The Ties That Bind

"Archangel Gabrius, attack Captain Azure!" Mateo called as Illeya's mighty monster drew his sword. "Archangel Blade!"

With one swift strike, Captain Azure was no more. "Urgh!"

Shiho: 4000 LP-3100 LP

"Do you really think you can torment me with that pitiful Archangel? That ridiculous emissary of Light, Illeya tried to use it on me, and she failed to win." Shiho drew a card from his deck. "This duel will be no different!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 5-6
Shiho: 3100 LP SPC 1-2

"Justiciar Dragon! Attack Archangel Gabrius with Justice Wave!" Shiho laughed as his dragon opened its mouth, roaring. A shockwave exploded through the stadium, and Mateo struggled, reaching forward, trying to press a button before it was too late. He clicked the button, just in time.

"I activate the Waboku trap card! This turn, none of the monsters I control can be destroyed, and I take no battle damage!" Mateo sighed in relief as the shockwave of Justiciar Dragon's attack faded away. I have to be careful. His dark miasma gives him the ability to inflict real damage to the world around him, and it could do some real damage to this track, especially since the city just finished rebuilding it.

"My turn!" Mateo drew a card from his deck. "There's no way for my monster to beat yours, but at least there's a way for it to withstand your assault!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 6-7
Shiho: 3100 LP SPC 2-3

"I play Speed Spell – Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards at the cost of four Speed Counters!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 7-3

"I'll set this card facedown! Next, I summon another White Stone of Legend in defense mode!"

"You're keeping yourself in a dangerous position by keeping your hand empty, Yurigaya!" Shiho drew the top card of his deck. "My turn! Draw!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 3-4
Shiho: 3100 LP SPC 3-4

"I'll start this turn by setting one card facedown! Justiciar Dragon! Attack Archangel Gabrius with Justice Wave!" Mateo and Shiho looked up as Justiciar Dragon prepared to roar, sending out its deadly shockwave. Suddenly, a louder roar pierced through the stadium, and Justiciar Dragon backed away from Archangel Gabrius. "What are you doing! Destroy his monster!"

"Sorry to say, Shiho, but your Justiciar Dragon won't be making an attack at all this turn!"

"Huh?"

"I activated my Threatening Roar just before you entered your Battle Phase! The fear-inducing roars of the dragons in my deck caused your dragon to back down!" Mateo replied. "And now that you're finished, it's my turn! Draw!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 4-5
Shiho: 3100 LP SPC 4-5

"You are filled with so much rage, Shiho. But I know how I can make you see the light!"

"It better be one damn good monster, cause so far I'm pretty unimpressed."

"Looks like its time for your to get your head in the game! I'm activating my facedown spell card, Speed Spell – One for One! By removing four Speed Counters and discarding one monster, I can special summon a level one monster from my hand or my deck!" Mateo pulled the last card from his hand. "So I'll pay four Speed Counters and discard this Level Burst Dragon that I've got here in my hand, in order to special summon Stardust Xiaolong from my deck!"

Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 5-1

Mateo's monster appeared to the field and growled defiantly, causing Shiho to laugh. "What the hell do you plan to do with that Stardust Xiaolong? Sure, he can take a hit from an attack, but that means nothing compared to my monster!"

"We'll see!" Mateo called as glowing light bathed Archangel Gabrius from Mateo's Graveyard. "You see, when Level Burst Dragon is sent to the Graveyard for any means other than by battle, I can target one monster on the field and increase its level by 1! Which means my Archangel Gabrius has now become a level 10 monster!"

"So you've got a level ten monster. So what?"

"This!" Mateo revved his Duel Runner and blasted past Shiho. "I tune my level one Maiden with Eyes of Blue to my level one Stardust Xiaolong! The light of the… No… MY future wavers! And when the past threatens the future, the might of all must gather to weave them together again! Illuminate the path of destiny! Synchro Summon!"

The single level star of the Maiden with Eyes of Blue shot out of her as she faded away, as the Stardust Xiaolong flew close by. The star created a glimmering green Synchro ring that surrounded the small dragon as it faded away, its single level star held in the center of the ring as a green light pierced through it and expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro ring. Mateo held up his hand as his Formula Synchron appeared between his fingers. "Accelerate, my Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron!"

