"Wait! Gandora!" Yugi yelped as he ran to Hakairyuu's side. Other dragons turned to Yugi, probably because "Gandora" wasn't the best indicator of who he was talking to. Yugi ignored them because the only dragon he wanted the attention of didn't turn to him. Instead, Hakairyuu's focus was on Giga as the two strode past the pool of water to the middle of the camp. Both dragons were still in the shadow of the large crystal cluster.
"Don't do this!" Yugi said as he finally caught up to Hakairyuu and stopped her by lightly tugging on her tail. While she was trying to remain tall and fearless, Yugi could see signs of worry on her face.
Yugi tried to speak again, but he was breathing too heavily. It didn't help that his headache seemed to throb every few seconds. Hakairyuu, once she realized how weak Yugi was, kneeled down and shifted her body to block him from the other Gandoras' view.
"Didn't we come to make peace with the Gandora? Not start more fights?" Yugi managed to gasp. He attempted to stand to face his friend but found he had to lean forward to rest on his knees.
"Yugi…" Hakairyuu glanced back to Giga, who was very impatiently pacing on one side of the clearing. She then shook her head. "I have to do this."
"But, isn't there another way without fighting?"
"I'm sure there is, but I think this is the fastest way to get it through Giga's thick skull that-" Hakairyuu paused and took in a deep breath. She then let it out as a puff of smoke. "The Gandora tradition of dueling for leadership is the fastest way to get Giga and the others on our side." She then gently lifted Yugi's chin so he wasn't looking down. "These duels are never to the death. I'll be fine."
"The last battle Giga arranged seemed more life-threatening," Yugi said, remembering his first battle with Hakairyuu. Back then, Giga wanted to leave Hakairyuu buried under a collapsed rock pillar. He also attempted to trick Yugi into stabbing her as a last-ditch effort to strengthen her.
"I really can't account for the change in Giga. While he's always been a grump, he's never been this…." They both turned to Giga to see him still impatiently pacing. He had become a caged predator, eager for his meat to be thrown in through his bars. Hakairyuu could only shake her head. "…I hope this fight will knock some sense into him."
Before Yugi could argue, Hakairyuu placed a claw on his lips. "I admit it's for a very selfish reason, but I need to do this." Yugi understood her unsaid reasons for this duel, but that didn't mean he liked them. He could only look up pleadingly in response. This made Hakairyuu laugh. Her next words were in a much more joking voice. "I mean, how often would someone get such a good excuse to beat up their ex than saving their archetype?"
Yugi was about to try to dissuade her again when his legs gave out. He started to fall forward, only for Hakairyuu to catch him.
"I don't want you hurt again," Yugi said as he hugged her arm. "If you really must, let me help you. As a spirit partner maybe, I can-"
"Oh, come now, little one. You don't think I'm strong enough to beat that big old brute? You wound me." Hakairyuu said in a strained laugh. "Besides, this has to be one-on-one. You getting involved in any way would turn the whole horde against us."
Yugi sighed in defeat. "Gandora, please be careful…."
Hakairyuu leaned down and nuzzled Yugi's head. "Call me Hakairyuu. It is my name. I don't know why I was so ashamed to use it before."
At that moment, Dark Magician Girl floated over to the two. The domain leader made it look like she only came over to give Hakairyuu some comforting words. But she also came to help Yugi to his feet. Once Dark Magician Girl knew she couldn't convince Hakairyuu against the duel either, she somberly nodded.
"Good luck." Dark Magician Girl managed a convincing smile and then magically helped Yugi walk away.
Dark Magician Girl set Yugi down on a rock. Yugi had to use all his strength not to collapse into a nervous heap. Once they were situated, Hakairyuu gave them a thumbs up and went to stand in front of Giga. For what seemed like forever, the two simply stood there, sizing the other up. The other Gandora had gathered closer, making the walls of their arena. None in the horde dared speak, leaving the wind the only one brave enough to make a sound.
