DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

A Duel With Destiny Part I

The Pharaoh stood in Mai's room with the rest of their friends.

Serenity sat by her side, holding her hand. 'Joey, she's not waking up.'

Joey stared down at her. 'Mai…'

'She can't hear you,' Téa said. 'Marik trapped her mind in the Shadow Realm!'

'Poor Mai,' Serenity murmured.

'This Tournament's gotten way outta hand,' Joey stated. 'You know why?'

Duke turned to him. 'Because there's a mind-warping psycho on board.' The others turned to him. 'Just being honest.'

'It's true,' Shamee said.

Serenity changed the subject. 'Hey, you guys, why don't you all go to the next duel and I'll stay here and keep an eye on Mai. I'll be okay, and besides we don't all need to be here.'

'Hold on,' Joey started.

'Look, I'm fine,' Serenity told him. 'And besides, the next duel of the Finals is about to start so go watch.' Her expression took a serious look. 'If Mai were all right, she'd say the same thing. Now you go out there and be strong for Mai, and I'll sit by her side til you get back.'

'You sure?' Joey asked.

'I've never been more sure than I am right now,' Serenity told him. She stood up. 'Everyone here has taught me so much about being brave and facing my fears, including Mai. The way she stood up to Marik in that duel was so incredible! You guys are all so strong and the way you support each other and support me is amazing. Thank you. But now it's my turn to help out. And I can start by being here for Mai. It's the least I can do, and it's really important to me, guys. What do you say?'

Tristan was quick to respond. 'Well, all right!'

'Nicely said,' Duke said.

'All right.' Joey smiled. 'You've convinced me, sis. Just be careful.'

Serenity nodded.

The ref's voice came onto the intercom. 'As soon as the eighth duellist arrives, the next match of the Battle City Finals will begin.'

'Right,' Shamee said, 'let's go.' She turned and led the way out of the room.

As they walked, Yugi spoke up in their joined minds. Pharaoh, I was wondering something.

Yes?

Why could we help Mai remember Joey, but not Tea?

Because Joey and Mai have deeper feelings for each other, the Pharaoh said. Shamee and I were able to use those feelings as a pathway between the two of them.

Yugi became confused. Deeper feelings?

In time, you'll see.

YGO

Kaiba stood in front of the dork patrol.

'Who is this eighth duellist anyway?' Tristan asked.

'Good things come to those who wait,' Sharee reminded him. Well, she had gone to speak with the duellist in question, he'd been told. The odds were that she knew their exact identity.

'Let's just hope they're not working for Marik,' Yugi told him.

'That's for sure,' the new boy – Duke or something – said. 'We have enough people on bed rest already.'

'I wouldn't worry,' Sharee said. 'But, Kaiba, do at least try to refrain from any more casualties.'

That was easy enough. My Egyptian God Card will crush this eighth duellist, whoever it is.

His collar tag beeped and his brother's voice came through. 'Seto! Come in! It's me!'

Kaiba answered him. 'Mokuba, what's the update?'

'So far, so good. The Winged Dragon of Ra's been successfully scanned into the KaibaCorp Mainframe. Our network is translating the Egyptian text on the card. We should be able to decipher its meaning and find out all the secrets of this card in no time!'

'Okay. Contact me as soon as you get the results.'

'Cool.' He terminated the connection.

Roland lifted his arm. 'If duellist number eight does not arrive within the next five minutes, an automatic victory will be awarded to Seto Kaiba.'

'Don't worry,' Sharee remarked behind him as he slid his deck into his duel disk. 'She'll be here – at the last possible minute.'

Kaiba would trust that – one of the few things he would trust.

'Kaiba, I must speak to you right away!' Yugi insisted as Kaiba headed for the arena.

'Save it, Yugi,' Kaiba told him.

'Kaiba!' Yugi snapped.

Kaiba stopped and looked back at him with a smirk. 'Yugi, let me guess. You want to request an emergency landing to get your friend to a hospital. You can forget it! I told you already, when your friend Bakura couldn't deal with his injury! My tournament stops for no one, got it?' He ascended to his position on the field.

