Mind Games Part 2
I don't own Digimon or Yu-Gi-Oh
"Feeling lightheaded?" Marik asked, looking at Mai who looked at him with a vacant stare. "Since I'm erasing the memories from your mind, that's to be expected."
"Mai looks like she's in a really bad way you guys." Tristan said as he and the others looked at the woman worried.
"You can do it Mai, we're all here for you!" Tea shouted. Mai blinked and looked over at Tea, but she saw nobody.
"That's weird, whose voice is that? And where is it coming from?" she thought, trying to understand what was going on.
"She's not answering me. And what's with that blank stare?" Tea asked the others.
"So, it's true, Tea has been erased from Mai's mind." Yami thought, his eyes glinting dangerously at the thought of one of he and Yugi's close friends being harmed this way.
Marik meanwhile chuckled to himself. "Embrace your memories while you still have them my dear, it will not be long until everything and everyone is wiped from your mind forever." He thought. He then drew a card and smirked. "Now then, it's my turn. I set one card face down, and then I summon Makyura the Destructor in Attack mode." He said, one card appearing face down to his right before the newly summoned monster appeared.
The monster was a tall humanoid being covered in metal armour, it had three sharp long claws on each hand and a single eye shaped like the eye on the Millennium Items and it had 1600 Attack points and 1200 Defence points. "I now play a magic card, Black Pendant and I equip it to my monster, giving it an extra 500 points."
A necklace shaped like a scarab beetle with purple gems appeared around Makyura the Destructor's Neck and its Attack points rose to 2100.
"Oh no, his monster is stronger than my Unfriendly Amazon, he's going to attack." Mai thought.
"This is all too easy, millennia's worth of ancient magical powers against one mere mortal." Marik thought darkly. "Time to say goodbye to another one of your friends. Now Makyura the Destructor, attack with Three Claw Slash!" he commanded.
"I don't think so." Mai said as Marik's monster rushed towards her monster. "Activate face down card, Amazon Archers." Five Amazon women appeared in front of her, all equipped with bows and each woman fired an arrow at Makyura striking its legs and stopping it in its tracks. "Now your monster's attack points are reduced by 500 leaving them back where they started."
"Very clever." Marik praised.
"Now it's my monster's turn to attack. Go my Unfriendly Amazon, Soaring Slash Attack!" Mai said, her monster ran towards Makyura and she leapt into the air and swung her sword down cutting Marik's monster in half. "Maybe that will erase someone from your mind."
A ghostly image of Strings appeared for a moment before shattering like glass. "Why, thank you." Marik said as his life-points fell to 1950. Mai blinked, confused at why he was thanking her for erasing some of his memories. "You see, I prefer to be alone. There is no one in my mind worth remembering, so destroy my monsters and erase all my servants from my mind."
"Your nuts." Mai said with a frown.
"Perhaps, but I am sane enough to have caught you in my trap. When a monster that I control while wearing my Black Pendant is destroyed my opponent loses 500 life-points." Mai explained as Mai's life-points dropped to 3500. "And I'm afraid there is more bad news coming for you my dear. By destroying Makyura the Destructor, you activated its special ability. I can now play trap cards from my hand for this turn without the need to set them on the field, and I think it serves me well to play this card now. Rope of Life!"
Marik activated his trap card, and it appeared on the field before floating into the air and a rope fell from it into a dark portal that opened under it. "This card allows me to bring back a monster from my Graveyard and empowers it with 800 extra Attack points."
"It can't be!" Mai gasped, watching as a monster grabbed hold of the rope and was slowly dragged out of the dark portal.
"Oh, but it can." Marik said with a smirk. Makyura the Destructor emerged from the hole and stood in front of Marik once again. "Now Makyura the Destructor destroy her Unfriendly Amazon now!" he commanded, his monster shot towards Mai's monster and slashed her across the chest twice with both sets of claws and the Amazon let out a silent cry of pain before it exploded in shards of light.
"As she goes, so does another one of your precious friends." Marik told her and Mai's eyes widened as she saw a ghostly image of Joey appear, the young boy grinning at her before he slowly began fading away.
"No Joey! Please don't go!" she begged.
"So, how does it feel to have your mind wiped clean of two dear friends?" Marik asked with a sadistic grin.
"He's slipping away…I can barely see him. I feel so alone." Mai whispered, her eyes glazing over and her mind becoming cloudy as all memories of the young boy faded from her mind. "It's nothing new…" she thought, memories of her childhood surfacing in her mind.
