Embracing Potential and Love
Sometime after the match between Kaiba and Pegasus, everyone was sitting down to a feast, which Joey and Tristan were chowing down on like people who haven't eaten in days as they talked about what to eat next, amusing Tea. "If this was a duel munchers competition, you 2 would win." She said with a laugh.
"On behalf of Mr Maximilian Pegasus, I'd like to welcome the 4 finalists and congratulate you all for making it to the final phase of the Duelist Kingdom competition. I trust you all have your playoffs entry cards?" Croquet asked the finalists, confusing them before he explained and showed 2 cards: 1 with a picture of treasure and 1 with a white black picture. "In your invitation, you all received these 2 cards: Glory of the king's hand and Glory of the king's opposite hand. You must have 1 of these to participate in the final tournament matches, and those without them are disqualified. Each card provides unique prizes. Glory of the king's hand is needed to claim the 3 million dollar grand prize. The opposite hand card is needed to challenge Mr Pegasus for the championship."
This bit of information got both Joey and Keith thinking about the same thing, but in different views. "Now he tells me. I don't have either 1."
"Of all the cards that I own, I come across the 2 that I don't. I have to get me 1."
"To make tommorow's tournament interesting, your host has added a special ingredient to your soup." Croquet told the finalists...before 1 golden eyeball each popped out of the soup of Yugi, Joey, Mai and Keith, freaking them and the others out a bit. "Open the eye and look inside it, if you will. Each of you have been randomly assigned a letter." Mai and the other finalists did as they were told and opened the eyes, seeing their letters and wondering what they were for. "No the island's computer will pair up the letters to determine tommorow's duel matchups." He said as a screen came down.
"I wonder who's going to be dueling who tommorow?" Tea asked herself with curiosity.
"Good. Once I know who I'm dueling, I can use tonight to prepare...after I talk with Tea about her dueling potential." Mai thought as she looked at the screen before briefly looking at Tea.
"It doesn't matter who I'm up against if I don't have 1 of them Glory cards." Joey thought with worry as he held his head in his hands. But Keith only smirked arrogantly.
The screen then showed the letter line up, showing who would duel who in the morning. "And tommorow's duels are as followed: A vs B, C vs D." Croquet told them.
"Who has C?" Joey asked standing up from his chair.
"Me, runt." Keith answered.
"All right. I've been waiting for a shot at you ever since you trapped us in that cave." Joey said, anxious to get payback.
"When I'm through with you, you'll wish you were still in that cave." Keith said with overconfidence, making Joey growl.
"Looks like it's you and me, Mai." Yugi said with a smile while looking at the blonde haired woman.
"I'm looking forward to this duel." Mai said with equal eagerness.
"Me too and may the best Duelist win."
"The duels are set: Yugi Moto vs Mai Valentine and Bandit Keith vs Joey Wheeler. Please enjoy the rest of this feast, because for 3 of you tommorow, your long journey will end in failure." Croquet said, bowing before he left the dining room.
After everyone ate their fill, Yugi gave Joey the Glory of the King hand as a gift to him, wanting to help his best friend save his sister's eyesight, despite Joey wanting his friend to keep the card but Yugi wanted him to have it, which Joey finally accepted before thanking his best friend. While everyone was heading to bed for the night, Keith was secretly watching them, planning something.
But Mai was waiting until Tea was alone in the hallway and walked up to her, knowing that the time for their talk had come."Tea, do you have a moment?" Mei asked Tea, asking the teenage girl for a private talk.
Tea nodded with a smile. "Sure." She answered before they both walked to somewhere where they could have more privacy, which was Mai's room. "What do you want to talk about, Mai?" Tea asked, wanting to know what was so important for Mai to talk about with her.
Mai looked into Tea's eyes and told her what she wanted to talk about. "I wanted to talk about your dueling skills."
This worried Tea a bit. "What about them? Is there something wrong about my skills?"
"No, not at all, Tea! What I'm trying to say is... that you show a lot of potential."
"Potential?"
"Yes. When we dueled, you first were unsure of yourself since you don't do a lot of Duel Monsters, but I saw something in you back there. I saw the eyes and confidence of a true duelist in you. You may not see it now, but if you choose to become a full-time duelist, you have the potential of becoming maybe one of the greatest duelists in the world."
This surprised Tea that Mai had actually seen something in her that she probably never realized. "Wow. Could I actually really have Duelist potential in me?"
Mai went on as she further said. "Trust me, Tea. I saw that strength in you. Something I don't see in any duelist these days anymore. Most I've dueled against over the years were amateurs, or macho's trying to impress someone with their 'so called' dueling skills. But you, you can become someone Tea. I know that you can." Then she sadly said. "But... I know that you may not want to... so I won't force you into it. If you want to keep focus on where you are, then I won't stop you. But if you choose to learn more, then I can teach you things about Duel Monsters that would make you even greater then you are now. And perhaps... Yugi can too."
To learn that someone saw potential in her was something that nobody had ever said to her before. Tea didn't even know what to say. All she could do was smile... as tears formed in her eyes. "You... you really think that... I can?"
Mai nodded. "I do."
Tea then said, as she wiped away her tears from her eyes. "Nobody... had ever said that to me before... that I can become something more... than this. Oh, Mai... thank you."
Tea then moved closer to Mai, her face moving closer to hers, as she did as well...until their lips connected and they kissed. It was Tea's first kiss, and it felt wonderful. Neither had ever felt this feeling before, both wishing that it would never end. Then Tea slowly broke the kiss and said. "Then... Mai Valentine, I would love to become a stronger and better duelist, that is...if you're willing to teach me."
This brought a great smile on Mai's face. "I am. Though it will require some hard work...and a lot of discipline." She said as she put her hands on her hips.
Tea then said with full confidence. "I won't back down from this... ever. From this day forward, I will embrace my inner potential and become a full time Duelist." Before she then held Mai's cheeks and pulled her face close to her until they kissed again, this time with more passion, which Mai gladly returned.
At that moment, Tea Garder's life was about to change forever, and so was that of Mai Valentine's, as she embraced the girl that made her own eyes open as well, that she was no longer alone and had true friends, but most importantly, both of them were now in love.
A little while later
Tea was sitting on her bed, not being able to sleep, despite that she finally had a decent bed for the 1st time in possibly a few weeks due to all the days of sleeping outside. 'The one night I get to sleep in a decent bed, and I'm wide awake'. She thought to herself as she sighed and let herself fall on her bed. But it wasn't just about the coming finals that kept her awake, It was also because of her new girlfriend, Mai and their talk about her potential as a duelist, as well as the kiss they shared. Thinking about that moment made her smile. However, she felt unsure of who to cheer for now at the finals, Yugi or Mai. She raised herself from her bed and decided to pay Mai a little visit.
