Hopes and Dreams

Mateo tossed and turned in his bed. In his dreams, he saw a mighty knight standing above him. It hefted its wicked sword and prepared to slash down on Mateo. Just before it made contact, a bright light pierced the darkness, eradicating the dark knight. "Your time of reckoning comes soon, hero of light. Legend speaks of a hero called the Yurigaya, who is destined to save reality from the darkness. You can accomplish anything. And you will succeed."

The light flashed, and Mateo bolted upright in bed. He looked down at his hand and realized he was holding a blank card. "What the…"

He looked up at the clock next to his bed and saw it said 6 am, and stood up, out of bed. He grabbed his coat and threw it on as he exited his room. Alone in the kitchen, he turned on the TV and opened the cupboard where the cereal was and saw there was only some All Bran. "Ate all my Frosted Flakes. Nice, Crow. Nice."

He closed the cupboard, when a rhythmic crackling was heard from the TV. He walked over and saw static, as the picture slowly came into focus. A woman's face, identical to the one he saw lurking in the shadows near the Security building a week before. She looked straight at Mateo and smirked. "You're Yurigaya? You look pitiful. Nothing like a hero."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Anya. And aren't you in for a treat? I mean, you get to duel my good friend, and lose! It will be the first time you'll lose in a long time, right? Or ever?" The face replied. "But in any event, what do you say? Wanna duel?"

"Do I want to duel the freaky face in the TV or anyone associated with her?" Mateo responded sarcastically, tapping his chin with his index finger. "No, not really. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to watch the news."

Mateo clicks a button on the remote, and Anya's face disappears, replaced with the news anchor, talking about how Security is back on the streets and that Phillip Vulcan, the Japanese Ambassador, and one other man were still missing. Mateo shook his head and sat down on the couch.

Anya sighed as her connection to Mateo's TV was cut off. She smiled devilishly. She turned her head to someone standing deeper in the shadows. "Release him. I'll be taking control of him again."

A few hours had passed since the strange message from that girl, Anya. Mateo sat at the kitchen table with a case in front of him. Sitting on top of the case was his deck. He drew the blank card off the top, puzzled by it. He whispered to himself, "what is this? I don't understand…"

He set it back on top of the deck and moved it. He clicked open the case and rummaged through the cards inside it, pulling a few cards out and replacing cards in his deck with them. Finally, he drew out the Converging Wishes Yusei gave Mateo for Christmas. He smiled, but the door from Crow's room creaked open, and he dropped it on top of his deck and quickly moved it aside, closing the case as Crow slowly walked out of his room, rubbing his face. "Mornin'."

"You owe me twelve bucks."

"For what?"

"My Frosted Flakes."

"Oh. My bad."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just 'my bad' twelve bucks into my hand sometime soon." At this time, an explosion hit the house, and a large sword tore through the wall like it was nothing and ripped it down. As Mateo's eyes adjusted to the sudden light, his eyes widened in horror as the dark knight from his dream stood before him, peering in through the hole it tore into the house. Yusei and Jack ran out of their rooms, both awakened by the sound of the explosion.

"What the hell?"

"I challenge Yurigaya. Frelt will taste his blood." A dark voice called from below. It seemed strained, as though the words weren't from the speaker's mouth, but from someone else, through him. "You should have heeded my advice, Yurigaya."

Mateo walked to the hole and looked down at the duelist, who was riding a duel runner. "So you can speak through more than just TVs, huh? Impressive. And I assume, if I were to refuse, you'd…"

"Destroy you and your home? Yuppers."

"So that'd be unwise. Yeah. Okay. Go to the Duel Dome. I'll meet you there." Mateo replied. The duelist smirked, and the knight faded. He drove away, and Mateo turned around to see Crow, Jack, and Yusei standing in front of him.

"We're coming with you."

"What?"

"You think we're gonna let you fight that guy on your own? You're gonna need your friends out there cheering you on." Jack replied.

"I'll call Akiza and ask her to bring Leo and Luna. Call your friend Shiho. We'll all meet there." Yusei said. Mateo nodded.

The sound of seven duel runners entering the Duel Dome echoed throughout the stadium. Anya's puppet stood next to his duel runner smiling evilly as they stopped. "Aww. Your friends came to watch you die. How cute."

"You keep saying I'll die. Why?"

"This duel has a dangerous twist." The puppet answered. "This duel field will be coated in dark energy that will cause real damage to both players. To lose would incur the penalty of this game. The ensuing damage to the loser's duel runner will cause an explosion. To survive would be a miracle."

