Between my Brother and Me

by Green Phantom Queen

When May and Max return to Petalburg, their parents suggest that they visit the city of Domino for a week. Unfortunately, Leviathan is starting to awaken, and both siblings must fight the menance or risk their chances to ever getting back home safely. [Discontinued]

18. The Wrath of a Goddess

All right, we're getting to the suspense here...what's going to happen to our main female protagonist?

Well, all I can say is hold on for the ride!

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Between my Brother and Me

by Green Phantom Queen

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Chapter 17-The Wrath of a Goddess

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"Let me go!" May cried for the thirteenth time. She was still trying to pull herself away from Raphael as he dragged her through the halls of Paradius. "I swear that you'll pay for this!"

Raphael ignored the yelling as he tried to concentrate on the memories in his mind. All of them involved the 'Guardian of the Sea' in Egypt. But he never went to Egypt...but he had met the Guardian of the Sea when he was on that island for ten years. It was so confusing; it was if he was himself, but also another person all together.

May was trying her hardest to kick and thrash around in an attempt to make Raphael pull away from her. That's when she realized that she could use her Pokémon to help. Using her right hand, she gripped onto a Poké ball and enlarged it before tossing it into the air.

"Squirtle!" She cried. "I choose you!"

The Poké ball opened as the Tiny Turtle somersaulted in the air.

"Squirtle, use Rapid Spin!" May commanded.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle replied, tucking into his shell. The shell began to spin rapidly, heading toward Raphael as if it was a frisbee. The blonde swordsman didn't react in time as he got hit in the face. This caused him to release his grip on May—who immediately took Squirtle into her arms—and the Coordinator began to run.

I have to get out of here! May thought to herself. If I don't, then I can say goodbye to Max, Mokuba, Mom, Dad and the rest of the world!

"Come back here!" May turned to see Raphael catching up to her. She screamed and soon turned around as Squirtle jumped out of her arms.

"Squirtle, use Ice Beam!"

"Squir...TLE!" The water Pokémon cried, as a light blue ball formed in front of his mouth. Then beams of light fired at Raphael, aiming for the Swordsman's feet. In an instant, ice appeared to freeze his legs, immobilizing the Swordsman.

"When I get out of here, you'll be sorry." Raphael growled, straining to get free.

"Didn't I tell you that a couple of minutes ago?" asked May. "Now stay there if you know what's good for you!"

That was when she heard the ice crack. The ice around Raphael's legs were starting to break. Thinking quick, May brought out Squirtle's Poké ball.

"Squirtle, return!" She cried as Squirtle disappeared. Gripping onto the sphere, May continued to run the hall, not wanting to look back. She soon found a set of doors and pushed through them, slamming them shut. She leaned her back against the doors and took in a couple of breaths, her eyes staring at the floor.

"Well, well, well...you've arrived."

May looked up and gasped. In front of her were Dartz, Valon, Alister and Mai...all of them with evil looks on their faces. May gulped as she immediately turned around and pulled the doors open. Unfortunately, Raphael was standing in front of her, looking angrier than May had ever seen him before.

"Uh..." said May, trying to run away...only for Raphael to grab her chain necklace, causing her to gasp for air. She tried to pull the necklace off of her neck...but Raphael continued to tug it, causing May's vision to blur.

"That's enough, Raphael." said Dartz. "We don't want to kill her...we only want her for some questions."

Raphael grunted a bit and released his grip on the chain necklace. May fell down onto her knees, grabbing onto her neck and coughing for air. She turned around, glaring at Raphael before she brought out her Poké balls.

"All right!" She cried, standing up. "I'm going to say this once to all of you; get me out of this place and things will be fine. If not, then I'm not afraid to attack you all!"

"And just what the heck are those supposed to do?" asked Mai, staring at the spheres. "You're going to juggle for us?"

"How about you juggle fighting six of my friends at once?" May cried tossing the Poké balls into the air. "Everyone come out!"

The six spheres opened, revealing the angry looks on all of May's Pokémon.

"How cute!" Valon said mockingly. "You have some new friends!"

"Thanks for the compliment!" May snapped back. "Why not see them up close and personal! Munchlax, Solar Beam!"

"Munch...LAX!" Munchlax cried as a beam of white light escaped its mouth. Valon dodged just in time as the attack hit one of the curtains draping the walls of the office.

"Altaria!" May continued. "Use Dragon Pulse! Eevee, combine that with Shadow Ball!"

"Eevee!" Eevee cried, jumping onto Altaria's back as it flew into the air. An orb of green energy escaped the Dragon Pokémon's mouth while a black orb escaped Eevee's mouth. Both of them released the orbs, the two creating a giant orb of power heading straight toward Mai.

"MAI!" Valon yelled, pushing the Harpie Duelist out of the way; just in time, since the orb hit the wall, while a small explosion was heard.

"Are you all right?" Valon asked Mai. Mai frowned and stood up, pushing Valon away.

"Beautifly, use Silver Wind on Alister! Blaziken, get Raphael down with Mega Kick!"

"BEAUTIFLY!" Beautifly cried as it flapped its wings, silver crescents of energy hit Alister right in the chest as he fell onto the ground.

"BLAZIKEN!" Blaziken yelled as its leg became wrapped in a blue glow. It then swung its leg back and kicked Raphael in the stomach. Raphael grunted in pain as he clutched onto his stomach with an arm

"Why you..." He hissed. But he didn't have time to finish what he was saying before Squirtle tackled him in the head.

May panted for breath, seeing all of her Pokémon attacking the Swordsman. She then turned her sites to Raphael.

"All right, tell me what I need to do to get out of here!" She yelled. "If you don't, then I'll continue the attacks."

"Is that such a wise decision, Miss May?" asked Dartz. "You came here for a reason...and that is to free the soul of one Yugi Muto, isn't it?"

"I had no reason to come!" May snapped back. "Raphael dragged me here, proclaiming that I'd finally answer why I'm the 'Guardian of the Sea'! I don't know how hard he hit his head when that storm came, but he is crazy!"

It was then that she felt someone yank on the chain around her neck once more. All of her Pokémon noticed this and turned toward Raphael, whose face was twisted with fury and anger. May tried stomping on Raphael's foot, but the Swordsmen didn't move an inch.

"How dare you..." Raphael hissed. "The Guardian of the Sea is a pure being, not some disgusting girl like you! She was the one who kept my sanity all these years, and I won't let you tarnish her name!"

Releasing his grip, May got on her knees once more, coughing for breath as she put a hand on her neck. She didn't even glare at Raphael, so she grit her teeth in anger.

"If you worship this Guardian so much, what's her real name?" She asked the Swordsman.

Raphael stayed silent. With every memory that he had be given...the Guardian of the Sea never revealed her real name...she was always called the 'Guardian of the Sea', and the 'other self' in which he saw the memories from...he always kept calling that girl the Guardian of the Sea. And his last memory had the Guardian of the Sea about to say something about her real name, but Rael—the person who he was seeing through in his visions—left without her having a chance to tell the truth.

When there was no answer, May shook her head.

"See what I mean?" She asked, slowly standing up. "You worship this Guardian, and yet you don't know anything about her...that seems pathetic, doesn't it?"

"I told him." Alister scoffed. "This girl could never be like that Guardian."

May ignored the comment as she returned her Pokémon back into their Poké balls. The six beams of red energy zipped through the room as May placed her partners back into her waist pack.

"I want some answers!" She exclaimed, pointing to Dartz. "You're hiding Yugi's soul somewhere, and I won't be leaving until I find it!"

"Come now," said Dartz. "Can you not see that we are extending our generosity to you? We are letting you have front row tickets to see the world be reborn when the Great Leviathan awakens. And, we can make you become even more powerful than you are now."

"I rather be captured by Team Rocket and become one of them than join you."

"Are you implying something?"

"I'm stating what I want to tell you; you're not going to make me one of your slaves."

"A slave?" Dartz shook his head. "I'm going to make you one of my Swordsmen—a skilled warrior with immense power the likes that was never seen before."

"From the looks of it, the 'immense power' has already been revealed." May noted sarcastically. "So unless you hand me a power that's unlike the Orichalcos and was 'never seen before' past 10,000 years, I'll accept that offer."

Dartz snarled at the Coordinator. May just stood there in response.

"Very well, then." said Dartz. "Then consider yourself a soon-to-be snack for the Great Leviathan!"

He began to laugh at the prospect of May losing her soul as the Swordsmen glared at her. May could feel the anger and hate in the room as she clenched her fists.

Calm down, May. She said to herself. You need to get out of here but you can't right now. Maybe if you duel one of them, you can wager some information for the Winged Dragon of Ra...it's risky, but it's your only choice.

"Hold on!" said May. "Can I suggest something?"

"And what could you suggest?" asked Valon, eying the girl suspiciously. "I doubt we can take that bandanna and your shoes as offerings."

"Doesn't the Leviathan want powerful souls?" asked May. "I am the Goddess of Joy after all...if the Leviathan has my soul, wouldn't I be a great substitute for the Pharaoh's?"

Dartz stopped laughing and soon took in May's words. There was silence as May looked at everyone else...it was if she was surrounded by a group of Ursaring that were going to tear her apart.

"What are you getting at?" asked the King of Atlantis.

May just lifted her arm into the air, showing her Duel Disk.

"I challenge one person in this room to a duel!" She replied. "And when I lose, I'll give up the Winged Dragon of Ra! But if I win...you tell me how to get out of here! After all, the Great Leviathan feeds on strong souls, and in this room, mine is the most powerful!"

"Is she serious?" asked Alister. "She'll get creamed by us!"

There was some more silence before the King of Atlantis smirked at the Coordinator.

"Very well, then." said Dartz. "Choose who you are going to challenge."

"You're not really buying this, are you?" asked Valon.

"She threw down a challenge, Valon. How can I refuse?"

"But...but..."

May stared at everyone in the room, trying to recall what she had learned about the Swordsmen.

All right...think. She thought to herself. Raphael's Guardian Deck revolves around having no monsters in the graveyard, so the Gravekeeper's will have a little bit of trouble with it. You don't know what Valon's strategy is, so steer clear of him. From what Mokuba told me, Alister's Fire Deck is based on Gorlag. I could challenge him, but he would rather duel Kaiba than me.

But...I did see what a Harpie Lady deck is capable of...

"My opponent shall be Mai Valentine!" May announced, pointing to the orchid eyed Duelist. Seeing this, the Harpie Lady Duelist just scoffed at her.

