Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and references belong to their respective owners. The song Duel Madness belongs to the artist and the company that recorded it and was used in this story with the best of intentions. Story elements © Hideki LaShae. No money was gained in the writing of this story.
WARNING: This story contains sensitive cultural practices and references that might offend some readers. The views and opinions of the cultures which condone these practices are not shared by this author, but they are included in this story for awareness purposes only.
Time to Duel, Mariko!
By
Hideki LaShae
Chapter Six
Moonlight Destiny
Marie secures her duel disk onto her arm. She looks at Seto as he secures his own duel disk to his arm. "I want to duel you, Seto, in the Battle City finals. I'll earn my way into a place there!"
"Are you sure, Marie?" asks Seto raising his eyebrows.
"I'm a good duelist! I can fight my way into this tournament!" exclaims Marie.
"Well, if you're sure, Marie," says Mokuba holding out a cell phone to her, "Here… take this with you so that we can keep in touch!"
"Thanks, Mokuba!" exclaims Marie reaching out with her left hand for the phone.
Mokuba grabs Marie's hand and turns it so that he can see the ring on her ring finger. His eyes widen as he looks at the marquis diamond. "Is this an engagement ring?"
"Yes," says Seto smiling at Marie and Mokuba.
Mokuba throws his arms around Marie's neck and hugs her tightly. "All right! Welcome to the family, Marie!"
"Thanks, Mokie!" Marie takes the cell phone and tucks it into a pocket. "Let's go to Battle City!"
"You are going to have a visit with my doctor first, Marie," says Seto, "On the blimp, of course."
Marie nods. "All right. I'll let your doctor examine me, but that's all I'll let him do today. I have some locator cards to win! I'm already behind because I wasn't here when the tournament started!"
Seto chuckles. "Very well."
Seto and Mokuba each take one of Marie's hands and pull her out to the helicopter that will be taking them into Battle City.
Marie walks down the street. She already found another sucker who thought that since she was a girl she wouldn't be a tough duelist. It was an easy victory for her to win against the fool, and now three locator cards reside in a box sheath on her hip. She looks around her for her next victim.
"Would you care for a duel, Marie Motou?"
Marie spins towards the sound of the voice. She sees a woman in an Egyptian dress with a veil over her face. She smiles as she sees the duel disk. "So… I see you entered the tournament too, Ishizu. Why ever would you do that?"
"I have my reasons, as do you," says Ishizu.
Marie nods her head.
"Yes, Marie… I have three locator cards, would you care for a duel? Winner take all?" asks Ishizu.
"No, Ishizu… I have other plans. I know the way you duel," says Marie, "and I know that I couldn't win if you've already seen the outcome."
"You are not meant to participate in this tournament," says Ishizu, "And your fiancé's rules do clearly state that all challenges must be accepted."
"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" asks Marie with a quiet sigh.
"I am afraid that you cannot," says Ishizu smiling.
"Fine, then I accept your challenge," says Marie smiling. She nearly jumps when her cell phone rings. She pulls the phone from her pocket and pushes the talk button before she holds it up to her ear. "Marie here!"
Marie! It's Mokuba!
"Hey, Mokuba! What's up? How's Seto doing in the tournament?" asks Marie.
Well, Seto's in the finals, but that's not why I called! I thought you might want to know…
"Know what?" asks Marie.
Yugi is fighting Joey in a life or death match instigated by the Rare Hunters! And they have Téa trapped with a crane ready to drop a ton of weight on her if we try to stop the duel! exclaims Mokuba.
"Where are you?" asks Marie as her eyes widen.
At the docks!
"I'm on my way, Mokuba! I'll see you in a few!" exclaims Marie turning the phone off and tucking it in her pocket again, "I have to go, Ishizu, but I will be back for our duel! Will you wait for me in the café over there? I'll be back as soon as I can!"
"Do as you must, Marie. I will wait for our match," says Ishizu.
"Thank you, Ishizu!" exclaims Marie running away as fast as she can towards the docks. She hails a taxi as she runs. She climbs into the cab, and it drives off quickly to go to the docks.