It was unbearably quiet between the two as everyone waited to see who would be the first to attack. This is why both Yugi and Dark Magician Girl jumped so high when they heard a group of Gandora gather near them. At first, the two were prepared for the worse, but the four Gandora didn't pay them any attention. Yugi thought they must have been trying to get away from the crowd.
"I hope Giga finishes this in one move. I don't think I could bear the usually long dance of trading damage." A large male Gandora whispered as he nervously chewed on his claws. Beside him was a tiny Gandora Yugi recognized as Pieire and two more females. One female had scars all across her chest and looked overly excited for the fight. The other female was taller than the rest of the group and seemed just as nervous as the big male.
"Have you've ever actually seen Hakairyuu in battle, Havoc? She's a flailing hatchling." The scarred female said with a dismissive sniff. "She won't know where to attack to actually knock Giga out. If Giga doesn't end her immediately by some miracle, she'll have no idea how to effectively use the damage. She'll just end up giving any strength she gained back to Giga. Then he'll go for the final blow."
"I don't know, Ruin. Growing up, Hakairyuu seemed to know where my weak spots were whenever she caught me stealing rations." Pieire said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"And Giga's been off for a while. He might do something stup-" The nervous female began to say when she was cut off by the scarred dragon named Ruin.
"Don't speak about Giga like that! Especially with…" Ruin used her tail to point out Yugi and Dark Magician Girl, who were trying to hide that they were listening. When Yugi knew he had been caught eavesdropping, he gave the dragons an awkward wave. The four immediately stiffened when they realized just how close they were to the human. Havoc just about bit off the rest of his nails, and the tall female and Pieire backed off a couple of steps, hiding behind Ruin.
"Don't mind us." Yugi tried to sound polite. Dark Magician Girl also gave them a tense smile. The group of four slunk away a couple of paces. They did their best to make it seem like they were getting better seats instead of fleeing. The tall female, in her nervousness, actually bowed to Yugi briefly before running after her friends.
"Why in the world did you bow to him, Mayhem?! He's the enemy!" Yugi heard Ruin admonish her friend.
"I don't know! He's the Pharaoh's host! What was I supposed to do?!" Mayhem squeaked
"Not show weakness, that's what!" Ruin continued, though her bravado sounded forced.
Yugi suppressed a smile. Was he something to be scared of? He knew he was famous amongst monsters, but Yugi hadn't thought of how threatening he might seem. However, any authority he might have had seemed to be lost on Giga, especially when Yugi refused to leave Hakairyuu buried. This thought just put Yugi more on edge as he fidgeted in his seat.
"Come on, Yugi. We can trust Hakairyuu." Dark Magician Girl tried to cheer him up. "It's not like you to have so little faith in your friends."
"It's not that I don't have faith in her! It's just... I've seen how strong she can be. She really is a powerful monster… But I've also seen her lose every single serious fight she's been in."
This comment made Dark Magician Girl turn worriedly to Yugi. "Really?"
"Her fight with me, her fight against the Silent mercenaries… She did tie with Silent Magician, but that might have been because Silent Magician was low on power." Yugi gulped.
A roar from both combatants signaled the beginning of the duel. Yugi braced himself for a loud clash of muscle and claws, but nothing came. The two simply began circling the other, staying distant by a few feet. Yugi and Dark Magician Girl watched intently, but nothing happened for what seemed like minutes. Yugi began to hope that maybe Gandora duels were only displays of dominance and not physical fights. That hope was dashed as Hakairyuu suddenly lunged forward, jaw stretched open in an attempt to shut around Giga's neck.
Giga, briefly looking away from Hakairyuu, gave her the chance to surprise him. A small smirk from Giga made Yugi think he had purposefully lured her into making the first attack. He expertly dodged her bite, pushing her off-course as if she was an annoying fly. He then used her natural unbalance to tackle her. She had no chance against his larger size as he used all his weight to pin her to the ground. Hakairyuu, though one of her arms was trapped under his grip, continued to block his close-ranged bites and punches with her free hand and wings.
