Shadow of a Duel
At the hospital, Max and Bakura were sound asleep and their minds wandered freely. Bakura was asleep in his bed and Max rested her head on his bedside. Rather the evil spirits wandered freely, giving their hosts nightmares. In the void, they met up with Marik. "It seems everything is going according to plan," Marik told them.
"Yes, and we've already done more than we agreed to do," said the evil Max. "We took care of Bakura and Max so you could rescue them and gain the trust of Yugi's friends. Now it's your turn."
"You'll get my Millennium Rod and the other Items after you've completed your end of the bargain."
"Look," the spirit of the Millennium Ring growled, "our patience is growing thin, Marik. What's the next phase of the plan?"
"You will obtain a duel disk and join your girlfriend in the Battle City finals. I'll hand over the Items you seek if the two of you can win me the cards I desire."
Listening to Marik's words, the spirit of the Cobalt Star shard laughs. It's funny because Marik actually thinks she's Bakura's girlfriend and because she's finding her assumptions about him to be true. "I guess you're not duelist enough to win them yourself," she tormented. "Or is there something else you're not telling us about this scheme of yours, Marik?"
"Do you want the Millennium Items or don't you?" Marik asked. "If you do, then I suggest you and your boyfriend do as I say. Time to enter the finals is running out. You'll need to obtain six locator cards in order to qualify." And he drifted away laughing.
"I'm beginning to see that your instincts about him are right," the evil Bakura tells his partner.
"You always have to see my way the hard way," she scolded. "But no matter. We can use this to our advantage. We'll fulfill our agreement and if he does anything to double-cross us, we'll condemn him to the Shadow Realm and seize his Millennium Item by force."
Hearing Solomon's voice, the evil spirits leave the void and awaken. "Thank goodness you two are all right," Solomon said, sounding relieved. "You were tossing around and shouting in your sleep."
"We're fine," Max insisted. "We were just having nightmares. No need to overreact."
"Well, you two have been through a lot." Then he remembered. "I have some good news. Joey and Yugi called and they both qualify for the Battle City finals."
Max smiled. "That is excellent news, but we're not surprised."
"Did they happen to mention where the finals are being held?" Bakura asked.
"I was so excited about the news, I forgot to ask them," Solomon answered.
"Oh, no, the finals," Bakura gasped. "We have to go. I promise Max we'd be there on time and I don't want someone else to take her place." He sits up and places his shoes on his feet.
Solomon stops him. "You need to rest and we haven't gotten your test results yet."
"Back off, old man," the spirit of the Cobalt Star shard demands. "We don't have time for your foolishness for our destiny awaits."
Solomon backs away as he sees the shard and the Millennium Ring. "Who are you?" Then the spirits lock his soul away. "No, not again," Yugi's grandfather groans.
"That ought to hold him for a while," said the spirit of the Cobalt Star shard. "Come, we have to get you a duel disk." And she and her partner left the hospital together.
They wandered the city and found a duelist. They took him to an alley and snatched his duel disk and locator card. "No, help!" the teenager cried as his possessions were being taken. "Please give me back my stuff!"
"I'm afraid they belong to us now," said the spirit of the Ring. "Your duel disk and locator card are exactly what I need."
"Please don't," the duelist begged. "I need those so I can keep dueling!"
"Stop groveling, it's pitiful," the evil Max told him, placing the locator card in her pocket. "Your dueling days are over."
"Now then, let's see what kind of deck you have." The evil Bakura removes the teenager's deck from the duel disk. "What? And you call yourself a duelist? It's pathetic," he jeers and tosses the cards towards the boy.
"Well, that wasn't too difficult," his partner said. "Now we need to find you a duelist and fast. But don't worry. I know the perfect opponent for you." The she took out Max's cell phone and dialed Mai's number. Using Max's gentler voice, the evil spirit asks Mai to meet her in the square and give her a ride to the finals. In response, Mai promises to meet Max after dropping the gang off at the stadium. Satisfied, the evil Max tells Mai she's looking forward to it. "The foolish girl has taken the bait. But I have another proposal. Since my host knows Mai better, I think you should let me duel in your place. I can take her down and win you all of her locator cards."
