17. Heart of the Cards
Okay, let's see if there's anything to this 'Heart of the Cards' stuff Yugi and Joey are always harping about, Mai thought as she drew. She had only twenty-one hundred Life Points and nothing on the field except Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation, which was worthless without two or more Harpies. She had Disappear and Dark Witch in her hand, the former of which could be of some use, but it wouldn't be enough without a better defense.
Pegasus, on the other hand, had three thousand Life Points and three Toon Monsters hiding in Toon World. If ever I needed a good draw, it's now, she thought, looking at her card. Pot of Greed! She played it immediately for two more cards. drawing Monster Reborn and Arrow Nails. Finally! she thought, relieved. With Monster Reborn she brought back her Cyber Harpie from the Graveyard then equipped her with Arrow Nails, boosting her to twenty-one hundred attack points.
Pegasus drew and played one card facedown and ended his turn.
"That's it?" she jibed.
"You're not exactly in a position to judge. All I need is the right monster and your Life Points are history."
"But you didn't get the right monster, did you?" she rejoined, then drew. This time she got Mirror Wall, which she played facedown.
"And you mocked me for only playing one facedown card," he sneered as he drew. "Aha," he smiled. "I sacrifice Toon Mermaid and Toon Faceless Mage to play Manga Ryu-Ran. Oh, and by the way, when Toon Mermaid takes Black Pendant with her to the Graveyard, you lose another five hundred Life Points.
Mai grimaced as her Life Points dropped to sixteen hundred. Manga Ryu Ran had twenty-two hundred attack points, which was enough to take out her Cyber Harpie. On the upside, he couldn't attack this turn.
"You know that 'Heart of the Cards' Joey's always talking about?" Mai asked Serenity. When she nodded, Mai said, "It worked the last time. We need it to work again."
Serenity nodded again and took a deep breath. "You'll draw what you need, Mai. I know it."
She drew Exchange. It was a risky card. She only had two cards in her hand: Dark Witch, a level five monster she couldn't play without sacrificing something for it, and Disappear, which removed one card from her opponent's Graveyard from play. Neither card was very useful at the moment, although either one could be useful to Pegasus. He also had only two cards in his hand, and chances were they were Toon-related and not useful to her. However, she was out of options. "I play Exchange. Show me what you got, Pegasus."
She and Serenity walked toward Pegasus to exchange cards. She held out her hand to him so he could pick one of her cards, but he wasn't looking at her hand. He was looking at her with that same odd expression he had on his face when he'd played Gemini Elf.
"Cecelia? Is that you?" he asked and then abruptly seized her arm.
"Mai!" Serenity called out in surprise.
Mai tried to yank her arm away. "Let go of me, you—"
"Mai!" he snapped, his expression clearing again. Keeping firm hold of her arm she jerked her closer, an intent look in his eye, all of his customary jauntiness gone. "Listen to me. If Yugi went to duel Evan he has to make sure Evan doesn't summon Reshef the Dark Being, and if he does, it must be destroyed."
"We know all about Reshef—"
Pegasus tugged on her arm again. "No, you don't! I beat Evan, Mai, I won the duel, but it didn't matter."
"What?" She shook her head, confused. "You won? Then why—"
"Because Evan's Master can control Reshef, can become Reshef. As long as Reshef is on the field, Yugi can't win, even if Evan loses all his Life Points. I had Evan beat, but Reshef took control before the duel could end and attacked me directly. Tell Yugi. He must destroy Reshef or we all lose everything."
"Pegasus, I—" she began, but he shuddered violently and dropped her arm, backing a step away from her.
Mai and Serenity exchanged stunned looks as Pegasus shook his head, white hair flying. Then he straightened, smoothed his hair back, and was back to playing the fop. As if nothing strange had happened, he said impatiently, "I haven't got all day, Mai Sweet Valentine. Are we going to exchange cards or aren't we? You show me yours and I'll show you mine," he added with a mischievous grin.
Mai looked at Serenity again, her eyebrows raised in bewilderment. Serenity simply shrugged.