Giga was dead set on biting Hakairyuu's neck. All his focus was on that target as he simply shrugged off her punches and scratches. Yugi was surprised that Giga never bit down hard if he couldn't get a direct bite, even giving up some grip on her other arm just so he could pull away quicker. Yugi at first thought that this might be a sign he didn't really want to hurt Hakairyuu. But it was a bright flicker from Hakairyuu's orbs that reminded Yugi of what Giga was actually trying to avoid.
Giga had managed to pin Hakairyuu's two arms and once again aimed for her neck. Hakairyuu, in her attempt to twist out of his clutches, managed to turn in such a way her wing was in the path of Giga's jaw, and he closed around it with a vice-like grip. The crimson flash of her orbs became the lightning before the wing's sickening crack and Hakairyuu's pained roar. Giga immediately realized his mistake, but by then, it was too late. The larger Gandora was thrown across the clearing like he was nothing more than a ragdoll.
Giga flew many feet before he hit the ground with a resounding thud. But as soon as the dust he kicked up cleared, he was back to his feet. Hakairyuu was already standing across the way, ready for the next attack, but none came. It became another game of the two circling each other; Hakairyuu flashing her newly lit orbs in threat whenever it looked like Giga was about to lunge. While Hakairyuu now had more power, the painful angle her wing now hung off her shoulder made any ground she gained seem almost not worth it.
"You must know how outmatched you are," Giga growled.
"While this fight has been very enlightening, being outmatched isn't something I've learned yet." Hakairyuu gave a pained smirk as she continued to match Giga's movements.
"Oh, and what have you learned?"
"Not learned, I just realized I have no idea what I ever saw in you before. I know you originally did it to protect your 'strong image,' but you really did me a favor when you broke up with me."
Giga sharply inhaled before he pounced at Hakairyuu with abandon. His sudden speed surprised Hakairyuu as she instinctively answered with an uppercut straight to his lower jaw. The following crack had Yugi and a few other Gandora flinch. Giga seemed not to notice any pain as his orbs flicked to life. Hakairyuu only had moments before Giga barreled into her belly. She was forced back but managed to stay on her feet. Yugi could almost hear the whole horde sigh in relief as the two began circling the other again.
"You were never made for fighting, worm! Just stick your neck out, and this can be over!" Giga snapped.
"I refuse to back down! I may have never enjoyed the war like you seemingly did, but-" Hakairyuu began before being cut off.
"Enjoyed? Enjoyed?! How could I have 'enjoyed' something like that!? You were never there to see how we were sent to our deaths every day, with our commanders fully supporting our demises. You never had to make the hard decisions to get as many back alive as possible. You simply sat back in camp, complaining of our 'fighting spirits' and contradicting everything we did to prove we were Gandora! Everything we did to keep ourselves sane!"
Hakairyuu paused for a moment, and Giga immediately set upon her hesitation. He pushed her into the side of the massive crystal cluster, the crash echoing around the ravine. While he had her trapped once again, Giga didn't attempt to bite her neck. Instead, he opened his mouth as a great light began to gather in his throat. Hakairyuu saw the building energy and seemed to freeze. Yugi and Dark Magician Girl froze too, as they feared their friend was now a deer in headlights. But right as Giga was about to unleash his attack, Hakairyuu raised both her feet and kicked hard into his gut. His grip loosened enough for her to fall to the ground, right as Giga breathed his attack.
Giga's built-up power hadn't been equal to the massive waves of energy Yugi had seen him breathe before, but it was still a devastating blast. The attack bore into the crystal and took out a sizable chunk. This caused the camp to be covered in smoke and dust. Hiding the combatants from view.
Many Gandora began flapping their wings to try and clear the dust. Dark Magician Girl even used some of her magic to help them along. At first, only a bright red gleam could be seen. Yugi initially thought it was from Giga but then saw how the light spread higher and farther than Giga's height. The energy was actually emanating from the crystal cluster. This red light pulsed around the area where Giga's breath had collided with the rocks. The glow didn't last long, and it faded away along with the remaining smoke.
Silhouettes of two dragons soon came into view. One leaned heavily on the crystals, his orbs dimly lit. The other one stood proudly a few feet away, having managed to crawl out from under Giga during the blast.
