Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Understand? I also don't own Belial, Aniron, and Rowen. They belong to ValarSpawn.
CHAPTER 14: Round Six [Wind]
Five minutes later, the Duel finished. Mai had won. Serenity wasn't surprised. Her stepsister, Mai, was a great Duelist. Serenity absentmindedly ran a finger over the five stones on her glove. Red, blue, black, white, and brown jewels glimmered back at her, shining from the chandelier lights. Serenity was hungry, tired, and running out of patience. She needed to Duel and fast.
Only four Duelists remained. One was obviously Serenity, pretending to be Shizuka for Mai, Téa, Seto, and everybody else but Joey, Ian, Tristan, and Duke, for whom she was pretending to be Serenity pretending to be Shizuka all over again. Another was Mai, who was a worthy opponent and really determined to face Seto. The third was Seto, of course, and he was winning real easily so far. A hungry and tired Duelist like Serenity could never even put a dent in his LP by the way he was Dueling, expertly and ruthlessly as always. The last was a friendly raven-haired girl named Ishizu Ishtar.
Within a minute of the end of Mai's Duel, the four Duelists left formed a semicircle around Yugi as he prepared to announce the pairings. The other defeated Duelists, and audience members – who mostly were Serenity's cheerleading squad – lined up around the edge of the ballroom. Yet, the room was big enough that the Dragons painted on the floor did not get covered even with the tremendous load of people.
"Okay," Yugi said, clearing his throat. "Only four Duelists remain. If any of you cannot see the clock right now, it is ten past eleven. The next Duel will start in exactly five minutes. The pairings are as follows. Mai Kaiba will face…" Serenity held her breath. Say Ishizu, say Ishizu. I wanna face Seto now! "…Shizuka Jounouchi. Ishizu Ishtar will face Seto." Serenity cringed for the squeal that was most likely to follow the name of Seto's opponent. It never came. Instead, Ishizu turned to Seto with a big smile and held out her hand.
"Looks like I'm Dueling you!" she exclaimed. Wow, Ishizu seems really calm and positive. She probably had a big dinner. Oh! Serenity! Don't think about food! Serenity turned and smiled at Mai, though she knew that Mai couldn't see it. Serenity was used to that by now. But somehow, she found that Mai or anybody else could always tell she was smiling. Hopefully they couldn't tell who she was.
Mai seemed a little distressed. Serenity figured she was probably just as impatient as her. It was obvious now. Two Duels left… it was almost certain that Seto would win. It all came down to the outcome of Serenity's Duel. Would she win?
"Let's go over to the others to begin our Duel," Mai suggested. Serenity followed her. They went over to the portion of the wall reserved for their supporters. DMG, Svrion, Hufanse, Aundren, Téa, Yami, Joey, Ian, Duke, and Tristan waved. The two girls waved back before standing opposite to each other.
………
"This must be putting a lot of pressure on our dear little Serenity!" whispered DMG to the other three Duel Monsters.
"Definitely," Hufanse agreed. "Man, this is gonna be a toughie."
"But we must admit that she has quite a bit of potential. I wouldn't be surprised if she went all the way to the top," Aundren said.
"That would be near impossible, if not totally improbable and implausible," Svrion said. "We watched Seto Duel quite a few times. You guys saw how he vanquished his opponents. Plus, we're talking about girls here!" DMG shot him a dangerous look.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded. "Are you saying that…"
"No!" Svrion protested. "I'm not saying that girls don't have a chance against him. I'm saying that he played so brutally that he didn't even have the decency to spare a girl Duelist." Svrion's comeback wasn't all that great. DMG only glared at him harder.
"Are you suggesting that us girls need to be spared? Spared? What do you think? We can't fend for ourselves? Huh? Huh?"
"Okay, Cy, you can stop yelling now," Hufanse butted in. "Don't hate Svrion for this. All people say weird things, however true-,"
"You think that statement is true?"
"I'm not done! I said, people say weird things, however true or untrue they are. Besides, he has a crush on you. Bad idea to hate people who like you, even if there are others who like you." DMG sighed, and Svrion sent a death glare to Hufanse, who shut up and decided to let Aundren do any future reasoning.
"Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Seto wasn't the kind of Duelists to spare anyone. And now, he is going to be up against Serenity, who, you say, is already frustrated with a myriad of things and probably is barely going to be able to defeat Mai. What I'm saying is, chances aren't too great. Especially with the fact that Seto is an excellent Duelist. You should know that, Hufanse, you are in his Deck." Hufanse nodded.