Wheeler glared at him. 'Kaiba. The guy's got a heart of gold, right?'

'Yeah,' Tristan snarked. 'His cheeks must hurt from smiling so much.'

'Well, Mr. Sunshine's gonna advance to the next round if his opponent doesn't show,' Wheeler said.

'She'll be here,' Sharee said.

So, he waited. Time ticked by and then, just as Sharee said, his opponent surfaced at the last possible moment. Kaiba seized up the woman, dressed head to toe in white and gold, as she stepped up to her place on the field. He glared at her. 'You've got some nerve showing up late to duel me. Were you scared? Did the thought of facing a superior duellist such as myself make you second-guess your own abilities? Who are you?'

The woman pulled the veil from the bottom half of her face.

I might have known.

'Let's begin,' Roland said to the woman. 'Tell me. What's your name?'

'You may call me Ishizu,' Ishizu said. 'Ishizu Ishtar.'

Kaiba thought back to what she'd said when she gave him the God Card. "You will return the card to me." So…it appeared she wasn't as naïve as he'd first thought, and assumed he would willingly hand it over. Far more wisely – from one point of view – she had always intended to win it back. Well, that just wouldn't be happening in the way she'd intended it.

Fine planning though. Fine planning.

YGO

Shamee watched this in amusement.

Téa rushed over to her and the Pharaoh. 'Yugi! Sharee! She's the woman that we met at the Egyptian Exhibit!'

Really? I hadn't noticed! Shamee forced herself not to smirk at her host's sarcasm. Instead she said, 'She is a Tomb Keeper, Téa.'

The Pharaoh simply said, 'You're right.'

'This is quite a surprise,' Kaiba remarked.

'Yes,' Ishizu said, 'we meet again, Seto Kaiba.'

'So you've come to win back Obelisk!'

Partially, yeah.

'What I've come for is of greater importance,' Ishizu said. She looked over. 'I've come here to save my brother.'

'Brother?' Kaiba asked.

Shamee, the Pharaoh, and Kaiba all looked over at Marik.

'Puts her in quite an awkward spot, doesn't it?' the Pharaoh remarked.

'Quite,' Shamee said.

Kaiba then chuckled. 'Oh, yes. He's caused quite a bit of trouble already.'

Ishizu looked back at Kaiba. 'So you have been told. I did expect Sharee to say something if it came up. And, so she has it appears.'

'Of course,' Kaiba said.

Duke looked at her. 'Whatever you said to them, can you share it with the rest of us now.' He must have noticed only Kaiba and the Pharaoh were aware of the topic of discussion.

'Wow,' Shamee said dryly. 'Two people on board with the last name "Ishtar". Who, I wonder, could her brother possibly be?'

It took a moment for the penny to drop.

'No way!' Téa cried. 'That's impossible!'

'It's not impossible,' the Pharaoh said. 'But, as Sharee said, it does place Ishizu in a very difficult position. He's her brother, but at the same time she must oppose him.'

Shamee nodded once. 'She's hoping she can salvage something of him and bring the good back, wherever its been buried.'

Joey shook his head. 'She's got quite an uphill climb ahead of her then. I can understand wanting to save your brother, but I'm sure there's nothing worth saving left in him.'

Maybe there was, and maybe there wasn't.

YGO

Ishizu continued. 'For the past 5000 years, an Ishtar has stood guard over the Pharaoh's tomb. Only Marik…he turned against us and the evil within him is even stronger now.' She heard the talking below and knew Shamee – from the look of the host, Sharee – was just clearing things up for the others.

She looked down at Marik again. I know there is good buried deep within my brother. Ishizu turned her attention back to her opponent. 'If you remember, Kaiba, my Millennium Necklace has the power to show me events that are yet to come. And right now it tells me you will lose this duel to me.'

'Enough with the Millennium Items!' Kaiba snapped. Even if he hated hearing of them, he paid enough attention to know what they were called. 'I don't believe in that nonsense. Is that clear?'

Ishizu was patient. She knew he would only be able to deny it for so long.

