Princess of Magic

By Anime2000

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!... Ha! Bet you were expecting me to type something else, huh— (looks at what she wrote) Oh... Never mind.

Yes, yes... (sighs) Well, I know how you all hate cliffies, but somehow I can't stop! XD And DMG's not the only one keeping me from the romance. I think there's a traffic light for the DM/DMGness. Right now, it's red because of the timing and such. I shall wait for it to turn green... (sits down and stares at an imaginary traffic light)

Why's Master here?

Urg, I should've paid attention. A winged shadow fell over me. I looked up to see Elly swooping towards me to deliver her attack. "Wha—wait!"

"Not in this Duel!" she shouted, brandishing her Rose Whip. She lashed it at me. No way I could dodge it. And even if I did, it would deal some serious damage to my Lifepoints.

"And Elly starts off with an excellent jump!" The Witty Phantom said, but there was something about his voice... Oh, Elly's sisters were probably bullying him again.

"Magical Hats!" I yelled, summoning one of my favorite tricks. I transported myself to a different location before the silk hat's brim even touched the ground. Then I whispered two spells and then jumped out of the top of the hat. Elly was aiming for my Lifepoints, now that I was out of the way. "Harpy Lady!" I called to her and pointed my wand at her. "Dark Burning Attack!"

She spun around sliced right through my magic with her claws. "Nice try, Magical Girl."

I grinned. "Thanks," I said, raising my wand in the air. "Activate Skull Dice!" From one of the remaining hats popped out my little, black friend. "While I was back there, I summoned Skull to the field," I explained, jabbing a thumb over my shoulder to where I had jumped out a few seconds earlier. Skull beamed and chucked his red die at Elly, who was still unaware of what had happened.

The die hit and rolled on the ground. Everything was so quiet and still! It was as if everyone held their breath in waiting. The die stopped.

'It landed on a five!' crowed Skull, doing a few back flips in the air before turning invisible. Or as he would put it, 'disappearing.'

"And that was a seriously lucky roll!" squealed the Unhappy Maiden. "Good job, Dark Magician Girl!"

"That means nothing!" hissed the redheaded wind monster and scratched a chunk off my Lifepoints. I didn't let her attack again.

"Dark Burning Attack!" She leapt away. My own attack barely missed my Lifepoints! That was too close! Maybe I do need to work on my aim...

Swinging my wand around me, I released another burst of dark energy, encasing myself in a cocoon of magic. A shrieked came from above me. My shield cracked and splintered into tiny shards. I waved away a few of the pieces away from my face with my hand as I turned around. "You..." The Harpy Lady's wings had a few glassy shards embedded in them. "A Mirror... Force...?" Her voice held no trace of anger. More like surprise and maybe a little admiration. "Heh, you've certainly gotten better." I did feel a little guilty about using that, though...

"Huh!" A thick cord wound itself around my neck. With a sudden jerk, I was yanked to the ground. "A-ah!" I gasped, pulling on what was constricting my throat. The Rose Whip! "Nn...! On second thought, I take it back..."

Elly freed me and said, "But you still have to learn to pay attention! Hya!" The Rose Whip came at me again. I rolled away in time, but... not just in time.

My fingers touched the raw skin beneath my right eye delicately. I wasn't blind, but if it had hit a few centimeters higher... Ironically, the only phrase that came to mind was 'an eye for an eye.'

"Tsk, tsk." It was the Witty Phantom's voice this time. "You need to be fast if you wanna last!"

I blocked the Rose Whip's next strike with my wand. Unfortunately, the cord wrapped itself tightly around it. "N—no!" I cried as my wand was snatched from my hand and flung at least 20 meters away from me. I pushed myself up and ran after it before it started to fall, but suddenly, I froze in midstep. The Harpy Lady's Rose Whip had ensnared me in an unyielding bind. I had been in this position before, but this time, it was a little different. Elly let go of the other end and went for my Lifepoints. "Hey!" I yelled, running after her. This was amazingly embarrassing. What was I supposed to do? Ram myself into her?

That'll work. It's not like I haven't done it before! Hoping for the best, I hurdled myself at her and braced for impact.

She let out a shriek as she fell before me. I managed to, somehow, stay on my feet. "Ha!" I said, grinning triumphantly. The vine around me loosened and fell around my feet. "Oh...!" Skull reappeared on my shoulder and spat out some of—what really looked like—the Rose Whip.

'Yuck!' he sniffed and made a face. 'It smelled better than it tasted!'

"You chewed through my Rose Whip!" demanded Elly, jumping to her feet. She looked really mad. Skull winced and cowered behind my tangled, blonde locks. The Witty Phantom was laughing loudly, even without the microphone.

The Unhappy Maiden giggled as well and declared, "A nice strategic move, I guess. Go Skull Dice!"

"Skull, get me my wand!" I whispered and raised my arms in a defensive stance. Without another word, he was gone. Hopefully, to retrieve my wand. And if not... Well, I'm going to have to trust him on this one. "Two direct attacks, and that's as far as you'll get!" I said to Elly.

