This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 2: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
Title: Steadfast Resolve
Minutes earlier, Sergey had activated the 'Greater Polymerization' Spell Card, causing him to fuse all three of his monsters together.
"Leave your suffering, pain, and vulgar values to your corpse! Now, cast everything away and embark on the path of thorns!" chanted Sergey, before bringing both his hands together, "Fusion Summon! Appear now, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma'!"
Appearing out of the Fusion Vortex and onto the field, was a huge, thorny-like plant with the three imprisoned monsters from its Summon trapped within its mouth (Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). The appearance of this new monster was enough to further disturb the three Astray girls.
"It's hideous!" freaked out Juri, while pressing her hands on her cheeks.
"Hideous doesn't even cut it," gagged Mayura, looking a little sick before easing up slightly. She and Juri were looking at what was on Sergey's field, "Still, it's another monster with only 0 ATK. Its Level is 8, but otherwise it can't attack or even defend itself."
Unbeknownst to anybody in the alleyway, watching from afar on top of one of the buildings was a mysterious cloaked man. Whoever he was, he was quite keenly observing the duel between Sergey and Asagi, and he was especially intrigued by Sergey's sadomasochistic playstyle, which was constantly witling his own LP away and savoring the pain he inflicted upon himself.
"Before a volcano erupts, it stores magma to the bursting point," The cloaked man said to himself, "As if it's burning itself with incandescent heat, preparing to thrust the pain into the sky."
Clearly through this metaphor, he instantly understood what Sergey's true intentions were, which is not something that could be said for the poor three young women. Finally, the cloaked man started to make himself scarce. Speaking of which, back down below…
"This duel be over, yes?" remarked Sergey, smiling madly, "Duel is going to me."
"I-I'll lose?" Asagi murmured to herself, before speaking to her opponent, "But your monster… 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' doesn't have any kind of ATK! It's no match for either of my monsters."
Sergey bowed his head slightly, closed his eyes, and remained quiet at first. Eventually, some words escaped from his mouth…
"Вы уверены, что?" he hissed in Russian.
Asagi's eyes widened.
"I activate monster effect of 'Vandarlizuma'!" continued Sergey, looking up with an absolutely demented look on his face (especially in the eyes), "This card's ATK becomes double the value of subtracting my current LP from 2500."
"WHAT?!" cried Asagi.
"Sergey only has 200 LP!" came from Mayura.
"That means…'Vandarlizuma' will have an ATK of 4600!" finished Juri.
As a result of Sergey's critically low LP, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' immediately grew so much stronger (ATK: 0 → 4600).
"That not all!" Sergey pointed out, before paying 100 more LP (LP: 200 → 100), "I activate the second effect of 'Vandarlizuma'! Once per turn: I can pay 100 LP, then target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; that target's ATK becomes 100, until the end of this turn."
As the effect explanation proceeded, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' released countless thorn vines, constricting 'Vylon Disigma' and lowering its ATK to critical levels (LP: 2500 → 100). And, on cue, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' grew stronger again (ATK: 4600 → 4800). Asagi, now absolutely terrified, took a step back, almost as though she was about to try and abandon the duel.
"Planning on running away?" taunted Sergey, gleefully and immediately getting the idea, "I can't let you!"
Suddenly, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' released more thorn vines. Asagi's eyes widened as the vines…came straight for her! Before knowing what was going on, the wavy blonde-haired young woman cried out in pain and fear as she got constricted by the thorn vines, grappling onto her bare forearms, wrists, and lower legs (around the calf area). To make it worse, the sharp thorns were impaling her forearms and lower legs, causing them to bleed and leading Asagi to shut her eyes and shed a few tears over the pain and terror she was feeling over this madman.
"Asagi, no!" worried Mayura, "Sergey's bad playing style was just a front for this kind of power!"
"Please, just leave her alone!" begged Juri, looking at Sergey in the eye.
"Battle!" declared Sergey insanely, not about to listen to any sort of begging from his victims, "I attack 'Vylon Disigma' with 'Vandarlizuma'! Kill… kill… KILL!"
'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' obeyed, as its three heads reacted. A black orb was then formed before becoming a metallic spinning wheel of sorts. The object collided with 'Vylon Disigma', causing, after a few seconds, the monster to explode from its destruction. The force of the explosion was so powerful that Asagi broke free from her thorny binds and screamed as she was sent flying back violently across the alleyway.
"ASAGI!" Mayura and Juri both cried out in horror.
Soon Asagi hit the ground, tumbled about, and slammed into the end of the alleyway before sitting against the wall, covered in some dirt while bleeding from her lower legs (staining her jeans), forearms, and forehead as her nearly full LP gauge immediately emptied (LP: 3500 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Sergey Volkov wins!
As the holograms faded away…
"Beautiful…" murmured Sergey, sounding like he was about to cry with joy, "The flower blooming on the battlefield… It be a wonderful sight."
"Asagi!" yelled Mayura, running over.
"Come on, stay with us!" added Juri, following from behind.
As they reached their wounded best friend, Asagi was shown to be alive, but would not retain consciousness for too much longer. Soon, a growing shadow loomed over the three Astray girls as they huddled together. They looked up and saw Sergey approaching them slowly while cracking his knuckles.
"I be the winner, yes?" said Sergey coldly, "Our deal… It looks like I claim not one, not two, but THREE victims this time around," He smiled insanely, "I'm going to enjoy this, yes?"
Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each were so scared that they couldn't even scream for someone to come and help them. Once he was close enough, Sergey raised a fist to try and hit one of the young women. Before he could bring it down, he overheard a police siren in the distance.
"What?" whispered Sergey.
"The police…" realized Juri.
"Someone must have overheard the duel and explosion!" figured Mayura, "It was enough for them to call the police."
Sergey scowled, "Дерьмо…" he swore in Russian, deciding to just beat it, "I guess you live for time being."
The hulking Russian man then turned and ran out of the alleyway as fast as he could, wanting to escape from the police. The Astray trio were safe, but not alone for much longer… They soon heard, in addition to the police sirens, the roar of a Duel Runner. Speaking of Duel Runner, Fudo Go soon jumped from the top of the building and landed safely in the alleyway. Matt soon stopped his Duel Runner, made the faceplate of his helmet disappear, and turned to see the three young women.
"Are you three okay?" asked Matt, wasting no time in wanting to know if any harm was done.
From there, a police car pulled up outside the alleyway, and the police officers, including Paul, emerged from the vehicle.
"Everyone stay back!" called Paul into a megaphone, speaking to the nearby bystanders, "This area is under investigation for the time being."
The people watching wondered what had happened. They overheard an explosion and a woman screaming coming from an alleyway and thought it was from a duel, not aware that while it was all from a duel it was also from attempted murder. If the police were involved in this case, then it had to be serious. Back in the alleyway, Matt placed his helmet on the seat of Fudo Go and approached the three Astray girls.
"Asagi? Asagi, hang in there!" The dirty blonde-haired young man pleaded, getting onto one knee before taking and holding Asagi in his arms, "Asagi, it's me, Matt."
Asagi weakly looked over, "M-Matt?" she whispered, before smiling slightly, "You came…"
Unable to stay conscious enough to continue speaking, Asagi closed her eyes and lost consciousness. Upset, Matt shook her for a response, but got none. He wasn't the only one who was upset; Mayura and Juri also were saddened by their best friend's injuries.
"Asagi? Asagi!" yelled Matt, before looking at both Mayura and Juri with urgency in his tone, "You two… Hurry and tell me! Do you know where Sergey went off to?"
"No," replied Juri sadly.
"As soon as he heard the police sirens, he left us alone and escaped," explained Mayura, "It's possible that he might be long gone by this point."
Matt listened on and then looked back at Asagi again. Because Matt already had a girlfriend, he didn't (and never would) share the feelings (playful or not) Asagi had for him, but he still thought of her as a very good friend and didn't want anything bad to happen to her. The fact he failed to show up in time to stop Sergey from doing this absolutely cruel act really made him angry. So angry, that he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched it into the wall while feeling no pain. The sudden punching of the wall made both Mayura and Juri jump in surprise.
"Damn you, Sergey…!" Matt cursed quietly. He then, while carrying Asagi's body in his arms, stood back up, "I'm afraid we'll have to deal with him another time. Right now, we need to bring Asagi back to where you guys are staying."
"Y-Yes," agreed Juri.
"Agreed," cut in Paul, walking into the alleyway, "Not to worry about Sergey; we'll keep our eyes peeled for him. He won't get away with hurting the people of this great country."
Despite his strong dislike for Matt, even the gruff police officer was able to put aside his grudge and rivalry in order to fight a common enemy. Then as the small group emerged from the alley, three more Duel Runners roared onto the scene along with more police cars.
"Carlie!" began Matt.
"Mike!" put in Juri.
"James!" finished Mayura.
Stopping Wheel of Fortune, Michael made his helmet's faceplate disappear and looked directly at Matt (who had Asagi's unconscious body in his arms).
"Matt, what the hell happened to Asagi?" The lime green-haired young man demanded firmly.
"It was Sergey," answered Matt, "He sadistically defeated her in a duel, and then tried to physically beat her as well as Mayura and Juri to death."
"Where is he now?" asked Carlie, looking pretty angry herself.