"Let's think about something else," DMG said. "How about we just focus on our side of Dueling field. We have problems of our own. The four of us are the only ones that know Serenity's real identity. Joey, Ian, Duke, and Tristan think they do, and they do, but Mai and Téa think they don't because they think Serenity is Shizuka. And Yami… he is pretending to be on everyone's side, but is truly on ours. So now, that we got that settled, let's just be glad we don't have any more people to mislead."
"You're right," Aundren said quietly. "It's already a mess. Imagine if we had a few more people."
"Yeah," Hufanse agreed. "Even, let's say, three more people would be beyond imagining." The three of them turned to Svrion, since he was the only one that didn't comment. He was staring with a horrified expression at the doorway opposite to them.
"Hufanse… I wouldn't count on beyond imagining if I were you," he said. The other three turned and gasped.
………
It was soon exactly fifteen past eleven on the dot. The two Duels began. Serenity drew five cards and arranged them, trying to think of a preliminary strategy. Hunger tore at her stomach and sleepiness was starting to pull down her eyes. Serenity was on the verge of yawning. Trying not to lose her focus, she alternately tapped her foot as she waited for Mai to get started. While waiting, she glared jealously over at Ishizu who was standing in the same position as Mai, only twice as far back. Luckily, Seto had his back to Serenity. This was also lucky for Mai, who got to stand virtually on his heels. She was trying to, anyway. Seto kept moving around to avoid her "accidental" foot misplacement. She was wearing heels, and that was not something he wanted to be stepped on by.
"I'll go first," Mai announced, drawing a card with an exaggerated flick of her manicured hand. "I play my favorite Harpie Lady in attack mode, and a face down card behind it." Mai placed the two cards on the field and rested her free hand on her hip. With the other, the hand holding four cards of her Hand, she triumphantly flicked her blonde hair behind her. A smirk played around her lips. Serenity raised her eyebrows and drew a card.
She has something planned. Serenity didn't need to think any more. It was obvious that Mai had something up her silver netting sleeves. She always did. Whether it was money, makeup, boyfriends, or simple Dueling strategy, Mai was a mastermind at secret plans.
If there was one thing I learned when watching her Duel, it is that her opening moves are deadly, but the rest of her Duel is basically one Harpie after another. Still, I am too tired to think of a strategy. I think the best thing to do right now is to uncover her opening move. Serenity shrugged. It was her best hope. Even if she was falling into a trap, she would still figure out what it is and then she would be mainly home free for the rest of the Duel.
Serenity looked down at her cards and selected the one that had to most attack points. The Spellcaster she chose had more than enough attack points to destroy Harpie Lady. Taking it from her Hand, she slapped it onto an empty space of her Duel Disk.
"I summon Moonshine Precious Star () to the field in attack mode. Attack and destroy Harpie Lady!" Mai clicked her tongue in disapproval as the white-robed enchantress gathered a glowing silver orb in her hand.
"Nice try, Sweetie Pie," Mai declared, pushing a button on her Duel Disk. The face down Trap card rose up to reveal what looked like a wall of sparkling glass.
Mirror Wall! I should have known! Téa always hated when that card was played against her. Serenity watched as the orb from Moonshine Precious Star hit the rising wall of glass, reflecting back and hitting the female monster right in the stomach. The monster kneeled on the floor, trembling. Serenity looked down at her Duel Disk and found that the monster's attack points had been cut in half, to eight hundred.
"Like to do anything else, hon?" Mai asked. Serenity shook her head. Since she had summoned the monster in that turn, she couldn't switch its battle position. Serenity hoped that Mai didn't put a high level monster on the field to attack with. Mai grinned as she drew a card from her Deck and placed it in her Hand.
"I'll use this later," she commented. "Because for this turn, I think I shall just attack with Harpie Lady and remove your Moonshine gal from the field." Mai did as she said. Soon, the white-robed Spellcaster was sent to the Graveyard and Serenity's LP went down to 2500. Not bad. As I suspected, Mai's not really playing too hard. She usually goes for her opening attack to start the Duel off on her favor. She is still pretty good so I better watch my back. Serenity drew a card when Mai acknowledged the end of her turn.