"Well?" Pegasus asked.
Mai showed him her hand and he chose Dark Witch. He showed her his: Card of Sanctity and Toon Table of Contents. Obviously the latter was no good to her, but Card of Sanctity, which would require each player to draw until they had six cards in their hand, could be just what she needed. Of course, it could help Pegasus as well as her, but she really had no other choice. She chose Card of Sanctity and she and Serenity returned to their side of the field where she played it.
Pegasus drew four more cards while Mai drew five. They were Nightmare Tri-Mirror, Unfriendly Amazon, Emergency Provisions, Stamping Destruction, and Elegant Egotist. Ha! Almost everything I needed! she thought with a smile. She set Nightmare Tri-Mirror facedown and played Elegant Egotist. "Now my Cyber Harpie is joined by her two sisters," Mai said as two more Harpies appeared on the field. "And I play Unfriendly Amazon in attack mode."
"Now why would you do that, Mai Sweet Valentine? You can't attack my Toons," Pegasus cooed, clearly fully back under Evan's control. Or was it Ramesses himself who was controlling him?
"Your Toons don't scare me," Mai shot back.
"Then you're not as smart as I thought you were." Pegasus drew, then played Toon Table of Contents. "This allows me to add any Toon monster from my deck to my hand," he informed her, "and I know just the little fellow I want." Searching his deck, he found what he needed and added it to his hand. "I sacrifice Toon Gemini Elf to play Toon Summoned Skull!"
The twin elves appeared on the field for a moment and Mai noticed Pegasus once again seemed startled by the blonde. For a moment she thought he was going to have another struggle with himself, but then Toon Gemini Elf disappeared and Toon Summoned Skull appeared in its place and the moment was gone. Back to business, Pegasus said, "Now I believe I have a little business for Manga Ryu-Ran to conduct. Attack one of her unarmed Cyber Harpies!"
"Activate Mirror Wall!" Mai cried in response. Mirror Wall materialized behind her monsters and reduced Manga Ryu-Ran's attack by half to eleven hundred. Too late to call off the attack, Manga Ryu-Ran assailed Cyber Harpie and was destroyed, costing Pegasus seven hundred Life Points.
Pegasus growled, then played Monster Reborn, bringing Manga Ryu Ran back.
It was Mai's turn again. She drew Amazoness Paladin. Not what she needed, but it would do for now. She sacrificed one Cyber Harpie to keep Unfriendly Amazon on the field and took a huge gamble. "I play Emergency Provisions, sending my Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation to the Graveyard to gain an additional one thousand Life Points. Then I pay two thousand Life Points to keep Mirror Wall on the field." This brought her down to a mere six hundred Life Points.
Serenity sucked in her breath. "Mai, are you sure it's worth it?"
"I need those Harpies," she said. "It'll be worth it." She then played Amazon Paladin in attack mode. She now had two Cyber Harpies, one with eighteen hundred attack points and the other with twenty-one hundred thanks to Arrow Nail. She also had Unfriendly Amazon with two thousand, and Amazoness Paladin with seventeen hundred plus a one-hundred point boost from having another Amazon on the field. She still couldn't attack, but she had a formidable defense and Mirror Wall would keep her safe for one more turn while she waited for the card she needed.
"Is that all you can do? Your Harpies and Amazons are no match for my Toons," Pegasus taunted her. He drew, played Cost Down, which downgraded all the monsters in his hand two levels. Discarding one card to activate it, he played Mai's Dark Witch and then Toon World turned her into a Toon. She winked and blew a kiss at Mai, who growled in response.
"Ugh, that thing is a disgrace."
"Now, thanks to your Mirror Wall, I can't attack this turn, but you don't have enough Life Points to keep it active on the next turn. I believe this duel is over," Pegasus laughed as Toon Summoned Skull jumped into the Toon World book, followed close behind by a giggling Toon Dark Witch.
"Oh my God, that was the most annoying thing ever," Serenity complained and Mai nodded in agreement. She couldn't stand those vapid Toon females. She had to get Toon World off the field, and quickly.