"I asked you to trust me in working together with Marik. It's only fair that I put my trust in you."
The evil Max smiles. "That is fair of you," she says sweetly.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Mai finally arrives at the square. "I'm here, Max. You ready to go?"
"Oh, hey, Mai," Max says. "Actually, I need to tell you something. Earlier today when I was attacked, my locator cards were stolen. I'm afraid I won't be joining you in the finals. But I really want to join. The real reason I requested your presence is to duel you."
"Are you kidding me?" Mai asked.
"I'm not," Max answered. "I don't have time to start over again. Even if I do get six locator cards again, it may be too late for me to enter the finals. But a duel with you might help me. Whoever wins goes to the finals." She smiles and adds, "This might actually be amusing. This duel will determine which of us is the better duelist."
"You've got a lot of spunk, Max," said Mai. "But if you insist, I'll be happy to accept your challenge."
Foolish girl, the evil spirit wondered. I've lured you into a duel where you will lose more than just your slot in the finals. Then the lights in the square are put out and shadows cover the area. Both duelists take their positions and start the duel. Mai makes the first move and summons Harpy Lady in attack mode and plays a card face down. Max plays Graceful Charity and draws three cards. She discards a spell and a trap in exchange for a few Dragons. Next she summons Red-Eyes Black Chick and tributes it to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon. After that, she plays Dragon Nails. Now the Black Dragon had 3000 attack points. Max had carefully studied Mai's deck and suspected the hidden card to be her Mirror Wall. So rather than attacking, she plays a card face down.
But the hidden card was actually Cyber Shield, raising Mai's Harpy Lady's attack points by 400. Next, she plays Harpy's Feather Duster to remove Max's magic and trap cards. But Max was prepared. The hidden card she played was Magic Jammer. By removing a card from her hand, she canceled the effect of the Feather Duster. It was Max's turn again. She summoned another Dragon called Spirit Ryu. The Dragon's special ability gave it 1000 attack points for every Dragon Max sacrificed from her hand. Max discarded three, raising Spirit Ryu's attack points up to 4000. Max's Black Dragon attacked Mai's Harpy, dealing 1300 points of damage. Then Spirit Ryu attacked, dropping the Rest of Mai's life points down to zero.
"I was disappointed that I had to end this duel right away. I wanted to prolong your suffering. But then again, I had to do away with you quickly so I could enter the finals. And a wager is a wager. You must surrender your locator cards to me. Also, since this was a Shadow Game, you've lost so much more."
Mai trembled in fear as her opponent was approaching her. "Hold on, what are you talking about?"
"You lost the duel, and now your soul will remain in here in the Shadow Realm," the evil Max said and began laughing as the shadows engulfed Mai. The spirit of the Cobalt Star shard gives the locator cards to her partner. "Here, just like I promised you."
The evil Bakura takes the locator cards from her. "I never doubted you, Max. Now we can enter the Battle City finals and fulfill our agreement to Marik. Then the ultimate power in the world will be ours. And I owe it all to you, my dear."
"Let's not get carried away," the evil Max cautioned. "Remember, things will only work well in our favor if we win. Should either of us lose a duel, Marik will call off the deal. Not that it matters. You and I already agreed that if that should happen, we would go back to doing things our way."
"That's true," her partner agreed. "There's also a chance that one of us may have to duel against Marik. Either way, our chances of gaining everything we want are more than good."
"You make a good point. I suppose that no matter what happens, we can't lose. Listen, I'll go on ahead. You stay behind me. We have to keep putting on another convincing act for Yugi and his friends as the Max and Bakura they know."
"Very well," said the evil Bakura. "I'll give you a head start and meet you at the finals." Then they both take different paths to KaibaCorp stadium.