Duel Identity Part 2
I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh
"Mai has Yugi on the ropes, she's brought him down to 300 life-points and she hasn't lost any." Joey said looking down at the duel from the balcony with worry.
"As long as that Shadow of Eyes card is on the field, I can't play any of my monsters in defence mode, but if I try to attack, they lose half their power when they hit Mai's Mirror Wall." Yugi thought as he tried to think of a plan.
"Please let me help you Yugi." Yami pleaded from within his Puzzle.
"No, I can't risk turning you loose." Yugi thought back. Pegasus looked over at Yugi and chuckled to himself.
"Poor Yugi boy seems to have a lot on his mind, I sense much conflict. Instead of embracing the power of his Millennium Item he seems to be resisting its power and that will be his undoing." He thought watching the young duellist closely.
"Mai's played this duel flawlessly. Without any of her silly card tricks, could it be that it was sheer dumb luck that I beat her?" Daisuke asked herself and Mai looked over at the girl.
"It wasn't luck Daisuke. You won that duel because you knew something I didn't." she said making everyone look at her. "I learned more from that duel than any other I've ever played, I learned a lesson from you that day that I never really wanted to learn. I didn't know it then, but it changed me and the way I looked at duelling. I had to take a hard look at myself and realise the reason I relied on tricks was because I was afraid, afraid to trust in my own abilities, afraid to trust in myself. Like you trusted in yourself Daisuke and facing up to that wasn't easy believe me."
"You've really changed Mai." Yugi said with a small smile.
"Daisuke do you know why you managed to make it to the final round of this tournament?" Mai asked.
"Because I had my friends supporting me the whole way, without them I probably wouldn't be here now." Daisuke answered with a smile that made the others all smile in agreement except Kaiba who kept his normal expression.
"That's true, you did have your friends all the way. But you also had the guts to look inside and face what you saw there, you looked your demons in the eye and dealt with them. And that's a lesson everyone should learn." Mai continued looking Yugi dead in the eyes. "You taught me that a duellist can learn more from her defeats then from her victories, you taught me to face up to my fears not just bottle them up. So Yugi, have you faced up to your fears? Whatever freaked you out in your battle with Kaiba, have you come to grips with it?" she questioned Yugi.
"How can I? Kaiba was willing to risk anything in our duel and Yami was willing to do anything to stop him." He thought. "But if I had attacked then Kaiba could have been seriously hurt or worse, and I couldn't let that happen even if it cost me the duel. No matter how much I need to rescue grandpa, hurting someone else is something I will not do." he continued to think as he found himself on his knees with Yami behind him with his back to him.
"I meant no harm, I only wanted to help. I vow to never go against your wishes again." Yami promised.
"How can I believe you?" Yugi asked looking at the spirit before getting to his feet.
"Your grandfather once told you to trust in the power of the Millennium Item, remember?" Yami asked him.
"Maybe you're right." Yugi thought as his Millennium Puzzle glowed for the first time in the duel and Yami took over as he transformed. "Mai, thanks for reminding me that a true duellist faces their problems, you're right I was holding back but not any longer."
"About time." Daisuke thought with a smile as she heard her brother cheering from the balcony above.
"You're a little late to the party Yugi, I've been playing for real this whole time." Mai thought.
"Ok here we go." Yami said as he drew his next card.
"Just remember you promised to duel my way." Yugi reminded him.
"I know, and my word is my bond." Yami replied before looking at the card and he nodded. "I play the Magic Card Brain Control."
"What does that card do?" Mai asked as a giant brain appeared on the field which began giving off a weird noise.
"With this I can take control of any monster for a turn on your side of the field, I'll use it to take control of Harpies Pet Dragon." Yami answered as the dragon turned to face Mai's Harpie Lady which cried out in shock at seeing its most loyal monster turn on it.
"Nice trick Yugi, but even brainwashed my dragon would never attack its master. You just made your final mistake." Mai said with a smile before Yami smirked slightly.
