More than a Game
"It's time for the match you've all been waiting for," Roland announced to the audience. "The match of the Grand Championship! Featuring our new star, Exquisite Emily Briar! She'll face off against the raving international Duel Monsters champion none other than the King of Games himself: Yugi Muto! This will be a duel to remember!"
The final match was going to take place in the Blue-Eyes Fortress. Mokuba led the gang to the top where they could get the best seats for the duel. Yugi and Emily took separate flights of stairs to the designated arena. As per the rules, competitors couldn't walk down the same path.
"Well, this is it," said Yugi. "But I have to admit, with our title on the line, I'm more than nervous."
Yami assured him that it would be all right. "Just remember to stay focused and most of all, to have fun." Of course, he would be the one dueling. He seemed more calm and excited about the whole thing anyway.
This was supposed to be something that Emily had always wanted; to compete in tournaments and come out on top. But she felt like she had a lot on her shoulders. She wanted to have fun and treat it like a game the same way her opponent would be doing. Why does something so simple have to suddenly turn into something so serious? But it was serious. This last duel would prove how far she had really come as she would show what she learned. At the same time, there would be more personal matters to consider.
Before Emily could pass through, she saw Zigfried standing by the exit. "Lovely day for a duel, isn't it, Herr Emily? I hope you have everything you need."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to wish you luck and give you this," he says, presenting her with a card.
Before Emily can take the card and look at it, she hears Leon's voice. "No, wait. Please don't do this."
"Leon? You're here too?"
"Please don't give her that card, Zigfried," Leon pleads. "We've already failed and we don't need to drag Emily into this. She earned her shot for the championship title fair and square."
Zigfried grins. "Perhaps you're right. Herr Emily is like a goddess, beautiful and untouched. To make her do something dangerous would mean having to taint and soil such purity and innocence."
Then Emily remembered something. "Zigfried Von Schroeder. You're from the family who's been in rivalry with the Kaibas for generations. You're trying to make me do something to sabotage Kaiba's tournament for when I duel Yugi, aren't you?"
"Well, you're smarter than you look," said Zigfried.
"I won't do it. Kaiba and Yugi are my friends and besides, I have my own priorities."
"Just let Emily duel her way," Leon pleaded again. "She's strong enough and besides, Yugi taught her everything she knows."
Emily faces Leon and asks him, "Leon, what's going on?"
He looks away and apologizes. "Emily, I have a confession. My name's not Wilson. It's Schroeder. Zifgried and I are brothers. We joined the tournament using phony identities so we could sabotage Kaiba's tournament. But then you and Max beat us. You beat me fair and square, but Zigfried felt humiliated and wouldn't give up until the fight was won."
Zigfried grins once more and says it's true. "I was satisfied that you were able to defeat Max. So I figured that perhaps I could use you. But then Leon had to come and stop me. I guess he really does think of you as his friend when I thought all he wanted was to face Yugi in a duel."
"I didn't lie to you about that, Emily. You are my friend and I had fun dueling you. And it's true that it's always been my dream to duel Yugi. And when I lost to you, I thought my dream had been crushed. But you played admirably and won fairly and that made me hope that I would get another chance. And because you're my friend, I can't let Zigfried force you to do something terrible. I want you to go out there and duel with honor like you did against me."
Keeping her eyes on Leon, Emily could sense that he was telling the truth. Leon wasn't in it for the rivalry, but for his love for the game until his brother decided he wanted to use him. And if Leon didn't consider Emily his friend, he wouldn't be going out of his way to help her. She manages to smile and tell him, "Thanks, Leon. I trust you." And with that, she walks past Zigfried and through the door.
Finally, the competitors came to the arena only to hear fans cheering for them. Yami and Emily exchange their decks and begin shuffling them. "Best of luck to you," Yami tells her.
"Thanks, and you as well," Emily says as they take their decks and their positions for the match.
Kaiba came to the arena to make one last announcement. Though he didn't take part in the tournament by dueling, he still organized it. But what would happen if he did compete? Would he have defeated Emily and Joey and faced his rival for the title shot once again? "The KC Grand Championship was designed for one thing in mind: to find the only person besides myself to see who deserves to be called the greatest duelist in the world! So these two final competitors will duel to decide just that! Now start the duel!"
"Time to duel!" Yami and Emily declare.
"I'll go first," Emily decided. "I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus in attack mode. And to join him, I'll summon Emerald Tortoise in defense mode. To end my turn, I'll place this face down. Try to get past my monsters."
