Arms and legs crossed, Maximillion Pegasus, the ruler of the Duelist Kingdom, is watching the final match of the tournament he's hosting. Mai Valentine versus Bandit Keith.

Right now, the duel seems to be going in Keith's favour. It seems that the loss of her favourite monster, the Harpy, has taken a certain toll on that woman. Can she really go on after that? Even Pegasus is not sure.

Reading her mind, he can see that the Harpy has always fought alongside Mai. Together, they achieved many great victories. That monster has come to be more than an ally to Mai; the Harpy is essentially the besty Mai never had.

Perhaps, past a point, the role the Harpy would play in Mai's duels was more harmful than beneficial; Mai became the Harpy's duelist rather than grow into her own duelist.

Anyway, not that Pegasus cares about any of that. By the way, where is Yugi boy? Has he not got over his loss yet? Oh, whatever. In the mental condition Yugi is right now, it is easy for Pegasus to take the Millenium Puzzle from him anytime. He'll deal with that boy at his leisure later. For the time being, let's enjoy this match.

With empty eyes, Mai is looking at her deck. She lets out a sigh.

'Har har, come on, babe, just place your hand on the deck,' Keith feels the need to remind her how the surrender gesture is made. 'It's a matter of one second.'

'Mai, what's got into you?' Tea shouts, drawing the attention of her frenemy.

'Huh?' Mai turns her head, with a lost expression.

'You defeated Yugi,' Tea reminds her. 'You owe it to him to go all the way. If you give up now, he will feel even worse for having lost to you.'

Mai's eyes widen. Tea's right! Yugi never gave up. When he dueled her, he didn't give up, not even when his life points had decreased to 300, not even when he had lost his own favourite monster, the Dark Magician. If Mai shows lack of courage now, how will she face her role model ever again? What is she supposed to tell him?

Every duelist has a favourite monster, one they share a special bond with. But this is different from depending on that monster forever. If you do that, your favourite monster, too, will be sad and disappointed; it will stop supporting and trusting you.

Mai takes a determined expression. She nods to Tea, eliciting a smile from the latter. 'Thanks for casting my doubts away, baby girl,' the blonde finalist thinks, without admitting it out loud.

With a new flame burning in her eyes, Mai turns back to Keith. 'So, are you done with your fucking turn?' she asks provocatively, arms crossed.

'Grr, persistent chick,' Keith mumbles before setting 1 card and ending his turn.

'My turn,' Mai cries and draws. She looks at her new card. Amazoness Chain Master! Good. Perhaps this could help.

'I set 1 card. Then I play the Amazoness Chain Master (1500/1300) in attack mode.'

A female monster appears on Mai's field. It is a muscular but beautiful woman with grey hair, tied in a ponytail. A blue garment made of animal skin covers her torso, leaving her sexy limbs exposed. The woman plays with the chain weapon she's wielding in a skillful way, as if to make her entrance more impressive.

'Then I play a spell card. Amazoness Spellcaster! This will switch the ATK points of my Amazoness Chain Master and your Slot Machine for this turn!'

Mai places her spell card on the board. It depicts a really old woman that looks like a witch from some primitive tribe. Her hands are clasped together in front of her wrinkled face.

Mai smiles. Heh! Combine this spell card with any Amazoness monster you like and you can take down any monster your opponent plays against you, leaving them virtually dead while you are at it! Even Kaiba's Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon would go down with this combo! Men! Such simplistic creatures, always going for raw strength. Girl power!

'Sorry, honey,' Keith chuckles. 'But it's time to activate my set card. Magic Jammer!'

Mai gasps as Keith reveals his trap card, which depicts a green hexagram with dark purple smoke coming out of it. 'I discard 1 card from my hand and negate the activation of your spell card,' Keith explains. 'And the best part is that you have already played your monster in attack mode! Now nothing will protect your life points from my next attack, HAR HAR.'

'Oh, no, Mai,' Tea cries desperately, gripping the railing.

'I... end... my turn,' Mai declares tentatively, a bead of sweat on her forehead.

Keith draws a card, looks at it and subsequently activates it.

'I play the spell card Graceful Charity.'

A spell card that depicts a smiling (most likely female) angel. It allows Keith to draw 3 cards, then he has to discard 2. During that exchange, Keith surreptitiously swaps one of his cards for a 7 Completed card in his wristband. This duel has dragged on for too long. Time to end it!

'I equip a second 7 Completed to my Slot Machine,' Keith cries as he forcefully places his spell card on the board. In the same manner as before, one of the reels in the Slot Machine's torso spins until it reaches a 7. The monster gains 700 more ATK points, its total ATK points now being 3400!