Matt shook his head, "He's gone; he slipped off when he heard the police sirens."
"Then let's hurry and find him!" suggested James R..
"The best thing we should do is get Asagi back to the place she and the others are staying at," requested Matt, looking down at the unconscious Asagi in his arms, "Thankfully she's still alive, but she needs some treatment for her injuries."
"R-Right," agreed James R. reluctantly, "Come on, let's get going, guys."
Now, you're all wondering where Sergey Volkov had gone after his attempt to kill Asagi and her two best friends was thankfully cut short, right? Let's go see him…
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in central Manhattan, police cars were busy searching for Sergey. When Paul sent word to Sam about the Russian criminal, he (Sam) wasted no time in dispatching every available squad to search the city. Sure enough, Sergey had found a (sort of) suitable place to hide until the coast was clear, and it was a burnt out building.
(inside…)
Inside, Sergey surveyed the charred ruins of the building that once was, already feeling a certain fondness. He could vividly imagine the magnificent inferno that consumed the building, incinerating everything from the inside, leaving nothing but ash and the charred remains as the infrastructure was reduced to a skeleton of its former glory. With the exoskeleton of the building still standing, as well as the heavily scarred second level of the interior, combined with the darkness of the night, it gave Sergey the cover and shelter he required to avoid being spotted by the authorities. He had already escaped once before, and while he was fully confident he would have no issue doing so again, he had no intention of being brought to 'justice' again. Sergey could only imagine what might have caused this building to go up in flames, or if there had been any casualties as a result. He could picture the inferno destroying everything, as well as many people still trapped inside, hearing the beautiful, arousing melody of the inhabitants crying in despair and agony as they burnt to a crisp, smoke overwhelming their lungs, flames enveloping their bodies, melting their frail, delicate flesh, leaving them as burnt out husks. How he wished he could have witnessed such a beautiful scene.
Still, Sergey was absolutely frustrated that he didn't get the chance to finish what he had started. Devastating Asagi was deeply satisfying after such a gap between his last dueling murder, but being robbed of his chance to finish the job and murder the three young women at once was unacceptable. The bloodlust, the need to cause destruction, the need to witness the fear and dread of his victims was like a drug; once he started, it was impossible to shake off the addiction, forever hooked by it, and Sergey never wanted to give up this addiction. But here he was now, lamenting the fact that he was deprived of what he felt was his duty. He was a killing machine, and without any victims to quench his sadomasochistic desires and bloodlust, he was without purpose or pleasure.
"This be unacceptable…" Sergey panted, weakly slumping up against the wall and looking at the palms of his gloved hands before clenching them into fists while shutting his eyes, "Must crush more duelists… Must inflict beautiful destruction."
"Must you now?" A voice (male) echoed.
Opening his eyes, Sergey flinched slightly from the sudden voice, thinking for a moment that one of the cops found him. He turned in the direction the voice came from, and standing in the darkened corner was a cloaked figure.
"Identify yourself," challenged Sergey aggressively.
"A magnificent display this evening, Duelist Crusher. Your reputation is no exaggeration," The cloaked figure praised, clapping a little bit before stopping to fold his arms, "However, I can sense your immense dissatisfaction. You wish to cause further damage."
Sergey's interest peaked, "Damage?" he pondered, "What are you saying?"
"A war is brewing that calls many duelists chosen by fate to the front," The cloaked figure said, just loudly enough to be heard, "I'm not privy to when it will begin, but if you can gather people willing to take over an important facility, then I can grant your wish for destruction…"
"A war?" repeated Sergey, "Begun by whom?"
"Someone more powerful than you can possibly imagine…" The cloaked figure answered sinisterly.
"Then why they need me if so powerful?" asked Sergey suspiciously.
While he desperately craved the opportunity to cause destruction and kill as many duelists as possible, the small amount of skepticism that remained in his extremely twisted and psychotic mind managed to surface.
"Because if someone with your immense strength can gather people willing to take over an important facility to aid in the preparations for this battle," The cloaked figure said, holding his hands out with glee, "then I will be more than happy to grant you your wish for destruction…"
Sergey listened on with slight interest, but was keenly unaware of something lowering from the old ceiling above him.
(elsewhere…)
Inside a hotel the Orb representatives were staying at, both Mr. Kisaka and Ms. Simmons were busy with the paperwork they brought with them for the trip to New York City. Eventually, there was a knock on the door.
"The girls must be back," realized Ms. Simmons, standing up.
"I hope they had a good time at their restaurant of choice," said Mr. Kisaka, not looking up from his work, "It must have been tricky to decide which one to go to considering how many there are in this city."
Ms. Simmons just smiled. She approached the door, opened it, and quickly lost her smile when she saw who it was.
"Matt?" Ms. Simmons recoiled.
Standing there was a grim-looking Matt with a wounded and unconscious Asagi Caldwell in his arms, and on his left were both Mayura and Juri looking sad, worried, and ashamed all at the same time. And standing on Matt's right were Michael, Carlie, and James R., and they were looking as grim and serious as their friend currently was.
"Asagi!" exclaimed Ms. Simmons, horrified at one of her students being injured. She then looked up at Matt, "What happened to her?!"
Mr. Kisaka, overhearing his friend and fellow teacher's distressed demand, sat up from the table and also became shocked when he saw Team 4D's, Mayura, and Juri all enter the hotel room, with Asagi also in Matt's arms.
"She, Mayura, and Juri were attacked," replied Matt, "By a man named Sergey Volkov."
Mr. Kisaka gasped, "You mean…the infamous Russian criminal?" he blurted out, "Not him! He's also known as the 'Duelist Crusher'!"
"That's him, all right," James R. confirmed humorlessly.
"Asagi dueled him to try and protect Mayura and I," added Juri, "But Sergey proved to be far too powerful to fight, and she got beaten as a result."
"Bring Asagi to the couch," requested Mr. Kisaka, before turning to the nearby cabinets, "I'll go get the first aid kit and a blanket."
Half-an-hour later, Asagi was lying on the couch under a blanket while still unconscious. On the nearby table was her Duel Disk, while most of her clothes (Orb-based vest, blue jeans and belt, gloves, and boots) were on a nearby footstool, having been removed so they could be cleaned and so she could be properly treated and bandaged. Mayura and Juri were seated nearby, looking after their longtime best friend, with neither saying a word throughout. In the kitchen, Mr. Kisaka and Ms. Simmons both didn't say a word either as they prepared a quick meal. Team 4D's, meanwhile, had left for the mansion in Queens. The silence in the hotel room was eventually broken when they all heard a soft, yet pained, groan from Asagi…
"Wh-What-?"
Gasping, Mayura and Juri noticed that the wavy blonde-haired young woman was beginning to wake up. And wake up she did…
"Ouch! Ooh… Why does it feel like I have such a throbbing headache?" complained Asagi, slowly sitting up before scratching the back of her head. She then felt bandages around her head and noticed that her forearms were also bandaged up, "Whoa! Am I bandaged up? Where exactly am I?"
"Asagi!" interrupted Mayura, who immediately wrapped her arms around her best friend while beginning to cry, "Asagi…!"
"Mayura?" peeped Asagi, surprised greatly.
"We're all so relieved you're awake and talking!" Mayura wept hard, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!"
"What for?"
"This whole thing was all my fault," The tomboyish, red-haired young woman went on, blaming herself for what happened tonight, "If I hadn't suggested going into that stupid alley in the first place, we never would have encountered Sergey and witnessed you getting hurt so badly!"
Asagi was initially silent over the explanation, but then smiled warmly, shook her head, and returned the hug while trying to comfort Mayura.
"No, Mayura, it's not your fault at all," she reassured gently, while letting a few tears of her own fall, "In fact, it was more 'mine'. I wanted to go to a more exciting restaurant, after all."
"Technically," interrupted Juri, getting the attention of her two best friends, "'neither' you two nor I were aware we were being stalked in the first place. So nobody should really be at fault over Sergey ambushing us."
That was a fairly good point. Pretty soon, Ms. Simmons arrived with a glass of water in hand, which she gave to Asagi.
"Even so, Mayura is right about one thing; we're all relieved that you're gonna be okay, Asagi," said Ms. Simmons wisely, before becoming a little distressed, "Matt was pretty upset that you were hurt by Sergey."
"Huh?" pondered Asagi, "He was?"
It was then Mayura and Juri both recalled the scene of Matt getting angry in the alleyway and punching at the wall in a fit of rage after they told him that Sergey had escaped and was long gone. This resulted in another long silence from everyone in the hotel room, which was broken by the sudden arrival of Lisa, looking as happy as can be after her outing with David went better than she thought.
"Hi, everyone!" The pink-haired girl announced pleasantly, closing the door while dancing around, "Man, was my night greater than I expected! I had an absolute blast being alone with Dave!"
She was met with uncomfortable, awkward looks from her friends and teachers.
"Eh heh heh… Nevermind…" chuckled Lisa sheepishly, "So, what did I miss? Nothing too important, I hope."
Before too long, Asagi lost her uncomfortable look and threw the blanket off before standing up, revealing herself to only be wearing her panties and green-colored tank top. Nobody else in the room was surprised or flustered over what she was doing; Asagi was merely trying to show Lisa the bandages on her forearms, lower legs, and forehead. Needless to say, Lisa was, with the lack of a better term, absolutely shocked and scared for her friend after seeing just how injured she (Asagi) was.