"Formula Synchron?!" Shiho asked, panicked. "That can't be right! Without Stardust Dragon, what do you plan on summoning?"

"Mateo's got everything he needs to summon his most powerful monster!" Luna gasped. Yusei nodded, as the Signers watched intently, ready to watch their friend save Shiho.

"Are you ready for this, Shiho?"

"What?"

"First off, my Formula Synchron allows me to draw a card from my deck when he is Synchro summoned!" Mateo called as he drew a card from his deck. He accelerated even faster, as he closed his eyes, drawing strength from his friends and the Crimson Dragon. His Mark of the Dragon started to glow a bright red, as did the rest of the Signers' in the stands. Even Shiho's started to glow a vibrant blue color.

"What are you doing, Yurigaya?" Shiho demanded as Mateo accelerated still faster, increasing to a speed where everything was tinged with pink and purple around him.

"Clear Mind! I'm tuning my level two Formula Synchron to my level 10 Archangel Gabrius!" Mateo extended his hand forward as Formula Synchron vanished, becoming its two Level stars which flew forward and created glowing green Synchro Rings in the distance. Archangel Gabrius tucked his mighty wings in and descended until he was just above the ground in front of Mateo. "Light and ideals. Clash together and become the true embodiment of hope! Illuminate the path of destiny!"

Mateo drew the blank card from his Extra Deck and turned it over, a bright light causing the image of a monster to appear on the card. "Accel-Synchro!"

Mateo passed through the Synchro Rings with Archangel Gabrius and vanished in an explosion of light. Shiho looked shocked as he looked around the Duel Stadium. "Where… Where did he go?"

A green light started to expand behind him as Mateo exploded out of it on his own. The light increased in size as Mateo finished his chant. "Reverberate! Shining Revelations Dragon!"

"What in the hell..?"

"You were absent from the finale with my duel with Anya!" Mateo explained. "You never had the pleasure of seeing this monster in action!"

"My dragon has fourty-six hundred attack because you sent my Captain Azure to my Graveyard, Mateo! Your monster is one hundred attack short of being able to defeat mine!"

"Don't be so sure! My dragon also gains 500 attack for monsters in the Graveyard, but in his case, it's for each Dragon in my Graveyard!" Mateo replied. "And by my count, there is eight dragons, meaning my dragon gains four thousand attack!"

Shining Revelations Dragon: 4500 ATK + 4000 = 8500 ATK

"But… But that means…"

"Shiho, I'm going to give you one last chance to stop this!"

"Never! You'll have to take me down kicking and screaming!"

"If you insist…" Mateo collected himself and prepared to let his attack launch. From his position in front of Shiho, he couldn't see Shiho's mischievous smile. "Shining Revelations Dragon! Attack Justiciar Dragon with Shining Lightning Blast!"

At the stands, Yusei noticed the smile across Shiho's face. He grabbed the intercom. "Mateo, wait!"

Shining Revelations Dragon opened its mouth and blasted lightning at Shiho's dragon. As soon as the blast impacted, the dragon roared in pain as blinding white light coursed through his body. Shiho pulled a card from his hand and activated it just before the energy could pass from his dragon and into himself. "I activate Speed Spell – Return Fire!! Normally, I would have to set this card and activate it at the cost of all of my Speed Counters in order to use it, but when I take damage of three thousand or more, I can activate it from my hand on either player's turn! It halves the damage I take, and you take the other half, all without cost!"

"What?" Mateo jaw dropped as the white energy from his dragon's attack blasted at both Shiho and Mateo, causing extreme pain to course through all of them. "AUGH!"

Mateo: 3000LP-1050 LP
Shiho: 3100 LP-1150 LP

Shiho grunted weakly as the pain subsided. "And luckily for me, Justiciar Dragon cannot be destroyed by battle, and therefore he cannot be stopped by the likes of you! And on my turn… On my turn I have everything I need to win this duel!"