Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and references belong to their respective owners. The song Time 2 Duel 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 Twelve
I Won't Put My Hands Up and Surrender
Everybody bursts through a doorway.
"Where are we now?" asks Serenity.
"Big brother! Marie! Help me!" exclaims Mokuba from across the room. He struggles against the rope binding him.
"Mokie!" exclaims Marie.
"Mokuba!" exclaims Seto, "Where is Noah?"
"I don't know! He left me here and ran off!" exclaims Mokuba.
Yugi slowly walks across the room looking all around him for anything suspicious. He reaches Mokuba's side without anything happening. He starts to untie the smaller boy. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"Of course not!" exclaims Mokuba standing up and glaring at Yugi, "But I hurt him! I'd say I'm sorry, Kaiba, but… I'm not! You'll never see your little brother again!"
"Mokuba?" asks Seto with wide eyes.
"That's not Mokuba!" exclaims Marie, "Damn you, Mariko! You screwed us both this time!"
"I've learned a lot about you from Mokuba, Marie," says Mokuba turning his eyes to Marie, "and he's told me all about Mariko!"
"Get out of my little brother's body, Noah!" screams Marie with fiery eyes, "Or I will banish you to the Shadow Realm!"
"You can't! You banish me and you'll never find Mokuba's mind!" exclaims Mokuba laughing evilly.
The eye on the Millennium Scale flares with a brilliant white light, and a swirling wind starts up around Marie whipping her clothing around her body.
Marie's triple colored, spiky hair flares out within the confines of her ponytail holder, and her bangs stand up into high, arched spikes. Her clothing changes into more seductive apparel, but maintains its same general form of a jacket and pants with a tee. The dog tags style locket she wears clink together.
Mariko exclaims, "I'm willing to take that chance!"
"You didn't change like normal," says Mokuba as he stops laughing, "You normally grab that Scale at your waist."
"I don't need the Millennium Scale to become the mage that I am, Noah!" exclaims Mariko, "I could destroy it right now and still have all of my power! I just happen to like the appearance of the Scale. It makes me look taller I think!"
"Boy, are you dumb! It's the heels that make you look taller!" exclaims Mokuba.
Mariko smirks at Mokuba. Then she looks at Yugi and nods her head.
"Yu-Gi-Oh!" exclaims Yugi. He grows taller and his hair changes to appear spikier, and his eyes look more determined.
Mokuba gasps and tries to back away from Yami.
Yami grabs Mokuba's arm.
"Let me go! Who are you?" asks Mokuba fearfully.
"My name is Yami," says the boy.
"Noah! Let's settle this!" exclaims Seto, "With a duel! You and me!"
"Seto?" asks Mariko. Her hair falls down, and she transforms back into the more natural appearance of Marie.
"Kaiba? That's your little brother's body!" exclaims Téa, "You couldn't even duel against him at Duelist Kingdom! Can you really do it now?"
Seto looks at Téa, and he sneers at her. "Of course I can, T-bird!"
Téa's eyes widen when she hears Seto call her by the nickname that only her best girl friends call her.
"You want to duel me?" asks Mokuba, "Fine! Let's duel, you stupid jerk!" He pulls his arm away from Yami.
It's Time 2 Duel…
Seto shakes his head. "Tsk… Tsk… Such language…"
Yami steps back away from Mokuba.
Everyone gives Seto and Mokuba plenty of room while the screens scroll down in front of the duelists selecting their cards.
"You first, big brother," says Mokuba sneering.
"Fine!" exclaims Seto as he draws his five card hand from his duel disk. He draws his first card. He places a monster on the field in defense mode. He slides another card into a slot on his duel disk. Then he turns his eyes to his little brother's form.
"All right," says Mokuba drawing his hand and his first card. He places a monster on the field in attack mode. "I summon Harpie's Brother in attack mode! Attack the face down card!"
Seto's eyes narrow. "Activate trap card! Trap Hole!"
Mokuba glares at Seto as the trap card destroys his monster. "Your move, Kaiba!"
Seto draws a card and smirks. He moves the cards around as he speaks. "I will sacrifice the monster I had on the field to summon forth Mr. Volcano. Attack his life points directly."
Mokuba growls at Seto. He draws his card and makes his play. "I will place one card on the field and summon Giant Germ in defense mode."
