A Duel with Destiny

Max lied in her bed motionless. Her face carried an expression of pain and fear, but she couldn't tremble or even groan. It pained everyone to see her like this. But there was also a lot of confusion about the situation. They all remembered that Max was possessed by an ancient spirit just like Bakura was and wondered if she was also involved. The spirit was involved, but because the bond between her mind and Max's was so strong, they were both forced to meet their fate. Emily couldn't even use her magic to help Max because of what Malik did. The only way to undo the damage now was to defeat him in a duel. To do that, Yami and Joey would have to continue playing through the rest of the finals. They prayed that Max would be able to hold on for that long before she would lose everything.

"This tournament's gotten way out of hand," said Joey. "Know why?"

"Because there's a mind warping psycho on board?" Duke asked. Everyone just looked at him. "Just being honest."

Serenity gets down to Max's bedside and holds her hand. "Why don't you guys go to the next duel and I'll stay and keep an eye on Max?" she insisted. "I'll be okay and besides, we don't all need to be here."

"Hold on," Joey was saying.

"I'm okay with it," she said again. "If Max were all right, she'd want you to do the same thing. Go out there and be strong for her. I'll stay beside her until you get back." She stands up and continues, "Everyone has taught me so much about being brave and facing my fears; including Max. 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 so amazing. Thank you all. Now it's my turn to help and I can start by being here for Max. It's the least I can do and it's really important to me."

Hearing that, Joey and the others were convinced to watch the next duel. They wondered who this eighth duelist was and why they had never met them. They only hoped that it wasn't another one of Marik's minions. Enough people were on bedrest already.

They went to the stratos dueling arena. Kaiba was about to take his place on the arena until his brother contacted him. As planned, the Winged Dragon of Ra was photographed and the text was being deciphered. There was actually a lot more written on the card than just the chant and Mokuba was going to continue translating it. Kaiba told his brother to contact him again if anything should come up.

Emily wanted to talk to Kaiba, so she called him for his attention. "Kaiba, I need to have a word with you for a minute."

"Let me guess, you want to request an emergency landing to get Max to a hospital, right, Briar? You can forget it. I already told you when Bakura couldn't deal with his injuries. I delay for no one."

"That Kaiba's got a heart of gold," Joey said sarcastically. "He's going to the next round if his opponent doesn't show up."

Finally, Ishizu stepped out of the elevator. Rather than welcoming her or wishing her good luck, Kaiba instead told her, "You've got some nerve showing up late to duel me. Did the thought of facing a duelist as superior as myself make you second-guess your abilities? Who are you?"

In answer, Ishizu removes her veil, revealing her face. Yami and Emily recognized her before she even introduced herself. "I am Ishizu Ishtar." Within Malik's mind, Marik was trying to break free, crying for his sister's help.

"It's her," gasped Emily. "The woman from the museum!"

"This is quite a surprise," Kaiba said a little coolly.

"Yes, we meet again, Seto Kaiba."

"I assume you've come to win back Obelisk?"

Ishizu was not here for the tournament glory. She was here to rescue her brother from the evil force controlling him. "For five thousand years, our family has stood guard protecting the pharaoh's tomb and searching for the princess. Marik turned against us and the evil within him is even stronger now. He is my brother," she explained.

Marik continued to beg for his sister's help, but Malik held him back by sealing him in an hourglass prison like he did to Max.

No one expected to hear that. Joey decided that one Ishtar was bad enough, but Emily assured him that Ishizu was a friend.

"If you remember, Kaiba," continued Ishizu, "the Great Goddess Millennia shows me visions of events that are yet to come through her Necklace. And she tells me that you will lose this duel to me."

"Enough with the Millennium Items!" Kaiba shouted. "I don't believe in any of that nonsense, is that clear? 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 defeat you. And I don't appreciate you using my tournament to solve your personal family issues. I planned this to fulfill my goal of regaining my place as the number one duelist in the world."