"That's playing dirty!" Crow replied.

"Not to mention how illegal it is!"

"Not so fast, Shiho. Technically, using magic isn't illegal." Mateo replied. "Using it in this matter is another thing, but he isn't in control of himself. Maybe, if I'm capable, I can make him regain his control."

"There is no way to free him! He is a servant of the dark!" Anya's puppet replied. He mounted his Duel Runner. "Now let this duel commence! Now!"

Mateo turned to his friends and nodded. They moved their duel runners to the side and took to the stands, watching the duel status with the monitors on their duel runners. Mateo turned to Anya's puppet as he pulled the helmet Jack gave him for Christmas over his head. "I have a feeling this duel might get a little rough. Might need to keep my head safe."

"The status of your head won't matter where you're headed." Anya's puppet revved his engine as darkness coiled from him, trailing along the ground. It wrapped itself around the Duel Track as it took dark shapes with evil intent emanating from the ground. On command, Mateo's Mark of he Dragon started to glow and burn.

"Ahh!" He clutched his arm as the pain dug in deep. Anya's puppet laughed.

"What? A little pain gotcha down? Ha!"

"No. I'll be fine." Mateo revved his Duel Runner. The puppet drove in a circle around Mateo so that they were facing the same direction as a slightly distorted counter appeared. Mateo and Anya's puppet pressed buttons on their Duel Runners.

"Duel Mode engaged. Autopilot standing by." The distorted voices of the duel computers stated. The monitors on the duel runners crackled to life but are low in quality, as are the ones set up around the stadium. "Activating the Speed World 3 field spell."

A distorted glow fills the arena as the field spell activates. "I heard you have a deck built around summoning high level Synchro Monsters quickly. Let's see who has the better Synchro Monster."

"We'll see." The counter counted down and as it hit the green light, they sped down the track. At first, Mateo's Piercing Light moved slowly, like driving through tree sap, but it was able to pick up speed after a little bit of time. "Ugh. What is this?"

"Just a bit of security. I know you're a fan of your Shooting Star Dragon, and unless you somehow manage to get the help of the Crimson Dragon, there's no way to summon it on your own." Anya's puppet replied. "Now then. Shall we do this?"

"We will."

"Good."

"Let's duel!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0
Anya's Puppet: 4000 LP SPC 0

"I'll take the first move!" Mateo drew a card from his deck. "I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue! I'll set one card facedown to end my turn!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0-1
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 0-1

"It's my turn! I summon my Dark Centipede, Catastroph!" Anya's puppet smiled devilishly. "Attack the Maiden!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 1-2
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP 1-2

"Not so fast! My Maiden with Eyes of Blue has a special ability! When she is targeted for an attack, I can negate that attack, and switch her battle position!" Mateo replied as the attack from the Dark Centipede was halted in its tracks by a prayer from the Maiden. "Then I can special summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck!"

Mateo raised his hand into the air as his dragon erupted to the field, roaring. "I activate my facedown trap card, Urgent Tuning! This allows me to tune my level 1 tuner monster, Maiden with Eyes of Blue, with my level 8 Blue-Eyes White Dragon! From the primordial egg, I call and command you to rise!

"Illuminate the path of destiny!" The single level star of Mateo's Maiden with Eyes of Blue flew out and encircled the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in a glowing green Synchro ring. The eight level stars of the mighty dragon flew out and aligned itself in a straight line, which was pierced by a green light that expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro ring. "Synchro Summon!"

The light subsided, leaving Mateo's mighty dragon roared. "Evolve, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

"Ha! So you managed to summon a Synchro monster already, did you?" Anya's puppet inquired, smirking. "It will do you no good! I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"Then it's my turn!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 2-3
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 2-3

"During my Standby Phase, I can special summon a normal Dragon-type monster from my graveyard!" Mateo called as a glow emerged from his graveyard. His Azure-Eyes Dragon roared, met with the familiar roar of a Blue-Eyes. "So I call back my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Not quite! I activate my Bottomless Trap Hole, which destroys and banishes your dragon!" Anya's puppet pointed as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon as it rose from the grave and was sucked into the hole that appeared to the field. "I know your deck strategy inside and out, Yurigaya. There's nothing you can do to stop me. Ha ha ha ha!"

"Oh, yeah? Azure-Eyes, attack!" Mateo called as his dragon roared. "Primordial Breath!"

Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon glared at Catastroph the Dark Centipede. It opened its mouth and exhaled a silver light which enveloped the Dark Centipede, obliterating it. The puppet smirks as the wave of energy is averted just before it would hit him. "Unfortunately for you, I activated the special ability of Catastroph. This allows me to negate the damage and special summon monsters whose combined attack is equal to, or less than the damage I would have taken!"

"What?"

"So I choose to summon two more Catastrophs from my deck!" Anya's puppet laughed as the creatures appeared to the field with a blue hue surrounding it. "It's my turn! Ha ha ha ha!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 3-4
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 3-4

"I discard three cards from my hand in order to special summon one of my most powerful monsters!" Anya's puppet discarded three cards and pulled his final card from his hand. "Behold, the mighty Dark Tuner – Ultravetrix!"

Over in the stands, Yusei, Jack, and the rest of Team 5D's all stand up in shock as the Dark Tuner appears on the field. Shiho looks at everyone quizzically. "What? What's a 'Dark Tuner?'"

Yusei and the others were too locked in the duel to notice, except for Luna. She looked over at Shiho. "Eleven years ago, when the Dark Signers attacked the city, they used these monsters called Dark Tuners to summon Dark Synchro monsters in order to defend themselves until they could summon their Earthbound Immortals."

As Luna said "Earthbound Immortals," Shiho's blue Mark started to glow, as his head was flooded with visions.

"Your time is up, Yusei! I summon Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!" A maniacal voice called as the Nazca lines surrounding the Turbo Duel glowed brighter. The Giant formed out of a burst of light descending to the ground and stood as tall as the sky. After a flash, it stood among all its others. Just as abruptly as the vision started, it switched to a different vision. A dark monster with a black energy, similar to Ultravetrix, resided in its chest. In a burst of darkness, a monster appeared.

"Rise, my Dark Synchro monster, Frozen Fitzgerald!" Just before Shiho would get a chance to see the monster, the visions faded.

Shiho's Mark faded as he returned to normal, almost collapsing. Luna looked concerned. "Oh, I'm fine. It's all good."

Luna nodded slowly, and then looked back to the duel.

"You have a Dark Tuner?" Mateo asked as he looked at the creature. Anya's puppet snickered.

"Did you think the Dark Signers figured out how to tap into the power of the Dimension of Darkness on their own?" He asked. "My master showed me the ultimate power of the shadows, and he is far more powerful than the Dark Signers ever were! You are about to lose everything! Now, I'm gonna use Ultravetrix to tune one of my Catastroph the Dark Centipedes!"

Anya's puppet threw his hand towards his Dark Tuner as its eleven black level stars flew out of it and surrounded a very panicked looking Catastroph. Suddenly, then punched through it, causing it to yelp in pain. Inside, two of the level stars floated towards the two white level stars of the monster they forced their way into. They evaporated on contact with each other, and the remaining nine flew out and span in a circle joined at the center with black electricity. The puppet laughed maniacally as this occurred.

"Mateo! Be careful!" Luna called from the stands.

"Your girlfriend is right to be concerned, Yurigaya!" The puppet snickered.

"W-what? No, she's not my girlfriend, I mean…" Mateo looked over to Luna, and looked forwards again, shaking his head. He pressed his comm button. "I will."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! When the shadows are devoured by even darker shadows, the curtain pulls back to reveal a world without light!" The darkness at the center of the nine negative level stars expanded until it was in the form of a dark curtain. It opened, to reveal an even darker space. A dark and evil presence forced its way onto the battlefield, with a fell laughter filling the stadium. As the laughter subsided, the knight that tore down the wall at Yusei's house appeared, as menacing in appearance as it was before. "Hi Ho, He Cometh! Frelt, the Ender of Lives!"

The knight was now so tall that it nearly touched the ceiling, his mighty sword passing through it for a moment before it became solid and started sliding through the ceiling. Cracks formed throughout the top, but the power of the dark seal caused it all to explode and disintegrate. "Not even the power of nature can breach such a seal! Your end has come. Frelt was designed to be able to defeat all those who were intended to fight it! Especially you! Unfortunately, due to your friends and their Marks of the Dragon, my mighty warrior can't drain their life force to gain even more power, but no matter!"

"Wait, what? Shiho doesn't have a Mark of the Dragon!"