Seto raises his eyebrows. "A weak monster."
"End this quickly, Kaiba! Then we can find Mokuba's mind!" exclaims Téa.
Seto nods as he draws his card. He slides two cards into his duel disk. Then he places another card on the duel disk. "I will set two cards and summon Hitotsu-Me Giant! Attack the Giant Germ!"
"Activate Block Attack!" exclaims Mokuba, "Your Giant can't defeat my Giant now."
"That still leaves you open for Mr. Volcano. Attack the Giant Germ!" exclaims Seto.
Mokuba scowls as his monster is destroyed. "Since you have sent my Giant Germ to the Graveyard, I can inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points and summon forth two more Giant Germs from my deck."
Seto's eyes narrow as he looks at Mokuba.
Mokuba pulls his deck from the duel disk and ruffles through it until he pulls out both of his Giant Germ cards and places them on the disk. He shuffles the cards and places his deck back into the cardholder on the duel disk. He draws the top card. He places two cards into the duel disk and places another card face down and horizontal on the field. "I will place two cards and set this monster. It's your move, Kaiba!"
"I will summon Battle Ox in attack mode," says Seto after drawing his card, "Battle Ox, attack the face down card."
"You have just sent my Unhappy Maiden to the Graveyard," says Mokuba, "and that ends your Battle Phase for this turn. You should have destroyed my other monsters first, but then you would have lost life points."
"Make your move, Noah!" exclaims Seto spitefully.
Mokuba grins as he draws his card. "I will activate the magic card I placed on the field last turn. Raigeki, destroy all of Kaiba's monsters on the field."
Seto glares at Mokuba as his three monsters are destroyed. He draws his card. "I will summon Crimson Sentry in attack mode. Attack the Giant Germ on the left!"
Mokuba closes his eyes as his monster is destroyed. He draws his card. "I will make no play this turn."
Seto draws a card. "Crimson Sentry, attack the Giant Germ!"
Mokuba's last monster fades away as it's destroyed. He draws his card and places it on the field. "I will place one monster in face-down defense mode to end my turn."
Seto draws his card. "I will sacrifice my Crimson Sentry to summon Sword Stalker. Sword Stalker, attack!"
"Another Unhappy Maiden," says Mokuba drawing his card. He places it on the field. "I summon Steel Scorpion in defense mode."
Seto draws his card. "I summon the Lord of D. in defense mode. Sword Stalker, attack!"
The Steel Scorpion vanishes after stabbing the Sword Stalker with its poisoned stinger.
"I summon Nimble Momonga to defend," says Mokuba after drawing his card. He places it on the field, "and I will also place one card for later."
Seto draws his card. He smiles as he sees the cards in his hand. "I will sacrifice my Sword Stalker now before the venom from your Scorpion takes effect, and I will summon forth Reaper of the Cards. Reaper of the Cards, attack Nimble Momonga!"
"Thank you for the addition to my Life Points, Kaiba!" exclaims Mokuba, "Now I can also summon forth two more Nimble Momongas." He pulls his deck from the duel disk and rifles through it until he pulls out the two desired cards and places them on the duel disk. He shuffles his cards again and places them in the cardholder.
Stalemate! And you don't even know that
I am notorious for finding
Weakness in anyone to confident…
Mokuba draws his card. "Your move."
Seto draws a card and places it into his hand. "I will switch Lord of D. to attack mode and have it attack the Nimble Momonga on the left. I will also have my Reaper of the Cards attack the Nimble Momonga on the right."
Mokuba clenches his fist as both of his monsters are destroyed. "Thank you for the Life Points, Kaiba!"
"Who do you really think is winning this, Noah?" asks Seto.
"Look at our Life Points, Kaiba!" exclaims Mokuba, "I have 4900. You have 2500. It's quite obvious that I am winning this duel!"
Seto slides a card into his duel disk. "Next turn, I will knock you down to size. Your move."
"I'm interested to see your plan," says Mokuba drawing a card. "I will play this monster in defense."
"Why isn't he attacking?" asks Duke, "Mokuba's only played monsters in defense mode. It's like all he has are weak monsters!"