"Feels just like when I was a kid, always alone, I had nobody. Even after I got my first job and discovered Duel Monsters, I was still just a lonely kid. I decided to play by my own rules, until that day on the boat to Duelist Kingdom where I met Daisuke and Yugi, it was then I found people I could be friends with, and over time, they began growing on me. Sure, they were weird at times, but they were nice weirdos, and my loneliness was gone but now I'm losing the only real friends I ever had, I'm just like a lonely kid again."
"Yes, feel the pain, the heartbreak. The torment of losing your mind, no one said Shadow Games were pleasant." Marik said, chuckling darkly as the woman fell to her knees and Joey ran up to the duel arena.
"Mai, you okay!?" he called up to the older woman. "Ground control to Mai, come in Mai!" he shouted, Mai only glanced at him with a vacant stare.
"Alright, this ain't making a lick of sense, first she ignores Tea and now she ignores me?" the young boy asked, looking back at the others.
"She's not ignoring you Joey, Marik has used the power of this Shadow Game to erase her memory of you from her mind." Yami told him with a grim frown.
"Say what, no way she could forget this handsome face of mine." Joey said before he began calling out to Mai trying to jog her memory of him.
"Alright, two can play at this game. If Marik is going to use shadow powers to hurt Mai, then I will use them to help her. I have to show her that she is not alone in this. She needs to know that she won't be wandering alone in the shadows forever." Yami thought, the Millennium Puzzle began to glow with the Millennium symbol appearing on his forehead.
Inside Mai's mind, the woman was wandering aimlessly in the darkness while Marik watched on with a smirk, suddenly a bright warm light began to appear behind him, and he turned to face it. Mai feeling the warmth on her back, turned around seeing Yami slowly emerge from the light. "You're not alone Mai."
"Yugi? What're you doing up here?" Mai asked him, covering her eyes from the bright light.
"That is what I would like to know as well." Marik growled, glaring at the spirit who ignored his glare for now, his attention solely focused on Mai.
"Listen to me Mai, you can't let Marik's illusions distract you."
"Illusions? You mean this whole thing is a fantasy but it all seems so real." Mai said.
"But only because the world you're in now makes it seem real. Win this duel and you will return to life as you know it." Yami reassured her.
"But…I…I don't know if I can. I feel so empty inside, I'm all alone." She whispered.
Marik smirked on hearing her say that before a faint voice began breaking through the darkness. "Mai don't give up. We are here for you, beat this creep. Show him you won't be pushed around by his games!"
"Daisuke!" She gasped, looking around as Daisuke's voice and the voices of Joey and the others began to echo around them.
"That girl continues to be a thorn in my side." Marik snarled to himself.
"Listen Mai, no matter how dark these shadows may seem, your friends will always be there to help." Yami told her before he and the light faded from Mai's mind.
"Thank you." Mai whispered, looking at Yami as she slowly got back to her feet while Marik clenched his Millennium Rod tightly.
"That runt, how dare he interfere in my games. I'll make him pay dearly for this, him and all his little friends." He thought. He then smirked at Mai. "Is the danger too much for you my dear?" he taunted.
"Your head games don't frighten my Marik." She replied.
"Suit yourself. But do realise when I am finished with you, your brain will be nothing but an empty shell." Marik told her.
"Then bring it on Marik, I've never backed out of a duel and I won't start now." She told him and he chuckled lowly.
"Then prepare to lose it all."
"That's what you think, but the scare tactics won't work on me sweetheart, so get ready because it's my move." Mai said, she drew her next card. "I play Amazon Chain Master in Attack mode." Her new monster appeared on the field, a tall muscular woman with toned abs, long brown hair done up in a ponytail and around both her arms was a long length of chain with a hooked end, swinging side to side. "And I also set one card face down." A card appeared on the field behind her monster.
"Your monster is weak." Marik said, seeing that Mai's new monster had only 1500 Attack points, nowhere near enough to destroy his Makyura the Destructor monster.
"That's what he thinks, but when he attacks, I'll activate my secret weapon." Mai thought.
Marik drew his next card and chuckled. "When Makyura the Destructor destroys your Chain Master, another one of your little friends will be gone from your memories. If you wish for that not to happen, do not summon such weak and pitiful monsters." He advised her.
"Now I summon Holding Arms." He continued, summoning a new monster to the field. Everyone looked at it and were confused by its appearance, it was a floating pair of shackles made of gold with the symbol of the Millennium Items on it and it only had 500 Attack points. "It may not look like much, but Holding Arms has enough power to stop your monster, Holding Arms attack her Chain Master!"