'And as for this duel, just because you were foolish enough to hand me Obelisk the Tormentor doesn't mean that I won't use it to destroy you now. And I don't appreciate you using my Tournament to solve your personal family issues. I planned this with one goal in mind.' He smirked. 'To reclaim my place as the number one duellist in the world.'

'Have you forgotten that it was my idea for you to organise the Battle City Tournament?' Ishizu asked him pointedly. 'To lure duellists, like Marik?'

'Say what?' Joey Wheeler demanded from the sidelines.

'Oh, yeah!' Shamee laughed, letting her host leak through.

'You knew about this?' Téa Gardener's demand was directed at her.

Shamee responded with one of Sharee's Americanisms. 'Duh!'

'And my plan worked, for my brother is here,' Ishizu stated. 'But the hardest task is yet to come. The evil within him must be stopped! And this mission can only be accomplished with the help of the Great Pharaoh, which is precisely why Yugi needed to enter this tournament as well. For this Pharaoh dwells within Yugi's Millennium Puzzle.'

'How lame,' Kaiba said. 'You went through all that trouble just because of some Egyptian fairy tale? I'm surrounded by superstitious nitwits!'

'Do not deny your heritage,' Ishizu said. 'As I've shown you before you too can trace your origins back to Ancient Egypt.'

'All right, that is enough!' Kaiba narrowed his eyes. 'I know who I am! I'm a far better duellist than you, and I plan to win this tournament!' He looked down at Marik. 'Regardless of what you and your demented brother may believe, you made two mistakes. The first was handing Obelisk to me. The second was expecting it back. That card is mine, and soon I'll possess the other two Egyptian God cards. Then I'll have the world's most powerful deck and you can do a favour for me: take your hocus pocus nonsense to someone else's tournament, cause to me it's a colossal waste of time.' He turned to his red. 'Let's go, Roland. Begin this duel at once.'

'Yes, sir!' Roland lifted his hand to the air and proclaimed. 'Begin now!'

Kaiba activated his duel disk. 'All right.'

My Millennium Necklace predicts that Kaiba's lack of faith will be his downfall.

Kaiba drew. 'I'll go first. I don't need a magic trick to predict your demise! So I will summon the mighty Vorce Raider!' He set the card and it appeared on the field. The monster emerged from within.

Ishizu closed her eyes. Now he'll place a card face-down.

'And now I'll place one card face-down!' Kaiba set the card and it appeared on the field. 'That ends my turn.'

Ishizu opened her eyes again. 'Kaiba, the power of my Millennium Necklace shall predict your every move, and you will suffer defeat.'

YGO

The Pharaoh watched the duel. Kaiba may be a skilled duellist, but he's no match for the power of the Millennium Item. There's no way he can win.

Ishizu drew. 'I summon Keldo.' She didn't even look at it. She set the card in defence mode and it appeared on the field. The monster emerged from it in defence position.

'Whoa!' Joey rubbed his chin. 'Hey, Yug. Did you see that, man? She didn't even look at that card.'

'That's right, Joey,' Yugi said. 'Her Millennium Necklace shows her events before they occur.'

Tea drew the natural conclusion. 'So she knows everything that's gonna happen before it happens!'

'Hey, hang on,' Joey said. 'This sounds just like that trick Espa Roba played on me!'

'Yes, Joey, but I can assure you that this is not a trick,' the Pharaoh said.

'Precisely,' Shamee said. 'First of all, remember that Roba was very showy. He put on a performance. Have you see any such thing from Ishizu?'

'No,' Joey said.

'That's generally your first sign of a fraud. If they put on a show, either they've just got brand-spanking new powers and no training to use them, or they don't have powers at all. Real psychics are very careful about what they say and who they tell of their powers. If Kaiba wasn't part of this ordeal, Ishizu wouldn't bother explaining anything to him.'

'True,' the Pharaoh said. 'As you'll soon see, Ishizu's power is very much real.'

