Between My Brother and Me - De Novo

5: Radiant Spirit

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."

-Albert Schweitzer

"Seeing these carvings confirms what I suspected all along, Yugi," Professor Hawkins began, motioning to the frozen Tablet of the Pharaoh. "You share a common bond with a 5,000 year old Pharaoh! Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah, that my life is more confusing than most kids," Yugi replied. Whether there was sarcasm laced in the statement, May and Max weren't sure.

"Technically, he's sharing a common bond with half of a 5,000 year old Pharaoh," Max whispered to his sister. "And don't forget, we can't tell anyone about that. We made a promise to Atem and Kura, remember?"

May nodded her head. "I know...If we do that, chaos will erupt. That's the last thing we need at this moment, considering the chaos that's going on right now."

"Let me explain," said Professor Hawkins, clearing his throat. "I've spent the latter part of my career studying Duel Monsters. They started as more than a game; Egyptian Sorcerers discovered a way to seal real monsters away within stone tablets. They would then summon them to display their great power amongst the people. But as more monsters were collected, the sorcerer's' powers grew with it, until eventually, this so-called Shadow Magic spun out of control and threatened to destroy all life on Earth."

"But then, one brave man—the Ancient Pharaoh—was able to face the menace, and turned the darkness into light," May added, interrupting the archaeologist. Everyone else turned to her as she continued. "And now the Pharaoh's power resides within the confines Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, am I right?"

"That's exactly right!" Profess Hawkins replied, but there was no shock shown on his face. Rather he showed amusement. "How on Earth do you know that?"

"I...I..." May tried to say something, but she couldn't reveal the truth about the Pharaoh; she did make a promise to him after all. Plus, even if she did say anything, would they believe her? Hardly.

"I told her!" Max hastily answered, standing in front of his sister. "I read about the origins of Duel Monsters in some old books and then I told May all the information...that's all..." There was some silence for a while as Max and May started to sweat a bit...

"Well, I say that you two must be interested in Duel Monsters to have read all those books." Professor Hawkins smiled. Max and May sighed in relief when they heard the answer, glad that Professor Hawkins wasn't going to evaluate on that subject any further. Their secret was safe, for now.

"How does that explain what's happening now?" Yugi asked with worry. "Have these ancient monsters come back for revenge?"

"I'm afraid so," said Professor Hawkins, sadly. "But before I can explain any further, have any of you heard of the lost city of Atlantis?"

"Pokélantis?" May and Max asked simultaneously, recalling how the King of Pokélantis possessed Ash and made him fight against the Battle King, Brandon.

"No, Atlantis," Téa replied. "I remember reading a great book about it once, and how the Ancient Greeks believed it to be some sort of paradise."

"What? You nerd..." Was Tristan and Joey's reply to the comment.

Professor Hawkins could only laugh before he continued. "In my latest expedition, I may have discovered that very city; an underwater world that existed long before Ancient Egypt. But what really puzzled me were the carvings I saw on the wall. Take a look..." He pulled out a few photos from his coat and handed them to Yugi who gasped in surprise.

"Duel Monsters?" Was the reply of the King of Games.

"Precisely," Was the archaeologist's answer. "So these monsters didn't originate 5,000 years in Ancient, they lived at least over 10,000 years ago in what I believe is the legendary Lost City of Atlantis."

"Atlantis...was real?" Téa said in shock.

"Do you know what this means?" said Solomon. "Your discovery could completely rewrite history!"

"There's still quite a bit I don't know," Professor Hawkins said in reply, sighing.

Yugi looked through the photos, then stopped at one depicting a mural of a large purple eye and a few meteors raining down on the city. A tidal wave was about to crash down on the remains of the city.

"Look at this," he said. "It looks like the monsters are attacking the city!"

"Actually, it looks like only a couple of them are attacking the town," said Max, staring at the pictures closely with his glasses.

"You're right, Max," said Yugi, after peering at the photos once more. "So...if some of these monsters appear to be evil, does that mean some of these monsters are good?"

"Where this is good, there's evil," May shrugged her shoulders. "And I guess if there's darkness, then there's light. The world needs an equilibrium of these two forces or else it would collapse. Plus, it wouldn't be fair for Atlantis to be completely decimated by a giant army of evil monsters, right?"

"You have a point there, miss," said Professor Hawkins. "I believe that there's a parallel world of monsters that exists alongside our own. And throughout history, certain people have been able to release these monsters; some of them have helped mankind, others have tried to destroy it."

Everyone looked in awe as Professor Hawkins finished his theory. Then, Tristan laughed in hysteria, clutching his stomach.

"You're kidding!" he cried. "You nutty professor!"

And that was all he said before Rebecca kicked him in the shin.

"OW!" Tristan exclaimed, hopping on one foot. "The pain!"

"Good!" said Rebecca, stepping back. "'Cause that's my grandfather you're talking about! And anybody who messes with him, messes with me! So keep your comments to yourself, got that punk?!"

"Won't happen again," said Tristan, wincing in pain.

"Don't worry," Professor Hawkins said calmly. "I'm no stranger to ridicule; besides, it is a bit of a far-fetched theory."

"But it's true!" Rebecca exclaimed. "How can you let people walk over something that is the truth?"

"I believe you, Professor." said Joey, who had been silent the whole time.

"Figures you would," said Tristan with some disdain.

"After all the weird stuff we've been through, I'll believe anything," Joey continued. "Like the time I fought Marik in that Shadow Game; all those monster attacks felt pretty real to me.

"And do you remember the times that both Mai and Bakura got blasted into the Shadow Realm? Let's face it, there's plenty stuff out there that can't be explained through science."

"Um, wait," said May, interrupting the blonde duelist. "Marik, Mai and Bakura...weren't they all contestants in the Battle City Finals?"

"What happened?" asked Max. "What's with this 'Shadow Game' and being blasted into the Shadow Realm?"

"It's...a long story," said Téa, looking away. "We don't like talking about it..." It was then that the siblings knew that it wasn't the time to discuss that particular subject. There was some silence for a while.

"So...I guess for a fact that there's a Pharaoh inside Yugi's Millennium Puzzle counts as 'unexplainable stuff', right?" asked May, after a minute or two.

"Actually, our hypothesis suggests that the supernatural phenomena that you all experienced yesterday may actually find its roots in Atlantis," Rebecca stated as if she were some sort of College Professor.

Everyone stared at her in shock, trying to comprehend the young girl's great use of vocabulary.

"Wow," said Tristan. "Those are pretty big words especially coming out of a little kid."

"A KID?!" Rebecca yelled. "I'm a college student, thank you very much!"

"College student?" Everyone else repeated in shock.

"Um, not to be rude or anything," asked Max, raising a hand in the air. "But how old are you, Rebecca?"