Will Yugi control the power
Or will the power control Yugi?
Marie arrives at the docks just a moment after Tristan gets there with three people she hadn't met before. She runs towards the awkward duel field. "T-bird! Oh, Isis! Yugi! Joey! Téa!"
"Hey, Marie!" exclaims Tristan as Marie runs up beside him, "Have you been having trouble with robed goons too?"
"Not a bit," says Marie looking at Tristan. She sees the other three people. "What's going on here? Who're your buds, Tristan? Why are Joey and Yugi dueling like this? And why is my T-bird tied to a chair with a ton of junk hanging over her head?"
"I don't know what's going on," says Tristan, "This is Serenity Wheeler, Joey's little sister. And Duke Devlin, he's a friend from school and the inventor of Dungeon Dice. Also Mai Valentine. She's another friend of ours. We met her in Duelist Kingdom!"
"Nice to meet you all! I'm Yugi's twin sister, Marie Motou! Now what do we have to do to stop this?"
"We can't do anything to stop it or that guy will hurt Téa!" exclaims Mokuba.
Marie's body seethes with anger as she walks up to stand beside Mokuba and Seto. She watches enraged as Joey and Yugi duel each other, but there isn't anything she can do about it and that thought infuriates her even more. She reaches down to her waist and flexes her fingers as if she were closing them around the scale that isn't there.
Mokuba sees Marie reaching for the scale, and he grabs her hand. He squeezes her hand to comfort her.
"We have to stop this!" exclaims Mai after Yugi takes another blow to his life points.
"You'll do no such thing!" exclaims a man in a dark robe as he leads a group of four similarly dressed men towards the docks.
"It's more of Marik's goons!" exclaims Duke turning to look at the men.
Marie spins around and glares at the men. "This is your doing! Fine, then I guess that means you're my opponents! Prepare to fight!"
The men look at Marie as she runs towards them.
Marie starts to fight the men with a martial art form that hasn't been seen for many generations while the others continue to watch the duel.
Tristan keeps an eye on Marie and watches her knocking some sense into her attackers.
Marie runs back over to Seto's side as the last of the rare hunters crumples to the ground in an unconscious state. She sees the last attack of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon against Joey's life points.
Joey swings over to Yugi using the chain that connects him to the anchor that will drop in thirty seconds. He grabs the key from Yugi's box.
Everyone stands in awe hoping that Joey will free them both in enough time.
The anchor drops and drags Joey and Yugi into the water.
"Joey!" screams Mai, "Yugi!"
Yugi surfaces the water.
"Yami!" exclaims Marie jumping into the water and wrapping her arms around Yugi, "Um… I guess this would be a bad time to mention that I can't swim!"
"I'm coming, Yugi!" exclaims Tristan jumping into the water and moving to Yugi and Marie's side, "Just kick, Marie. I'll do the rest." He wraps his arm around Yugi's back and helps Marie pull him back onto the dock.
"What about Joey?" asks Téa as Mokuba frees her from the chair she was strapped to.
"He didn't take his key!" exclaims Duke.
"I'll get it!" exclaims Tristan.
Serenity jumps into the water and the bandages that she had worn over her eyes flies away in the light breeze. She finds Joey and unlocks his leg from the anchor. Then she helps him to swim to the surface.
"Joey!" exclaims Téa seeing her friend break the surface of the water.
Joey and Serenity climb up onto the dock.
"Come, Mokuba, Marie… we are finished here," says Seto.
"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point, Seto!" exclaims Marie, "I have a promise to keep! See you soon!" She runs off across the dock and shrugs her shoulders lightly when she doesn't see the rare hunters lying on the ground anymore. She hurries back to the café and sees Ishizu sitting with a cup of tea. "Hey, Ishizu! I'm back!"
I've got Duel Madness in my brain
Monster influence, in my veins…
"If not for my necklace, I would not have been sure if you would return," says Ishizu.
"Is your necklace ever wrong?" asks Marie sitting down in front of Ishizu.