"Very well, I shall," Yami said, drawing his card. He plays Polymerization to merge Gazelle and Berfomet to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast. Chimera attacked Sapphire Pegasus, dealing 300 points of damage to Emily's life points. Now she had 3700 points.
"Nice move," Emily complemented. "You defeated the strongest Crystal Beast in my deck. But remember, when a Crystal Beast is attacked, I can leave it on the field as a continuous spell or trap. And I've got more Crystal Beasts. So get a load of this," she says as she summons Ruby Carbuncle in defense mode.
"It's so cute," Rebecca squealed.
"I can't believe I know this, but isn't that Espeon?" Joey asked, thinking about the psychic Pokémon.
"It's another Crystal Beast called the Ruby Carbuncle," Leon corrected, remembering it from when he dueled against Emily.
"Your move," Emily tells him.
Yami draws his card, but Yugi tells him to wait. "Is something wrong, Yugi?"
"Look at Emily's eyes," he tells him. "Don't you detect a bit of sadness in them? It's like she's trying to have fun, but something's holding her back."
Yami did look and he saw that his partner was right. "She does seem a bit troubled."
"Do you think the pressure's gotten to her?"
"I don't know, but the duel must go on." Yami summons Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and attacks the Ruby Carbuncle.
"Nice one, Yugi," Tristan cheered. "I never liked that Pokémon anyway."
"Don't celebrate just yet," said Leon. "Each Crystal Beast has its own unique twist."
And he was right. Just when Chimera was about to attack, Emily revealed her face down card. "I reveal my trap card Crystal Raigeki. Now I sacrifice Ruby Carbuncle so I can remove Chimera from the field." With Chimera gone, Yami ended his turn. Emily played a magic card called Crystal Beacon. Since she had more than one Crystal Beast in the zone for spells and traps, she could summon another Crystal Beast from her deck and she chose Amethyst Cat. "My Cat has the ability to bypass your monster and attack you directly. But the damage you receive only comes out of half of her attack points. So when I attack, you'll lose 600 life points." And the Amethyst Cat pounced on Yami and landed an attack, leaving him with 3400 life points.
"Something doesn't seem right," Rebecca said as she was watching. "Emily's being fun and serious all at the same time. It's like she's trying to be one thing and another all at once. There's nothing big on the line for her and I don't think she really wants the championship title."
Hearing Rebecca's words and sensing her opponent's thoughts, Emily decides to come clean. "Before you make your move, I have something to confess. I'm more than excited to have come this far in such a big tournament, but I don't feel it yet. And I won't have really won until I've beaten you. I want to do it for fun, but there's a lot of personal stuff on the line for me."
"Is that what this is about?" Yami asked. "To prove your own strength?"
"Well, that's partly the reason. But mostly it's because of a promise I made long ago." When Emily and Yugi were young and first started learning how to play Duel Monsters, they both dreamed of one day being great duelists. Emily would come home every day to show her mother the new cards Yugi gave her. She dreamed of one day competing in tournaments and becoming a champion. Her mother promised that she would watch and cheer the loudest for her daughter.
But it wasn't to be. Emily's mother was killed on her doorstep one cold summer night. This forced Emily to live in the middle of the states where her father resided. He didn't understand Emily the same way his ex-wife did and he certainly didn't take kindly to her passion for the game. For disciplinary reasons, he took her toys and games so she could focus on her studies. The only thing he didn't take were the Duel Monster cards Yugi gave her and the more she looked at them, the more she dreamed of one day being reunited with her friend.
And that dream came true in its own unusual way. Emily was disowned by her father and sent to live back home in Domino. But would anyone call that fate? Whatever it was, Emily was happy to be free from her father and grateful to be back home. For once, she felt like she belonged somewhere with someone for the first time in so long. And she went on so many incredible journeys with her friends.
"I didn't forget my promise," continued Emily. "Now that I'm finally here, I can fulfill my dream. But I can't enjoy myself. I know my mom is with me in spirit, but it doesn't feel right to not be able to see her smile or even hear her cheering me on. More than anything, I wish my mom could be here."
"What does she mean?" Yami asked.
Yugi finally understood as he began remembering the days he and Emily shared together and how they had to say 'goodbye'. "Her mother was a kind lady and very supportive; like a best friend. When she died, Emily lost more than a mother. Like anybody else, Emily wants to make her mother proud by fulfilling the promise she made."
