Before the finals, Songbird Serenade sang her new song, Rainbow for the crowd and duelists.
"Attention all duelists!" said Kaiba. "Now that we've been narrowed down to our top six, I think it's time I started participating in this contest, just to see if these duelists really are as good as they say!"
The crowd cheered.
"Plus, I have a special guest joining us," added Kaiba. "Her name is Tempest Shadow, and because of her superb dueling skills, I invited her to join. Now that our elite eight have been confirmed, it's time to start the semi-finals! Are you all ready?!"
The crowd roared its response.
"Then let's get it on!" said Kaiba. "The first battle will be Twilight Sparkle vs Tempest Shadow! Begin!"
"Tempest," said Twi. "I see why you're doing this, but if you really want harmony in the world, the best way is to make peace with your inner demons and just let it all go."
"Sorry," said Tempest. "The scars of my past sting too much."
Twilight sighed. "Very well then, let's duel!"
Tempest nodded as she took her deck out of the powerless Quantum Cube. "Just because the power of the Cube maybe inside my staff, I'll never get rid of this cube. It's the only thing I have left of master Shadi."
Twilight LP: 4000
Tempest LP: 4000
Turn 1: Twilight
"I'll go first," said Twi. "I play Painful Choice, so I choose five and you take your pick." (Wheel of Prophecy, High Priestess of Prophecy, Emperor of Prophecy, Dian Keto the Cure Master, and Spellbook of Life)
"I think I'll choose your Cure Master," said Tempest.
"Got it," said Twi. "Now I play Soul Charge to bring back my Wheel of Prophecy, High Priestess of Prophecy, and Emperor of Prophecy!"
"You realize you just lost most of your life points, right?" asked Tempest.
Twilight LP: 1000
Tempest LP: 4000
"Of course," answered Twilight. "Now I play Supremacy Berry and Dian Keto the Cure Master to get back all those points."
Twilight LP: 4000
Tempest LP: 4000
"Oh," said Tempest.
"Now I summon the Strength of Prophecy, and play Spellbook Organization to rearrange my top three cards," said Twilight. "Then I'll remove my Spellbook to increase my Strength's power." (Strength of Prophecy ATK: 1500 – 2000/ Level: 4 – 5) "And now, I overlay my Strength and Emperor of Prophecy to Xyz summon Empress of Prophecy! Then I'll overlay my Wheel and High Priestess of Prophecy to Xyz summon Hierophant of Prophecy!"
"Impressive," said Tempest.
"Thanks," said Twilight. "I'll end with a face down. Now I can destroy her monsters, spells and traps. Plus, I have my face down Spellbook of Wisdom to protect my Spellcasters."
Turn 2: Tempest
"My turn," said Tempest as she drew. "I play Double Summon, so now I can summon Reptilianne Scylla, then tribute it to summon Reptilianne Medusa! And by discarding a card, (Reptilianne Medusa) I can reduce your monster's ATK power becomes 0." (Hierophant of Prophecy ATK: 2800 – 0) Twilight's monster was then petrified.
"What the?!" asked Twi. "She's been turned to stone!"
"Just like the real Medusa," said Tempest. "Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back the Medusa I just discarded. Then I'll discard another card to reduce your Empress's power to 0." (Empress of Prophecy ATK: 2000 – 0)
"No…" breathed Twi.
"Farewell," said Tempest as she activated her staff. "Reptilianne Medusas, attack!"
"Ah!" cried Twilight.
Twilight LP: 0
Tempest LP: 4000
Twilight was then sent to the disintegrating dimension, along with Rarity and Bakura.
"NO!" cried Sunset, Timber, and the others. The crowd clapped, thinking it was all a hologram show.
"Clap while you can, you simpletons," thought Tempest. "For you all will vanish eventually."
"Seto!" called Mokuba. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let Tempest duel. She could hurt someone!"