"Never," says Ishizu.
"What if you were to pit your necklace against another item? Say the puzzle or the rod," says Marie, "or even my scale."
Ishizu sets down her cup of tea and looks into Marie's eyes. "Then the stronger item would win. I cannot win against the power of a stronger Millennium Item. It would have the power to change the fate seen by my necklace."
"So which item is stronger? Your necklace or my scale?" Marie lifts Ishizu's cup to her lips and takes the last drink of the tea.
"Would you use your scale in our duel? You have always fought vigilantly against the spirit of your scale, and against the evil that it contains. Has it been a losing battle? Will you now embrace that evil to defeat me in a duel?"
"You know the answer. I will not embrace that evil," says Marie setting down the empty cup, "but if I could wield the power of my scale without once again unleashing that evil, I would."
"Let's begin our duel," says Ishizu standing, "Winner take all."
Marie nods and stands.
Ishizu and Marie head into the street. They shuffle their decks quickly and insert them into their duel disks. "Let's duel!"
A crowd begins to gather around Marie and Ishizu as they draw their cards into their hands.
"Wisdom before beauty, Ishizu. You go first!" exclaims Marie.
"Just as I predicted!" exclaims Ishizu, "I will start by playing one magic card, and then I will place this monster in defense mode!"
"Ceremonial Bell! That means we have to show each other our hands!" exclaims Marie. She shows her hand to Ishizu.
Ishizu shows her hand to Marie.
"You realize this only helps me," says Marie, "My first card will also be in defense mode, Banisher of the Light, so that any cards sent to the Graveyard are removed from play!"
"I am aware of your monster's special ability," says Ishizu drawing a card. "I will now summon a different monster in attack mode, Ooguchi, which has the power to attack your life points directly."
"Getting a bit desperate already?" asks Marie as Ishizu shows her hand to her. She draws a card and slides it into a card slot on her duel disk. "I'll play Soul Exchange and sacrifice your monsters to summon forth my Dark Magician! And since I sacrificed your Ceremonial Bell, I no longer have to show you my hand, but since my Banisher of the Light is still on the field, your cards are removed from play."
Ishizu removes her two cards from the top of the duel disk and places them in a special section of the duel disk that slides out.
"Now! Dark Magician, attack her life points directly!" exclaims Marie, "Dark Magic attack!"
Got a card face down, make a face-up crowd
Face up, showdown, say the words out loud…
Ishizu's life points drop to reflect the current attack.
"Your move, Ishizu!" exclaims Marie.
"That will be the last time you attack me," says Ishizu drawing a card. She places the card into her duel disk. She pulls a card from her hand and slides it into the duel disk. She looks at her hand for a moment as if deciding which card to play. She pulls a card from her hand and places it on the top of the duel disk. "I will place two magic cards and summon forth Dream Clown in attack mode."
"But that's a weak monster! The Dark Magician will crush it in a second and leave her down to 200 life points!" exclaims a boy in the crowd, "That girl's either stupid or crazy!"
Marie draws a card. "First, I'll summon my Dark Magician Girl by sacrificing my Banisher of the Light. Next I play a card to boost her attack points. I play the field magic card Yami! I'll set one magic card for later. Now, Dark Magician Girl, destroy that Dream Clown!"
The cute holographic girl raises her short wand and powers up a ball of dark energy.
"Hold it right there, Dark Magician Girl!" exclaims Ishizu.
"Huh?" asks Marie.
"I activate my trap card, Gravity Bind!" exclaims Ishizu, "All of your level four or higher monsters cannot attack!"
"Stay powered up, Dark Magician Girl! I'll handle the roadblock!" exclaims Marie. "Activate trap card, Remove Trap! Destroy Gravity Bind! Now, Dark Magician Girl, complete your attack!"
"Hold, Dark Magician Girl!" exclaims Ishizu.
"Now what?" asks Marie.
"I activate my magic card, Messenger of Peace!" exclaims Ishizu, "At a cost of 100 of my life points, your monsters can't attack!"