"I'm only eight," Rebecca replied with confidence. This made Max a bit ticked off, as he himself was only seven. He growled and clenched his fists, resisting the urge to call out Vigoroth to use Crush Claw on her.

"That's very fascinating," he muttered under his breath.

"My granddaughter is quite gifted," Professor Hawkins stated.

"Oh grandpa!" Rebecca continued, her head held up high. "I'm just your average child genius. Genius: G-e-n-i-u-s."

"Very cute," May muttered with sarcasm under her breath to her brother. "What do you think, Max?"

"I bet you my Silent Magician LV 8 that she can't spell 'obnoxious' in ten different languages." Max said, all while smirking at Rebecca.

"I HEARD THAT!" Rebecca snapped back at the siblings. May and Max just grinned, their hands in the air.

"Now, Rebecca," Professor Hawkins exclaimed. "Is that the behavior of a college student?"

Rebecca, embarrassed, bowed her head. "Sorry, Gramps, go on," she said, adjusting her glasses. Professor Hawkins adjusted his bowtie before speaking.

"Now, the point that I'm trying to make is this," he explained. "When the Egyptian Sorcerers conjured these monster 5000 years ago, the Pharaoh was there to save mankind from destruction." He then turned to Yugi. "And now it seems that that Pharaoh's reborn in you; if that's the case, mankind will need his help once again."

"Yeah, but I don't know where to start, Professor," said Yugi. "Do we start by making these monsters to go back to their own world? Or should we focus on finding out what that weird motorcycle gang is up to?"

"I vote on beating that motorcycle gang," said May, raising a hand in the air. "If I see those jerks again, I swear that the next thing they see is Blaziken's Blaze Kick incinerating them! Then I'll use Munchlax's Solar Beam, followed up by Squirtle's Ice Beam and then..."

"Um, that's not a good suggestion, May," said Max, interrupting his sister. "You remember what Raphael did to Blaziken; he knocked it out cold! Or what about Alister and how he was able to summon fire from his hands?"

May quickly remembered how Raphael was able to slice through Beautifly's Silver Wind attacks with his knife, and the way Alister could execute fiery punches with ease. It seemed so strange and scary to think that they could have those powers. Were they from being empowered by the Seal of Orichalcos? And if not, just how did they obtain those powers in the first place?

"Never mind..." she stated. "Still, it would've been cool to take them out for what they've done and grab all of the Egyptian God Cards from their thieving hands."

"Wait a second...I may have something," said Yugi, pulling out something from his pocket. It was a necklace with a green glowing stone. "Have you ever seen anything similar to this?"

"That's awesome..." Rebecca replied in awe. "I wonder what makes it glow like that?"

"May found something like that too, Professor!" Max added, pulling out something from his backpack—a similar necklace with the same green stone. "She picked it off after beating one of those motorcyclists. If it's also on the neck on the guy Yugi dueled, it can't be just a coincidence!"

"Incredible," said Professor Hawkins, picking up Yugi's necklace. "This stone is remarkably similar to something I discovered on my expedition. Would you mind if I hold onto it for a while, Yugi?"

"No, of course not," Yugi answered, shaking his head. "I mean, I don't think I'll ever have a use for it."

"I'd like to take it back to my lab," Professor Hawkins explained, taking the necklace into his own hands. "I have a feeling that it may hold the answers to many of our questions."

May and Max stared at their own necklace, before looking up at the frozen Tablet of the Pharaoh, as if it was some strange omen of sorts. Something told them that bad things were about to happen in the near future.

0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was sunset the group exited the museum. A white limousine was parked in front as both Professor Hawkins and Solomon entered it.

"You kids be careful," said Solomon. "I'm going to take Arthur and Rebecca to the airport and be back later tonight."

"Goodbye, cutie," said Rebecca, kissing Yugi on the cheek before heading into the limo. This act only caused Téa to look at her with anger when she saw her best friend blushing red like a tomato.

"Ta-ta." Was the last thing the young girl said before the door closed. The limo drove off as May and Max replied with, "Good riddance."

Yugi stared at the car driving off, lost in thoughts. Just as I thought things were getting back to normal, things get ten times weirder...

Yes. Was Yami's reply. And this time the situation seems more treacherous than ever...

May stared at her Atem - The Ancient Pharaoh card, seeing the image of the Pharaoh staring back at her. Making sure that no one else could see him, she felt questions form in her mind form. It surprised her to hear what her mental thoughts sounded like.

Atem...is it right for me to truly not tell Yugi about his fate? she asked the card. I feel as if we're just creating more problems by not revealing the truth. Wasn't there a saying known as "The truth will set you free?"

With the situation at hand, it is a good idea not to tell. Atem replied. And don't forget, both you and your brother promised not to say anything about it...the less he knows about his past, the better. If he should know about Hamunaptra, Gandora, or anything else about that fateful day, then I fear that things will get out of hand, and he may succumb to the forces of darkness.

"You okay, May?" Max asked his sister. "You've been lost in thought for some time now."

"Sorry." said May, slipping Atem's card back to her Duel Disk. "I've...just been thinking about...you know..." Max nodded his head, not wanting to divulge in the subject.

Yugi looked around, as if he heard something. "Did you guys hear someone ask for help?"

"Nah," Tristan replied. "This place is a total ghost town."

"Don't say ghosts," Téa groaned as they stared at their surroundings. It was completely empty; no human was around and the birds were silent. She shuddered, running her hands up and down her arms to warm herself from this invisible chill that crept down her spine.

"Anyway, it's been an exhausting day," said Joey, stifling some yawns. "Let's go catch some Zs."

"Easy for you to say," said Téa as she followed Joey and Tristan. "After hearing that story, it's going to be nightmare central for me for the next few weeks."

Yugi continued to stare at the distance, trying to figure out the voice while May and Max looked at him with worry.

"I...didn't hear any voice," said Max, looking around them. "Did you, May?"

May shook her head. "No...none at all. But, I'm afraid all the same. Things are going to get worse."

0-0-0-0-0-0

After dinner, the three residents of the Kame Game Shop soon went to bed. May and Max shared a room next to Yugi's and said their good nights before closing the door. The King of Games himself tossed and turned in bed, remembering the events from this morning and the night before.

There's a world of monsters that exists alongside our world... The words of Professor Hawkins swarmed the young duelist's head as he stared at the ceiling.

Can't sleep, can you? Yugi sat up to see Yami staring at him.

"Nope." Yugi answered. "Right now, all I can think about is what Professor Hawkins said about that other world of Duel Monsters and about Atlantis."

I feel the same way, Yugi. Yami replied. If his theory is correct, then this could be our toughest fight yet.

In another bedroom, both May and Max were getting ready for bed as their Pokémon were scattered across the room. Eevee and Squirtle were nestled asleep on May's sheets, Blaziken and Vigoroth were sitting side-by-side asleep on the floor, Altaria was nestling on top of May's pillow and Munchlax was was resting at the foot of the bed. Beautifly and Shuppet were resting on the dresser in between the beds. May looked at all of her cards, especially the Dark Soul Binding Magic Card and Pharaoh's Prophecy Ritual Card, trying to make sense of it all.