"You really want to lose?" asked Mai. "Very well...the weaker, the better!"

"You say that now, but let's see how you beat me in a duel."

"Bring it on, little girl. I can't wait to send you home to your mommy."

May snarled, trying her hardest not to bring back her arm to knock some sense into the older woman.

"Forgive Miss Valentine's rudeness." said Dartz, pulling back one of the curtains. Leaning against the wall was a rectangular mirror.

"Now if you shall follow us, the duel shall commence."

May nodded her head as she and Mai went through the mirror. In a flash of light, May found herself inside some stone temple. It was lit by torches, pillars had stone snakes twisting around everywhere, and some strange altar with glowing eyes, panels and three stone snakes with their mouths opened. That's when she noticed Obelisk and Slifer placed upon two of the mouths...so that's where they went, she thought to herself.

"Hey!" cried a voice. May turned to see Valon yelling at her while Alister and Raphael looked on. "Wake up from dream land and start the duel!"

"I will." May replied before turning toward Mai. "Ready to lose?"

"I'm not going to lose!" Mai snapped back. "You're going down!"

The two activated their Duel Disks, slipping their decks inside. Blue eyes met orchid as they drew five cards from their decks.

"So let's duel!" cried both duelists.

(May: 4,000)

(Mai: 4,000)

"I'll go first." said May, drawing a card. "I'll start by playing Emperor Sem in Defense Mode."

A dark violet winged jackal appeared on the field, with its lower half becoming a wispy tail of smoke. It was perched upon a couple of clouds with some sort of necklace as its only accessory. (1,300/2,200)

"I'm ending my turn with two cards facedown." May added as two cards appeared behind Emperor Sem. "You're up."

"Is that it?" asked Mai. "I thought someone like you would have more powerful monsters."

"Dueling isn't all about power you know." May replied. "There's also strategy and luck involved in the game."

"Whatever." said Mai, drawing a card. "I'll start my turn with playing Harpie's Feather Duster! With this card, I can destroy all Magic and Trap cards on your side of the field!"

A huge gust of wind appeared, destroying May's Solemn Wishes and Light of the Shadows into dust.

"I'm not done yet." Mai continued. "I'm summoning Cyber Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

In a flurry of feathers, Mai's signature monster appeared, but was now dressed in purple armor and held a whip in her hands. (1,800/1,300).

"You can't do anything after that." said May. "Cyber Harpie is too weak to penetrate through Emperor Sem's Defense."

"I know that." Mai replied. "So, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

As a holographic card appeared behind Cyber Harpie, May drew a card and let out a big grin.

"Here we go!" She said. "And I'm starting things off with my Magic Card known as Dark Barrier!"

"But that card doesn't exist!" Mai exclaimed. "How can you put that in your disk?"

"It does exist. Because if it didn't, I wouldn't be able to do this!"

The Magic Card appeared, showing ruins being covered by a dome of darkness. Then, a dome of shadows covered Emperor Sem.

"Here's how this card works." May continued. "As long as I have a Dark Monster on my side of the field, any and all battle damage I get is decreased to 0."

"But you don't have a Dark Monster in play." said Mai.

"Not yet, I don't." May replied. "But I will when I summon Kura-The Thief Lord in Attack Mode!"

With a laugh, the white haired thief appeared from the shadows. He stared at Cyber Harpie Lady intently as he unsheathed his dagger. (1,800/1,600)

"Who the heck is that?" asked Valon. "I've never seen him before."

"Meet Kura, the most infamous Thief Lord in all of Egypt." said May. "He may be tied with Cyber Harpie in attack score, but it won't be for long...

"Last, but not least...I'm playing my Revenge of the Dark King Magic Card!"

The Magic Card appeared, showing Atem on his dark throne. Kura laughed once more as his attack was raised to 2,100.

At the site of the laughing Thief Lord, Raphael gripped his head. A memory came to mind. He was on his knees as he saw the memory.

He followed Kura and Atem to the pyramids. He didn't know what they were doing...but he knew that was bad. The two hadn't notice him...yet.

"Darkness swallow us...Darkness complete us...Darkness...destroy all who stand in our way..."

He gasped...the Pharaoh was siding with magic from the darkness? And the Guardian of the Sea was oblivious to all of this? What did she see in these two?

It just angered him...the Guardian of the Sea belonged to him and no one else! And even if it meant trying to grab onto the dark powers that the two had...he'd protect her from anyone else and make her love him! No matter what...

"Hey, Raph! Wake up!"

Raphael blinked as he began to stand up. Hand on his head, he was still trying to make sense on what was going on...but he knew one thing was for sure.

His theory on the Pharaoh was right; he was evil.

"All right, Kura!" said May, pointing to Cyber Harpie Lady. "Attack her now with Shadow Puncture!"

"As you wish." said Kura rushing toward the Winged Beast. He jumped into the air with his dagger posed to strike her heart.

"Not so fast!" said Mai. "I activate my Draining Shield!"

The dagger soon hit a barrier as Kura scowled at Mai. Cyber Harpie Lady let a sigh of relief as Kura slunk back to May's side. Mai smirked as she felt her lifepoints increase.

"I'm ending my turn with a card facedown." said May in defeat. "Your move."

(May: 4,000)

(Mai: 6,100)

Mai drew a card from her deck. She then looked at it while a smirk crept onto her lips.

"Here's where things come to an end!" She claimed. "I play the Seal of Orichalcos!"

The Seal appeared onto the field, but May looked a bit bored. Mai ignored the look as the Seal appeared on her forehead.

"And just so you know..." Mai continued. "My monsters..."

"All your monsters gain 500 Attack Points and you can have up to ten monsters on the field." May finished for her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah...I've been in an Orichalcos Duel before, and my brother's been in two of them! Now can we just get on with the duel?"

"Fine." Mai said with a huff. "I'll summon my second Cyber Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

A second Cyber Harpie appeared as both monsters had their attacks increased to 2,300.

"And next, I'm playing Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!"

The familiar Magic card appeared as the Cyber Harpies smirked at their prey.

"Wait a minute!" said May. "Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation can only be activated if you have 'Harpie Lady' monsters on your side of the field! You don't have any!"

"I do have Harpie Lady monsters!" Mai snapped back. "In case you didn't realize this, Cyber Harpie Lady can also be treated as 'Harpie Lady'! So since I have two Harpie Ladies, I can destroy two monsters! Say goodbye to 3,400 life points!"

The Harpies swooped into the air as they transformed into a massive blue flamed phoenix. Then they dove toward May's monsters...

Only to find a wave of water propel them back! They flew back onto May's side of the field as the fire died down.

"WHAT?" Alister exclaimed which was magnified with everyone else looking in shock. "How the heck was that attack stopped?"

"With this!" said May, revealing a Trap Card. It depicted what looked like Hara—dressed in her blue cloak and white tunic—commanding the Nile River to rise.

"This is the handy Rising of the Nile Trap Card! All I have to do is discard one Water Monster into the graveyard from my hand or deck and it stops the effect of one Magic or Trap Card on the field. So now my monsters are protected for another turn."

Mai snarled as she placed a card facedown, signaling the end of her turn.

Thank goodness for Max's Crystal Seer. May thought to herself, placing the Spellcaster into her graveyard. I hate to use it this way, but I hope Crystal Seer can forgive me...somehow.

She drew a card, placing it in the tray.

"I'm playing Card of Sanctity, so now all we do is draw six cards." said May.

"Now you're just playing like an amateur." Mai replied, drawing four more cards. May ignored the comment as she drew six cards.

"Next," The Pokémon Coordinator continued. "I'll summon my Pitch-Black Warwolf in Attack Mode!"

With a howl, the Beast-Warrior appeared. It was a black wolf standing on his hind legs dressed in armor, and gripping onto a black sword. (1,600/6,00) -) (2,200/6,00)

"I'm not done!" May continued. "I'll activate Scroll of Benevolence to change Emperor Sem's Attribute to Dark!"

"What's that going to do?" asked Valon. "It still has 1,300 Attack Points!"

"If you noticed my Revenge of the Dark King Magic Card, then you would've figured out its special ability." May answered. "All Dark Monsters on my side of the field gain 300 attack points for every Dark Monster that's there. So with three Dark Monsters, that's a total of 900 attack points for all of them!"

Emperor Sem began to glow in a dark aura as his Attack was raised to 2,200. Pitch-Black Warwolf was now at 2,500 and Kura was sporting 2,700 Attack Points.

"All right!" said May, pointing to Mai's Cyber Harpies. "Kura, Shadow Puncture once more! Pitch-Black Warwolf, Dark Impalement!"

The two monsters then rushed toward both Cyber Harpies, weapons raised in the air.

"You activated my trap!" said Mai. "I activate my Harpie Lady Sparrow..."

Pitch-Black Warwolf threw his sword at the Trap Card, stabbing it. Then he charged toward one of the Harpies, slicing it into ribbons with his claws!

"W-what?" Mai exclaimed. "How did you-"

"Prevent Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation from activating?" May finished for her. "Easy. When Pitch-Black Warwolf is on the field, your Trap Cards can't be activated whenever either of us attack. And besides, your deck is too predictable. Your strategy is just basically swarming your field with Harpies then damaging my life points with Phoenix Formation or using the swarming Harpies for Sparrow Formation. However, I figured out a way to defeat you, Mai Valentine!"

Kura stabbed his dagger into the second Cyber Harpie's chest and disappeared. Mai just looked on in shock.

"I'm ending this with card facedown." said May. "You're up."

(May: 4,000)

(Mai: 5,500)

"Mai's lost two of her best cards!" Valon exclaimed. "That little girl's going to beat her senseless! And as long as the Orichalcos is in play..." He stopped talking before staring at May.

"You set us up!" He screamed, pointing to the Pokémon Coordinator. "You knew all about Mai's strategy from her duel with Wheeler! That's why you challenged us to a duel; because you knew you could beat her!"

"I said I can challenge anyone in the room." said May. "Mai was in the room, so she was one of the possible candidates for me to duel. Don't blame me that I have better cards than her. Blame the fact that you didn't know that I could be an exceptional duelist."

Valon reached for his ring which had the Orichalcos Stone on it. He was about to charge toward the Seal when Raphael placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing, mate?" Valon screamed. "If I don't do something, Mai will lose her soul!"

"If we don't do something, we lose the Winged Dragon of Ra!" Raphael snapped back. "So stop thinking about your girlfriend and focus; if we don't get the Egyptian God Card, then the Leviathan is never going to awaken. Use your brain for once and think about your actions!"

