Duel Identity
The night was over and the sun was rising. Yugi knew that what happened last night was no dream and that his grandfather was trying to communicate with him from the Shadow Realm. Yugi wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing in deciding to duel again, but he knew he had to in order to rescue his grandfather. At the same time, he didn't know if he could - rather, should - trust the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He still couldn't even forgive him for nearly killing Kaiba. Nonetheless, Yugi placed the Millennium Puzzle over his neck.
His four friends came to his room and greeted him. "Aren't you ready yet?" Emily asked him. "You're going to be late."
"And if you're late, they'll disqualify you," added Joey.
Yugi nods in answer. Feeling the spirit of the Puzzle beginning to take over, he suppresses it as best as he can so he can be in control. If it took everything in his power to hold the spirit back, he would have to use this much power to keep the spirit in check. Now everyone was ready.
"We'll have to cheer from the sidelines," said Tristan. "Only duelists are allowed on the main deck."
"Well, this is it," said Téa. "I'm so proud of you guys." After wishing Joey and Yami good luck, Emily, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura head to the upper deck and Joey and Yami proceed to the great hall.
Mai, Max, and Keith were already in the hall waiting for the rest of the competition. Now that all five finalists were present, the preliminaries could be set into order. Pegasus once again congratulated his competitors for coming this far and hoped for them to give it their best. He also reminded them that the true prize of the tournament was what the competitor could win if he or she was crowned the champion: whatever his or her heart desires.
Now that Pegasus' statements had been concluded, the first match of the finals could begin. Mai and Yugi presented their qualification cards and proceeded to the arena. Mai presented Glory of the King's Right Hand and Yugi presented the Opposite Hand. Before actually starting the duel, Mai began looking back on her adventure. To her, everyone was an opponent and friendship was a weakness. That was what she always thought until she met Yugi and his friends. But she didn't come to value friendship or kindness until Yugi went out of his way to help her get back her star chips. Mai was indebted to Yugi, but just because she promised him a match of honor didn't mean she would go easy on him. But she wouldn't put on any more psychic acts. But her opening move was the same as usual. She played Harpy Lady in attack mode and a card face down.
As for Yugi, he also promised to give it his all in this match, but he didn't want any interference from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He figured he could get an easy victory if he went through the match as quickly as possible. He summoned Gaia the Fierce Knight and declared an attack. His attack revealed Mai's hidden card Mirror Wall, cutting his Fierce Knight's attack points in half. Harpy Lady attacked and dealt 150 points of damage to Yugi. Yugi tried again and played a stronger monster, Summoned Skull. He also placed a card face down to protect himself. But it didn't matter how strong his monster was. Yugi failed to realize that Mirror Wall was a continuous trap and any monster that tried to attack would have their strength cut in half. Mai played Cyber Shield to raise her Harpy's attack points, but didn't declare an attack. Instead, she played Harpy's Feather Duster to remove Yugi's hidden card, Spellbinding Circle. To consolidate his defenses, Yugi switched his Summoned Skull to defense mode and played Feral Imp in defense mode. For Mai's next move, she summoned a new monster called Harpy's Pet Dragon and used it to attack Yugi's Summoned Skull and have her Harpy attack the Imp.
It was plain to see that Yugi was not thinking strategically. Everyone from the sidelines wasn't sure why Yugi wasn't thinking through his moves like he always has. Mai wondered if it was because he was still shaken by his duel with Kaiba. But Pegasus could sense that Yugi was afraid to tap into the full power of his Millennium Puzzle. And he was, only because he was afraid the spirit within would try to hurt Mai like he almost did Kaiba. Yami was urging Yugi to let him help, but Yugi refused to take that risk.
As the duel progressed, Mai continued to try to help Yugi out by reflecting on her days in the tournament and all that she had learned. Joey thought Mai was trying to psyche him out, but Téa and Emily could see that she was trying to help him. Mai remembered what she told Joey when he asked her why she dueled. She admitted her answer was frivolous, but still honest. So she asked Yugi the same thing and wanted to know if his reasons were selfless. Even though Yugi answered with honesty that he was dueling for his grandfather, Mai continued to press on into the matter, telling Yugi to fight his inner battles for the real truth.
Yugi was considering all that Mai was telling him, but it wasn't changing his dueling methods. He still made his moves without thinking. He summoned Dark Magician in defense mode and played another trap to protect him. But Mai didn't think it was a clever enough move. She still didn't think Yugi was putting up a real fight either. To draw Dark Magician into attack mode, she played Shadow of Eyes. Forced to fight, Dark Magician attacked his own reflection in the Mirror Wall and was drained of his attack points. Before attacking, Mai played Harpy's Feather Duster once again and swept away Yugi's Mirror Force. After that, Harpy's Pet Dragon incinerated the Dark Magician.
The spirit's voice rang through Yugi's head once again. "Yugi, let me help you," he begged. "If you continue to hold me back, everyone loses!"
Yugi began to wander the confinements of his mind, looking back on the duel with Kaiba and reflecting his feelings. Sensing his thoughts, Yami confessed, "I never meant any harm. I only wanted to help. And I vow never to harm another person again."
