Mai has gone back to the balcony where the spectators have watched all duels that have taken place in this castle since yesterday. She and Tea exchange looks. Uncertain looks.
Tea recalls all memories of Mai she has. Memories coming flooding back after all these years. No, wait, they have known each other only for two days! Wow! Those two days felt like years to her! It is surprising how eventful a short period in one's life can be sometimes.
When they first met, Tea couldn't think less of that woman. Back then, in the schoolgirl's eyes, that blonde, young adult was nothing more than an arrogant bitch, a shallow, money hungry, egotistical jerk who would go around belittling others for no reason.
Then, that night, all of a sudden, Mai showed up and helped Tea and her friends, without having anything to gain. She shared her food with them when they were starving. She even provided Tea with a portable shower; so nice of her!
That night the two of them spent in Mai's tent, chatting like lifelong besties, Tea discovered a more likeable, a more human side to Mai.
And she couldn't help admiring that woman's sense of honor, when the latter did not settle for the 10 star chips she needed to enter Pegasuses castle but also went as far as to play more duels, risking losing the 10 chips she had already ensured, just to give back to Yugi the star chips he had earned back for her sake when that eliminator forced her into a duel that could be part of a horror movie; just to pay her debt back to Yugi!
The two frenemies keep looking at each other. At some point, Tea almost smiled, but she repressed it in the end.
Finally, Mai breaks the awkward silence. 'Come here, baby girl,' she whispers and hugs Tea, eliciting a squeal of (pleasant) surprise from her.
The two girls burst into laughter in each other's arms. They stay like that for quite a while, laughing together like old friends.
'So you have won the Duelist Kingdom tournament. You rock, girl!' Tea comments.
Mai breaks the hug while playfully ruffling the other girl's hair, perhaps a little more forcefully than she intended.
'Ouch,' Tea playfully pouts, pulling back.
'Don't be a crybaby,' Mai winks.
Tea sticks out her tongue.
Croquet approaches and interrupts that moment between the two females by clearing his throat, thus drawing their attention.
'Miss Valentine, you are the champion of the Duelist Kingdom tournament,' he declares with a formal expression. This time, he allows himself to make a comment as well: 'Congratulations.'
Next, he gives her a piece of paper. 'This is a cheque for 3 million yen.'
'Thanks,' Mai says, taking the cheque.
'Wow, the things you can do with that much money,' Tea exclaims in a childlike manner. 'How are you planning to spend it, Mai? Oh, let me guess! First, you are going to buy some really expensive jewellery! Am I right?'
Mai's face clouds over, since, that moment, she remembers Joey's sister. She'd like to help, but it would be totally insane to give all her money to an unknown person. It's not like she's a billionaire, which would mean that parting with 3 million yen is not a big deal. She actually needs this money. She can use it to lead a better, more comfortable life.
Croquet interrupts her thoughts anew: 'And now, Miss Valentine, you have half an hour to decide whether you wish to challenge Maximillion Pegasus, for the Duel King title.'
Those words cause Mai to raise her eyes to the highest blacony in the hall, where Pegasus is still sitting, in the same position as before: arms and legs crossed in an arrogant manner. The creator of the game shakes his head no with a solemn expression.
'I wouldn't do it if I were you, woman,' he advises her. 'Believe me, it wouldn't be pleasant for me either to trap the soul of a pretty girl like you into a card, but these are the stakes I play for. I'm saying this for your own good, leave now that you can!'
With these words, Pegasus stands up and withdraws to another part of the castle.
Mai turns to Tea. 'This cuckoo head thinks he's going to scare me with his mumbo jumbo,' she chuckles.
'Mai, this is serious,' Tea takes hold of her friend's shoulders, eliciting a gasp of surprise from the latter. 'Pegasus is not just some weirdo as you believe. He is a dangerous psychopath! As much as I hate him, I think you should follow his advice and withdraw from the competition at this point.'
Mai seems confused for a while. Then she presses herself to laugh. 'Come on, Tea, you can't be serious...'
'I'm dead serious!' the teenage girl snaps. 'Do you remember what happened to Kaiba yesterday when he lost to that madman?'
'Umm, I'm not sure I understood what happened at that point,' Mai scratches her head. 'Kaiba seemed kinda unresponsive after his duel with Pegasus. But I guessed that was due to some sort of trick Pegasus did with his eye shaped jewel...'
'It was not a trick!' Tea interrupts her again. 'Pegasus confined Kaiba's soul in another dimension. He did the same thing to Kaiba's brother, Mokuba. And to Yugi's grandpa too!'
Mai's eyes widen. So that was what Yugi meant when he said he was fighting for his grandfather!
