Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
CHAPTER 15: The Final Duel
The audience inhaled with anticipation. Serenity held the card down by her side, the picture facing inward. She calmly glanced between Mai, the other audience members, and Seto. It all came down to this.
"This is it," Serenity announced, and she was surprised that her voice did not waver. "It all rides on this card. Shall I face Seto? Or shall I not?" Serenity, in truth, did not want to know. She didn't want to risk a huge disappointment. I imagine I would cry if I couldn't face him.
"Go Shizuka!" yelled Serenity's private cheerleading squad, besides Téa who cheered for Mai. Taking in a deep breath, Serenity slowly brought the card up to her face. With one final glance between Seto and Mai, Serenity focused on the card and gasped. It rang throughout the audience members. Of course, they still didn't know if she won or not, but that soon would all change…
"OH HELL YES!!" Serenity cried in her moment of un-Shizuka-ness. She doubled up with laughter. It was definitely her day. She even had to fall to her knees to keep from jumping around. Mai didn't take this as a good sign.
"Oh no…" she moaned.
"I drew Cosmo Queen!" Serenity declared, holding up the card so all could see it. Serenity's cheerleading squad leaped into the air and cheered, especially the Duel Monsters. Mai and Téa looked full of bitterness. Téa glared at Yami, who was celebrating Serenity's victory. Pegasus, Cecilia, and Mokuba shrugged. It didn't matter to them who married Seto as long as he married. Well, the girl had to be able to rule a kingdom well but…
"OH HELL YEAH!" Seto's outburst disturbed the three other royals' daydream of the perfect future, Seto and the veiled girl walking arm in arm. The whole ballroom quieted down and looked at him,
"Sorry…" he apologized. "It was…um… I was just happy that the Duel was over because the wait was despairingly, over-dramatically long." He muttered a curse under his breath. It wasn't like him to shout like that.
"Great!" he thought. "That girl's cast a spell on me… and a good one too." Seto's eyes widened at his own thought. "Serenity did that too… wait, why am I thinking of her? She's not even here. Besides, it's Shizuka I love… I mean like… I mean… she's a witch."
Serenity blushed a little at Seto's outburst. She had known for a while that Seto wanted her to battle him. Of course, she knew she wouldn't marry him, but for the moment… she was Shizuka. And Shizuka was allowed to think Seto was attractive… or cute… or hot…
Stop putting silly ideas into yourself! Seto doesn't like you…and you don't like him. You can act like you do, but don't get your hopes up. The last thing you want to do is marry him. Serenity noticed that a green stone had propped up from the Duel Disk. She slid it into her glove and admired its beauty.
I have all six stones: Red, blue, black, white, brown, and green. The six attributes of Duel Monsters. Before she could think anymore, her friends surrounded her to congratulate. Even the other participants. It was as if they all thought she had won the Tournament already. After a minute, most retired back to the walls to wait for the next Duel, due to start at exactly five past the half hour mark of eleven. The last ones to gather around Serenity for a final pep talk were the Duel Monsters.
"That was great!" DMG exclaimed. "Great job! Now go kick Seto's ass… uh, I mean, assimilation of monsters?"
"Is that the right context of the word?" Hufanse asked.
"Not unless all his monsters merged into one," Aundren responded.
"That could be his Blue-Eyes Ultimate-,"
"Hey!" DMG interrupted. "We're here to help Ser-Shizuka! Okay, here's the thing! Remember the Summoning?"
"Of course! DMG, why didn't it work?"
"Because I'm here! Remember, I am your card. If I'm not where I'm supposed to be, I can't be summoned. Just for that, Hufanse and I are going to return to our Duel Monster world. Best of luck!" DMG and Hufanse waved and skipped to the exit of the building.
"Anyways," Aniron said after said after a few seconds. "The name's Aniron, Performance of Sword. This is Rowen, Commencement Dance, and Belial, the Dark Mage Warrior. Anyway, we recognize you from our Duel in the Game Shop."
"Oh yeah," Serenity said, with a slight wince at the many times she had suffered a defeat at their hands. Still, Mr. Motou wouldn't stop until Serenity managed to defeat them. Eventually, Cosmo Queen did the job.