"Have you forgotten that it was my idea for you to organize the Battle City tournament to lure duelists like my brother?" Ishizu reminded him. "And my plan worked. My brother is here, but the hardest task is yet to come. The evil within him must be stopped. And this can only be accomplished with the help of the great pharaoh which is precisely why Yugi needed to enter this tournament as well. The ancient pharaoh dwells within Yugi's Millennium Puzzle."

Kaiba scoffed at what he was hearing. "You went through a lot of trouble for some ancient Egyptian fairy tale? I'm surrounded by superstitious nitwits!"

"Do not deny your heritage," said Ishizu. "As I have said before, you can trace your origins back to ancient Egypt."

Kaiba had enough and decided it was time to begin the duel. For all he cared about, he was a better duelist than anyone he ever knew and he intended to win in his own tournament. But Ishizu remained true to her predictions and knew that Kaiba's lack of faith would bring him to his downfall. Kaiba makes the first move by summoning Vorse Raider, a beast-warrior with 1900 attack points. To end his turn, he plays a card face down.

Thanks to the Millennium Necklace, Ishizu could see each move before it was even played out and knew the match would go in her favor. She just had to keep everyone in suspense. Kaiba is a skilled duelist, but he's still got mortal strength compared to the power of the Gods. One would think he had learned his lesson before that he's no match for the power of a Millennium Item. And Ishizu was about to demonstrate the power offered to her by Millennia. Without looking at her cards, she summoned Keldo to the field, a fairy with 1600 defense points. Joey was amazed with what he just saw, but remembered how Esper Roba did the same thing to him in their duel. But Emily promised him that things would be different this time because Ishizu's Millennium powers were very real. But no great power is without its limitations and Ishizu must decide carefully on when would be best to make any predictions.

Ishizu continued her turn by playing Michizuri of Doom, a magic card that allowed her to choose two cards from Kaiba's hand and send them to the graveyard. Kaiba was also permitted to do the same thing. The cards she chose were Polymerization and Kaiser Glider. Kaiba assumed that the only way she could have known he had those cards in his hand was if she was cheating. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he discarded them. He looked at Ishizu's hand and chose Revival Magic and Monster Reborn.

Watching the duel, Malik remembered how Ishizu would use these same tactics against Marik in their games. But now things would be different because Malik was a completely different person.

Vorse Raider attacked Keldo, but Ishizu received no damage because it was in defense mode. To end his turn, Kaiba played another card face down. Ishizu draws a card that will lead her to her victory for when the time is right. To make sure the duel will remain in her favor, she calls upon the Great Goddess to reveal the future. Kaiba does intend to use the Egyptian God card Ishizu gave him, but she has a plan that will defeat the divine beast and gain her victory. First she summons Mudora, a warrior with 1500 attack points. To increase his attack points, Ishizu equips him with the Cestus of Dhagla, giving him 500 extra points.

Mudora attacks Vorse Raider, but not before Kaiba reveals his face down cards. The first was Shrink, a card used to cut his monster's attack points in half. The second was the Crush Card Virus, spreading the disease through her deck and infecting every monster in Ishizu's deck with 1500 or more attack points. It costed him 1050 life points, but it was worth it.

Many of the spectators watched in confusion. If Ishizu could see the future, why didn't she see that coming? Emily, however, had a feeling that she had a plan and falling victim to Kaiba's Virus was part of it. She must know what she's doing if she's willing to do something like that.

Ishizu had no need for powerful monsters, not for the strategy she planned to use to defeat Kaiba. Everything she would need would come to her in time. To buy that time, she played Swords of Revealing Light. Kaiba just figured she was stalling, but Ishizu was making it clear that fate was dictating every move being played out. To end her turn, she plays a card face down.

Kaiba couldn't attack, but that didn't mean he couldn't summon any monsters. He played Des Feral Imp in defense mode and a card face down. Ishizu drew her card and ended her turn. She had no other cards in her hand and she drew a trap, which she wouldn't need to use right now. Besides, she predicted that Kaiba would draw the card that would lead him to his defeat once her Swords of Revealing Light would expire. Kaiba drew his card and ended his turn. Ishizu did the same thing once again. There still wasn't much Kaiba could do either, so he passed once again. For all of Ishizu's drawing and all the time she bought herself, she couldn't summon a single monster. But she didn't need to. She just ended her turn and the effect of her magic card.