"Stand down, Dark Magician Girl!" exclaims Marie, "Your move, Ishizu!" Her right hand moves to rest on her hip, and she taps her fingers against her hip.
Ishizu draws a card. She slides it into a magic slot on her duel disk. "I will place one card, and then I will switch my Dream Clown to defense mode and destroy your Dark Magician!"
"That will power up my Dark Magician Girl even more!" exclaims Marie.
"Not when I use my magic card, Monster Reborn to revive your Banisher of the Light on my side of the field… in defense mode. No monsters with attack points over 1500 can attack, and now any monsters that are sent to the Graveyard are removed from play once again," says Ishizu. She smiles. "Make your move, Marie."
Marie thinks to herself as she sets her hand on her duel disk preparing to draw her card. 'Without a high-powered monster, I can't destroy the Banisher of the Light. With that magic card on the field, I can't attack. I'm stuck! I don't think there are any cards in my deck that can help me now!'
"What are you waiting for, Marie?" asks Ishizu.
Marie draws a card. "I'll pass this turn."
Ishizu draws a card and slides it into her duel disk. She takes another card and slides it into the duel disk. She takes the last card from her hand and places it on top of the duel disk. "I'll activate the magic card, Change of Heart, to gain control of your Dark Magician Girl. Next I will play the magic card De-Spell to destroy my Messenger of Peace! And I will summon my monster, Souls of the Forgotten! Since you no longer have any monsters on the field, all my monsters can attack your life points directly! I switch Dream Clown and Banisher of the Light to attack mode. Monsters! Attack!"
Marie turns her face away as her life points are blown away. She pulls her deck from her duel disk and shuffles through it. She pulls out the three rarest cards in her deck, two that she had gained from her opponents earlier on in the tournament and her Dark Magician Girl card. She opens the box sheath at her hip and pulls out the three-locator cards. She steps up to Ishizu and holds out the six cards. "There you go, your prize for winning. See you later, Ishizu."
Ishizu takes the cards and starts to look at them as Marie walks away. She sees the Dark Magician Girl on the bottom of the stack, and her eyes widen. She looks at Marie's retreating back. "Marie!"
Marie breaks into a run and races as fast as she can down the street.
Ishizu looks at the Dark Magician Girl again.
Got to feel the heart, got to be smart play the card…Marie meets Seto and Mokuba at the stadium that the six-locator cards identified as the location of the Battle City finals. She walks up to Seto and shakes her head slightly. She wraps her arms around him. She whispers quietly, "I couldn't fight my own fate. I lost my Dark Magician Girl. Without the powers of the Millennium Scale, I'm just a mediocre duelist… especially against the power of another Millennium Item."
"Not true. You didn't have the Millennium Scale last time we dueled," whispers Seto into Marie's ear, "and even though you didn't win, you did give me a real run for my money. You're a great duelist."
"But I lost," whispers Marie, "I've lost it all… my Dark Magician Girl, my locator cards, my Millennium Scale, my will to duel… I've lost it all."
Seto pulls Marie into a closer, more personal embrace and holds her tightly. He kisses her cheek and whispers, "You haven't lost me."
"Hey, here come some of the finalists!" exclaims Mokuba.
Marie steps out of Seto's arms. She turns to look at the group that approaches. She smiles when she sees Joey, Mai, Yugi, and all their friends. She looks at the ground, and her mind wanders away for several minutes. She doesn't hear the conversation around her, and she doesn't see the others arrive.
"Marie! Come on!" exclaims Mokuba grabbing Marie's hand.
Marie blinks and realizes where she is. She looks at Seto with his cold exterior expression, but she sees a small spark of warmth in his eyes. Then she looks at Mokuba. "Right!"
Mokuba pulls Marie into the blimp right before the finalists enter.
Marie lies on an operating table inside the medical lab of Kaiba Corporation's blimp. She relaxes as the gas tries to put her to sleep. Her eyes droop, and she succumbs to the gas. She is completely unaware that on the roof of the blimp, the Battle City finals are commencing, but it doesn't matter to her… She lost her place in the finals anyway. Right now, she just wants to get this operation done.