"It's seems like your Duel is starting soon," Svrion informed. "We'll be going now." With a slight nod, the Duel Monsters left and Serenity headed to the middle of the ballroom. Before she quite got out of their earshot, she heard a remark from Belial that sounded like "Ohh, Svrion. Are you sad that Cy is gone?" That was shortly followed by a whack and an "Ow! Don't you dare hit me with that staff again!"
………
"Oh well, Mai, you tried your best!" Téa assured. Mai crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, face contorted in a fury.
"He was mine!" she yelled, and it was a surprise it did not catch Seto's attention on the other side of the ballroom. "Until Shizuka stole him." Téa opened her mouth and closed it again. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep at night for another week if Mai's temper was at the high it was at now. Yami tried to change the subject to avoid a sister-sister brawl.
"Téa… about your Duel with Shizuka." Téa gulped and Mai raised her eyebrows at her. "I'm sure that you weren't trying to, but it seemed as if you were trying to lose."
"No! Why would I do that! Well… not that I wanted to win but I didn't. Honestly, Shizuka was a better Duelist, that's all." Yami wasn't convinced.
"But still… you put all your monsters in attack mode, even the ones meant to Defend. What's going on?" Téa sighed.
"Alright, alright! I admit it! You see, I didn't want to forfeit because you told me not to and I didn't want to seem a loser like Lumina so I lost on purpose." Tea inhaled and exhaled deeply. It felt good to get that out.
"You did that for me?" Yami asked, pulled her closer. "That's so sweet!" Yami lowered his hands to her waist and pulled her closer for a kiss…
"WHOA!" Mai interrupted, walking away. "First make sure your territory is clear, thank you very much!" Téa chuckled lightly before leaning in for her kiss.
………
Serenity stood in the middle of the ballroom, right on the eye of the gigantic Blue-Eyes White Dragon in the center. She took a deep breath. A week ago, she couldn't have imagined herself in this situation. All in a night…
"Hello!" Serenity fought the urge to scream as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to come face to face with Seto. Or rather… face to chest, since the top of her head was only a tiny bit above his shoulder. She looked up at him.
"What?" she meant it to sound polite, but it came out as more of a snarl-through-clenched-teeth. Seto tightened his grip on her shoulder.
"I just came to say good luck," he said simply. He leaned close enough that their noses touched. "Is there something wrong in that?" Serenity shivered. He looked even cuter this close. She probably hadn't noticed the last time because she was worried about getting unmasked, or literally, unveiled. This time, she knew he wouldn't pull off her veil. But, she still noticed that he was inch away from her face. And if someone accidentally bumped into him or knocked him into her… their lips were an inch apart too. The only thing separating was that inch… and the black veil.
"Good luck to you too…" Serenity replied, a whisper, but she knew he could hear it.
"How do you talk with that veil on anyway?" he asked. Serenity was getting antsy. She always knew one inch was a short distance, now she knew just how short. And she didn't want to be rude and say, get out of my face either. After all, in a way, she liked this. A little…
"Seto!" Cecilia called. Serenity was relieved when Seto sighed and went to his parents. I can still feel the warmth of his face near mine… oh, never mind. That's just me blushing like MAD!
………
"Well, well," Cecilia cooed. Seto raised his eyebrows as he approached his parents.
"My son has finally found a girl!" Pegasus remarked. "I knew the day…"
"I don't know what's you're talking about," Seto interrupted a bit too quickly. He could feel heat slowly, ever so carefully, rising up his cheeks.
"Oh we know you're in lo-o-ove!" Mokuba said, cracking up after his emphasis on love. Seto rolled his eyes.
"Oh please, spare me the overreaction. I am not in love with her!"
"Spare me the denial," Cecilia said. "And prove it. The match starts in a minute. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love her."
"I don't."
"Seto! Look me in the eye, and say I don't love Shizuka." Seto faced his mother, looked straight at her eyes.
"I… don't… love… Sh…Shiz… I don't love Shiz…uka…" Cecilia grinned.
