This chapter took a little longer than I thought. Sorry for the wait. I hit an issue with card names and I did research like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't find all the right names so I had to leave out a few of Marik's cards. I also left out Makyura's ability to let the user activate a trap card from his hand because I couldn't remember which cards he used or even the effects of those cards. I simply had nothing to go on. The name of this chapter is 'Loss' for some reason. We couldn't think of a more fitting title for the situation. Please tell me what you think.
Chapter 9: Loss
We heard the sound of the balls bouncing in the machine as we entered the selection room. Kaiba, Mai, and Marik were waiting impatiently for our arrival. I noticed that Mai looked more annoyed than the rest and she refused to look at us. "I wonder what's up with her?" I asked myself.
"From you behavior here, I wonder how you remember to breath," Kaiba said rudely.
"Hey, I don't wanna hear it, Mr. I-endanger-people's-lives-and-don't-give-a-da-," Joey started. His retort was interrupted by Roland's announcement of the next duel.
"Duelist one of match three is, number 3, Mai Valentine!" he called out.
"Good luck, Mai," Téa told her.
"Save it. I don't need help from you or any certain jerks in your group," Mai replied. She glared at Joey before walking to the elevator.
"Duelist two of match three is, number 6, Marik Ishtar!" Roland made his second announcement. "Duelists report to the playing field at once."
Marik and Mai made their way into the elevator that went up to the arena and the rest of us filed into the one to the spectators section. "What was Mai's problem back there?" I asked.
"It's Joey's fault…again," Téa replied.
"What did I do?" Joey asked angrily.
"You know right well what you did! You're so insensitive," Téa scolded. I saw that this wasn't going to be resolved easily, so I dropped the topic. We took up our spots again when the lift reached the top and prepared for the match to begin.
"I hope Mai knows what she's doing," Yugi said in a worried voice. "And I hope Marik doesn't pull any of his dirty tricks."
"C'mon Mai, clean his clock!" Joey cheered when the duelists took up their positions.
"I told you to stay out of this. I can handle myself," she said without even a glance. "Now I'll make my first move. I summon Dunames Dark Witch and end my turn."
"I summon Revival Jam in defense mode," Marik said making his move. "And I'll activate Jam Breeding Machine and set this card face down. And my Breeding Machine will create a Slime Token. The first of many."
"I know this strategy," Yugi said out loud. "Jam Breeding Machine creates a monster each turn, and he'll use its effect to get enough monsters to sacrifice to summon his Winged Dragon of Ra. We have to warn Mai!"
"Look, Yugi, I appreciate you trying to help me and all, really, but stay out of this," Mai told him before he could tell her about Marik's plan.
"But, Mai-" Yugi started.
"Yug, just let it go. Once she's made up her mind, that's it. You can't change it," Joey interrupted. "We just have to trust she knows what she's doing."
"Okay, Dunames Dark Witch, attack that Slime Token!" Mai ordered.
"Not so fast, my dear, I activate my trap card, Jam Defender!" Marik countered. "This allows me to use Revival Jam as a shield to block your attacks!"
"So what? I still take out one of your monsters," Mai replied calmly. The attack was redirected to the other monster, which exploded into tiny droplets. "Ha! So much for your monster. Hey, what's going on?" The droplets of Revival Jam were reforming back into the original monster.
"Revival Jam cannot be destroyed by attacks," Marik explained. "When it is destroyed, it always reforms into the original creature!"
"Well, I'll play Harpie's Feather Duster to clear the field of your magic and trap cards," Mai continued. "And I'll set this card face down, then end my turn."
"I sacrifice my monsters and summon The Masked Beast Des Guardia!" Marik proclaimed. "Now, my beast, attack!"
Mai laughed. "You walked right into my trap, Amazon Archers!" she exclaimed. "It cuts your monster's attack in half, dropping it to 1650! Now destroy it, Dark Witch!" Marik's monster fell along with 150 of his life points. But after the attack Dunames Dark Witch switched sides of the field.
"When The Masked Beast Des Guardia is destroyed, I gain control of the monster that destroyed it," Marik explained. "Before we continue, I want to make this a little more interesting. I'm going to take this duel to the Shadow Realm!"
