"You see, Mai? A true duelist is not afraid to do what is necessary to fulfill his duty. By facing my darkness and accepting it, I have surpassed my fears. I am stronger than I could ever have been on my own, and my monsters share that strength!" Even as he spoke, the emblem of the Orichalcos appeared on Elma's brow, her eyes gave off the same unnerving red glow and her expression became fiercer than before.

"But this is only the beginning of my new strength. I call upon the magic of Gravity Axe to summon my next monster, Guardian Grarl!" Playing the last card in his hand, a great reptilian creature appeared, standing on its hind legs, at least a head taller than Raphael himself. No sooner had he appeared than the seal appeared on his forehead also, and he gave a dangerous growl, clenching his fists. "Combined with the magic of the Orichalcos, Elma's attack power rises to 2900, and Grarl's attack power is 3000."

"No!"

"My monsters and I can overcome any threat! Now, Guardian Elma - attack her Harpie Lady 1!"

The fairy, now bereft of any elegance, lunged for the winged creature, swinging her axe savagely across the harpie's center and knocking her victim to the ground before the harpie had time to scream.

"With one harpie destroyed, her special ability is gone, and your dragon's ability weakens, leaving it with only 2600 attack points. Guardian Grarl, attack her dragon!"

Both beasts roared with all their might but Grarl slipped easily beneath the dragon's jaws and drove his fist into the fleshy neck of his foe. The dragon gave a noise akin to a howl and a cry; in an instant, its spirit was wiped out.

Mai had partially shielded herself from the impact, visibly shaken by the attack's force. Her life points had reduced by nearly half, leaving her with only 2400 points. More than that, the sheer abruptness of Raphael's coup had taken her severely by surprise.

Raphael smiled to see her mounting concern. "Do you understand now, Mai? You can't defeat me. First you put your faith in yourself, and now you put your faith in friends who can't support you. But I see things as they truly are. Fate brought me to this moment, and I will not shrink from my duty."

"But this isn't your duty, Raphael! You don't have to use Doma's magic - if you do, you're letting your anger control you! You can support your monsters without it."

"No, I can't. This is the only way to unlock the potential I need so I will be able to enforce what must be done. My anger is of no concern to me; what is important is that I cannot let you persist in your efforts to stop Dartz."

Mai stood much straighter as she replied, "Then your judgment is faltering, because I will persist no matter what you do. My friends need me - I can't let them down."

Raphael laughed to himself, "You don't have a choice in the matter. I end my turn. Go on and show me how well you can withstand Doma's force."

Mai took a deep breath, holding her disk to her heart as she considered just how heavy of a task had fallen to her. So, this is how it is from the other side of the Seal. My friends were right when they said I ought not to risk playing the Seal... but then I didn't know what I was doing. This time, for this duel, I knew the stakes when I began, and I still know them. I just hoped it wouldn't come to this.

Her spirit renewed, she declared, "My turn." Willing her heart to be open to the companions who had spared nothing for her, she closed her eyes one last time, surrendered all her fears and drew...

...and before she opened her eyes, she knew she had what she needed.

Raising the beloved card high above her, she declared, "For Valon and Jonouchi! I call upon the Claw of Hermos!"

"What?"

From the card burst a light so pure that it nearly blinded Raphael, yet he could not tear his eyes from the creature that appeared. It was a dragon, of a bold crimson hue, with a horn as sharp as a sword and claws to match. Hermos was no elegant, slender-necked dragon but one with a compact build, great stature and a hide so tough it could repel magma as easily as a thrown pebble. Its golden-yellow eyes burned with all the energy of one who has fought wars for millennia with no loss of vigor, and his roar struck fear into Raphael's heart for a brief moment before it was replaced with sheer indignation.

"Hermos fights for you? This cannot be! Even the nameless Pharaoh was deserted by Timaeus, and yet Hermos stands by you when you destroyed him and his master!"

"Hermos stands by me because he never blamed me for my failures, for his heart is the same as Jonouchi's. Now I have learned to respect my friends' sacrifice, and now I live and duel for them! Hermos, be my companion! Fuse with Cyber Harpie to bring forth a new power!"

As one, the two allies took flight, spiraling side by side straight up into the heavens until they met. There was one more burst of energy, and presently, Raphael saw that neither entity remained; rather, a familiar and yet wholly new object had appeared.

It was a suit of armor, including a breastplate not unlike that of the Cyber Harpie, and also complete with a helmet, leg guards, a gauntlet with a set of claws extending from the back of the knuckles, and a shield large enough to cover the entire left arm, marked with the kanji for wind. It shone like new, and it was of a metal more durable and impenetrable than any forged by man, yet it was light enough that it would weigh as nothing upon the bearer.