'Oh, no,' Tea thinks, a bead of sweat trickling down her lovely cheek. 'If Mai's monster gets hit by that, she'll take 1900 points of damage and her life points will drop to zero. Now what?'

'It's all over,' Keith inwardly chuckles. Mai has a face down card, but, from her expression, Keith can tell that the Amazoness Spellcaster card, the activation of which he negated, was that chick's last hope of winning this duel. Her face down card is obviously a desperate bluff. Nothing to be afraid of!

'Slot Machine!' he bellows. 'Attack! Plasma Laser Canon!'

'W-wait,' Mai stutters. 'I activate my face down card. Grave Arm.'

It is a spell card depicting a creepy arm coming out of the ground. 'It allows me to destroy one monster on my field,' Mai explains.

The same arm depicted on the card comes out of the square on the field right below the Amazoness Chain Master, grabs her and goes back underground, dragging her with it. As a result, the blast the Slot Machine fired misses its target and Mai's life points are safe for this turn.

Keith crosses his arms and laughs. 'You are destroying your own monsters to save your life points. You must be desperate.'

'Not quite,' Mai smiles. 'You see, I didn't destroy the Amazoness Chain Master merely to avoid losing. This monster has a special ability!'

Right on cue, the chain the amazoness was wielding emerges from the square where that monster was buried moments ago and reaches Keith's deck!

'When that monster is destroyed by a card effect, I get to add 1 monster card from your deck to my hand,' Mai explains. 'You're right, Keith. I don't have any cards in my deck that can win against your Slot Machine. But maybe YOU do!'

'WHAT?' Keith's glasses fall off, revealing his bulging eyes. 'THAT'S NOT FAIR!'

However, the platform that represents the deck zone on Keith's board turns over. Almost the next moment, Keith's deck appears on Mai's board. The woman takes the deck in her hands and casually starts browsing through his cards, humming in order to further irritate him.

'PUT MY CARDS DOWN,' Keith hollers, pointing a finger. 'I forbid you to lay your filthy, cum stained hands on them, whore.'

'Mister Howard, her move is totally legal,' Croquet informs him with his usual, cold expression. 'If you keep this up, you will be disqualified.'

Keith settles down, mumbling more expletives. As exasperating as this is, it doesn't matter at the end of the day! Whichever monster Mai takes, it will be no match for the Slot Machine, now that the latter is equipped with two 7 Completed cards.

'I think I'll take this one,' Mai finally makes up her mind and adds to her hand the Fiendish Engine Omega. Next, she places the deck back on the board and it is returned to Keith.

'Your turn,' Keith mumbles, still annoyed.

Mai looks at her hand. Right now, she has 2 cards: the one she took from Keith and the Harpy's Feather Duster. With this spell card, she could sweep away all 7 Completed cards on Keith's field. Except she needs a Harpy Lady monster on the field to activate it!

Mai looks at her deck before her draw phase. She gulps. She has heard Yugi say that, if you believe in the Heart of the Cards, your cards will always show you the way. Time to find out whether this is true!

'Harpy... my lady...' Mai thinks as she slowly moves her hand towards her deck. 'Right now, I need you more than ever. Please, don't foresake me now!'

She draws. She looks at the card she drew. She smiles! She looks back at Keith.

'I play the Monster Reborn. And I'll use it to bring back the Harpy.'

The Harpy reappears on Mai's field, greeting her master with her usual howl.

'Then I play the Harpy's Feather Duster.'

Four greenish wings appear on the Harpy's back. The monster raises her body in the air and, with each of her hands placed on the opposite shoulder, creates a whirlwind which destroys all spell/trap cards on Keith's field.

'NO!' the American champion cries as the reels in the Slot Machine's torso spin just enough for the pictures of the number seven to be lost from view and the monster's ATK points decrease back to 2000.

'And last but not least, I normal summon the Fiendish Engine Omega (2800/2000) in attack mode,' Mai intensely cries.

A gigantic, red robot that looks like Optimus Prime appears on Mai's field.

'Fiendish Engine Omega, attack,' Mai points a finger.

The gargantuan robot strikes the Slot Machine with the two huge blades attached on either of its arms. The body of the monster on Keith's field is cut into three pieces, which subsequently break into one million tiny pieces each.

With his eyes bulging, Keith lets out an inarticulate cry as his life points drop from 1000 to 200.

'WHOO HOO, you rule, Mai,' Tea cheerfully cries, raising her arm in the air.

It's Keith's turn. Mumbling expletives, he draws. Darn! Not good enough.

'I-I play the Launcher Spider (2200/2500) in defense mode,' Keith declares, with his arm trembling, placing a monster card on the board in a horizontal position.

A green, spider shaped tank with a brownish head and golden cannons appears on Keith's field.