"My actions?" Valon screamed. "Your actions are the reason we're having this duel right now! If you had just done your job and got the Pharaoh's soul sooner then..."

"If you two are done bickering like a married couple, I'd like to continue the duel." said Mai, drawing a card. "I'm activating my Summon Wind Magic Card!"

The Magic Card appeared, revealing a ninja wrapped in swirls of wind.

"This Magic Card costs me 800 life points but I can Special Summon one Wind Monster from my Hand." Mai explained. "And I choose my Whirlwind Prodigy!"

A small boy with brown spiky hair, dressed in a brown shirt and khaki pants appeared. The Orichalcos appeared on his forehead as he was surrounded by gusts of wind. (1,500/1,600) -) (2,000/1,600)

"And here's its effect," Mai continued. "This monster can be treated as 2 monsters if I'm using it to summon a Wind Monster. So now I'll use it to summon Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

The boy disappeared as the red dragon with her collar and gold chain appeared. She let out a mighty roar as the Orichalcos appeared on her forehead. (2,000/2,500) -) (2,500/2500)

,

"I'm not done yet. I'll be sending your overgrown dog to the graveyard with my Grave Arm Magic Card!"

A Magic Card appeared, showing a hand popping out of a grave. Then, a giant hand rose from beneath the ground, grabbing onto Pitch-Black Warwolf! The Beast-Warrior let out a howl as it was dragged to the graveyard. With that, the attack points of May's other monsters decreased by 300 points.

"And now Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack that white haired freak!"

The red dragon opened her mouth, incinerating Kura with a gout of flames. The Thief Lord screamed as he was reduced to ashes.

"Don't forget." said May. "As long as Dark Barrier is up, I don't lose any life points!"

"But it causes your Emperor Sem to lose its Attack Points." Mai replied. "And next turn, that thing will be destroyed."

"Keep telling yourself that." May said to herself as she saw Mai place a card facedown.

"I end my turn at that," said the Harpie duelist.

"And I'll just start mine! I'm playing my Fires of Doomsday Magic Card!" May announced. "Now I can summon two 'Doomsday Tokens' onto the field!"

The two one-eyed black wisps appeared to the right and left of Emperor Sem. (0/0) x2

"Summon all your little friends if you need to," said Mai. "They won't stop me!"

(May: 4,000)

(Mai: 4,700)

May drew a card, expanding her hand to four. She grinned in delight.

"What's so funny?" asked Mai.

"Well," said May. "If you didn't notice, Doomsday Tokens can only be used for the summoning of a high level Dark Monster."

"So?"

"So, I'll start my turn off by sacrificing my Doomsday Tokens. I'd like you to meet my Dark Horus!"

The wisps vanished as they were replaced with the dark counterpart of Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8. It let out a powerful screech. (3,000/1,800) -) (3,600/1,800)

Suddenly Emperor Sem's eyes began to glow.

"What the heck is up with that thing?" asked Mai.

"It's simple." May explained. "Whenever I use monsters for a tribute—like my tokens for Dark Horus—we are allowed to bring back one card from our graveyards to the top of our decks. "So, I'll bring back Kura, the Thief Lord back to my deck."

The card escaped the Graveyard slot as May placed it back to the top of her deck. Mai did the same thing, placing a card on top of her deck.

"All right Dark Horus!" said May. "Attack Harpie's Pet Dragon with Dark Flare Blitz!"

Dark Horus opened its mouth, exhaling a swarm of black flames at its opponent.

"I activate Waboku!" said Mai, revealing her face down card. Soon, three priests dressed in blue appeared, blocking Dark Horus's attack.

"Oh darn..." said May, snapping her fingers. "Well, I guess I'll end my turn with that."

"It's about time." said Mai, drawing a card. "For a minute, I thought you were trying to bore me."

"Of course I wouldn't bore you." May replied. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going to be in shock like you were when Joey walloped your dragon with his Fiend Megacyber!"

"How dare you say that! That was a fluke; if it wasn't for that stupid Skull Dice, I would've won! And you know that!"

"Or that Phoenix Formation going down cause you couldn't discover its weakness; how could you not know that Attack Points didn't mean anything?"

"Shut up!"

"What are you going to do now? Give me a lashing cause I speak the truth!"

"CAN IT, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

At Mai's scream, everything fell silent. Mai was panting for breath, her body shaking and full of rage. For a second, her eyes seemed to glow.

"You don't know what it's like to be me," She whispered. "I was alone...alone and without anyone to help me! All alone in that evil place. The old Mai was weak and held me back! I'm stronger than ever without her! Then I'll prove to the world how powerful I can be!"

"At the cost of what?" asked May. "If you're so powerful, why didn't you call Joey or the others? Why didn't you tell them that you needed help? If you're so great and powerful as you say, maybe it would've been better if you just said something."

"Shut up." Mai growled.

"Mai, people shouldn't be lonely. If you're misunderstood, it's because you haven't said anything."

"Shut up!"

"If you haven't said anything, all you're doing is not letting your true colors be revealed. Joey misses you...he wants you back."

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Green light surrounded the Harpie Duelist as she grit her teeth in rage. May gulped, not liking the aura and evil seeping out of her opponent.

"Enough of your stupid chit-chat," Mai growled. "Let's continue with the duel.

"As for my turn, I'll play one monster facedown..".

A facedown Defense Mode monster appeared to the right of Harpie's Pet Dragon.

"Then, I activate my Harpie's Feather Duster! So say goodbye to your Magic Cards!"

The giant feather appeared, blasting away May's Magic Cards. Emperor Sem and Dark Horus had their attack decreased to their original scores while Emperor Sem returned to being a Light-Attribute Monster.

"I'm going to get rid of that ugly dog first." said Mai, pointing to Emperor Sem. "Harpie's Pet Dragon...destroy it!"

Harpie's Pet Dragon opened its mouth, letting a gout of flames incinerate Emperor Sem. The Fiend-type monster howled as it became nothing but bones. Then it disintegrated.

"I'm ending my turn at that." said Mai. "It's your move!"

"All right!" said May, drawing a card. Unfortunately, she completely forgot that Kura was the top card on her deck.

Darn it. She thought to herself. I can't do anything with this hand; guess I'll have to attack and hope for the best.

"Dark Horus, attack!" said May, pointing to the facedown monster.

Dark Horus let out another gout of flames which incinerated the monster—it looked like a giant green humanoid bug with orange eyes and wings. (1,400/900) -) (1,900/900)

"That was Flying Kamakiri 1!" said Mai. "And when that thing's destroyed, I can Special Summon one Wind monster whose Attack score is 1,500 or less. So now, I'll bring out Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

Taking the insect's place was the original Harpie Lady dressed in blue. It let out a loud screech when the Orichalcos appeared on her forehead. (1,300/1,400) -) (1,800/1,400)

"And you do know what happens happens to Harpie's Pet Dragon?" asked Mai. "It gains 300 Attack and Defense Points for every Harpie Lady on the field!"

Harpie Lady grabbed onto the chain of the dragon. (2,500/2,500) -) (2,800/2,500)

May snarled as she placed one card facedown, and signaled the end of her turn.

"Looks like Mai's giving that girl a run for her money." said Alister. "About time too."

"Mai's just getting warmed up, Alister." Valon replied to his partner. "There's no way that girl can do any damage."

Raphael just stayed silent, trying to understand what was going on. There were images flowing through his mind and voices in his head...it just caused so much confusion.

Dartz, who had been silent since the duel had started stared at May. In his eyes, the girl was very strange. He knew she was the Goddess of Joy, but was Raphael right about her being the Guardian of the Sea?

No...it was impossible; the Guardian of the Sea died a long time ago. She couldn't be back...right?

Mai drew a card, expanding her hand to four.

"I'm playing Pot of Avarice!" She announced, showing a giant purple pot with a toothy grin and mustache on its face.

"I've heard of Pot of Greed, but not this card." said May. "What does it do?"

"It's simple, really." Mai explained. "I choose five cards from my graveyard, return them back to my deck, shuffle it, then draw two cards."

As she said that, five cards were ejected from the graveyard. The Harpie Lady Duelist placed them in her deck, shuffled it, then drew two cards.

"Now, I'm going to summon my Cyber Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

To the left of Harpie's Pet Dragon, the purple armored Harpie Lady appeared. (1,800/1300) -) (2,300/1,300) At the same time, Harpie's Pet Dragon roared as its Attack and Defense Score rose by 300. (2,800/2,800) -) (3,100/3,100)

"This does not look good." said May.

"You bet it isn't." said Mai. "It looks like you're going to lose.

"Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack that black chicken now!"

Harpie's Pet Dragon fired a blast of air at Dark Horus. Dark Horus screamed as it became nothing but scrap metal. May winced slightly as she lost 100 lifepoints from the blow.

"Now Cyber Harpie Lady, attack directly!"

Cyber Harpie swooped into the air, then cracked the whip in her hand. May screamed as the whip hit her torso. She fell onto the ground, clutching her stomach with an arm.

"That...didn't hurt," May panted, trying to get up. "It's...not that bad..."

"I'm not done." said Mai. "Harpie Lady, attack and end this duel!"

Harpie Lady screeched and flew into the air. As she was about to dig her claws into May's arms...

A totem pole appeared with speakers on the wings. It let out some feedback, causing Harpie Lady to screech in pain.

"Command Silencer?" Valon exclaimed. "That negates Mai's attack and let's May draw a card!"

"That's right." said May, drawing a card once she stood up. "You're not going to destroy me that easily, Mai. I swear on it."

Mai snarled as she signaled the end of her turn.

(May: 1,600)

(Mai: 3,900)

May drew a card, placing it onto the tray of her Duel Disk. Pot of Greed appeared as she drew two cards.

Perfect! She thought to herself. This might actually work!

"I'm playing one monster facedown, and another card facedown." said May, placing the two cards onto her Duel Disk. "You're up."

"Figured out that you're going to lose?" asked Mai, drawing a card. "Well, it took you some time. Now Harpie Lady, attack-"

"Hold up!" May said suddenly. "I activate my Trap Card Plan X!"

The card flipped open, showing some sort of strategy written on a chalkboard (it was marked with X's and O's so it was probably for a football formation).

"Here's how this card works." said May. "Before you can initiate your attack on me, I can activate this card. To activate it, I pay half of my life points to name a card in the graveyard. Then I decide if I want to activate it or you want to activate it. After the activation of that card is done, I get to draw a card from my deck."

"What's so good about that card?" asked Mai. "Seems pathetic if you ask me."