Mai extended her hand, calling her remaining cards: "Cyber Wing Armor, equip to Harpie Queen!" Immediately, the armor became flowing light that surrounded the final harpie. Around her torso, the energy surrounded her and conjured the gleaming breastplate. Then her legs, then one arm, then the other, as well as her head were awash in the energy before revealing the weapon that was now a part of her. With a triumphant cry, Harpie Queen declared to Raphael and all of her opponents without using words that she was more than ready to face them.

"So," said Raphael, again his scowling self, "this is the monster upon which you stake your life?"

"Yes," answered Mai. "That armor represents both of my friends. It carries Valon's courage and strength, and it carries Jonouchi's determination and faith. My harpie is supported by both of them," and, in the tender part of her heart, she added, just as I am.

"Very touching, I'm sure, but you need more than a few virtues to win a duel. You need cards powerful enough to destroy any obstacles."

"Then it's time for me to show you this armor's other powers. But first - when I transformed Cyber Harpie into a spell card, the equip card she was holding was destroyed. This activates the other ability of Aero Nails: whenever it's destroyed, I can equip it to another Harpie Lady on the field, so now I can add it to my Harpie Queen!" From the back of the clawed gauntlet appeared an additional blade, adding to the already-formidable arsenal. "This gives my monster 300 extra attack points. Also, the power of Cyber Wing Armor gives her an additional 800 points, bringing her all the way to 3000 attack points!"

"What?"

"Harpie Queen, attack Guardian Elma!"

Soaring from the ground, the harpie dove so quickly that by the time Raphael saw her again, she was already swinging her new claws at his fairy. Elma raised both weapons in defense but the blades sliced through the axe, the dagger, and her at virtually the same moment. As his monster vanished, Raphael's score fell to 1850.

"I'm sorry to destroy your monster, Raphael, but I had to attack. I know you only want to protect your monsters, and I really respect that."

"Don't bother apologizing. Your attack is no sorrow for me."

"What? But your monster was destroyed!"

"True, but by destroying Elma, you also destroyed her dagger, which activated its special ability. Whenever Butterfly Dagger is destroyed and goes to the Graveyard, I can add it to my hand."

Mai was rather disturbed by this turn of events; Raphael's strategy was unexpected, and his callous response even more so. "Turn end."

Silently, Raphael drew his cards, barely looking at them before transferring them to his left hand and taking up the card he had picked from the discard pile only seconds before. "Even with that dragon, you cannot oppose Fate. Once I eliminate your monster, your soul will soon follow. I activate Butterfly Dagger, and I equip it to Guardian Grarl, raising his power to 3300." The emerald dagger appeared in Grarl's hand, small yet deadly, and Grarl held it expertly, waiting eagerly for his master's command. "Guardian Grarl, destroy her harpie!"

With a growl like that of a hunting wolf, Grarl leapt at his prey in great bounds, swinging the dagger back to slice through her gleaming hide and end her life. With all his strength, his arm lashed out, the blade gleamed sharply, and before it connected, Mai called out, "Harpie Queen, activate Cyber Wing Barrier!"

The winged fighter spun swiftly, raising her shield to meet the attack - but the two weapons were never meant to collide. The kanji glowed a shade of blue like that of a clear sky, and from this emblem, a cyclone sprang, howling with awesome gusts that formed a spiraling hemisphere before the harpie. Grarl's attack did not even penetrate the field halfway before his weapon arm froze as though it were secured with a great chain. With his weapon quaking violently, he tried to force his way through before, with a final roar of frustration, he was blown off of his feet and back to his starting point.

Raphael was thunderstruck. "What have you done? Is this the true power of your dragon?"

"Yes, and it draws upon the connection between my friends and myself in a way that is more than symbolic. In addition to raising the attack strength of my harpie, Cyber Wing Armor forbids you from attacking with any monster whose attack strength is less than the total of Harpie Queen's attack points and my life points!"

"No! How can this be? Since you have 2400 life points left, no monster with less than 5400 attack points can reach your field!"

"This is the union between me and my monsters. I recall how you said that I only treated my monsters as tools for victory; it was true then but it is no longer the case. With this armor, I fight together with my monster, and you will have to overcome both of us in order to defeat us."

With bad grace, Raphael turned back to the cards in his hand. "I play the spell card, Feather of the Phoenix! By discarding one card in my hand, I can take another card from my graveyard and place it on top of my deck. End turn."