"Hey, May." said Max, sitting cross-legged on his bed. "What did you think about Professor Hawkins's theory?"

"Well..." May began, looking up. "He may be right about Altantis, but he still doesn't know everything regarding the Pharaoh's past. He doesn't know about the Heart of Chaos, or how Atem was one of the carriers for it. Plus, I don't think he has a clue about Samiya, Manaphy and Jirachi."

"We should leave that to ourselves. It's no use to explain stuff that the Professor's not going to be figuring out anytime soon. I mean, you saw the look on everyone's faces when we showed them our Pokémon; what do you think would happen if Professor Hawkins had his hands on something as rare as Manaphy or Jirachi?"

"At least he'd take better care of them then whoever is hurting them. But...how does Duel Monsters relate to Pokémon in the first place? There's nothing in common! Monsters like them existed in this 'Shadow Realm' while Pokémon are here on this planet."

"Maybe not all Pokémon came from this planet. I mean, Deoxys and Jirachi came from meteors, and that's that rumor that Clefairy were aliens that came from another planet. Don't forget Mewtwo, who was a clone created by people-"

"Okay, so maybe there are a few exceptions. Still, don't you find this all to be a bit strange?"

"I do. And yet...after what happened with Kyogre and Groudon, and Celebi and all of the other Legendary Pokémon...it doesn't seem as strange anymore."

"You do have a point." May sat up, gathered all of the cards into her hands, stacked them up nice and neat, and placed the newly formed deck back into her Duel Disk. "Well, we should get ready for bed. Good night Max."

"Good night, May." Max replied, before turning off the lights. There was some silence before he spoke again. "You know, something has been bugging me for a while."

"What is it?" May sat up as she saw Max pull out the Tome of Hamunaptra from underneath his pillow and opened it. There was a bookmark in the form of a red silk ribbon where the pages depicted a brightly shining moon and an image of Aliastro praying underneath the moon's gentle light.

"Remember when you asked Atem and Kura about the book?" he asked. "How they couldn't answer that question about why it was found in our house?" May nodded her head. "When mom opened the book she couldn't see any of the images, but when we've touched it, it responded to us. And remember the story about how they entered Hamunpatra? Something sounds...off."

"I know what you mean." May answered. "And remember Aliastro unable to tell us about the Moon God, Khon...Khons…"

"Khonsu," said Max, a hand on the book. At the word, the book began to glow and flip its pages towards the image of what was to be the Moon God: a young boy with bushy black hair and a white moon cradled by a yellow crescent on top of his head. The grey eyes the god had seemed gentle...on the page to the left. The one on the right depicted the same god covered in blood as he began to devour the innards of its victim in front of Atem who seemed amused by the god's carnal hunger.

"That's the god Aliastro is searching for?" May whispered, sitting by the side of Max's bed to get a better look. "But it can't be the same thing…or maybe it's like with Atem..."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Max.

"My duel last night," May answered, picking up her deck from her Duel Disk. Spreading the cards out, she pulled out the card depicting Atem with his dark wings and showed it to Max. Max flinched and jumped back a bit when he saw the dark wings and blood covered sword in the pharaoh's hands. "The way he talked to Bandit Keith before he attacked made him sound so...dark and monstrous."

"Like a demon?"

"Yeah. And then there's what he said before Dark Horus spoke to me and-"

"Wait, Dark Horus spoke to you?!" Max repeated. May nodded her head.

"Well he did, and he was proud of how I dealt with Bandit Keith, but it was what Atem said that's been making me wonder. He said that he didn't want anyone to hurt me 'again'." She narrowed her eyes. "That means that something happened in the past."

"So you're not the only one who had Duel Monsters acting weird around you then. I mean, Silent Magician LV 4 winked at me, I thought I heard Valkyrion the Magna Warrior scream in pain like a human would, and I heard Dark Magician Girl talking in my head after I called her pretty!" Max shook his head in disbelief. "This is just getting weirder and weirder."

"We'll think about it later-why don't we get back to reading about Khonsu?"

"Good idea." Max just looked back at the pictures of Khonsu and quickly scanned the story behind him. "It says here that Khonsu is the adopted son of Amun, the King of the Gods, and Mut, the Mother of the Gods, and the three were worshiped in the city of Thebes as the 'Thebian Trio'. Khonsu, sometimes known as 'Khonsu the Merciful' was the protector of travelers at night, representing the moon's light. He also was shown to represent childbirth and the fertility in animals and was a time-keeper alongside Thoth, God of Wisdom, and also a fellow Moon God."

"Seems like he's a very nice god." said May.

"However," Max grimaced. "Khonsu was also known for being a cannibal, slaying the enemies of the Pharaoh and devouring their innards so he could absorb their powers and then the pharaoh could…" He scanned the rest of the story before closing the Tome shut. "UGH! Gross!"

May didn't say anything as Max turned away from the Tome of Hamunaptra. Picking it up, she began to read some stories about Khonsu, of how his image cured a princess's illness from a faraway land (and the image was stuck there for a few years before being sent home), or how he was a bit of a gambler who challenged a goddess for an additional five days so she could give birth to many gods. One image that made her smile was of Khonsu with his parents (who looked strangely like their own parents but in Ancient Egyptian regalia)...it must've been nice to had a mother and father to take care of someone so young (if you could call a god "young" at any rate).

One particular image caught her eye though-it depicted a boy that looked similar to Khonsu being blessed by the Moon God's light, the only difference between them was the boy's saddened amethyst eyes compared to Khonsu's fierce grey ones. Next to the boy was an oval with hieroglyphics inside it that spelled a word.

"Moka…" May whispered.

"You say something?" said Max. May handed him the book and pointed to the name.

"That's the name on Aliastro's cartouche," said May. "The boy next to it must be Moka."

"So...maybe Aliastro is looking for someone who looks similar to Moka then?" asked Max.

"Could be. Wish we had a name for that person though."

"Guess we're going to find that out soon enough." Max pulled off his glasses and laid down on his bed. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

"Night Max," May smiled, placing a kiss on her brother's forehead. As she saw her brother relax, she carried the Tome to her bed and sat down, eyes lingering on that image of Moka and Khonsu, wondering if they were ever going to meet at all. Something about the boy was familiar...but of course, it was like trying to grab onto a bubble, popping instantly the minute one had it in their hands.