A bit later in Mai's room
Mai was sitting on a couch with her legs crossed as she took a look at her Harpie Lady card, thinking of her strategy on how to compete against Yugi in the first semi-final match. "Ok. I'll have to fine-tune my deck if I'm to beat Yugi... even if it takes me all night." Just then, there was a knock on her door. Being curious who it could be, she walked to the door and asked. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Tea."
Mai opened the door and saw it was Tea. "Oh... Hi, Tea! What brings you here?"
Tea signed to herself as she asked a bit sadly. "Can I... come in?"
Mai nodded. "Sure." Tea entered and Mai closed the door and asked. "You can't sleep?"
Tea shook her head, while still looking a bit sad. "No."
Mai tried to understand what was troubling her and asked as they sat down at the couch "Hey, what's wrong?"
Tea faced her new girlfriend and told her what was on her mind. "It's... it's the coming tournament, Mai. I know that... Yugi is my friend, but you... you mean so much to me now, that I..."
Mai now understood what was troubling her. "You don't know anymore who to cheer for, right?"
Defeated, Tea slowly nodded. "Yes."
Mai smiled as she held her hands on Tea's shoulders. "Don't feel like that, Tea. I don't care who you will cheer for, either me or Yugi, because my guts tell me that... you should cheer for Yugi."
This surprised Tea, as she did not expect her to say that. "Re... really? But, I..."
"Look, Yugi is in this tournament because he wants to save his grandpa. I only participated because of the price of 3 million dollars. I know I'm special to you, Tea and so are you to me, but I don't mind that you cheer for Yugi. He's fighting for someone he loves, and that's something worth fighting for. And it doesn't change anything between us. Not anything." Mai finished saying before she gave Tea a wink.
This warmed Tea's heart that even Mai encouraged her girlfriend to cheer for her friend instead of her. Without warning, Tea hugged Mai as a tear came from her eye. Mai was a bit surprised by this, but soon returned the hug, as Tea softly said. "Thank you." They remained like this for some time, until Tea slowly broke the hug and was about to leave. "Well, I... shouldn't disturb you further. You need to concentrate on the tournament."
As Tea stood up and nearly walked to the door, Mai held her arm, stopping her. "Hey, you don't need to go." Tea looked at Mai for a moment, as she stood up from the couch and walked close to her. "I feel... better when you're here... with me, Tea."
Tea slowly gave a smile to Mai, as their eyes met. Slowly they moved their faces closer, their lips only a few inches from each other to give each other a passionate kiss. But their romantic moment was disturbed when there was another knock on the door.
Mai sighed, annoyed as she didn't like to be disturbed with her girlfriend. She walked to the door and opened it, and was surprised to see it was Tristan and Bakura at the door. Tristan asked. "Mai, do you know where Tea is? She wasn't in her room."
That was when Tea then walked to the door, standing next to Mai. "What's up guys?" She asked.
Tristan and Bakura didn't understand why Tea was in Mai's room. Tristan first wanted to ask why she was in here, but seeing Mai's annoyed face, he decided to tell what he and Bakura were thinking and said. "It's trouble, Tea."
Bakura nodded and told her. "Tristan thinks that Pegasus cheats in all his duels."
"Well he does!" Tristan said as he was for sure that Pegasus cheated. This made both Tea and Mai wander why Pegasus would cheat before the blonde woman let the guys in her room.
After some minutes of talking, Tea couldn't believe that Tristan was for sure that Pegasus cheated. "No! You really think he beat Kaiba this morning by cheating?"
Tristan nodded. "Yeah I mean, Kaiba's one of the world's top duelists, but Pegasus beat him like he was an amateur."
Tea agreed on that. "That's true."
Mai also agreed and said "You have a point, Tristan. I've seen Kaiba duel before and I'm just as surprised as you guys how he was so easily defeated like a 1st time rookie."
Tristan then told further. "No one can beat Kaiba that easily, at least not playing fair and square. The way he was dueling, it seemed like he knew what cards were in Kaiba's hand the entire time. I'm telling you guys the truth. Pegasus is as bogus as a 3 dollar bill. He's a punk! You can't trust that guy."
Tea then asked what they even could do about it. "Even if you're right about Pegasus, what can we do, Tristan?"
"Plenty. We'll find out how Pegasus cheated. There has to be some clue down at the dueling platform. We'll expose Pegasus for the fraud he is!" Tristan said, confident that they would be able to expose Pegasus as a cheater and a fraud.
However, Bakura wasn't so sure 'cause of all the security. "With all the guards everywhere, we'll need help from Yugi and Joey."
Tristan shook his head, as they couldn't risk to bring Yugi and Joey into this. "No. They have to rest for the tournament. And besides, a herd of elephants won't wake Joey. It's up to us. We have to do this all by ourselves."
Tea was ready to help Tristan to expose Pegasus "I'm with you!"
Bakura however was signing to himself, feeling unsure if they should do this. As they all were about to leave, Mai all of the sudden said as she put on her jacket. "Wait! I'm going with you guys."
This surprised Tristan. "Uh... are you sure? You need to prepare for the finals too, you know?"
"I don't care. I'm not gonna let anything happen to my friends."
Tristan and Bakura looked at each other for a moment and just shrugged. Tea smiled as she held Mai's hand and stroked it, which Tristan and Bakura didn't seem to notice as they already walked to the other side of the corridor. No words came from them, as she already knew that Mai was not going to let anything happen to the love of her life. They let go of each other's hands and followed Tristan and Bakura. But Mai decided to think of a way to possibly beat Yugi while they were at it.
When they got to the dueling room, Tristan and Bakura were searching the platform for anything Pegasus could have used to beat Kaiba while Tea and Mai were on the balcony, with the blonde woman thinking of her dueling strategy while secretly holding Tea's hand. "Hmmm. Harpie Lady combined with Cyber Shield? No. Yugi's already familiar with that combo because he saw my duel with Joey. He knows my deck almost as well as I do. If I'm to beat him, I can't rely on my same old bag of tricks."
"Keep searching guys, there has to be a hidden camera or something." Tristan told them.
"Maybe Pegasus isn't a cheater. He could be good at guessing cards, like a psychic or something." Tea suggested.
"Perhaps. But then again, knowing Pegasus by the way he duels, he could have another way to see cards without cameras. He could actually have a psychic in secret telling him what cards his opponents have." Mai said, thinking that Pegasus could have another way of cheating.