Okay, this card is no use to me now. I'll look to my Hand. I think I'll place a monster in Defense, since there is no point in attacking. If I have a strong enough card, then Mai won't be able to clear my field. Serenity yawned and selected a card, placing it in Defense mode on the field. The card was relatively strong. It was called Mystic Rainbow () with 1600 attack and defense. Serenity dropped her hand to her side and Mai drew.
"Okay now," Mai whispered quietly. "I know by now someone as smart as her would try to look for a way to destroy my trap or find some other way to destroy my LP. If I bet that she placed a high defense monster so I would lose LP if I attacked. If she did, that would be a smart move. Until I know what it is though, I shouldn't do anything too drastic." Mai selected a card from her Hand and placed it on the field.
"I don't know what you're plannin', hon, but it's not going to be there much longer!"
………
"What are they doing here?" DMG queried urgently. She eyed the three new Duel Monsters as they approached.
"Hello Cyrrielle," one of the two females greeted. She was light skinned and pretty, with long purple hair. The other female looked almost exactly like her.
"Hello Aniron," DMG replied, saying it very reluctantly.
"That's funny," the other female said. "Look at that Duel."
"What's funny about it, Rowen?" the third Duel Monster queried, a boy that looked like Svrion, except with darker clothes and messier hair. "All I see is a Harpie Lady on the field. Not that bad. After all, there are five Harpies in my neighborhood, and one of them has a brother."
"No, not the Duel itself, Belial, but the Duelist. She's wearing a veil, but I feel like I recognize her." The two females shrugged and Belial sighed.
"Okay, anyway," DMG continued. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We were kind of bored," Rowen answered. "We figured out where you were and decided to tag along. I know we're not really allowed to leave our Realm in case anyone wants to use us in a Duel, but still…"
"Besides," Belial added, putting an arm around Svrion's shoulders and shaking him gently, "why would I miss a chance to tease my buddy about you-know-who?"
"She already knows," Svrion said flatly. Belial took his arm away in surprise.
"Did you finally muster up the guts to tell her?" he asked.
"No," Hufanse interrupted. "I blabbed." Belial chucked as he gave Hufanse a high-five.
"Way ta' go, man!" Belial and Hufanse burst into a tiny fit of laughter. The three girls sighed simultaneously.
"Men!"
"Women!"
"Men!"
"Women!"
"Men!"
"Women!"
"Men!"
"Women!"
"Me-," DMG stopped. She turned to Aniron and Rowen, who had stopped arguing. So had Hufanse and Belial. It was just Svrion and her.
"Oh, oops!" DMG smiled foolishly. "Looks like I must've gotten carried away! Oh my gosh! Rowen! Aniron! I just remembered! Do you know what Svrion said today?" DMG told the other two girls all about the earlier conversation as the four boys shook their heads. After a minute, the two warrior girls snapped around and glared at Svrion.
"You think we're that weak?" they demanded. For a moment, a spark flew between them and Svrion, who was glaring back to avoid being beaten. Hufanse, Aundren, and Belial eyed the two sides.
"You know…" Aundren said after a few minutes, stepping between the two sides. "Cy, you should concentrate more on enlightening them on our precarious situation."
"Oh right!" DMG exclaimed. "The whole Serenity-Shizuka thing. I know…"
"Serenity-Shizuka thing?" Rowen inquired.
"Serenity? Isn't that the girl with the Cosmo Queen card?"
"Yeah… remember! At the Game Shop!" DMG glanced at the two of them.
"You guys know Serenity?" she asked.
"If you mean Serenity Kaiba, yes we do. She's Dueled against us plenty of times."
"She was quite pathetic until she drew Cosmo Queen."
"Yeah, her strongest card." DMG nodded.
"Right! Anyways, you guys are probably going to think I'm crazy, but just listen to what I am saying and follow my instructions. You see that veiled girl?" DMG pointed so that the three Duel Monsters could see clearly. "Well, that's Serenity. She's going under a different name so she won't be recognized. So right now, a few people think she is Shizuka. A few people think she is Shizuka pretending to be Serenity. A few people think she is Shizuka pretending to be Serenity pretending to be Shizuka. Only me, Svrion, Aundren, and Hufanse know that she is really Serenity pretending to be Shizuka pretending to be Serenity pretending to be Shizuka. So, pretend she is Shizuka." Belial opened his mouth and closed it again, clearly confused. The other two shrugged and dismissed all but the last sentence from their heads.
"Good!"