As she turned the page, she saw very peculiar items: Duel Monster Cards. She took them into her hands and stared at them, wondering where they had come from. She looked around, but no one was there. The cards depicted images like the Moon God himself, a pool of water in the shape of a crescent moon, and a night sky with stars and a shining full moon...and they came just after Max opened the Tome at could only mean one thing…

"Is the book creating these cards?" May whispered, secretly placing the cards into her deck with the Gravekeeper's monsters. She'd think about it in the morning, after some sleep. Placing the book underneath her Duel Disk, she let her head rest against the pillow, closed her eyes shut, and began to fall into a deep slumber.

0-0-0-0-0

Stormy clouds hung around the top of the conical tower. On top of it was an ancient temple with a yellow dome and spires. Deep inside its chambers, three stone serpents and many stone tiles were lit by torches, giving it an ancient glow. The three motorcyclists walked into it, greeted by the white robed man from before.

"We located the Pharaoh, master." Raphael stated. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to capture his soul."

"Well, I didn't expect you to defeat him to this soon." The man answered back. "We've only just begun."

"But you know me, Master." Raphael continued, walking up the steps with a wooden jewelry box in hand. "I never come back empty handed."

He opened the box lined with velvet, revealing the three Egyptian God Cards. The robed man smirked as he saw the prized monsters.

"Excellent." Was his response as he took them into his hands. "The Egyptian Gods; at long last, I waited an eternity to have their powers in my hands." The cards began to glow as he continued. "I finally possess the supreme force necessary to awaken the great beast. Soon, we shall rid the Earth of mankind; and rebuild civilization as it once was!"

He proceeded to place each of the God Cards within the open mouths of the serpents as he continued to speak.

"Serpents of the Orichalcos, hear my cry." The hooded man called out. "I offer thee the Gods of Egypt; use their divine might to unlock the sacred chamber of the great beast! Awaken from his ancient slumber by accepting my offering."

Three beams of light escaped from the cards, soon shooting out into the sky while the white robed man laughed.

"The time has arrived my friends." He finished. "Finally, after 10,000 years, the Great Leviathan shall rise again!"

0-0-0-0-0

Hours had passed as both May and Max were asleep, alongside Yugi and the Pharaoh in the next room. Yugi had been woken up by a voice that called out to him, asking for help, and he found himself inside the MIllennium Puzzle and its labyrinthian corridors with the Pharaoh, following Kuriboh and a shadowy figure just like Alice chasing the White Rabbit into Wonderland, unaware of the events that were about to happen.

The duel disks of the Petalburgh siblings sat on some wooden chairs in between them, both of their decks kept in their deck holders. Suddenly, cards in May's Duel Disk started to glow, but May was too sleepy to even notice it.

Goddess of Joy...please wake up...

May paid no attention to the voice as she rolled over to the left side of her bed. Even if she was half-conscious, she knew that the voice wasn't Atem or Kura's.

"Go away, Harley..." she muttered under her breath. "Altaria, attack his Cacturne with Sing..." She grumbled a bit as she fell back to sleep. The voices were insistent, though.

Goddess! This is important! Please wake up! You are needed...

May grit her teeth as Altaria started to wake up, adjusting its eyes to the light. Staring at the glowing cards, it scooted its way out of the bed and gently flew over to the wooden chairs. Altaria began to peck at the glowing cards in its trainer's Duel Disk.

"Al?" It said in confusion. It turned its gaze away when a bright light filled the room. When the light died down, Altaria looked up to see two people standing there, both staring at it with confusion. It began to peck an arm, or at least tried to. Its beak went through the person. Realization dawned on it as it backed away in terror.

"ALTARIA!" The Humming Pokémon screeched, causing the residents in the room to wake up with a fright.

"What's going on, Altaria?" asked Max, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Once he slipped his glasses on, he looked up to see two spirits staring at them. "Oh my gosh...are those..."

May rubbed one of her sleepy eyes with a hand.

"What's with the screech, Altaria?" she muttered before she looked at the space in-between her bed and her brother's. She stared at the spirits dumbly before the situation registered into her mind.

"G...GHOSTS!" May screamed, pointing to them. "Eevee, attack with Shadow Ball!"

"Shuppet, use Will-O-Wisp!" Max commanded. "Blast those spirits away!"

Eevee opened its mouth as a sphere of black energy appeared. Shuppet's eyes began to glow as blue flames circled it.

"FIRE!" The siblings cried as their Pokémon launched the attacks. The blasts neared the spirits...

But they were blocked by an invisible force field, and the attacks transformed into nothing but motes of light. Both May and Max started to tremble as the spirits took a step toward them.

"Beautifly!" said May to her Butterfly Pokémon. "Use Silver-"

Suddenly a ghostly hand covered her mouth, interrupting the command. The Pokémon trainer was about to scream when a voice echoed in her mind.

Please Goddess, halt your attack! We mean you no harm...

The hand lowered and was placed onto May's heart. The Coordinator looked up, seeing the two spirits that were looking back at her.

The first one was tall—May's head would reach up to his elbow—with short brown hair and fierce blue eyes. A tall blue hat with a golden cobra and rays covered the side and back of his head, while his tan arms were adorned with golden bracers. In his hands was a golden staff with winged blades at the sides. A blue tunic, wrapped by a golden belt and additional tan linen 'skirt' (Was it right to say "skirt"? May wouldn't ask that right now) draped his body, the blue tunic adorned with golden attachments on the shoulders, and a golden ankh wrapped around his neck.

The second spirit was the opposite with the taller spirit. He had golden hair bright like the sun and amber eyes and was wearing a red tunic instead of blue and a white 'skirt' (No, it was called a "shenti"...how May knew that immediately, she didn't know and didn't bother to ask right now) instead of tan. He had no hat but also wore a pair of golden bracers and carried a staff topped with a curved head and a forked bottom. The expression of his face was one of gloom and depression.

May gulped as she scooted back, only to find herself trapped in the corner. It also didn't help that the brunette spirit grabbed her wrist, and stared at her with his own eyes. The spirit in blue looked in some sort of shock, as if trying to register the sight in front of him. There was nothing but silence as May tried to keep the breath she inhaled deep within her throat.

"So...this is the Goddess of Joy?" he replied. "She's...grown up." May's breath came in short pants, recalling how Raphael had grabbed her wrist like that before being sent hurtling down to her death. She didn't want to die after surviving that fall.

"G...get away from me!" she cried, trying to push the person away with a foot...only to find that her foot went through him. The spirit looked down at her sock-covered foot before stepping back so it didn't go through its stomach. "I...I don't know what you want with me, but please don't hurt me!"

"What do you want with her?" asked Max. "Tell us!"

There was some silence as the blue-dressed spirit stared into May's eyes. May stayed quiet, trying to anticipate the spirit's next move. Then, the spirit sat down by the edge of her bed and ran a hand through the Coordinator's hair. May slightly winced at the touch, afraid it would lead into something more violent, but after the fourth or fifth stroke, she started to calm down.

"I guess you don't remember us at all," The spirit said to her with a bit of sorrow in his voice. "I suppose that was to be a given."