"Really now?" said May. "Let's see, I call Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!"

With a 'DING!', the Magic Card was ejected from Mai's graveyard.

"And if I can continue," May added. "After I choose who gets to to activate it, they have to play it automatically. And since it was from your graveyard, you have to activate it!"

Mai snarled as she placed the Magic Card into the Duel Disk. Both Cyber Harpie Lady and Harpie Lady flew into the air, becoming a giant fiery blue phoenix. They swooped down upon the unsuspecting facedown card.

"Is that girl trying to kill herself?" asked Valon. "This is just priceless! She's lost the duel!"

Suddenly, the card flipped open, revealing the very same cat idol Joey had when he dueled Mai. It let out a meow before disappearing. (0/0)

"Ha!" said May, drawing a card. "You destroyed Neko Mane King, and that means your turn is over!"

Mai growled, looking pretty steamed that she had fallen for that strategy again.

(May: 800)

(Mai: 3,900)

May drew a card, expanding her hand to four.

"Here's where my new combo comes in!" She announced. "I'm summoning Shadowslayer in Attack Mode!"

With an eerie laugh the monster appeared. It was a blue skulled fiend—with its skull upside down dressed in a green suit with a sword strapped to its back by belts. It was clutching a dagger in its bony hand. (1,400/200)

"Next, I play Demotion!"

The Equip Magic Card appeared, showing Dark Ruler Has Des pointing at a person who was screaming.

"This Magic card allows me to decrease the Level of one of my monsters by two!" May explained to her opponent. "That makes Shadowslayer a Level Two monster instead of Level Four."

"It doesn't matter what its Level is." said Mai. "It'll get destroyed once my monsters get done with them."

"Only if they're in Attack Mode." May replied. "I'm playing Level Limit-Area B!"

The Continuous Magic Card appeared, showing some cross between an Ancient Egyptian ruin with technology containing a terminal with the letter 'B' painted on it.

"Wait a minute!" said Alister. "If she plays that card, all Level Four monsters and higher have to go to Defense Mode! That means…."

Both Harpie Ladies and Harpie's Pet Dragon soon crouched into Defense Mode, shielding themselves with their wings.

"That's right!" said May. "And Shadowslayer has a nifty effect: it can attack directly if all of my opponent's monsters are in Defense Mode!"

She's right! Mai thought to herself. I'm a sitting duck!

"Shadowslayer, attack directly!" said May.

The fiend nodded its head as it jumped into the air. Mai, out of instinct, used her Duel Disk to block the attack from the monster's dagger.

"I'm ending my turn at that." said May. "You're up."

(May: 800)

(Mai: 2,500)

Mai drew a card from her deck, expanding her hand to five.

"Time for a little upgrade." she announced. "I'm playing my Elegant Egotist! If I equip this to one Harpie Lady, I can trade them for Harpie Lady Sisters!"

The Equip Magic Card appeared, showing some sort of kaleidoscope design. Harpie Lady then split into three, soon transforming into three different Harpie Ladies—one having her famous pink hair, another with orange hair, the last with blue spiky hair—all dressed in gold armor similar to Cyber Harpie Lady. (1,900/2,150) -) (2,400/2,150)

"And guess what?" asked Mai. "They're also treated as Harpie Lady, so my Harpie's Pet Dragon still has its attack boost."

"I've had it with those Harpies, you know." said May.

"But I'm not done," Mai continued. "I'm equipping Aero Nail to Cyber Harpie Lady! And with this, she gains an extra 300 Attack Points!"

A blade was soon attached to the Harpie's wrist. (2,300/1,300) -) (2,600/1,300)

"I'll end by playing a card facedown." said Mai, placing a card into the Duel Disk. "You're up."

May drew a card.

"So, Mai. How does it feel to be on the losing end?" asked May.

Mai snarled, but did not reply.

"Skitty got your tongue?" asked the Coordinator. "Oh well. Shadowslayer, attack!"

Shadowslayer laughed and jumped into the air once more, dagger poised to stab Mai once more.

"Did you forget my facedown cards?" asked Mai. "I'm activating my Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation!"

Both Harpie Ladies jumped into the air, transforming into a fiery bird. Shadowslayer was knocked back to May's side of the field.

Darn it. May thought to herself. I completely forgot about that card. I best end my turn...I think I know what's coming. I best be prepared for the worst.

"I'm ending my turn at that." May announced.

"It's about time." said Mai, drawing a card. "I'll play my Monster Reborn to bring back my Cyber Harpie Lady!"

"But I thought you brought it back to your deck when you played Pot of Avarice!" said May with shock.

"That's what I wanted you to think." said Mai with a smirk. "Guess I'm not as predictable as you thought I'd be."

Monster Reborn was replaced with Mai's second Cyber Harpie Lady. (1,800/1,300) -) (2,300/1,300)

"And you remember what happens to Harpie's Pet Dragon when there's a Harpie Lady on the field, right?" asked Mai. "She gains another 300 Attack and Defense Points!"

Harpie's Pet Dragon roared as its Attack and Defense score was now at 3,400. May swallowed the lump in her throat, sweating in fear.

"I'm not done." Mai continued. "I activate my second facedown card, my Mystical Space Typhoon!"

The Quickplay Magic Card appeared as a small whirlpool of water started to charge at May.

"And with this, I'm destroying that pathetic Level Limit-Area B Magic Card of yours!"

May gasped as her Continuous Magic Card was destroyed. It got worse when she saw Mai place all four of her monsters in Attack Mode.

"Well, well, well." said Mai. "It looks like you lose. Your puny attempts to defeat me were foiled; I can't blame you though, you're just a weakling."

"Looks like that little girl's done." said Alister. "Oh well, at least we can finally get our hands on Ra."

"Have to admit, she put up a pretty good fight." said Valon. "Don't you think so Raphael?"

"...I'm sensing that this isn't where this duel ends." Raphael replied. "She's probably waiting for the right card to turn this around."

"The girl is going to lose!" Valon exclaimed. "There's no way she could bring out that 'right card' to end the duel. Mai's going to win this for us, and we'll be one step closer to bringing out the Great Leviathan."

"Harpie's Pet Dragon," said Mai, pointing at the Fiend type monster. "Attack Shadowslayer and end the duel!"

Harpie's Pet Dragon flew into the air, flapping her wings as gust swirled around the Orichalcos. Then, she nosedived toward Shadowslayer...

Only for smoke to cover the area when the monsters collided! There was a 'boom' as everyone was waiting for the results.

"Game over." said Mai. "You lost..."

"Kuri! Kuri!" Voices chirped.

"What?"

The smoke dispersed, revealing Shadowslayer being protected by a wall of Kuribohs. They then disappeared as Shadowslayer let out a sigh of relief.

"Kuriboh?" Valon exclaimed. "She had a Kuriboh in her hand?"

"That's right!" May replied, showing her Kuriboh card. "And when this little critter's discarded from my hand, I take no battle damage! Now you'll have to end your Battle Phase!"

"Don't think you can pull a Joey Wheeler on me!" Mai snapped. "You've been dragging this duel for far too long and it's about to stop here! So make your move!"

Mai seems pretty confident on her win. May thought. If I don't draw the right card, then it's goodbye...Heart of the Cards...please...

She drew a card and stared at it.

No way! It's Reasoning; if my luck is as good as Joey's, this duel shall be won in no time!

"I activate Reasoning!" May announced. "Pick a number, and let's see where this goes!"

"You still want to have a chance in defeating me?" asked Mai. "Fine, I pick four."

"They always say that." said May, drawing four cards from her deck—two Magic Cards and two Trap Cards, before drawing the fifth card. She smiled at her results.

"All right!" said May, jumping for joy. "I Special Summon Heka, Prodigy of Magic onto the field in Attack Mode!"

Lines of hieroglyphics swirled around the air as the monster appeared. At first glance, one could confuse Heka with Yugi...the only difference was that this Yugi was wearing a white tunic and red cape, had crimson eyes and two snakes in his hands. He smiled sweetly at Mai. (2,800/1,500)

"How the...and she...why does that monster look like that kid?" Valon asked.

Heka just laughed, as if it was absurd to ask that question.

"That's a long story which I don't want to get into, Zigzagoon head." May answered back. "But now, let's bring out his special ability!"

Heka began to chant as the snakes in his hands lifted their heads, sticking their tongues out into the air. Above the monster's head were two cards.

"When Heka is Special Summoned from my deck, I get to return two Magic Cards from my graveyard to my hand!" May explained. "And I know which ones to bring out!"

Two cards escaped May's graveyard as she placed them into her hand, expanding it into three cards.

"And now, here's where things get messy. I'm activating Sleight of Hand!"

The Magic Card appeared, revealing Houdini with the Aces and Joker cards.

"By sacrificing one Spellcaster, I can draw cards from my deck equal to the level of that monster. And since Heka is a Level Eight monster, then I draw eight more cards!"

Heka let out another smile before becoming motes of light. May drew until she now had ten cards in her hand.

"Looks like Mai's done for." said Raphael. "Ten cards in hand is not a good sign."

"Mai..." Valon gasped out.

"Now, I'll play Pharaoh's Prophecy!" said May, placing the Ritual Card into her deck. "And since this is a rare card, I guess I should explain how to summon it.

"I need to have one of three specific monsters on the field or in my hand to bring him out. One of them is Kura—the same monster I've been keeping in my hand ever since I brought him back with Emperor Sem's effect!"

"What?" said Mai with some genuine surprise.

The Thief Lord appeared on the field in front of a stone tablet of the Pharaoh. He grinned as he became devoured by fire, but the flames dispersed to reveal the Ancient Pharaoh taking his place.

"Presenting Atem, the Ancient Pharaoh!" said May, with a bow.

Atem also bowed politely to Mai's monsters. Suffice to say, the Harpy Ladies stared in shock. (2,400/1,700)

"And that's not all!" May continued. "I'm going to activate my handy Call to Evil Magic Card! By using it, I can bring back one Dark monster from my graveyard onto the field! And look who it is!"

The Magic Card appeared, revealing both Atem and Kura walking toward a shadowy figure on a throne. It was soon replaced with the Thief Lord, who unsheathed his dagger. (1,800/1,600)

"Did I mention Kura's special ability?" asked May. "By discarding one Trap Card from play, Kura causes you to discard one card in your hand! However, you only have two cards. So now..."

Two Trap Cards escaped May's graveyard slot. Sensing this, Kura brought out two daggers out of nowhere and threw it at Mai's cards, destroying them.

