Juggling two stories can be different to people.

"So it's a showdown you're looking for?" Jaden quipped in a phony Western accent. "Very well."

"This isn't the time for stupid accents," Chazz spat from the sidelines. "Hurry up and win already."

"I gotta go with The Chazz on this," Hassleberry sided.

"Come on Jaden!" Syrus shouted. "You got this!" At that point, something flashed in Luna's memory.

"It can't be," the small girl gasped. "Duel Academy lore tells us of a legendary duelist who visited Neo Space and came back with the Neo-Spacians. It is him."

"All right, enough goofing around," Yusei spelled out slightly irritated. "It's your turn, you know."

"I understand that," the Slifer duelist snickered, drawing to hold one card. "Anywho, here comes Neos Force!" The space hero was infused with a stronger power.

"With this, Neos gets 800 extra attack points," he continued as his monster's strength jumped to 3,300. "And now he's gonna use 'em! Neos, attack!" The space monster leaped at Stardust and swiftly punched it in its chest.

"As long as my dragon is equipped with Silver Wing, it'll take three attacks to knock it down," the lead Signer reminded his opponent.

"I know that, but you're still taking damage!" Jay taunted as Yusei's life points dropped to 1,400.

"Leo, do you think Yusei could be outmatched in this duel?" Luna timidly wondered.

"He'll bounce back, like he always does," the male twin responded in his typical emotional level.

"I hope you're right," she thought to herself.

"Before my turn is over, Neos Force returns to my deck," the slacker pointed as he shuffled his spell card into his deck.

"Looks like I'm up," Yusei breathed, drawing to hold one card. "And I'll add Junk Barrage onto my dragon." Stardust briefly glowed green, signaling its new power.

"What's your big, bad beast do now?" Jaden asked in a boasting manner.

"Simple: when equipped with Junk Barrage, you take damage equal to half of your monster's strength when it's destroyed," the turbo duelist explained.

"And...what's half of 2,500?" Jay questioned curiously, counting out on his fingers.

"Let me give you a hint: a lot!" Yusei seethed, sending Stardust to attack Neos. It built up another blast in its maw and launched it, turning Neos to dust. The remnants of the attack reached Jaden, decreasing his score to 2,750.

"My turn's over," the lead Signer concluded his turn.

"Nice shot, really," Jay complimented his opponent whilst drawing to hold one card again. "And so is this: Fifth Hope!" His field only displayed a single card.

"Pray tell," Yusei mouthed.

"This little number lets me rescue five heroes from my graveyard and return 'em to my deck," the slacker instructed. "Then I can draw two cards. However, if this card is alone on my field, I can draw three cards instead." Jaden retrieved Neos, Air Neos, Sparkman, Necroshade, and Darkbright and returned them to their respective holding positions. When his deck was good and shuffled, it was returned to his duel disk and he drew three cards.

"I activate Mirage of Nightmare!" he declared, playing a continuous spell from his hand. "Now when it's your turn, I can draw four cards."

"The kid still has two cards in his hand," Yusei gauged mentally. "Plus, he has to protect his life points."

"Next up, I remove Fifth Hope from play to summon Spell Striker," Jay added as a miniature and simple Viking look-alike hobbled into play.

"He's not letting up," Alexis thought.

"This guy gets to attack you directly!" the slacker shouted as his mini-warrior swung its staff and struck Yusei, bringing his score to 800. "I'll end my turn with one card face-down." Next to the continuous spell appeared the back of a card.

"My move then," Yusei cut in, drawing one card.

"And my chance to draw four cards," Jay interrupted as he filled his hand up. "Next is Emergency Provisions." His face-down card revealed itself and made the other spell vanish.

"By sacrificing Emergency Provisions, I gain 1,000 extra points," he beamed as his score rebounded to 3,750.

"Stardust, attack!" the turbo duelist growled as his monster swiftly blasted Spell Striker out of existence.

"No dice bud," Jaden sang. "Spell Striker doesn't take battle damage when it's destroyed."

"But Junk Barrage still hits you for 300 points," Yusei pointed out as his opponent's score trickled to 3,450.

"That guy has the slacker's drive to win," Chazz analyzed aloud. "But he doesn't mess around."

"I'll finish my turn with one card face-down," the lead Signer said to end his move.

"My move then," the slacker added as he drew to hold five cards. "Here come E- Emergency Call; now I can add any Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." It didn't take Yusei a second to know what card Jaden wanted.