'Pegasus can read minds,' Tea carries on, looking Mai straight in the eye. 'This is not a trick either. It's not like your aroma tactics. Pegasus can really enter your mind and see even your deepest thoughts. It doesn't matter how skilled a duelist you are. It doesn't matter whether you believe any of what I'm saying. Kaiba didn't believe it either and wound up essentially dead. If you fight Pegasus, you will just lose and wind up in the same condition. As simple as that! Not believing it won't save you, just like it didn't save Kaiba. Please, Mai, don't do that. I don't want to lose my friend!'
Mai lets out another gasp, louder than before. If that was a more relaxed moment, Tea would never call Mai a friend out loud. She would just make sarcastic comments, to which Mai would respond with her own sarcastic comments, they would show their love to each other this way, like siblings, like the frenemies they usually are. But for Tea not to care about any of that, something really serious must be going on here!
Tea bursts into sobs and buries her head in Mai's arms. They stay like that for a while, with Mai dumbfounded.
Finally, the blonde woman takes a determined expression. She gently pushes Tea away. 'Even so,' she declares, 'I'm a duelist. And, as a duelist, if I back down from a challenge, a part of me will die forever. And, believe me, girl, feeling that a part of you dies is worse than your body literally dying.'
'So you're gonna throw your life away just for the sake of a children's card game?' Tea yells angrily, still crying.
'Duel monsters is more than just a children's card game,' Mai yells back. 'It's a way of life. And if you really were my friend as you say, you would understand me, or at least you would support me in my decision.'
'WELL, FUCK YOU, MAI VALENTINE,' Tea screams, her eyes full of tears. 'I'm not going to stay here and see you brainlessly suicide.'
With those words, she turns around and runs away.
'WELL, FUCK YOU, TOO, TEA GARDNER,' a furious Mai calls out to her as she's running away.
And so, Mai is left alone. Alone! As she has always been in her life. How stupid she was. Why did she suddenly believe that she could have friends?
She has always known that a duelist can rely only on themselves. On no one else! And, as it has turned out, she was right. Look at her now. She's about to fight the hardest battle of her life and all her supposed friends are gone. Why did she let herself forget that, at the end of the day, when the worst comes to the worst, all a duelist has is themselves?
Well, the hell with her supposed friends. Who needs them? Mai has always fought with only herself on her side and that's exactly what she's going to do now as well!
With a sigh, she crosses her arms, takes a determined expression and walks in the direction Croquet went in when he left. She's going to tell him that she has decided to challenge Pegasus!
The cell's door is open. Bakura, or should we say the spirit of the Millenium Ring, exits the cell. In Mokuba's body!
The possessed, black haired boy chuckles. He takes in his hands the Millenium Ring hanging down from his neck and examines it, as if he expected something to be different about it this time. Well, the Millenium Ring is the same as always!
He turns around and looks at his old body, Ryo Bakura, the white haired boy, lying unconscious in the cell, on the floor, with some mice sniffing at him.
Let's take our unconscious former host elsewhere; it would be too suspicious if he was found in Mokuba's cell!
'Sleep, my old friend,' Yami Bakura inwardly chuckles as he is dragging the body to another part of the castle. 'When you wake up, you will have no idea what happened. You will have no idea what happened with the Millenium Ring. So you won't be able to tell anyone about things they must not find out yet!'
With an evil laugh, the boy walks away, dragging the body along.
Back in one of the guest rooms, Yugi and Joey seem to have recovered.
Tristan is sitting backwards on a chair. Yugi is sitting on the bed, his feet barely reaching the floor (talk about being short!) Joey is sitting on the floor, his back resting against the wall.
'Do you feel better now, guys?' Tristan asks.
'I think so,' Yugi sighs, his palms on the mattress.
'Thanks, Tristan,' Joey says with a melancholic smile.
The door opens. Slowly!
The three boys turn their heads, curious. Who might it be?
The schoolboys gasp as the newcomer enters the room. It is none other than... Pegasus!
'I have been looking for you, Yugi boy,' the master of the castle says, arms behind back, with an exasperatingly calm smile.
'Pegasus!' Yugi jumps to his feet, shocked.
'Bastard!' Tristan cries.
'Give back the souls you took, motherfucker,' Joey cries.
The two friends of Yugi's charge at Pegasus. However, before they can reach him, the Millenium Eye glows. Pegasuses hair momentarily raises and spreads out as, with a dismissive chuckle, he telepathically sends the backs of the two poor boys slamming against the wall.
'Pegasus, stop,' Yugi cries.
Joey and Tristan are now pinned against the wall. They're groaning, mumbling expletives, struggling to move, but it's impossible to break free of Pegasuses magic. Yugi looks at his two friends alternately, with a shocked expression.