Seto draws a card. He slides a card from his hand into the duel disk. "I'll activate this magic card, The Flute of Dragon Summoning, to summon forth the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck. I will also activate the magic card I placed on the field earlier, Polymerization, to fuse my two dragons together into the Blue-Eyes Black Dragon!"
"Way cool!" exclaims Joey staring at the blue-eyed dragon that looks very much like the Red-Eyes Black Dragon he gave to Yugi with the exception of the sapphire blue orbs that are its eyes, "Hey, Kaiba! What's the attack power on that?"
"For your information, Wheeler, it has an attack of 3700 and defense of 3500," says Seto, "Blue-Eyes Black, attack!"
"I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" exclaims Mokuba, "You can't attack me for three full turns!"
"Fine by me," says Seto with a scoffing tone of voice.
Mokuba draws a card from his deck and slides it into his duel disk. "When I attack you, Kaiba, you will lose everything. Your move."
Seto draws a card. "I'll place this monster in defense mode and end my turn."
Mokuba draws a card. "Go, Kaiba."
The eye on the Millennium Scale glows with a pale white light before suddenly flaring in a yellow burst of radiance.
"I will sacrifice my Reaper of the Cards to summon forth Princess Nefertiri," says Seto after drawing his card, "Next turn, I get to attack, Noah."
Marie clutches her hand over her heart as the pretty Egyptian Princess appears in holographic form. The Millennium eye starts to flash upon her forehead, appearing one second and vanishing the next.
"I don't think so." Mokuba draws a card. "I will activate both the cards I placed on the field, both continuous cards might I add. Infinite Cards to allow me to hold more than five cards in my hand, and Gravity Bind to prevent all monsters level four or higher from attacking! That should save me from most of your deck!"
Seto growls as he draws a card and places it in his hand.
"Kaiba's in trouble," says the monkey, "If he can't attack, he can't win."
Mokuba draws a card. "I'm curious to know what your defense monster is. You obviously think it's going to save you, so I will switch my Muka Muka to attack mode, and since I have six cards in my hand, it gains an additional 1800 attack points. Muka, attack the face down card!"
"You've destroyed my Magician of Faith," says Seto, "So I get to select a magic card from my Graveyard." He pulls out his Graveyard and takes the Polymerization card from it to return it to his hand.
Marie falls to her knees trying to breathe and having much difficulty doing so.
Téa and Serenity hurry to Marie's side and kneel beside her.
"Are you okay, Camaro?" asks Serenity watching the third eye flicker.
Seto draws a card and slides two cards into his duel disk. "I will activate my Swords of Revealing Light!"
Mokuba draws a card. "Your move."
Seto draws a card. "Your move."
Mokuba draws.
Seto draws a card and slides two cards into his graveyard. "I will discard these two cards."
Mokuba draws. "On my next turn, I can attack again. I'll have an attack of 3600, not enough to defeat your Blue-Eyes Black Dragon, but I could defeat your pretty little girlfriend, Nefertiri!"
Seto draws a card and stares at it.
Marie holds out her hand as the eye on the Millennium Scale flashes again. "Princess Nefertiri, activate special ability. Create dead magic zone over the Infinite Cards."
Seto looks over at Marie. His eyes widen as he sees her kneeling and nearly breathless on the floor.
"Special ability activating. Destroying magic card and making dead magic zone," says Princess Nefertiri with an extremely feminine tone that sounds a lot like Marie's voice.
Seto turns his attention back to the duel and sees the Infinite Cards destroyed and a black hole appear where it had been.
"Damn her! How did she know about Nefertiri's special ability?" asks Mokuba, "And why did Nefertiri obey her?" He discards four of his cards.
"Thank you, Marie," says Seto.
Mokuba draws a card and sends it straight to the Graveyard. "Muka, attack the Lord of Dragons!"
"Kaiba didn't place it in defense mode!" exclaims Yugi.
Seto only smirks as his monster is destroyed.
Now is the time…
"I will activate Remove Trap to destroy your Gravity Bind," says Seto as the eye on the Millennium Scale flares for a third time, "Next, I will activate Polymerization to fuse Princess Nefertiri with the Blue-Eyes Black Dragon to create Blue-Eyes Black Dragon Rider Nefertiri with an attack of 4300 and defense of 4000."