"Next up is Fake Hero!" he echoed, playing another spell. "Now I can summon an Elemental Hero straight to the field!" In a veil of light came the muscular space hero.

"It's Neos," Luna whispered.

"But I don't want 'im to get lonely," Jay revealed, selecting another card to play. "So here's Flare Scarab!" In a burst of fire came a bug that was almost taller than Jaden.

"Another space creature?" Yusei questioned.

"Yep, and that leads to this," the Slifer duelist bubbled as his monsters ascended into the sky. "Behold, Elemental Hero Flare Neos!" An orange and black colored version Jay's space hero descended from the heavens.

"Another creature of legend," Luna gasped.

"Now here's Neo Space!" Jaden declared, placing a card in his field spell slot. Suddenly, the street and their surroundings were transformed into a tie-dye dimension.

"What's the deal?" the lead Signer demanded to know.

"Quite simple," the slacker spelled out. "As long as we're in this world, any Neos monster gets to stay in play instead of leaving after my turn is over. Plus, they get 500 extra points. And on top of that, Flare Neos gets 400 extra points for every spell and trap on the field." The new monster lit up in flames as its attack strength surged all the way to 4,600.

"Yusei…" Luna quivered in worry.

"All right, Flare Neos, finish this guy off!" Jaden commanded his monster as it hurled a line of flames for Stardust Dragon.

"I activate Iron Resolve!" Yusei countered as his trap flipped up. "By halving my life points, I can avoid this attack. Plus, one less trap on the field means your monster loses strength." When his score hit 400, the flames scattered left and right and Flare Neos' strength dropped to 4,200.

"You are one slippery weasel," Jay chuckled when his turn was over. "Just when I have you cornered, you slip away."

"Yeah, I've been known to do that," Yusei added. "Anyway, it's my turn." He looked down at his deck and closed his eyes.

"I need a game-changer here," he prayed, placing his fingers on the top card. "There's only one monster that can beat that thing." When his call for help was finished, his mark lit up and Luna's too.

As Jack drove around the city, he felt his mark glow. Anytime it did that was a sign one of his friends needed help.

"I feel you, Yusei," the former king spoke. "Take my strength."

Crow continued to wallow in the hospital when his tail mark lit up.

"Don't back down, Yusei," the former thief wished.

Akiza and Bruno were journeying to the outskirts when they noticed Akiza's claw mark glowing.

"Take it to the house, Yusei," the psychic duelist writ aloud.

Their marks faded away from their arms and gathered on the lead Signer's back to form the seal of the Crimson Dragon.

"What's with the light show?" Jaden questioned.

"Allow me to show you," Yusei answered, drawing the glowing top card from his deck. "Or better yet, let Majestic Dragon show you!" Swirling from out of nowhere appeared a pink and dragon fly-like creature.

"A light show for that thing?" Chazz sarcastically quizzed. "That fly-thing has zero attack points. What can it do?"

"It can tune with Stardust Dragon and one of my tokens!" the turbo duelist uttered as the three monsters became a row of stars and a green beam. "From out these three come one and with it comes great cosmic might! I Synchro Summon the Majestic Star Dragon!" The beam of light disappeared and it was replaced by an advanced and smoothed-out version of his dragon.

"That thing looks awesome," Jaden complimented Yusei.

"Then you'll adore this: my dragon has a special quality that lets me negate and steal one of your monster's abilities," the lead Signer pointed out. "Such as your Flare Neos." Jay's monster was surrounded by a green light and its strength dropped to 2,500, while Yusei's dragon's strength went up to 4,200.

"This can't be good," the slacker gulped.

"Star Dragon, attack!" Yusei declared as his stronger monster bolted right through Flare Neos and brought Jaden's score to 1,750. The academy students were stunned by the sheer power of Yusei's dragon. They watched on as it disappeared and Stardust Dragon reappeared in its place.

"Let's see what I got," Jaden wheezed, drawing to hold two cards. "And...I can't summon a monster. So it's your turn."

"Then I'll take that chance," the lead Signer listed, drawing to hold one card again. "I attack with Stardust Dragon!" It fired straight for Jaden, bringing his life points to zero.

"He won," Luna breathed. It was still hard for everyone to take in. Just when Yusei looked to be done for, he pulled about a reversal for the ages. Even worse for the academy students, they couldn't believe that Jaden lost. He hardly ever loses.

It has been decided: a back-and-forth shootout between two champions ends with Yusei pulling out the "w." What'd you all think of the duel? Good or eh? Leave your reviews and I'll see what I can cook up for the next part.