"I don't really trust psychics. 'Cause the lady said that I'd have a girlfriend in 6 months. It's been a year and not a single date. So I don't believe in psychic powers." Tristan told them, not trusting psychic reading due to his own experience with 1.
That was when a light from above shined on Tristan's back, which Mai and Tea noticed, getting Bakura to notice as well before they all stood together and saw that the light came from a hole above the room. "Isn't that strange?" Tea asked.
"How can moonlight enter this room?" Bakura asked.
This made Mai think of something as she took out her Harpie Lady Sisters card, walked up to the Dueling platform and held her card like she would in an actual duel, making the moonlight shine on the card, which the others noticed before Tristan climbed up to the hole and saw a tower right across from where they were. "What do you see, Tristan?" Mai asked.
"There's a tower right across the courtyard. And isn't it convenient that it faces this exact direction? It'd be a piece of cake for 1 of Pegasus' goons to look through the tower with a telescope and spy on Kaiba's hand and tell him what cards Kaiba had." Tristan said, thinking that could be how Pegasus beat Kaiba so easily.
"And he could be hiding a receiver under his hair." Tea added.
"That's most likely the case. Knowing Pegasus and his reputation, he would do anything to win, even cheat through the most obvious means." Mai concluded while standing next to her new girlfriend.
"Good thinking, you 2. There's bound to be lots of proof in that tower. Let's get over there right now." Tristan said as he climbed down to the floor.
"But what about all the guards?" Bakura asked.
"Relax. You'll be safe with me." Tristan answered, smiling with confidence.
"Oh that's really comforting." Mai said sarcastically, with Tea nodding in agreement.
The 2 new girlfriends and the guys went through the halls of the castle to get to the tower, being careful to avoid any of Pegasus' goons, but it seemed like they were walking through a maze. "This place is like a maze. It'll be daylight before we reach the tower." Tea said.
That was when Tristan saw a grappling hook and took it. "This gives me an idea. Come on." He told them before leading them outside and they side stepped through the roof above some of Pegasus' goons.
Tea slipped and nearly fell but Mai quickly caught her while covering her mouth. "Thanks Mai, I owe you." She said with a smile before looking at Tristan. "I can't believe your plan is to enter the tower from the outside."
"Yep." Tristan said before they got below the tower window and he quickly used the grappling hook. "Ok. Tea, you and Mai go 1st and we'll follow so if 1 of you fall we'll catch you."
Tea falls again, and it'll be your butts I'm kicking, you got it?" Mai asked threateningly, making Tristan sweat.
"S-sure, not a problem." He said nervously while doing an ok sign.
They all climbed up to the window and entered the tower before searching for anything or anyone Pegasus could use to cheat in dueling but were finding nothing. "Nothing. Not even a telescope." Tristan said before they saw a large picture of a beautiful blonde woman. "That's a mighty big painting."
"Could someone find a light switch?" Tea asked before the lights in the room turned on, making Tea scared before Mai held her close to her for comfort. "Did... anyone turn on the lights?"
"No." Bakura answered.
"Don't worry. Perhaps it's voice activated." Mai said while holding Tea before they looked at the painting more clearly in the light. "Who is that woman?" She asked while mentally having thought about the great strategy for potentially beating Yugi.
"I'm curious about her, too. I haven't seen her around anywhere in the castle." Tea said with curiosity. "Do you think that maybe she's Pegasus' wif-" She tried to ask before they heard footsteps coming and turned around to see none other than Pegasus himself.
"Isn't it past your bedtimes?" He asked with an evil smile.
"Pegasus." Tea said with a bit of fear.
"How'd you find us?" Mai asked as she held Tea to protect her from the evil businessman and Creator of Duel Monsters.
"A little birdie told me it was you 4 climbing up to the walls." Pegasus answered.
"Yeah? Well we're onto you, Pegasus. You've been spying on Kaiba's cards from up here. The jig is up." Tristan said while pointing at Pegasus.
"You break into my private chamber and accuse me of wrongdoing? Absolutely no 1 is allowed in this room, and I'm afraid you 4 have seen too much." Pegasus said, not wanting to risk these 4 telling anyone about his secret.
"What do you mean?" Mai asked while holding Tea close to her.
"You all should have stayed in your rooms." Pegasus said before using his Millennium Eye to send the group down through the floor like quicksand, making Tea and Mai hold each other tightly.
When they woke up again, they found themselves in what looked like an ancient Egyptian tomb. "Where are we?" Mai asked while quickly holding on to Tea.
"Not sure." Tristan answered.
"Wait. Does anyone hear chanting?" Tea asked, hearing chanting that said "Realm of Shadows in this twilight hour, accept these souls and grant us power."
"Let's go check it out." Tristan asked before they walked through the hallway and saw 2 cloaked people standing in front of each other, with many more doing the chanting before the 2 cloaked people began what looked like a duel but with stone tablets, 1 of which had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on it, which meant the left cloaked person lost before he disappeared in a flash of light, making Tea and her friends and girlfriend gasp and making the other cloaked people hear them before they stood in front of the group and the 1 who won the duel took off his good, revealing that he was Pegasus.
"Where'd that robe guy go?" Tristan asked.
"To the Shadow Realm." Pegasus answered.
"Shadow Realm? Not again!" Tea said with great fear, making Mai hold her tightly to comfort her girlfriend.
"This is how the Shadow Games were played thousands of years ago. These dueling rituels release the magic of the Shadow Realm and every soul I trap there increases the power of my Millennium Eye." Pegasus explained while his Millennium Eye glowed. "You 4 can't comprehend the power of my magic. But 1 power still eludes me: the power over life and death. For that magic, I'll need to capture more souls like yours."
"Whoa! He's gonna send us all to the Shadow Realm!" Tristan said with fear on his face.
"No way!" Tea said with fear as she still held Mai closely to her.
"Don't worry, Tea, I'm right here with you. Don't be scared." Mai told her girlfriend, trying to assure her that it would be all right.
"Unfortunately, miss Valentine, it won't be for her or them. But we can't ruin the tournament, can we? I'll just have to erase your mind after sending your new friends to the Shadow Realm. But don't worry, yours will join them soon enough." Pegasus said evilly before looking at Bakura. "And you, Bakura, your capture will not only strengthen my Millennium Eye, but I'll also gain your Millennium Ring." He said as his Millennium Eye glowed, preparing to send everyone but Mai to the Shadow Realm before he suddenly sensed something within Bakura as his Millennium Ring appeared on his own... before the spirit within it took control.
"Change of plans." The spirit said with an evil smile as both Millennium Items glowed brighter than before, as if fighting 1 another.
"Can this be? I sense a dark soul within your Ring!" Pegasus thought to himself.