"My move," Mai said. Come on, Heart of the Cards. I need you one more time. Don't let me lose. I don't know what will happen to Serenity if I end up in the Shadow Realm. Don't let me lose.
"Say good-bye to two thousand Life Points," Rex shouted at Joey. "Oh wait, you only have eleven hundred!"
"Not quite!" Joey responded, activating his trap card. "Celebrations of Creation ends your turn after a monster has been special summoned. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe forming a Fusion Monster qualifies as a Special Summon." He looked over at Rebecca. "Your move."
"Thank you," Rebecca replied, all business. Joey was still in a fairly precarious situation with only eleven hundred Life Points, but he had Blue Flame Swordsman and Rebecca still had all four thousand of her Life Points with Luster Dragon and two set spell or trap cards on the field. Rex had thirty-seven hundred Life Points, Horned Saurus and one trap or spell, and Weevil had thirty-four hundred Life Points, Metal Armored Bug, and one trap or spell.
Rebecca drew, then placed one card in facedown defense mode. "Joey, would you mind if I borrowed a few of Blue Flame Swordsman's Attack Points?"
"Help yourself," Joey replied with a bow. Tristan snorted.
"I'll take all eighteen hundred of Blue Flame Swordsman's attack points and add them to my Luster Dragon, bringing the total attack points to thirty-seven hundred." She looked over the rims of her glasses at Weevil. "I think you'll be the lucky winner today. Luster Dragon, attack his Armored Metal Bug!"
Weevil was thrown back by the force of the attack as the beefed-up Luster Dragon tore through Armored Metal Bug and brought Weevil's Life Points down to twenty-five hundred.
"Way to be, Becks!" Duke cried, clapping her on the back.
"Nice move," Joey nodded.
She gave him a pointed look. "I know you've already sacrificed a lot for me. Anytime I can return the favor, I'd be happy to sacrifice for you," she said.
Joey cocked his head. Was she trying to tell him something? She then placed one card facedown and ended her turn.
"My turn," Weevil snarled. "I play one monster in defense mode and then I activate DNA Surgery to make all your face-up monsters insects. Next I'll play Insect Barrier, which prevents your insect monsters from attacking."
"Great," Joey groaned. "I hate that combo."
"It's your move, Wheeler."
Joey drew and was happy to see his favorite monster, Red-Eyes Black Dragon. He needed to sacrifice two monsters to summon it, but he only had one. He could use one of Rebecca's…. A smile curved on his lips as he remembered what she'd said as she'd ended her turn. He looked at her facedown card. She wanted him to sacrifice it, he realized. "Rebecca, I think I'm gonna take you up on your offer. I sacrifice Rebecca's facedown monster and Blue Flame Swordsman to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
"Well imagine that," Rebecca grinned. "My facedown card happened to be Witch of the Black Forest, and when she goes to the Graveyard, I can put one monster with fifteen hundred defense points or less into my hand." She did that, and Joey thought he knew what she had planned. Unfortunately, neither of them could attack while Weevil had DNA Surgery and Insect Barrier on the field. But at least they could defend themselves.
"And whenever Blue Flame Swordsman goes to the Graveyard, I can summon the original Flame Swordsman to the field from my hand, deck, or Graveyard." He rifled through his deck until he found Flame Swordsman, and placed it in attack mode, then shuffled his deck and ended his turn. It made him nervous that he had no trap or spell cards set to back up his monsters, but he had nothing he could play. Hopefully between Red-Eyes, Flame Swordsman, and Rebecca's monsters and facedown cards, he'd be okay.
"It's amazing what a little non-Orichalcos influenced teamwork can do," Joey said, nodding to Tristan. "Thanks, buddy."
"I've always got your back, bro," Tristan replied.
Rex was next. He drew, then activated the trap card he'd set at the beginning of the duel: Ultimate Offering. At the cost of five hundred Life Points, he was able to summon an extra monster. First he summoned Balloon Lizard, then immediately sacrificed it along with Horned Saurus to summon Tyrant Dragon. Joey groaned.