"I know that Mai, but I don't intend to attack with your dragon." He said confusing Mai. "First I play this card face down, and then summon Catapult Turtle." He said as his monster appeared on the field. "Now let's load the catapult with your dragon in attack mode." He said and Harpie's Pet Dragon flew onto the launcher and the Mirror Wall appeared. "Since I declared an attack your Mirror Wall has activated, and I'm going to knock it down with your own dragon."
"Oh no, the Catapult Turtle has the power to destroy walls and fortresses." Mai thought.
"Catapult launch!" Yami shouted and his monster launched Mai's dragon sending it smashing through the Mirror Wall destroying it.
"Way to go!" Daisuke cheered with a grin as the others cheered also.
"He shattered my Mirror Wall to pieces." Mai said in shock as her life-points also dropped to 850.
"And that's not all I did, since I used your dragon to destroy the Mirror Wall, half of its attack points get deducted from your life-points. The tide of this battle is turning Mai." Yami told her.
"Most interesting, Yugi has regained his inner strength." Pegasus thought watching the duel with newfound interest while Hatori was also interested.
"It's my move." Mai said drawing a card and she looked at her hand and at the field. "Hm the only monster Yugi has on the field is that reptilian launch pad, I could send Harpie Lady to destroy it and Yugi's life-points will drop to zero and I'd be the winner. But there is his face down card, if it's a trap I'd be walking right into it and that could finish me. This is the toughest decision I've had to make all game, to attack or not to attack."
"Bring on your assault Mai." Yami said with determination in his eyes making Mai take a step back slightly in surprise.
"Now I will…not attack. I'm not falling for your trap and there are other moves I can make. For example, I can use Elegant Egotist to triple my Harpie attack force." Mai said playing the magic card and her Harpie Lady glowed before splitting into three Harpie Ladies each with the Cyber Shield armour and each with an Attack of 2450 and a Defence of 2100.
"Hm that's too bad Mai, you should have attacked." Yami told her.
"Oh really?" she asked.
"Yes, if you had attacked you would have won." Yami said.
"But your trap card…" Mai whispered and Yami revealed his face down card.
"It wasn't a trap Mai, it was the Monster Recovery card. You fell for my bluff, it's a whole new duel now Mai. For my turn I'll activate the Monster Recovery card. Put all my monsters back into my deck, re-shuffle and draw five new cards." Yami explained as his Catapult Turtle left the field and Yami began to shuffle his deck before drawing five new cards to see he drew Celtic Guardian, Kuriboh, Monster Reborn, Mystical Elf and Griffore.
"Hm looks like you didn't draw any monsters strong enough to defeat my Harpie Ladies." Mai said with a smile.
"She's right, what can I do…maybe this will work." Yami thought. "I'll play a monster in defence mode."
"But you can't, Shadow of Eyes lures all monsters into battle remember?" Mai asked before the monster was revealed and it was the Mystical Elf.
"All monsters? Your Shadow of Eyes may lure men into battle, but it doesn't work on female monsters." Yami reminded as his monster continued chanting softly while a soft blue aura surrounded the monster.
"Phew close call." Joey said wiping his forehead while the others all sighed in relief.
"But it won't take Mai long to destroy his Mystical Elf." Bakura said as Mai drew her next card.
"Alright let's see where we stand, you're on the board with one measly elf, and it's my turn. First I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back an old friend." She said playing the card.
"Monster Reborn, oh crap that means…" Daisuke said watching as Harpies' Pet Dragon returned to the field only this time its Attack points were 2900, 300 for each of the three Harpie Ladies on the field.
"Yep, Harpies' Pet Dragon is back and so much stronger then he was before. Now then Harpie Ladies combine your power and wipe out his Mystical Elf." Mai commanded and her three Harpie Ladies charged orbs of energy between their hands before they combined them into a triangle shaped beam that slammed into Yami's monster destroying it.