"Are you quite done?" asked Mai, starting to get very annoyed. However, she was trying to hide the fear that was inside her, seeing that May was becoming unstoppable.

"Not yet." May replied with a smile. "Next is my Light of the Shadows Magic Card!"

Another Magic Card appeared, revealing a point of light in a background of darkness.

"This card is pretty easy to understand." said May. "I summon a Light Monster from my Deck whose level is equal to one of a Dark Monster that I control. Since I have Level 4 Dark Monsters, I can summon this!"

In a flash of light, the tall figure of Seth, the Priest of Dragons, appeared. He stared coldly at the Orichalcos infested monsters. (1,700/1,800)

"And now there's a monster based on Kaiba?" asked Alister. "What's next?"

"I'll tell you what's next!" May answered. "I haven't done a regular summon, so I'll use it to play Jouno, Sorcerer of Dreams in Defense Mode!"

In a burst of flame, the last of May's four partners appeared. When his eyes locked onto Mai's, he bowed his head in shame. (1,300/2,100)

"You actually have a card based on Wheeler?" asked Mai. "You two are made for each other."

"In all honesty, Joey's not the guy for me." May replied. "Even if I don't know who I want, I know that Joey has feelings for you. What he sees in you, I don't know. But what I see is some a woman with so much potential who needs a wake up call. You don't need to be hanging around these bikers; they're not worth it. In fact, these bikers will never be worthy for you because you deserve so much better; you deserve Joey and you're wasting it for power!"

"You take that back!" Valon screamed, about to break the Orichalcos Barrier once more. "I'm the one who understands Mai! You don't and neither does that Wheeler!"

"That's enough, Valon." said Dartz. "If you interrupt this duel, we lose Ra...and we cannot lose it at this point in time; especially when we are so close to our goal."

"And if I can continue," said May. "I'm playing my Preparation of Rites card; this lets me bring back one Ritual Magic Card from my Graveyard, and take one Ritual Monster from my deck into my hand!"

Two cards—one from her graveyard and one from her deck—were soon taken into May's hand, expanding the hand from three cards to five.

"And here's where the climax starts!" said May. "I'm playing Samiya-The Sea Crown!"

The Ritual Magic Card appeared, showing some sort of temple underwater. Replacing the card was a cluster of blue crystals.

"With this, I can bring forth my strongest monster! But to do so, I have to sacrifice monsters with a combined strength of ten levels or more. That's not a problem though; I discard Gravekeeper's Visionary from my hand and my Shadowslayer to summon..."

The two monsters swirled around the crystals, breaking it into pieces of rock. Appearing from the crystals was the happy Seafaring Pokémon.

"Mana!" Manaphy cried out. "Mana! Mana! Mana!"

"Manaphy, Prince of the Sea!" May finished.

"Ta-dah!" Manaphy cried, waving to its audience. (1,500/100)

There was some silence as everyone stared at May's 'powerful monster'. Then Valon laughed.

"That's the best the Goddess of Joy can come up with?" He asked, clutching his side. "A little blob of jelly crying for its mommy? I'm so scared..."

Manaphy scowled as a red outline surrounded his body. Suddenly, all of the other monsters had red auras.

"You should be." said May. "Manaphy, activate your Heart Swap ability!"

"Mana!" Manaphy cried. In an instant, the monsters swapped! Mai now had May's monsters, and May had Mai's! Manaphy stayed on May's side of the field though.

Valon had stopped laughing when he saw what had happened.

"What the..." He said with confusion.

Suddenly, the monsters on Mai's side of the field clutched their heads. They then screamed in terror as the Orichalcos was branded on their foreheads. Their eyes were covered by red tints, and their smiles became wicked and cruel.

"Heart Swap." said May, as if to answer the shocked look on everyone's faces. "As long as Manaphy is on the field, we take control of each other's monsters. But that's not all he can do..."

Manaphy closed his eyes and began to sing. The Harpie monsters soon began to be washed in waves of water. The Harpy Ladies were now dressed in aqueous dresses, and Harpie's Pet Dragon looked more like a Sea Serpent-Dragon hybrid.

"What have you done with my Harpies?" asked Mai with some fear.

"I changed their element from Wind into Water." May explained. "As long as Manaphy is on the field, he can change the attribute of all my other monsters into Water. And for every Water monster, he gains 500 Attack Points."

"Manaphy...Happy!" said Manaphy as his Attack Points was raised to 4,000.

"I'm going to play Double Summon next!" May added. "Now I can do another Normal Summon for this round. So, I'll sacrifice one Cyber Harpie Lady to bring out Anuket, Daughter of the Nile in Attack Mode!"

The Cyber Harpie—the one not wearing Aero Nail—disappeared, but in her place was a dark skinned woman wearing a red dress. She also had a red and yellow feather plumed headdress along with blue bracelets, anklets, bracers and necklace. She carried an orb of water in her hands. (1,900/1,400)

"And here's her special effect!" May added. "By removing one Water Monster in my graveyard from play, I can destroy all cards on your side of the field!"

"There's one problem," said Mai. "You don't have a Water Monster in your graveyard!"

"Really?" asked May. "Is that your final answer?" She then turned to the Swordsmen. "You can help her out if you want!"

"I never saw you play a Water Monster during the whole duel!" said Valon. "I can prove it!"

"Can you?" asked May. "Well, do you remember what my Rising of the Nile Trap Card do?"

"That's easy!" said Valon boastfully. "You can negate the effect of one Magic or Trap Card on the field as long as you sacrifice a ..."

He paused and soon realized what May was up to.

"Oh no!" Valon gasped. "NO!"

"I can activate my Rising of the Nile Trap Card if a Water Monster's in my graveyard!" May finished. "And here it is!"

She brought a card out from her graveyard and revealed it to the group. It was a woman dressed in a blue cape, turban and veil along with red silken robes. In front of her was a blue orb of water.

"Crystal Seer?" Mai gasped out. "That card?"

"Crystal Seer may have a very low Attack Score, but her effect is very handy." said May. "And now, I'm going to wash out every card on your side of the field."

Anuket raised her hands into the air. She looked at Atem with sadness...but Atem smiled at her as if to say 'Do what you have to do'. Then, a wave of water washed all of the cards away...until nothing remained.

"You're safe this turn." said May. "I can't attack due to Light of the Shadows, but Anuket wasn't called the Rain Goddess for nothing; for each and every card destroyed by her effect, you gain 1,000 life points. I counted five—four monsters and Aero Nail—so that means your life points are at 8,300. And with that, your move."

(May: 800)

(Mai: 8,300)

Mai stared in shock, but drew a card all the same. That's when it hit her; she was alone. No cards to protect her, her hand was gone...her Harpies were fighting for her enemy.

"No..." She whispered, clutching her arm. "How could this happen? I'm supposed to be a winner. I gave up anything, so how could I lose?"

"Am I taking this as you skipping your turn?" asked May. Mai didn't respond. "Very well then..."

May drew a card.

"I have to hand it to you, it was fun." She continued. "But you caused so much pain for Joey and the others. They could've helped you, and you pushed them away. I want to let you know that you can still change, but it's up to you whether to take it or not.

"If you decide to come back to the world with your soul intact and your heart healed, go to Joey and the others. Tell them that you're back, and they'll know. So...goodbye then."

"Stop this, Dartz!" said Valon, turning to the king of Atlantis. "If you don't do anything soon, Mai's going to lose her soul! Please..."

"...I can't stop the Orichalcos, Valon." Dartz answered. "And interfering with this duel makes us lose Ra...we cannot have that."

"But that means..." said Valon, seeing May count on her fingers.

"Let's see..." said May. "If Harpie Lady Sisters have 1900 Attack Points, Cyber Harpie Lady has 1800—because I didn't bring back Aero Nail—Harpie's Pet Dragon has 2600 and Manaphy has 4000...then that means the combined total is 9,300! And since your life points are at 8,300, then I win the duel.."

May pointed a finger at Mai, the blonde duelist not saying anything. The Coordinator closed her eyes, not wanting to see the image of Mai's pained face when she would take a direct attack from her own monsters.

"Now everyone, attack directly!"

Both Harpies attacked their former master bringing the score down to 4600. Harpie's Pet Dragon let out a blast of water, dropping the score to 2,000. Manaphy floated toward Mai...

"Bye bye!" Manaphy cried, waving an arm at her. Then, an orb of orange energy appeared in front of his mouth...

"Hyper Beam!" said May, pointing at Mai.

"MANA...PHY!" The Seafaring Pokémon cried as the attack hit Mai dead on. Mai screamed in pain as her back hit the Orichalcos Seal. She then slid down onto her bottom, as the cards in her hand fluttered in the air before falling onto the floor.

(May: 800)

(Mai: 0)

The Orichalcos began to shrink as Mai looked up in fear. Her Harpies were frowning at her...looking down upon her.

"Why?" She asked the monsters. "Why did you betray me?"

"They saw the light." May replied. "But you're just as stubborn as a Tauros; you're too distracted by your ambition to be powerful, that you didn't pay attention to what others said. You were off in your own world of 'No one cares for me' and 'I need to have power'.

"But you know what? That's not the real you. From what Joey told me, you're a great duelist and good friend. I don't know what happened in your past, or what I can do to help ease any suffering...but all I can do is wish you the best of luck. Let this time heal your mind and heart. I want to let you know that your friends are always going to be there when you fall. Now Harpie Lady duelist, spread your wings and ascend..."

May left the area as Mai let out a scream. When the Orichalcos disappeared, her body had slumped onto the ground.

"Mana!" Manaphy cried, flying to May's side. "Manaphy...good?"

May smiled, hugging her beloved Seafaring Pokémon. The smile was small, but Manaphy knew it was still a smile all the same.

"No, Manaphy." May answered. "You were awesome!"

"Manaphy awesome!" Manaphy giggled before disappearing in a blink of an eye. May took Manaphy's card into her hands before placing it back to her deck, a hand over her Duel Disk.

The Swordsmen stared in shock; Mai had been defeated, by some blue blob? If that was the power that came from it, who knew what type of power the Goddess of Joy obtained?

May ignored the looks as she looked at the Dartz who had been observing the duel.

"All right." she told the King of Atlantis. "Now tell me how to get Yugi's soul back."

"And why should I tell you that?" asked Dartz nonchalantly. May growled at the remark.

"We made a deal! If I won, you would give me the information I needed!"

"We did make a deal, Miss May. But if you won, you would be given information on how to escape this place. You did not wager anything about releasing souls. You should've been more careful with your words before you challenged Mai."