"What?" Tristan asked.
"Tyrant Dragon can attack twice as long as there are still monsters on our side of the field. He can get rid of both of my monsters, or one of mine and one of Rebecca's—"
"Except for a little thing I like to call Gravity Bind!" Rebecca interrupted, activating one of her facedown cards. "No level four or higher monsters can attack."
"Wait, doesn't Tyrant Dragon negate trap cards?" Duke asked.
"Only ones that specifically designate it as a target," Rebecca replied. "Gravity Bind affects all level four and higher monsters, not Tyrant Dragon specifically."
"See, that's why you're in the top eight and I'm not," Duke grinned.
"My turn," she announced, drawing and then looking quite pleased with herself. "I sacrifice Luster Dragon to summon Luster Dragon Two. Then I'll pay five hundred Life Points to use Rex's Ultimate Offering and sacrifice this Luster Dragon to summon Marie the Fallen One. Then I'll play Monster Reborn to special summon Luster Dragon Two from the Graveyard. Then I'll activate my Adamantine Sword Revival and sacrifice Luster Dragon Two again to summon my Diamond Head Dragon, which gets Luster Dragon Two's twenty-four hundred attack points plus a thousand more for a whopping thirty-four hundred attack points!" She leaned back, a satisfied smile on her face.
Joey whistled. "Wow! That's a lotta attack points!"
"Too bad Gravity Bind and Insect Barrier both keep her from attacking!" Weevil sneered.
"We'll see. They can't last forever," Rebecca replied, smug. She played her last card facedown in a trap/magic slot on her duel disk. "Your turn, Weevil."
"About time," Weevil grumbled. He drew, and then cackled. "Ha! Just what I was hoping for. First I play Leghul in attack mode. It's level three you'll notice and perfectly able to attack despite Gravity Bind. Oh, and did I mention it also can attack Life Points directly?"
Joey groaned. It was only three hundred attack points, but while he was unable to attack at all and down to eleven hundred, he wouldn't hold out long.
"Oh, you think it's bad now, just wait," Weevil screeched. "I also pay five hundred Life Points to use Rex's Ultimate Offering so that I can summon the Cocoon of Evolution. I'll equip it to my facedown monster, Larvae Moth in defense mode. My Cocoon now has twenty-four hundred defense points and in four turns it will evolve into Great Moth. If it evolves for five turns, it will become Perfectly Great Moth, with thirty-five hundred attack points!"
"And won't be able to attack with Gravity Bind on the field," Joey pointed out.
"Like Rebecca said, it can't last forever. And in the meantime, I also am going to equip Leghul with Laser Canon Armor, bringing its attack to eight hundred, and I'll attack Wheeler's Life Points directly!"
Joey shielded himself with his arm as the all-too-real Shadow Realm loss of eight hundred Life Points blasted him, bringing him down to a mere three hundred.
Crap, he thought. One more hit and I'm done.
At least now it was his move.
The moment Téa touched his arm, Yugi's head cleared. Strength surged through him; not the dark, corrupting strength of the Orichalcos, but real strength, strength from within. Strength from solidarity. He gave Téa a small smile of gratitude, then turned to Evan.
"You were saying?"
"You!" Evan gasped at Téa, clearly stunned. "You! You're in the Shadow Realm!"
"Apparently not," Yugi deadpanned.
"How?" Evan demanded.
"I guess Reshef isn't as all-powerful as you'd like to believe."
Evan fumed for a moment, then said, "However you did it, these two can't be here. They're not a part of this duel."
"You didn't mind having a lot of innocent bystanders around the last time," Kaiba responded, "and no one said anything about not being allowed an audience."
Evan's eyes narrowed. "Since when does an audience stand right by your side on the field?"
"Since you made it a point of attacking people not involved in the duel! I want my brother where I can protect him!"