"Heh, we'll see!" She swiped at me with one claw, then the other. Both of them met with the armor that covered my forearms.

A cold realization hit me. She kicked my unprotected stomach, and I staggered back. That gave her the opportunity to deal a blow to my head. And she took it. I saw stars fly past my eyes as her fist collided with the side of my head. Thank Ra my helmet was there! But she could have aimed lower if she wanted to really hurt me... "Nngh..." Either ways, I fell to the ground.

'Dark Magician Girl!' My vision had started to fade, but I saw a familiar black figure flying towards me. 'Catch!' My wand flew towards me.

With a somewhat shaky hand, I reached out and grabbed it. I turned around and saw that Elly's talons were too close to my Lifepoints. "Dark...Dark Burning Attack!" I yelled, focusing almost all of my power in that attack.

"Ah—!" That was the last thing I heard from her before I sent her sailing back to her side of the field. Right in front of her Lifepoints.

Skull was prancing around my head. No, that wasn't because I was still a little dizzy from using up too much of my energy. He was literally dancing around my head. 'You did it! You did it!'

"Not quite," I mumbled and stood up, ignoring a new wave of dizziness that was starting to cloud my mind. Closing my eyes tightly, I counted to 3 and then reopened them. Things had become a little clearer. Skull was pounding on my helmet, yelling at me to take this time to my advantage. I rushed towards Elly and cast a spell: "Swords of Revealing Light!"

As the luminous blades rained down around the harpy and her Lifepoints, I sensed the rest of my magic was draining away quickly. I had to get there in time to pull off my last move! Another rush of dizziness. I frowned and made myself run faster.

"I'll have to give her credit for being able to use up so much energy," said the Witty Phantom, "but she's gonna faint! Faint, I say! Faint!" I was very tempted to make a right turn and whack the fiend with my wand before going after Elly. But I continued down the smarter path.

Unexpectedly, I made it! Gasping for breath and practically dying, but I was there! Elly glared at me, unable to leave her glowing prison. I noticed the new wings that had sprouted on her back. The Harpy's Feather Duster! I pointed my wand at her. "It's too late."

"No..." she said, unfurling her wings slightly. "You'll have to attack twice, if you want to win!" The swords started to dissolve. "And there's no time for that!"

I smiled and pulled off my helmet, exposing the second spell that I had used right after I summoned Skull. "Activate Graceful Dice!"

'Let's try one attack,' Graceful Dice said, dropping his die on me. At once, I felt Graceful's magic coursing through me. Even if the die hadn't stopped yet, I knew I would win. After all, I just had to get a two or higher. Nothing hard about that.

She had completely unfolded her new wings. The swords shattered, one by one. There wasn't time for me to wait for the die to land. Ah well. Who cares? "Dark Burning Attack!" That was one of the strongest attacks I've ever accomplished. It engulfed both Elly and her Lifepoints.

When the light from my magic dimmed down, the Duel was over. Elly had been knocked off her feet. She sat on the ground and stared at the blue die listlessly. It had landed on a two, resulting in the increase of my attack points to 4000. "Hey... Elly?"

The Harpy Lady closed her eyes and released a depressing sigh. Then she looked up at me and smiled. "I guess... that means you win, Magical Girl."

I held a hand in front of her. She took it and pulled herself up. "Well, you were hard to beat!" I told her with a laugh. Graceful nodded and then nudged Skull. Skull started nodding.

"Dark Magician Girl was amazing," the Unhappy Maiden announced. "The Harpy Lady did quite well, too... Leading to both a spectacular win and a worthy loss! Five-minute intermission!"

"You might want to get that checked," Elly said to me as we exited the arena. She was referring to the wound caused by her Rose Whip. "It could get infected. Sorry about that."

I agreed and then said, "And are your wings gonna be all right? And your Rose Whip... It's..." I looked at Skull, wondering whether I should be grateful or upset. "Sorry about that."

"Never mind," she said and pointed.

The Magician of Black Chaos stood a few feet in front of us. "Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering his deal with Master. "You really didn't have to..."

Elly elbowed me and winked. "I'll get rid of him for you," she whispered and walked towards him.

"That's not necessary..." I said, but then sighed. Well, what can I do? She probably won't listen. Best to enjoy the show...?

"Oh, Magician of Black Chaos!" she sang in a singsong voice. He gave her a startled look that suggested that he was about to back away and then make a mad dash down the hall. But he never got a chance to do so. She launched herself at him and clamped on to his right arm. The one he holds his staff with, so he couldn't attack her. "How sweet; you waited for me!"

The look on his face was virtually priceless. "Wha... what?" He tried to pull away, but she held on tight and started dragging him down the hall. "Wait...! You...! I...!" He looked back at me as she broke into a run, taking him with her. I shrugged apologetically and waved him goodbye. "I hate you!" He yelled at me. Then he turned to Elly. "And I hate you even more!"

Giggling, she replied, "You flatter me."

His frustrated scream rang down the hall.