May gasped; Dartz was right...she completely forgot that the original deal was for her to escape. She couldn't go back on that, a deal was a deal after all.

She closed her eyes and turned her gaze away from the King of Atlantis. Then, she opened them once more, staring at a clenched fist.

"Then tell me." said May. "You have to keep up your end of the bargain, Dartz."

"It's quite simple, really." said Dartz. "Just go through the mirror and you'll be back at the office in no time. However...that's all I can say."

"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind...I'll be packing up my cards."

She turned her back away from the Swordsmen, placing her cards back into her deck. But as she did so, she was also inching her hands toward the Egyptian God Cards. She tried not to gasp as she saw them look faded...it must've been because their power was drained.

I have to get these to the others. She thought to herself. Maybe we can find a way to get them back to normal.

As she was about to get Slifer, she suddenly felt someone come up from behind her. May looked up, seeing Raphael had snatched her wrist, and she was starting to get very annoyed.

"Get out of my way." She said with a growl. "Slifer and Obelisk don't belong to you!"

"On the contrary." said Raphael in reply. "They belong to Dartz, and soon Ra will too."

"Do they have his name on it? Can he read Egyptian text? No, I don't think so. These belong to Yugi, and not to you."

"Laugh while you still can; we're not done with you yet!"

May wanted to pull away but realized that no matter what she did, it would be useless. She didn't want to risk hurting her Pokémon—Raphael did have a knife in his boot which would skin them alive—so what could she do?

Suddenly, she had an idea. She looked at the card necklace that had been draped around her neck for some time, and looked at the cards. She took them into her hand and smiled.

"You know," said May. "I have some interesting cards that you might be interested in. They're very special...and they might be just what you need to get the Pharaoh's soul."

"Really now?" asked Raphael.

"Really." said May in response. "If you let my wrist go, I'll give you the cards..."

"Don't listen to her Raph." said Alister. "This puny girl couldn't possibly have powerful cards."

"Then how did I defeat Mai then?" asked May, turning to face them. "Manaphy was one of seven powerful cards I have. In fact, the six cards around my neck are ones I promised not to use in the effect that I was ever in a duel."

"All right," said Valon. "Let's see them."

"What?" Alister exclaimed.

"This should be fun; I'd like to see where this goes."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

Raphael turned to Dartz, as if asking for permission. Dartz just nodded his head, while the blonde swordsman grunted and released his grip on his captive's arm. May smiled in return as she grasped onto the cards.

"With pleasure." said the Goddess of Joy moving the chain in front of her neck. She unclasped it then tossed them to Valon, who caught them with his right hand.

"Let's see," said Valon, looking at the cards. "Castle Gate, Umbral Soul, Brain Jacker, The End of Anubis, The Hunter with 7 Weapons and...Guardian Sphinx? These cards are..."

"My Guardians!" May finished. "I summon you all! Destroy them!"

In a flash of light, six monsters appeared. There was a giant stone gate, a giant lizard made of purple shadows, a winged brain with an eye, a giant purple jackal, a warrior that branded seven weapons, and a giant stone sphinx. They glared at the the Swordsmen in anger.

"That little punk..." Alister spat out. "She tricked us!"

The End of Anubis roared and began to attack Alister. Alister rolled out of the way, just before the fiend sliced him with its claws. Valon was trying to avoid being attacked by Guardian Sphinx's paws with one hand.

"These monsters are strong..." said Valon. "But they're not strong enough..."

"Keep telling yourself that." May said to herself, running down the steps of the temple. "You should never underestimate a Duel Monster by its type."

Raphael was following her...but got stopped by The Hunter with 7 Weapons. The warrior used his sword and immediately began to charge at his opponent while Raphael brought his Duel Disk to defend him. Just as Raphael was about to stop him, Umbral Soul pounced on him. The shadowy reptile roared in anger, biting onto Raphael's arm.

"GET OFF ME!" Raphael roared. "NOW!"

Umbral Soul roared, biting deeper and deeper into Raphael's arm. Raphael delivered a kick to its chest, charging toward the monster. He pulled his fist back before landing a punch that stunned the monster.

The Hunter with 7 Weapons, raised his arms. Then, the weapons in hand began to attack and target the Swordsmen. Raphael, blocked an attack with his arm, before grabbing onto his opponent. He threw the Warrior monster over his head, and landed with a thud.

"Brain Jacker!" said May, running toward the mirror. "Take control of Mai and distract them!"

The one eyed imp nodded its head, heading toward Mai's unconscious body. Seeing this, Valon got angry.

"Get away from her!" He cried, jumping into the air. He avoided Guardian Sphinx's paws and soon activated his Duel Disk. He then drew a card.

"Go Buster Knuckle!" said Valon as a silver robotic arm replaced his regular one.

"Oh great..." said May as she saw the mirror to her left. "Castle Gate, defend!"

The giant fortress gate soon appeared in front of Brain Jacker as Valon was about to hit it dead on.

"Oh darn..." He said under his breath.

That was all May heard as she dove through the magic mirror. She grunted as her whole body vanished through the portal. Valon then collided with Castle Gate, and fell to the ground.

"She's getting away!" said Alister, summoning Gorlag to stop The End of Anubis. "What now?"

Dartz, who had been staying silent throughout the entire situation, lifted a hand. Chanting under his breath, all of May's monsters roared in pain before being destroyed. Then there was nothing left but a ball chain with six cards...before those disintegrated into dust.

"We must stop that girl before she leaves." The King of Atlantis answered. "I sense a strong force surrounding this building..."

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"That should do it." said May, seeing what she had done. All of the chairs and tables had been knocked over, in the hopes that it would slow the Swordsmen down. It wasn't easy, as she needed Blaziken and Munchlax to use Focus Punch and Mega Kick to knock them down so quickly and easily.

"Thanks, you guys." She said to her Pokémon. Then, she brought out their Poké balls. "Return!"

The Blaze and Big Eater Pokémon became red beams of energy as they returned to their Poké balls. May then let out a sigh as she placed the balls back into her waistpack.

Suddenly, an arm emerged from the mirror. Seeing this, May immediately ran out of the office, pushing the doors close without a second thought.

I need to find a way out! May thought to herself, her back against the door. Wait a minute...the stone!

She brought out the Orichalcos Stone from her waistpack and then lifted it into the air. In her mind, she pictured the faces of her brother and Mokuba just before Raphael captured her and took her to Paradius.

"Orichalcos Stone, take me to my brother!" May cried. There was some silence as she waited for something to happen. However, there was nothing.

"Darn it..." She said to herself, pocketing the stone. "Guess that's another thing I can't do when I'm not under the influence of the Orichalcos."

Suddenly, a fist punched through the door! May screamed and stepped back, just as the door was destroyed by another punch. She saw Valon decked out in a silver and blue futuristic armor, glaring at her through the visor of his helmet.

"This is your final warning." He said to the Pokémon Coordinator. "You're going to pay for what you did to Mai!"

"Is it my fault that she didn't know about my deck?" asked May sarcastically. "I mean, she knew my Trap Card needed a Water Monster to use, I just couldn't believe that she was that stupid to forget I had one."

"Take that back!" said Valon as he ran toward May. "TAKE! THAT! BACK!"

May immediately drew a card from her deck before showing it to the spiky haired Swordsmen.

"Destruction Jammer!" She cried, tossing the card into the air. "Stop him!"

Valon brought his fist back to punch May, but was stopped as a giant force-field appeared just as the fist was about to connect at May's face. There was an explosion as smoke covered the area.

When it settled, Valon saw May had disappeared without a trace. The spiky brown Swordsman grit his teeth in anger and growled.

"DAMN YOU!" He screamed.

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"Now that was close." May said to herself, hiding in one of the rooms. She had just heard Valon's scream and from the sound of it, he was mad. She turned to see the room in front of her; there were so many Duel Monster Cards...enough to make a Duelist the envy of all his friends from the look of it.

"There's so many cards." May whispered. "I might need some...you never know when they might come in handy...hold on..."

She pulled out her Gravekeeper's deck from her waistpack, seeing all of the cards inside. She then brought two cards out before slipping the deck back to her waistpack once more.

"Gravekeeper's Spy and Gravekeeper's Assailant, appear now." She whispered.

In flashes of light, the two Gravekeeper's appeared: one the black robed Gravekeeper's Spy, the other the hooded, dagger-wielding Gravekeeper's Assailant.

"Warn me of anyone that comes this way." May commanded the Dark Spellcasters. "I need to gather some supplies here."

"Understood, Goddess of Joy." said Gravekeeper's Spy. The two then vanished.

May looked at one of the counters—this one had different types of Earth Monsters, ranging from powerful to cute. She then found a blue dragon with a bomb in its claws called 'Exploder Dragon'.

"This might be interesting." she said to herself. "And look, there's one called Hieracosphinx...oh! I can't believe they actually have Cat's Ear Tribe! I couldn't get one from the Game Shop and they're so adorable!"

She immediately gathered a copy of each card—she got two copies of Exploder Dragon just in case—and snatched onto a copy of Millennium Scorpion for luck. She went along the other counters, snatching any card that could be useful. The process lasted for around three minutes, until...

"Goddess of Joy," said Gravekeeper's Assailant, appearing from the shadows behind May. "The silver armored one is about to come to this room. Get ready."

"Got it." said May, bringing out one of the Exploder Dragons. Then she took out one of her Magic Cards and raised them both into the air...

Dust filled the air as Valon destroyed the doors with a single punch. He looked to his left and right, trying to find the Coordinator. Then, he spotted her, her back toward him, staring at some cards.

"Got you!" said Valon, running toward the unsuspecting girl.

Unfortunately, once he got close enough, the illusion vanished, and it was revealed to be Exploder Dragon, and a Magic Card known as Mirage. The card fell down onto the ground as the Exploder Dragon snarled.

"Oh, come on!" said Valon as Exploder Dragon released its bomb.

With an explosion, smoke filled the air. May, successfully hiding behind one of the Card counters, immediately ran out of the door as Valon once again screamed in frustration. She could only laugh at the tough biker looking so flustered in being deceived by the Coordinator.

Cards appeared in the girl's hand once more as she pocketed them into her waistpack. It was then that May found herself with three different paths.

"Great." She said to herself. "Where do I go?"

"How about go with us?" said a voice.

May turned around, seeing Alister and Gorlag glaring at her. She just snarled as she began to search through her new collection of cards.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Alister continued. "Which is it going to be?"