Finally, with a scream of rage, he transforms into his Yami self. His puzzle glows as he becomes taller. 'Leave them alone,' he points a finger at Pegasus and yells, his voice now way heavier than before, as if his testicles have suddenly dropped.
'Don't worry, Yugi boy,' Pegasus comforts him. 'I won't hurt your worthless friends. I just immobilized them so that they won't interfrere.'
'Pegasus! What do you want?' Yami Yugi demands to know.
'I think you know what I want, Yugi boy,' the older man answers with a meaningful smile.
Yugi lowers his eyes to his pendant. Of course!
He raises his eyes back to Pegasus and looks at him with rage, hatred. 'Haven't you done enough?' he cries, clenching his fists. 'You took away from me everything I held dear. How much more do you want to hurt me and my loved ones? Why are you doing this?'
Pegasus takes a solemn expression. 'Yugi, the Millenium Items have powers that a common schoolboy like you would never comprehend, even if I tried to explain. I could just take the puzzle from you by force, but, according to the ancient rules, to become a possessor of the powers of a Millenium Item, I have to win it in a duel.'
Yugi growls, tightening his fists. What is Pegasuses final objective anyway? Yugi has heard about unscrupulous, power hungry people that have tried, through history, to obtain all Millenium Items, in the hope of gaining total power. But he doesn't think Pegasuses objective is something so straightforward. Pegasus, if Yugi wants to put aside the hatred he feels for him and judge him objectively, just doesn't come across as a person driven by superficial ambitions.
Pegasuses words interrupt his thoughts: 'It doesn't have to be a card game. It will be a mental battle. A battle of willpower! It will take place in our minds. A shadow game! In the Ancient Egyptian way!'
Yugi inwardly curses. That damned Pegasus. He knew Yugi was in poor mental condition after his loss to Mai. That's why he decided to make his move now!
Unfortunately, Yugi doesn't seem to have any other choice. 'Fine!' he cries, trying to sound confident. 'Bring it on.'
Pegasuses eye fires a ray which collides with a ray fired from Yugi's puzzle. The beam clash lasts for a while. Yugi seems to be struggling, whereas his opponent has a relaxed expression.
'Is that all you've got?' Pegasus snickers. 'It seems your duel with that woman took a lot out of you.'
Pegasuses beam is about to totally overpower Yugi's and force the latter's back to the wall when someone enters the room. Croquet!
'Mister Pegasus, I have been looking for you. I must inform you that Miss Valentine has decided to challenge you for the Duel King title.'
The two Millenium Items stop emitting light. Yugi falls on his knees, exhausted. Pegasus turns around. As a result, Joey and Tristan fall on the floor, finally free now that Pegasuses attention is elsewhere.
'Croquet, look what you've done,' the white haired man complains in a childlike manner with an annoyed smile. 'You interrupted me when I was about to crush Yugi boy's puny mental resistance and take the Millenium Puzzle! Now I'm obliged to punish you. Again!'
'I... I apologize, sir,' Croquet lowers his eyes in shame behind his dark glasses.
Pegasus turns his head to Yugi. 'Fine, I guess we can finish this later,' he sighs and walks out of the chamber, heading to the duel arena.
'Did... did you hear that?' Tristan cries as he's slowly standing up, rubbing his aching butt. 'Mai is going to face Pegasus in a duel.'
'Is she nuts?' Joey cries. 'Does she have a death wish or something?' He turns to Yugi: 'We mustn't let her do that, Yug.'
Yugi finally manages to stand on his feet. 'We must go to the duel arena. Now!' he says, alerted.
Mai is already standing at the board, waiting for her opponent to show up. She has her arms crossed and a determined expression. She doesn't care whether that white haired freak can really read minds. She's still gonna win!
'What's her plan?' you might ask. None! But she is still determined to pull this off. Somehow!
Finally, a door behind the board across from her opens and Pegasus appears, walking over to the arena, slowly and steadily, like a lion before it pounces on its prey.
Even though there is no one else in the duel hall right now, Croquet feels the need to present Pegasus, as if he's addressing a crowd: 'And now, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the Duel King, Maximillion Pegasus.'
The undefeated creator of duel monsters stands at the board opposite Mai. 'Even though this is against the rules, I'll give you one opportunity to withdraw the challenge,' he says politely. 'This is your last chance! Run away now that you can, woman!'
'Just order your stupid bodyguard to announce the beginning of the fucking duel,' Mai snaps.
'Fine. You have just signed your death warrant,' Pegasus thinks with a smile, his Millenium Eye glowing menacingly.