"My turn. Draw." Mai was feeling more confident but she was still wary. I can't attack Raphael - at least, not yet. For now, my monster is safe but I have no doubt he'll think of a new way to attack me, so I have to be ready. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn." As he drew, Mai wondered what card he had chosen to bring back on his previous turn, as well as whether her defenses could withstand it. But when Raphael smiled upon observing what had been the second card from the top, she braced herself for the worst. "I activate the equip spell, Rod of Silence," said Raphael, holding up a card depicting a staff that seemed to be carved of coral, frozen in a crystal. "This card raises the defense points of the equipped monster by 500 points."

"But that doesn't make sense; defense points won't help you defeat my harpie, and you know it. That can only mean that your card has another power!"

"Correct. My spell also defends against magic by destroying any spell that targets the monster holding this rod."

"What?"

"That means I can use this card as a destructive weapon by equipping Rod of Silence not to my monster but to yours. Once your harpie is equipped with my card, all of her armor will be destroyed!"

Playing his card, a blue aura of light formed around Raphael's disk, which shot a beam straight at Harpie Queen. But before the spell could connect, Mai responded, "I activate my counter trap, Riryoku Field!" The harpie was instantly shrouded in a white energy cloud, and the blue beam was dispelled easily upon contact with the cloud. "I have my own way of destroying unwanted spells. This trap negates and destroys any spell that targets a monster on the field, so my harpie's armor remains intact while your Rod of Silence is destroyed."

"Not for long. Again, I use the power of Butterfly Dagger to summon Guardian Elma in attack mode, and I'll use the power of the Seal to place her on the second line of battle." The red-haired fairy returned to the field, this time in the row behind Guardian Grarl. "With her ability, I can equip a spell in my graveyard to her, and I choose Rod of Silence." From the ground grew a crystal that broke open, revealing the rod within it, which Elma plucked and held like a scepter. "Turn end."

"I draw." The card was a very welcome sight to Mai, and it she played it immediately. "I summon Bladefly in attack mode!" On her field appeared a great blood-red insect the size of a small child and with a curved, sharp stinger at its base. "This monster will let me break your protection in one turn. Its special ability raises the attack power of all wind monsters by 500 and lowers the attack power of all earth monsters by 400. That means my monsters get stronger while your Guardian Grarl gets weaker!"

"This can't be!"

"Harpie Queen, attack Guardian Grarl!" Flying even higher than before, the creature struck Grarl straight in the heart, destroying him in an instant and lowering Raphael's score to 1250.

Raphael was furious, and the anger was evident as he spat, "Destroying my Butterfly Dagger returns it to my hand."

"Turn end."

The scrape of paper was audible as Raphael roughly pulled his next two cards. "I will not be dominated by you! I activate the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light!" From out of the card flew crosses of light, forming a cage around both of Mai's creatures. "This card will restrain your obnoxious monsters for the next three turns. I guarantee you that, before they are free, they will oppose me no longer. I also play a card face-down. Turn end."

"My turn again," said Mai as she drew. "Even with your swords in play, my monsters and I will not stop fighting you, and this card gives us the way! I play Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!" Harpie Queen screeched to the sky as a stream that was somewhere between wind and fire enveloped her, forming itself into the shape of a great bird, the ancient phoenix. "Since I control one harpie, this card destroys one monster on your side of the field and then inflicts damage to you equal to its attack points. Harpie Queen, destroy Guardian Elma!" The magical creature swooped down to wipe out the enemy.

Raphael called out, "I activate Solemn Judgment! By paying half my life points, your spell card is rendered worthless!" As his score shrank to 625, the magical winds dissipated, and the exposed harpie slowed to a halt. Again frozen by the luminous swords, she floated back to her place without moving so much as a feather.

"Turn end."

"I draw. I play one more card face-down and use the Rod of Silence to summon Guardian Kay'Est!" On his field appeared a mermaid with flowing blue-green hair, a great scaled tail, and a form-fitting yellow tunic with bare arms. Only the seal on her forehead and the glare in her eyes contradicted her poise. "Turn end."

"My turn. Draw. I play the spell card Pigeonholing Books of Spell. This card lets me look at the top three cards of my deck and return them in any order I want." Scarcely knowing what to hope for, Mai picked up her cards. The middle one immediately drew her attention. It was one of her favorites: Harpie's Feather Duster. By drawing this next turn, I should be able to destroy his Swords of Revealing Light, as well as any other defenses he builds on his next turn. The other two cards, both of lesser interest, were placed below the spell. "I end my turn."

"Draw." Raphael picked up two more cards but the sight of them did not help his mood. "I see. It comes to this in the end." Looking straight at Mai, he continued, "Diverting your energy is no longer enough. It is clear that your sense of duty to your friends will not be satisfied until you have nothing left with which to fight."