Marie screams and crosses both her arms over her chest.
Seto turns quickly to look at Marie. He sees Yugi pull her into his arms.
The eye on Marie's forehead glows brightly as she huddles in Yugi's arms.
"Hurry and end this, Kaiba!" exclaims Yugi.
"I will summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode!" exclaims Seto placing another monster on the field, "But before I attack, I will activate the magic card Raigeki to clear away your monster from the field! Now, Blue-Eyes Black Dragon Rider, attack with Neutron Flame! La Jinn, attack!"
Mokuba's eyes widen as his Life Points drop from 4900 to zero.
The holograms disappear and Marie quits her screaming as the eye disappears from her forehead.
Marie sits up and takes a deep breath.
"Are you okay?" asks Téa.
"Yeah… I'm fine now," says Marie looking over at Seto. "Good work, Seto! I knew you could win!"
Seto smiles at Marie before turning to Mokuba. "Now… Noah, where is my brother's mind?"
"I'm not telling!" exclaims Mokuba before fainting.
"Mokie!" exclaims Marie as Seto moves to catch his little brother's body.
"He's…"
'There is no mind within the body of your little brother, Marie,' says the deep, masculine voice within Marie's mind, 'Mokuba's mind is gone, but I do not know where it could be! It is not in the Shadow Realm, that I know.'
'It has to be stuck somewhere here in virtual world,' thinks Marie.
'Well, we need to find him!' exclaims Nefertiri, 'We need to save him! It was far too cruel to watch young Seto fighting against the one he swore to always protect!'
'Oh, hey, Nefertiri, I have a question for you and Mariko… what happened to me when Seto summoned the Princess Nefertiri card?' thinks Marie.
'I don't know, Marie,' says Mariko.
'Neither do I. I just know that I was not here with you,' says Nefertiri, 'I think I was the monster he summoned. We will figure it out later. Now we must help Mokuba!'
"He's an empty shell, Seto. Mindless," says Marie, "We can help him if we can get his mind back."
Your lips are quiverin', the time has come…
"How do we put his mind back without the main computer?" asks Seto holding his brother in a tight embrace.
"We'll find a way," says Marie, "Mariko screwed up the rewrite last time. It wasn't his fault. I misread a symbol, but if we do the rewrite properly next time, then we can fix this."
"We can fix everything, Kaiba," says Yugi.
"So… where do we go now?" asks Serenity.
Marie grabs the laptop and replaces the battery before starting it up. She types feverishly on the keyboard. She sighs as she continues to type.
Duke looks over Marie's shoulder. "What is that? Kaiba Land?"
"Kaiba Land?" asks Seto, "Construction of that doesn't start for four years! How would they even know about it? The plans are top secret!"
"That's where… who is that creepy dude?" asks Duke.
"His name is Gozaburo Kaiba," says Marie, "He's my step-father. Or more, he's Mokuba and Seto's stepfather. I only met him once, and we hated each other. He was a little upset that Seto had taken over his company, and when we met…"
"You've met Gozaburo?" asks Seto turning his wide eyes to Marie.
"Yes… We met on Pegasus's island," says Marie, "He was trying to enlist Max to help him get Kaiba Corp back. And right now… he's in Kaiba Land, a virtual projection of the Duel Monsters theme park you designed, Seto."
"Then that is where we go!" exclaims Seto standing up with Mokuba in his arms.
Marie nods as she shuts the computer down and places it back into its case.
"I'll carry Mokuba," says Duke, "You'll need to have your hands free, Kaiba."
Seto glares at Duke, but he allows the black-haired boy to take his younger brother from his arms.
"Let's go, Kaiba," says Joey, "We have to get through this rat-race and get back to the real world!"
"You're getting smarter, mutt," says Seto.
Now it gets serious…
Marie and Seto lead the way.
Joey and Yugi hurry after Marie and Seto while Téa, Serenity carrying the robotic monkey, and Duke carrying Mokuba follow behind.
Everyone walks towards the Monster Cars, Kaiba Land's version of the bumper cars. They see a Duel Monster sitting on top of one of the cars.
"Gozaburo, I assume," says Seto scowling at the Sword Hunter resting on the back of the Mystic Horseman car.