"W...who are you?" asked May, lightly brushing away the hand, registering that it was now solid. "Do I...know you?"

"I am Seth, the High Priest of the White Dragon," The spirit answered, bowing towards the young girl. "I am the cousin to Pharaoh Atem and the bearer of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Would that ring a bell?"

There was some silence as May stared at him, really stared him, trying to remember where and when they had met before. Then, it clicked.

"Wait a minute, I do know you!" May scrambled to her Duel Disk, pulling the cards out of her deck until she found her Pharaoh's Prophecy card. She showed it to Seth, pointing at a specific image on the card. "You're the person on the Tablet of the Pharaoh, the one that was fighting Atem. Right?"

Seth took the card into his hands, peering at the small images on it. After some time, he handed the card back to May. Max stayed quiet, uncertain as to what to do.

"Yes, I was that Priest," Seth answered, smiling toward May. "I was trying to summon my spirit to contact you when you noticed the Tablet. I created the tablet in honor of my dear cousin."

May felt all warm and fuzzy inside, a blush appearing on her cheeks. "Thank you for noticing that."

"You're welcome," May turned to the stranger who stood near Max. "And, who is he?"

"He is my partner, Jouno of the Oracle of the Sacred Flame. He sees into the future through the ashes of the Phoenix. He foresaw this day from the Dark King himself, and..." Seth closed his eyes a bit, doing his best to hide back his tears. "This meeting has made us feel so overjoyed, Goddess..."

"Well then, I guess that goes double," May smiled, feeling her heart a flutter. She then turned to Jouno. "Hello there, Jouno. My name is May. It's nice to meet you."

"..." Jouno just stared at the girl, his eyes empty and full of sadness. May blinked, her bright smile faltering.

"I..is something wrong?" she asked. "Are you hurt?"

"..."

"It's alright; Max and I won't hurt you. Can you talk?"

"..." Jouno looked away, as if embarrassed. Just seeing that made May's heart break inside...what could've caused someone like him, especially since he looked exactly like Joey Wheeler, to become so withdrawn?

"He's a bit shy when it comes to introductions," Seth explained. "But I'll be happy to explain the current situation. First, we must have everyone here. Will you summon my cousin and his friend for us, Goddess of Joy?"

"Um, I guess so," said May, picking up two cards from her deck. "Atem, Kura...can you come out?"

The two cards in her hand began to glow and both Pharaoh and Thief Lord appeared in a burst of light. Max looked in awe at the four spirits together. Atem turned toward the High Priest and nodded his head.

"It has been some time, hasn't it?" he asked.

"Indeed," said Seth. "To think that we were called out so soon...and in this situation..."

"Yes, it is unfortunate...but Jouno…" Atem stayed quiet when he saw both Petalburgh siblings staring at them. "No, we will talk about this later. We have more important things to worry about."

"Yeah, we do," said Max, looking back and forth at the spirits conversing with one another. "What's going on?"

"You'll see when we get there," Atem answered. "Now follow us. We are needed."

"Wait, what are you—whoa!" That was what both May and Max said when a glowing portal appeared under Atem's feet. The two were then pushed in, soon followed by the four spirits. The portal closed before Altaria had a chance to jump in, causing the other Pokémon to act confused on what happened.

0-0-0-0-0

Both May and Max soon found themselves teleported into a strange land after being tossed and turned about from whatever force pulled them into that portal. It was a kingdom with mountains, forests and a river. A floating chunk of land was near a white castle with orange roofs and many windows. It felt somewhat like a fairytale land appearing in front of their eyes. Of course, May and Max weren't strangers of entering different dimensions—as they once traveled to a kingdom filled with adorable Togepi and Misty's own Togepi evolved into Togetic to take care of them—but that didn't mean they weren't curious as to their new surroundings.

"Where are we?" asked May, looking around. She turned to see Atem appearing behind her, a small smile on his face. "Atem, what is this place?"

"You are here in the realm of Monsters, Goddess of Joy," Atem answered. "You and the Prince of Wisdom have been sent here because it is important that you learn what is happening."

"Wait, did you just call me 'Prince of Wisdom'?" asked Max. "That was the same thing Dark Magician Girl called me last night! But why do I have that type of title? And why do you keep calling May a 'Goddess'?"

"Because Goddess is Goddess," Jouno explained simply, his voice not going any louder than a whisper. May and Max jumped a bit, not expecting Jouno to speak up like that. "She has powers that even we cannot comprehend. As for you being called a Prince..."

"It's only because you have a considerable amount of knowledge," said Seth, finishing the dream interpreter's words. "But now is not the time...follow us."

"This way, you two," said Kura as both May and Max grabbed onto his hands. As they flew toward the castle, brother and sister stared at a huge yellow eye with a black slit staring at them amongst purple clouds. Yellow meteors were being sucked into its center as the two could only stare in horror.

"What is that thing?" May asked. Max shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer that question.

The six soon made it into the inner chamber of the castle. White pillars surrounded the area while three huge dragon sculptures made out of crystals were at the center. May and Max soon found themselves hiding behind a few of the pillars, seeing both Yami and Yugi talking to the Dark Magician Girl.

"There's Yugi!" May said in a low voice. "And that guy next to him..." She pointed to the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. "He must be Atem's other half, right?"

"That's him," Max answered, recalling how he dueled alongside Yugi's other self the night before. "But why are we hiding here? Something isn't right." He took a glance at Dark Magician Girl, recalling her smile to him. Now, she looked more solemn and filled with melancholy.

"Shh..." Kura hissed at the children, placing a finger to his lips. "Quiet, you're about to hear some critical information."

"Pharaoh, both of our worlds are in danger," said the female Spellcaster. "And without your help, we, both humans and Duel Monsters, will all cease to exist."

"So what Professor Hawkins said was true," said Max, hearing the words. "Wow, I can't wait to-" Seth floated toward Max and quickly clamped a hand over the boy's mouth so he wouldn't startle Yugi or the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

"As long as mankind has walked the Earth, the dominion of beasts has existed alongside the human world," Dark Magician Girl continued. "We have lived this way for thousands of years, but although our worlds are separate, we depend on one another in order to survive. But now something is threatening that survival and it must be stopped. A gateway between us has opened, and now the great beast will swallow us all."

May and Max could only gasp in shock, both of them thinking if this Great Beast was the same one whom they had seen on their way to the castle, and if it was the same one that hurt Manaphy and Jirachi.

"It lives above the sky, feasting upon the life force on both humans and monsters alike," Dark Magician Girl continued. "We need you, Pharaoh...all of us need you. If this continues, we will fade away forever. You two are our only hope."

May and Max stared at all of the Duel Monster spirits that surrounded the Dark Magician Girl...they looked so sad, and scared and so pitiful. They wanted to do something to comfort them, but all they could do was watch as they saw Dark Magician Girl instruct the Pharaoh and Yugi to pull out a sword from the eye of one of the dragon statues.