Holding Arms flew towards Mai's monster and the ends of the shackles grabbed both of its arms and lifted the monster into the air as it struggled, trying to escape from them. "Why wasn't Holding Arms destroyed?" Mokuba asked.
"It is an incredibly weak monster; however, it must have some sort of special ability that protects it from being destroyed by battle." White Veemon answered.
"Holding Arms prevents your monster from attacking for three whole turns, that should give me plenty of time to wreak havoc on your mind." Marik told Mai.
"Marik, stop these mind games and just duel!" Yami demanded.
"This is how I duel. You see, Duel Monsters and the Shadow Realm are intertwined, I am simply playing the game as it was intended to be played. Unfortunately, fate has decided that Mai be the one to take part in this Shadow Game today." Marik said with a smirk.
"You're insane." Yami told him.
"And why is that because I duel using ancient magic? You do the same when you tap into the power of your Millennium Puzzle, don't you?"
"Yes, but not to spread evil!"
"Hey, Yugi." Mai said, making him look at her. "I appreciate the support, but I am the one dueling. I can look after myself from now on." She told him.
"Yami." Daisuke said, grabbing her friend by his clothing forcing him to look at her. "You're not gonna just stand here and let Mai get hurt, are you?" she asked in worry for her friend.
"I am. You said it yourself, she can look after herself. We have to trust her." He answered.
Daisuke frowned and looked up at Mai. "I hope we don't regret not helping her later." She thought.
"It's my move." Mai said. "Go face down, the all-powerful Grave Arm." Her face down card flipped up showing a large hand reaching from the grave. "This card lets me send one monster on the field to the Graveyard."
"How foolish, my Holding Arms are still indestructible right now. You can't get rid of them yet." Marik told her.
"I know. But who said I was destroying your monster?" Mai asked with a cocky smirk.
"What?" Marik growled, raising an eyebrow as a large hand rose out of the ground in front of Mai, reaching up it grabbed her Amazon Chain Master, pulling her free of Holding Arms. "You're sacrificing your own monster, are you that desperate to keep hold of your own memories?"
"That's not the only reason why I sent my Amazon Chain Master to the Graveyard. By sacrificing 1000 of my own life-points, I can use her special ability to take a card from your deck." Mai explained, her monster beginning to spin its chain in the air while Mai's life-points fell to 2100.
"Really, and the card I pick is your Egyptian God Card, the Winged Dragon of Ra." Mai told him, her monster sending its chain towards Marik and it hit his deck of Duel Monster cards before pulling one over to Mai and she caught it, showing the Egyptian God Card in her hand.
"Awesome, she took Marik's card!" Daisuke cheered.
"You don't look so hot without your best card now do you?" Mai asked with a smirk.
"Enjoy holding that card while you can, the only way you would keep it is by defeating me." Marik told her.
"Oh, I plan to, but I think I'll take it for a test drive." Mai replied.
"She now holds the strongest monster in the whole game, but she doesn't know how to use it." Marik thought, a sinister grin on his face.
"Interesting turn of events." Kaiba mused, watching the duel with his arms crossed.
"She may win now she has The Winged Dragon of Ra." Mokuba said.
"Perhaps, but it all depends on if she has the skill to use such a powerful card." Kaiba thought. "She's a good duelist but is she good enough."
"It's my move." Mai said, drawing a card. "Okay, I need to sacrifice three monsters to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra, but so far, Marik has two and I have none." She thought.
"Go on, we're all waiting for you to show us the Egyptian God Card." Marik told her.
"Come on Mai, kick this creep's butt all the way to the insane asylum!" Joey cheered her on.
"I set two cards face down, and next I summon Amazon Fighter in Attack mode." Mai said, setting the two cards which appeared on the field in front of her before her new monster appeared, a woman with fiery red hair, bandages around her forearms and legs, a loincloth and a chest guard made of animal hide.
Her attack points were 1500, the same as Amazon Chain Master. "It's another weak Amazon, how sad. I'll eliminate her with ease along with a piece of your ever-shrinking mind." Marik said, drawing his next card. "Makyura the Destructor destroy her Amazon Fighter now!" he commanded.
His monster charged towards Amazon Fighter, rearing its arm back ready to slash her to ribbons with its claws.
"Hold on there bud, because now I activate one of my face down cards. Amazon Magician." Mai said activating one of her face down cards. "By activating this magic card, I've instantly swapped around the Attack points of both our monsters." She explained.