"I said it!" Seto protested, though he knew he had tripped up on the words for a few time. It was hardly noticeable, really, unless someone was looking for it. And that someone had been with you for twenty years.
"I don't!" Seto insisted. "I'll prove it again! I'll be mean to her in our Duel!" Seto stomped off. The three royals looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Yep," Mokuba concluded. "He loves her alright." Seto looked back at them with a scowl.
"I don't like her," Seto thought. "And I'm gonna show them by being ruthless when I Duel her."
………
The Duel started at exactly the time it was supposed to. Supposedly, the royals were very punctual. The ballroom audience had grown by this time. Originally, it had been only the defeated participants and Serenity's own cheerleaders. Now, every other person in Domino had arrived. The crowd was packed. Luckily, the remaining Duel Monsters managed to get front row.
Serenity wasn't too happy about the crowd. She had enough pressure already. After all, having some Shizuka-Serenity problems was one thing, being sleepy and hungry was another, and the two combined were another thing entirely. And then, there was the immense fear of facing Seto's Blue-Eyes, and the gigantic crowd waiting to watch her win… or lose. More people hoped for a win for her, especially Pegasus, Cecilia, and Mokuba.
No pressure…
Serenity and Seto each drew five Duels. The crowd cheered as the Duel officially began at the start of the thirty-fifth minute of the eleventh evening hour.
"I guess I'll go first," Seto declared, drawing another card. He looked at his cards thoughtfully before choosing one. "I'll start off easy and play Battle Ox in attack mode!" An armored monster appeared on the field, threatening flashing his axe at Serenity. She tried not to panic. After all, she had to remind herself she was Shizuka, not Serenity. And Shizuka was a quite, shy, and calm girl.
Okay, Seto is just toying with me right now. I know that. He would do the same if he knew who I was. Anyway, I must end this quickly. I have to play a strong enough monster to defeat his. Serenity drew a card and looked at it. It was the perfect card to her current strategy.
"Princess of the Underworld in attack mode!" The raven-haired witch appeared, creating a sword out of the air. "Attack the Battle Ox!" Seto's monster had less attack points so it was sent to the Graveyard immediately. Seto merely pretended to yawn as his LP went down to 2800. Serenity narrowed her eyes. She expected this response.
"You are so predictable," Seto remarked. "I've watched you in a few of your Duels. You and your female monsters! Pathetic!" Serenity glared at him. It was times like this she wished she didn't have a veil so she could make her expressions more effective.
"Are you saying that my monsters are weak? Just because they're female?"
"And the Duelist…" Seto added. "No girl is going to defeat me in this game. And no girl is going to marry me. I'm fine on my own, thank you very much."
"That is so not true!" Serenity retorted. How dare he? Girls are soooooooo not weak. He will pay for saying this…
"There must be some reason you based your whole Deck on female monsters…" Seto said. "It's as bad as someone placing their whole Deck in one attribute. Generally, most female Duel Monsters are only good at defending or producing some good effects. A female-based Deck is weak." Serenity placed her hands on her hips.
"Are you here to preach Dueling strategy or to Duel? Hurry up and do your turn!" Seto smirked.
"As you wish." Seto drew his cards and looked at his Hand. He nodded approvingly as he placed two cards face down. I hate it when people do that. Face down cards always make me nervous! Seto took another card from his Hand and played it.
"I play La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode, and end my turn." Seto eyed his two face down cards. One of them was a card called Virus, a Crush Card. Another was called Flute of Summoning Dragon. When the time was right, Seto would use these cards to annihilate Serenity.
"Okay," she said, drawing a card. Those two cards are bothering me, but I don't know what they are so I can't be sure. The only way to know anything is to attack and hope for the best.
"Attack!" Serenity commanded. Her Princess twirled her sword through the air and it defeated La Jinn. Seto shrugged as his LP went down to 2700. So far, everything was going well for him.
"Is that all?" he asked, in a very bored tone.
"Of course!" Serenity said, trying to sound as if she had something planned. In reality, she had no clue what Seto was up to. All she knew was that she was lucky she didn't activate one of his traps.