Not rising to the bait, Mai remained silent.

"But this persistence is still misguided. For all your words and all your efforts to make your monsters more than they are, you are not one who is capable of saving your friends."

For a moment, Mai's breath caught, and then she shot back, "That's not true! It's because I believe in my friends that I can proceed."

"That may be true - but tell me, do you believe in yourself?"

"What?" This was a doubt that for some time had not been in her thoughts but now presented itself again. "Of course I do. Even you said I was determined to win on my own strength."

"That's not what I meant. Relying on your own strength is not the same as having strength."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Think about it, Mai. You say the thought of your friends can keep you going, regardless of how badly you're hurt, but your grip on this duel is fragile, and you must have already realized it. Your strength is based on one monster. If I defeat it, you will fall, and all your efforts will be for nothing."

"That doesn't matter because you won't defeat my harpie!"

"But do you know that?"

Now Mai was hesitating, and Raphael easily filled the silence.

"How do you know that I don't already hold the key to breaking your defense? How do you know?"

"I... I..."

"The answer is you don't know. That is why you can't stop me."

Calling forth her last reserves of courage, Mai yelled, "If you have the key to defeat me, why don't you go ahead and play it?"

"I will, and you'll regret ever opposing Doma! I activate my face-down trap, Reckless Greed! This card lets me draw two cards. After using it, I skip my next two Draw Phases."

"But... why would you take that risk? In your next two turns, you could have drawn four cards, and you're giving up that chance just to get two cards. How do you know you'll get what you need?"

In a voice that was stone-cold with its contempt, he answered, "I know."

As he raised his hand to his deck, Mai realized she was breathing in shallow gasps. She clenched her fists and tried to clear her head. If I can only survive this turn, I can turn this duel around with my next card. Just one more turn, that's all I need. Just one turn... Raising her eyes again to Raphael, she held her breath as, with what seemed agonizing slowness, he tensed his fingers, drew once, drew twice, and lifted the cards from the deck. He raised them to his eyes, studied them with no change in expression, and then his eyes moved ever so slightly to look into her own.

And the look in his eyes was not one of satisfaction; it was of such complete absence of emotion that it froze Mai to her very core.

"I activate the spell card, Soul Charge. By paying 500 life points, I can revive one monster from my graveyard, and this monster cannot attack this turn. Backup Gardna, return to me!" In a flash, the gray warrior was standing before his master but Mai had no time to assimilate the sight before Raphael drew the next card from his hand. "I activate the spell card, Soul Release. This allows me to remove from play up to five cards from either player's graveyard." As he spoke, both graveyards glowed with a gray light, and ghostly copies of their cards appeared above and around them. "I remove Riryoku Field, Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation and Pigeonholing Books of Spell from your graveyard, and I remove Guardian Grarl and Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu from mine!" With every name called, the images seemed to burn from the inside out, fading to vapor with a shrill hiss.

This isn't making any sense! thought Mai, panic lurking at the edges of her mind. I wasn't planning on using those cards again. What am I supposed to do?

"And now," said Raphael, in a voice so sharp yet solemn that she could not help but listen, "is the coming of the creature that will deliver your judgment. I play the equip spell, Celestial Sword!" From the sky fell a sword, slender and sharp, shining brightly, landing half-buried in the ground near Backup Gardna, who seemed afraid to touch it.

"This card permits the summoning of a monster whose power cannot be contained. And with my graveyard empty of monsters, no sacrifice is required!" He played the card, and for a moment, there was nothing. Suddenly, from above, the shadow broke before a great beam of light that was almost unbearable to look at.

All too soon, Mai beheld the figure that descended from above. It was a human, dressed in a leather tunic with bare arms, her legs covered by a woven tribal cloth, moccasins on her feet. From her shoulders extended broad, white wings, and she wore a headdress shaped as an eagle. Her eyes were closed, her arms at her sides as if in acquiescence, and as she landed, all at once her eyes opened, glowed with the power of the Seal and transfixed Mai with a stare so terrible she could not look away.

"This," declared Raphael, "is the most powerful of all my monsters. Guardian Eatos, accept the ancient sword and gather your might for the final attack!"

Almost lazily, Eatos drew the sword, rose into the air and brandished the sword like a sorcerer's staff at Mai. Instinctively, she raised her left arm to shield herself but presently she became aware of a force tugging at that same arm, as if it were a puppet on a string. Frantically, she tried to pull back but her disk was finally raised to the sky - and, she realized, to Eatos.

"Behold Eatos' power! When summoned, she absorbs the souls of all monsters that lie exposed at the top of your graveyard, adding their power to her own!"