"Oh no…" I said under my breath. "Yugi, this is getting out of hand we have to stop him!"
"Marik! Don't do it," Yugi yelled at him.
"Stay out of this, Pharaoh," Marik said as a familiar black mist appeared and slowly surrounded the entire upper level of the aircraft. "Now you will see my true power!"
"We fly into a fog and you claim it's your power?" Mai retorted. "You're more pathetic than I thought. It's my turn now and I summon The Unfriendly Amazon! Huh? Why is she glowing?"
Her monster appeared, but there was something strange about it. I knew that the monster was just a hologram but I sensed a spirit in it, as if it were alive. It felt familiar, too. "Yugi, something strange is going on here."
"I'll explain why you are so confused," Marik spoke up. "Each monster we play has the essence of someone we hold in our minds. When the monster is destroyed, all memory of that person will be destroyed with it. When this duel is over you will be an empty shell in a world of strangers!"
"You're nuts, you know that?" Mai replied calmly. "Unfriendly Amazon, attack!"
"Congratulations, you managed to do some damage to my life points," Marik laughed. "But the monster you destroyed was originally yoursand now you will lose a part of your memory!"
"He can't really do that, can he?" Serenity questioned.
"I don't know…" I replied quietly.
"Now let's see who you will forget," Marik continued. A ghostly image of Téa appeared in front of Mai. "Ah, so little Téa, eh? Say goodbye while you can!" The image shattered shortly after that.
"Are you okay Mai?" Téa called out.
Mai sent a blank look in her direction. "Who said that?" she asked. "Who are you?"
"Marik, stop this!" Yugi yelled at him menacingly. "Your fight is with me! Leave everyone else out of it!"
"I'll deal with you when the time comes, Pharaoh, but for now, I'll play with your friend," Marik cackled back. "I call forth Makyura the Destructor!"
"That's not going to save you. Unfriendly Amazon attack!" Mai made her next move without hesitation. "Now you'll lose one of your memories." Someone I didn't recognize appeared before Marik and shattered, just like what happened to Mai last time.
"Why thank you," Marik seemed pleased by this. "I wish I could forget every single one of them at once, but the rules are only one at a time. Oh well."
"Why is he so happy?" Téa wondered.
"He doesn't care about anyone but himself," I explained. "That gives him an advantage. He has nothing to lose."
"For my turn I play Rope of Life," Marik stated his next move. "With this magic card, I can bring back one monster from my graveyard that I lost last turn and it comes back with 800 additional attack points. Now attack Makyura!"
Mai's monster was wiped out and we looked on in horror as an image of Joey appeared, as the next memory to be taken from her. "No…not him…not…Joey!" Mai stuttered in fear as she dropped to her knees. The image in front of her shattered. "I can barely remember him…"
"C'mon, Mai, you can't forget me!" Joey cried out on the verge of tears. "I need…hang in there! Please!"
"I need to help her," Yugi said. I felt a surge of power come from him and head toward Mai. I watched Mai stand back up with a new determination.
"Stay out of my Shadow Game, Pharaoh!" Marik said to him furiously.
"I set this card face down and summon Amazoness Fighter, in attack mode!" Mai stated bravely. "And that's all for me."
"You fool! You might as well give up now with that weak defense," Marik said with an evil grin. "Makyura attack!" Marik's monster lunged at Mai's, but she just smiled.
"I play Amazoness Spellcaster!" she said. "It takes the attack of one of my monsters and switches it with one of yours. Amazoness Fighter, destroy Makyura!" Marik's monster was destroyed along with another one of his servants. Mai smiled triumphantly and Marik wore an evil grin.
"I don't know what you did, Yugi, but it seemed to have worked," I commented.
"She just needed a little push," he replied.
"I set another card face down and attack your life points with my Fighter," Mai's next turn was quick and to the point.
Marik drew his next card and cackled. "Behold the power of Holding Arms!" The small monster appeared and snagged Mai's Amazoness Fighter with its cuff like body. "Holding Arms prevents one of your monsters from attacking. And I'll destroy your monster with this card. Go, Nightmare Wheel!" The warrior was strapped to what appeared to be an old medieval torture device that I recognized from one of my classes.