"My turn," Seto said. His tone was a very dull one, implying that Serenity wasn't putting up much of a challenge. This angered her. He drew a card and placed it on the field.
"I play fissure and remove that Princess from your field…" Serenity gasped as a big brown rock rose up from the ground and clamped over the Princess of the Underworld before sinking back into the ground. "Then I play Lord of Dragons to attack your Life Points…" The warrior appeared in dark robes. Hufanse…The Lord's eyes widened when he saw Serenity. Apparently, even if he was a hologram, he still recognized her.
"I said attack!" Hufanse didn't move. His eyes shifted to Svrion in the audience, who merely shrugged. "ATTACK!" Hufanse turned back to Serenity, who nodded slightly to approve of the attack. With a reluctant expression, Hufanse raised his hand and sent dark strands of magic toward her. Serenity moaned as sparks danced up her arms. Her LP dropped to 1800. Hufanse winced.
"That was only a minor setback, nothing bad," Serenity lied to her opponent. Compared to Seto, she was in pretty bad shape. And seeing how he had brought Lord of Dragons to the field, she knew that a Blue-Eyes or three were sure to follow. She had to destroy Lord of Dragons quickly, even if it meant attacking Hufanse.
"Okay," she said, drawing a card. She eyed his face down cards as she placed a card on the field. "I play Black-Silver Damsel in attack mode! Attack Hufanse!" The silver-robed Enchantress rose up from the card, preparing to nock an arrow. Serenity looked over at the Duel Monster audience and they glared at her, using a finger as if to cut their throats.
"Hufanse?" Seto asked. "Who's that?" Serenity understood their meaning.
"Oh…uh…he's…um…a friend…" Serenity looked at her Duel Monster friends, who were mouthing something. "Amore? No, ass…wait! Actor! Right, actor friend in a… way? No! Play! Play! Yeah, he's a friend, and an actor in a play of… Duel Monsters. He plays the Lord of Dragons and I always think of him." Serenity sighed. She wished they had told her exactly what disguise they were using before hand.
"Phew!" Svrion sighed. "That was close…" The Black-Silver Damsel let go of her arrow and it hit the Lord, destroying him. Seto's LP dropped to 2400. He's still higher than me. And with two face down cards, who knows what he's planning? Serenity signaled for her turn's end. Seto drew a card. He smirked. He's planning something! It's so obvious!
"For this turn," he began, setting a card face down and another in attack mode. "I'll just play set this one card face down, play Saggi in attack mode, and end my turn." Serenity raised her eyebrows. I knew it. There is no way that Seto would be stupid to play a six hundred attack point monster when I have one with fifteen hundred. Plus, he has three face down cards. Of course I'm not going to attack!
"I know what you're planning," Serenity said, though it wasn't entirely true. She knew that he was planning something, but didn't know what. "I don't care what it is but I'm not falling into your trap." Seto chuckled.
"Afraid?" he taunted. "I should of known. Girls always are. That's why they can never emerge victorious, hiding behind their monsters and thinking their opponents will go easy on them…"
"Why do you hate girls so much?" Serenity demanded. "We're cool!"
"First of all, girls are always trying to prove themselves to be equal with strength as the guys, if not stronger. Second, girls blush way too much and try to use… interesting tactics to win boys. Third, I don't want to marry one and I'm trying to convince myself more and more so I suddenly don't change my mind. And lastly, I'm proving something to my mother."
"First of all, girls have to prove themselves because some people always try to put them down. Second, you guys make us blush and our interesting tactics are far less interesting than guys'. Third, marrying a girl doesn't give you a disease. And finally, proving something to your mother doesn't require you to be so rude!"
"Ahem!" Cecilia butted in. "Excuse me, but I would like to say something. It's great and all that you want to express your different viewpoints, but there are twelve minutes left till midnight so… hurry up!" Seto rolled his eyes.
"Okay then," Serenity said. "I'm not stupid so I'll switch my monster to Defense Mode, place a card face down, and end my turn." The Damsel crouched down, one hand over her knee and the other on the ground holding the bow. A glowing card appeared behind her.
