Here is the next chapter. Atem is going to duel against Mai. It will also be the first time he gets to summon Black Luster Soldier. Cool huh? Black Luster Soldier is one of my favorite duel monster cards, because it's freakin' awesome. Review please!
Atem woke up the next morning with a big fat bruise on his chin from Bandit Keith. He sighed deeply in annoyance while touching the bruised chin to check and see if there were any cuts. Luckily, there weren't any open cuts from the punch. Atem decided to not worry about Bandit Keith since Joey was taking care of him. Right now, he needed to focus on the next match.
Atem slipped into his normal comfortable black tank top along with a pair of tight blue jeans and tennis shoes. His belt was strapped in a diagonal style and a chain belt in the same manner, but in the opposite angle. The millennium puzzle stood on the dresser with the Eye of Horus staring at Atem before Yugi appeared sitting on the dresser next to the puzzle. He held a huge smile, which made Atem smirk.
"Ready?" Yugi asked.
"I am," Atem replied before turning on his iPhone and seeing his grandpa's face appear on the screen. "Good morning, Grandpa."
"Atem, what happened to you!" Solomon asked in horror, seeing the bruise on Atem's chin.
"Bandit Keith was sneaking in Joey's room and we got into a fight. I'll be fine," Atem replied while leaning against the dresser.
"I swear, Atem. You have a thing for picking fights. I'm surprised you haven't broken your leg yet!"
"That's what you said about me getting my motorcycle license."
"And I still hold that to this day!"
Atem rolled his eyes while a giggle escaped his nose, saying, "I love you too."
"You know, one of the things I've noticed about you and Yugi is that he helps you balance your inner self."
"What do you mean?" Atem asked confused.
"Well, before Yugi became a part of your life, most of the time, you showed overconfidence and pride. Yugi helps you balance the inner part of yourself that you're afraid to face. Sooner or later, you're going to have to look in the mirror and see the overconfidence, pride, and selfishness that you face on regular basis. If you don't, you'll never learn to face yourself and your fears. They will haunt your life, because nobody wants to face their fears. It's like when you used to be afraid of the monsters under your bed. It doesn't just make you a better gamer, but a better person."
"I'm not afraid to face Pegasus."
"Maybe not, but the question is not whether if you're afraid of Pegasus or not. You show fears, Atem. Fears that you never admit to yourself. What you don't know, is that Yugi faces them as well, because you can't face your own and the same can go vice versa. You already know to not show fear, but the question is if you're willing to face it yourself. Don't be afraid of facing your true self, because only then will you find your real strength."
"I understand," Atem nodded, not being sure what his grandfather was talking about, but decided to worry about that later. His friends entered into his room from sleeping.
"You ready?" Hanaski asked with an exciting smile on his face.
"You know it," Atem smirked before he placed the millennium puzzle around his neck. While doing this, Yugi jumped off the dresser and ran to his brother's side. "Let's go!"
Everyone walked together down the hallway and down the staircase. Ryan stayed behind to watch over Mokuba and Seto, just in case Pegasus tried to get a hold of their soulless bodies. Atem saw Mai and Bandit Keith waiting at the main room where Pegasus' Duel Box was located. Joey joined along with the group and his best friend as one of the final four.
Pegasus walked down the steps with two guards following from behind. Atem could never forgive Pegasus for what he did to Seto and Mokuba. He wanted to duel Pegasus and defeat him to rescue the Kaiba brothers, but knew he had to beat Mai to get there. Pegasus walked to the seat made for him to sit and watch the duels and clapped his hands.
"Welcome, you all are the final four that have come this far to reach your goal," Pegasus announced before signaling his employee to bring in a chest and open it. Inside was a pile of gold worth millions of dollars. "The winner will receive all of this as his reward."
"Sweet," Bandit Keith smirked.
"Oh my!" Mai grinned cheerfully. "That's enough for me to live in Paris."
"And f*** with French guys," Atem added before his friends, besides Tea, chuckled and got himself whacked by the blond's fist. "I was just kidding!"
"I'm starting to like that bitch," Bandit Keith smirked.