"I have another surprise, Marik," Mai said as she activated another face down card. "It's called Dramatic Rescue and it allows me to swap one of my monsters on the field with one in my hand. Amazoness Fighter, return to me and come forth Amazoness Chainmaster!"
"You may have saved yourself this time but your luck won't last for long," Marik said ominously. "I now summon, Holding Legs. When they are both on the field, Holding Arms and Holding Legs are immune from card effects."
"Now I'll use my all powerful Grave Arm to destroy one monster on the field," Mai stated.
"That won't do any good. Both of my monsters are immune from card effects!" Marik said.
"Who said I was using it on your monsters?" she asked with a grin. "I'm destroying my Amazoness Chainmaster!" We gasped in shock as she declared her move. "And when she's sent to the graveyard, I can take a card from your deck. And I choose The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"Way to go, Mai!" Joey cheered.
"That's only half the battle," I said, cutting the celebration short. "She may have the card but she needs three monsters to summon it. Right now she has none."
"You may have my Egyptian god card, but there's no way you will be able to control its unstoppable power!" Marik laughed.
"Your threats don't scare me anymore, Marik. For now, I'll summon Cyber Harpie and end my turn," Mai said. Marik drew but scowled when he didn't draw something he could use. Mai's next turn came and she put on a wide grin, indicating that she drew something good. "For my move I play Elegant Egotist! It turns my one Harpie into three. Say hello to the Harpie Lady Sisters. Now I'll sacrifice them to summon your Egyptian god card, The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"Yeah! This is what we've been waiting for!" Joey exclaimed wildly. "Mai's gonna win and get her memories back!"
We watched in suspense as the monster appeared on the field. But instead of the Egyptian god, all that appeared was a giant gold sphere. "What the heck is that?" Mai questioned.
"The Winged Dragon of Ra is sealed within that orb," Marik explained. "In order to use its power you need to decipher and chant the ancient text that appears on the card. Only someone with knowledge of the ancient scriptures can read it. Kaiba and the Pharaoh can read it, but can you?"
"Oh, no. How's Mai supposed to read something she's never seen before?" Téa begged.
"She's not. Marik must have had this planned from the beginning," I replied grimly.
"Well? Are you going to read the chant or shall I?" Marik asked impatiently. When Mai didn't respond, he continued with the rhyme. "Lend me your strength. Lend me your power. Emerge in this Shadow Game by your name. Winged Dragon of Ra!"
The orb began to open, bright light shone from the openings, and the form of the monster itself began to take form. I could sense Téa's fear as she clutched my hand tighter and tighter. The energy that erupted from The Winged Dragon of Ra was greater than that of Slifer, but I stood fast against it. Marik laughed maniacally as he prepared to attack.
"Holding Arms and Holding Legs capture her!" he commanded. The two monsters rushed forward and chained Mai's arms and legs to a stone wall that had appeared behind her. "Now that you can't escape you will be destroyed by The Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"No!" Joey screamed as he charged forward and leaped up on the arena.
"Joey! What are you doing?" Serenity called after him.
"I have to get her outta there!" he yelled back.
I looked at Yugi and, seemingly able to read my thoughts, he looked back, then nodded. I released Téa's hand and Yugi and I vaulted onto the arena to help our friends.
"Mai? Can you hear me?" Joey asked, trying to get her to come back to her memories. "It's me Joey."
"That voice…it's so familiar…" she replied weakly.
"Yeah, concentrate on my voice," he told her. Joey stared into Mai's eyes for a moment and tried a different course of action. "Focus on this, Mai." He held her head between his hands and pressed his lips against hers in a hard kiss.
Mai blinked a couple times after he pulled back. "J-Joey? Joey! I remember you now!"
"Great! Now, let's get you outta here," Joey said happily as he tugged at the chains that held her. "Man, these things are too tight. I can't get them off, I'm sorry, Mai."
"Joey, get out of here you fool. Don't die on my account," she told him softly, but still loud enough for me to hear.
"Isn't this cute, but I'll destroy all of you!" Marik shouted. "Winged Dragon of Ra, attack!"
"Your attack cannot penetrate me, Marik," Yugi said bravely as he stepped forward to use his body as a shield. I also stepped forward, next to Yugi, hoping that my power wouldn't fail me now.