'Just you wait, woman,' the duelist from the USA thinks. He does have cards in his deck that can turn this around. All he needs to do is stall until he draws them. Fortunately, attacking your opponent's life points directly isn't a thing yet, so playing one monster in defense mode per turn is enough for him to stall as long as he likes.

Mai looks at her deck with a confident smile. 'Okay, deck,' she inwardly says with a nod. 'Give me the card I need to finish off this jerk.'

She draws.

'I play the Shadow of Eyes, a permanent spell card.'

She places on the board a spell card that depicts two female eyes. Almost the very next moment, the Harpy's eyes begin glowing. Her body starts emitting battle pherormones, which force any non female monster the opponent plays in defense mode to switch into attack mode and attack the Harpy.

Keith can now only watch helpless, with his eyes bulging and his teeth gritted. He knows it's all over!

The Launcher Spider takes aim.

Mai places her hand on her chest. 'Harpy... forgive me for sacrificing you, my lady,' she thinks.

The Harpy turns her head and gives Mai a reassuring smile, as if to say that it's an honor to sacrifice herself for the sake of her master and friend. Mai reciprocates the smile before the Harpy is shrouded in the smoke generated by the missiles fired from the Launcher Spider's cannons.

When the smoke has dissipated, nothing is left of the Harpy.

Mai wipes a tear as her life points decrease from 1400 to 500. Next, she takes a determined expression. 'Harpy... this is for you. FIENDISH ENGINE OMEGA, ATTACK.'

The monster Mai took from Keith's deck destroys the Launcher Spider. Keith clutches his head with one hand while slamming his other down on the board as his life points drop to zero.

'And the winner is Mai Valentine,' Croquet declares, raising his arm, with all fingers pointing at the female duelist.

'You did it, Mai,' Tea calls out with childlike enthusiasm. Mai can't help smiling and shaking her head no in amusement.

Suddenly, an inarticulate scream draws everybody's attention. It's Keith! He jumps on his duel board and, using it as a boost, with a huge leap, reaches the balcony where Pegasus is sitting!

'Oh, boy,' Mai sighs boredly. 'That guy just doesn't know when to quit antics, does he?'

Keith pulls a knife. Pegasus remains completely nonchalant.

'Okay, Pegasus, gimme the prize money. NOW!'

'Why?' the creator of the game chuckles, closing his eyes and recrossing his legs in a provocatively fearless manner. 'Because you lost? Or because you lost despite having cheated? You think I didn't see you pulling your 7 Completed cards out of your wristbands?'

'I won't say it again,' Keith threatens. 'Give me the money now or else...'

Pegasus won't need to press the button that would open the trapdoor under Keith's feet after all, for that moment, the eyes of the unscrupulous man bulge before he passes out. As his large body falls on the floor with an audible thud, it reveals Mai standing behind, having just knocked Keith unconscious with a knife hand strike in the neck!

Pegasus gasps. When did that woman come here?

'That asshole is not the only one who can perform impressive leaps,' Mai explains, as if to answer Pegasuses inward question!

As Pegasuses bodyguards are dragging Keith's unconscious body away, Mai gives the white haired man a threatening smile. 'Don't worry. I won't use my martial arts skills on you too, rich boy. I'll save my wrath for later, when it's time to crush you in a duel.'

Next, she turns around and walks away in a sexy manner, hands on hips. Pegasus is still astonished. He admits he never expected that someone would catch him by surprise, even taking into account the fact that his attention was on Keith at that moment.

However, this changes nothing. He or she who can defeat him at cards hasn't been born yet. If that woman is bold enough to challenge him instead of walking away with the prize now that she can, she will become a part of his soul card collection. Just like the Kaiba brothers and Yugi's grandfather.


Mokuba is sitting on a bench in his cell. He has been sitting there still for so long that even the cell's mice have got over their fear of him and are now roaming close to him, ignoring his presence, sometimes even climbing his legs, standing on his shoulders, sniffing at his ears etc! Mokuba is just ignoring them.

Or should we say Mokuba's body. For his soul no longer resides it. Nevertheless, that empty, soulless shell is still a living organism, at least to the extent of having bodily functions, such as breathing, eating and... that thing that comes next! Pegasuses body guards hate having to change his diapers, but someone has to do that job too!

Bakura steps out of the dark, with an unconscious (or dead?) guard lying next to him. 'Hello, my new host,' the white haired, possessed boy smiles with his arms crossed, addressing the empty shell.

The organic mass that used to be Mokuba's body still has enough volition to at least raise his head and look at the newcomer with his robotic eyes.

Now all that is left to do is open that cell door. Easy peasy for the wielder of a millenium item!