"Shut the f*** up, I'm still mad at you for last night," Atem glared as Bandit Keith showed his smirking teeth.
"As you know, the first round is Atem versus Mai. Both duelists enter the Duel Box!" Pegasus announced before Atem and Mai entered inside the Duel Box.
Atem and Mai shuffled each others' decks with confidence in their eyes. Atem peered at Mai while shuffling with a slight smirk. He was tempted on making a good joke before starting with their duel.
"I hope you're not planning on doing your aroma tricks again. The last thing I need is your stinky perfume," Atem smirked as Mai chuckled darkly.
"Trust me. With you, I don't need my tactics. I only use those to freak my opponents out, but you already know about my tactics. Besides, I'm planning on dueling you... differently," Mai replied with a devious smirk.
"Then I wish you the best of luck," Atem said before returning Mai's deck the same time the blond woman returned his his deck. The teenage boy knew that he had to beat Mai to get to Pegasus and avenge Seto. So much was on the boy's shoulders and he was willing to do whatever it took to win this game.
"I summon Harpy Lady!" Mai declared.
"Just make sure she doesn't give me herpes," Atem smirked as Mai glared in annoyance.
"HA! Nice one!" Bandit Keith shouted.
"I'll play one face-down and end my turn," Mai finished before Atem drew his next card.
"I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Atem declared as Gaia the Fierce Knight appeared bold and brave. "Attack Harpy Lady!"
"TRAP! MIRROR WALL!" Mai declared as mirrors appeared and Gaia the Fierce Knight attacked his own reflection before his attack points cut in half to 1150.
"Damn! Not bad," Atem smirked. "Somebody's been working on her deck."
"And somebody's not being very careful. I believe it's my turn," Mai smirked before drawing her next card. Atem rolled his eyes on Mai's last comment. He wasn't really sure if it was a spell card or not, since Mai never showed traps on her duel with Joey. "I equip Cyber Bondage with my Harpy Lady and she attacks your Gaia!" Harpy Lady flew up in the air and slashed Gaia the Fierce Knight before Atem was left with 1350 life points. "I believe it's your turn. I hope you don't underestimate me this time."
"You know it!" Atem glared before drawing his next card. "I'll play one card face-down, then I summon Summoned Skull. He attacks your..."
"My trap reactivates. It's a permanent trap!" Mai declared as the mirrors appeared again and Summoned Skull's attack was cut in half to 1250.
"Permanent Trap? They have those?" Atem asked awestruck.
"Damn!" Tristan responded.
"That bitch means business!" Bandit Keith laughed mockingly.
"Guess you've never heard of these. I can't blame you, they're really rare to find, but Permanent Trap cards can be activated over and over," Mai explained as Atem narrowed his eyebrows even deeper. "So every time you say 'attack,' my Mirror Wall will protect my Harpy Lady." She smirked widely and stared at Atem directly in the eyes. "You seem to be a little pressured, which I can't blame you seeing that your friend and his brother's half dead and having revenge on your mind."
"Shut the hell up and duel!" Atem shouted with glaring eyes.
"Fine, but I'm just saying that thinking too much is not staying focused on your opponent. You have other things on your mind," Mai smirked as Atem glared deeply. In a sense she was telling the truth, besides focusing on Yugi behind him, Atem was wanting to get his hands on Pegasus. "I suppose I'll be roaming in Paris while you sit by your girlfriend's bedside. At least you'll know that she won't love you based on beauty."
"NOT IN YOUR LIFETIME!" Atem shouted as Mai showed a smirk and drew his next card.
"You're right, she does mean business," Joey agreed with Bandit Keith's earlier statement. "And if I agree, then it must be true."
"I'll use my spell card Harpy's Feather Duster!" Mai smirked as a bunch of feathers swept Atem's face-down card.
"SHIT!" Atem responded before banging his fist on the table.
"I'm a very cautious player, Atem. You should follow my example."
"Mai, kiss my f***ing ass," Atem spat before drawing his next card. "I play Fernal Imp in defense."