"Giga, you know proving strength is not what makes us Gandora. The point we've pushed this need to demonstrate our power is completely toxic. But we are out of the war now! We don't need that fighting spirit anymore!"
Once Giga saw Hakairyuu was still standing, he immediately leaped at her, not taking another second to catch his breath. It was a wild lunge, and she was able to dodge it easily. Instead of using his brief moment of unbalance to attack, Hakairyuu backed off another few steps. The Gandora around noticed this just as Yugi did. Yugi heard as they murmured their thoughts on why she didn't use this opportunity. Yugi sighed. While Hakairyuu was holding her own, she wasn't a fighter. She really didn't want to hurt Giga, and Yugi worried Giga would use that against her. Just as villains had done to Yugi many times before.
"What would you know of our fighting spirit?! You never seemed to have our same pride, always wilting before the opposition, or going on the defensive when you should have been attacking!'" Giga snarled.
Hakairyuu didn't react. She merely prepared for his next attack. Giga saw this and, for a second, paused. He then gave an exhausted and hollow laugh. "Then again… that was always something I liked about you. No matter what battles and tribulation pulled us down, you were always there. Ready to help with the next issue."
Hearing this surprised Hakairyuu just as much as the crowd of dragons around. "Giga?"
"But now I know that wasn't any kind of strength. It was your cowardice!" Giga shouted.
Without any other warning, Giga lunged at Hakairyuu. She was able to react just in time to brace herself. The two crashed into each other, their claws interlocked as their faces were inches from each other. The force of their collision was evident in their straining muscles. Even though Hakairyuu had the most built-up power, shown by her brighter orbs, Giga still equaled her. They were in a deadlock.
"Huh, for once in your life, you didn't turn tail and run. I will give you props for that." Giga growled as the two continued to grapple.
"I-" Hakairyuu took in a shaky breath. Yugi could tell she was starting to have problems matching Giga. "I will be the first to admit I was a coward to leave you at the border, and I'm sorry for the pain I caused. But that does not excuse your response to it!"
Giga was quiet for a few moments. Then his mouth turned down in an insane fury. "Sorry?!"
Giga shifted tactics so fast that even the other Gandora had a hard time following. He pulled back, yanking Hakairyuu off her feet. He then dragged her into a headbutt. The resulting crack made Yugi shiver. Both their head orbs stabbed into the other, causing bleeding on both sides. Giga immediately used this power increase to throw Hakairyuu across the field. Hakairyuu only had time to barely stagger to her knees before Giga was on her again, slashing at her with a wild frenzy. Hakairyuu could only barely bring up her arms to defend against the continual slashes.
"You're sorry!? Oh, that just makes up for everything!" Giga roared, ending each sentence with another attack. "It was a month, a month! We had to survive out in the unforgiving domains around here while you lived it up in here, only thinking to bring us in when your guilt got to you!"
"I was mourning!"
"We were all mourning! We all watched our closest friends and family die. But because you let ONE of your hatchlings die, suddenly you get the privilege to shut down and abandon us!" Giga kept up his barrage. "Now you dare to come here and declare you've found the answer to all our problems! Just like before, when you found that map! Once this goes wrong, are you going to abandon us again?! Will you run away with your new friends and leave us to the Silents?!" Giga was starting to slow down in his relentless attacks. "Do what you do best. Run." Giga's arm swung down for one last attack, only for Hakairyuu to catch it.
The horde gasped as Hakairyuu lowered her other arm, showing that all her orbs radiated a blinding red. She had let Giga wail on her to power herself up. She then yanked Giga down, so they were nose to nose.
"I'm not running anymore." She snarled.
Yugi recognized that Hakairyuu was about to detonate. He remembered after all other Gandora exploded, they fainted afterward. That wouldn't be good for Hakairyuu if Giga managed to survive her explosion.
Before thinking, Yugi immediately jumped to his feet and yelled. "Hakairyuu! Use that energy for a breath attack!"