The doctors keep track of Marie's vital statistics while they go about the task of removing the stitches that bind her vulva closed. They don't speak except for asking for various tools and reporting her statistics. They don't want anyone to hear them talking about what type of monsters would do something like this to a young girl, especially on her tenth birthday.
Marie puts on a special outfit, one that she only wore one time before but always kept in her over-night bag. She pulls her purple pants on over the top of her other clothing, and she gasps in pain. She takes one of the pain pills the doctor had given her after she woke up, and she swallows it with some water. She pulls on a long-sleeved white T-shirt and secures her purple jacket over top. She slides her feet into her pumps and heads out to watch Seto go into a duel against the mysterious eighth duelist; the person she knows must be Ishizu Ishtar. She hurries up to the top of the blimp where the dueling platform is, and she joins Yugi and his group of friends. She stands restlessly beside them. She looks up at Seto and smiles to herself. She's glad that his match came last, and thankful that her surgery didn't take very long except for the waking up after the effects of the anesthesia wore off.
"It's getting colder up here," says Téa shivering.
Marie pulls off her jacket and tosses it over Téa's head. "Take it, T-bird. It'll keep you warm."
Téa pulls Marie's jacket on. "Thank you, Camaro, but won't you get cold?"
"I don't get cold," says Marie smiling.
"If the eighth duelist doesn't get here in thirty seconds, we're calling it a forfeit!" exclaims Seto.
The light on the elevator flashes signaling that someone is coming up.
"Someone's coming!" exclaims Seto.
All eyes turn to the elevator as the doors open, and a woman in Egyptian clothing steps out onto the duel platform.
"How dare you keep me waiting? Who are you?" asks Seto angrily.
The woman removes her veil. "You may call me Ishizu Ishtar, but I am not the duelist who you are waiting for, Seto Kaiba. She is already here. The eighth duelist is Marie Twin, guardian of the Pharaoh's Crypt."
"Me?" asks Marie, "But you won our duel!"
"That may be true, but still you are the one meant to complete this fight, with my deck! When I defeated you, I received a card I was never meant to possess. I will return it to you if you would duel for me," says Ishizu, "and as the guardian of the Pharaoh's Crypt, you must obey my request! It is a guardian's duty."
"I could never refuse a chance at a rematch!" exclaims Marie, "If it's my destiny to fight Seto now, then that's what I'll do! And I'll duel as a guardian as is my right and duty!"
Ishizu climbs down from the duel platform quickly as Marie pulls off her white shirt and purple pants. She passes the duel disk with her deck already in place to Marie.
Marie secures the duel disk to her arm quickly. She jumps into the air, grabs the railing, and pulls herself over it onto the dueling arena. She flinches from the pain coursing through her lower body, but she tries to hide her pain from everyone as she stands with her legs spread apart. She now wears a tight, cream-colored tank top with a matching cream-colored skirt. Her skirt is split along both sides so that her legs are revealed all the way up to her hips, but the bandages that the doctors put into place are, thankfully enough, not visible. It appears to be more of a loincloth than an actual skirt.
Yugi gasps when he sees Marie dressed like this.
The most surprising thing about Marie's appearance is actually the markings on her skin, the Egyptian hieroglyphics that scroll down her arms and legs.
"Shuffle the deck as much as you want, Marie. You will know the strategy that my Millennium necklace showed me when you see the cards that you draw," says Ishizu.
Marie nods. "I will free brother Marik from the curse of the Millennium Rod! That is my duty as a guardian of the tomb. Let's duel, Kaiba!"
"You're a tomb-keeper too?" asks Seto with wide eyes. "What exactly are you guarding?"
"Long ago in ancient times… A sacred game was played in both spirit and mind," says Marie raising her right hand into the air, "Seven items hold the mystery, Puzzle, Eye, Necklace, Ring, Rod, Scale, and Key!" When she says the word scale, the Millennium Scale appears in her hand.
"Where did that come from?" asks Duke staring in shock at Marie.