Yugi and Yami pulled the sword out of the dragon, the statue soon breaking apart into hundreds of pieces of glass that fell down like a shower of snow. Appearing before them was a blue-green dragon with a slash going down its right eye like a scar.

"Look at it..." May gasped. "It looks even bigger than Dark Horus! It's amazing..."

"Timaeus!" Yami and Yugi shouted, crying the dragon's name. The dragon let out a giant roar as a blinding light surrounded the area. May and Max couldn't see anything else as the dome of light blanketed the area.

"Too bright!" Max replied, covering his eyes. "I can't see what's going on!"

"It's about to be over," said Atem. "Then your role in this story shall commence."

May opened her eyes to see the dragon, and saw that Yami and Yugi had vanished. It was then that she felt her body move toward Dark Magician Girl, despite not wanting to go there in the first place. It felt similar to whenever a Pokémon would use Psychic.

"What's going on?" she asked as Max and the four spirits also appeared by their sides. Many of the monsters were now staring at the Pokémon trainers in wonder as Dark Magician Girl flew down to them. "W...why are the monsters staring at us like this?"

"I don't know," Max answered, seeing a Key Mace flutter by his head and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Maybe they're just curious about us."

"Goddess of Joy," said Dark Magician Girl, bowing to May. "It has been a long time since we last met."

"Um...I guess it has been," said May, trying to act calm. It was hard to though since she then said, "We have a lot of questions to ask you though: Why are Max and I involved in this struggle? And why does everyone call me 'Goddess of Joy'? I mean...it's a nice title, but I can't get into this role if I don't know why I'm being called that."

"I agree with May," Max added. "I mean, I know that we have Atem's backstory about him being the real Pharaoh, and all this madness about Atlantis and real life Duel Monsters...but what does it have to do with us?"

"The Prince of Wisdom...you have arrived also," said Dark Magician Girl, smiling at the boy. Max looked in confusion at the title. "Thank you for aiding the Pharaoh the night before. You were very courageous."

"You're still not answering my question," Max folded his arms across his chest and glared. "And I usually like to have answers to my questions. You're hiding something from us, and whatever it is..."

"Please understand," Dark Magician Girl interrupted. "Your bonds with them...they are the reason that you were drawn into this madness. That and..."

"So...you know about Manaphy and Jirachi then!" May gasped, she grabbed onto the Dark Magician Girl's shoulders. "What's going on?! Where's Manaphy?"

Dark Magician Girl looked at the Petalburg siblings with some sadness, but otherwise did not respond to the question. This only made May angry, and many of the Duel Monsters floated away as if they could feel the girl's wrath seeping out of her.

"I said tell me!" she yelled. "What's happened to them?!"

There was still no answer as tears fell down the Pokémon Coordinator's eyes. She grit her teeth as she tried her hardest not to accept the inevitable—that Manaphy was dead and Samiya was destroyed.

"You're keeping something from me, aren't you, Dark Magician Girl?!" May exclaimed, becoming hysterical. "Aren't you?!"

"May..." Max whispered, seeing his sister in her panicked state. "Please calm down...there has to be a logical explanation for all of this. I'm sure that Manaphy's safe and sound...right?"

"I'm afraid that's the problem," said Dark Magician Girl, lightly pushing May off of her. "Goddess of Joy, this 'Manaphy' and 'Jirachi' that you speak of may be keys for the destruction of our worlds. I believe that whomever is summoning the Great Beast may seal them in order to use their powers."

"No...that can't be..." May said softly, shaking her head. "Manaphy...MANAPHY!"

The Pokémon Coordinator began to sob. She could only imagine the horrors the sweet little Prince of the Sea was being subjected to, and how she couldn't do anything to help him. Tears

fell down her cheeks as she kept crying out for Manaphy.

"Goddess..." said Atem, slowly approaching May. "Please...do not cry..."

"No!" she cried, pushing the Pharaoh away. "Go away! I want Manaphy! I want him here! Won't someone help me?!"

One of the cards in May's deck started to glow; May pulled it out to reveal the image of Dark Horus staring at her. Then, a harsh wind began to blow and a loud screech accompanied it. The imposing figure of the black dragon descended from sky, beating its mighty wings.

"Dark Horus?!" Jouno gasped. "H...how did she gain that monster?"

"She picked it up from Mr. Muto himself, having this 'feeling' that Dark Horus was calling for her." Max answered hastily. "Why do you ask?"

"We best be careful," Seth muttered under his breath. "This could get dangerous."

"Why's that?"

"Horus was known as a God of Protection in Ancient Egypt. However, he was one of the first gods to be corrupted by darkness...If the Goddess of Joy cannot reason with him, then she is not worthy of being the Goddess of Joy."

"And what would happen if May isn't worthy? I mean, she said that Dark Horus was proud of her when she summoned him last night..."

No one spoke a word. The dragon looked down at his master and scooped May into its claws. The Coordinator looked in shock, but calmed down when she saw the calm look in its eye. Or maybe it just looked calm and he was hiding some unseen fury within its depths.

"Dark Horus..." May whispered, wiping a tear from her eye. "What are you doing here?"

Dark Horus flapped his powerful wings, as if to say "I wish to help you." May slowly nodded her head in reply. She took a calm breath as she kept staring at the dragon, anticipating its next move. The dark dragon opened its mouth, causing everyone to fear that he would unleash a fiery breath to incinerate the girl, but instead he let out a proud screech.

"Is...is that good?" asked Max, seeing Dark Horus flap its wings.

"It seems that he has truly accepted our Goddess," said Jouno, nodding his head. "Her heart is pure, and to him that is all that matters."

"Goddess of Joy," said Dark Magician Girl. "Even with the Great Beast taking away those you love, I am sure that both of these people that you care for are all right." May wanted to object that both Manaphy and Jirachi were Pokémon, but decided to keep her mouth shut. "However...there is another reason why you are here, and why you are entitled as the 'Goddess of Joy'."

Goddess...your power has been known to bring happiness to the lives of other people. May and Max gasped at the booming voice of Dark Horus echoing across the palace. You are an inspiration to everyone around you. You could make them all forget their sorrows for a short while by lifting their spirits. Just by being here, you have brought hope that the Great Beast will be destroyed.

May turned to see the group of monsters cheering in applause while a Kuriboh floated towards her and sat on her shoulder. The Kuriboh cooed and snuggled into her a bit.

"Do I really have that power?" May whispered to herself. Atem and Kura knelt to her while May looked at the act with some shock. "Whoa..."

Goddess of Joy...the Pharaoh will soon be in grave peril. You must make sure that he is protected fwhen the time is right. said Dark Horus. Right now, your powers are at a level that you can summon monsters to aid you against those who could cause harm. Everyone has decided that I shall be a representative from your deck to protect you, just as you brought me back to life twice during your fight.