"No way to attack, so you take the defensive rout. I suppose I don't blame you," Mai shrugged before drawing his next card. "I equip Electro-Whip to Harpy Lady." Atem gasped as he watched Fernal Imp being whacked by Harpy Lady's whip. "And your Fernal Imp turns to dust."
"I play Saiga in defense mode."
"Looks like you're out of options, and here I thought you'd be a challenge," Mai mocked as Atem glared even deeper. "I play Harpies' Pet Dragon in attack mode." She smiled in a coo-like manner. "Isn't he cute? And he's perfect for my Harpy Ladies to take care of your Summoned Skull."
Summoned Skull was wiped off the field, luckily it was in defense mode. Atem kept his eyes narrowed as Mai showed a deep smirk. She looked straight into Atem's deep dark eyes filled with intense.
"You remember that riddle you told Joey?" Mai asked as Atem gave her a questionable look. "What you can show, but can't see? You've got your answer, so it's time for you to figure out mine."
"WHAT! WHAT KIND OF CRAP ARE YOU PULLING HERE?" Joey shouted in frustration.
Mai kept her smirk, but her eyes narrowed even more. Atem became very nervous. There were different answers to the riddle like blindness, friendship, puzzle, but what other answers were there? He decided to focus on the duel while drawing his next card, which was Dark Magician.
"I lay Dark Magician in defense mode, and then place this card face-down," Atem declared as Mai drew her next card.
"Then I play Shadow of Eyes. This forces your Dark Magician to attack," Mai explained as Dark Magician automatically stood up in attack mode. "Shadow of Eyes effects the hormones to lure your monster into battle. Like how you keep staring at my breasts."
"Once a bitch, always a bitch," Atem muttered as Mai chuckled mockingly.
"Your Dark Magician attacks Harpy Lady," Mai declared as Dark Magician waved his wand to attack Harpy Lady before a bunch of mirrors appeared in front of him. Dark Magician attack the mirror and its attack points halved. "Now I play Feather Duster." Harpy's Feather Duster activated and a bunch of feathers wiped Atem's face-down from the field. "Now, my dragon shall attack your Dark Magician!" Harpies' Pet Dragon attacked Dark Magician and Atem's life points stooped to 300. "What do you think of my new Harpy combo?"
Atem was so angry and frustrated at himself. He was so sunk to the bottom of the well, it wasn't even funny. Was there any way to defeat Mai's unbeatable Harpy Ladies? Atem realized that Mai had grown stronger since her duel with Joey. It would've been hard to believe that Joey actually defeated this woman. Everyone was staring at the blond with awestruck.
"Atem, com'on! Don't give up!" Hanaski cheered.
"Mai seems like a million times stronger than when she fought against you," Tea said to Joey.
"You're right!" Joey realized in shock. He was starting to wonder if he only won by luck.
"Joey, I know what you're thinking. I played as hard as I could when I dueled against you," Mai admitted as Joey stared at the woman confused. "I was in denial for almost the entire day. I couldn't get over the fact that I lost to an amateur duelist." Everyone stared at Mai with disbelief. "Then, I started facing my fears." Atem gasped, remembering what his grandpa was trying to tell him about facing his inner self. "I realized that I was too overconfident and self-centered. It not only affected my dueling, but myself as a person as well." Mai turned to Joey and asked, "why did you win against me?"
"That's easy, because I had my friends with me. That's why an amateur like me got this far," Joey replied in a glare.
"Exactly, you were an amateur and realized that. You're not just an amateur at dueling, but as a person. You're not always sure of yourself and you realizing this, so you were strong enough to fix it and become a very strong person," Mai pointed out as Joey rose two eyebrows, realizing what she was pointing out.
'She's right,' Atem muttered inside his mind while staring at the field. 'I... I think I know what Grandpa was trying to tell me. As a duelist, I have weaknesses and not just that, but as a person. I can never stoop down to a person's level, that's why I was mad at Seto after he won our duel. I'm prideful and overconfident.' Yugi heard this from his brother as he saw those dark eyes stare at his bright ones. 'You have been making up for my weaknesses and I was too prideful to admit it and face it.'