Marie lowers the Millennium Scale down to her waist where a strap appears to hold it in place. "I will be needing that later, when it's time that we discover which item has more power, the Millennium Scale or the Millennium Necklace! It's time to duel, Seto!"
Seto draws his hand from his deck.
Got to find a way just to play just a little game
Got a compulsion, want to be a champion…
Marie draws the five cards for her hand. The wind whips at her clothing showing more and more of her flesh as her skirt rises from the force.
An image flashes through Seto's mind, and he falls into its hold.
Seto walks into the bathroom and smiles.
Marie sits in the bathtub with her eyes closed. Her body is completely hidden from view by the bubbles of the bubble bath.
Seto quickly removes his pajama pants and his bikini briefs. He slips into the bathtub with Marie and sits down beside her.
Marie opens her eyes and smiles at Seto. "Will you wash my back?"
Seto nods and lifts a bar of soap. "Turn around."
Marie moves to sit in front of Seto with her back facing him.
Seto lathers up Marie's back and massages the soap into her skin. He pulls Marie backwards so that her back rests against his chest, and he starts to wash her stomach.
Marie sighs delightedly as Seto's hands massage her skin.
Seto slides his hands around on Marie's body, and he touches her in places and ways that make her moan joyfully. He starts kissing her neck. "I love you."
Marie turns around in Seto's arms and presses her chest up against his as she kisses him. "I love you, Seto!"
"We should get you ready," says Seto smiling slyly, "I'll wash you, and then you can get dressed."
"Okay!" exclaims Marie nodding.
Seto begins his meticulous task of scrubbing every inch of Marie's body for her. He lathers up her hair with the shampoo and rinses the soap away. "All done!"
"Okay… now close your eyes so I can get out, Seto," says Marie moving to the other side of the bathtub.
"My eyes are closed," says Seto closing his eyes.
Marie looks at Seto and climbs from the bathtub.
Seto opens one eye and looks at Marie. "You are very beautiful, Marie…"
Marie spins around quickly and catches Seto peeking at her before he closes his eye tight, but only after getting a very good look at her unclothed front side. "Seto! No peeking! The last thing I want is you to be staring at me while I'm getting dressed!"
"I would only be staring at parts of you!" exclaims Seto.
Marie grabs a towel and wraps it around her wet body. She smiles as she turns around and sits down in front of the vanity mirror. "You can look now."
Seto opens his eyes and looks at Marie. He lifts the soap and begins to wash his own body while Marie brushes her hair and sprays in her conditioner before blow-drying it.
"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" asks Marie turning around to look at Seto. Her towel slides up a little to show some of her thigh.
Seto smiles. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, Marie."
"Thank you…" Marie stands up and walks over to the door. She looks over the two outfits that Seto had brought out, a white and black for him and a purple and deep blue for her. She keeps her back turned towards Seto as she removes her towel and dries her skin quickly. She rubs her hands along her arms as she drops the towel to the floor. "My skin feels really smooth now. What kind of soap is that?"
"I have no idea!" exclaims Seto chuckling as he watches Marie.
"I bet Grandpa would have a cow if he knew about this!" exclaims Marie pulling the deep blue tank top over her head and smoothing it down over her body.
Seto snorts. "That old man!"
Marie pulls on the purple slacks and slides into the purple jacket. She turns towards Seto. "I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see you and Mokuba at breakfast."
"Marie, wait!" exclaims Seto standing up.
Marie looks at Seto, dripping wet and completely nude. Her cheeks turn bright red, but she can't seem to turn her eyes away from his body. "What is it, Seto?"
Seto climbs from the bathtub and walks over to Marie. He pulls her into a quick open-mouthed kiss.
Marie slides her hands along his body as she leans in to kiss him.
Seto grabs Marie's arms as her hands explore the area of his body beneath his waist. He pushes her away slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"Not now… Wrong place, wrong time… It should wait… At least until night, and the bathroom isn't the best place either," says Seto, "but tonight… in bed."