"Asagi-!" stammered Lisa, "What's happened to you? You look so… so…" Soon shaking herself free from the shock, her happiness melted away into burning anger, "Who the hell is responsible for injuring you like this?!" She looked at her clenched fists while shaking them, "When I get my hands on the damned &%$#&%$ who did the deed…"
Mayura frowned glumly, "Sergey Volkov."
"Who?" Lisa pondered, easing up slightly.
"He's a wanted and dangerous criminal from Russia," replied Mr. Kisaka, stepping out of the kitchen area, "He duels people, hurts them terribly, and even goes as far as to 'murdering' them for his sick amusement, claiming it's the most beautiful thing to him," He closed his eyes for a moment, "How do I know this? Because I stopped one such murder of his!"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
In the city of Moscow, Flashback Mr. Kisaka was walking down the busy streets. He was glad for this opportunity to take a vacation, especially in one of the biggest cities in the world.
"During my vacation in Russia last year, I was walking down the streets of the city of Moscow," narrated Mr. Kisaka, "Before long, I heard the cries of the Russian people and saw many of them fleeing in terror."
Before long, lots of people were screaming and running for their lives. Curious, yet concerned, Flashback Mr. Kisaka ran further down the street, while the citizens continued to run. Before long, he came across a hulking man peering down on a defeated duelist.
"Вы проиграли дуэль!" The man (Flashback Sergey) was saying in Russian, "Пора умирать."
"S-Stay away!" The Russian male duelist, speaking English with a heavy Russian accent, begged.
But Flashback Sergey did not listen or care. Taking matters into his own hands, Flashback Mr. Kisaka charged and tackled Flashback Sergey, wrestling him about.
"Спешите вызвать полицию!" Flashback Mr. Kisaka yelled at the Russian male duelist in, what else, Russian, before switching to plain English, "Hurry and call the police!"
The Russian male duelist, thankful at the chance for escape, wasted no time jumping to his feet and running for help. Enraged at having his favorite 'hobby' interrupted, Flashback Sergey managed to punch Flashback Mr. Kisaka off of him.
"I managed to fight Sergey to a standstill," continued Mr. Kisaka, as his Flashback self and Flashback Sergey fought brutally, "I had no other choice but to defend the people he was trying to hurt or murder."
Before long, both duelists were battered and exhausted from their fight. Police sirens were then heard, and Flashback Sergey tried to escape. Full of determination to stop the homicidal man from successfully getting away, Flashback Mr. Kisaka hollered and lunged at Flashback Sergey, grabbing onto his lower legs and causing him to fall over as several Russian police officers rushed into the area. Ultimately, Flashback Sergey was apprehended by said policemen.
"At long last, that dangerous monster had been subdued and captured," finished Mr. Kisaka, "He was convicted and sent to a prison camp in Siberia, where everyone thought he would never be seen again."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"However, even capture isn't enough to restrain him," Mr. Kisaka grunted darkly, now knowing the truth, "Now Sergey's here in New York City. He almost claimed the lives of Asagi, Mayura, and Juri tonight, and there's a chance he won't stop hunting duelists until he gets satisfied—if he ever does."
Nobody else in the hotel room had anything more to say about Sergey Volkov.
(elsewhere…)
Later that night, outside Discord's Queens mansion, all was surprisingly quiet in the area minus the sound of some cars driving…
(inside…)
Inside the mansion's living room, James R. was shown reading a comic book, while Michael, Carlie, and Zack each were looking very glum. The atmosphere was somewhat grim in the area, which was understandable considering what had happened tonight.
"So, um… How's Matt doing?" wondered James R., finally breaking the silence, "Is he alright?"
"I wish I had an answer for you, James," answered Zack, shaking his head.
"He's been inside his room brooding and looking over his cards like there was going to be no tomorrow," added Carlie, "In fact, I asked him to come join us downstairs a few minutes ago, but he simply refused to come out of the room."
"Matt," grunted Michael.
It was then Discord entered with a glass of fruit wine in his hand.
"I'm worried about Matty-boy, too," The jolly man pointed out, sitting down on the chair, "It's important to note though, that he's extremely protective of his friends. He hates letting them down, even if the situation in-question is not his fault."
Michael, James R., Carlie, and Zack all sighed in response, knowing that Discord was right about that.
(elsewhere…)
Meanwhile, Matt was in his room cycling through his cards, adding or removing certain ones. He was using this time to not only prepare for his next duel in the morning, but also to try and get his mind off of Sergey almost hurting the Astray trio this evening and him seeing Asagi in the state she was in. However, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, his mind wandered right back to it a few seconds later. Finally fed up, Matt got up and approached his bed, letting himself fall onto it with a look of frustration on his face.
"Man… It's like no matter how hard I try, I can't get the scene of Asagi laying against the wall, battered and bleeding, out of my head," Matt groaned dreadfully, "I just can't believe I was not able to stop Sergey from hurting her that badly," He then clenched his right hand into a fist and stared long and hard at it before banging it onto the bed's edge, "Dammit! How can I even call myself a hero if I can't protect others without them getting hurt? Not only that, Sergey's still out there in the city somewhere… If we ever meet face-to-face, I'll defeat and bring him to justice. I swear it!"
With those very unhappy thoughts on hand, the dirty blonde-haired young man finally fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
(outside…)
Outside the mansion, the rest of the night carried on. Soon it was the next morning, and Matt was shown emerging from the mansion into the sunny day, having decided to skip breakfast in order to go out for a little walk. That would hopefully get his mind off of last night and more focused on the day's duel.
(elsewhere…)
That walk ultimately took Matt to an outdoor cafe, where, to his surprise, he found David, his friends, and family all enjoying a nice breakfast together. A waiter was delivering their orders before returning inside the diner.
"Fudo-senpai!" called Gabriella cheerfully, once she saw Matt.
"Huh?" said Matt, noticing the group of people from England.
"(おはようございます,) Ohayōgozaimasu, (Good morning,) Fudo-san!" greeted Ren in Japanese, before noticing that Matt was looking rather down, "Hey, are you okay, sport? You're looking pretty glum on such a lovely morning."
"No, I don't," lied Matt, trying to deny his current mood.
David shook his head, "Judging by the expression on your face, that was a clear evasion of yours, Fudo-san," he responded back firmly, "Sit down with us and reveal what's troubling you."
Deciding to take up the kind offer, Matt approached and sat down at the table, being seated between David and Futaba. The waiter who served the party returned and noticed the new arrival with the family he was overseeing.
"Oh? Are you with these nice folks?" he asked politely.
"He is," replied Futaba, "And he was about to order something, too."
"I was?" quizzed Matt, before David elbowed him on his side, "Ouch! I-I mean…yeah, I am going to order."
"Very well, sir," The waiter nodded, taking out a notepad and pencil, "What can I get you?"
"Give me some milk."
A few minutes later, the waiter returned with a big glass of milk for the customer. Matt accepted it and gave the waiter a tip, who then offered his thanks before going back inside the diner.
"So, Matt, what's on your mind?" pressed Janice, "Are you nervous about today's duel?"
Matt gulped down his glass, "No, not at all."
"Then why are you looking so glum?" asked Sean patiently, "Come on, we're all friends here. Maybe we can help with whatever's got you hot and bothered."
Matt frowned again, before finally admitting his troubles…
"Last night," he began, "we of Team 4D's were given word by the police that the Russian criminal Sergey Volkov had arrived in the United States—or, rather, here in New York City."
"Sergey Volkov?" blinked Ren, before looking very unsure, "I…don't think any of us have ever heard of him."
"Sergey, from what we were told, is bad news," continued Matt, "He hunts and savagely beats, if not outright murders, other duelists after winning a duel or not," The brief description earned him some worried reactions from the UK residents, "Unfortunately, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri ended up getting into an encounter with him, and Asagi dueled him to try and defend the latter two, but ended up getting badly hurt upon losing to him," The already unhappy expression on his face darkened even more so "Sergey likely would have beaten the three to death had I and the police not arrived just in time. If only I had gotten there more quickly though, maybe I could have…prevented the duel from finishing."
Before long, Matt felt his right hand beginning to shake as he held onto the glass. Not wanting to potentially drop the glass and break it, he quickly placed it back onto the table. The pained, regretful look on his face earned him some sympathy from David, his family, and his friends.
"Fudo-san…" whispered David sympathetically.
"Poor Asagi-san…" came from Ren, feeling very sorry for the leader of the three Astray girls, "Being badly beaten just to try and protect both Mayura-san and Juri-san from possible harm… I can't imagine how they, along with Drake-san and their teachers, must be feeling about the experience of a lifetime."
"That Sergey guy really sounds like a sociopathic madman," agreed Janice.
"And judging from how pained you look and sound from telling us this," remarked Sean, "you're blaming yourself over what happened to Asagi."
Still frowning, Matt nodded solemnly. He then felt a soft hand being placed on his right forearm, which he noticed was from Futaba. The orange-haired British woman had a gentle smile on her face as she began speaking.
"You're a kind person, Matt," comforted Futaba, "You really do care very much for your friends and family… However, this was something you had no power over, so you should not blame yourself for it."