"Fine with me," Seto said. "I'll place another card face down and end my turn." Serenity yawned and started her turn by drawing a card. All this arguing was making her tired, again. She wasn't playing her part of Shizuka very well by being so argumentive, but at least her accent was flawless. "I'll sacrifice Black-Silver Damsel to bring out my Dark Magician Girl and end my turn." Her Damsel disappeared in a cloud of smoke and pink hearts flew everywhere. DMG appeared with a wink and twirled around. Seto smirked.
"Another female monster…" he said.
"That's right," Serenity said. "Have a problem with that?"
"No," he said. "I would have thought you would have learned that female Duel monsters are weaker." Serenity sent him a glare that could have easily penetrated her veil. "Anyways, for my turn, I am getting increasingly tired of the fact that you won't attack so I'll abandon my strategy and put Saggi in Defense mode." His clown monster crossed his arms over his chest and kneeled.
"Watch her fall for it," he mused with pleasure.
"Well then," Serenity said. "Since we only have a limited time anyway, I'll draw and attack with my Dark Magician Girl!" Seto smirked.
"Girls are so predictable!" Serenity raised her eyebrows. "I knew you would have attacked as soon as you heard my strategy was 'abandoned'. Now, time for the killer! I activate my Crush card, Virus!" Serenity gasped as Seto pressed a button on his Duel Disk. A trap card rose up to reveal a big purple virus germ. Immediately, Saggi exploded and a cloud of silver particles rushed toward Serenity.
"I activate Stop Trap!" Serenity declared. "Nice try, Seto!" Seto smirked again.
"I can counter yours with a card of my own. Mystical Space Typhoon will send your Trap to the Graveyard." The particles that had originally started to fade away became clearer again. DMG gasped as the cloud blew around her.
"DMG!" Serenity cried as DMG was destroyed instantly.
"Cy!" Svrion cried out, leaping forward. It took all of the combined strength of Belial, Aundren, Rowen, and Aniron to keep him back. Serenity was flabbergasted. The cloud floated around her, infiltrating her Deck and rendering fourteen of her precious cards useless.
"Now, you wish you didn't attack? You still have to finish your turn." Serenity growled and looked at her hand. Two of the cards had been sent to the Graveyard from Virus's effect, which made every card with above fifteen hundred attack points useless. Unfortunately for Serenity, that was more than three-fourths of her Monsters.
Okay, don't panic, don't panic. You're still in the game! You still have five monsters in your Deck that can be used, one of them in your Hand. Plus, you have a lot of Magic and Trap cards. Sure, you only have 1800 LP left, and Seto still has two cards face down, but still! There's hope!
"That was pretty good!" Cecilia commended. "But I have to interrupt. There are only seven minutes left. I have come to the decision that the person with more LP at the stroke of midnight wins!" Serenity gaped.
Serenity… you may panic now!
"Seems fair!" Seto agreed. Cecilia frowned at him. Even if she wanted her son to get married, announcing an engagement at midnight was more important since her own engagement had. Besides, there were other ways to find a bride…
"I place this card in defense mode and end my turn," Serenity said. Her position had just gotten worse.
"Good," Seto said, drawing a card. "I'll help you and speed up the Duel so you can actually attempt to win." Serenity narrowed her eyes. Since when did Seto want to do that? He's up to something.
"Okay then," he began. "First, I activate my face down card, Monster Reborn, and bring back Lord of Dragons." His warrior appeared, brandishing his cape. He smiled at Serenity. "Then activate my other face down card, Flute of Summoning Dragon!" The golden flute appeared, and Lord of Dragons grabbed it. "Summon the Dragon to the field!"
Lord of Dragons looked sympathetically at Serenity before blowing a melodious tune. A loud roar erupted. Behind the Lord, silver sparks flew into the air. A bright light consumed the ballroom and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon emerged onto the field. Serenity stared at it in horror.
Yep…panic…
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Attack her face down card!" Serenity bit her lip and looked up at the advancing Blue-Eyes, coming at bullet speed. A flash of White-Lightening exploded and her face down card was demolished. Serenity moaned as she was thrown backwards.