Seto shakes his head to clear the thought from his mind. He looks at Marie and sees her concerned expression. Then he turns his eyes to Ishizu and sees her smirking back at him. He scowls in return.
"I'm waiting, Seto. Are you going to make your move or would you like me to go first?" asks Marie.
"I'll go first!" exclaims Seto.
Got to find a way inside this fantasy…Marie nods her head and watches Seto as he draws his first card. She blushes. "So… what vision of the future did Ishizu just show you, Seto?"
"One of us," says Seto keeping his eyes on his cards.
"Knowing her it was probably something erotic to try to distract you from our match," says Marie looking at the cards in her hand, "but don't worry about that… She won't try it again."
"Are you going to try to stop her if she tries?" asks Seto smirking.
"I can," says Marie, "My Scale is stronger than her Necklace. I can overpower her vision."
Seto and Marie make several plays with their cards, not speaking again except to announce their movements.
Marie remains calm as her life points and deck get dwindled down to almost nothing. Then she plays a trap card.
Seto's eyes widen as he realizes that he placed all of Marie's high-powered monsters and magic cards into her graveyard just so that she could reverse both of their graveyards with their decks. His deck now only contains a few cards, and once he can no longer draw a card, the duel is over.
Marie stares at the cards in her hand. "Seto… do you believe that we are the masters of our own fate?"
Seto smirks. "You know the answer to that question. Of course I make my own destiny! No one controls Seto Kaiba!"
"Yes… I know. I just wanted to hear you say it," says Marie looking up at Seto. She smiles. "Ishizu wanted me to duel you because she said it was my destiny as a guardian of the Pharaoh's tomb. I don't want to win this duel simply because it's my destiny. I don't believe that all things are preordained! So I'm going to finish this duel my way! And I'm going to start by discarding this card… the key to the strategy that Ishizu's Millennium Necklace foresaw."
"Marie! Don't!" exclaims Ishizu with wide eyes. "You must win against Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"I will win!" exclaims Marie placing a card in her Graveyard, "By the power of the Millennium Scale!" She reaches down and grabs the Millennium Scale from her hip. She pulls it up into the air above her head. 'Mariko! Return! Grant me your power!'
'Oh, so now you want my help, little Marie,' whispers a deep, masculine voice within Marie's mind.
'Not exactly, Mariko! I don't want your help. I just want the control of the Millennium Scale, and I need to use you to do that! You've used me long enough! This is just payback!' thinks Marie with a smirk.
The man appears to Marie's mind's eye. He stands just a head taller than Marie with wild blond hair highlighted with black streaks. He whispers, 'What are you blabbering about?'
'You'll see in just a minute, Mariko!' thinks Marie. She sees Mariko in front of her in the darkness, and she sees her own mental body standing in the void of her mind.
'I think you have gone a touch insane in my absence, Marie!' exclaims Mariko furiously.
'Wrong… I am finally seeing things clearly,' thinks Marie with a sigh, 'I have seen Pharaoh Yami! I have seen the way he controls the form of Yugi Motou! I know now the way that we must control my body! I am perfectly willing to do this against your will if I must, but I believe that you would willingly accept the chance at the added power.'
'Added power?' asks Mariko, 'How do I gain this added power?'
Marie smiles. 'Simple. We become one person. Instead of one of us controlling the body, we both will control it at the same time. We merge our mental beings. But we must be of one mind to do it! So you must agree to my will. Your plans of greatness mean nothing to me! I would much rather control the financial world than the real one!'
That's the key, I'm a split personality
Duel Sensation, that's my destiny…
'The financial world would be enough for me!' exclaims Mariko, 'I agree to your terms, young Marie! We will do things your way, if we can!'
"Ma-Ri-Ko!" screams Marie at the top of her lungs.
"Marie, no!" screams Seto taking a step forward.
Marie opens her arms and steps towards Mariko. She embraces him for a moment before their bodies slide into each other, and they become one person.
A swirling wind starts up around Marie and whips her clothing fiercely around her body, but it does little to show off any additional flesh to Seto's hungry eyes.
"Marie!" screams Seto.