Matt felt touched, "I really appreciate your encouragement," he responded, before standing up and losing his brief smile again, "However… Even if that were the case, I almost lost some friends last night, and I would never forgive myself if that were to have happened. I'm sorry, but I need to be alone for now. I'll see you all later at the stadium."
David and the others watched as Matt turned and left the table to continue with his walk across town, worried that he was taking what happened last night harder than they expected.
"Fudo-san…" thought David, wanting to say something more but felt a hand grabbing onto his right arm, "Mom?"
"Let's leave him be for a little while," suggested Futaba, "I'm sure Matt will snap out of it soon."
The aqua blue-haired boy wondered how soon that would be.
(elsewhere…)
In the stadium at a later time, it was as packed as ever before. The semi-finals of Rex's tournament was about to begin, and those duels were bound to be unforgettable.
"Everybody listen!" announced the MC, standing on the podium as before, "It's officially time to begin the semi-finals of Governor Godwin's Action Duel tournament! Four duelists have made it this far, but only two can advance to see who is the master of Action Duels!"
Nearby, Lazar aimed his remote at the big monitor and pressed a button. The monitor turned itself on and showed all sixteen competing duelists, but twelve of them were marked with an 'X' to signal their elimination. The only ones present were Matt, Michael, David, and Lisa.
"Matt Fudo, Michael Atlas, David Xadashi, and Lisa Drake are the only duelists to remain standing," The MC went on, "But now they will have the opportunity to duke it out for a spot in the finals of this thrilling tournament!"
Listening to the commentary, Lazar snickered his evil snicker before pressing another button on the remote, causing the monitor to reveal who would be facing who:
-Matt Fudo vs David Xadashi
-Michael Atlas vs Lisa Drake
In the audience, David was surprised over who he would face. Matt, meanwhile, kept a neutral, stoic look on his face as he turned and left for the garages. Lisa was looking anxious over facing Michael in a duel, but felt a hand being placed on her shoulder, compliments of Ms. Simmons.
"Just do your best out there, Lisa," she encouraged, "That's all we ask of you."
Mr. Kisaka nodded in agreement, which caused Lisa to feel better.
(elsewhere…)
Inside one of the garages, Matt was suited up but also staring long and hard at the helmet in his hand. It was pretty obvious he was still thinking back to last night regarding Asagi and Sergey's duel. Before long, Matt felt a familiar presence around him. Looking beside him, he noticed his Duel Spirit, Junkuriboh, floating.
"Junkuriboh?" pondered Matt.
"Kuri kuri," cooed Junkuriboh, before looking sad, "Kuri…"
"Really, Junkuriboh, I'll be just fine," Matt insisted, trying to cheer his Duel Spirit up even though he was lying through his teeth, "Lisa told us when we met up that because of Asagi's injuries, she's staying at the hotel with Mayura and Juri today in order to watch the duels on TV," He then felt terrible again when he brought that all up, "If only I stopped Sergey more quickly…"
Junkuriboh simply faded away without another word. Deciding to duel anyway, Matt slipped his helmet on, climbed aboard Fudo Go, revved it up, and drove out of the garage towards the stadium.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium…
"And here's the first duel of the semi-finals!" howled the MC, who was very excited about what's to come, "Matt Fudo and David Xadashi! Please give both duelists a warm, welcoming hand!"
The audience once again applauded as both mentioned duelists emerged on their Duel Runners from their respective gateways (Matt: Right, David: Left) after they opened up. After completing one lap around the track, Fudo Go and The Wild Card stopped at the starting line. Matt remained quiet, but David had something he wanted to say…
"Fudo-san!" he requested.
"Hm?" replied Matt, looking over.
"We've both triumphed over our respective opposition in order to make it this far, and I promise I will not hold back," said David, looking serious. He suddenly smiled, "Face me with everything you have. Just duel with your heart as you always do."
Matt didn't respond to the request, but it did surprise the audience a little bit—mostly David's friends and family members.
"Did I hear that right?" blinked Sean, looking towards Janice, "Dave wants Matt to duel with his heart?"
"And he said it with a smile, too," added Janice, "Could this mean something?"
"I think it means our pal is coming out of his shell more and more."
"And that makes us both proud," agreed Ren, while Futaba nodded. He then looked at Gabriella, "Isn't this wonderful, honey? Your brother is about to duel against another duelist he admires so much."
"Yeah, and he's gonna win, I know he will!" The young Japanese girl replied excitedly.
Back on the track, both David and Matt pressed a button on The Wild Card and Fudo Go respectively.
"Duel Mode, engaged," came a computerized voice aboard the two, respective Duel Runners, "Autopilot activated."
"This is it," thought David, "I'm about to duel with Fudo-san… I shouldn't be too surprised about that, since he made it this far into the tournament by defeating both Truman-san and Clotho. It helps that he reminds me so much of Billinton-san."
A few brief flashbacks ensued.
FLASHBACK
The first clip showed Flashback David meeting Flashback Thomas for the first time.
"Y-You're…Billinton-san!" peeped David, looking and sounding truly amazed, "I… It's a true honor to properly meet with you in-person! I have been a long time admirer of yours ever since your victory at the San Francisco Duel Monsters tournament last year!"
(new scene…)
The second clip was when 'Life Stream Dragon' was facing 'Dark Magician Girl' and 'Magician of Black Chaos'.
"Due to the effect of 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage'," said Flashback David, going over the effect of his 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card, "the equipped monster gains ATK equal to half of its current ATK during damage calculation only."
'Life Stream Dragon' got supercharged (ATK: 2900 → 4350).
"Life's Beauty Howl!" commanded Flashback David.
'Life Stream Dragon' obeyed, breathing an extremely powerful blast of golden energy at 'Dark Magician Girl', causing her to scream as the attack overwhelmed and destroyed her.
"'Dark Magician Girl'!" Flashback Thomas cried, shielding himself from the force of the attack (LP: 2250 → 900).
Suddenly, as 'Life Stream Dragon's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 4350 → 2900), the blue-haired boy began to glow in a white aura himself.
"(これは何ですか?!) Korehanandesuka?! (What is this?!)" gasped Flashback David in Japanese.
"The second effect of 'Magic Formula'," explained Flashback Thomas, recovering LP (LP: 900 → 1900), "If this card is sent from the field to the GY: I must gain 1000 LP."
"My Battle Phase has not ended," Flashback David went on, "My next target is your 'Magician of Black Chaos'!" He then yelled his monster's attack name again… "Life's Beauty Howl!"
'Life Stream Dragon', growing stronger once again (ATK: 2900 → 4350) because of the 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card still being face-up on the field, breathed another golden energy blast. 'Magician of Black Chaos' tried to block it with his scepter, but could only cry out in agony as his weapon broke and he got vaporized from the superior attack, also causing Thomas to scream again as he took more damage (LP: 1900 → 350). After reducing his opponent's LP to really low levels, Flashback David was feeling rather excited.
"How exhilarating," he was saying, huffing and puffing with joy, "I have never felt so alive!"
(new scene…)
The final scene was when both Flashback Thomas and Flashback Emily were beginning to leave after the duel ended with Flashback Thomas winning using 'Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon'.
"Wait!" called Flashback David, causing Flashback Thomas and Flashback Emily to both turn and look at the aqua blue-haired boy, "Will I…ever see you both again?"
Flashback Thomas smiled again, "You know something?" he replied, "I think that might be a possibility in the future."
"When that will happen… That's entirely up to you," added Flashback Emily.
With that being said, the two teenagers took off to catch their bus in order to return home to Knapford City.
END FLASHBACK
The flashbacks ended.
"That duel was an experience unlike any other," remembered David mentally, "With Fudo-san, I can't help but feel excited to face him, seeing as I admire him to a certain extent."
He then cast another quick glance at Matt, hoping that he (Matt) really would duel with everything he (again Matt) had in his heart. Anyway, with both Duel Runners ready to ride, the MC immediately set to work on bringing the Action Cards to the match.
"Now for the Action Cards!" he exclaimed, "Action Field, on! 'Crossover Acceleration'!"
This caused the dueling track around them to glow as several Duel Monsters cards began to appear floating in little balls of light all around the track. The countdown then commenced, with both Matt and David revving their respective Duel Runners about.
"Turbo Duel! Acceleration!" roared the MC, once the ticks ran out.
And both Fudo Go and The Wild Card tore down the track. David was the first to cross the finish line, which meant he would get the first turn of the duel.
"Duel!" David and Matt announced at the same time (LP: 4000) x2.
Everyone in the stands cheered yet again.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the hotel room the Orb representatives were staying at, both Asagi and Mayura were seated on the couch watching the first duel on the TV set. Juri was in the kitchen preparing a big bowl of popcorn. For today, the three young women were wearing entirely new sets of clothing instead of the usual respective outfits they often wore:
-Asagi, with her injuries still bandaged up (only the bandages around her forehead were shown though), wore a cyan-colored t-shirt with a pink hoodie, bluish purple jeans with a belt, and sneakers.
-Mayura wore an orange t-shirt with a picture of a flame stitched onto it, a sleeveless black leather vest, a knee-length purple skirt, and black heeled boots.
-Juri wore a purple beanie cap, a light green shirt with purple trims around the sleeve edges and around the collar area, a sleeveless black vest, and grayish sweat pants with a couple of holes, and black heeled boots with pinkish purple laces.