"The only terms of this duel were that Kaiba and I play as an Asian-rules tag team," Yugi said evenly, "that we cannot summon monsters outside of standard tournament rules, and that we cannot make attacks that would be illegal under standard tournament rules. I don't remember anyone stipulating that we can't have outside support."
"Supporters are not allowed on the field during a duel," Evan insisted.
"This isn't a tournament, it's a Shadow Game, and you yourself said that Shadow Games have their own rules," Yugi reminded him.
"You need your girlfriend and your little brother to hold your hands while you duel?"
"What are you afraid of, Evan?" Yugi shot back before Kaiba could balk. "That friendship can overcome the Orichalcos? That it can overcome the Shadow Realm?"
"That's ridiculous!" Evan spat. "Nothing is stronger than the Shadow Realm!"
"Then let's stop talking and get back to dueling," Kaiba said. "Are you finished with your turn or aren't you?"
"I will not continue until they leave the field!"
Kaiba glanced at Yugi. "Maybe we should switch to Japanese? He doesn't seem to be understanding English." Then to Evan, he asked, "If you won't continue, then am I to understand you're forfeiting?"
"Of course I'm not forfeiting! I'm seven hundred Life Points away from sending you both to the Shadow Realm!"
"Then let's get on with it," Kaiba stated.
Evan glared at Kaiba, then finally deciding he had no choice, set one facedown card.
The duel having resumed, Yugi took a moment to look at the field, reminding himself of where they'd left off. He had seven hundred Life Points and Chimera had just returned to his side of the field. In his hand were Black Luster Soldier, Dark Magician, Dark Renewal, Kuriboh, Dark Magician Girl, and Rope of Life. Kaiba had nothing on the field, but five thousand Life Points. Evan had Senju of the Thousand Hands, one trap or spell card, and forty-five hundred Life Points.
"Well, well," Kaiba said with a smug smile as he drew. "It looks like the real duel is about to begin. First I'll summon my Kaiser Sea Horse. Next, I'll use my White Dragon Ritual, sacrificing Cave Dragon to do so, to summon Paladin of White Dragon, which I'll then sacrifice to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"Blue-Eyes, Nii-sama, way to go!" Mokuba cried, patting his brother on the back.
Paladin of White Dragon dissolved and the massive form of Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared hovering protectively over Kaiba's head. Yugi smiled. Kaiba was nearly invincible once he had Blue-Eyes on his side of the field.
"Now Kaiser Sea Horse, attack Senju of the Thousand Hands!" Kaiser Sea Horse attacked, sending Senju to the Graveyard and bringing Evan's Life Points to forty-two hundred. Blue-Eyes could not attack on the same turn it was special summoned by Paladin of White Dragon, so Kaiba set one card facedown and ended his turn.
"Good luck," Téa whispered, squeezing Yugi's shoulder as he drew.
He nodded at her, then looked at the card he just drew. Magician of Faith. He eyed Téa. "Now I know I can't lose."
"Heart of the Cards?"
"Well, that, yes. But look." He turned his hand slightly so that she could see what he'd just drawn. "Remember this card?"
"I remember."
"With these two cards in my deck," he indicated Magician of Faith and Dark Magician Girl, "you're always with me, you know that? And now they're both in my hand. That's how I know I can't lose."
She smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder again.
"Are you going to consult your girlfriend before each move?" Evan complained.
Yugi turned his gaze to Evan and glared. "I play one monster in defense position," he announced, playing Magician of Faith facedown on the field. "Now my Chimera will attack your Life Points directly!"
Chimera attacked and Evan was blown back as his Life Point counter clicked down to twenty-one hundred. Yugi then set Dark Renewal and Rope of Life face down and ended his turn.
"Finally. Now, as Kaiba said, it's time for the real duel to begin," Evan said, drawing a card. "First I activate my trap card, Solemn Wishes. It gives me five hundred additional Life Points every time I draw, just in time for me to play Pot of Greed." He drew two more cards and his Life Points went up to twenty-six hundred. "Now I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands. This allows me to add one Ritual monster or spell card from my deck to my hand."