………
Serenity yawned. She wasn't exactly sure what Mai had in mind, but she was way too sleepy to care too much. She reasoned she would take a break in this Duel and concentrate on the next. Of course, being tired made her forget that she had to concentrate harder to win to ever get to the next Duel. Of course, her brain was half shut down. She usually went to bed at around eight so she could wake up earlier. Now it was way past three hours after that and Serenity hadn't even had dinner to give her the extra boost to stay awake. Her attention span was decreasing rapidly.
"As I said, gal, your LP is going down! I play Harpie's Brother next to my existing Harpie! And with him, I shall attack your face down monster." Serenity scrunched her eyes to try to remember her face down monster, but a claw from Harpie's Brother destroyed it almost immediately. "Now, Harpie, attack her LP!" Serenity's eyes widened as the Harpie came in for an attack. Serenity screamed as she was hit. Tiny sparks seared her skin.
Great! This is all Joey's fault! He's the one five years ago that urged Stepfather to make the pain real with the electrical charges that one summer. Serenity winced and rubbed her arm that she had used to block her face. Her LP dropped to 1200. It was not a good spot for her to be in.
"I end my turn!" Mai declared. Her two Harpies landed on her side of the field and dropped their wings to their sides. Mai glanced at her opponent. From the looks of it, she was still in pain from the attack. She wasn't the only one suffering; the onlookers also seemed to feel every scratch Serenity had received. Especially Joey.
Serenity drew a card and grinned. She had drawn the Dark Magician Girl. This would be perfect! This was exactly the card she needed to turn the Duel around, since it had just been switched to Mai's favor. If I use this with the card I drew earlier, I can dent Mai's LP a little. Then I'll come down harder! Well, I'll have to destroy that Mirror Wall first. Serenity looked over at DMG with a smile. It faded a little when she saw the three new cheerleaders.
Commencement Dance? Performance of Sword? Aren't those the two Mr. Motou used to teach me about Ritual Monsters? Yeah, I remember. I obliterated them with Cosmo Queen. That's why Mr. Motou let me keep the Queen. I don't know who the last one is, though. Maybe DMG's boyfriend or something… no, that would be Dark Magician. He looks a lot like him though, with messier hair. He's pretty cute! Serenity shrugged off the thought and selected a Magic card from her hand.
"I activate Soul Stealer () and take your Harpie Lady!"
"Oh no," Mai moaned. "Not Soul Stealer. That card let's you take your opponent's weakest monster and sacrifice it to bring out a five- or six-star monster."
"That's right, Mai!" Serenity said triumphantly. "That means your Harpie Lady. And guess what? I'm using it to summon Dark Magician Girl to the field!" Serenity took her Monster card from her hand and placed it on the field. Harpie Lady shrieked and vanished. The card hologram appeared and a lot of white clouds floated out from it. The clouds slowly disappeared. Lo! No monster appeared. Instead, the card trembled a few times. Electric static slowly blurred its image before it finally vanished. Serenity's mouth dropped open in shock.
………
"What happened?" DMG cried out, nearly stomping out into the middle of the Duel. Luckily, Svrion caught her wrist and pulled her back.
"Hush!" Aniron said. She pulled the other Duel Monsters to the side. "Remember! Cy is here! She can't be summoned unless she's in our Realm. Each card has a specific monster and only that Monster can be summoned, and that only if she or he is in the Realm. Cy! You have to go back!"
"It's too late," Rowen informed. "Serenity's summoning failed. If she is smart, she'd know that this summoning was only a Special and that she can still conduct a Normal summoning to protect her LP."
"Aniron, Rowen…" DMG said. "Serenity only learned Duel Monsters two weeks ago. Plus, I can sense she is tired, hungry, and in minor pain. This is her first night in a real Duel. Would that small rule really occur to her?"
"Depends," Belial said. "How much does she really want to win?"
"A LOT!"
"She'll remember! Trust me!" The seven Duel Monsters looked back on the Duel Serenity just stood there shocked. Slowly, her head turned and she glanced at DMG. At that instant, she knew what had happened. She was too surprised to really accept it. Her plan had failed. Serenity submerged herself in thought on a new strategy and allowed Mai to begin her turn. Mai laughed loudly.
"What?" Serenity asked, her voice sounding in a trance from her hunger, tiredness, pain, confusion, and maybe a bit of fear. Her British accent faded.
"What a fool, Shizuka!" Mai responded. "Don't you know? You conducted a Special summon! You could have Normal summoned to protect your LP. Right now nothing is…" Serenity's hand flew to her mouth.