"She wiped out his last defence." Tea cried out in worry.
"Your time has run out Yugi, next turn I wipe out the remainder of your life-points, and then looks like I'll go onto the finals." Mai said with a smile. "He might as well admit it, I'm unstoppable there isn't anything he can do now." She thought as Yami looked at his deck.
"There must be something I can do, but I need more time. The next card I draw will be the one that decides the fates of so many lives. But what if I don't draw the right card, what'll happen to Grandpa, or to Daisuke, Joey and their sister?" Yugi thought.
"Trust in yourself Yugi, and trust in the Heart of the Cards." Yami reassured him as he drew his next card.
"Come on we both know I'll wipe out any card you play." Mai said with a confident smirk only for her eyes to widen in shock at Yami's next move.
"Swords of Revealing Light!" he shouted and the magical swords appeared on Mai's side of the field freezing her monsters in place.
"You've got to be kidding me, he actually drew Swords of Revealing Light? How could he be this lucky?" she asked herself in shock.
"Alright that buys Yami some time." Joey said with a grin. "Let's hope he can turn this duel around."
"Decided to go down fighting huh? You know I would have taken a surrender but if you want to end this duel in a blaze of glory fine by me." Mai told Yami who smiled.
"What I intend to do Mai is to go out in a blaze of victory." He replied. "Harpies' Pet Dragon is her strongest monster, unless we can defeat it, we don't have a chance." He thought.
"Any ideas?" Yugi asked him.
"There is one way that might work, but only at great risk. It involves the Black Luster Ritual, but three turns might not be enough." Yami answered.
"What card is that?" Yugi asked.
"If I can draw the right cards then you will see soon enough." Yami answered before he made his move. "My only move for this turn will be to summon Kuriboh." He said summoning the monster which made Mai sweatdrop.
"Oh great, it's the attack of the killer hairballs." She muttered which irritated Kuriboh causing him to begin cooing angrily at her. "Oh no watch out, I think he intends to attack Harpies Pet Dragon by himself." She said before laughing while holding her stomach only to see Yami wasn't laughing.
"Laugh all you want Mai, but don't mistake Kuriboh for a joke when he is a crucial step on my way to victory in this duel." He said.
"That hairball couldn't be the step on the way to anything, except maybe for choking a cat. Anyway, I can't attack so as long as Swords of Revealing Light are still in play, so I draw this card and end my turn." She said drawing her card. "But soon you're going to be history, count on it."
"That Kuriboh was a good start, but with just the cards in my hand I can't begin the Black Luster Ritual." Yami thought drawing his next card which was Polymerization and he frowned. "But this isn't the card I need."
"I don't know what you're playing kiddo but if you're going to lose you might as well lose with flair." Mai thought.
"This card worked for you, Monster Reborn and I will use it to bring back Gaia the Fierce Knight." Yami said and his knight appeared beside Kuriboh.
"Well at least he's an improvement over that furball." Mai muttered drawing another card. "Two turns to go." She reminded.
"That'll be enough Mai." Yami said drawing his next card only to see it was the Winged Dragon: Guardian of the Fortress. "Still not the right card." He thought.
"What is he planning?" Kaiba asked Daisuke as both watched Yugi closely.
"I've got no idea, but from the look in his eyes I can tell he's not worried." Daisuke said with a smile. "He can do this."
"You better be right." Kaiba said while Pegasus looked at Yami and smiled slightly.
"Ah I see, very daring Yugi-boy. You mean to attempt the legendary Black Luster Ritual, but you've only one turn left to draw the right card. Are you willing to risk it all on a single draw?" Pegasus thought.
"My turn now." Mai said as she drew a card and saw it was another Harpie Lady and she mentally cheered in delight. "I did it! I drew another Harpie Lady, on my next turn I can summon her and have a total of four Harpie Ladies and that'll raise my dragon's attack to 3200, once Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light are gone it's all over for him." She thought.