"I know I should be dueling for my love for the game, but after every challenge I've faced, this is serious to me. I want to have fun, but I don't want to forget what I'm fighting for. At the same time, I don't want to end up fighting for the wrong reasons or even lose sight of what's important. I mean, I didn't realize how important this duel was to me until now."
Everyone was intrigued by Emily's story and felt their hearts going out to her. But this was only half of the problem. She would have other reasons for needing this duel. "Emily, look at yourself," Yami was telling her. "You've come a long way since your first journey. You've had everyone's support and you believed in yourself and now you're here." He stops speaking and tells her mentally, And as your friend and your father, I'm proud of you. And your mother would be too. She would also want you to have fun.
Listening to his words, she manages to smile and tell him, You're right. And that's what I'm going to do. But I'm still going to do my best in this duel. "Thanks, I needed that." She winks and tells him, "You're a pal. Now it's your move."
Totally not the attitude anyone was expecting. "Emily sure pulled through that one fast, didn't she?" Valon asked.
Téa wasn't too surprised. "That's our Emily. She has a big heart."
Rafael nodded in agreement. "That's why I love her."
Kaiba had to admit, his friend certainly had come a long way since he first met her. Then he wondered if that was the true reason behind this match. "You know, I think out of all the duelists, Briar needed this challenge more than anyone else." As everyone looks at him in confusion, he explains his reasons. "Yugi taught her everything she knows about the game. Now it's time for her to show him how much she's learned. She may have earned her place to get where she is, but now it's time for her to prove her strength."
His friends agreed with him. "You got a good point there, Kaiba," said Joey.
"But there's more," continued Kaiba. "Briar's opponent isn't just her teacher. She's also dueling the pharaoh. I think he needs to be part of this challenge as well. During the times I've watched Briar duel, I've seen her display the same courage and determination her father has. She's learned as much from him the same way Yugi has; and she's learned as much from Yugi too. Briar may take after her mother, the queen, but she is also her father's daughter. And I guess that makes her the princess of games."
"But they're so-" Rafael started.
Kaiba interrupts him and asks, "What? They're so different because Emily's gentle and compassionate and the pharaoh's assertive and confident? Sure, they're their own person, but I think they've been able to benefit from one another. While it's true that Briar shares most of her mother's physical appearance and caring spirit, she has her father's strength and determination. I guess it runs in the blood, but at the same time, it's because she has a big heart and cares too much that she fights for all the right reasons and manages to find her strength. And the pharaoh has learned as much from his daughter. He knows a part of him lives inside of her and through her, he's able to see it."
"Hold on," Alister was saying, "are you saying they complete each other?"
"I'm saying this is a fight that will determine if Briar is anything like her father and not just like her mother. But that last suggestion could be too."
Listening to Kaiba's words, Yami was more than amazed. Even he had come such a long way and has now begun to think with his heart more than his head. At the same time, Yami knew that Kaiba was right. "He's telling the truth, Emily. You and I have been able to learn and benefit from one another." As she looks at him directly, he continues and explains, "When I look at you, I get an idea on the kind of person your mother was. At the same time, I'm also able to see a part of me; a part I thought I lost some time ago."
"Because deep down inside, I'm just like you and you're just like me," Emily said, agreeing with her friends. "We're both devoted and have strong hearts."
"Yes. Each of us has given the other a gift."
"Like courage and determination," said Emily.
"And love and understanding," Yami added. "And our duel will decide how alike as well as separate you and I are." They didn't exclude Yugi. Even he learned as much from them and was able to give back as much. Yami plays a card face down and summons Queen's Knight to attack Amethyst Cat, causing Emily to lose 300 life points and bring her down to 3400. To end his turn, Yami plays a card face down.
Right now, Emily had three Crystal Beasts in the rear and no monsters to fight with. Now was a good time to activate her magic card Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins. As its name suggest, the ancient field for the Crystal Beasts appeared behind her. "My Crystal Beasts have had enough, so I'll keep them at bay and summon a different kind of monster. I play Magician's Valkyria. Attack Queen's Knight with Mystic Scepter Blast!" The mage prepares to attack, but Yami reveals his trap card Mirror Force. But Emily was ready. "Since I have three Crystal Beasts in my spell and trap card zone, I can activate the power of my Ancient City." She sacrifices Sapphire Pegasus to deactivate Mirror Force. "All I have to do is sacrifice a Crystal Beast. Then I can stop the activation of a spell or trap card you control and destroy it." With Mirror Force gone, Valkyria could resume her attack and destroy Queen's Knight, dealing 100 points of damage, leaving Yami with 3300 points.