"Brother, I've always helped you in more ways than one. If you need help, I'm always here," Yugi said as Atem smiled and reached over to his hand and took his brother's hand.
Mai raised two eyebrows, seeing Atem reach for something invisible. He smiled and touched the deck with the tip of his fingers to draw his next card. Atem said, "I think I know your answer. Weakness is something a person can show, but not see." Everyone rose their eyebrows as Mai smiled and nodded. "Yugi also has an answer himself. It's himself. I can show Yugi, but you can't see him. We fight together." He looked at his card. "I play Brain Control." Mai gasped.
"Control the dragon," Yugi suggested.
"I use this to control Harpies' Pet Dragon," Atem declared before taking another card. "Then, I place one card face-down before summoning Catapult Turtle!" Catapult Turtle appeared and Harpies' Pet Dragon was on the turtle to be launched. "CATAPULT TURTLE LAUNCH ONTO MIRROR WALL! THREE... TWO... ONE... LIFT OOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF!" Harpies' Pet Dragon launched right on Mirror Wall and it shattered into pieces. "And I didn't just launch your monster to take out your Mirror Wall. When destroying your dragon, it takes quite a bit of damage off your life points."
"What?" Mai gasped as her life points stooped to 850.
"NICE ATEM!" Joey cheered.
"He looks different from before. I wonder if it's what Mai said," Hanaski wondered.
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked in confusion.
"Well, Mai does have a point. I mean even I used to be afraid over everything, even facing fears. That's why I have Yugi with me, he helps me face my fears and I think he helps Atem as well."
"Huh," Joey smirked with crossed arms.
Mai glanced at Atem with suspicion. Yugi was behind his brother with a confident smile. Atem held a gaming smirk and a tempting glance for Mai to attack. She knew she had to be cautious, so she drew her next card and played a spell card.
"I won't attack, but I will play Kaleidoscope," Mai declared as two more Harpy Ladies appeared by her original. "With that I end my turn."
"That's too bad. I would've lost if you'd have attacked," Atem admitted as Mai's eyes widened. "My face-down card is Monster Recovery, this lets me refresh my hand."
Atem placed all his cards into his deck and shuffled it before drawing five new cards. He showed a devious smirk while peering at his cards. Mai had to admit, the way Atem showed his piercing eyes convinced the blond woman not to attack. Atem knew this would fool Mai. Yugi showed a smirk and his idea of how to defeat Mai to Atem. He agreed with that idea.
"I play my Mystical Elf in defense mode!" Atem declared as Mystical Elf appeared in a defensive position.
"But how? My Shadow of..." Mai asked baffled until she realized the spell card's weakness. "Oh."
"That's right. Your Shadow of Eyes only works based on hormones, so it works on the opposite sex. In other words, I maybe tempted on staring at your breasts, but Tea isn't... unless she's a lesbian."
"NICE ONE, ATEM!" Hanaski cheered.
"Geez, you're annoying!" Mai glared in annoyance. She drew her next card. "But I can still crack ya open. I play Monster Reborn to bring back Harpies' Pet Dragon." Harpies' Pet Dragon appeared once again and a confident smile appeared on Mai's smirk. "And now it's even stronger. HARPY SISTERS, ATTACK!" The Harpy Ladies created a triangle and blasted Mystical Elf. Luckily, it was in defense mode.
Atem glared and stared at his deck. He knew that he had to risk everything in this one draw, a huge gamble. If not, then everything that Atem worked for would crumble. Yugi smiled and placed Atem's hand on the deck to draw a new card. Atem drew his new card as Mai was blabbering about what she would do with the grand sum of the money she'd win. Then, in front of the woman's eyes, she saw shining swords surrounding her Harpy Sisters.
"I play Swords of Revealing Light! This traps your Harpy Ladies for three turns," Atem smirked as Mai glared at her opponent in annoyance.
"Very well, a little wait. I can do that."
"Alright, we still have a chance!" Yugi grinned excitedly. "We just need to draw the right card."
'I'll play this card for now,' Atem told his brother as he grinned in excitement. "I play Kuriboh in attack mode."