Hakairyuu's body responded faster than any Gandora thought possible. Usually, it took a few seconds for a Gandora to build up their breath, let alone switch gears from detonating to moving all that energy to the throat. But somehow, Hakairyuu did it, even before Yugi finished yelling his sentence. What's more, the force seemed to gain in power. It turned from a crimson to a scarlet red. Giga only had time to widen his eyes before the attack went off.
In a flare that could be seen for miles around, Hakairyuu sent a blast of energy right into Giga's face. She released her hold on him and let the power send him flying back into the crystal cluster. Like on the mountainside, the breath kept going, plowing through the crystal formation and destroying its base. The entire crystalline structure grew the same scarlet red as Hakairyuu's attack, then it completely collapsed. Before the energy had the chance to dissipate, Giga was buried in an echoing clatter of stone.
The remains of the energy were thrown in multiple directions, the crystals seeming to reflect it, including sending it right into the bystanders. The horde didn't have time to move, but Dark Magician Girl did. All of a sudden, nearly all the Gandora were thrown into the air by pink-colored magic. The angry red energy barely missed the Gandora and plowed into the rock walls or petered out above the water. Dark Magician Girl couldn't levitate the Gandora, especially in such large numbers. So, the dragons fell back to the earth nearly as quickly as they were thrown up. Dark Magician Girl followed suit as she collapsed onto Yugi. Yugi didn't have the strength to hold himself up, let alone her. In only about five seconds, everyone but Hakairyuu had fallen to the ground.
Yugi groaned as his headache made his vision grow blurry. But when he could finally blink the sun and pain out of his eyes, he saw as Hakairyuu ran over to the fallen crystals. These crystals were still glowing a bright red, almost as red as the Gandora's own orbs.
"Giga?!" Hakairyuu desperately said as she began to move the fallen crystals aside, some pillars being about as big as her. As she used her strength to move the large rocks, her orbs began to lose their light. She soon found she wasn't moving fast enough for her liking, so she looked frantically around at the gathering Gandora.
"What are you waiting for? Help me get him out!"
The crowd was quiet for many moments. Yugi and Dark Magician Girl wanted to run in and help her, but they were having trouble getting to their own feet.
"You… You shouldn't be helping him like that." The Gandora Yugi recognized as Ruin spoke. "He-he lost. Don't ruin your victory by-"
"Deck that! This is what I'm talking about with this toxic mindset. Are you really going to let your fath-, Giga die because he lost?!" Hakairyuu roared. Ruin fell silent and took a few steps back, trying to hide behind the Gandora that had been hiding behind her earlier.
No one moved to help Hakairyuu, so she growled in frustration and returned to digging out Giga. While she was attempting to move one enormous crystal, the other side of the rock was picked up. She turned in surprise to see the nervous Havoc helping her. He gave her an awkward smile and helped heft the stone. Soon other Gandora ran forward to help. No words passing between any of them.
Yugi was able to get to his feet, with Dark Magician Girl now leaning on him. A small smile found its way to his face as he saw more than half of the horde ran to Giga's aid. One Gandora even came to Yugi's and Dark Magician Girl's side. His name was Pieire if Yugi remembered right.
"Can you levitate the crystals as you did us?" Pieire said in a quiet voice like he wasn't used to asking for favors.
"Sorry, I used all my power to get you out of danger." Dark Magician Girl managed to say.
"We didn't need your help, you know." Pieire huffed as he stood a little straighter. "We were all strong enough to take the attack."
"But that doesn't mean you had to," Yugi said. This surprised Pieire a great deal. He didn't seem to know quite how to answer.
A surprised cry got the three's attention. All turned to see a clawed arm shoot out from the crystal debris and clasp around Hakairyuu's neck. Every Gandora immediately backed away as Giga stood, pushing the remaining crystals off his back as if it were nothing. It might genuinely have been nothing to him as his orbs were glowing the brightest Yugi had ever seen from a Gandora. Giga kept his grip on Hakairyuu's neck. She could do nothing but gasp. Then he pushed her to the ground, keeping his tight hold.