"Man…" sighed Asagi, who wanted to go watch the duel at the stadium itself, "This stinks."
"I know it's not the same, but we think it's probably for the best," said Mayura, reaching over to touch the wavy blonde-haired young woman's shoulder.
"Mayura's right; because you're still injured, it's probably better for you to remain here for at least a day," added Juri, walking out of the kitchen with the prepared popcorn, "But try to cheer up, Asagi. It's not so bad."
"For sure… We're both here to help keep you company," Mayura agreed, before winking, "We'll even order a pizza in a little while. For now though, let's kick back, and watch Dave and Matt both duke it out."
Asagi nodded silently and reluctantly before looking back at the TV, which displayed footage of The Wild Card and Fudo Go riding as the duel began.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium…
"It's my turn!" announced David, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: David Xadashi (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Remake Puzzle", "Morphtronic Boomboxen", "Morphtronic Map", "Morphtronic Magnen Bar", "Morphtronic Scopen", and "Morphtronic Accelerator"
Action Card: N/A
His drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Morphtronic Accelerator'. He added the card into his hand, took another ('Morphtronic Map') from there, and readied to play it.
"This is my first card, Fudo-san!" warned David, before slotting the card into his Duel Runner, "Field Spell, 'Morphtronic Map', activate!"
The scenery on the track changed to that of a huge map-like blueprint of various machine-like creations.
"Each time a monster's battle position is changed: I must place 1 Morph Counter on this card. All 'Morphtronic' monsters gain 300 ATK for each Morph Counter on this card," explained David, From there, he took another card ('Morphtronic Scopen') from his hand and placed it onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Runner, "Now, from my hand, I'll Summon 'Morphtronic Scopen' in Attack Position!"
Appearing onto the field was a large Microscope that transformed itself into its robot mode (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1400).
"'Morphtronic Scopen'," realized Matt, "And I already know what you're gonna do next."
"Since you do, I'll activate the Attack Position effect of 'Morphtronic Scopen'!" continued David, "Once per turn: I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 'Morphtronic' monster from my hand, but destroy it during the End Phase," With that said, he placed another card onto his Duel Runner, "This one will do nicely… Come forth, 'Morphtronic Boomboxen'!"
Appearing onto the field next, was the familiar red boombox monster, which then turned into a more humanoid, robotic form (Level: 4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 400).
"I tune Level 4 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' into Level 3 'Morphtronic Scopen'!" David announced surprisingly.
'Morphtronic Scopen' turned into three Synchro Rings which 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' jumped into, turning into four orbs of light as David was heard performing a chant…
"Docking strength with courage to protect the world's peace!" chanted David, as the symbols 4 + 3 = 7 were shown briefly just before the four orbs of light within the trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, 'Power Tool Dragon'!"
Appearing from the beam of light and flying through the sky, was the mechanical dragon-like monster (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2500).
"To face 'Power Tool Dragon' this early…" worried Matt quietly, "This could be troublesome."
And, clearly, it was troublesome.
"Now that 'Power Tool Dragon' has appeared, I'll activate its first effect!" announced David, as his Deck shuffled itself, "Power Search!"
A card ejected slightly from the Deck, which David took and looked over. Matt simply waited to see what would happen next. Finally, David made a move…
"My next card!" As he spoke, the aqua blue-haired boy held another card ('Morphtronic Accelerator'), "From my hand, I'll activate a Spell Card, 'Morphtronic Accelerator'! I must return 1 'Morphtronic' monster from my hand to the Deck, then target 1 card on the field; I must destroy that target, and if I do, draw 1 card."
He then took another card ('Morphtronic Magnen Bar') and shuffled it into his Deck.
"Now, I'll target…my own Field Spell, 'Morphtronic Map'! I will destroy that card!"
In the stands…
"That's a good idea," remarked Zack, which earned him a look from James R., "Dave chose to destroy his card intentionally because it has one more effect. Just watch and you'll see what it is."
Back on the track, the effect of the 'Morphtronic Accelerator' Spell Card took effect, returning the whole stadium to its normal setting.
"I chose to destroy 'Morphtronic Map' on purpose, Fudo-san!" David pointed out, as he drew a card. He then allowed another card ('Morphtronic Boomboxen') to eject from his GY, "It's to activate its third effect! When this card is destroyed and sent from the field to the GY: I can Special Summon 1 'Morphtronic' monster from my GY."
On cue, 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' reappeared on the field in its boombox form (Level: 4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 400).
"Furthermore, I'll equip my monster with this!" As David spoke, a Spell Card called 'Morphtronic Rusty Engine' materialized face-up on the field behind 'Morphtronic Boomboxen', "'Morphtronic Rusty Engine'!"
A wire materialized from the face-up card and plugged into the back of 'Morphtronic Boomboxen', energizing it considerably.
"I must equip only to a 'Morphtronic' monster," revealed David, "If the equipped monster is destroyed: I must inflict damage to each player equal to its original ATK."
Matt scowled a little bit, not bothering to come up with anything to say back.
"What's wrong, Fudo-san?" teased David, while taking two more cards from his hand and placing them onto his Duel Runner, "Already feeling the pressure on my first turn?"
Two Set cards materialized on the field around The Wild Card before fading away for later use. This signaled the end of David's turn.
"I Set two reverse cards and end my turn!" David said to Matt, "Okay! It's your turn now, Fudo-san! Put all of your heart into your best of dueling!"
Both The Wild Card and Fudo Go roared across the finish line, completing their first lap.
"Here I come! It's my turn!" declared Matt, drawing a card.
Turn Two: Matt Fudo (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Fighting Spirit", "Stardust Xiaolong", "Mach Synchron", "Jet Synchron", "Junk Giant", and "Scrap-Iron Signal"
Action Card: N/A
His drawn card was a Trap Card called 'Scrap-Iron Signal'.
"I'll use this later on," thought Matt, adding the card into his hand. He then took another card from his hand and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "I Special Summon 'Junk Giant' from my hand!"
Appearing onto the field was a large robot made of metal with two large spikes coming out from the shoulders (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400).
"If my opponent controls a Level 5 or higher monster, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)," explained Matt, going over some of his monster's effects, "Furthermore, a Synchro Summon using this card as material cannot be negated," He then took another card from his hand and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "Next, I'll Summon the Tuner monster, 'Mach Synchron'!"
Appearing onto the field was a small jet-like monster with arms, legs, and hands (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). From there, 'Junk Giant'
"I tune Level 6 'Junk Giant' into Level 1 'Mach Synchron'!" The voice of Matt proclaimed.
As the command to tune was being announced, 'Mach Synchron' turned itself into a single Synchro Ring, which overwhelmed 'Junk Giant' and turned it into six orbs of light as Matt echoed a Summon Chant…
"Gathering blades will forge with the flames of eternal might! Become the path its light shines upon!" chanted Matt, as the symbols 6 + 1 = 7 were shown briefly just before the six orbs of light within the lone Synchro Ring turned into a massive beam of light and slammed over Fudo Go on the track, "Synchro Summon! Slash apart the light, 'Seven Swords Warrior'!"
Appearing from the beam of light and onto the field, was a golden-armored warrior wielding two swords while also carrying a third on his back (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1800).
"Next, I'll activate the monster effect of 'Mach Synchron'!" While speaking, Matt took a card ('Junk Giant') from his GY, showing it to his opponent for a few seconds, and adding it back into his hand, "When this card is sent to the GY as Synchro Material: I can target 1 other monster in my GY, that was used as material for that Synchro Summon; I must add that target to my hand. By using this effect, I'll add 'Junk Giant' back," He then took another card ('Fighting Spirit') from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Runner, "Next, I'll equip 'Seven Swords Warrior' with 'Fighting Spirit'!"
Golden energy wrapped around the swords wielded by 'Seven Swords Warrior'.
"The equipped monster gains 300 ATK for each monster my opponent controls."
"I control just two monsters," frowned David, "'Seven Swords Warrior' will gain 600 ATK as a result of it."
'Seven Swords Warrior's' swords began glowing as he grew stronger (ATK: 2300 → 2900).
"Next, I'll activate the first effect of 'Seven Swords Warrior'!" declared Matt, "Once per turn, when an Equip Card is equipped to this card: I must inflict 800 damage to my opponent," He then announced his monster's effect name 'Seven Swords Warrior' crossed both glowing swords together, "Equip Shot!"
A few seconds after 'Seven Swords Warrior' crossed his swords together, he swung both weapons and caused a golden energy beam to fire and strike The Wild Card, which resulted in David wincing as he took damage (LP: 4000 → 3200).
"I activate a Trap, 'Armory Call'!" The aqua blue-haired boy countered, as one of his Set cards reappeared on the field, flipped face-up, and revealed itself, "I must add 1 Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand, then I can equip it to 1 appropriate monster I control," He then took a card ('Megamorph') from his Deck and held it out, "Thanks to it, I've grabbed something very useful, and it's 'Megamorph'!"
"What?! 'Megamorph'?" cried Matt.
"While my LP is lower than my opponent's, the equipped monster's ATK becomes double its original ATK," David went on, while slotting the card into his Duel Runner, "While my LP is higher, the equipped monster's ATK becomes half its original ATK. My LP are lower than your own, which means my 'Power Tool Dragon's' ATK will become…doubled its original amount!"