"I forgot!" she cried. No British accent here. She sounded a lot like plain old Serenity, a tired, overworked, hungry girl trying to Duel in a competition made for the best while trying to be a million people at once. Mai started to notice that. Meanwhile, DMG gave Belial a very scathing And you said what…? look. Belial bit his tongue.
"I would have expected better!" Mai said, pressing her lips together in a disapproving matter. "Of course, normally I would let you have a free turn because I am so generous. Unfortunately, I want to Duel Seto. So, another Direct Attack, my dear Harpie's Brother! Attack and destroy Shizuka's LP!" Serenity panicked. She had come all the way to the sixth round and she was going to lose! She had no Trap cards on the field to activate, and no Quick-Play magic to activate.
………
It's times like this I would like to have a Kuriboh. Well, I tried my best, but it was never meant to be! Serenity felt like crying as the Harpie's Brother advanced on her 1200 LP. She took one last look at the cards in her Hand to try to find any last minute hope. As she glossed over her few cards, one card portraying a woman holding a star caught her eye.
Setsuna…
A smile spread over Serenity's face. Just as Harpie's Brother revealed his claws, Serenity slapped the card onto the field.
"Wait! I activate Setsuna's () special ability!" Serenity announced. Her female Monster appeared on the field, spring colored robes and ribbons floating around her. A white star glowed in her hands, lighting up her dark black hair that floated around her face. In a bright flash, the star broke into small pieces. The force sent Harpie's Brother toppling backwards onto the ground. With a content smile, Setsuna disappeared.
"What was that?" Mai asked.
"The card is called Setsuna. It's somewhat like a Kuriboh. When I offered it from my hand along with half of my LP-," Serenity acknowledged her 600 LP on the Duel Disk, "-I can stop all attacks against my Life Points." The Duel Monster cheerleaders cried out in excitement, while Mai looked at her bitterly.
"Okay, so maybe you stopped that one attack," she said. "But I will win, just you wait. I still have my entire LP, a monster with 1800 attack power, and you have none, with barely 600 LP. The Duel is surely in my favor, hon." Serenity smirked. She didn't know how, but winning that last exchange gave her a burst of energy. She was sure she could at least finish this Duel.
"My turn," Serenity declared, drawing a card. Good, a powerful monster. Now, I need a way to attack Mai without running into her Mirror Wall. Serenity looked at her hand. She noticed a trap card she hadn't seen before, possibly due to her sleepiness. I can use this next turn, then she shall be sorry. But…first I have to set it on the field.
"Okay," Serenity finally said. "I play Princess of the Underworld () in attack mode and place one card face down. That's it for now." Mai drew a card and sighed. She eyed Serenity's face down card.
"Again," she thought, "Shizuka is planning something. I am not sure, but she wouldn't be so enthusiastic if she weren't. I don't think attacking would be the best choice right now, even if I could. That Princess has 1900 attack points. The only thing keepin' Shiz back is that Mirror Wall." Mai looked over at her hand. Besides one Harpie Lady, the cards in her hand were all traps and would be of no use for this particular situation she was in.
"I think I'll pass, hon," Mai concluded. Serenity drew a card. It was a trap card, Attack vs. Defense (). This will come in handy later; I better play it face down for right now. Serenity set it down on the field next to her other card, which she activated.
"Bye-bye to your Mirror Wall, Mai. I activate Stop Trap ()! You know what this does…" Mai's Mirror Wall briefly appeared on the field. Immediately, it shattered into a million pieces before melting into the floor. Harpie's Brother looked appalled at this move. "And then… my Princess, attack!" The raven-haired witch drew a blackened sword out of thin air. Leaping into the air, she slashed at Harpie's Brother. He disappeared from the field. Mai's LP went down to 2900.
"Nice try, Sweetie Pie," Mai said, "but I still have way more than you." Serenity shrugged.
"Not for long," she retorted. After rechecking her two cards on the field and her Hand, Serenity ended her turn. Mai drew a card and sighed.
"Steel Wing ()," she said quietly, looking at her hand. "This magic card isn't really going to help my Harpie, and none of the other Trap cards are right for this time. I have to protect my Life Points, so I'll just place this card face down on the field." For once, Mai was out of ideas. She placed Harpie Lady in defense mode and ended her turn. Serenity drew a card.
All right! Black-Silver Damsel (). I can use her to attack that face down card and then my Princess can go in for the victory. Serenity played her card.