"How?" Hakairyuu managed to say.
"Didn't you wonder why I kept these crystals despite ordering everything else in this ravine destroyed? You don't recognize these rocks?" Giga said as he held up one of the still glowing crystals in his other hand. "You should. Our ancestors ate nothing but these until they were in our very bodies." He then tapped on one of Hakairyuu's now lightless orbs. "They absorb and store a great deal of damage. They then send it harmlessly into the ground, or in our case, into our muscles."
Giga then yanked Hakairyuu up. "All I had to do was survive your attack until you pushed me into these crystals. They absorbed the rest. I was surprised, though. Your attack was powerful. Enough to even break apart these crystals. But I should have realized sooner, you're a coward and a cheater."
"What?!" Yugi was surprised as the nervous female named Mayhem was the one to speak up this time. "How in the stars has she cheated in this duel?!"
Giga chuckled a low, rumbling laugh as he slowly pointed to Yugi. "Him. I should have noticed sooner how odd it was she brought these two, but now it all makes sense. He's her spirit partner."
Yugi could only clutch his crumbling puzzle as the great dragon stared him down. Yugi didn't recoil; he had stood defiantly in those eyes before. (What actually worried Yugi was how much those glowing red eyes reminded him of his own father. Where had that thought come from?)
"This worm broke the rules of this duel!" Giga bellowed. This brought an appalled hush over the crowd. "The moment the Pharaoh spoke, he gave her power! Helping her when it should have been only her on the battlefield! But even still, she could not win!
Giga turned back to Hakairyuu, their gazes locking. "You represent everything we Gandora are not! Cowardly, weak, and…." Giga was cut off as Hakairyuu swiped at him. Even while being strangled, she refused to give up. Seeing this fight in her seemed to off-set Giga for a few moments, pulling him out of his blind rage. But he didn't loosen his grip on her. "I'll end this now." Giga's voice was low. But even by lowering his voice, he couldn't stop it from cracking.
Giga opened his maw once again as another blaze grew within his throat. Hakairyuu's eyes widened when she saw it. She continued to struggle. She seemed to be trying to slip into the pool only a few inches behind her but couldn't gain any ground in that direction. Yugi wanted to run to Hakairyuu, but his feet refused to work. He tried to speak; his body ultimately failed him as his headache grew into a full-body ache.
Yugi then saw as Hakairyuu managed to wrap her tail around one of Giga's legs. She yanked him off balance, and he fell into a kneeling position. He still kept a death grip on her, but she could use her still working wing to push herself up into a sitting position. The two were eye to eye. Giga's breath still building, but Hakairyuu was in a better place to counter-attack.
"Kick his tail, Mom!" A shout from the crowd made both Hakairyuu and Giga pause. Yugi was initially confused about why that, of all things, would make the fighters freeze. Then he realized what word had been used in that sentence. A name Hakairyuu had told him was forbidden by the warrior army.
Every creature turned to little Pieire, who seemed shocked even in himself for speaking. "I-I mean…" Pieire then shook his head. A determined rumble came from his throat as he turned back to the horde. "You know what? I mean exactly what I said! I'm tired and done with how things have been. I'm tired of having to be strong twenty-four-seven. I'm tired of pretending to not care about the ones I love because they are 'weaker' than me. And I know you are all too, even Giga! So, I'll yell the words I was never strong enough to before. The thing only my brother ever seemed brave enough to call you two. Mom! Beat some sense into Dad!"
The whole horde was stunned into silence. Even Giga seemed shocked. He took his eyes entirely off Hakairyuu, and his breath died in his throat. Pieire kept standing tall, not backing down from his words. Soon another dragon spoke up.
"Pieire's right!" Mayhem towered over the smaller dragon as she stood by his side. "We finally have some real agency in our life. Let's use it for once! Even if Giga wins, I'm still going to follow the Pharaoh's host. Hakairyuu must be on to something if she managed to do something we haven't done in thousands of years. Make a spirit connection!" Mayhem looked back to Hakairyuu. "Beat him, Mom! End this fight!"