"Well done, Emily," Yami complemented.
"Thank you," she tells him. "My Magicians always come through for me. In fact, when I started living with my dad and felt so far apart from everything I knew, my Magicians seemed like the only friends I had." When her father didn't understand her and she got bullied a lot at school, Emily turned to her Duel Monsters for love and support and they were there for her. "When I was young and started learning about the game, I wanted to be a performer. Singing, dancing, theatre, magic, anything. But my most favorite kind were the magicians. I thought it was so cool that they could to extraordinary things like making people and objects disappear and bending the forces of nature. And I wanted to have that kind of talent." And Emily began recalling the amateur magic shows as well as performances she put on for her friends and family. Even Yugi had fun.
"Then when I started collecting cards, I saw the Magicians and they were my most favorite. Their enchanted powers made them seem so real like their magic brought them to life. And as crazy as it sounds, I felt like I was able to see them and speak to them because they were there. When I felt alone and scared, they gave me strength and comfort. And they still support me even today. And because I loved them all so much, I refused to let anyone take them from me. I'm thankful to all of my Magicians for all that they've done for me and we're going to stay together." Hearing Emily's kind words, Valkyria smiles at her.
Everyone was touched. "I must admit, Emily has a strong sense of devotion and respect for her cards," said Rafael. "She even built the perfect assortment of spells, traps, and monsters."
Solomon nods in agreement. "And we both know that that's the mark of a true duelist."
"I'm not done yet," said Emily. "Next, I'll place this card face down. That ends my turn."
Yami plays Pot of Greed to draw two cards from his deck. "Oh, well. Unfortunately for you, I drew this."
"It's Watapon," Emily said, looking at the card's image. She remembered that Watapon's special ability allowed Yami to special summon it when added to his hand by the effect of a monster, spell, or trap card. But it wouldn't be on the field for long because Yami was going to sacrifice it to summon Dark Magician Girl. Emily was more than surprised.
"Do you know why I summoned Dark Magician Girl?"
"I've got to guess," Emily replied.
"Well, I know how much you love Magicians and I remembered that this one is your favorite. You even compared yourself to Dark Magician Girl many times before."
Emily chuckled at that. "I know, I always thought we were like twins." But her smile fades away as she wonders. "Is this some sort of challenge? Because me facing my favorite monster almost seems like having to fight a piece of myself."
"You could say that," said Yami.
"Well then, I accept," she decided. The truth was she didn't want to fight against Dark Magician Girl; not after all that the two had been through together. But this would actually be necessary. Emily would have to fight this part of herself to move ahead. Dark Magician Girl attacks Valkyria, dealing 400 points of damage to Emily's life points and leaving her with 3000 points.
It was Emily's turn again and she drew her card. "Well, what do you know? It's the same card you drew. Some would call that coincidence, but I call it fate. I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Next, I play Crystal Blessing to bring back Sapphire Pegasus and Ruby Carbuncle. But rather than use my Carbuncle's special ability to move my Crystal Beasts to the field, I'll keep them where they are. Now that I have four Crystal Beasts, I can draw an extra card. To end my turn, I'll summon Rapid-Fire Magician in attack mode and attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian." So the Magician attacked and dealt 200 points of damage to Yami's life points.
"It's still a close match," said Duke. "But it looks like Emily's got the upper hand. As long as her Crystal Beasts are in the rear, her life points are hard to damage. And it'll be a matter of time before she summons Rainbow Dragon."
"But don't forget, to do that, Emily's got to have all seven different Crystal Beasts on the field or in her graveyard," said Leon. "She has four on the field, so I guess the remaining three are still in her deck.
It was Yami's turn again and he had Dark Magician Girl attack Rapid-Fire Magician and deal 400 points of damage. To end his turn, he plays a card face down. It was Emily's turn again and thanks to her Ancient City, she got to draw an extra card. First, she plays Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two. "I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger. And thanks to his special ability, he gains 400 attack points when he's attacking. So go, my Tiger. Attack Dark Magician Girl." Now the Tiger's attack points are equal to Dark Magician Girl's, resulting in a stalemate. "Now I have five Crystal Beasts. Two more and I can summon my Dragon. But for now, I'll play a card face down."