Listening to the spirit's words, Yugi could sense that he truly was sorry and really did want to help. At the same time, Yami promised he would continue to help. Yugi already said he would do anything to rescue his grandfather. So he agreed to give the spirit another chance under the condition that they would duel together under his own terms and not hurt anyone. Settling their agreement, Yugi and Yami get back in the match and duel as one.
For his next move, Yami played a magic card called Brain Control and used it on Harpy's Pet Dragon. Mai wasn't too worried. As the ever faithful servant of Harpy Lady, her Pet Dragon would not dare attack even when brainwashed. But Yami had no intention of attacking Harpy Lady. Instead, he was going to use it to destroy the Mirror Wall. To complete his move, he played a card face down and played Catapult Turtle. Mai remembered that the Turtle's Catapult Launch had the power to destroy walls and fortresses. Since Mai's Dragon was in attack mode, the damage came out of her life points, leaving her with 850 life points remaining.
With the most powerful monster in her deck gone, Mai could see that the tide of the duel was turning. This was surprising to her, and at the same time, she was getting her wish of Yami facing her like the duelist she remembered. But she had to be careful from here on out. She remembered that Yami still had his face down card. But instead of declaring an attack, she played Elegant Egotist to turn her one Harpy into three.
Had Mai declared an attack, she would have won the duel. Yami even confessed it to her as he revealed his Monster Recovery card. The card allowed him to call back his monsters, reshuffle his deck, and draw a new hand. But there wasn't a card in his hand that could take down Mai's Harpies. If he couldn't attack, he could at least defend. The monster he played in defense mode was Mystical Elf. Being a feminine monster, she was immune to the power of Mai's Shadow of Eyes. Seeing that, Mai played Monster Reborn to revive Harpy's Pet Dragon. And since the Pet Dragon receives 300 attack points for every Harpy Lady in play and since Mai had three, the Pet Dragon had 2900 attack points. To destroy his last defense, that Harpies combined their powers and sent Mystical Elf to the Graveyard.
Everything was riding on this next draw. Yugi had to believe not just in himself, but in the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. So many people were counting on the both of them: Joey and Serenity, Seto and Mokuba, even Solomon. And his faith came through as he played Swords of Revealing Light. Yami wasn't sure if three turns would be enough. He already lost his best cards throughout the beginning of the duel, but Yami remembered one more hidden deep within their deck. Still, three turns may not be enough. For now, they had to steady themselves. To complete his move, Yami summoned Kuriboh.
Mai couldn't take Kuriboh seriously as a part of Yami's strategy to go down in a blaze of victory, but there wasn't anything she could do as long as Yami's Swords were in play. So she drew her card and told Yami it was his move. The card Yami drew from his deck was Polymerization, not the one he needed to complete his strategy. Instead, he played Monster Reborn to resurrect Gaia the Fierce Knight. Now he had the right monsters on the field. He just needed the right spell. To Mai, Yami was just prolonging his defeat, but she didn't tell him so as she drew her card. Yami drew his next card, Winged Dragon and Guardian of the Fortress. It still wasn't the right card. Mai drew her last card, ending her turn and the effects of Yami's Swords of Revealing Light.
This was Yami's last chance. If he didn't draw the right card, everyone would lose everything and Pegasus would gain everything. But it was not Yugi who was in doubt, but the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. No, I don't think I can do this, he thought. In front of him was no longer the dueling deck, but a door that carried the image of the back of a card. Yugi was right. There's too much riding on the draw of this next card. I shouldn't be risking Yugi's friends and family this way. It's too dangerous. I can't.
We can do it, voiced Yugi's thoughts, together. And he placed his hand over his partner's. I'm with you and we're not alone. Then Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Emily appeared around them. We have the support of all of my friends just like I've had from the beginning.
Seeing everyone smile in encouragement, Yami was no longer in doubt. With all of you at my side, I was foolish to lose faith.
Yugi nods. It's like you said, we have to trust in each other and in the Heart of the Cards. When we put our hearts in the game, there's nothing we can't do! Together, they opened the door revealing the path to their victory and releasing a great power. Back in the match, Yugi and his partner got the card they needed to win the duel: Black Luster Ritual. Placing the card on the table, its powers were invoked, sacrificing Yami's monsters, combining their energies together, intertwining the forces of light and darkness, and opening the gates of chaos to bring forth the Black Luster Soldier. With a mighty swing of his Chaos Blade, the Soldier slew Harpy's Pet Dragon and dealt 100 points of damage to Mai.
The duel is over, Pegasus wondered, witnessing the awesome power of Yami's monster. Mai's spirit is broken.
Looking down at her hand, Mai saw the last Harpy Lady card she had. If she had waited one more turn, she could have played it to strengthen her Dragon once more and win the duel. But now she had nothing left. To concede the match, Mai placed her hand over her deck. Before she left the arena, Yami called to her. Mai stopped and gave him her attention. "Thank you," he was telling her. "You reminded me that a duelist can learn more from defeat than victory and you were correct. But you, Mai, you taught me a lot today. You helped me to confront my own fears and weakness. If you hadn't, I would never have won."
Mai appreciated what Yami was telling her, but also admitted there was still much for her to learn not just in Duel Monsters, but in life. But she had to remember that no duelist can go on without learning. At the same time, defeat doesn't have to be forever. For that matter, Mai promised to face Yami in the arena again someday. Looking forward to when that day would come, Yami and Mai winked at each other and held their thumbs up.