"Are you sure? You're a Dark Monster after all. Don't Chosen need monsters that are based off of the Light? Or at least...not dark based?"

Just because I am Dark monster, it does not designate me as evil. Darkness is evil only in the hands of those who believe it to be evil. You, who command me, and the spirits of the once corrupted Pharaoh and Thief Lord, have proven that monsters of my type can be used for good. You, Goddess of Joy, showed no bias against our type in your duel. Truly, we can rely on you to be our Master.

"Then I'll do my best then, Dark Horus," said May, curtseying toward the powerful dragon. "I promise you that."

"But what about me?" asked Max, looking around. "Why am I called the Prince of Wisdom? I mean...I don't have knowledge about Duel Monsters at all!"

It's true, but you are able to think on your feet when the time is right. A soft voice said inside his mind, almost as if it was brushing against his ear. Wisdom means knowing when to use your knowledge at the right time.

Max looked at his Duel Disk, seeing the top card glowing. He drew it, revealing Silent Magician LV 8. The titular magician descended from a pillar of light, arms stretched out, and an unseen wind billowing through her hair. The Duel Monsters began to bow

"Why are these spirits bowing down to us, May?" Max asked his sister. May shrugged her shoulders in reply.

"It is because you are the representatives of the original beings of Joy and Wisdom," Dark Magician Girl explained. "The Goddess of Joy and the Prince of Wisdom were once important figures in Ancient Egypt. The 'Prince of Wisdom' was represented by the god Thoth, while the 'Goddess of Joy' was truly Isis, the husband of Osiris. These two would ultimately help bring about the end to the darkness, and now their powers are passed onto you."

"So if we were some sort of deities, why are our powers revealed now?" May asked with some shock. "And why didn't anyone tell us sooner?"

"You were not just 'deities', but rather representations of the deities," Atem explained. "And just like the Pharaoh has no memory of his past, so did the reincarnations of Joy and Wisdom. "Their souls would continue to bring hope and gifts to mankind, rekindling a rebirth of some sorts. However, this would be the first time that they would be summoned to stop a menace like the Great Beast."

"That's amazing," Max whispered. "So...what happens now?"

"Mana! Mana!" May gasped at hearing the voice. "Momma! Momma!" A small glowing figure flew through the pillars and circled around May, who only replied with shock.

"Mana! Mana! Mana!" The glowing stopped as May could only stare in shock...it was Manaphy, and it looked happy to meet her.

"Manaphy..." May gasped. "You're okay!" She grabbed the Seafaring Pokémon into her arms and began to cry, many tears falling down her face.

"Momma...sad?" asked Manaphy when it was hit with some of the tears. "Momma...not happy?"

May sniffled as she wiped the tears away. She smiled and hugged Manaphy.

"No...I'm happy, Manaphy." She replied. "These are tears of happiness...showing that you're alright...I'm glad..."

"Momma is happy! May is happy!" Manaphy cheered. The other Duel Monsters took heed, applauding May as she looked on in confusion. When she was on stage and performing for people for a Pokémon Contest, she felt like she was on top of the world, In front of these Duel Monsters, she felt so shy and awkward.

"So if Manaphy is here, what about Jirachi?" asked Max, frowning.

Max...Max...I'm here.

Max whirled around when he heard that voice. "Jirachi?" He asked, looking to his left and right. "Jirachi, is that you? Where are you?!"

Behind you! Turn around!

Maxdid exactly that, seeing the Wish Pokémon floating toward him. Max brought his hands out to catch his dear friend, who was now awake instead of sleeping, and hugged him tight. The young boy bit his lip and tears fell down his face, showing nothing but relief and concern for his dear friend.

"Jirachi, what's going on?" he asked, hastily wiping the tears from his eyes so no one would notice. "Who kidnapped you and caused Samiya to be destroyed? What's happened?"

Something is coming after you two... Jirachi explained telepathically. It is because of your bonds with us that you are soon being hunted. Perhaps it was destiny that you were two were sent to Domino City...and perhaps it is also destiny that you stop whomever is trying to hurt you.

"But what about those dreams, Jirachi?" asked Max. "It showed Samiya destroyed by a large shadow, and someone stealing you away!"

Samiya is important to Manaphy, just like May was to him. And you considered me a best friend...think for a minute Max, I know you understand what's going on.

Max rubbed his chin in thought, trying to recollect the dreams. May's dream was similar to what she explained when the two were with Lizabeth and her family, while his own dream was him meeting up with a sleeping Jirachi amongst a mountain side. The only connection they had, aside from being Legendaries, were the fact that Manaphy and Jirachi interacted with both Petalburgh siblings. That meant...

"The dreams are talking about Manaphy and Jirachi being captured," Max explained, putting things together, eyes wide. "Manaphy and Jirachi were chosen, because they were related to us, the Goddess of Joy and Prince of Wisdom. Whoever is stealing them is using those two because they believe that the Legendary Pokémon might be channeling power to us!" Jirachi smiled.

Correct, Max...I knew you were smart.

More of the monsters were now whispering to themselves about Max's knowledge, the young boy just blushing to himself. Dark Magician Girl laughed a bit at the site.

"What did I tell you?" she said. "Both of you are definitely representatives of the beings of Joy and Wisdom. And it appears that these two creatures are 'Manaphy' and 'Jirachi', right?"

"Yes, that would be correct," said May, hugging Manahpy as if he was her child. Technically Manaphy was her child in a way. "Oh Manaphy..."

"Mama!" said Manaphy. "Look! Look!"

May looked down to see herself dressed in a light blue hooded cloak with a red border. Her hands were covered by golden bangles, and a pair of sandals replaced her sneakers. Beneath the cloak was a white tunic that trailed to her ankles—her Duel Disk was still on her arm though, its colors were now blue and red—and she even had a gold pendant of a small ankh around her neck. In her hands was a staff similar to Jouno's, decorated with blue and white feathers that seemed to be made out of fire.

"Wow...is this my outfit?" May asked with surprise, looking all around her at different angles to get a better look. "It's...beautiful!"

"That was the outfit from the Goddess of Joy 5,000 years ago," said Atem. May soon found some of the monsters also bowing down to her as well. "It looks beautiful on you, Goddess."

"He's right, May," said Max, circling his sister. "It looks great on you. If only I had an outfit like that..."

Suddenly, he heard the sound of laughter. The young boy turned to see Seth and Jouno slightly laughing at him.

"What's so funny?" asked Max.

"But what about you, my Prince? Have you not seen your outfit?" asked Seth.

"I assure you, it is fit for a wise ruler as yourself," Jouno added.