'Power Tool Dragon' grew in both size and power (ATK: 2300 → 4600).
"Not yet!" shouted Matt, before pointing at 'Seven Swords Warrior', "I choose this moment to activate 'Seven Swords Warrior's' second effect! Once per turn: I can target 1 Equip Card equipped to this card; I must send it to the GY."
"(何だって?!) Nani datte?! (Say what?!)" gasped David in Japanese, "Fudo-san, you're sending your own 'Fighting Spirit' to the GY?"
"I am," Matt confirmed, holding his card ('Fighting Spirit') before sending it to his GY, "By doing this, however, I've triggered "Seven Swords Warrior's' third effect! When an Equip Card equipped to this card is sent to the GY (except during the Damage Step): I can target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target," He then pointed at his opponent, "Dave, although 'Power Tool Dragon' is the stronger monster in terms of ATK, even that cannot stop an 'effect' attack!"
'Seven Swords Warrior' threw both his weapons at 'Power Tool Dragon', then drew the sword strapped on its back and charged forth. The first two swords struck 'Power Tool Dragon', causing the mechanical-like Dragon monster to let out a roar of pain before being struck by the slashing charge by 'Seven Swords Warrior'. The combined attacks resulted in 'Power Tool Dragon' exploding from its seeming destruction.
"Is this really the end of 'Power Tool Dragon'?!" pondered the MC.
Matt seemed to look satisfied over his successful attack. But when the smoke cleared away, 'Power Tool Dragon' was revealed…to still be standing.
"What?! It's still standing?" flinched Matt. He then mentally kicked himself for completely forgetting all about 'Power Tool Dragon's' second effect, "I forgot…"
"Fudo-san, you've forgotten all about 'Power Tool Dragon's' second effect," scolded David, while holding up his 'Megamorph' Spell Card before sending it to the GY, "If this card would be destroyed while equipped with an Equip Spell(s), I can send 1 of those cards to the GY instead."
With the 'Megamorph' Spell Card gone, 'Power Tool Dragon's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 4600 → 2300). Matt cursed to himself quietly, while 'Seven Swords Warrior's' own ATK returned to normal (ATK: 2900 → 2300). He then noticed an Action Card nearby and drove over to pick it up, deciding to try an actual attack after looking the card over for a moment.
"If a monster effect can't destroy 'Power Tool Dragon', I'll try doing it with an actual attack!" While speaking, Matt pointed at 'Power Tool Dragon', "'Seven Swords Warrior', attack 'Power Tool Dragon'!" As the attack name was announced, 'Seven Swords Warrior' charged at 'Power Tool Dragon' with his many blades drawn, "Seven Swords Slash!"
Since both monsters were tied in ATK, it looked certain that they would both be destroyed. David, however, was not stupid; he knew that whatever Action Card Matt picked up seconds ago, it would help him in this battle. Needless to say, he was right about that.
"Next, I'll activate the Action Card I picked up, 'Extreme Sword'!" announced Matt, holding his Action Spell Card ('Extreme Sword') out, "I must target 1 monster on the field; it gains 1000 ATK during the Battle Phase only."
'Seven Swords Warrior' grew stronger from this form of power boost (ATK: 2300 → 3300). With the tide turned again, the Warrior monster was about to strike down 'Power Tool Dragon'.
"Your attack is too reckless, Fudo-san!" criticized David, making Matt ease up, "You, of all people, have neglected to notice my one Set card," He made his remaining Set card reappear on the field beside him (on his left), "I activate a Trap, 'Remake Puzzle'!"
The card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"During my opponent's Battle Phase: I must destroy 1 'Morphtronic' monster I control, and if I do, end the Battle Phase, and if I do that, Special Summon 1 'Morphtronic' monster from my GY whose Level is less than the Level of the monster destroyed and sent to the GY by this effect," explained David, before pointing at 'Morphtronic Boomboxen', "I will destroy my own 'Boomboxen' to end your Battle Phase, Fudo-san!"
From there, 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' intercepted the attack and exploded when struck, clouding that part of the track with smoke.
"There's more," David pointed out, readying a card in-between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, "Now I'm able to Special Summon a 'Morphtronic' monster from my GY whose Level is less than the Level of the monster destroyed."
When the smoke fully cleared, now on the field in the place of 'Morphtronic Boomboxen' was 'Morphtronic Scopen' (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1400).
"It's 'Morphtronic Scopen'," muttered Matt, entering his Main Phase 2, "With the Battle Phase over, the effect of 'Extreme Sword' wears off!"
'Seven Swords Warrior's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 3300 → 2300).
"Did you forget though?" cut in David, sharply, "The effect of my Equip Spell, 'Morphtronic Rusty Engine', will now trigger! Seeing as 'Boomboxen' was destroyed, both players will take damage equal to its original ATK."
His GY then shot out two yellow electrical beams, which struck both duelists and made them cry out in pain as they took damage at the same time (LP: 3200 → 2000)(LP: 4000 → 2800). In the audience…
"David damaged himself in order to damage Matt," reported Megan, "I'll say this about him; he's quite the duelist when he wants to be."
Over with the remaining Orb representatives…
"Man, what a duel," admired Lisa, before frowning a little bit, "But I'm a little surprised over how Matt's dueling thus far. It's as though his heart doesn't seem to be in the game, and he's rushing to win the duel as fast as he can—like he's focused more on something else entirely."
Ms. Simmons nodded, "I have to agree with you, Lisa," she said sternly, "Matt 'is' focused on something else at the moment. And…I think I know what the problem is."
(elsewhere…)
Back in the hotel room, the Astray trio were still watching the duel, and even they noticed that Matt wasn't dueling with his heart as he usually did.
"Why is Matt rushing to win the duel?" wondered Mayura, "It isn't like him to be dueling in a state like this."
"I think I know why," replied Juri, before looking at Asagi, "He's still thinking about what happened to you last night, when Sergey defeated and left you badly hurt after your duel with him. Like no matter how hard Matt tries to forget, he cannot escape those memories and it's affecting his concentration."
Asagi was very surprised, "He's…that worried about me?" she whispered, before finally standing up while looking determined, "Alright, I have to do something about that."
"Asagi, what are you doing?" gasped Mayura.
"What does it look like? I'm going to the stadium to try and set the record straight."
"But you're still injured!" Juri objected, trying to stop Asagi from leaving, "You can't go anywhere at the moment!"
"I don't care!" snapped Asagi, "To me, helping a friend snap out of a funk is more important than nursing your own wounds. However, I can't get to the stadium alone…!" She then softened up and put a pleading look onto her face, "Please, I need you two to help me here… You must take me to the New York City stadium."
There was a decently length of silence from both Mayura and Juri as they stared at each other, thinking it over. At last, they, with heavy reluctance on their part, looked to their best friend and nodded.
"Okay," began Juri.
"If you think you need to help Matt with his problems… then we'll help get you to the stadium," finished Mayura.
Smiling, Asagi felt thankful that her two friends would assist her in trying to help one of her new friends.
"Thanks so much, you two," The wavy blonde-haired young woman mumbled, "Now, let's go!"
Mayura and Juri both nodded again, this time in agreement. Would they even get to the stadium in time? I can't say for sure.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium, the duel between David (LP: 2000) and Matt (LP: 2800) was continuing as strongly as ever.
"The Defense Position effect of 'Morphtronic Scopen' now activates!" warned David, "While this card is in face-up Defense Position, it is Level 4."
'Morphtronic Scopen's' Level went up slightly (Level: 3 → 4). Matt scowled in response, knowing that he was not in a very good spot, but otherwise had no other choice but to end his turn there.
"I end my turn!" finished Matt.
Despite his initial excitement over dueling against Matt, David was now growing increasingly unhappy over how his opponent was faring thus far.
"I can't believe Fudo-san!" David thought to himself, "He isn't dueling with his heart as he often does… Does he even consider me a worthy enough duelist? Or is he thinking so much about Asagi-san that he…wants to win as quickly as possible? I just don't get it," He then closed his eyes and spoke aloud, "Fine, I see how it is."
"Huh?" quizzed Matt.
"Fudo-san, I'm going to force your hand!" said David firmly, "I've defeated Hogan-kun with it, and I'm going to use it to defeat you!"
Matt flinched, while in the stands…
"Did Dave say 'it'?" panicked James R..
"Then he means…" put in Carlie.
"…'Life Stream Dragon'!" confirmed Michael, "Although I don't see how he can bring it out if the Levels of his monsters don't equal 8."
"David-boy knows what he's saying," corrected Discord, "He believes he will get the cards he needs on his turn."
Over with The Wild Card, David had already thought of a plan to ensure he Synchro Summoned 'Life Stream Dragon' on his upcoming turn.
"It's my turn!" hollered David, drawing a card.
Turn Three: David Xadashi (LP: 2000)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Level Tuning"
Action Card: N/A
His drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Level Tuning'; a card he needed. Now, he needed only one more card…
"I activate the first effect of 'Power Tool Dragon'!" pressed David, as his Deck shuffled itself again, "Once per turn, during my Main Phase: I can add 1 random Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand."
A card slipped out of the top of the Deck, which the aqua blue-haired boy took. He saw it was the 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card. Nodding, he then pressed the index and middle fingers onto the 'Morphtronic Scopen' Monster Card on his Duel Runner, switching it into Attack Position.