"Yes," says Sword Hunter, "Nice to see you again, Seto. And Mokuba as well. You seem to be doing quite well in my absence. You've even found a slut that you call a girlfriend."
"Marie is neither a slut nor my girlfriend! She is my fiancée!" exclaims Seto with fire in his angry eyes, "And no one speaks bad about her in my presence!"
"You are a fool if you think she wants anything other than your money!" exclaims Sword Hunter, "That's all pretty women want from men with power, and with how beautiful she is, she must want your entire fortune!"
"That's not true!" exclaims Yugi angrily.
You're not invincible…
Seto glares at Sword Hunter. "Yugi's right! Marie is nothing like the women you hang around! Now tell me, what has happened to Mokuba's mind?"
"Ask your selfish fiancée! She's the one who separated his mind from his body!" exclaims Sword Hunter.
Marie closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, she looks somehow more feminine with the Millennium eye growing brightly on her forehead. Her voice as well is higher in pitch. "You will not speak that way. I am not… no… Marie is not that way. She loves Mokuba more than life itself, and she would never harm him. Marie has no need of Seto's money. She is a hacker, and she can hack into this program and destroy you."
"She already tried and failed!" exclaims Sword Hunter.
"Then perhaps she should try again!" exclaims Nefertiri before closing her eyes and collapsing as Marie to the ground in front of Duke.
"Marie!" exclaims Serenity.
Marie sits up.
"Nefertiri?" asks Yugi looking at Marie.
Marie nods as she stands up. "Yeah… that was Nefertiri, Yugi. She wants me to try to rewrite the program again."
"If you want my advice, Seto, I would suggest you take what you need from her body and discard her like the filth she is!" exclaims Sword Hunter, "In the long run, it's cheaper to pay for pleasure as you have need of it rather than marrying for it!"
Seto's entire body shakes with his fury. "How dare you! If I only wanted her body, I could have taken it by now and she wouldn't have been able to do a thing to stop me, but I happen to want a lot more than just sex from her! She holds the key to Kaiba Corp's future!"
"So you've impregnated her and you feel obligated," says Sword Hunter, "I understand, Seto, but that is what abortion was invented for."
"Abortion?" asks Seto. He looks at Marie and sees her wide eyes. He takes a breath. "Never happen, old man! Besides… she's not pregnant… yet."
"You intend to change that?" scoffs Sword Hunter.
"Of course… I'll need someone to leave Kaiba Corp to one day," says Seto smiling at how easily he changed the conversation to his favor, "and seeing as how Marie is a vital part of the new Kaiba Corp, she would be the best choice to raise my children. Her computer hacking abilities will help me take over my competitor's businesses while her warm and loving nature will provide adequate support for our children. I think two boys and a girl would be nice."
"And don't forget, Seto," says Marie smiling, "that Mariko intends to rework a few of your operations so you're making twice the money with half the cost. For a mage, he's quite business minded."
Seto nods. "Oh, yes… Mariko… his project is top secret."
"Enough!" exclaims Sword Hunter scowling at Seto, "Prepare to duel, Seto! And when I win, I will be taking over your body and leaving this virtual world forever! There's a lot I could do with a young body like yours!"
"You'll never lay a hand on that body!" exclaims Marie angrily, "It's mine and mine alone!" A faint blush appears on her cheeks as she realizes exactly what she just yelled.
"You couldn't defeat me, Gozaburo," says Seto, "You were never capable at Duel Monsters!"
"We'll see about that!" exclaims Sword Hunter. A duel disk appears on his arm, already filled with his duel deck.
Seto's duel disk with a pre-created deck appears on his arm.
"We duel with the decks given to us," says Sword Hunter, "and your stupid girlfriend can't help you by rewriting the program in your favor."
"Fine!" exclaims Marie pulling the Millennium Scale from her hip. She passes it to Seto. "Take it and duel as if I was beside you!"
Seto takes the Millennium Scale and feels a surge of power overtake his body. He lowers the Scale to his waist where a strap appears to hold it in place, dangling from his belt. "You go first, Gozaburo!"
"As I intended!" exclaims Sword Hunter as Marie walks back and joins the others at a safe distance away from Seto and Sword Hunter.
Seto and Sword Hunter both draw their five card hands from their decks.