"You may indeed sense me now, but you won't remember any of this later. Erase their minds!" The evil spirit commanded before the gold light engulfed the entire room.
A while later in Mai's room
Tea and Mai suddenly woke up and realized that they were both in the blonde's room...in her bed with their arms wrapped around each other. They suddenly sat up and looked at each other. "Tea, did you have the same dream I had?" Mai asked gently while rubbing Tea's cheek.
"Yeah. But how's that possible? Whatever it was, I get the feeling that something bad's about to happen." Tea said with concern while embracing her girlfriend before Mai gave her a slow passionate kiss to comfort her.
"Whatever happens, I'll be by your side, no matter what." The blonde said with a small smile, making Tea smile as well.
"So, are you ready for the duel tommorow?" The brown haired girl asked with a smile while rubbing Mai's hair.
"Sure am, honey. It should give Yugi a bit of a challenge... and give you some pointers on full time Dueling." Mai answered before giving her girlfriend another kiss before they later back down and got a bit of rest for another hour before getting out of the bed and Mai put on her coat before they left the room together.
Once they got into the hallway, they met up with Joey, Tristan and Bakura, and Yugi soon after, who let the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle take over. The 6 walked up to the entrance to the dueling room before Tristan spoke. "Well, we're gonna have to cheer for you from the balcony, Yugi. Only duelists can enter the arena."
"Well, good luck to you, Joey and you too, Mai. I'm so proud of all 3 of you." Tea said with a smile, making the 3 duelists smile back at her before they parted ways, with Tea sharing a loving look at Tea secretly.
When they entered the room, they saw Bandit Keith waiting for them before he looked at Joey. "Hey there, dweeb. So, you ready to get your butt kicked all the way across the arena and back?" He said smugly.
"Dream on. At least I didn't have to go and steal the star chips to make it to the final round. And I won't have to cheat to beat you, Keith." Joey countered.
"Haha. You're such a sad case. You don't even realize I swiped your card. The 1 you need to qualify for the finals. You've already lost, and you're too dumb to know it." Keith thought to himself, having secretly stole Joey Glory of the king's hand card to qualify for the finals and laughing because Joey hadn't realized it yet.
That was when the doors to the arena opened and they stepped into the arena room, with Tea, Tristan and Bakura standing on the balcony above. After that, Pegasus himself entered the room. "Yugi, Joey, Mai and Bandit Keith. I welcome all of you to the arena. Here is where the last great duel monsters duels shall be waged to determine the championship of the Duelist Kingdom. Only 1 of you shall emerge victorious. Only 1 of you shall win the 3 million dollar prize. And only 1 of you will earn the right to challenge me in the final duel."
"Challenge you, isn't that special?" Tristan said sarcastically. "And what does the champion of the tournament get for beating you in the final duel?"
"The winner will be able to ask for anything he or she desires, if it is within my fast power to grant." Pegasus answered.
"I think I already have what I want...in the form of that beautiful girl standing on that balcony." Mai thought while thinking of Tea.
"Surely any duelist that has come this far must realize that the title is more important than the money." Pegasus told the Duelists.
"Listen, you, the money's all I need for my sister's operation." Joey told Pegasus while thinking of his sweet sister.
"Yes, of course. Some of you have more riding on this tournament than others, isn't that right, Yugi?" Pegasus said with a chuckle.
Pegasus, you've got my grandfather's soul, and Mokuba, and even the soul of Seto Kaiba. But I'll find a way to defeat you no matter what." Yugi thought to himself, vowing to free the souls of his grandpa, Mokuba and even Kaiba.
"All right, let's get this show on the road. Only 1 of you will emerge victorious from these playoffs, but I wish you all good fortune." Pegasus told the Duelists, wanting to see what they, and especially Yugi were capable of. "Now shuffle your decks and may the best Duelists win."
After a screen showed which Duelists would be facing each other, Mai and Yugi got onto the platforms and prepared their decks. "Whatever happens I must keep the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle under control. I can't risk him hurting Mai." Yugi thought to himself, not wanting the spirit hurting Mai.
"Before you begin, you both must show me the card to qualify." Croquet told them before they did just that. "Both qualify, the Duel may proceed."
"Good luck. Go, Yugi." Tea said, doing what her new girlfriend wanted her to do but was going to cheer Mai on a little bit secretly.
That was when Joey showed up beside his other friends, wanting to cheer for Yugi until his turn to duel. "Go, Yugi, wipe her out, man."
"I've got to be at my best if I'm going to make it through these playoffs, but I also have to keep the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle in check. If Pegasus' Millennium Eye can steal souls, who knows what the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle will do to win against Mai." Yugi thought to himself.
"I used to think that the only person on Earth that I could trust was myself. Everyone else was just an opponent. But then, Yugi showed up and showed me that friends could be found on the Duelist arena, as well as off it. But it was that beautiful Tea that showed me that even I could find love. If it wasn't for both of them, I never would have made it this far. I promised Yugi an honorable duel, and that's just what he'll get. But Tea, she could look forward to many things from me: becoming a full time Duelist...and her very 1st date after everything is good. But I'll make sure to give my new and hopefully forever girl a great show. I guess this is a win-win for me." Mai thought with a smile, wanting to take Tea out on her very 1st date, as well as a great show before their life point count of 2'000 came on.
"Time to Duel!" They both said.
"Hahaha. If you're Dueling honorably, you can't pull your psychic reading trick on me that you did Joey."
"Nope. No tricks this time, Yugi. But I'm not all smoke and mirrors… for I play Harpie Lady in attack mode!" Mai said before playing her favorite card as its hologram came to life. "And now I'll lay a card face down and end my turn." She added before doing just that.
"I have to win this duel fast. The quicker I defeat Mai, the less chance for interference from the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle." Yugi thought to himself before drawing a card and summoning Gaia The Fierce Knight. "Gaia the fierce Knight, attack Harpie Lady!" Yugi said before Gaia did just that.
"Gotcha." Mai thought with a smirk before revealing her trap card: the Mirror Wall and played it, activating its power as Gaia's attack was stopped, protecting the Harpie Lady. "Your Gaia ran right into my Mirror Wall, causing it and any of your monsters' attack points to be cut in half. As soon as your Knight attacked, the wall rose up to protect my Harpie Lady. And your Knight met an attack from his own reflection, draining half its attack points." Mai explained as Gaia's attack points dropped to 1150! She then activated her Cyber Shield, allowing it's armor to appear on her Harpie Lady and bringing her attack points up to 1800. "Harpie Lady, attack Gaia with Cyber Slash!" Mai said before her Harpie Lady did just that, destroying Gaia and bringing Yugi's life points down to 1350.
