Are you ready for some football?
"Behold Life Stream Dragon in all its glory!" Leo yodeled for dramatic effort. "And here comes the wallop!" The beast hurled a golden-colored blast at Stardust.
"I play Shield Warrior's special ability!" Yusei countered, pulling a card out from his graveyard. "Just so you know what happened, I tossed it when I played Angel Baton last turn. Now my dragon can withstand this assault." The gold blast scattered around Yusei's dragon to simulate an almost successful attack.
"No matter, 'cause you're still taking damage!" the male twin seethed impatiently as Yusei's score decreased to 900. "That's all I have for now." The scientist gathered his bearings and readied himself to draw again.
"I'm not sure how much more I can take," Luna gasped in disbelief. "I didn't think Leo would be doing this well against Yusei."
"The kid still has a speed spell in his hand," Yusei listed as he drew to hold one card and six counters while Leo held three counters. "Unless he draws a second spell, I'm still in this." He took the card he just drew and activated it.
"I play a second Angel Baton," the older duelist revealed. "Now I can draw two cards but must discard one." It didn't take much thought for Yusei to know what he wanted to discard.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn," he concluded his move.
"Looks like I'm up then," Leo sneered, drawing to hold one card and four speed counters along with Yusei's seven. "Here comes Sonic Buster! Since I hold at least four speed counters, I can subtract half the attack points of a monster on your field from your life points." A sonic shockwave burst out the back of Yusei's dragon, straight for him.
"No…" Luna squeaked to herself.
"I activate Damage Eater's special ability!" the scientist countered, pulling yet another card from his graveyard.
"What's going on?" Leo demanded to know.
"With Damage Eater, it can change damage into more points just by removing it from play," he explained while a yellow nightmarish fiend absorbed the shockwave and reinforced Yusei's life points to 2,150. "You're not the only one who can regain points."
"Now you're about to lose points," the boy snapped as his dragon launched another attack.
"Why do you think I laid Scrap-Iron Scarecrow on the field?" Yusei questioned while his trap revealed a metal pole decked out in a pilot's outfit. "Now I can negate your attack and reset my trap." The blast fizzled out and the scarecrow went face-down at the end.
"Fine; I end my turn," Leo scoffed. The duel was starting to heat up again and Leo was starting to lose his patience. No matter what he tried, Yusei wouldn't go down.
"My draw," the scientist interrupted, drawing to hold one card and eight counters. "And with it, another comeback."
"Is that so?" the male twin quizzed.
"See for yourself," Yusei answered, playing the card he drew. "It's the Spirit Fusion speed spell; with eight speed counters, I can combine one monster on my field with another in my graveyard and summon a fusion monster." From out of nowhere, Junk Archer reappeared on the field and it, plus Stardust Dragon, ascended into the sky and out of view.
"What're you up to?" the boy surveyed.
"Just summoning Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!" the scientist hollered in response as a bi-pedal dragon with a lance flourished from the heavens.
"That's a big dragon," Leo commented on the sheer size. He watched on as Yusei's monster hurled its lance at his dragon, clipping a wing, which resulted in its destruction and decreasing the boy's score to 3,600. The crowd, and Luna, started cheering for Yusei again.
"He's not down yet," the young woman beamed.
"My move then," the male twin growled. Along with six speed counters, he now held two cards in his hand. In his blind frustration, he forgot all about Draco's special effect.
"I play Speed World 2," he barked. "By sacrificing 4 counters, I can hit you for 800 points of damage per speed spell in my hand." Once his counters reached two, he held up The End of the Storm and his runner launched a bolt of energy straight for Yusei.
"Not happening," the older combatant parried as his dragon absorbed the bolt with its lance. "As long as Draco-Equiste stays out in attack mode, all effect damage aimed at me is reverted back to you." The lance charged up and fired the bolt back at Leo, bringing his score to 2,800.
"I'm still not stopping, and neither is Beginner Mechanic," the younger duelist wheezed. "By sending this card to my graveyard, I can re-summon any machine-type Synchro monster to my field. The downside is that the monster loses the abilities it has, plus its attack and defense points." Just as he explained, Power Tool Dragon stood back up and shielded its chest from harm.
"I'm done for now," he exhaled.
"Even though Leo's a much better duelist now, he still has to learn how to stay calm during a match," Luna gauged to herself. "All the while, Yusei's maintained his composure even when on the brink of defeat."
"It's my turn now," the scientist uttered, drawing to hold one card again, along with ten counters. "You had me on the ropes for a while, Leo. You really did."
"What now?" the boy asked confused.
"You threw your best at me right from the start and it took me a while to catch up," Yusei admitted. "Plus, your Life Stream Dragon also made things difficult. Alas, it just wasn't good enough." He took the card in his hand and placed it in an open slot.
"With Defense Buster, I can switch your dragon from defense mode to attack mode," the marked duelist explained as Power Tool Dragon held its arms out. "Now say goodbye." Draco lined up its lance and launched it, straight through Leo's last hope of winning. The mechanical beast fell apart and Leo's score dropped to zero. In this high-octane shootout of a duel, Yusei pulled out the victory after nearly falling apart midway through.
"That was unbelievable," Luna said in shock. "I almost thought he wasn't going to win." Once his victory sank in, she hopped up and down in celebration and ran down to the garage area to await her lover. Meanwhile, as Leo's ride stood to the side of the track, blasting steam in his face, Yusei rode up next to him after taking a victory lap.
"Don't see this loss as a negative," he spoke to the boy. "Even though I won, you put up a valiant effort and executed a few really good moves. I know you'll go far." He held his hand as a sign of good faith, to which Leo accepted. This provided photographic opportunities for the reporters covering this duel as the two were blinded by a barrage of flashes. The crowd still cheered as Yusei's name circled around the stadium.
It has been decided: Yusei pulled victory out against a surprise tough opponent. I'm sorry for the duel having taken up three chapters. For those who added their input to the two previous parts, I thank you. For those who didn't, you just don't see good storytelling when it's right in front of you. Anyway, the next part will reveal Yusei and Luna's relationship to Leo. How will he take it? Review if you want and stay tuned to find out.