey cuirass with a high collar, matching knee guards and gloves under the large red sleeves.
And the rest were there to watch the small spectacle, "Oh, now what?" Crow groaned.
"We have more important things to worry about, Yusei. Let's go!" Magic, Jack and Crow keep running with the rest of the group following, and Yusei shook off his daze and started to follow also.
"Go and do what?" the group stopped at the stranger's call and turned back to face him again, "The duel will be over by the time you find the Ghost."
"And even if it's not, you won't be able to help," the female walked over to join the male stranger. Standing together one could guess their outfits were similar. "Will you, Yusei?"
Standing Close to Yusei, Margaret could hear a small gasp from him. She could tell a certain nerve of his was struck.
The eyes behind the male's visor meets the Signer's gaze levelly, "You're not ready to face the Ghost again. In fact, none of you are."
"You must first find what you're looking for."
"'Looking for?'" Yusei repeated.
"That's right. And only a small few among you would be able to handle it," the female then raise a finger, "Yusei Fudo... Jason Hutchins..." the artificial signer let out a short gasp at her decision, "Margaret Spires..." the magician duelist flinched slightly when she was picked, "Axel Xavier..." the cowboy pointed at himself curiously to verify, "You have potential to find The Synchro Solution."
Margaret could already feel something strange from the two strangers, and she doesn't like it one bit. She was ready to tell them off before Crow beat her to it. "The 'Synchro Solution'? What's that all about?"
"And another thing! Who exactly are you?!" Kenichi jumped in. "How'bout a name or somethin', 'buddy'!"
"Supposed Lektra will do for now." the female spoke, shying away in an aloof manner.
"You can call me Visor." the male simply stated.
"So 'Visor', how do we know we can trust you?" Yusei asked.
"You can't," the man called Visor scoffed, "Where I come from, trust is something a person has to earn. Guess you'll have to duel me and find out for yourself!"
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Fabled Oltro
Stats: [Field/Tuner] LV: 2 (ATK: 800/DEF: 500)
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, you can send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Level 3 "Fabled" monster from your hand.
(2) Jurrac Guaiba
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1700/DEF: 400)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can Special Summon 1 "Jurrac" monster with 1700 or less ATK from your Deck, but it cannot declare an attack this turn.
(3) Jurrac Velo
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: When this face-up Attack Position card attacks or is attacked, and it isdestroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 "Jurrac" monster with 1700 or less ATK from your Deck.
(4) Jurrac Stauriko
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 2 (ATK: 500/DEF: 400)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: If this card is destroyed by battle, Special Summon 2 "Jurrac Tokens" (Dinosaur-Type/FIRE/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position. These Tokens cannot be Tributed for a Tribute Summon, unless it is for a "Jurrac" monster.
(5) Jurrac Herra
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 6 (ATK: 2300/DEF: 1500)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: When a Defense Position "Jurrac" monster you control, except "Jurrac Herra", is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon this card from your hand or Graveyard.
(6) Jurrac Monoloph
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: This card can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each.
(7) Jurrac Iguanon
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1700/DEF: 700)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can select 1 Set card your opponent controls, and return it to the hand.
(8) Jurrac Giganoto
Stats: [Dinosaur/Effect] LV: 7 (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Dinosaur-Type monsters
All face-up "Jurrac" monsters you control gain 200 ATK for each "Jurrac" monster in your Graveyard.
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