"He's gone. Harpie Lady's attack reduced my knight to ribbins." Yugi said with shock.
"Correct. If I didn't know better I'd say you're holding back, Yugi."
Yugi then drew another card, revealed to be the Summoned Skull card. "I am holding back, but maybe the Summoned Skull could help. If I keep drawing powerful cards like this, this duel will be over quickly and I won't have to worry about the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle." He thought before laying a card face down and played Summoned Skull in attack mode. "Let's see your Harpie Lady stop this! Summoned Skull, attack with Lightning Strike!" Yugi said before the monster did just that...but the Mirror Wall came up again and did the same thing to Summoned Skull that it did to Gaia the fierce Knight, reflecting its attack back at him and cutting his attack power to 1250, shocking Yugi again.
"Now Summoned Skull's attack power is cut in half, too." Mai said.
"So, it's a permanent trap?!" Yugi asked.
"Oh yes. A couple of turns too late, but now you're catching on. Better hurry up and get that little brain of yours in gear, Yugi." Mai told the spikey haired Duelist.
"Most of the traps I've encountered before have disappeared after only 1 turn, so your permanent trap took me my surprise. It's the exception to that rule." Yugi said with surprise, having not encountered a permanent trap card before now.
"Indeed it is, just like me. As long as it's on the field, it'll unleash the same effect again and again and again every time you launch an attack. That means no matter how many times you try, you'll never reach my Harpie Lady. You'll have to bring your game up a bit if you hope to keep me interested." Mai said while explaining what her permanent trap card could do.
"That was ingenious. Mai's changing up her game and it looks like she's getting the upper hand. She's very impressive as she is beautiful. But what's wrong with Yugi?" Tea thought to herself, thinking that Mai's strategy was brilliant while also wondering what was wrong with Yugi.
"What is with you? I expected a real duel from you, and all I get is this lame frontal assault. The only reason I duel, aside from the island trips, the clothes, the cars, the prize money, is the thrill of trouncing a worthy opponent." Mai told Yugi, thinking that this duel was lame from how Yugi was dueling. "And because I've opened up my heart to that beautiful girl on that balcony up there and I don't want to disappoint her, especially if she's going to hopefully be my 1 and only woman and become a full time Duelist like me."
"Are you saying I'm not worthy?" Yugi asked.
"Not today, kiddo. Your body's in this arena, but your head and your heart have split for parts unknown. It's really a letdown." Mai answered with disappointment.
"You're questioning my fighting spirit as well?"
"Bingo. It seems like you're still shell-shocked about the trouncing you got from Kaiba in your last duel. Well, get over it! I'm your opponent now, and I want to beat someone battling at his best, not some duelist who acts like he's terrified of his own shadow. Shape up and get your act in gear." Mai answered while wanting Yugi to fight at his best.
"You don't understand. This is not about Kaiba." Yugi countered, knowing this was not about Kaiba and trying to keep the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle in check.
But Pegasus thought differently. "Ah, Yugi, I can sense your fear. For some reason, you're afraid to fully tap into the power of your Millennium Puzzle. A fear I plan to cure you of...when I make your puzzle mine!"
"Well, whatever's going on, it's boring." Mai said with boredom.
"I can't let you win, Mai!" Yugi said.
"Let me win? Listen, hon. The way you've been playing today, I don't think there's a single thing you can do to stop me. I promised you an honorable duel, Yugi, and I thought you'd give me the same. You ready to duel for real now? Are you gonna put your heart in it? Or are you going to punk out?" Mai challenged, thinking that would give Yugi motivation to fight for real. "And besides that, even if I lose, I still get to take Tea as my student and girlfriend. So either way I win something today."
"I wish she'd zip it. Mai's even more obnoxious when she's winning." Tristan said with distaste for Mai's obnoxious behavior.
"Yugi, don't let her get to you, man. You just have to ignore her." Joey urged his best friend.
"I don't think that's what Mai's trying to do. I think she's trying to help him out like she did last time. She's been dreaming of this match, but she wants to fight Yugi at his best, not like this." Tea thought to herself, knowing that her new girlfriend was trying to help Yugi out.
"Well?" Mai asked.
"Believe me, Mai, I'm giving all I can." Yugi said, trying to give it his best without losing control of himself to the spirit.
"I want to believe him. Winning won't mean as much if he's not at the top of his game, but he just seems so distracted." Mai thought to herself, noticing that Yugi was distracted and not fighting at his best.
"I promise you, Mai, I will not lose this duel. Now, make your next move." Yugi told his opponent.
"Hmmm. Maybe he's right. Perhaps I am making too much of this. I really hope that's the case, Yugi. Or defeating you will be no fun at all." Mai thought with a smirk before drawing another card. "Yugi thinks I'll send my Harpie Lady to attack Summoned Skull, and that's why he's placed that other card face down. It has to be a trap." She thought before looking at Yugi. "No attack this time. Instead I'm going to sweep your trap away...with Harpie's Feather Duster!" Mai said before playing her Harpie's Feather Duster card, adding it to her Harpie Lady before it destroyed Yugi's trap card, revealed to be the Spellbinding Circle!
"The hidden card I played was the Spellbinding Circle. If your Harpie Lady attacked, it would have been caught in the trap. Very clever of you, Mai." Yugi complimented, not seeing that move coming.
"I appreciate the compliment. Keep your eyes on me, Yugi. I might teach you a thing or 2." Mai said, thanking Yugi for the compliment.
"Mai still has that Mirror Wall in play. I can't attack without my monster's power being cut in half. I need to alter my strategy." Yugi thought as he switched the Summoned Skull to defense mode. "And to finish my move, I'll also place the Feral Imp in defense."
"Not much else you can do, is there, Yugi. Since I've left you no way to attack. My turn now. I play Rose Whip to raise my monster's attack power." Mai said, playing her Rose Whip card to increase her Harpie Lady's power by 300.
She keeps powering up her Harpie Lady and hiding behind that Mirror Wall as a shield." Yugi thought with concern.
"Let me help you, Yugi. We can defeat her together." The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle pleaded with Yugi, knowing that together, they could defeat Mai.
"Now your Feral Imp will feel my Harpie Lady's sting. Attack with Whiplash!" Mai told her monster before it attacked the Feral Imp and destroyed it! "That's nothing, Yugi. Stick around, because the fun's just beginning."
"Looks like Mai's really got Yugi rattled." Tristan said to the others.
"Be careful, Yuge. Mai gonna multiply her Harpie Lady. Don't let her." Joey advised his best friend.
"Yugi, don't give up!" Tea told her friend, while secretly admiring the way that her new girlfriend was playing.