I see the start of your descent…
Seto looks at the cards in his hands and swallows hard.
The eye on the Millennium Scale glows faintly.
"I play La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode," says Sword Hunter after drawing his first card.
Seto draws his card. He thinks to himself, 'I recognize this card. Bakura used this against Yugi.'
'It is useless to you. I sense that your deck holds the Spirit Message Cards but does not have the Destiny Board trap card that you would need to use the cards,' says Mariko, 'Your deck is practically useless… there is not a card higher than fourth level, no useful magic or trap cards. I can see no way to win with this deck.'
'Oh, great! Now I've gone crazy!' thinks Seto frantically.
'You are not crazy! I am Mariko! I am the spirit within the Millennium Scale at your waist. I want to help you,' says Mariko, 'I want to help you for Marie… and for Nefertiri… You can't win with the deck they've given you, but together we can change the deck so that you will draw cards that will be useful to you.'
'Isn't that rewriting the program? Marie agreed not to do that,' thinks Seto.
'Marie isn't rewriting the program, and neither will I… You will be rewriting the program, using your heart to summon forth the cards you want,' says Mariko, 'I'm just here to show you how.'
'Then you can start on my next turn. Right now, I have to make a play.'
'Use that weak monster… Kagemusha, in defense.'
"I play Kagemusha of the Blue Flame in defense mode," says Seto as he places his card on top of his duel disk.
"Why would he play such a weak monster?" asks Duke.
"His deck only holds weak monsters," whispers Yugi, "His deck was sabotaged so that he wouldn't be able to win with it."
"That's no fair!" exclaims Serenity.
Marie draws her deck from her pocket, and she starts to rifle through the cards at her disposal, desperately searching for something.
"La Jinn! Attack Kagemusha!" exclaims Sword Hunter after drawing a card. He slides a card into his duel disk.
Seto's monster vanishes as it's shattered to millions of pieces.
'Okay, now close your eyes. Think about the card you want,' says Mariko, 'Wish for it, pray for it, summon it! We need a strong level four monster!'
'Is this how you help… and hurt… Marie?' thinks Seto.
'No… When I'm with her, we join our mental bodies into one and we duel as one. I can't join with you. I wouldn't want to,' says Mariko, 'I'm only helping you because Marie doesn't want to see you lose to a cheater! Now summon your monster from your deck! Oh, wait… choose a monster first!'
'I'll choose Goblin Attack Force. I'll destroy his La Jinn, and then my Goblin would switch to defense mode. He'd destroy it at his next turn…'
'I'd suggest going for a monster that we can sacrifice next turn!' exclaims Mariko.
'Then how about Jurai Gumo?'
'Ooo… I like that one!'
"Are you going to play or stand around all day, boy!" exclaims Sword Hunter.
Seto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He draws a card. He opens his eyes and looks at the card. He smiles.
'See! Trusting your heart can really get you out of a tough situation! That's what Yugi Motou has been trying to teach you,' says Mariko, 'but you don't listen to your enemies, do you?'
"I summon Jurai Gumo!" exclaims Seto placing the card on his duel disk.
"What?" shrieks Sword Hunter.
"Jurai Gumo, destroy La Jinn!" exclaims Seto.
The genie shatters.
Sword Hunter draws another card. He places one card on top of his duel disk and slides another into a slot. "I will summon Dark Titan of Terror in defense mode and place one card for later."
'Summon a useful magic or trap card this time!'
Seto closes his eyes and draws a card. He looks at it and slides it into his duel disk. "Jurai Gumo, attack!"
"Activate trap card Enchanted Javelin!" exclaims Sword Hunter as his monster is destroyed, "You may have destroyed my monster, but you've given me an additional 2200 Life Points!" He draws a card. He places one card on top of the duel disk. "Now I will play Witty Phantom in defense."
Seto closes his eyes as he draws a card. He sighs with relief as he looks at the card. "I will sacrifice Jurai Gumo to summon the Dark Magician Girl! And I will equip her with the Sword of Dark Destruction!"
The holographic Dark Magician Girl appears and smiles back at Seto with little hearts in her eyes. Her short scepter-like wand transforms into a deep purple sword that she holds with both hands.
"Go on, love. Attack the Witty Phantom!" exclaims Seto.