As Ishizu predicted, the card Kaiba drew was Obelisk the Tormentor. Now that he had it in his hand, all he needed to do was summon it and that would take time. He switched his Imp to attack mode and dealt 1600 points of damage to Ishizu's life points.

Joey and the others began having second thoughts about what they've been witnessing. It was now clear that Ishizu did know something they didn't. But whether truth or an act, she was in trouble. That made Yami and Emily wonder what would happen if she would lose to Kaiba and if Malik would only get stronger. She joined the tournament to uncover the good inside her brother as well as help them to stop him in his mission of obtaining power.

Kaiba activated his trap Virus Cannon to destroy ten magic cards in Ishizu's deck. That was of no concern to her. It was now time for her to activate her own trap Exchange of the Spirit. Now both players had to exchange the cards in their decks with the cards in their graveyards for the price of 1000 life points from the cardholder. Ishizu got back everything Kaiba destroyed and Kaiba was left with a deck of six cards. How could he let this happen? To lose in his own tournament would mean one thing: humiliation. Sure enough, Ishizu did have a plan and this was only the beginning. Ishizu summoned Kelbek, a fairy with 1500 attack points and played a card face down.

Mokuba continued his efforts on the translation of the text until he checked his brother's status in the duel. Seeing what was going on, he went to the arena to check things out. Both brothers told each other of their progress. The card was still being translated and it was best if the duel continued. Kaiba had to make every move count. He was almost beginning to believe that Ishizu was telling the truth about him losing and her powers being very real. But he would not give up until the last card had been played and he had a long way to go before he would play his last card. Of course, Ishizu knew all of the cards Kaiba played and sent to the graveyard and knew how to stand against them now that they had become his new deck. Virus Cannon, for instance, was played, but Ishizu stopped its effect by playing Null and Void, destroying the Cannon. Ishizu continued to go on about her predictions and everything being played by the hands of fate. Kaiba knew she wouldn't be silenced any time soon. All he could say was for her to make her move.

Joey was confused. Kaiba's monster had more attack points than Ishizu's, so why didn't he attack? It was because Kaiba didn't want to attack. He had to think strategically in the predicament he was in and there was no room for any mistakes. He decided to use Ishizu's monsters for a tribute since he didn't have enough monsters left of his own to summon and he had the right card for it. He just needed her to summon a few more monsters. Ishizu knew what Kaiba needed to do, so she decided to keep playing into his hands because it would slowly lead him to his demise. She summoned another fairy called Zolga, a creature with 1700 attack points.

Emily wasn't going to keep quiet anymore. She didn't always take kindly to Kaiba's attitude, but she still thought of him as her friend. "Kaiba, listen to me," she called to him. "You're in over your head!"

"Stay out of this," he told her.

But she wouldn't. "There's a lot riding on this tournament and you know it's more than just a game! Have you not seen the damage Marik has caused and the people he's hurt? You could be next! There's an ancient magic at work that cannot be denied. If you continue to ignore it, you'll only be endangering yourself."

But he just ignored her and told Ishizu to make her move. Zolga's Cape of Destruction destroyed Des Feral Imp and Kelbek attacked Kaiba directly, leaving him with 1350 life points remaining. To end her turn, she played a card face down. Kaiba got to draw his card, but before he could even play it, Ishizu played Null and Void once again to destroy it. He just played a card face down and ended his turn.

Ishizu knew that the card Kaiba played face down was Soul Exchange, a magic card that allowed him to tribue his opponent's monsters. And she would be willing to let him do it. She summoned Agido and played a card face down; the card that would lead her to her victory. Equipped with her monster was a trap called Blast Held by a Tribute, activated only when the monster bound to it was sacrificed for a tribute. Then the monster summoned by the means of tribute would have the trap beating within it as well. In this case, Obelisk the Tormentor. The Egyptian God card belonged to Ishizu before Kaiba even knew it existed and it was about to lead him to his demise. For when Kaiba would call Obelisk to attack, the trap within him would destroy the divine beast from within and take out the rest of his life points. Everything was going to be just as she predicted. Kaiba had ridiculed Ishizu's powers and turned the Egyptian God card against her and now he was about to pay the price.