"If you're implying that I'm going to hand you Ra and be your little slave, I'd say the difficulty just got higher." May retorted.

"Is that all you have to say? Well, I'd like you to take this!"

Gorlag rushed toward May, brandishing his blue flame sword. May stood her ground and pulled out a Magic Card.

"Go Command Silencer!" she cried. "Silence them!"

The giant totem pole with speakers emerged, blasting a supersonic sound across the room. Alister and Gorlag screamed and May just covered her ears. When the totem vanished, Alister was snarling.

"Is that the best you got?" He snarled. "It'll take more than some Magic Cards to stop me!

"How about this!" May cried, bringing out three cards. "Giant Axe Mummy, Poison Mummy and Regenerating Mummy, appear!"

Three mummies appeared: one with a round belly and giant axe, one draped in red and blue linen bandages, and one that was surrounded with scraps of linen. They all moaned at Gorlag and Alister.

"Those things can't scare me." said Alister. "And everyone knows that mummies are afraid of fire!"

"I thought it was the Frankenstein monster who hated fire." May replied.

"Whatever. Gorlag, use Fire Sword Slash!"

Gorlag jumped into the air, then swooped down onto Poison Mummy. Poison Mummy lifted its head and let out a moan. A cloud of purple smoke escaped its mouth, surrounding the area.

"What the heck is this stuff?" asked Alister, covering his mouth with a gloved hand. May did the same motion as she saw Giant Axe Mummy lift its weapon into the air. Then, with a heavy swing, Gorlag was split in two. The fire combined with the poisonous gas created another explosion.

"Regenerating Mummy, stop Alister from moving." said May, as she brought out another card. "Hieracosphinx, appear now!"

A monster appeared, which had the body of a lion, the head of a falcon and wings. May got onto its back, and instantly flew away.

Alister coughed as the smoke had settled. The field was clear of all the monsters, and of May.

"Great." He said to himself. "Now she's...ugh!"

Alister felt bandages wrap around his arms and legs. He looked up to see Regenerating Mummy laughing at him.

"Get your hands off of me!" The Swordsman screamed.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

As May flew on her faithful monster, thoughts crossed her mind. Her duel with Mai made her realize something; the story about her going to Dartz made her suspicious. Then her thoughts trailed back on Marius and Maria...it was all a coincidence that Dartz was there to help them out. Something was wrong, and she needed to confirm her theory.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. Hieracosphinx screeched in pain as it soon exploded into particles. May fell and landed on her stomach, noticing an arrow next to her. Getting on her knees, she picked up the arrow and stared at it.

"That's...strange." She said to herself. "Where did this come from?"

Suddenly, a voice in her head told her to look behind. May turned her head to see an arrow whiz past by her. She stood up, seeing Raphael with a look of anger and hatred on his face. To his right was a warrior with a wolf's head dressed in crimson armor and leather plates. In its hands was a silver bow with an arrow positioned to May's heart.

"You shouldn't have sicced those monsters at us, Guardian of the Sea." Raphael growled at her. "Now I'm going to have to take you away by force."

"You did it to me back at that valley." May replied. "And I won't be going back to you anytime soon!"

"You have big talk, but can you back it up? Show me what you're made of, Guardian of the Sea!"

May ignored that last comment as she soon brought a card from her waistpack. Upon looking at the card, she smiled.

"Fire away." said the Coordinator.

"Guardian Ceal," said Raphael, pointing to the card. "Attack that card!"

Ceal unleashed the arrow, the projectile getting closer and closer to its target. May soon tossed the card into the air and began to run. Raphael was confused at why she did such a thing...until he saw that the card in the air was an Exploder Dragon monster. The blue dragon emerged from the card, orange grenade in its claws...then it released the bomb.

"DAMN IT!" Raphael screamed just as Ceal's arrows were about to hit the explosive device.

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May made it outside, tripping on her feet as one more explosion was heard. She slowly got on her knees, taking a deep breath. She did it...she escaped all three of the Swordsmen and was now at the rooftop. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, before she realized that she hadn't completely escaped from the captives.

"I made it out..." She said to herself. "What now?"

"How about you give us Ra?" asked a voice.

May turned around to see Raphael, Valon and Alister walking toward her. May stepped back as they inched closer and closer. The Pokémon Coordinator stopped when she neared the edge. Looking back, she gulped when she saw the distance down below; one false move and she'd probably be similar to a pancake in consistency.

"This has gone far enough." said Valon, still dressed in his armor. "Give us one good reason why we shouldn't take your soul by force."

"You're right that this has gone far enough." said May. "You three all here for a reason, just like Mai was. In fact, all of you are here for a reason. Arkana, Bandit Keith, Marius, Maria...they all came here for power and to Dartz. The question is...why?"

"Because," said Raphael. "Master Dartz is going to purify the world. All evil will be purged and paradise will be reborn."

"All wars will end, and there will be nothing but peace and harmony." Alister added. "The Garden of Eden that Dartz is the caretaker of."

"There shall be no more injustice; anyone who disobeys gets punished." Valon ended. "Dartz will unleash his wrath on all the evil doers."

May stayed silent, letting the reasons of the Swordsmen get into her head. They all worshiped Dartz like some god. Yet he was there when their tragedies happened, he gave them the power of the Orichalcos, and he told them about his plans to used the Egyptian God Cards as fuel for the Leviathan...something didn't add up.

Then, May spoke, saying, "Were you forced to follow Dartz's orders? Did he pin you to the ground and forced that Orichalcos stone to be wrapped around your necks? Doesn't it sound like all of this stuff Dartz is giving you—from the promise of paradise and peace, to the power of the Orichalcos—a bit suspicious? Why are you so obsessed with following him in the first place?"

"Master Dartz saved us." Raphael snapped back. "What would you know about us? You don't know what it's like to be separated from your family for ten years...and when you do meet up with them, they've forgotten all about you!"

"Or what about never seeing your brother again?" asked Alister, bringing out his brother's old action figure. "And all you have left is this to remember him by?"

"What about losing someone who took care of you and being framed for a crime you never committed?" Valon exclaimed. "Have you actually suffered like any of us?"

"I may not have suffered like you three have, but I have!" May answered back, hand grasping her arm. Her voice then changed from angry to sad and solemn. "A friend of mine was possessed by the spirit of an evil king and he nearly drowned trying to save an ancient temple from being destroyed, all while I could do nothing but be moral support for him! I've been separated by my brother many times, and had to face off against evil organizations who were also bent on making the world into their image, but at least they never had the gall of ruining lives and stealing people's souls with evil seals.

"And you know what? I never lost hope in any of those situations! And I would never let myself give up my own soul to this madman! Do you really want this? Do you really want this man ruling the world?"

"Master Dartz is a pure and kind ruler." Raphael answered back. "He's setting things right for this corrupted world."

"Then what's YOUR decision?" May asked him, tears gathering in her eyes. "Let's just say Dartz gets the Pharaoh's soul and the Winged Dragon of Ra, and summons Leviathan. Let's say that the world does become a paradise and there is peace in the world. What is it going to change? Raphael's family still forgets about him, Alister's brother won't return any time soon, and Valon is branded as a criminal! All of you guys need to wake up! Dartz is using you for his own schemes! He doesn't care about you at all; all he sees are potential souls that are going to be fed for the Great Leviathan!"

There was silence as May stared into the eyes of the Swordsmen, hoping, praying, and pleading that somehow the words reached their ears. There was nothing...except the small glint of the Orichalcos stone they were wearing shining amongst the scorching sun. They stood still, motionless, as if they were all in some sort of haze. They weren't...listening to her.

"Please listen to me!" May cried. "Whatever you think Dartz is telling you is wrong! He doesn't care for your safety, he just wants this world to be destroyed. If you keep following him, it'll just end in suffering. Not only will everyone in the world suffer, you'll all suffer! Don't you get it? You're all pawns; pawns that can just be replaced once they're deemed useless. He won't care for you once your souls are taken away to the Great Leviathan. He won't tell you that things will be alright while he takes the Winged Dragon of Ra and drains all of its power...he won't give you what you want! He won't bring back those memories of happiness that you all had with your families. Has he even made you recall those days? Has he ever made you remember the times you smiled and laughed and were happy?"

She stared into the eyes of the Swordsmen; there was nothing. She could feel it: a cold emptiness that was radiating off of them. They were gone; taken over by the Orichalcos to barely nod or say something. But May wouldn't give up—she just couldn't give up.

"I wish you could just see what's going on." She whispered. "Why can't you all just see it? This isn't helping you, it's hurting you. I don't care what Yugi and the others say about you, but I see it. You're in pain, aren't you? These events that made you join Dartz, they gave you so much pain. But using the Orichalcos to trap people in the seal isn't going to give you what you need. Victory and power won't return memories to your family, Raphael. They won't turn back time to stop the tanks from capturing your brother, Alister. And they will never clear your name as an innocent person, Valon. All you can do is just stop! Just stop listening to Dartz and the Orichalcos and decide what's right for you! Please..."

She stayed silent once more, seeing the eyes of the Swordsmen for the third time. They couldn't hear her. No matter what she said to them, they didn't respond...they were gone. She was just looking, talking and staring to empty vessels. It was useless; her attempt in helping them, wasn't working. The Orichalcos was controlling them, hurting them...she had to stop it.

"Guys..." May whispered. "Please listen to me..."

There was nothing. No word escaped their lips, no reply from them, and there wasn't even a single nod or shake of the head. They stood there...waiting to react.

When there was nothing to be said, May turned around. She was about to pull Altaria's Pokeball out from her waistpack...

When without warning and without May noticing, Raphael snarled and charged up to the young girl. May was about to jump off of the building to escape, but Raphael was faster. He pulled her away from the rooftop and grasped her left wrist, pulling out the knife he kept in his boot and kept it in the air, ready to strike.

"W-what are you doing?" asked May. "What's going-"

She gasped as she saw it. Raphael's fierce eyes were now glowing green lenses, the same green as the Orichalcos. His face was grim, and those green eyes shining in the sun only made him more dead than alive.

"How dare you say that." Raphael hissed. "You're going to pay..."

May wanted to say something, but gasped when she felt Raphael slide the tip of her knife against her wrist. Blood began to fall from the wound and onto the metal rooftop.

"No one is forcing me to do this to you." Raphael continued with a maniacal grin. "You think you're so tough, but you're just a little girl who knows about the Guardian of the Sea! If Master Dartz becomes the ruler of this world, then she'll come back! But until then, you have some explaining to do."