Marie's spiked hair flares out within the confines of her ponytail holder. Her bangs stand up into high, arched spikes. Her tanned skin seems to darken a shade or two, yet the hieroglyphics tattooed on her arms and legs seem to glow brightly. The pumps that she wears change into a set of white stiletto heels adding four inches to her height. Her locket, shaped like a set of dog tags, dangles around her neck and shimmers in the light from the hieroglyphics. She places the Millennium Scale back at her side where the strap secures itself around the scale to hold it in place.
"Mariko!" exclaims Seto glaring at her.
"I am glad that you remember me!" exclaims Mariko with a deeper, more masculine voice than that of Marie. "Now… I will continue with my play. The Dark Magician Girl is not here within the deck I have, but it is my favorite card and I cannot go into a duel where I do not use it. So I suppose I will have to use the power of my Millennium Scale to summon forth my Dark Magician Girl!"
"How?" asks Seto.
The eye on the Millennium Scale flares as Mariko draws a card from her deck and places it on the field in attack mode.
The holographic projectors react to reveal the Dark Magician Girl.
Mariko smiles. "Do as you will, Seto Kaiba!"
Seto looks at his hand. He looks at the four monsters that Mariko has on her side of the field. He smiles at the cards he holds within his hand.
Got to think be wise, realize the situation
Animate your cards, make a power combination…
"I will use this magic card to sacrifice your monsters and summon forth Obelisk the Tormentor!" exclaims Seto sliding his magic card into his duel disk, "But for you, Marie, I will spare the Dark Magician Girl, and take your other three monsters!"
"Do your worst, Seto!" exclaims Mariko as Seto plays the Egyptian God Card.
"Now… Obelisk, attack!" Seto looks at Mariko.
Marik Ishtar stands below the arena, watching the duel with interest. He holds the Millennium Rod tightly. The symbol of the eye on the Millennium Rod flares with an intense light.
Images flash through Seto's mind, and he recalls the tablet showing him the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Stop!" exclaims Seto.
The holographic monster stops its attack and stands down.
Seto looks at his side of the field and sees the two monsters he has in play. He takes a deep breath as he looks at his hand again. He sees the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, his favorite monster, tucked into his hand. He glances up at Mariko.
"Is your turn over then, Seto?" asks Mariko, "Will you not attack this turn?"
"No attack this turn, Marie," says Seto as the eye on the Millennium Rod flashes again and more images start to pour into his mind.
Marie draws a card and places it into a slot on her duel disk. "Very well… I am ready. Let's see the true strength of Obelisk the Tormentor!"
Seto snaps out of the reverie caused by the Millennium Rod. He draws his card. "I sacrifice my two monsters to bring forth the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Summon the Dragon. Blue-Eyes White
Send in the Swords of Revealing Light…
"What?" asks Mariko with wide eyes as Seto removes his cards and places his dragon on the field.
"Oh, no!" exclaims Ishizu.
The eye on the Millennium Scale flares at the same time as the eye on the Millennium Rod. The light of the Millennium Rod douses the light emanating from the Millennium Scale.
"The Millennium Rod is reacting to Kaiba!" exclaims Yugi looking at Marik.
Marik shakes the Millennium Rod angrily as he tries to figure out what's going on within the item he possesses.
"Attack, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" exclaims Seto, and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon blasts the Dark Magician Girl.
Marie falls to her knees as the glowing of her hieroglyphic tattoos fade. Her hair falls back down into graceful spikes, and the shoes upon her feet transform back into the pumps she typically wears. She takes a deep breath and winces in pain. "The Millennium Scale is stronger than the Millennium Necklace, but the Millennium Rod is stronger still!"
Seto moves over to Marie's side quickly and helps her to her feet. "Are you all right, Marie?"
"I am as good as I can be," whispers Marie taking a deep breath, "but I think now I need to rest."
"Then rest you will," whispers Seto.
Marie leans against Seto as he helps her towards the elevator.
Mokuba grabs Marie's clothes from the floor and hurries after Marie and Seto.