Both monsters gained an aura as Amazon Fighter's Attack points rose to 2400 while Makyura the Destructor's Attack points fell to 1500. "Now, Amazon Fighter destroy his monster along with another person from his memories." Mai commanded, her monster jumped into the air and kicked Makyura the Destructor in the head making the monster stumble back before its head exploded followed by the rest of its body and a faint image of Arkana appeared.
"I never much cared for that fool Arkana." Marik said with a cruel sneer, earning a glare from Daisuke. She had not forgotten how Marik had used Arkana's love for his beloved to trick him into dueling for him only to rob him of his mind when he was no longer of any use to him.
"Looks like Makyura the Destructor is destroyed." Mai said as Marik's life-points fell to 1050.
"He's almost down to 1000 life-points!" Joey cheered, hugging Daisuke who smiled slightly before turning her attention back to the duel as Marik chuckled.
"A small price to pay to have you caught within my trap!" he shouted.
"A trap?" Mai whispered.
"Yes, activate face down card. Card of Last Will!" Marik shouted, his face down card flipping up showing a hand emerging from a grave, holding five duel monster cards in it.
"Card of Last Will?"
"Yes, it allows me to draw until I have five cards in my hand when the Attack of one of my monsters is decreased." Marik explained, drawing four cards from his deck as he had drawn a card when he began his turn.
"Now he has a brand-new hand." Yami said.
"And Makyura the Destructor's ability activates again." Daisuke added.
"This Shadow Game is quite amusing, thanks to Makyura the Destructor's ability that activates when it is sent to the Graveyard, I now can activate a Trap Card from my hand once again. So, prepare to live out your worst nightmares. I play the card, Nightmare Wheel!"
In a flash of light, a giant skeletal looking jaw appeared in the air, floating above Marik with Mai's eyes widening in shock as she saw her Amazon Fighter trapped on the large metal wheel held in the jaw. "Not only does it trap your Amazon Fighter, but the Nightmare Wheel will also take 500 life-points from you every turn."
Mai smirked and held her hand on her hip. "I was expecting something I couldn't handle."
"Pardon me?" Marik asked.
"I knew you would try something like this, so now I play my second face down card. Rescue Operation." Mai answered, activating her second face down card.
"This allows me to rescue my Amazon Fighter from your Nightmare Wheel, returning it to my hand while allowing me to summon a brand-new monster." Her Amazon Fighter was freed from the Nightmare Wheel and the card returned to Mai's hand.
"So, you plan to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra?" Marik asked.
"Not yet, but don't worry. I'll summon it by the end of my next turn." Mai answered confidently.
"How is she gonna pull that off?" Daisuke thought as the others watched on.
"I summon Cyber Harpie." Mai said, summoning a Harpie Lady which had 1800 Attack points and 1300 Defence points. "And now it's my turn." She said, drawing a card and looking at it, smiling slightly. "Now I activate the card I just drew, Graceful Charity, this will allow me to draw three cards at the cost of then discarding two cards from my hand." She did just that and looked at the three cards in her hand, they were The Winged Dragon of Ra, Gravity Bind and Elegant Egotist.
"Oh I am so good." She said to herself. "Now the moment you've all been waiting for, ready sweetheart?" She asked Marik who smirked.
"The Winged Dragon!" Kaiba said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"But she needs three monsters to summon it right?" Joey asked, scratching his head.
"She has." Daisuke answered. "From that smile on her face, I'd say she's got just the card she needs."
"Now I play Elegant Egotist, this magic card will turn my one Harpie Lady into three!" Mai said, her single Harpie Lady glowed brightly before dividing into three familiar monsters. "Give a big Battle City hello to the Harpie Lady Sisters." She said with a smile, as Marik's grin began to increase. "I now sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
Her three Harpie Ladies swirled around creating a tornado which rose into the air, everyone looked up in awe before a bright light burst into view in the sky causing everyone to cover their eyes. "Here it comes." Kaiba said with a smirk, long having waited to see the third and final Egyptian God Card.
As the light slowly began to fade, Mai looked up at her newly summoned monster only to blink several times in confusion, not believing what she had seen.
"What is that thing?" she asked.
"That is The Winged Dragon of Ra, and it has sealed itself inside that sphere." Marik answered.
"No way!" Kaiba thought.
"This isn't good." Yami said.
"But how do I use it?" Mai asked, looking at the Egyptian God Card, sweat dripping down her face.
"You can't control it you fool; you'll never be able to unlock its ancient powers!" Marik thought.
The end of the chapter
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