Max blinked in confusion until he looked at his own outfit. He now wore a light green tunic with a silver cord of rope tied around it, and a dark green cape was draped around his neck. Resting on his head was a circlet decorated with seven colored stars, and in his hand was the same staff like May except decorated with charms of stars at the end and the top resembling a papyrus plant. His Duel Disk was now yellow and black, the center now shaped like a star, and the disk being curved to make it look like an arc.

"Wow," Max whispered, turning round and round to get a better look at his outfit. "This is so cool! I wonder what type of powers I have! Hey, maybe I can do magic! Abracada-"

Suddenly a huge rumbling was heard, causing everyone to be in shock. Dark Magician Girl looked up, seeing parts of the castle starting to collapse all around them. Many of the monsters screamed in terror and began to run away from the falling debris.

Goddess! We must go now! May looked up at Dark Horus who soon scooped the young Coordinator into his claws.

"But..." May started to ask, but was interrupted when she saw Silent Magician LV 8 grabbing

onto Max. Both siblings stared at the sight while Dark Magician Girl waving at them.

"Good luck, Goddess of Joy and Prince of Wisdom!" she cried. "Help assist the Pharaoh in his darkest hour."

"We will!" May replied. "We promise!"

"Bye-bye!" Manaphy replied, waving at the site. That was the last thing both siblings heard before a bright light surrounded them.

0-0-0-0-0

May slowly opened her eyes, finding herself blinded by a strange light. She woke up to find herself on her bed once more, dressed in her original blue outfit. All of the Pokémon in the room were fast asleep.

"Mmmm, is it morning already?" she asked herself. She then looked at the window, seeing multi-colored lights that looked similar to the Aurora Borealis. "Wait...it can't be!"

"May, look at this!"

May turned to her brother, seeing that he had two new cards now: A Ritual Monster and a matching Ritual Spell Card. The former looked a lot like Jirachi, while the latter was of a meteor streaking down from the sky.

"I got cards based on Jirachi!" Max gasped out. "And it looks like you got cards from Manaphy!"

May looked down, seeing two cards also staring at her. One of them was of Manaphy with its happy grin and large eyes staring at her, and the other was a picture of Samiya. It seemed impossible...but the two cards were in front of her, so that meant everything that happened in the world of Duel Monsters was real.

"Maybe Jirachi and Manaphy want to help us in some way," said May, looking at the cards. "They can't be with us physically, so they could be with us spiritually..." That was when she remembered the lights outside of the Game Shop. "Max...something must be going on outside."

"What are we waiting for?!" asked Max, as he got his sneakers on. "Let's get going!"

May nodded as she jumped out of bed, immediately strapping on her sneakers. Before she barged out of the room, she grabbed her yellow waist pack, wrapping it around her hips, placing her two new cards into a separate pouch.

The two ran outside to see other people staring at the site. They could see monsters of different varieties being sucked into the grey clouds. The two immediately found Yugi and his friends at the center of town with a tall silver clock ticking away the seconds. Both siblings were exhausted but were at least glad to have found the King of Games.

"What's going on here?" asked May. "What's with this light?"

"Not sure," said Tristan, pointing to the sky. "But I think that might have something to do with it.."

May and Max looked to see a huge collection of green crystals descending from the sky. A million motes of light were being drawn into the gems and absorbed into them, causing the light to glow brighter.

May looked down at her waist pack and opened one of the pouches. She immediately pulled out her card of Manaphy and stared at it closely, before watching the giant crystals that shattered, revealing a glowing eye that seemed to glare at the people that looked up at it.

"Manaphy was going to be used for that?" Max whispered. "That's so scary."

"It's best we don't expose it to that thing..." May pocketed the card and activated her Duel Disk. "Come on, what are we going to do?"

"We have to summon something strong enough to stall it," Yugi answered, drawing a card. "I think I know what to do."

"He's got a good idea," May drew a card. "Come on out, Dark Horus! Attack with Dark Flare Blitz!"

"I choose you, Chaos Command Magician!" Max added. "Help us out with Prism Blast!"

The green magician and the giant black hawk-like dragon emerged and flew toward the Great Beast. Chaos Command Magician fired a blast of rainbow-colored energy from his staff while Dark Horus roared and unleashed a burst of flames from his mouth. The two attacks hit the eye, but attacks did nothing except piss the eye even more. It fired maelstrom of energy fired at the two monsters, causing them to fall to the ground and shatter.

"No!" May cried, seeing the Dark Horus card in her hand. "This can't be..."

The eye hurled another gust of energy toward Yugi, blowing Téa, Tristan and Joey off of their feet. May and Max helped buffer the blow by pushing Yugi to the ground, the Petalburgh siblings looking up to see the eye growling at them...if it was even possible for an eye to even growl in the first place.

"Thanks you two," said Yugi, slowly standing up. "Let me make it up to you." The Millennium Puzzle began to glow as he held a card into the sky. "Come forth, Timaeus! Destroy that beast!"

The card in his hand began to glow white as a large teal dragon emerged from the cluster of clouds in the sky. May and Max gasped, along with the other citizens of Domino City, as the dragon soared across Domino City, weaving through more bursts of energy the eye fired.

Eventually, Timaeus opened its mouth, releasing a giant orb of fire that hit the eye in the center. There was a high-pitched screech before the eye cracked into hundreds of pieces that fell toward the Earth like a meteor shower. The citizens of Domino City cheered as the dragon faded away. May and Max looked at each other.

"This is...not the end, is it?" asked Max. May nodded her head.

"It's just beginning," May answered, a hand close to her chest. "It seems our vacation ended just before we had a chance."

"What do we do then?" Max looked at the Duel Monster form of Jirachi.

"We'll do what Dark Magician Girl asked us to do," May smiled, squeezing Max's hand in her own. "We'll fight alongside the Pharaoh, stop those bikers, get the Egyptian God Cards and, who knows? But I know that we're going to do this together...that's what family is for."

"Yeah," Max smiled and nodded his head. "Together."

0-0-0-0-0

The hooded figure snarled, a hand clasping his forehead. With a wave of his free hand, the image in the pool of water faded away. There was some silence as he looked at the forms of the Egyptian God Cards before he closed his eyes.

"Well then," he said to himself. "It looks like things have gotten more interesting."

0-0-0-0-0

Max: I'm the Prince of Wisdom, and you're the Goddess of Joy, May!

May: It's still hard to believe, especially now that we have Manaphy and Jirachi as Duel Monster cards.

Max: Hey, there's a package sent to Yugi by someone named Maximillion Pegasus; wait, he's the Creator of Duel Monsters!

May: And he's asking us to head off to this place called America! I'm in!

Max: We made a promise to help Dark Magician Girl. There's no backing now, especially with everything that we've learned.

May: Agreed. Next time, "Between My Brother and Me - De Novo" Chapter 6, Preparation of Rites

Max: Let's take the stage this time, May! I challenge you to a duel!

May: Game on, Max!