'Love? If you love her, can I have Marie?' asks Mariko.
'She is Marie!' thinks Seto, 'The Dark Magician Girl is Marie's favorite card! Part of Marie is out there right now on the duel field, fighting for me! She's the reason I was able to summon her favorite card!'
The Dark Magician Girl leaps towards the Witty Phantom as her blade glows pink with her magical light. She slashes the monster to destroy it. Then she bounds back over to stare love-struck at Seto.
Sword Hunter draws a card. "I summon Baron of the Fiend Sword! To defend."
'Let's end this quick! Summon Destiny Board!'
Seto closes his eyes and draws a card. He places it in his hand as he looks at it.
'Book? A book? I tell you to summon a piece of wood and you summon paper?'
'They both come from trees, don't they?' thinks Seto, 'If you think you can do better, Mariko, you're welcome to try!'
'I can't take over your body like I can Marie's! I've tried! There's something blocking me from controlling you!' exclaims Mariko, 'Next time though, summon the card I tell you to!'
'Since when does the greatest Duel Monsters Champion need the help of an ancient spirit?'
'Since Marie asked me to help you and protect you when she couldn't.'
"Dark Magician Girl, attack!" exclaims Seto.
"Block Attack!" exclaims Sword Hunter activating the magic card he had placed on the field earlier. He draws a card. "I will sacrifice my Baron to bring out Summoned Skull, and I'll equip him with this card, Dark Energy! Now, Summoned Skull, destroy the Dark Magician Girl!"
The Dark Magician Girl's mouth opens in a silent scream as Summoned Skull destroys her.
'Ideas?' thinks Seto.
'Well… we'll play the Princess in defense, and you must summon Destiny Board this round! You can do it! Just believe!'
Seto closes his eyes and draws his card. His lips turn into a smirk as he slides the card into his duel disk. "I will summon Princess of Tsurugi in defense mode, and I'll activate this trap card, Destiny Board!"
Sword Hunter growls. He draws a card. "Skull, attack!"
The Summoned Skull attacks the blonde Princess and destroys her easily.
Marie looks at the card in her hand and reads it over and over again. She looks up and places her deck back in the box sheath where she keeps it.
'We just need a monster to defend our life points while we write out the message. Try to summon something with a strong defense!'
Seto closes his eyes and places his hand on his deck.
Now is the time,
Make your move…
Seto draws his card and looks at Princess Nefertiri, her long blonde hair with gentle pink and black streaks and her purple eyes staring up at him from the card's surface.
Marie clamps her arms over her chest and bites back her pain. Her eyes widen as she realizes what card Seto just drew. "You must summon her!"
Seto looks at his duel disk before looking at the card in his hands. He turns his eyes to Marie and stares at her, seeing the pain etched across her face. "I have no monsters to sacrifice to summon her!"
"Obey your lover! Summon her! Next turn you must play the Book of Secret Arts followed the next turn by the Book of Arcane Knowledge! Do you understand, Seto?" asks Marie stumbling towards him and the duel field.
"I understand, Marie, but how do I summon her?" asks Seto.
"Let me worry about that," says Marie stumbling onto the duel field. "Look… your duel disk."
Seto looks at his duel disk and sees a thin, holographic card appear in defense mode on one of the card slots. He looks at Marie and sees that she stands where the monster from that card should be.
"Don't deny me, Seto," says Marie falling to her knees, "Sacrifice that monster!"
"I summon Princess Nefertiri in attack mode!" exclaims Seto placing his card over the holographic card.
Marie screams and falls onto her side on the floor.
See? Has it wounded you?
Princess Nefertiri with her waist-long blonde hair and her swirling pink and black streaks appears standing over Marie. Her purple eyes glance down. "Marie?"
Marie doesn't answer.
"Marie?" asks Seto with concerned blue eyes.
Princess Nefertiri turns to glance over her shoulder at Seto. "She has fainted. My last act before you sacrifice me will be to revive her for you. But you must draw the cards that I will need."
"I will," says Seto sliding two magic cards into the duel disk, "I activate the magic card, Spirit Message "I"! Now Princess Nefertiri… I equip you with the Book of Secret Arts! Destroy Summoned Skull!"