"Brian! NO!" Téa shrieked. Duke and Tristan both had to hold her back from coming up after me. I mentally thanked them for keeping her out of danger.
The Dragon launched its devastating attack against us. Yugi and I braced ourselves against the fire ball that came at us, but it was too hard for the two of us to hold off and I soon felt our defense slipping. The blast tried to tear my mind and body apart. Thoughts of Téa and the friends I was protecting went through my mind and something just clicked. Everything in my head and heart fell into place and I found the power to ward of the vicious strike. I pressed my hands forward and threw my full power into a mystical shield. After a few more seconds, the attack dissipated and Yugi and I fell to our hands and knees, our energy about gone.
Mai's life points dropped to zero and Roland declared Marik the winner. Marik's monsters vanished along with the backdrop of the Shadow Realm. I turned around just in time to see Mai's body fall weakly into Joey's embrace. He carefully sat her down on the ground as Marik approached.
"I believe you still have my card," he told her, grinning evilly. "I want it back."
"You're gonna pay for this Marik," Joey said, standing up to face him. Marik held up the Millennium Rod and Joey froze in place. "Hey! What did you do to me?"
"Silence!" he threatened. He reached down and took the Egyptian god card back. "Now for the deal from our Shadow Game." He held up the rod again and pointed it at Mai. Her face went blank and her body fell limp.
"Marik…" Yugi growled.
"Don't worry, Pharaoh, you'll see your friend again soon enough," he responded. He then left the arena laughing maniacally.
Joey, now released from Marik's hold, held Mai's head to his chest with tears running down his face. Téa soon wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. Duke, Tristan, and Serenity had also ascended the platform to help us out. After a few minutes, the seven of us went back down the lift. Joey carried Mai back to her room and placed her on her bed. A few tear drops fell onto her pillow with a soft pat.
"Joey…" Serenity whispered to comfort her brother. She was standing next to him, but the rest of us were standing back along the wall by the door. Duke and Tristan wore concerned expressions and Yugi seemed to be furious. Téa hung on my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. I could feel the fear and pain in her heart from nearly losing me again.
"C'mon, man, let's go," Tristan tried to pull Joey away. "There's nothing we can do here."
"No…I'm staying here," he replied sadly.
"Listen you guys," Serenity spoke up. "In this short time, you all have taught me a lot about helping others and friendship. You all helped me when I needed it. I owe a lot to you, so let me help you out now. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Mai, you guys go watch the next match."
Her speech brought a slight smile to everyone's faces. "You sure about this, Seren?" Joey asked her. She smiled and nodded in response. "Thanks, sis."
Everyone except Serenity filed out of the room and headed down the hall back toward the upper level. Téa stopped me by pulling on my arm. She didn't say anything until the others were out of sight. "What were you thinking? I almost lost you out there…again."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I apologized in as sweet a voice I could muster. "I just felt that I had to help. I think it helped me though."
"What do you mean?" she asked. I saw confusion in her eyes. I smiled at her. Even though she was upset about my actions, I could see that she loved me more and more.
"When I was out there, my mind was flooded with thoughts, most of which were of you," I explained. "Then all of a sudden, everything just fit in. I feel…complete."
"Brian, you mean you've found yourself?" she asked happily. My smiled widened and I nodded. She threw her arms around me in a tight, happy hug. "I'm so happy for you! Now, about us…"
"Us…" I said with a pause. "I love you. Do I need to say anything else?" She responded with a no and kissed me lightly on the lips. "Well, let's get going…before Tristan thinks we're making out somewhere." She giggled and walked with me to meet up with everyone else, who, by now, were already on the upper level.
The two of us arrived in the spectators area, smiling contently, even under the current circumstances. Tristan began to grin but said nothing when Téa and I looked at him. I thought that, for once, he had run out of jokes. Kaiba was standing on his side of the playing field with his arms crossed. His face was locked in a scowl. Across from him stood…no one. His opponent hadn't reported yet.
"The eighth duelist is late," Kaiba declared to Roland. "Declare me the winner by forfeit so we can continue the tournament."
"Yes, of course," Roland replied. "The winner, by forfeit, is Seto-"
"Stop! I have arrived."