Giga's hands slipped from Hakairyuu's neck. They fell limply to his side as he looked around at the crowd, Hakairyuu doing the same. Other Gandora began speaking up. In fact, the whole horde seemed to have something to say.
"Yeah! We don't have to listen to the warriors anymore! So why are we still following their law of no familial connections? Go, Mom! Go, Dad!"
"If you finish that attack, Father, you'll never forgive yourself."
"I know this won't make up for years of ignoring you, but we can at least start trying to make it better?"
"Down with the warriors, down with the Silents! Lead the way, Ma and Pa!"
"Mom partnered with the Pharaoh's host! Can you actually believe it?! And we get to help him and his other partners! We get to build!"
The two Gandora looked around the crowd in absolute astonishment. Hakairyuu's gaze finally paused on Yugi as he and Dark Magician Girl helped each other hobble over to the mass. Yugi couldn't help but give her a giant grin.
Hakairyuu's eyes began to tear up. She then turned back to Giga. The two looked at each other, seeming to see each other for the first time that day.
"Hakairy-…" Giga said in nearly a whisper. His words died in his throat, and Hakairyuu didn't seem able to say anything either. She would open her mouth, but nothing but strangled air came out. They kept staring at each other, a silent conversation passing between the two.
"Hakairyuu…" Giga tried again. His eyes fell to her still twisted wing and then to his own claws. He seemed to grow sick to his stomach. Eventually, he could only shake his head. "No, I don't have any right to call you by that name." Yugi then noticed as a strange expression came to Giga's face. Yugi had seen a look like that once before. It had been on Mai's face at the end of her duel with Téa way back during the Duelist Kingdom.
"Let's finish this duel, Gandora the Dragon of Destruction," Giga said in a much firmer voice. Hakairyuu looked at him in surprise and almost outrage. Then her anger fell away when she saw his softened expression. "Let this be the bang to end… all of this." He waved around vaguely at first but ended by gesturing at both himself and Hakairyuu. Hakairyuu was silent for a few more moments, seeming almost sad. The crowd was still yelling their support for their patriarch and matriarch, looking not to have heard Giga's quiet words. Then Hakairyuu nodded.
As soon as Hakairyuu gave her consent, both leaders immediately jumped to their feet. The horde was taken by surprise by their leaders' quick movements. When they realized the two were continuing their fight, they barely had time to back away. Giga once again began building up a blast attack in his maw, but Hakairyuu wasn't in Giga's grip this time. What's more, Giga didn't seem to be defending himself. Hakairyuu was able to use this dropped defense and get in close, jumping into his side. The Gandora archetype's famous unbalance let even the weakened Hakairyuu push Giga to the ground. Then she grabbed the back of his head and pushed his still open mouth into the large pool of water. The water instantly exploded up in a great wave as Giga could not stop his breath as he wasted all his power into the pool.
The falling water created a warm sunshower for the crowd. Yugi almost didn't feel the drizzle as he watched Hakairyuu let go of Giga. He came up for air, coughing and sputtering. All waited for the words that no Gandora, especially not the great Giga, had ever said before in a duel.
"I surrender. You win." The words echoed around the empty canyon. Being repeated many times before they finally disappeared. It took a while for it to settle into the crowd. Their great leader Giga just admitted weakness, yet they all knew he wasn't weaker for it.
Hakairyuu was the first to stand, and she offered Giga a hand up. He didn't have time to take it as Hakairyuu was suddenly mobbed by the entire horde. She felt more hugs and apologies than she had ever received before in her life. Many of these were followed by congratulations, only to be cut off by more apologies. Hakairyuu didn't seem to care. She had forgiven her children long ago. What made her finally burst into tears was the repeated word, "mom." It was said with all the sincerity and love she craved. This group would have a long road in front of them, one day did not make up for years of pain, but it was a great start.
Hakairyuu finally had the proof she needed. She wasn't a failure. And while she could never have the single hatchling she wished for back, Hakairyuu now had something else she wanted. As she held Yugi in one arm and one of her hatchlings in the other, she knew. She had her family.