The Dark Knight's Ultimate Sacrifice
They finally make it and find the rest of their friends. "Good," said Mystery. "They have already prepared for battle." The soldiers and their monsters had been positioned to attack and kept steady for Zorc's arrival before attacking.
Once they land, the rest of the royals surround them. "Queen Mystery," Joseph said, sounding relieved, "thank goodness you're all right. But why is Max here?"
"It's all right," Max assured them. "I want to help."
"What!?" Bakura cried, sounding disgusted. He had followed the royals to take them down while leaving Max to deal with Mystery, but never got a chance to have his own battle.
"I told you earlier, Bakura, I've had enough. Mystery and I have come to an agreement that it's time to stop fighting."
Bakura growls. "So Mystery still thinks she can convince you to help her."
"What Mystery thinks is no business of yours," Max growled. "Go blow smoke somewhere else."
But not even the rest of the royals were convinced that Max wanted to help them. For all they knew, this was another trick to defeat them. But their queen assured them that Max was telling the truth.
Max puts her eyes back on Bakura and tells him. "I'm tired of doing your work on your behalf. Mystery's right. It's time I started following my own heart and fulfilling my own dreams."
Bakura continued to argue with Max. "Dreams only exist for the weak and pathetic who rely on false hope. People like Mystery and her friends."
Mystery tries to speak up, but Max holds up her hand to stop her. "When you have friends who believe in you, your dreams can come true. And right now, my dream is to reclaim my true identity; the one I was meant to have before you sold me to Cobalt."
"What do you mean, 'true identity?'" asked Bakura. "Could it be that-?" he interrupts himself and wonders, "Are you the Knight of Darkness?"
Everyone else gasps hearing that. How could Max be the Knight of Darkness in the prophecy? But then, was Queen Mystery the Light Knight? Some of her friends remembered how she wished she could be the Light Knight, but who would have thought it would be so? Mystery wasn't surprised. Their bond was very strong and it was reasonable that they would be the Knights in the prophecy.
But there was no time for explanations. Zorc was within reach and they needed to focus on the issue at hand. "Everyone, we have a bigger battle raging now. It is time we Millennials and Cobaltites set our differences aside and joined forces to stop this monstrosity. Now let's-" but she starts to become weak again.
Max catches her and says, "Mystery, you're much too weak from our fight. Please allow me to take things from here." She pauses for a second, then adds, "so that I may restore our friendship. It's the least I can do."
The queen looks up at Max and smiles at her. "I trust you. Just be careful."
Max smiles back and nods. "I promise." She gently sets Mystery down and turns her attention to Atem. "Pharaoh, right now, you and your friends are powerless without your Millennium Items. But I believe if we get them back for you, you may have a chance to save the kingdom and stand against Zorc."
"That's impossible," said Bakura, not wanting to help. "When Zorc crossed over into our world, the Millennium Items scattered."
"Then we must search the desert sands until we find them," said Isis. Mystery decides to go, but Isis insists on carrying out the task. "Trust me, Queen Mystery, with Xatu and Spiria as my guides, I can locate the Millennium Items. Besides, you have other matters to tend to. Everyone here is counting on their pharaoh and queen for support. But you have my word that I will not let you down."
"And neither will I," Mana immediately said. "Now let's go!" Atem tries to stop her, but she pleads, "Come on, if Mahad were here, he'd want me to go. I promise I'll be careful." Worried about her safety, but understanding her determination, Atem decides to let Mana have her way.
Joseph decides to take Mana and Isis to the desert with his Flygon and promises not to let his friends down.
"Let's hope not," said Max. "Now take the south route and I'll divert Zorc's attention." Joseph nods and Flygon takes them to the outskirts.
"But, Max, what can you do?" asked Seto.
"If the legend is true, then I may have be able to stand against Zorc with my own power." Then a silver light shines around her outline.
Finally, Zorc stands before the royal army, ready for battle. Mystery raises her voice and demands to know, "What do you want from us?"
In answer, Zorc growls, "Ages ago, I created the Realm of Shadows, where Father Cobalt has condemned me to reside. Now that I am free, our worlds will converge and your world will be swallowed by darkness. Farewell, mortal." He points to Mystery and releases a lightning attack.