"Mai's not even trying to hide the smirk on her face, she's got so much firepower she thinks she can win." Joey said as the Swords of Revealing Light began fading away.
"My turn is over Yugi, on my next turn it's all over for you." Mai said as Yami looked at his deck.
"One turn left, it all comes down to this." He muttered reaching to draw his next card before he stopped. "No…what if I can't do this…it's too much of a risk putting this entire duel on the draw of a single card…"
"Hey don't give up!" Daisuke called over to Yami making him look at her. "We're all behind you so don't you dare chicken out now, remember what you're duelling for!" she told him.
"She's right kick her butt! We know you can do it!" Joey cheered jumping onto the railing with a grin, Yami looked up at the others to see them all cheering him on also.
"They're right we can do this." Yugi said and Yami nodded and he reached for his deck and slowly drew his next card causing Pegasus' eye to widen.
"Such power, I've never felt this kind of tremendous strength before, never." He thought as Yami looked at the card he drew and smiled.
"Well Mai, you put up a good fight but now the duel ends." He said turning the card around to show Mai which made her eyes widen in shock. "And it begins with this card, Black Luster Ritual!"
"Whoa no way," Daisuke whispered in awe as two large urns appeared behind Yami's monsters along with a large stone square between them with the symbol of two swords over a shield.
"The Black Luster Ritual works by sacrificing all the monsters I have placed on the field." Yami said as both his monstered glowed before turning into streams of green energy that flew into the urns while the stone square rose up as blue flames shot out of urns. "The forces of light and darkness intertwine, opening the gates of chaos allowing me to summon the Black Luster Soldier!" he shouted as a new monster jumped out of the stone square in a flash of golden light.
"Whoa…" Joey whispered in awe of the new monster which had black and gold armour, a sword and shield and a purple aura surrounding it that radiated with power and everyone saw its Attack was 3000 and its Defence was 2500.
"The Black Luster Soldier, I can't believe you summoned it." Mai whispered both in awe and disbelief.
"Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Blade Attack!" Yami ordered and his warrior swung down its sword sending a wave of energy into Harpie's Pet Dragon ripping it to pieces and Mai's life-points dropped to 750 while she and her Harpie Ladies watched on in shock.
"Just like that…my most power monster…gone…" she whispered.
"This is insane, for a minute there I didn't think Yami would pull it off." Joey said in awe.
"I don't think Mai did either." Tristan said.
"Who knew there would be a way to bring out such a monster from his deck, good show." Bakura said looking at Yami's monster as Mai slumped over her console.
"The duel is over; Mai's spirit has been broken. She's lost the will to fight on." Pegasus thought looking over at Mai.
"One turn away…if only I had been able to play one more Harpie Lady before the Black Luster Soldier appeared I would have won, but I can't revive the dragon again and nothing in my deck can defeat that ultimate warrior." She thought placing her hand on her deck in defeat making everyone look at her.
"Mai…does this mean you surrender?" Yami asked her.
"No way…" Joey whispered.
"What just happened?" Tea asked looking at the others confused.
"Mai surrendered, when a duellist places their hand over the deck like that it means they concede the duel." Bakura explained.
"I'd rather not see my Harpie Ladies destroyed next turn, the duel is yours Yugi." Mai said gathering her cards before turning to walk away but stopped when Yami called out to her.
"Thank you, Mai, you said a duellist can learn more from defeat than victory and you were correct. But you Mai, you taught me a lot today. I had to confront my own fears, my own weaknesses or I could never have defeated you." He said.
"It's awfully nice to hear you say that Yugi, but it seems that I still have a lot to learn. About duelling and about myself, but then I suppose no duellist ever learns all there is to know maybe the most important lesson is that defeat doesn't have to be forever. You won this duel Yugi, but there will be others and we'll meet again in a duel." She promised turning back and winking at Yami who smiled and nodded before Mai walked off leaving the arena.
The end of the chapter
Read and review