"I summon my Black-Silver Damsel to the field! Attack the face down card!" The silver-robed fairy shot an arrow into the middle of the face down card. It disappeared from the field. "Princess! Follow-up with another attack!" Mai grimaced as the Princess slashed through her with a sword. Tiny charges pricked her skin as her LP dropped to exactly 1000. The two monsters on Serenity's side of the field landed softly on the ground. Serenity told Mai to begin her turn.
While Mai drew her card, Serenity decided to take a moment and watch the other Duel, which was just coming to its conclusion. Seto had out a Blue-Eyes and was about to attack Ishizu's remaining LP since she had no monsters left. Too afraid to receive the attack, Ishizu placed a hand over her Deck to signal that she surrendered. The Duel Monsters disappeared. Serenity took a deep breath. Everything came down to this Duel now.
Mai mentally noted that Seto had won as she drew a card and smirked. She had the card she needed that would work well with Steel Wing. Harpie's Brother. Her expression made Serenity frown.
She's up to something again. Serenity focused back on this Duel. With five minutes to eleven's half an hour mark, every single person in the entire ballroom was looking at this Duel. Serenity could feel the immense pressure. The end of this Duel would decide who would face Seto, and who might actually be his bride. Of course, since he had defeated all the Duelists before, there was a possibility that Seto might not get a bride tonight. After all, Serenity knew that Mai would even be able to go to the Final round and she herself was trying to get out of marrying him if she won.
"Okay, Shizuka, let me turn this Duel around again. Remember, you only have 600 LP left and now they are going to go down the drain." Serenity's eyes widened. "I play Harpie's Brother on the field and activate Steel Wing! This card raises my Harpie's attack power to 2160, twenty percent above normal." Serenity gasped. If Mai attacks Black-Silver Damsel, which she most probably will, I'll have no Life Points left! Serenity glanced at the glowing face down card to her right. Unless…
"Attack!!" Steel encased Harpie's Brother's wings as he flew into the air. Serenity pushed a button on her Duel Disk.
"Not so fast! I activate Attack vs. Defense! This card takes the attack points of your monster and deducts it from your LP. At the same time, it takes the Defense points and deducts it from my LP." Mai gasped as her LP dropped to 0. At the same time, Serenity's LP dropped to 0. The crowd bunched around the Duel gasped. It was a Draw.
"This is a twist!" Seto remarked. Serenity nearly jumped. It was a long time since she heard his voice. The monsters on the field vanished.
"What should we do now?" Mai asked. "We can't both Duel Seto." At that time, Pegasus, Cecilia, and Mokuba came forward to see the Duel, standing next to Seto.
"This is a peculiar situation," Cecilia remarked. "I don't know much about Duel Monsters, but I definitely know this is not a good situation." Mai turned to Pegasus.
"You created Duel Monsters, your Highness. How would you resolve a tie?" Pegasus thought for a moment.
"Well… usually it would result in one more match, but we don't have much time. Cecilia keeps bugging me about announcing the engagement at midnight and another match will take too long!" Seto glared at his mother. He didn't like the word engagement.
"I have an idea!" Mokuba piped up. "How about the two girls each draw one monster card. The one with higher attack points win!" Pegasus looked at Seto who looked at Cecilia who looked at the Duelists who looked at Pegasus. It seemed like a fair thing to them.
As agreed, Mai and Serenity shuffled their Decks. Mai drew a card first.
"Behold my Harpie's Pet Dragon with 2000 attack points!" Serenity gulped.
"This is it," Seto said. "It all comes down to this one final draw. Good luck, Shizuka." Serenity gulped. The eyes of the other 124 participants, Yami, Yugi, DMG, Svrion, Hufanse, Aundren, Belial, Aniron, Rowen, Duke, Tristan, Joey, Ian, Téa, Mai, Pegasus, Cecilia, Mokuba, and Seto were all on her.
Everything rides on this draw! I have waited for two whole weeks to battle Seto in this Tournament. This night has been the very first night I have ever Dueled for real in my life. Mr. Motou's training helped me get up here. The only thing standing between Seto and me Dueling is this one final draw. No pressure, Serenity. You've only overcome five Duels and a whole lot of identity confusion. Serenity nervously looked around. The whole ballroom was holding its breath. Serenity closed her eyes and placed a finger on her Deck.
Mr. Motou told me to trust my Deck. I WILL DUEL SETO! With those words echoing through her head, Serenity drew her card………