"From there, I'll change 'Scopen' into Attack Position, reducing its Level back to 3!" acknowledged David.
'Morphtronic Scopen's' Level returned to normal (Level: 4 → 3).
"Now, I'll activate a Spell Card, 'Level Tuning'!" When he said that, David slotted his next card into his Duel Runner. This caused the mentioned Spell Card to materialize face-up on the field in-front of The Wild Card, "I must reduce the Level of all face-up monsters I control by 1, until the end of this turn."
In the stands…
"By using that card, David will make 'Power Tool Dragon' a Level 6 monster…" began Mr. Kisaka.
"…and 'Morphtronic Scopen' a Level 2 monster!" agreed Ms. Simmons.
"That… that's a really smart move," admitted Lisa, amazed.
Back on the track, the effect of the 'Level Tuning' Spell Card activated, reducing the Levels of 'Power Tool Dragon' (Level: 7 → 6) and 'Morphtronic Scopen' (Level: 3 → 2) by one. This resulted in their combined Levels becoming the correct amount needed for the arrival of 'Life Stream Dragon'.
"I-It's coming!" peeped the MC, before raising his voice in barely contained excitement, "Everyone give our favorite underdog a big hand for what he's about to Synchro Summon!"
Down on the track, a familiar sign began to glow on David's right forearm as he prepared his move…
"Here I go, Fudo-san!" began David, "I tune Level 6 'Power Tool Dragon' into Level 2 'Morphtronic Scopen'!"
'Power Tool Dragon' zipped into the sky, while 'Morphtronic Scopen' turned itself into two Synchro Rings. As that was going on, David began a Summon Chant…
"The courage and power to protect the future of the planet is a revolution!"
'Power Tool Dragon' flew into the pair of Synchro Rings, turning into six orbs of light in the process. During which, the symbols 6 + 2 = 8 were briefly shown. Pretty soon, the six orbs turned into a massive beam of light as something happened within it.
"Synchro Summon!" thundered David, "Evolve, 'Life Stream Dragon'!"
Within the beam of light, 'Power Tool Dragon's' mechanical body became flesh and blood—although it retained the chisel-like weapon that 'Power Tool Dragon' had on its left arm. Now emerging from the beam and flying through the sky, 'Life Stream Dragon' soon stopped in midair to pose for battle (Level: 8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2400).
"Fudo-san, this is a whole new duel!" called David, whose LP suddenly went up through his monster's first effect (LP: 2000 → 4000), "When 'Life Stream Dragon' is Synchro Summoned: I can make my LP become 4000."
Matt was growing more and more worried; not only did 'Life Stream Dragon' arrive, but David had also recovered his LP using its first effect. And if David had that 'other' card in his hand, things would get very grim, very dire for him (Matt) very quickly. Unfortunately, David only had one more card to play, and, rather sadly, it was 'that' card…
"This is my last card…" As David spoke he held up a card (without revealing what it was). He then turned it over and revealed what it was, "…'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage'!"
The crowd gasped.
"This is bad, really bad!" cried Zack.
"This will complete Dave's most powerful combo!" acknowledged James R., "I should know; it was what brought me down."
"Matt!" called Carlie.
Back on the track, 'Life Stream Dragon' was energized with great power.
"I must equip only to a Level 8 or higher Dragon Synchro Monster," explained David, going over his Spell Card's effect, "The equipped monster can attack all monsters my opponent controls, once each, during each Battle Phase, but it must attack the monster with the highest ATK first."
Matt now looked very worried, so worried that he revved Fudo Go and raced further down the track to try and get an Action Card.
"You can't get away forever, Fudo-san!" insisted David, while entering the Battle Phase, "Go forth, 'Life Stream Dragon'! Your target is 'Seven Swords Warrior'!"
'Life Stream Dragon' obeyed, flying higher into the sky while growing stronger (ATK: 2900 → 4350). It then began charging its signature attack.
"When it battles an opponent's monster, it gains ATK equal to half of its current ATK during damage calculation only," continued David, going over his 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card's second effect before yelling out the attack name of 'Life Stream Dragon', "Life's Beauty Howl!"
And the Dragon Tuner Synchro Monster unleashed its golden breath attack at 'Seven Swords Warrior'. Matt grimaced, knowing he didn't have much time to find an Action Card. Eventually, he spotted one up ahead.
"An Action Card!" thought Matt.
He then made Fudo Go move faster, while 'Seven Swords Warrior' avoided the initial Life's Beauty Howl. That didn't stop 'Life Stream Dragon' from attacking again, however, and this time it was poised to strike down 'Seven Swords Warrior' without fail. Matt was inches away from reaching the Action Card. He reached out…
*KABOOM!*
…and grabbed the card before 'Seven Swords Warrior' was hit by the more accurately placed Life's Beauty Houl and exploded due to his destruction. The explosion rocked the area a bit and made Fudo Go stumble about while Matt screamed a little bit, almost dropping his picked up Action Card in the process.
"What power!" gawked Megan, "With one supercharged attack, 'Seven Swords Warrior' got demolished!"
The attack soon stopped, and Matt managed to regain control of Fudo Go as he took massive damage (LP: 2800 → 750). With the Battle Phase over, 'Life Stream Dragon's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 4350 → 2900). Matt then looked at his Action Card ('Flame Surge') before grimacing over how it would not have helped him in that last battle.
"Looking at this right now, I don't think 'Flame Surge' would have helped me out of that attack made by 'Life Stream Dragon'," Matt told himself. While adding the picked up Action Card ('Flame Surge') into his hand, which contained 'Stardust Xiaolong', 'Jet Synchron', 'Junk Giant', and 'Scrap-Iron Signal', he finally realized something in his mind, "Wait a moment, what have I been thinking? There was a whole different plan I could have conducted during my first turn…"
A flashback/vision ensued.
FLASHBACK
Both The Wild Card and Fudo Go roared across the finish line, completing their first lap.
"It's my turn!" declared Flashback Matt, drawing a card.
His drawn card was a Trap Card called 'Scrap-Iron Signal'.
"I'll use this later on," thought Flashback Matt, adding the card into his hand. He then took another card from his hand and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "I Special Summon 'Junk Giant' from my hand!"
Appearing onto the field was a large robot made of metal with two large spikes coming out from the shoulders (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2400).
"If my opponent controls a Level 5 or higher monster, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)," explained Flashback Matt, going over some of his monster's effects, "Furthermore, a Synchro Summon using this card as material cannot be negated," He then took another card from his hand (not 'Mach Synchron', but 'Jet Synchron' instead) and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "Next, I'll Summon the Tuner monster, 'Jet Synchron'!"
Appearing onto the field was the jet-like Machine monster (Level: 1/ATK: 500/DEF: 0). From there, 'Junk Giant' jumped into the air, while something started to happen to 'Jet Synchron'.
"I tune Level 6 'Junk Giant' into Level 1 'Jet Synchron'!" The voice of Flashback Matt proclaimed.
As the command to tune was being announced, 'Jet Synchron' turned itself into a single Synchro Ring, which overwhelmed 'Junk Giant' and turned it into six orbs of light as Matt echoed a Summon Chant…
"Gathering blades will forge with the flames of eternal might! Become the path its light shines upon!" chanted Flashback Matt, as the symbols 6 + 1 = 7 were shown briefly just before the six orbs of light within the lone Synchro Ring turned into a massive beam of light and slammed over Fudo Go on the track, "Synchro Summon! Slash apart the light, 'Seven Swords Warrior'!"
Appearing from the beam of light and onto the field, was a golden armored warrior wielding two swords while also carrying a third on his back (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1800). From there, clips of the turn carrying on like what happened in the duel itself were shown, up until the 'Megamorph' Spell Card was destroyed.
"I could have used 'Jet Synchron' to Synchro Summon 'Seven Swords Warrior', then everything would have remained the same up until I destroyed 'Megamorph'," narrated Matt, "From there, I could've used 'Jet Synchron's' second effect to discard 'Stardust Xiaolong' from my hand and revive 'Jet Synchron' to then immediately use it and 'Seven Swords Warrior' in order to Synchro Summon 'Stardust Dragon'."
The duel resumed from there…
"I activate the second effect of the 'Jet Synchron' in my GY!" announced Flashback Matt, discarding a card ('Stardust Xiaolong') before taking a card ('Jet Synchron') from his GY, "If this card is in my GY: I can send 1 card from my hand to the GY; I must Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field. By sending 'Stardust Xiaolong' to the GY, I'll Special Summon 'Jet Synchron' again!"
Reappearing on the field was 'Jet Synchron' (Level: 1/ATK: 500/DEF: 0).
"7 plus 1 equals…" mumbled Flashback David, before figuring out what monster his opponent was going to Synchro Summon, "Oh no!"
"Yes!" confirmed Flashback Matt, "I tune Level 7 'Seven Swords Warrior' into Level 1 'Jet Synchron'!"
'Jet Synchron' turned into a single Synchro Ring, which 'Seven Swords Warrior' soared into and turned it into seven orbs of light as Flashback Matt was heard performing a Summon Chant…
"Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" chanted Flashback Matt, as the symbols 7 + 1 = 8 were shown briefly just before the five orbs of light within the trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Take flight, 'Stardust Dragon'!"