"Lord of Dragons, attack her Life Points." Hufanse sighed and lunged forward. Before Serenity could quite get to her feet, his attack hit home and Serenity fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. Her LP dropped to a mere six hundred. Seto chuckled. Deep in a corner of his heart, he felt like an idiot for attacking her like that. But, he had to do whatever he needed to keep from marrying her.
"How pathetic," Seto jeered. "Can't get on your feet? Jounouchi, I would expect more from you." Great, Seto, you're on last name terms again. And I can't believe I thought you liked me…
"What's pathetic is that you're about to lose!" Serenity retorted. Where those words came from, Serenity had no idea. With five minutes left in the clock, it felt like Serenity's last turn. She had to somehow find a way to dispose of Seto's 2400 LP, which was near impossible.
"I don't know what puts those words into your mouth, but it's definitely not your brain," Seto commented.
"It's my heart," Serenity muttered. "That's what's telling me that I'm not going to lose." Serenity closed her eyes and prepared to pull a card from her Deck. Here I am again. One last draw… Serenity drew her card and slowly opened one eye to look at it. Or not… since I have five more last draws…
"I play Card of Five Chances ()! In exchange for half of my Life Points, I can draw five more cards from my Deck."
"More pathetic," Seto remarked. Serenity growled. As her LP dropped to three hundred, she drew her first of five cards.
"I play Mistletoe Mistress in attack mode!" Serenity's green-robed Fairy appeared on the field, ready to attack with a sword made of holly. The choice of weapon nearly made Seto cackle with laughter.
"A female again? What did I tell you? No female monster could ever defeat my Dragon." Serenity scowled as she drew another card. Stop Magic…this card is no use at all. Serenity drew another, adding it to her hand. Counter, not any more useful. And the next is…Double Trouble. Nope, not good at all. It all comes down to this.
"Looks like you're at the end of your wire," Seto said. "One last draw, and it's all over. You were so foolish if you ever thought of winning. The last three minutes are yours." Serenity scowled and slowly drew the card. As the sudden thought of this being her last chance occurred to her, the weight of everyone eyes in the ballroom pressed down on her.
Everything you have ever hoped for comes down to this. You are at the end of your wire, Serenity. Come on, think! Draw a card and win the Duel! Encouraging herself, she took one deep breath, instantly copied by everyone around her, and looked at the card. She smiled slyly.
"What was that you said about my female monster? Oh yeah, about the fact that no female could every destroy your Dragon."
"That's a fact."
"That may be a fact, but what about fourteen females acting together?" Seto looked at her with a confused expression.
"What are you planning?"
"MAIDEN POWER!! ()!!' Serenity slapped her card onto her Duel Disk. "Thank you for the Crush card, or this wouldn't be possible. Since now fourteen female monsters are in the Graveyard, they each give 500 points of their power toward my Mistletoe Mistress."
"No…" Seto whispered. Serenity looked at the clock… one minute left…
"Activate now!" Serenity declared. A faint flow surrounded her Duel Disk. Fourteen different female monsters rose up behind her, all in white gowns and glowing orbs in their hands. Starting with DMG, each poured power into Mistletoe Mistress. Her attack power went up to 8700 points! Thirty seconds…
"Go! Mistletoe Mistress! Use your Sword and attack!" Seto's eyes widened as the Mistress's sword brightened. She lunged forward and made a clean cut through the Dragon. In a flash of unbearably white light, it roared and vanished. The audience gasped. Seto's LP had reached… zero…
"I won…" Serenity said blankly. "I…I WON!!!!" Serenity cried out in happiness and jumped around. Svrion, Belial, Aniron, and Rowen flew out to greet her, cheering. The audience clapped wildly.
"SETO'S GONNA GET MARRIED!!!" Cecilia, Pegasus, and Mokuba exclaimed loudly, dancing around, as Seto fumed. Serenity's celebration came to a halt.
"Wh…wha…what?" she stammered. "I can't! I have to… I didn't! I won't… I have to… I don't want to marry him! I have to do something!" Before Serenity could protest, a loud chime rang throughout the hall. Serenity gasped.
It was the first stroke of the twelfth hour. Midnight!