"Not your Crimson Dragon, no. You need to expand your horizons if you want to truly take on anything." Anya's puppet replied. "Not that it will matter. My Frelt is gonna destroy you here and now! Perhaps I cannot attack with any other monster while I control him, but it matters not! Frelt, the Ender of Lives! Attack Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

Frelt hefted its mighty sword and then brought it down on top of Mateo's dragon. As soon as it made contact, it exploded, and, despite the minor damage it inflicts to Mateo, a shockwave of energy strikes him. "AAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

Mateo: 4000 LP-3900 LP

"And this is where my Frelt becomes your doom, and how it is designed to never lose!" Anya's puppet pointed at Frelt's sword, which is glowing a dark purple color. "He absorbs the attack strength of your pitiful dragon! Ha ha ha ha!"

Frelt, the Ender of Lives: 2600 ATK + 2500 ATK = 5100 ATK

"So this is your endgame, is it, Anya?"

"But of course. And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it!"

"Well we'll just see! Its my turn!"

"Not so fast. As much as I would love to skip over this, there is one drawback to Frelt, the Ender of Lives." Anya's puppet replied. "If it takes the life of one of your monsters, immediately following the battle phase, I must tribute a monster. So I tribute my Catastroph the Dark Centipede!"

Frelt, the Ender of Lives turned and, with its free hand, grabbed the puppet's monster. A purple hue flowed through Frelt's arm from the monster to Frelt's head as the Centipede grew so old that it turned to bones, and then dust. Mateo looked in horror at the knight as it glares down at him. He looked down at his cards, and placed his fingers on his deck, and drew a card. "It's my turn!"

Mateo: 3900 LP SPC 4-5
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 4-5

Mateo looked down at the card and realized that it's a card he didn't intend on placing in his deck when he was switching cards out. He had drawn his Converging Wishes trap card that Yusei gave him. I didn't mean to put this in here! I must have dropped it on top of my deck when Crow came out of his room this morning! Okay, well, let's make the best of what I have in my hand. Maybe I can come up with something… Wait, I've got it! "I summon Delta Flyer in defense mode and set one card facedown to end my turn!"

"Already on the defense, are you? My turn!"

Mateo: 3900 LP SPC 5-6
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 5-6

"I pay two Speed Counters to activate my Stray Lambs spell card!" Anya's puppet sneered. "This allows me to summon two Lamb Tokens to the field!"

Anya's puppet: SPC 6-4

The lambs appeared as Frelt hefted its wicked blade again. "Frelt, attack his puny Delta Flyer!"

Frelt slashed down and obliterated Delta Flyer, however it didn't absorb energy from it. "Does this mean your monster gains more attack?"

"Ennn. Wrong-o. Luckily for you, Frelt's effect only applies to Synchro monsters." The puppet replied. "And, since I attacked, I must sacrifice one of my Lamb Tokens!"

Frelt grabbed one of the Lamb Tokens and drained purple energy from it as it turned to dust. It turned back to Mateo. He drew a card from his deck. "My move!"

Mateo: 3900 LP SPC 6-7
Anya's puppet: 4000 LP SPC 4-5

"I activate my continuous Speed Spell, Speed Spell – Urgent Retuning! This card can be activated by paying four Speed Counters, and it lets me special summon a Tuner monster from my graveyard. So I call back my Delta Flyer!" Mateo called as his Tuner monster returned to the field. "Furthermore, during my Draw Phase, I can summon another Tuner monster from my deck instead of drawing a card, but I also do not receive a Speed Counter the turn I activate this effect!"

Mateo: SPC 7-3

"I summon my Kaibaman, and use my Delta Flyer's ability to raise Kaibaman's level by one, to four!" Mateo called as a delta symbol formed on Kaibaman's helmet. He pulled a final card from his hand. "Now I activate Speed Spell – Double Ripple! By paying three Speed Counters, I can use my monsters to summon two Synchro Monsters!"

Mateo: SPC 3-0

"Oh?" The puppet inquired as the three level stars of Delta Flyer flew out and encircled Kaibaman. Kaibaman's three level stars flew out, leaving behind the delta symbol from his helmet, which faded away as a fourth level star appeared. They aligned themselves in a straight line as a green light pierced through them, expanding to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings.

"Ruler of the Spirit Realm and the Master of all Tools, combine your might and your strength to take on any foe! Illuminate the path of destiny!" Mateo raised his hand with Power Tool Dragon in it as the Ancient Fairy Dragon appeared in a burst of light. "Shine and drill on, Ancient Fairy Dragon and Power Tool Dragon!"

The light faded as both monsters floated down to the ground with a blue hue surrounding them. "Next, I activate my facedown trap card, Synchro Cannon! This allows me to select one Synchro monster on the field, switch it to attack mode, should it be in defense mode, and increase its attack by one thousand for every Synchro monster on the field! That includes your Dark Synchro monster!"