'I will now activate a powerful magic card.' Ishizu took a card from her hand. 'Michizure of Doom!' She set the card and it appeared on the field. Kaiba looked worried. Ishizu closed her eyes. 'I chose Polymerisation and Kaiser Glider.'

Kaiba began to look disturbed. Still, he took the cards and sent them to the graveyard.

'See what I mean?' Shamee asked Joey. 'Completely collected and not making a show at all.'

'Enough trickery!' Kaiba snapped. 'Show me your cards right now! You'll regret ever having played that magic card.'

Ishizu turned her hand around so he could see her hand.

Kaiba pointed at the cards he wanted gone. 'Time for you to discard Revival Magic and Monster Reborn!'

'As you wish.' Ishizu turned her cards back around and discarded the cards in question. 'That ends my turn.' She glanced down at her brother again.

'Let's see which is stronger,' Kaiba said. 'Your tricks or my skills.' He drew. He added his card to his hand. 'Vorce Raider, attack her Keldo now!' The Vorce Raider attacked and swung his axe. Keldo was split in half. Kaiba smirked. 'Well, now, maybe your future isn't so bright. Perhaps if you spent less time predicting the future and more time focusing on your duelling you wouldn't be…losing.'

'You still don't understand, do you?' Ishizu asked. 'I am aware of every twist and turn that will occur. I know exactly what card you're going to play before you do. And I know how you're going to lose.'

'I don't know what kind of imbecile you think I am,' Kaiba said, 'but your little mind games won't work on me, Ishizu.' He let a self-satisfied smirk come onto his face.

'I still think it's gonna be a touch duel,' Joey said from beside him. 'Ishizu may be able to see the future, but Kaiba's got an Egyptian God Card.'

Kaiba took a card from his hand. 'Now I'll place one more card face-down on the field,' he did so, 'and end my turn.' The card appeared next to his other face-down one.

'Just as I expected.' Ishizu drew. 'This card will be needed later.' She added the card to her hand and took another. She played it. 'Now I summon Mudora!' The monster appeared on the field and held his sword at the ready. She stood there, seeming to consider something.

'What's the hold up?' Kaiba demanded impatiently.

'Patience, Kaiba,' Ishizu said.

'I used up my patience waiting for you to show up tonight,' Kaiba snapped. 'Now, go already! The less I have to hear about your insane brother, the better!'

Ishizu's eyes narrowed. 'How dare you insult my family. You'll regret those words.' She glanced at her brother again. She took a card from her hand. 'I will now play the magic card, Sword of Dogra.' She set it and the Sword appeared on the field. Her monster took a hold of it. 'It increases the attack strength of Mudora by 500 points.' Mudora's attack shot up to 2000. 'Now, attack his Vorce Raider!'' Mudora leapt across the field and attacked.

Kaiba gave a toothed smirk. 'Face down cards, go!' He activated them and they flipped up. 'You're finished.'

There wasn't so much as a twitch on Ishizu's face.

'First up is my Shrink card.' The card in question activated. 'This cuts my Vorce Raider's attack points in half!' Just that happened. The Raider's attack strength went down to 950.

Yugi worked it out. In order to activate his Crush Card, Kaiba had to first lower his own monster's attack points.

Mudora destroyed the Raider.

'And as if that weren't enough, watch as my Crush Card destroys both monsters on the field,' Kaiba bragged as just that happened as well, even as his life point dropped to 2950, 'as well as every powerful monster in your entire deck.' He laughed as every monster in question was sent to the card graveyard.

'Aw, man!' Joey said from beside him again. 'Kaiba's move was brutal! If I was Ishizu, I'd trade in that Millennium Necklace for a crystal ball or something!'

Yugi went to voice his opinion, but Shamee interrupted it when she scoffed.

'Don't be naïve,' she said, drawing all of their attention. 'This is just part of a brilliant strategy. Ishizu did it to me once.'

Meaning the one who'd fallen into a trap here, despite appearances, was Kaiba.

YGO

Kaiba chuckled. 'Now every monster in your deck with over 1500 attack points goes to the graveyard.'

'Yes, I know.' Ishizu discarded them all.