"I've got to turn this around." Yugi said out loud before thinking to himself. "But how? Mai's playing brilliantly while my attention is divided."
"You promised you'd try harder, Yugi. But I see now that's not gonna happen." Mai said with disappointment before she drew a card, which brought a smile to her face. "Well, with this card, my Harpie Lady combo won't be quite complete, but it'll give me more than enough power to vaporize that old skull." Mai said before placing her new monster: the Harpie Lady's faithful servant, the Harpie's Pet Dragon on the field in attack mode. "Meet the faithful servant of the Harpie Lady: the Harpie's Pet Dragon."
"What is that?" Yugi asked, wondering what monster that was.
"Harpie's Pet Dragon, cute as a fire breathing kitten. And he gets 300 attack points just by sitting near his master." Mai answered as Harpie's Pet Dragon's attack power of 2000 increased by 300. "Now blast that skull to ashes with Fierce Fire blast!" She told her monster, who did just that. "I told you that you have to concentrate if you hope to stand a chance against me. Why are you playing so poorly, Yugi? I've got you on the ropes and you're barely putting up a fight. I want to duel you at your best, but there's only so far I'm willing to go. I remember Joey once asking me why I duel. The answer was honest. Can you answer the same question, Yugi?"
"I'm dueling for my grandfather, Mai." Yugi answered.
"Really." Mai asked out loud before thinking to herself. "Why do I get the feeling that that's not the whole truth? Because I now have someone to duel for, too. That beautiful and lovely girl on that balcony up there. If circumstances put me in Yugi's place, I'd be dueling my heart out to protect and save Tea. But something's wrong with Yugi and he'll need more than just his friendship to win this duel. I may admire Yugi, but he needs to snap out of it and beat me if he ever hopes to duel Pegasus. If he won't, I will. And I don't care if he doesn't snap out of it. If this does anything to endanger Tea, I'll take Yugi's place and beat Pegasus myself, but to protect Tea and free those souls."
"Mai's right about 1 thing: I can't afford to be distracted now. Winning this match is all that matters." Yugi thought before drawing another card, revealed to be the Dark Magician. "Yes! The Dark Magician. This card may be powerful enough to defeat Harpie's Pet Dragon...if I could attack. But I can't do it while Mai still has Mirror Wall in play. I need to come up with a new tactic. I know, I'll match her trap for trap." He thought before laying a card face down on the field and playing Dark Magician in defense mode. "Come on, Mai, attack. I've matched your Mirror Wall with a trap called Mirror Force. All your monsters will be destroyed once you attack."
Mai then drew a card and saw what it was, knowing this was the perfect card to play. "This card will nearly complete my Harpie combo. Whatever trap you set for me, Yugi, just became useless." She thought before playing her card. "I play the card: Shadow of Eyes. Watch the arena, cause I don't think you're gonna like this at all."
The Dark Magician then went into attack mode, confusing Yugi. "What is this? My Dark Magician is switching to attack mode?"
"That's right. That's the magic of Shadow of Eyes. It spreads a force that lures even the mightiest monsters into battle. So what are you waiting for, Dark Magician? Attack Harpie Lady!" Mai said before the Dark Magician did just that against his will, triggering Mirror Wall and cutting his attack power in half, making it weaker than Harpie's Pet Dragon. "And I know that you played a trap card. So, Harpie's Feather Duster, give him a dusting off." Mai said before Harpie's Feather Duster destroyed the Mirror Force trap. "Now, Harpie's Pet Dragon, destroy the Dark Magician!" Mai said before the dragon did just that, bringing Yugi's life points down to 300 while Mai still had 2000! "You don't even have your favorite card to help you. What are you gonna do now?"
"Mai's right. What is Yugi gonna do now?" Joey asked.
"Yugi, you can still turn this around. I know you can." Tea said to her friend, but admiring the way her new girlfriend was dueling.
"Yugi, let me help you. If you continue to hold me back, everybody will lose." The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle pleaded.
"Wow. Mai's really got Yugi on the ropes. She's got him down to 300 life points and she hasn't lost any." Joey said with concern for his best friend.
"As long as Mai's Shadow of Eyes card is active, I can't switch any of my monsters to defense mode. But if I try to attack, my monsters lose half their power when they hit Mai's Mirror Wall." Yugi thought, knowing that attacking and defense were pointless due to Mai having Mirror Wall and Shadow of Eyes in play.
"Please let me help you." The spirit pleaded again.
"No! I can't risk turning you loose."
But Pegasus was able to read Yugi's mind thanks to his Millennium Eye. "Poor Yugi boy seems to have a lot on his mind. I sense much conflict. Rather than embrace the power of his Millennium Puzzle, he's struggling against its forces. And that will be his undoing."
"I wonder what Yugi's problem is?" Tristan asked.
"Mai is. She's put aside all her dirty card tricks and played this duel flawlessly." Tea answered, while secretly admiring the way her new secret girlfriend was playing without using tricks to win.
"Who would've thought she was this good? Could it be that it was just dumb luck that I beat her before?" Joey asked, thinking that it must have been by dumb luck that he beat her in their duel.
"It wasn't luck, Joey. You won that duel because you knew something I didn't. I learned more from that duel then any other I've ever played. It's true, Joey, I learned a lesson from you that I never really wanted to learn. I didn't know it, but it made me change the way I looked at dueling. I had to take a hard look at myself because I was afraid of my own abilities and in myself. And that wasn't easy." Mai admitted out loud while thinking to herself. "Joey may have changed my view on dueling, but it was that beautiful girl on the balcony that changed my view on having friends and love. And for that, Tea will always have the most special place in my heart forever."
"You've really changed, Mai." Yugi said, acknowledging how the blonde haired woman had changed.
"Yes. I also know why as well: because of your friends cheering you on all the way. But you also were brave enough to look inside yourself and face your fears and demons and deal with them. Now I ask you, Yugi…can you do the same thing?" Mai asked her opponent. "Whatever freaked you out in your duel with Kaiba...have you come to grips with it?"
"How can I? Kaiba was willing to risk everything in our duel, and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle was willing to do anything to stop him. But if I had attacked, Kaiba might have been seriously hurt. Even if I lost the duel, hurting others is something that I can't allow." Yugi thought before his mind saw the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.
"I did not mean any harm, I only wanted to help, and I vow to never go against your wishes again." The spirit said to the 1 he shared a body with.
"How can I believe you?"
"Your grandfather urged you to trust in the power of the Millennium item, remember?"
"Maybe you're right." Yugi said, beginning to believe the spirit before he was back in the real world and looked at Mai.