Yami plays Premature Burial and gives up 800 life points to revive his Queen's Knight, leaving him with 2300 life points. After that, he places two cards face down and activates his Card of Sanctity. Now he and Emily have full hands. Yami summons King's Knight and now that he's on the field with Queen's Knight, he can summon Jack's Knight to join them. And now that his three Knights are in play, he can activate the magic card Royal Straight. By sacrificing his three Knights, Yami summons a powerful warrior called Royal Straight Slasher. It came to the field with 2400 attack points.
Royal Straight Slasher had the ability to destroy all of the opponent's cards. But first, Yami had to sacrifice a monster of each of the first five levels. The first monster was Kuriboh, followed by Old Vindictive Magician, Giant Soldier of Stone, Big Shield Gardna, and Curse of Dragon. Now Royal Straight Slasher could destroy every card Emily had on the field. And because Topaz Tiger was in attack mode, Emily lost some of her life points. To end his turn, Yami played Time Travel, a magic card that removed his Royal Straight Slasher until Emily's turn.
"That was impressive, I must admit," Emily was saying. "But your maneuver helped me out too. I may have lost all the cards I had in play, but you made my strategy easier for me. So thank you."
Yami's eyes widened. "Do you mean-?"
"I'm not there yet, but I will be once I play my card," she tells him. "But first, your Time Travel card expires, allowing your Royal Straight Slasher to return to the field. Now I can take my turn and play this; Card Destruction. Now we must discard our hands and draw new cards. So when you played Card of Sanctity, you allowed me to fill my hand. Now I get six new cards. And now all seven Crystal Beasts are in my graveyard, which means I can summon Rainbow Dragon. Attack with Rainbow Stream!" And the Dragon attacks Royal Straight Slasher, dealing 1600 points of damage and leaving Yami with 700 life points.
"All right, it's your move," said Emily. "You're really going to have to pray for the Heart of the Cards to see you through now that my Dragon is on the field. But hey, win or lose, this was a great duel."
Yami smiles and nods. "And remember, Emily, whether you win or lose, I'll always love you. And so will the rest of our friends." And he and Emily look up and see them smiling and winking. Yami draws his card. "You've fought well, my love, and I couldn't have asked for a better opponent. But this ends now!" Emily's eyes widen and she gasps. The first thing Yami does is play a card face down. Next, he plays Emergency Provisions and destroys his card so he can receive a thousand life points. "Now I'll play Monster Reborn to summon a monster you know; my Dark Magician!"
"But I never sent him to the graveyard!"
"No, but I did when you played Card Destruction. So you helped me in return and I thank you. For now I can play my Necromancy magic card, summoning four monsters from your graveyard to your side of the field in defense mode." The monsters summoned were Magician's Valkyria, Rapid-Fire Magician, White Magician Pikeru, and Ebon Magician Curran. Emily remembered that any monster summoned by this magic card and destroyed would cause her Dragon to lose 600 attack points. But the card she really had to be afraid of was Yami's Diffusion Wave-Motion. For the price of 1000 life points, Dark Magician would instantly destroy all of Emily's monsters.
"So then, it's over," Emily said, trying to hold back her tears. "I lose." And Dark Magician destroys all of her monsters and the rest of her life points.
The attacks finally subside and the holograms are gone. Emily falls on her knees and places her hands against the ground. Yami approaches her and smiles. "Well done. I'm proud of you. You fought with honor and never gave up."
She looks up and faces him with tears. "Oh, Father. I… I…" Unable to contain her emotions, she starts crying and hugs him.
"There's nothing to cry about," he says, holding her.
"Yes, there is," she protests. "I'm too weak. I was so caught up in the past; I almost forgot what was important. When I dreamed of one day being great and making everyone proud, in the end, what I really wanted was to be just like you. My hero, my father."
"Emily, you've proven your strength and you never lost sight of what was important to you. You fought with everything you had and you even had fun. If your mother were alive today, she would be just as proud of you as I am."
Emily eases her grip and tries to relax. "But I still have a long way to go before I can be like you."
"But you already are in so many ways," Yami tells her. "I already said it, you and I carry a part of one another and it will take the both of us far."
"Thank you, Father," Emily tells him. She manages to smile, but only for a brief moment as she starts crying again.
As touching as it was for everybody, it was time to wrap things up. The tournament had now come to a close and Yugi was still the undisputed champion.