Mai couldn't contain herself from bursting out in laughter. She mocked, "well isn't he adorable? Look at him, so anxious to fight from my Shadow of Eyes. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Out of thousands of cards, Yugi and I chose this... mostly Yugi. The point is I believe in this monster!" Atem declared with boldness and confidence.
"Very well. I don't understand why you put such a wimpy monster like him in your deck, but hey, it's your call. I'll just end you and be done with it!"
Atem drew his next card, hoping it was the key card he needed. Unfortunately, it was Polymerization. That wasn't going to help him one bit. He decided to play his other monster for now.
"I play Monster Reborn to summon back Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Atem declared as Gaia appeared boldly on his horse. "I end my turn."
Mai drew her next card, which was another Harpy Lady. She decided to save it after she took down Atem's worthless monsters. It would be one more turn for Atem to play before he was ambushed by Harpy Ladies. He knew that this would be the last chance he got. Yugi trusted in his brother and Atem trusted in him. Their trust in each other activated the power of the millennium puzzle.
Pegasus saw it with his millennium eye and Ryan sensed it from the other room. Yugi and Atem used their combined trust in each other to draw out the card they wanted. Automatically, Atem drew out the exact card he and Yugi wanted as a smirk appeared on his face.
"I place one card face-down, then I play Griffor before ending my turn," Atem declared as Mai stared at her opponent with bafflement written on her face. What was Atem thinking by playing these weak monsters?
Mai drew her next card and ended her turn before saying, "ok, let's see what your three little monsters did?"
"Oh you'll see, when I play Black Luster Ritual!" Atem declared as a stand with two pots and swords crossing in between the pots appeared. Kuriboh was on the left pot, Griffor was on the right pot, and Gaia the Fierce Knight was placed in between. "These will be used as my sacrifices." Mai gasped, realizing why Atem played such weak monsters, he was going to summon a monster. Gaia the Fierce Knight galloped into the portal created in place of the ritual. After galloping inside, out of the portal came a brave and bold knight with a purple and gold shining armor. "BEHOLD! BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER!"
"Black Luster Soldier?" Tristan gasped.
"Damn!" Joey responded.
"BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER! ATTACK MAI'S DRAGON!" Atem declared as Black Luster Soldier attacked and destroyed Harpies' Pet Dragon and left Mai with 750 life points.
Mai looked at her Harpy Lady card she drew earlier. If she had played this card, she wouldn't have lost her dragon. Mai knew deep in her heart that this was the end for her. On Atem's next turn, Black Luster Soldier would attack one of Mai's Harpy Ladies and her life points would hit 0. Instead of watching her soul card suffer anymore, Mai placed her hand over her deck as a sign of surrender. Everyone gasped in pure shock.
"I don't want to injure my Harpies any longer," Mai said before she stood up from the seat and walked on her way out the Duel Box. While walking out the door, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Mai turned and looked at Atem's deep dark eyes with a soft smile on his lips as he said, "thank you."
"Atem, there's no such think as an invincible duelist. Every person has a weakness: your rich friend, your best friend, and even the rich mind reader over there," Mai said, darting her eyes at Pegasus. "And there are two ways you can face that weakness: you can let it tare you down or be a step to making you a stronger duelist and a stronger person. Pegasus looks tough, no doubt about it, but he covers up his weaknesses and looks into his opponents' weaknesses. That is how he wins his duels... that's how Kaiba lost."
"Pegasus could see Seto's weakness for Mokuba and me."
"But you have the advantage of our duel to realize that. That's another reason why I wanted to duel you. I wanted you to realize that unless you face your own weaknesses, you're no match for Pegasus."
Atem smirked and nodded before him and Mai shook hands, then hugged. They exited from the Duel Box and Mai left the room to pack her stuff. That duel Atem and Mai had would never be forgotten. Atem knew he needed Yugi's help to defeat Pegasus now more than ever. It'd take more than teamwork, it'd also take confidence that not even Atem knew he had. The next duel would be Joey and Bandit Keith, but Atem was ready for anything.