Kaiba continued his bragging. 'Looks like your left with nothing but a deck of worthless monsters who pose absolutely no threat to me.'

'According to my Millennium Necklaces, I don't need a powerful monster to defeat you.' In fact, Ishizu just needed a magic card and a trap card. 'So watch as I stop you from attacking me for three whole turns.'

Kaiba just kept his smirk up.

Ishizu took a card from her hand. 'For now I play this!' She set the card and it flipped up. 'Swords of Revealing Light!' The swords shot out of the card and struck Kaiba's side of the field.

Kaiba cried out in alarm as they came down on him and settled around him.

'You're trapped.'

Kaiba smirked at her again. 'Please enlighten me. If my future's bleak, why are you stalling?'

'I'm not stalling, Kaiba. Fate dictates our moves. And it's your destiny to lose.'

Kaiba was still yet to be convinced. 'Really?'

'Really.' Ishizu closed her eyes. 'And I can clearly envision your downfall, as you can't help but destroy yourself.'

'Well, I have a prediction of my own. Once your Swords of Revealing Light are gone I'll crush you with my Egyptian God card. So while you count on fate to win this, I'll count on brute force.'

'Fine. I'll place one card face-down.' Ishizu set the card and it appeared on the field. 'Now make your move. It's only a matter of time.'

Kaiba looked down and smirked at his cards. 'Stand back. It's my move!' He drew. He played his card. 'And I summon Dark Gremlin in defence mode!' The monster appeared on the field in defensive position. 'And then,' he took another card from his hand, 'I'll place this card, face-down.' He set the card and it appeared on the field.

'Very well. I shall draw one card.' Ishizu drew. 'But I don't need it yet, so I shall pass.'

'How sad,' Kaiba sneered. 'You stop me from attacking you for three turns, yet you still can't destroy me. So much for your prediction, Ishizu.'

Ishizu opened her eyes again. 'Actually, Kaiba, you shall draw the card that will lead to your demise in two more turns.'

Kaiba laughed. 'You're even more insane than I first thought! The only thing I'm gonna draw are cards that will lead to your own demise, Ishizu. Duel Monsters is about skill and power, not fairy dust and fate!'

That was what he thought.

'All this talk is pointless!' Kaiba snapped. 'It's time for action. Now,' he drew, 'I'll save this card.' He slid it into his hand.

Ishizu drew, looked at her card, and placed it in her hand. 'Make your move. For the end is near.'

'You fascinate me,' Kaiba said. 'You talk so much about your victory, yet other than stall for more time with your Swords of Revealing Light you've done absolutely nothing to win this. And next turn your swords will be gone, allowing me to strike back and defeat you once and for all, Ishizu. So beware.' He drew.

'I believe you'll pass.'

Kaiba looked at his card. 'Yes, you're right.'

'I know.' Ishizu drew. Just what she needed. My Sacrifice is Blessed trap card will seal his fate in my next turn. My Millennium Necklace was indeed correct. 'The time for you to make your final move has arrived, Kaiba.'

'For three whole turns, you've failed to summon a single monster.' Kaiba elected to mock her before he drew. 'And now I highly doubt I'm facing any sort of danger at all. So spare me the threats!'

Ishizu ignored him. 'My Swords are gone.' They faded away. 'You are free to attack.'

'Well, thank you for stating the obvious. And now stand back. It's over.' Kaiba drew. 'Before I play this card, Dark Gremlin, attack her life points now!'

The Gremlin attacked. Ishizu merely lifted her arm in defence as she was attacked. She did draw back though. Her life points dropped to 2400.

Kaiba leaned forward and sneered. 'So, tell me, did you predict that would happen to you? The Dark Gremlin is the least of your problems, Ishizu. Cause I plan to destroy you with my Egyptian God Card now!'

'Your future is decided,' Ishizu stated. 'Use Obelisk and you'll be destroyed!'

'Wrong!' Kaiba pointed across the field at her to emphasise his point. 'You can't win! Nothing can save you from Obelisk's wrath! So don't resist it, for the end is here!'