"Reshef!" Yugi gasped, looking at Téa. Her eyes widened, but she gave a resolute nod and squeezed his shoulder.
He then exchanged glances with Kaiba, who narrowed his eyes and gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. He's ready for this, Yugi thought
Evan called out his next move. "Now I tribute Dark Necrofear from my hand to perform the Final Ritual of the Ancients and summon Reshef the Dark Being, god of war and plagues and guardian to the great Pharaoh Ramesses!"
Joey drew. Heart of the Cards, show me some love. With only three hundred Life Points left, he needed all the help he could get. He did have Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Flame Swordsman on the field, but thanks to Weevil's DNA Surgery/Insect Barrier combo, they couldn't attack. Rebecca was faring better, with thirty-five hundred Life Points and Diamond Head Dragon, Marie the Fallen One, and Gravity Bind on the field. Rex still had thirty-two hundred Life Points, Tyrant Dragon, and Ultimate Offering while Weevil had two thousand Life Points, Leghul, and Cocoon of Evolution in addition to his DNA Surgery and Insect Barrier.
Joey looked at his card. Scapegoat. Well, it wouldn't protect him against Weevil's Leghul, but it might come in handy later. Teeth clenched, he played it facedown and ended his turn.
Rex drew. He played Pot of Greed and then drew two more cards. "Well, Wheeler, it's been nice knowing you," he grinned.
"Yeah, that's like the third time you guys've said that and look! I'm still here!"
"Not this time. I play Monster Reborn to bring back Horned Saurus from the Graveyard. Now I can only use his special effect once per duel, but since I couldn't use it last time and using Monster Reborn is a special summons, it looks like Horned Saurus is going to attack your Life Points directly, and I don't think the three hundred you have left is enough to save you."
"You forgot about Gravity Bind," Joey reminded him.
"Oh, that's right, Gravity Bind. If only I had a way to get rid of it… oh wait," Rex taunted. "What do I have here? Why, it looks like I have Remove Trap. Why, I think I'll play it and get rid of Gravity Bind." He played the magic card and Rebecca's Gravity Bind dissolved.
"Attack Wheeler's Life Points directly, Horned Saurus!"
"Activate Mirror Force trap card!" Rebecca called out, and Joey breathed a sigh of relief. Mirror Force destroyed Horned Saurus and all other attack position monsters, including Tyrant Dragon and Weevil's Leghul, leaving only the Cocoon of Evolution on their side of the field.
Rex howled in frustration. "You have more lives than a cat, Wheeler!"
"No, I just have good friends. Thanks, Short Stuff."
"Anytime, Underdog," she grinned.
"I'll let that pass, seeing as you just saved my butt and all."
"Like you said, it's amazing what a little non-Orichalcos influenced teamwork can do. Okay, now I believe it's my turn," she went on. The card she drew was the only card in her hand, and she played it immediately. It was Pot of Greed, so she drew two more cards. First she played Stamping Destruction. It destroyed Weevil's Insect Barrier and delivered five hundred points of damage to his Life Points.
Joey crowed happily. "Way to go! Now we can attack!"
Rebecca then played Fire Princess in attack mode. It's over, Joey thought. She has enough to get rid of Cocoon of Evolution and then go after Weevil's Life Points.
Rex had other ideas, however. He activated his last trap card, Torrential Tribute, which destroyed every monster on the field when a monster was summoned. Fire Princess, Diamond Head Dragon, Marie the Fallen One, Red-Eyes, Flame Swordsman, and Cocoon of Evolution all disintegrated. Rebecca gritted her teeth angrily.
Weevil's turn. He drew then played Cockroach Knight in attack mode. He called an attack on Joey's Life Points, and Joey activated his Scapegoat magic card. Four Scapegoats appeared on the field, and one of them immediately was destroyed by Weevil's insect. Then it was his turn again.