"Sorry Magician of Black Chaos," I whispered and smiled sheepishly. Hm... I wonder where Master went. He probably went inside before I did. Maybe sometime during the Duel. Hm, and I thought he'd wait for me! Ah well...

I picked a random direction that probably wasn't close to where the Magician of Black Chaos or the Harpy Lady went. And I leisurely walked down my chosen path. No need to hurry. Chances are, Sengenjin's probably given up by now and was searching the crowd. Even though I had no idea who was in the next Duel, I wasn't too worried. Skull and Graceful sat on both of my shoulders and seemed content at the moment.

"Ah, so you've already met Sengenjin."

"Amir..." I murmured absently. Now why in the Shadow Realm is he here? And who was he talking to?

'Friend of yours?" asked Graceful.

'Go check it out!' urged Skull. Graceful gave him a disapproving look, but I could tell that he was as eager as Skull was. And I was, too.

I followed the sound of his voice until I reached the hallway that he was in. That's when I retreated behind... guess what? A pillar! Hm... the person he was talking was really tall. The light from windows threw their faint shadows on the wall. Yeah, about the same height as him.

"I was going to warn you after Gaia and the Mysterious Puppeteer's Duel," he continued. His shadow waved its hand in the air, as if brushing the idea out of existence. "But I had no idea that you'd go looking for him."

"Trust me, I had no intention of playing hide-and-go-seek with a lunatic," the other person replied with a touch of annoyance. Instantly, I recognized the voice as Master's. Ooh... I guess that was my fault. I was the one that ran away... But I'm getting confused! I thought they hated each other! "It wouldn't have hurt to have informed me, though..."

"Well, you found out anyway. You've already told the Chaos Command Magician, right...?"

"The Magician of Black Chaos as well," Master interrupted him.

"Right. Well, now all you have to do is tell everyone else."

"I'm assuming that you'll assist me in that...?"

"Hey, I'm the scout. Not the messenger. That's your job, Brother." Amir's voice was light with humor, but it held a certain type of authority to it. "But doesn't it suck that this happens every year? But oh well. They've never stopped us before. This year should be no different."

"Don't get too cocky," Master sighed in exasperation. "And I'd like to know why you call me 'Brother.' We aren't related."

"Of course we are," Amir said, his voice filled with equal vexation. "How many times do I have to explain it? We came from the same stone tablet and were reborn into cards... Therefore, we're brothers! So does Mana—excuse me, Dark Magician Girl... Does she still know you as Mahaado? If I remember correctly, you were the one that decided to keep the name...Sorta... You go by Dark Magician, don't you?"

"I can't be too sure about her," said Master, leaning against the wall with the windows, so that his shadow no longer showed. "She seems to be remembering everything... Slowly, but still..."

"Time has been kind to us these past millennia. We haven't aged that much, but I'm a little disappointed with how Mana grew up." I blinked and glared at Amir's shadow. "She's still a little too immature for my liking. But at least she seems to be more interested in her studies."

Master walked towards him. I watched his shadow whack Amir's with its staff. "What do you mean... 'to your liking'?"

Amir backed away from him. "What I meant was that she still hasn't completely grown up. There are still many flaws in her magic. Which means that you haven't been training her that well. I would have certainly been a better teacher!"

"Would you, now?" asked Master. "Tell me, what would you have done? Would you have put her through rigorous training—practically killing her—so she'd improve?"

"No way... Well..." He was silent. Then, with a softer voice, he said, "But that's the reason she has to stay with you. I'm not sure if I trust myself... I want her to become a great magician, more powerful than any other Dark Magician! But to do that, she'd have to give up her childhood and dedicate her entire life to magic..."

"'Dedicate'...? Like you?"

"Like me," Amir admitted with a cheerless tone. "Ever since I've separated from the Black Magician and you, I've felt isolated from everything but my magic, so..." He sighed and said, "But enough about me. We're talking about the Dark Magician Girl. Even though I don't want you to go to the extremes with her studies, as I might, I still think you should increase her training." Eeeeee! 'Increase?' By how much!

"I understand, but..." Yes? Go on...

"But what?" Amir sighed again and said, "For Ra's sake, I know she's a likable girl... I've grown quite fond of her, but if you want what's best for her..." The movements of his hands made it look like he was grabbing words from the air and then tossing them aside as he searched for the right words to use. Finally, he gave up and said, "don't fall in love with her!"

Skull and Graceful clamped their hands over my mouth before I could say anything.

"Oh yeah... one more thing," said Amir. "Speaking of your apprentice..." I had pulled the two dice-holders off of me and looked back to the shadows.

Only to face Amir. He grinned. "Look who's back from her Duel?"

Getting the picture, everyone?

Well, it might not be the actual explanation, but I think the conversation between Amir and Dark Magician(Mahaado) explains why there are three Dark Magicians pretty well... Although, I have not been fair to Amir. He was, after all,the original Dark Magician from the manga. That would be the best explanation to why DMG's armor is blue and pink.

R&R, please!