Ancient Fairy Dragon: 2100 ATK + 3000 ATK = 5100 ATK

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack!"

"Not quite! By paying four hundred Life points, I can negate one attack per turn!" Anya's puppet replied as Frelt took up a defensive position. "Go! Nightmare Barricade!"

Anya's puppet: 4000 LP-3600 LP

A pitch black barricade appeared between Ancient Fairy Dragon and Frelt, the Ender of Lives, which caused Ancient Fairy Dragon to bounce harmlessly off. "And now that your turn has ended, Ancient Fairy Dragon's attack reduces back to 2100. It's my turn!"

Mateo: 3900 LP SPC 0-1
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 5-6

"Frelt! Destroy that lousy excuse of a dragon!" Frelt swung its sword and obliterated Ancient Fairy Dragon. A shockwave exploded away from Ancient Fairy Dragon and blasted through Mateo intensely, causing him to scream out in pain.

Mateo: 3900 LP-900 LP

Back in the stands, Luna's Mark of the Dragon glowed and burned intensely for a brief moment, and she yelped in pain.

"Luna? Are you okay?" Leo asked.

"I felt real pain as Ancient Fairy Dragon was destroyed." Luna replied. "As if this seal opens the doors to the Spirit Realm. And Power Tool Dragon may look like he's being strong, but the dragon inside it felt the pain of its sister, too, and it's terrified."

"If that's the case, how must the Crimson Dragon be feeling?"

"If we feel real pain from our dragons being destroyed, what does that mean if Mateo loses?" Akiza asked, as she turned to Yusei. "Yusei?"

"I have no idea."

"Ow…" Mateo grunted as the pain subsided. He looked up to see Frelt's sword glowing purple, absorbing power from Ancient Fairy Dragon. Afterwards, it grabbed the second Lamb Token and absorbed its life force.

Frelt, the Ender of Lives: 5100 ATK + 2100 ATK = 7200 ATK

"Okay… Okay, it's my turn!"

Mateo: 900 LP SPC 1-2
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 6-7

"I summon the White Stone of Legend! And I tune it to my Power Tool Dragon! The power to save all that has been fought for surges within the blood of this mighty dragon!" The White Stone of Legend's single level star encircled Power Tool Dragon as its seven level stars flew out and aligned themselves in a straight line. A green light pierced the level stars and expanded to innermost edge of the Synchro rings as the sound of armor shattering and a roar of a dragon emerged. "Illuminate the path of destiny! Synchro Summon!"

The light subsided as Mateo raised his hand into the air as the monster card erupted into existence between his fingers. The mighty dragon descended from the sky as a blue hue covered it. "Radiate, Life Stream Dragon! In defense mode!"

"Alright! That's my dragon!" Leo called from the stands, laughing.

"Leo, that may not be a good thing. If he wants to win, he's gonna need his Synchro monsters, but many of them have spiritual connection to us." Yusei replied.

"Oh. Yeah."

"With Life Stream Dragon's special ability, I can increase my Life Points back up to two thousand!" Mateo called as the dragon roared, a golden glow flowing down over him.

Mateo: 900 LP-2000 LP

"I set one card facedown to end my turn!"

"My turn! Draw!"

Mateo: 2000 LP SPC 2-3
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 7-8

"I activate Speed Spell – Scapegoat! At the cost of four Speed Counters, I can special summon four Sheep Tokens!" Anya's puppet exclaimed as his Sheep Tokens appeared to the field.

Anya's puppet: SPC 8-4

"Frelt! Nightmare Blade attack!" Frelt obliterated Life Stream Dragon. Luckily, it was in defense mode, so Mateo didn't take any damage, but he was still hit with a shockwave. At the stands, Leo's Mark of the Dragon glowed brightly and burned as his dragon exploded, but his pain was more intense than Luna's.

"That hurt…"

"It looks like the more powerful Frelt gets, the more it hurts to destroy one of our monsters."

"That's not good at all."

"No. No, it isn't."

"And now that I have destroyed another Synchro monster, Frelt absorbs its attack!" Mateo looked up at Frelt's sword as it absorbed power from Life Stream Dragon. It was very evidently increasing in size, as it was now much taller than the stadium. It then absorbed the life force of one of the Sheep Tokens.

Frelt, the Ender of Lives: 7200 ATK + 2900 ATK = 10100 ATK

"'How does Mateo plan on defeating a monster with over ten thousand attack points?' I almost hear you asking." Anya's puppet smirked. "The answer? You don't. There is no way for you to win against Frelt!"

