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Mindless violet eyes watched as Joey staggered backwards, another blow delivered from one of Mai's harpies. He groaned, clutching his chest as he gazed back at Mai. She was beating him, but was this his final end, having his soul stolen by the girl he loves? Maybe, but was she really that cruel? No, he had seen a kind and sincere side of Mai when she was taken to the shadow realm, away from him for a while. He had been mortified, swearing revenge on Marik for doing such a thing to Mai. Yugi had saved her from the shadow realm when he had beaten Marik when Joey couldn't, but the memories still haunted him. He had almost lost her, a feeling he'd never forget as long as he still remembered her. She had even forgotten him during that duel with Marik, staring at him with a blank expression as if she had no clue what was going on. Marik had tortured her, and she had only loneliness to turn to, welcoming the gentle embrace as it swept her away, causing her nothing but pain. Joey had felt responsible for her pain, but what could he do? He couldn't beat her in this duel, for her soul would be trapped instead of his, something he just couldn't allow.
Mai snickered into her palm, enjoying the pain her Harpy Lady had caused Joey. Sure, she had once loved him, but those feelings weren't returned, which only fueled her loneliness and pain when she was trapped in the shadow realm. He had left her, wandering around aimlessly for what seemed like an eternity in the shadows. It was something she couldn't forgive him for. He was her friend and he left her to suffer thanks to Marik. He had tried to save her, but that didn't work and Marik had used his Millennium Rod on her, sending her mind to the shadow realm. She had to watch him disappear in front of her, fading further and further from her cherished memories. And now, here they were, dueling each other to settle what had happened between them. Mai was trying to teach Joey a lesson, while he only wanted to save her from being brainwashed, again.
She was about to order the final blow when she finally realized something, her violet eyes showing nothing but betrayal. He was exhausted from his battle with Valon earlier, and with one final breath, he started to fall. Her breath caught in her throat and it was just this one moment, Joey falling towards the ground as she hurried to catch him before he hit the ground. She had watched him fall too many times, each one as terrifying as the next. What if he never woke up from collapsing? She could never forgive herself for doing that to him, not after how much they had been through.
His limp body fell into her arms, pushing her body against him to support him while he leaned against her, his head on her shoulder. She could feel the tears welding up in her eyes, making her vision blurry as she tried to talk some sense into him.
"Joey, I didn't attack so the battle isn't over. You didn't lose, Joey," She pleaded, her voice quivering from her tears. She fought back a sob that was trying to break free from her throat, swallowing the lump in her throat that always formed when she was about to cry. He merely looked out into the distance, too weak to look her in her violet eyes.
"I'm too exhausted to go on, Mai," Joey replied, his voice a weak whisper that sent chills up and down her spine. She shivered, sniffling to hold back her tears. The Seal of Orichalcos was closing in on Joey and Mai quickly, giving Mai no choice but to cling to Joey with all her might. He merely pushed her out of the way, giving his soul away to the seal and ripping the Orichalcos pendent from her neck. She watched with widened violet eyes, clutching her fist to her chest as she watched, mortified, as Joey's soul was being taken from his body. She screamed, a loud "NO!" that filled the air around her. Joey's soulless body fell to the ground, Mai rushing to pick his body up and cradle him in her arms as she cried. She had already lost one person today; did she really have to lose someone who meant the word to her? She clutched Joey's body close to her, salty tears falling from her eyes onto his angelic face. He looked as if he was sleeping, but Mai knew better than that. She looked at his face, holding him close to her body as she cried. Her shoulders shook and she knew she wanted revenge now. Joey shouldn't have lost his soul just to save her from Orichalcos, for it just wasn't fair.
Mai sat there for a while after it had happened, crying as much as she wanted to before she sped off to face Dartz. Surely he would defeat her, but if she was with Joey again then she didn't care anymore. She'd rather be with Joey than be without him, for a world without Joey was like torture for the blonde duelist.
'Just you watch, Joey, I'll get you back' Mai thought as she placed Joey against the fence and sped off on her motorcycle, Joey's Claw of Hermos in hand to get Joey's soul back. She just had to try, even if it meant losing her own soul to Dartz or one of his henchmen. She was ready to be as vicious as possible to get Joey back, determination and love fueling her to keep trying and to never give up on bringing back Joey's soul.