"Don't worry," said Kaiba. "I'm positive that once the Pharaoh returns, he'll undo all the damaged Tempest has done."
"Are you sure certain?" asked Mokuba.
"Absolutely," answered Kaiba. "Or who knows? Maybe those girls can fix everything with their magic of friendship or something."
"I hope so," said Mokuba.
"This is insane!" yelled Timber.
"No kidding!" added Flash.
"What did she ever do to that Tempest girl?!" asked Timber. "Where did she sent Twilight?!"
"Same place where she sent Rarity and Bakura," said Rainbow. "Plus me and Joey."
"Don't worry, guys," said Tea. "Yugi will get them back. I guarantee it."
"Are you sure?!" asked Timber.
"No one could do it better," said Joey.
"You bet," added Tristan.
"Or Sunset," said Pinkie.
"Now the next battle shall begin!" said Kaiba over the mic. "Rainbow Dash vs Sunset Shimmer!"
"Let's duel!" said Rainbow and Sunset.
Sunset LP: 4000
Rainbow LP: 4000
"Yeah!" cheered Rainbow's parents.
"Go, Rainbow! Go, Rainbow!" said Windy.
"Yeah, Rainbow Dash! You show 'em!" called Bow.
"Oh man," said Rainbow.
"Wow," said Sunset. "Your parents are really supportive."
"Yeah," said Rainbow.
"You go ahead, Rainbow," said Sunset.
Turn 1: Rainbow
"Thanks," said Rainbow. "I'll send my Dotscaper to the grave, so I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron! Plus, whenever my Dotscaper is sent packing, he can special summon himself back to the field. Now I'll tune them together to synchro summon Junk Gardna! Then I'll summon Junk Synchron, and his effect lets me summon back Dotscaper. Next, I'll tune them together to synchro summon Armory Arm! Ready for a new move? I play Lightwave Tuning, it lets me treat a level four monster as a tuner, like my Armory Arm! Now I can tune it together with my Gardna and synchro summon Stardust Warrior!"
"Wow," said Sunset in awe.
"Greatest duelist ever!" said Bow.
Rainbow put her hand on her forehead. "I place two cards face down and end my turn."
Turn 2: Sunset
"Okay, my turn!" said Sunset. "I play Offerings to the Doomed to destroy your Stardust Warrior!"
"Thanks," said Rainbow.
"Huh?" asked Sunset.
"Now I can special summon a new Warrior, thanks to my Stardust Warrior's effect!" explained Rainbow. "First, I'll bring out a new guy, Road Warrior! Then I'll activate, Shadow Impulse! Since one of my synchro monsters was destroyed, I can special summon another synchro monster with the same type and level! So I'll summon, Flower Cardian Lightflare!"
"5000 ATK points?!" asked Sunset.
"Yep," answered Rainbow. "Finally, I activate Stardust Flash! This lets me bring back my Stardust Warrior!"
Sunset's mouth dropped, and the crowd cheered.
"Three monsters for the price of one," said Rainbow. "How do ya like them apples?"
"Wow," said Sunset.
"Not bad at all," said Seto.
"No kidding," said Mokuba.
"Good thing I saved this," said Sunset. "Raigeki!"
"I don't think so," said Rainbow. "Once during either player's turn, my Lightflare can negate a spell or trap card's activation."
"Darn," said Sunset. "Guess I'll just play Greed Grado, since I destroyed a Synchro monster, I can draw two cards. Cool, I know your Stardust Warrior has some other effects, so I'll discard Effect Veiler to negate all of them."
"Big deal," said Rainbow. "I still have him, and my other two monsters."
"Not for long," said Sunset. "Now since you have a Synchro monster on the field, I can special summon Synkron Resonator from my hand. Then I'll summon Vice Berserker. Now I'll tune them together to Synchro summon Stygian Sergeants! And thanks to my Berserker, my Sergeants gain 2000 extra ATK points." (Stygian Sergeants ATK: 2200 – 4200)
"But you also lose 2000 life points," reminded Rainbow.