Appearing from the beam of light and flying into the sky, was the majestic-looking white/silver dragon itself (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000). The Battle Phase then commenced…
"'Stardust Dragon'!" commanded Flashback Matt, as his ace monster was ready to attack, "Roar! Cosmic Flare!"
'Stardust Dragon' obeyed, charging and firing off a blast of stardust-like fire towards 'Power Tool Dragon'!"
"Fudo-san, you have neglected my one Set card," interrupted Flashback David, as his remaining Set card reappeared on the field behind The Wild Card, flipped face-up, and revealed itself, "I activate a Trap, 'Remake Puzzle'! During my opponent's Battle Phase: I must destroy 1 'Morphtronic' monster I control, and if I do, end the Battle Phase, and if I do that, Special Summon 1 'Morphtronic' monster from my GY whose Level is less than the Level of the monster destroyed and sent to the GY by this effect. I will destroy my own 'Boomboxen' to end your Battle Phase, Fudo-san!
"You will?" Flashback Matt said ominously, causing Flashback David to become confused-looking, "I activate 'Stardust Dragon's' first effect!" He raised his right hand into the sky, "Victim Sanctuary!"
'Stardust Dragon' obeyed, flying through the sky before turning into specks of Stardust-like dust.
"When a card or effect is activated that…" explained Flashback Matt, "…would destroy a card(s) on the field (Quick Effect): I can Tribute this card; I must negate the activation, and if I do, destroy it."
Flashback David watched as the dust rained down upon his face-up 'Remake Puzzle' Trap Card, causing it to melt away into nothingness.
"No!" he cried out.
From there, potential clips of 'Stardust Dragon' reappearing at the end of Flashback Matt's turn, surviving Flashback David's turn, and then Flashback Matt Special Summoning 'Stardust Xiaolong' from his GY, Normal Summoning 'Mach Synchron' from his hand, and tuning the former with the latter in order to Synchro Summon 'Formula Synchron', which would lead to one thing…
"By using 'Stardust's' Victim Sanctuary, I would have destroyed 'Remake Puzzle', which, in turn, would have stopped David from Summoning 'Life Stream Dragon' on the next turn," Matt narrated on, as his flashback self proceeded to Accel Synchro Summon 'Shooting Star Dragon', "And, depending on whether I could have protected 'Stardust Dragon' with an Action Card on David's turn, and depending on what Equip Spell David got from 'Power Tool Dragon's' effect, I still would've been able to Accel Synchro Summon 'Shooting Star Dragon' by Special Summoning 'Stardust Xiaolong' via its effect and then Normal Summoning 'Mach Synchron' before using them to bring out 'Formula Synchron', regardless of whether I Summoned either 'Mach Synchron' or 'Jet Synchron' on my first turn."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"However, I had been thinking way too much about Asagi," Matt told himself mentally, "Like how she and her friends almost got killed by Sergey, and how I wasn't there to stop him in time. It's as though I had been focused so much on winning the duel as fast as I could, that I never realized that possible strategy until now."
Well, what's done was done, and there was no going back as of now.
"I end my turn," concluded David, before finally deciding to do something about his opponent's dueling thus far. What he was going to say would hurt him more than it would hurt Matt, but it needed to be done, "Fudo-san, it really, really hurts me to say this about you, but your dueling right now is nothing short of pathetic!"
This caused the audience to gasp in collective surprise, while Matt remained quiet because he knew David was right about the dueling.
"I know you're so much better than this, Fudo-san!" The voice of David continued, "All throughout, you've been rushing to end this match as fast as you can. If you were properly dueling with your heart instead, you would have managed to prevent me from Synchro Summoning 'Life Stream Dragon'!" He did not let up with his little speech, not wanting to wound Matt's pride any further—but if it was to snap him (Matt) out of it, so be it, "If your reason for your dueling heart not being in the right place is because of what almost happened to Asagi-san, then maybe…you should not be dueling at this time if you're going to continue to blame yourself for something that's not your fault. Is it hard to forget? Yes, and it's somewhat understandable, but continuing to wallow in your guilt won't accomplish anything in the long run, and nobody else is blaming you for what happened."
In the stands, various audience members were stunned into silence by the harsh-sounding speech.
"I've never seen David tell someone he respects so much off in that manner before," mused Ren.
"Matt…" whispered Futaba.
"Dave…" put in Sean.
"(お兄ちゃん…) O nīchan… (Big Brother…)" finished Gabriella in Japanese.
Meanwhile, at one of the entrance ways, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each entered the area, briefly interrupting Megan's reporting on the duel and getting her riled up.
"Hey! You three!" snapped Megan, looking highly annoyed, "What's the big-"
"Sorry about this, but I need to hurry and find a way to talk to Matt," apologized Asagi hastily, looking around for a way she could speak to Matt, "Come on, how can I get a hold of… Wait, I know what to do!"
With that being said, she and her two best friends ran off, making their way to the podium where the MC and Lazar both currently were. Once they reached it, Asagi was ready to put her plan into motion. The MC, waiting for something exciting in the duel to happen, felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to turn and see three young women looking at him sternly.
"Say, weren't you three ladies eliminated from the tournament in round one?" recalled the MC.
"Yes, but, right now, I need to borrow your microphone," Asagi requested, while Mayura and Juri both nodded in agreement, "You see, there's a certain duelist out there I need to get through to."
"W-What!? But I'm-"
"Look, I don't have the time to argue with you!" The wavy blonde-haired young woman pointed out, "You got to lend me your microphone! If I don't speak out now, it might be too late to help him out of his funk."
Lazar watched the scene, but made no effort to have the Astray trio removed from the premises, instead looking intrigued to see what would happen next. Back on the track, Matt remained as quiet as ever over the rough speech from his opponent. Eventually, he decided to try saying something, but the moment he opened his mouth…
"Matt! Matt Fudo!" A familiar voice (female) cut in, echoing.
Matt looked up in surprise, looking around for the sign of the voice before turning nearby and found Asagi and her two friends standing on the podium along with a comically weeping MC. Asagi was still bandaged up, but otherwise was doing alright thanks to Mayura and Juri both helping her.
"Asagi?" whispered Matt.
In the stands, Discord, Michael, James R., Carlie, Michael, Zack, Sean, Janice, Ren, Futaba, Gabriella, Lisa, Mr. Kisaka, and Ms. Simmons all were astonished to see Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each on the podium, even though they were supposed to be staying at the hotel, especially so that the former could get some rest and continue nursing her injuries.
"Matt, I want you to know that I'm doing fine," began Asagi, speaking into the microphone and directing her attention to her new friend as he listened, "More importantly, I don't blame you for what happened to me last night. In fact, I've never blamed you. Not even once," She smiled as faded clips of Matt arriving on Fudo Go, him rushing over and holding her in his arms, and her smiling at him before falling unconscious last night were superimposed over her, "I was just relieved you came when you could, and that's all I could ever ask for—as a matter of fact, your arrival with the police actually 'saved' the three of us from being pummeled to death by Sergey after I lost that duel."
"Asagi…" whispered Matt, listening carefully.
"However, I can't help but feel disappointed in you, right now," Asagi went on, now looking a little bit stern as she proceeded with her speech, "You're rushing to win the duel just because you're too worried about me. I'm sorry, but that's not you, at all. You're someone who duels with his heart and gives every card a chance to be used," On the track, as she went on, Matt still continued listening to the speech directed at him, "More than that, you're a True Duelist, and it's about time you started acting like one again!" While finishing up her speech, she smiled with nothing but kindness, "Now, what do you say? Are you a True Duelist, or not?"
The whole stadium did not say a single word throughout the powerful speech made by Asagi Caldwell, with an exception to occasional scattered utterances of "Asagi…" or "Matt…" from people like Ms. Simmons, Lisa, Megan, Michael, Carlie, etc.. Speaking of Matt… After listening to the entire speech, the dirty blonde-haired young man bowed his head and closed his eyes while starting to do some thinking about the speeches made by his two friends in a short period of time.
"Dave and Asagi both…are right," Matt thought to himself, finally feeling his guilt over last night leaving him, "Dave's been dueling me with all he's got, and yet I haven't been putting all of my heart and soul into the duel, and that isn't me at all. More importantly, I really 'did' save my friends last night, and that I was wrong to blame myself for Asagi getting hurt, and, most importantly, I should not allow myself to wallow in guilt."
There was another long silence throughout, while both David and Asagi hoped that their words got through to Matt.
"Matt…" uttered Asagi.
"Fudo-san…" came from David.
At long last, Matt raised his head and smiled pridefully.
"Everyone, I'm back!" he declared.
The audience, along with David, the Astray trio, the MC, and, quite surprisingly, Lazar, gasped with hope and relief.
"Thank you, Dave and Asagi," Matt then told himself mentally, "Thank you for showing me that I was wrong to blame myself, and I should just duel with my heart," He then spoke aloud, "Now, Dave, throughout the duel, you have shown me just how good you are, and now it's time for me to show you how truly good 'I' am. Once I draw my card and begin my turn, this will become a whole new duel!"
David looked shocked—yet relieved—while the audience burst into loud cheers as the American Duel Monsters champion braced the index and middle fingers on his Deck, and, all while drawing his card with a Destiny Draw, yelled out his main catchphrase…
"Let's rev it up!"