Okay, Heart of the Cards. Time to end this thing. He drew and looked at his card. Monster Reborn. Joey crowed victoriously. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Attack Weevil's Cockroach Knight, Red-Eyes!" Red-Eyes attacked, destroying Weevil's insect and his last remaining nine hundred Life Points along with it. Weevil was knocked backwards by the attack, then he collapsed to the ground, Rex following suit soon after. For the third time in two days, Rex and Weevil had been sent to the Shadow Realm.
"Way to go, bro, you did it!" Tristan shouted, slapping Joey on the back.
Rebecca and Duke came over to join them. "That was great, Joey. I forgot how much fun dueling can be when I'm not all weird and angry," she smiled.
"You got that right," Joey agreed heartily.
"It was good dueling with you," she added. "You're a little unorthodox, but you're not half bad."
"I'd tag team with you any day, Rebecca," Joey said, bumping fists with her then clasping her hand.
"Not to rain on the victory parade, but don't you think we'd better go see how Yugi and Kaiba are doing with Evan?" Tristan asked.
Joey's mood darkened. "You bet. I wanna be there when Evan gets his ass handed to him."
Come on, Heart of the Cards. One more time, Mai prayed. I've only got six hundred Life Points left. She did still have two Cyber Harpies, Amazoness Paladin, and Unfriendly Amazon, plus her Mirror wall, but the latter two would be gone as soon as she drew and Pegasus still had Toon World protecting his three Toon monsters. She drew then looked at her card. Graceful Charity. She neither sacrificed a monster nor paid two thousand Life Points, so Unfriendly Amazon and Mirror Wall both disappeared from the field. Then, holding her breath, she drew three more cards. Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation, Gravity Bind, and… Harpie's Pet Dragon! "Bingo," she said, smiling at Serenity. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to see those Toons erased. Shall we?"
"Sounds good to me," Serenity agreed, relieved.
She discarded Disappear and Gravity Bind to fulfill Graceful Charity's requirement then announced, "First, I sacrifice Amazoness Paladin and one Cyber Harpie to summon Harpie's Pet Dragon." That left her with one more Cyber Harpie on the field. "Next I activate my Nightmare Tri-Mirror. It allows me one copy of one of my monsters for every monster you have on the field, and since even hidden inside your Toon World book, your Toon monsters are still on the field, that gives me three new Cyber Harpies. Since Harpie's Pet Dragon gets three hundred additional attack points for every Harpie on the field, he now has thirty-two hundred attack points."
"You still can't attack my Toons," Pegasus told her.
"No, but they won't be Toons for long. I play my Stamping Destruction magic card, which destroys one magic or trap card on your side of the field so long as I have a face-up Dragon on my side of the field. Oh, and did I mention it takes five hundred Life Points along with it? Good-bye, Toon world," she said as the giant book blew apart. Pegasus shielded his face with his arm as he lost five hundred Life Points, bringing him down to eighteen hundred. Toon Summoned Skull, Toon Dark Witch, and Manga Ryu-Ran all appeared on the field and reverted to their non-Toon forms.
"And last but definitely not least, I play Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation. For every Harpie Lady on my side of the field, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field. I count four, Pegasus, which means all three of your monsters are history, leaving your Life Points wide open."
"No!" Pegasus cried as all three of his monsters dissolved. Harpie's Pet Dragon was all she needed to finish the job and Pegasus's Life Points clicked down to zero.
"And that goes to prove I can beat you without the Seal of Orichalcos, Pegasus."
Pegasus shuddered, then suddenly gave Mai another piercing look. "Good work, Mai. Remember… Reshef…" Then he slumped to the floor. Serenity let go of Mai's shoulder for the first time since the duel began and ran to Pegasus's side.
"The Shadow Realm again?" Mai asked and Serenity nodded.
"What should we do with him?" Serenity asked.
"Leave him here for now. We need to go help Yugi and Kaiba."
"Wait. I have to get something first," Serenity said. "I think it'll help."
"Just make it quick," Mai told her. Her arms were crossed and she was drumming her fingers on them in worry. "You heard what Pegasus said. We need to get there before Evan gets Reshef on the field or Yugi and Kaiba are sunk."