"Queen Mystery, watch out!" To save the queen, Shada pushes her aside and takes the assault. "My queen," he groans, "you're safe now."
"Shada," Mystery whispers, "know this, my friend, your actions will not be in vain. This monster will be defeated." She stands up and clasps her hands together. "Max, as the Knight of Light, I give you my strength so that your true power may be unlocked."
Feeling an incredible warmth inside her, Max feels her strength growing. According to the legend, when the Knights of Light and Darkness join forces and become one, the Dark Knight's unltimate weapon, the Firebird, will be released. Let's see if the legend is true. Once Max opens her eyes, the silver light surrounding her becomes a great fire and takes on the shape of a bird.
The Firebird lets out a mighty screech and together, it and Max fly out to attack Zorc. Mystery has done so much for me, she thought to herself. I can't let her down this time. Max moves her body around to control the Firebird's movements. Just like in the legend, the beast's flaming wings illuminate the area and burn through the shadows.
The Firebird's attacks put some damage on Zorc, but are not enough to fatally harm him. "Max, even a Knight of Darkness is no match against a creature born from the will of Cobalt. And now you will pay the price by surrendering your soul to me!" he taunted and clawed through the Firebird.
Feeling a strong connection to the beast's pain, Max's heart begins to feel like it's being crushed. She places her hand against her chest and starts falling. I'm sorry, Mystery, she wonders.
Bakura sees Max falling and heads out to rescue her, followed by Atem and Mystery. The queen ignores her pain and flies out to catch Max before she can hit the ground. Gently, Mystery places Max down and sets her head on her lap. "Max, can you hear me?" Not hearing a response, she tries again. "No, don't go. Come on, Max, stay with me."
Bakura finally arrives and takes Max from Mystery. "Max!" he cries. "Max, what were you thinking? I told you not to help the royals and now look what's happened to you!"
Max lifts her hand and weakly slaps Bakura. "I'm not going to the Shadow Realm, you idiot. I'm going to save myself." She takes the Cobalt Star shard from her pocket and firmly grasps it. Cobalt, for years, I have been your host in this fight and now you will be mine!
Tears started to fall from Bakura's eyes. He realized what she was doing; sealing her spirit within the Cobalt Star shard so she wouldn't be gone. But he still couldn't bear losing her. No longer wanting to contain his emotions, he releases them and confesses, "Max, I… I love you."
Max weakly smiles. "I know. I know you do." She turns to Mystery and tells her, "Mystery, thank you, for everything. I'm glad we got to be friends. But don't grieve for me. I'm sure we'll meet again. Just take down Zorc and everyone who lost this Shadow Game will come back."
Mystery nods and releases the tears in her eyes. "I will," she promises.
Max sighs, knowing Mystery will succeed. Just as the queen trusted her friend, now Max must trust hers. As the shadows started taking her, Max began wondering what life would have been like for her if she remained with the Millennials, if she never met Bakura, or gave herself to Cobalt. Would she still have become the Dark Knight? Whatever would have happened differently, Max was certain that she and Mystery would have still been good friends.
Bakura lowers his head and presses his lips against Max's. Too weak to force Bakura off of her, Max just lets him kiss her. Not out of affection, but just for his sake. After that, the shadows completely engulf her.
Just when Mystery thought she had rescued her friend, she lost her to the darkness once again. But she honored Max's courageous sacrifice and vowed she would rescue all of her friends. "Bakura, Max's act of courage does not have to be in vain. We can rescue her," the queen promised. "But I need you to tell me how to defeat Zorc. Being the heir of Cobalt, you must know everything there is to know about him."
Bakura stands up and wipes his eyes. "I'll cooperate, but make no mistake. I just want to save Max."
"Fine," said Mystery. Although she had come to realize how much Bakura loved Max, she still didn't appreciate his attitude or determination. "All I ask is for you to help me this once. You got all of us into this mess, so you can get us out."
"According to legend," Bakura was saying, "only the chosen Children of Millennia can defeat Zorc."
Atem and Mystery didn't know what he was talking about. That was what they always called themselves and their friends. The king and queen look down at their amulets. They remembered that King Aknamkanon said that there was power within their amulets. Did they perhaps contain a secret to defeating the Dark One?