"While I still have cards in my deck and Life Points on my counter, I can do anything." Mateo replied. "It's my turn!"

Mateo: 2000 LP SPC 3-4
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 4-5

"I summon Alexandrite Dragon in defense mode!" Mateo called as his glittering dragon appeared to the field. Now I just have to hope that my facedown card will hold off Frelt for one turn. Then I can eradicate it from the game.

"It's my turn! And I opt to… Not attack this turn. After all, why would I end your suffering when I'm having so much fun?" Anya's puppet smiled evilly. "And by not attacking, I can spare one of my Sheep Tokens."

"Then it's my turn." Mateo placed his fingers on his deck, but then he looked down at his spell card, Urgent Retuning. "This turn, I opt to skip my draw and my Speed Counter in order to revive the Delta Flyer that resides in my graveyard!"

Mateo: 2000 LP SPC 4
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 5-6

"Now I'm gonna tune my level three Delta Flyer to my level four Alexandrite Dragon! Blooming roses, grow tall and grow strong! Allow this creature her form to take all on!" Mateo raised his hand into the air as the green light of a Synchro Summon surrounded him. In a burst of light, Black Rose Dragon appeared between his fingers. "Illuminate the path of destiny! Synchro Summon! Bloom, the beautiful Black Rose Dragon!"

"Black Rose Dragon, huh?" The puppet's mouth curled into an even more devilish smile. "Excellent."

"With her special ability, I can destroy every card on the field, including Frelt, the Ender of Lives!" Mateo called as rose petal shards began flying throughout the field. As they headed straight for Frelt, Anya's puppet started laughing. "What are you laughing about?"

"I activate another of Frelt, the Ender of Lives' special abilities! When a card is activated that would destroy it, I can negate that card's effect!" The puppet raised its hand into the air as Frelt used its shield as a barricade against the rose petals. "Luckily for you, this also prevents your own cards from being destroyed, too. But as you summoned Black Rose Dragon in attack mode, you've essentially lost this duel! My turn!"

Mateo: 2000 LP SPC 4-5
Anya's puppet: 3600 LP SPC 6-7

"Frelt! Use Nightmare Blade to destroy Black Rose Dragon, and the rest of Yurigaya's Life Points!" Anya's puppet laughed as Frelt slashed downwards for an attack. A blue barricade appeared in between the monsters, which caused the puppet's laughing to stop. "I don't think so! With Frelt's special ability, I can prevent your Draining Shield from increasing your Life Points! However, you do not take Battle Damage the turn I activate this ability!"

The Draining Shield faded away as the Black Rose Dragon was obliterated. Mateo could hear the scream in pain from Akiza as the shockwave blasted through him. He immediately pressed his comm button. "What happened?"

"Should I tell him?" Yusei asked over the comm, which was met with a weak response of 'yes' from Akiza. "Every time one of our dragons gets destroyed by Frelt, the Signer that controls that dragon feels the pain. And every time it happens, it gets worse. As that monster gets stronger, it brings more pain."

"Then what do I do?"

"I don't know. I've never heard of something like this. I wish I could help you, but I don't know how." Yusei responded sadly. Shiho joined in on the intercom.

"I'll tell you what you do. You kick that son of a bitch's ass." Shiho sighed. "Disregard the fact that I don't usually use language like that. But you have to win. I know that you have an important role to play in this battle, so you have to win."

"I'll do my best." Mateo pressed the button on his intercom as he looked to Frelt and its glowing sword, draining the power of Black Rose Dragon. After it finished this, it absorbed another Sheep Token.

Frelt, the Ender of Lives: 10100 LP + 2400 LP = 12500 LP

That monster is virtually unstoppable. I don't have a single thing that could even come close to the strength of that monster. "So what do I do?" Mateo smashed his hand against the side of his Duel Runner and looked to his deck. He placed his fingers in the top of his deck, and was about to draw a card, before he realized the solution was right in his hand. He pulled Converging Wishes from his hand and looked at it. His eyes widened. That's it!

"Helloo-o, are you there? Or have you realized that you have no hope?" The puppet inquired. Mateo looked up to him.

"Quite the contrary. I think I know how I might be able to beat your monster." Mateo replied as he placed the card back in his hand. He then placed his fingers on the top card of his deck. But if I don't draw the right cards soon, this could all go up in flames. But I'm gonna have to take a leap of faith in this. All my faith is in my deck and it all comes down to these next few draws…

He drew the top card.