May kept silent as she saw Alister bring out a switchblade and Valon walking up to her.

"No one's forcing us to do this." Alister added. "But it's your choice if you want to give in."

"This is for Mai!" said Valon, punching May in the stomach with an armored fist. May gasped for air, clutching onto her stomach with her right arm. Valon then hit May with an uppercut as Raphael placed another slash on May's arm. At the same time, May was struggling to stand up, kicking and using her legs to escape.

S-someone! May thought to herself. Atem! Kura! Seth! Jouno! Help me!

Alister pulled May's arm away from her stomach, gripping it with his left hand. With his right, he used the switchblade to slice a deep cut on her wrist.

"Give us Ra!" said Alister, placing a second cut underneath his first one.

"Pay for what you did to Mai!" said Valon, punching May in the face.

"Tell me about the Guardian of the Sea!" Raphael snarled.

May pulled her arm away as she pressed a button on her Duel Disk. This activated her Duel Disk, as the tray hit Raphael's face. She then moved to jab her elbow into Alister's gut and delived a kick to Valon. She immediately began to draw cards.

"Atem, the Ancient Pharaoh!" She cried. "I summon..."

Before she could finish, Raphael took the card and stomped on it. An aura of green energy surrounded him as his knife began to glow the shade of Orichalcos green.

"No one is going to help you," He hissed. "You're all alone now..."

"NO!"

Raphael stabbed the knife onto the Duel Monster Card below as Alister and Valon grabbed onto her arms once more. The Goddess screamed as she heard the cry of her beloved Duel Monster being affected by the Orichalcos.

Goddess...help me!

May tried to answer, but then felt more pain when she felt Raphael stab her whole deck. Electricity coursed through the sword and it ran throughout her whole body. Instead of screaming, she bit her tongue, not wanting to give satisfaction to her sadistic tormentors.

"No monster can save you now," Raphael hissed. "All of your cards have been temporarily paralyzed. Don't worry though; I didn't seal them away."

There was a laugh as Alister pulled out the deck holder from May's waist pack. He grinned as he tossed it to Raphael. May looked on in horror as her Gravekeeper's deck was also stabbed by the dagger, and a chorus of voices screamed and echoed in her head. They all said the same thing; they were begging for their Goddess to save them from this torment. Raphael kicked the deck holder all the way down, and May could only hear the cries and screams of her Duel Monster friends grow faint.

May kept quiet, as she felt a punch to her ribs. Then, she felt her skin being torn from the blades on her arms. She saw them...multiple slashes were on the inside of her arms. It wasn't enough as Raphael and Alister twisted her arms and soon let their knives slice the outside. Valon also kicked May's legs with his armored legs, causing her knees to buckle. Still, the Coordinator didn't scream. Instead, she grit her teeth and looked down at the ground.

"Does the little girl need a bandage?" asked Valon mockingly. "How about this?"

Valon then kicked May's ribcage as the Coordinator screamed in pain. Blood was escaping her mouth, but no tear fell from her eyes. Those tears were wasted from her speech to tell the Swordsmen to wake up.

"That's enough, guys." said Raphael, as he and the other Swordsmen backed away. "This is perfect."

Blood was spilling down her arms and mouth, as May fell onto her knees. Her arm clutched her stomach with a bloodied arm as she gasped for breath. She lifted her head to match the gaze of the three Swordsmen, trying her hardest not to let tears fall down her eyes.

"P-please wake up..." said May inbetween gasps. "Please open your eyes...just open your eyes and see the truth!"

"We'll 'open our eyes' once you give us the Winged Dragon of Ra." Alister replied mockingly. "If you don't give us what we want, then we take it out on your brother!"

May gasped; if this was what they were doing to her, what would they do to Max? The thoughts of his own arms being sliced by sharpened blades, or having crushing blows be delivered onto his body was too much for her to bear. A tear fell from her eye...she couldn't let her brother be hurt and bullied by them. But at the same time...she felt as if they didn't mean to hurt her, but there was something else that was causing this. She didn't know what it was, but she could just tell that it was evil.

The Pokémon Coordinator knew what she had to do. Taking Atem into her hands she pressed it against to heart and closed her eyes. Then, she stood up, placed the card back onto her Duel Disk, and unzipped a pouch from her waistpack. She pulled out a card, trying to ignore the pain in her body as she wiped off the blood that fell down her mouth.

"Great beast of the sky, please hear my sky..." May chanted. "Transform thy form from orb of light, and bring me victory in this fight."

As she continued to chant, a giant golden dome appeared in-between her and the Swordsmen.

"Envelop this desert with your glow, and cast your rage upon my foe. Unlock the secrets from within, so that together we may win..."

"No way!" said Alister. "She's actually trying to summon it..."

"This can't be good." said Valon.

"Appear in this Shadow Game..." May chanted, heart beating against her chest. "While I call out your name...WINGED DRAGON OF RA!"

With that cry, lightning struck. The orb soon opened to reveal the golden mechanical Egyptian God Card. The Swordsmen just stared in shock as Ra let out a loud screech. May pointed toward the Swordsman, ignoring the blood falling down her arms.

"Winged Dragon of Ra," said the Coordinator. "I know you only listen to a chosen duelist, but I beg of you to let me use your power. As the Goddess of Joy, I ask for your blessing to help destroy those that could hurt me!"

The Winged Dragon of Ra stared into May's eyes for quite some time. May just nodded her head as Ra turned its gaze to the three Swordsmen. There was anger burning in its eyes as it let out another powerful screech, then it became wrapped in fire until it looked like a phoenix!

"The Winged Dragon of Ra has become a phoenix!" May gasped, seeing the transformation. "That's...amazing..."

The Winged Dragon of Ra flew into the air and opened its mouth. Fire swirled around its body as the Swordsmen began to look on in fear.

"Winged Dragon of Ra, attack them now!" May screamed, pointing a finger at the Swordsmen. "Destory the darkness in them!"

Ra then let out a gout of fire as if to incinerate the Swordsmen...

Unfortunately, neither Ra or May expected the Seal of Orichalcos protecting the Swordsmen, causing the fire to be deflected!

"What?" May gasped. "No..."

The flames died down as the three Swordsmen grinned at their prey; the Orichalcos was on their foreheads, and their eyes were glowing red.

"Looks like your plan was put on ice." said Raphael. "Valon...finish them!"

"Will do!" said Valon, jumping into the air. "TIME FOR A GOOD BYE!"

Using Jet Gauntlet—the Armor monster on his left hand—he brought it back. May could only gasp as Valon punched Ra right in its forehead, and it exploded! Ra screeched as it became pixels, while May looked on in horror. The explosion was so loud and strong that May had trouble keeping her balance.

And then, she leaned too far...with the Winged Dragon of Ra leaving her grasp as she fell...

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" May screamed as she grew closer and closer to her impending doom . "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

The Goddess of Joy looked up, trying to use her strength to grab onto the falling card...but the pain of the cuts and attacks rendered the action useless. Tears fell from her eyes as she knew what was happening next.

She was going to die...

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Dark Barrier (Magic Card)

Type: Magic/Continuous

Attribute: -

Level: -

Attack: -

Defense: -

Image: A set of ancient ruins covered by a dome of darkness.

Description: Any damage you take during the Battle Phase turns to 0 as long as you have one Dark Monster on the field.

0

0

Rising of the Nile (Trap Card)

Type: Trap/Counter

Attribute: -

Level: -

Attack: -

Defense: -

Image: A young girl in blue, commanding the Nile River to rise.

Description: Discard one Water monster in your hand or deck to the graveyard., to negate and destroy the effect of your opponent's Magic or Trap Card.

0

0

Plan X (Trap Card)

Type: Trap/Normal

Attribute: -

Level: -

Attack: -

Defense: -

Image: A chalkboard with a football strategy consisting of x's, o's and arrows.

Description: Pay half of your lifepoints and declare the name of a card. If it is in the Graveyard, decide whether to have you or your opponent activate it. This chosen card is activated immediately, regardless of stipulations. When the card effect is resolved, draw one card from your deck.

0

0

Heka, Prodigy of Magic (Monster Card)

Type: Spellcaster/Effect

Attribute: Light

Level: 8

Attack: 2,800

Defense: 1,500

Description: When this card is Special Summoned onto the field, return two Magic Cards from your Graveyard into your Hand. For every Magic Card that you or your opponent activate, increase this monster's Attack Points by 300.

0

0

Call to Evil (Magic Card)

Type: Magic/Normal

Attribute: -

Level: -

Attack: -

Defense: -

Image: Atem and Kura walking toward a figure sitting upon a dark throne.

Description: Special Summon one Dark Monster from your graveyard onto the field.

0

0

Samiya, the Sea Crown (Magic Card)

Type: Magic/Ritual

Attribute: -

Level: -

Attack: -

Defense: -

Image: A temple of marble encased in a giant bubble underwater. There are also many Water Pokémon swimming around it.

Description: This card is only used to Special Summon "Manaphy, Prince of the Sea" onto the field. Sacrifice monsters from your field or hand whose Level is equal to 10 or higher.

0

0

Manaphy, Prince of the Sea (Monster Card)

Type: Aqua/Ritual/Effect

Attribute: Water

Level: 10

Attack: 1,500

Defense: 100

Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned. This card can only be Special Summoned through the effect of "Samiya, the Sea Crown". As long as this card is on the field, control of player's monsters are switched. All monsters on your side of the field will have their Attributes changed to Water. For every Water Monster on the field, increase the Attack Points of this monster by 500.

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Anuket, Daughter of the Nile (Monster Card)

Type: Spellcaster/Effect

Attribute: Water

Level: 5

Attack: 1,900

Defense: 1,400

Description: When you remove from play one Water Monster from your graveyard, destroy all cards on your opponent's side of the field. Your opponent gains 1,000 Life Points for every card destroyed by this effect. If you activate this effect during the turn this was summoned, this monster cannot attack on your next Battle Phase.

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May: It hurts...it hurts...

Atem: We must get out of here, Goddess...you have been attacked.

Raphael: She won't be the only one who'll be like that once I get through with you, Pharaoh. This is for the Guardian of the Sea!

May: I have to run, I have to get out of here!

Kura: This madness has to stop, the Goddess of Joy is going to get hurt even more if she does not find help.

Atem: Raphael, Valon, Alister...those people have hurt our Goddess, and they will pay for their crimes!

May: Where can I go? Someone...help me...

Kura: Next time, "Between my Brother and Me" chapter 18: The Romance of a Tragic Knight

May: Please...someone...who can save me...