Ancient Egyptians say "Diaha!" in this scenario.
As Leo made a few practice laps around the duel track, Yusei finished up his modifications on his runner. Once his helmet was on and he boarded his ride, Luna stood by, silent and not looking at him.
"Is everything all right?" the scientist questioned her.
"I'm conflicted about who I want to win," she confessed. "I mean, anytime I see you duel, I want you to win, but I also want Leo to grow as a duelist. I just don't know who to root for..."
"Then just watch the duel," Yusei suggested. "Playing favorites between people close to you never turn out well. I'm not really concerned if you root for me or for your brother. I won't pass judgment on you if you do root for Leo. All I'm here to do is answer the challenge and go for the gold." His wisdom lifted a huge weight off of Luna's conscience; nothing was going to change between them. What she did have to figure out, however, was how to break the news to her brother that she was romantically interested in Yusei. Right as he turned his ride on and set his helmet visor down, Luna skipped over and gingerly kissed his left cheek.
"For luck," the young woman whispered. Yusei nodded affirmatively and he sped out onto the track.
"He always knows how to make things better," she thought to herself. "That's what makes him great."
Out on the track, Leo was on his last pace lap as Yusei waited patiently at the starting line. The excitement pulsating from the crowd was electric. They were emotionally invested in dueling; just like any sport, dueling had its unique and gifted combatants, intricate storylines from each match, and non-stop action. The male twin circled back and stood, ready for the green light.
"Let's hope you haven't lost your touch," Leo gloated. "If I want to be the best, I gotta beat the best."
"Your high confidence hasn't been lost," Yusei reminded him. "But it's going to take more than trash talk to win this duel." The countdown sensor started to count from ten to one and Speed World 2 was set in motion. The green light shone and both riders zoomed toward the first turn. They alternated between first and second a few times before Leo barely edged out Yusei for the first move.
"Looks like I'm first," the male twin surmised, drawing to hold six cards. "I'll kick things off with Morphtronic Radion!" Out of a blue vortex came what appeared to be a standard radio, but it quickly detached in several places to resemble a robot.
"Still with the Morphtronics?" Yusei questioned.
"You know it," Leo confirmed. "And with this guy out in attack mode, all Morphtronics gain 800 attack points." The new-looking radio surged in a yellow glow as its strength increased to 1,800.
"I'm gonna have to be careful," the scientist gauged to himself. "He's definitely improved from before."
"I'll put two cards face-down and leave it at that," the male twin concluded.
"In that case, my move," Yusei spoke while drawing his sixth card and gaining one speed counter with Leo. "Here comes Max Warrior." In front of his ride appeared a stoutly armored warrior holding a double-pronged staff.
"I ain't scared o' that!" Leo teased. "Both monsters are equal in strength!"
"They won't be when Max Warrior attacks!" the older duelist declared, sending his monster into battle. "Just so you know, Max Warrior gains 400 points during an attack." The monster raised its staff, ready to smash Leo's radio.
"I'm still ready for it, courtesy of Morphtransition!" the younger duelist countered, flipping one trap face-up. "Not only is your attack negated, but it switches Radion into defense mode." The staff stopped millimeters from the now defensive radio.
"Looks like I'll have to settle for a face-down card," he concluded his turn.
"Nothing yet," Luna thought to herself, standing from the sidelines. "But I know things will pick up soon."
"My turn then," Leo stated, drawing for four cards and holding two speed counters along with Yusei. "Here comes Morphtronic Scopen!" Next to the radio came a microscope that sprouted arms and grew a face.
"Since my scope is out in attack mode, I can summon another Morphtronic from my hand," he explained, placing another card on the field. "Like Slingen!" Next was a mechanized slingshot that became another robot.
"Nothing I can't handle," Yusei thought to himself.
"Next, I return Radion to attack mode, which increases all my monsters' strength by 800 points each," Leo continued. "Now Slingen goes after Max Warrior!" The slingshot loaded up a shot and launched it at Yusei's monster, destroying it and decreasing his score to 3,800.
"Now Scopen and Radion attack you directly!" he hollered as his monsters vaulted for his life points. Luna held her breath as she saw her lover face over 3,000 points of damage.
"By discarding Swift Scarecrow from my hand, I can avoid the rest of the battle for this turn," Yusei explained as he dropped a card into his graveyard.
"Then I'll turn my attention to your face-down card," the male twin uttered. "With Slingen's effect, I'll trade in Radion to destroy it!" He sneered as he loaded up his slingshot with the radio and hurled it at the face-down card.
"That's one more worry out of the way," he breathed.
"That's what you think," Yusei clucked, pulling a card from his deck and playing it. "Since the card you destroyed was Limiter Overload, I can now summon Speed Warrior from my deck." The shattered pixels of the trap regrouped and formed the monster, kneeling down defensively.
"If we're special summoning now, then allow me to up the ante," Leo went on, sending his monsters to the graveyard. "Since my Slingen was going to be destroyed when my turn's over, I'll use it in a Synchro Summon!" Both machines disappeared in a stream of green light, bringing out a new monster.
"I'd like to reacquaint you with Power Tool Dragon!" he bellowed as the large toy dragon roared into play.
"How could I forget that?" the scientist recounted.
"Then you might want to forget this," Leo interrupted, playing his other trap. "It's known as Power Burst: when Power Tool Dragon is successfully Synchro Summoned, I can destroy one face-up monster on your field and inflict 500 points of damage to you. However, if said monster has 1,000 attack points or less, then you get hit for damage equal to that monster's strength instead." Yusei tried to shield himself as Leo's trap surged through Speed Warrior and slammed his score down to 2,900.
"I'll put one card face-down and call it a turn," he concluded.
"He needs to summon a monster to fend off Power Tool Dragon," Luna assessed. "He also needs to start dishing out some damage. Come on..."
"You have gotten better," Yusei admitted, getting ready to draw. "And that's what I was hoping for."
Even though this duel is only three turns deep, it's gained enough action to this point. Only one fictional card (Power Burst) used thus far. When the second part comes, there could be more. What do you all think of how I made Leo's skills now? Review if you choose to and stay tuned for the next part.