Kaiba revealed Soul Exchange and sacrificed Kelbek, Agido, and Zolga to summon Obelisk the Tormentor, but as he declared an attack, something strange was going on. Emily's chest started burning again, meaning the Millennium Star was acting up again. The Millennium Rod also began glowing, acting on its own. "What's going on?" Emily asked in pain.

Kaiba stopped, feeling a strange sensation. This is crazy, he thought to himself, I've never felt anything like this before. Then the tablet from the museum appeared before his eyes. He thought that Ishizu was finally getting to him. Suddenly, he saw a tablet depicting the image of the Blue-Eyes Dragon. But what was really shocking to him was seeing the same sorcerer who shared his countenance. He was cradling a pale young girl with wispy white hair along with the Millennium Rod in his hand, kneeling before the tablet. This feeling is too strong to ignore.

"The Millennium Rod is affecting Kaiba," Yami said, watching what's going on.

"No," Emily said weakly. "I think Millennia herself is trying to tell Kaiba something."

My instinct tells me Obelisk isn't the answer. It's as if my Blue-Eyes White Dragon is calling to me. Maybe I should attack Ishizu with Blue-Eyes instead of Obelisk, Kaiba wondered, looking at the card in his hand. A red light also shined on his forehead, revealing a strange insignia. It would go against his plans, but Kaiba now knew for sure that he had to win by playing his most trusted creature. He played Silent Doom to resurrect Gadget Soldier in defense mode. Next he sacrificed Gadget Soldier and Obelisk, destroying Ishizu's trap and summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

The pain in Emily's chest began to subside. "What did Kaiba just see? Did Millennia show Kaiba the secret to winning the duel?" Millennia herself was trying to convey a message to Kaiba, but Emily could not see what he did because the vision was meant to be seen by his eyes only. Sure enough, it had something to do with his ancient past.

Listening to her, Yugi's thoughts echo in the back of his mind. Well, Kaiba's destiny is linked to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Watching what Kaiba's doing, Ishizu realizes that this isn't part of her prediction. Then she knew that something within Kaiba awakened and told him to summon his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. No denying they share a bond that goes back five thousand years. After all, he was the ancient keeper of the White Dragon. That made her wonder if Kaiba would start believing in destiny. She could even see the mark on Kaiba's forehead and knew that it was the symbol for the element represented by one of Millennia's chosen warriors; the element of wisdom.

It was true that by losing the duel, Ishizu could no longer continue her journey to rescue her brother. But with this loss, she still achieved a great gain. "Very impressive, Kaiba. I can't say Millennia intended for you to lose. I now see that she wanted you to win for you are one of her chosen warriors."

But Kaiba still stubbornly refused to listen. "I won this duel for the same way I intend to win this tournament: my superior skills and intelligence."

"Perhaps, but you taught me a valuable lesson about the nature of destiny and for that, I am grateful. You have given me hope for changing the future of my brother." But the journey would continue to be more difficult and Ishizu could no longer continue to rely on Millennia alone. She would also need the wisdom and strength of the people around her. "I may have lost the duel, but I have gained something of far greater importance," continued Ishizu. "The realization that if I am to win the battle for my brother's spirit, I will need help even from you, Kaiba. So thank you."

"Believe whatever you need to, Ishizu, but I'm only in this for myself," Kaiba said, leaving the arena. He also told Yami to begin preparing for the next round of the finals. He even wished him good luck. Despite his stubbornness, Kaiba will accept his role destiny has played for him. But hopefully, what happened up there taught him something valuable as well. He did say he couldn't ignore what he felt about what he was seeing; especially about him and that girl. Although Kaiba had never seen her before, he had a feeling he knew her somewhere from long ago and that she meant as much as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon did to him.