"My monsters? No, not them!" Again and again, she tried to get away but she could not stop the two cards flying from her disk. The cards glowed briefly before growing into the ghosts of Harpie's Pet Dragon and Harpie Lady 1, already dissolving into the flow of energy now streaming towards Eatos's sword. With a helpless look, Mai saw her monsters vanish into the shining blade. Her arm was released, and she fell to the ground. There, she became aware of a new sound, the sound of wind as it mounts against an obstacle to circle back on itself. Climbing to her feet again, she could now see the cyclone gathering in the center of the field. "What's happening now?"

"Have you already forgotten? The magic of your Bladefly is affecting the entire field, adding power to all wind monsters. It's too bad for you that Eatos is a wind-attribute monster. In addition, the Seal of Orichalcos is passing strength to Eatos, and the two monsters in her sword add 3300 more points. Combined, my monster's power rises to a total of 6800 attack points!"

"6800? But... that means-"

"Your barrier has fallen. There is nothing protecting you anymore."

But Mai was only barely aware of his words. Eatos held the sky before her, her sword glowing as if afire, her wings becoming shrouded in shadow from the mark on her forehead. Her armored harpie still stood with claws flexed but, trapped as she was, she too could only stare at her opponent, a statue of her former defiance.

She had failed... over and over, her mind wept its failure. After all her promises, all her professed loyalty, she had not been strong enough. Jonouchi and Valon were still lost, and no one would ever mourn for her. She had failed...

"This is the end, Mai. May your soul be accepted by the great Leviathan. Guardian Eatos, destroy Harpie Queen!"

Eatos raised her sword skyward and, with her whole body, swung the blade downwards at Harpie Queen. The trail was a solid stream of light that hid Eatos from Mai's view. The last thing Mai saw was her harpie crying in pain, with what seemed to be tears falling from her eyes. The last thing Mai heard was the great crash of her monster being obliterated.

The sound stretched until it had numbed all her other senses, until gradually, it grew faint in her ears, and the room began to fade back into view. But without warning, the seal around her gave a sinister hiss and contracted until it became a cage, leaving her no room to move in any direction. Streams of magic began to rise from the border, completely obscuring her view; it was no help to pull back in fear, as there was nowhere she could turn. With a shriek of fear, she felt as if an unseen hand were grasping her from within and pulling her away. Slowly, her very self was sliding into nothingness, and because she could do nothing else, and had been able to do nothing else, she whispered, "Sorry..."

The green cage faded, and she began to collapse. With her last breath before she fell to the ground, she whispered, "Sorry...Jounouchi..."

The seal had disappeared from the room, leaving it much as before. The only signs of change, Raphael noted dispassionately, were the single feather drifting down from where Eatos had just been and the still form of Mai lying on the floor. Walking around the table, he watched the feather land on the card held in Mai's right hand. Guessing that she must have clutched the card, probably without realizing it, in seek of support in her last moments, he stooped to remove the feather and was not especially surprised to see that the card beneath was Hermos.

Like its companions, this card had given him - no, all of Doma - so much difficulty, and yet he could not bring himself to hate it. There was something about the loyalty between this dragon and its late bearers that, with a pang, he realized was almost reminiscent of the bond between him and his guardians. Both bonds emerged in times of trial, both were capable of great strength - and both, he thought with a chill, had fallen under great stress lately, culminating in the destruction of those whose protectors had failed them. He shook himself from his reverie; it was not compassion he felt, merely pity that those other loyalties should have grown between people who could not understand things the way he could.

He gathered up Mai from the floor, carrying her back the way she had come, knowing what would happen soon. She was only the first to come in search of Doma; the pharaoh would arrive soon, and he may as well know what befell her. Leaving her propped up in the elevator, he was about to send her to the ground floor when he hesitated. The pharaoh would feel compassion for her and might even want to avenge her. A similar bond had driven her to seek a duel with himself, fueling her spirit and connecting her to Hermos. Looking at the card again, he realized how fitting it was that this bond should continue, that Hermos should pass from her hands to the pharaoh's, just as the card had passed to her from Jonouchi. Yes, it was right, and it was also right that he would prove his loyalty to Dartz by defeating the dragons in a true duel, not by stealing them from fallen victims. Slipping the card into an inner pocket, he decided he would deliver Hermos to the pharaoh personally. Pressing the elevator button on his way out, he strode to the stairs, knowing he would be ready once his nemesis arrived.

With hardly a sound, the doors slid shut, and the dismal elevator and its passenger were shut away, descending to await he who was already entering the darkened building and approaching what would be perhaps the greatest battle of his life.