"Mai, thanks for reminding me that a true Duelist faces his problems. You're right, I have been holding back but not anymore." The spirit said with his confidence back.
This brought a smile to Mai's face, knowing that her plan had finally worked. That's it, Yugi. Be a true Duelist and beat me, but don't think I won't go down without a fight."
"Here we go." The spirit said as he began to draw a card.
"Just remember, you promised to do this my way." Yugi reminded the spirit.
"Of course, my word is my vow." The spirit said before he drew the next card, which was the magic card: Brain Control before playing it. "I play the magic card: Brain Control. With this card I can control a monster for 1 turn. And I'll use it to control the Harpie's Pet Dragon." He said before the magic of Brain Control took over Harpie's Pet Dragon.
"Nice try, Yugi. But Harpie's Pet Dragon is a servant to only the Harpie. And even if it's brainwashed, it'll never think of turning on its master." Mai explained with a smirk.
"I know that, Mai, but I'm not after your Harpie Lady. " Yugi countered before placing a card face down and playing Catapult Turtle before Harpie's Pet Dragon was placed on it in attack mode, making Mirror Wall appear to protect the Harpie Lady as the catapult set itself. "Because I've called an attack, your Mirror Wall appears, and I'm going to knock it down...with your own dragon."
Mai knew what this meant, as she was familiar with the effect of Catapult Turtle. "Oh no. The Catapult Turtle has the power to destroy walls and fortresses." She told herself mentally before the catapult launched Harpie's Pet Dragon at Mirror Wall, destroying it completely with 1 attack, surprising Mai. "He shattered my Mirror Wall to pieces!"
"And that's not all I've done, Mai. My attack did more than just shatter the defense you built. Because it was your monster I fired from Catapult Turtle, half of its attack points get deducted from your life points. The tide of this battle is turning, Mai." Yugi said as he explained further about his attack, shocking Mai as her life points went down to 850, making his friends cheer for him.
"Most unexpected. It would seem Yugi boy has somehow managed to regain his inner strength." Pegasus thought, impressed with Yugi.
"You wanted my best, Mai? Well, you're about to get it. If I can trust the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle and if we can work together, then nothing can stop us." Yugi thought.
"It's my turn now." Mai said as she drew a card. "Okay, the only monster Yugi has is that Catapult Turtle. If I attack now, his life points will drop to 0 and I'll win. But there's still that face down card. If it's a trap, I'll just be walking right into it. This is the toughest decision I've had to make all game: attack or not attack." She thought before looking at Yugi and playing Elegant Egotist, summoning Harpie Lady Sisters, all having the same attack and defense points. "Not bad, huh, Yugi. Next turn, you'll feel my Harpie's sting and trust me, you won't like it." She said, thinking she'd already beaten Yugi.
But Yugi just smiled at this, knowing that Mai did exactly what he wanted her to do. "That's too bad, Mai. You ready should've attacked me. If you had, you would have won."
"Hmmm? But your trap card-"
"It's not a trap, Mai, it's a monster recovery card." Yugi revealed before playing the card, placing all his monsters back into his deck, reshifting it and then drawing 5 new cards, consisting of Celtic Guardian, Monster Reborn, Griffore, Kuriboh, and Mystical Elf. "Oh no. Not 1 of these cards is strong enough to bring down Mai's Harpies."
Mai noticed the doubtful look on Yugi's face and smiled. "My 3 Harpies each have an attack power of 2450. There's only a handful of monsters that can stand up to that. And from the looks on your face, you haven't drawn 1"
"Yugi, don't give up, keep fighting!" Tea told her friend, honoring her girlfriend by doing what she had said last night.
"Without a monster on the field, Mai's free to attack my life points directly. I'll never stand a chance against her... unless." Yugi thought as he played the Mystical Elf in defense mode, saving his life points for 1 turn. And because the Mystical Elf was a female monster, it was affected by the Shadowof Eyes card.
But Mai was still confident and drew another card. "So you have that 1 Elf and it's my turn. I play Monster Reborn to bring back Harpie's Pet Dragon, and he gains 300 extra attack points for every Harpie Lady on the field." She said as Harpie's Pet Dragon came back with an attack power of 2900. "Now, Harpie Ladies, combine your power. Extermination attack!" Mai told her monsters as they did just that and destroyed the Mystical Elf but not taking Yugi's life points. "Your time's run out, Yugi. Next turn, I eliminate the remainder of your life points." She said out loud while thinking to herself. "But don't worry, I'll be sure to defeat Pegasus and do what you've wanted to do ever since you got here, but I'm doing it for Tea... because it's what she would want."
"No! It can't end this way. I need more time." Yugi thought as he looked at his deck. "The next turn is going to determine the fate of so many lives. What if I draw the wrong card? What happens to grandpa, and Joey and his sister, and to Kaiba and Mokuba? I can't do this." Yugi thought to himself, doubting that he'll draw the wrong card and lose the duel.
"We can do this." The spirit told his companion. "Just trust yourself and the heart of the cards."
Mai was so confident that she'd win that she was shocked when she heard Yugi yell Swords of Revealing Light, shocking her as the magic card took effect and trapping her monsters for 3 whole turns. "He actually drew the Swords of Revealing Light? How could anyone be that lucky?!"
"All right. That holds Mai at bay for 3 turns, and guys Yugi some time to think of a way out of this mess." Joey said with a smile, knowing that his friend still had a chance of winning.
"Deciding to go down fighting, huh? Well, all right. A surrender would have been easier, but if you're so willing to go out in a blaze of glory, I'll be happy to light the fire." Mai said with a smirk, wanting to beat Yugi at his best.
"No Mai, what I plan to do is go out in a blaze of victory." Yugi said out loud before thinking to himself. "Harpie's Pet Dragon is the most powerful monster she's got. Unless we can defeat it, there's no way to win."
"We can defeat it, but it comes with great risk. It involves the Black Luster Ritual, and 3 turns might not be enough. If I can draw the correct cards, you'll see what it is." The spirit told his friend before playing Kuriboh in attack mode.
"Oh, it's the attack of a little 3 towed hairball." Mai said with a dumbfounded face, not expecting Yugi to play the weakest monster in Duel Monsters before she had a laugh. "Hahahaha. I think it wants to attack Harpie's Pet Dragon single-handedly!" She laughed before she noticed that Yugi was serious.
"It's not a joke, Mai. Don't mistake Kuriboh for a joke when it's an important step on my way to victory in this duel." Yugi said with confidence, having faith in the Kuriboh.
"That hairball couldn't be an important step to anything except choking a cat. Anyway, I can't attack as long as Swords of Revealing Light are in effect, so... I'll draw this 1 card and end my turn." Mai said as she drew a card.