"My pleasure! This is for destroying our favorite monster card!" exclaims Princess Nefertiri holding out both her hands palms out towards the Summoned Skull, "Exact Critical Damage!" A blinding white light erupts from the girl's hands and flies into Summoned Skull, burning him in its light.
Sword Hunter scowls at the girl as he draws his card. "How did you manage to draw her? I know she was not in your deck. That card does not even exist."
"Actually… she does," says Seto, "And I know who owns the only Princess Nefertiri card in existence. Why do you think Marie is so vital to the future of Kaiba Corp? Half the cards she possesses are ultra-rare cards."
"Provided by you of course!" exclaims Sword Hunter, "I play Castle of Dark Illusions in defense mode!"
Seto closes his eyes and wishes for the card that Marie told him he would need.
The eye on the Millennium Scale flashes a brilliant light.
Seto draws his card and looks at it. He slides it into his duel disk. "I equip Princess Nefertiri with the Book of Arcane Knowledge!"
Princess Nefertiri smiles as a book appears in her hands. She immediately starts to read the pages.
"And my Destiny Board allows me to play a magic card directly from my deck." Seto pulls his deck from his duel disk and searches through it for the card he needs. He draws out the next Spirit Message card and slides it into the duel disk before shuffling his cards and replacing his duel deck. "I'll activate Spirit Message "N"! Since the Book of Arcane Knowledge prevents my Princess from attacking this turn, I will end my turn here."
Sword Hunter draws a card. "I summon Whiptail Crow in defense!"
Seto draws a card. He looks at the magic card in his hand and the five full slots on his duel disk.
"I have been empowered by the Book of Arcane Knowledge and have memorized its content!" exclaims Princess Nefertiri, "It will now vanish into the mists!"
Seto removes the card and places it in the Graveyard. He slides his magic card into the now empty slot. "I activate Spirit Message "A". Now, Princess Nefertiri, what have you learned?"
"The Book of Secret Arts allows me to activate my special ability!" exclaims Princess Nefertiri looking down at Marie. She kneels beside the girl and places her hand on the resting girl's stomach. "Healing touch!"
Marie's entire body glows with a soft lilac light. Her eyes flutter open and she sits up. She sees Princess Nefertiri and smiles.
Princess Nefertiri gently pushes Marie back away from the duel field. She stands up again. "The Book of Arcane Knowledge allows me to cast a special ritual! I must sacrifice the Book of Secret Arts and myself in this sacred ritual to summon forth Blue-Eyes Black Dragon Rider Nefertiri!"
Everyone watches in amazement as Princess Nefertiri starts her belly dance as lights swirl around her. The Book of Secret Arts opens and a picture of a Blue-Eyes Black Dragon rises from the pages, and Princess Nefertiri touches its neck. Then the swirling lights engulf the scene and dim until they vanish to reveal Princess Nefertiri wearing a different style Egyptian dress sitting atop the Blue-Eyes Black Dragon.
"Dragon Rider Nefertiri! Attack with Neutron Flame!" exclaims Seto.
'How about Nefertiri's magic ability too?' asks Mariko, 'I think it's called Light of Chaos.'
"And Light of Chaos!" exclaims Seto.
Nefertiri's hands begin to glow with her magical powers as the Blue-Eyes Black Dragon opens its mouth to attack. The light flies from the woman's hands as a dark blast of light radiates from the dragon's mouth.
Both of Sword Hunter's monsters evaporate from the blasts.
"And because I summoned my Dragon Rider through a ritual by using the Arcane Knowledge, the difference between their attack and your defense gets subtracted from your Life Points, Gozaburo!" exclaims Seto proudly.
Sword Hunter scowls as his Life Points drop drastically. He draws his next card and places a monster in defense mode.
Seto draws a card. "I play Spirit Message "L". My message is complete. This duel is over!"
The holograms evaporate.
"Now… Gozaburo!" exclaims Seto.
Sword Hunter evaporates with the last images of the holograms.
"That's it! Next time, I'm dueling!" exclaims Joey, "Now let's go! We still have to track down Tristan's body and Mokuba's mind!"
"Where do we go now?" asks the monkey.
"Kaiba?" asks Yugi, "Any ideas where we should go now?"
Marie stands up and brushes herself off.
"Yes… We go home," says Seto leading them away.