Yugi then looked at the 3 cards in his hand as he thought to himself. "That Kuriboh was a good start, but with the cards I've got in my hand, I can't begin the Black Luster Ritual. I still need 1 more card." He then drew another card but it was Polymerization, which wasn't the card he needed.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, kiddo but go for it. You might as well go out with some flare." Mai thought to herself.
"This card worked for you." Yugi said before playing Monster Reborn to bring back Gaia the fierce Knight.
"Well, I guess Gaia's a big improvement over that little furball, but he hardly is a threat to my Harpies and their let." Mai said before drawing another card and ending her turn due to Swords of Revealing Light still in play.
Yugi then drew another card himself, which was the Winter Dragon of the Fortress. "Still not the right card."
"Yugi." Tea said with concern.
"Don't worry, Tea. Yugi's not about to give up. You can tell by the look in his eyes." Joey assured his female friend.
But Pegasus knew what Yugi was trying to do, due to his Millennium Eye. "I see. Very daring, Yugi boy. You mean to attempt the legendary Black Luster Ritual. But you've only 1 turn left to draw the correct card. Are you really prepared to risk everything on the count of 1 draw? Are you?"
"It's my turn now." Mai said before drawing another card, which was another Harpie Lady, the monster Mai needed to win the duel. "Hahahaha. I've drawn another Harpie Lady. With this, I can add another one to the field and raise Harpie's Pet Dragon's attack power to 3200! Once Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light are gone next turn, it's all over for him. And when I beat Yugi, I'm gonna beat Pegasus to do what Yugi came here to do and I'll be able to protect my future woman standing on that balcony."
"Mai's not even trying to hide her next move. She's got so much firepower, she thinks she's got this in the bag." Joey said.
"My turn is over, and so are the effects of your Swords of Revealing Light." Mai said as the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared from the field, leaving her monsters free to attack. "Didn't get much help from your 3 turns, did you, Yugi?"
Yugi looked at his deck and knew that the entire duel all came down to this next draw, making his friends watch in anticipation and Pegasus chuckle for what would happen. It all comes down to this next card." He thought as he began to reach for another card but stopped himself. "No! I... can't do this. There's too much riding on the draw of 1 card. Yugi was right. Who am I to gamble with the lives of his friends and family? And what will happen...if I should fail? It's too dangerous. I... can't" The spirit thought with strong doubt.
"We can. We can do it together. I'm with you, and we're not alone. We have my friends beside us. Joey, Tristan, Tea and Bakura. They're all with us, as they've been from the beginning." Yugi told his companion, trying to tell him that they could win the duel together with the support of Yugi's friends.
This brought a smile to the spirit's face, as he now has faith in Yugi and his friends. "With all of you at my side, I was foolish to doubt you and your friends."
"It's as you said: you and I have to trust in each other and in the heart of the cards. And once we put our heart in the game, there's nothing we can't do." Yugi reminded the spirit before they drew on their inner strength.
Pegasus also sensed the strength coming from Yugi and was astonished at it that it made him gasp in complete surprise with a sweatdrop coming from his face. "Such power! I've never felt such strength. Never!"
Yugi drew the final card and was surprised that it was just the 1 that he needed to finally win the duel: the Black Luster Ritual card! He then looked at his opponent before speaking. "You've put up a good fight, Mai, but now the duel ends." He said, confusing Mai before he showed her the card that was going to win him the duel. "Starting with this card: the Black Luster Ritual."
Mai was shocked, as she knew what this meant." Oh no!"
Yugi then played the card and it appeared on the field before the jars absorbed Gaia and the Kuriboh into them before light blue energy came out of them and combined together before the Gates of Chaos opened, revealing none other than...the Black Luster Soldier himself while Yugi explained the ritual, shocking Mai as she couldn't believe what she was seeing: a monster with attack power of 3000 and 2500 defense points.
"Is that really the legendary Black Luster Soldier?" Mai asked, having never encountered the Black Luster Soldier before in a duel before.
"Now, Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Blade attack!" Yugi too his monster, who did just that and destroyed Harpie's Pet Dragon as the Harpie Lady Sisters jumped out of the way, shocking Mai as her life points dropped down to 750!
"Just like that, my most powerful monster, gone." Mai said with shock, her spirit broken and the will to continue lost because of that attack.
"This is outstanding. I didn't really think that there'd be a way to bring that kick butt monster out of Yugi's deck." Joey said with amazement.
"I didn't think Mai did either." Tristan added after his friend.
Pegasus sensed it as well, that Mai couldn't continue any longer. "The duel is over. Mai's spirit is broken. She's lost the will to fight on."
Mai put her hands on the dueling platform in defeat as she looked at her final Harpie Lady card. "1 turn away. If I'd only been able to play the final Harpie Lady card before the Black Luster Soldier appeared, my Harpie's Pet Dragon would have been powerful enough to win. But I can't revive the Pet Dragon and there's no card in my deck that can defeat that ultimate warrior." She thought before placing her hand on her deck in defeat, surrendering the duel to Yugi.
"What's wrong with Mai?" Tea asked with concern for her new girlfriend.
"She's surrendering the duel to Yugi. When a duelist places their hand on their deck like that, it means they surrender." Bakura explained.
"Poor Mai." Tea said with sympathetic eyes as she looked at her new girlfriend with pity for her.
"I'd rather not see my Harpie Lady Sisters destroyed in the next turn. I surrender, Yugi." Mai said before the Monsters disappeared as the projectors turned off and the 2 duelists got off their platforms and walked up to each other. After looking at Yugi, Mai held out her hand to him, which he shook. Mai congratulated him. told that this tournament has not only taught her that there is more than just winning for the money or to gain a higher status, she had learned that when you share it with the people you start to deeply care about and encouraging each other to the very end, is what makes someone a true winner.
Yugi, who was back in control of his body, nodded and then said with a smile. "That's right. And if it wasn't for you, I would never have made it to the finals. And I'm glad to have you as a friend, Mai."
Mai nodded as she felt the same. "Me too. And Yugi?"
"Yes?"
Mai then gave Yugi a serious look. "If you win the finals, make Pegasus pay for what he has done to us, and your grandfather."
Yugi nodded, vowing that he will honor her request. "I will, Mai. Pegasus won't get away for what he has done to all of us." He said before they went back to the others, with Mai and Tea sharing a secret loving look at each other.
There you go, my friends, the Embracing Potential and Love chapter is at last complete. Mai is now a member of Yugi's group and will now be by Tea's side for most of the time. Next chapter will come soon. Rate and review. See you soon, my friends.