"Not this time," said Sunset. "I activate Spell of Pain, which lets me redirect the damage to you."
"What?!" asked Rainbow.
Sunset LP: 4000
Rainbow LP: 2000
"Stygian Sergeants, attack him her Road Warrior!" ordered Sunset.
"Shoot!" said Rainbow.
Sunset LP: 4000
Rainbow LP: 800
"And now my Sergeant's effect activates!" said Sunset. "They gain 800 ATK points, and they get to attack again."
"No way!" said Rainbow.
"Sorry, but yes way," said Sunset. "Sorry, Rainbow. But I need to take down that freak."
"I understand," said Rainbow.
"Thanks," said Sunset. "Attack her Stardust Warrior! And I promise I will bring back Twilight and the others, or go down trying."
Sunset LP: 4000
Rainbow LP: 0
"Wow, she's good," said Joey.
"Of course she is," said Flash.
"The next duel will be Yugi Moto vs Joey Wheeler!" said Kaiba.
"You ready for this Yug?" asked Joey.
"You bet," said Yugi.
"Then let's duel!" said Joey.
Yugi LP: 4000
Joey LP: 4000
Turn 1: Yugi
"Okay, Joey. Let's see how far you've come," thought Yugi. "I summon Celtic Guard of Noble Arms in attack mode! Then I'll use his ability to special summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in defense mode. I place one card face down and end my turn."
Turn 2: Joey
"Alright, let's do this!" said Joey. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode. Then I'll activate Release Restraint, so I can tribute my iron knight and special summon Gearfried the Swordmaster! Then I'll play Dark Dragon Ritual, I sacrifice my Panther Warrior to ritual summon Paladin of Dark Dragon! Then I'll tribute him to special summon my pal, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
"Now that's a front line," said Tea.
"When did Joey get so good?" asked Tristan.
"It took you this long to notice?" asked Applejack.
"We've seen him duel," said Sunset. "He's no pushover."
"Jerk," whispered Fluttershy.
"Now I'll equip my Swordmaster with the Lightning Blade!" continued Joey. "This gives 8000 points, and the ability to destroy your obnoxious guardian!" (Gearfried the Swordmaster ATK: 2600 – 3400)
"Oh boy," said Yugi.
"Red Eyes, attack his Celtic Guard!" ordered Joey.
"Dang," said Yugi.
Yugi LP: 3700
Joey LP: 4000
"Gearfried, attack him directly!" ordered Joey.
Yugi LP: 300
Joey LP: 4000
"I activate my trap!" cried Yugi. "Dark Horizon! Now I can special summon a Dark Spellcaster from my deck with ATK power that's less than, or equal to the damage I just took. I choose, Dark Magician Girl!"
"I was expecting the Dark Magician, but whatever. I end my turn," said Joey. "Sorry Yug. I just wanted to show everyone what I could do."
Turn 3: Yugi
"Alright, my turn!" said Yugi. "I play Magical Contract Door! Here's how it works, I give a spell card to you, then I can add a level seven or eight Dark monster to my hand, so now I'll add my Dark Magician! And you can have my Dark Magic Veil. Next, I play Ancient Rules! It lets special summon a level five or higher normal monster, like my Dark Magician! Then I'll tribute my two magicians to summon Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition!"
"Woah," said Joey. "Didn't see that coming."
"Now I activate my dragon's ability," said Yugi. "I can destroy all your monsters, then inflict damage to you, equal to the monster with the highest original ATK power, then my dragon gains that many ATK points. Like your Swordmaster."
"Say what?!" asked Joey. (Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition ATK: 0 – 2600)
Yugi LP: 300
Joey LP: 1400
"I'm so sorry, Joey," thought Yugi.
"Don't be Yug," thought Joey. "Our friend's lives are at stake."
Yugi smiled. "You did very well. You'll make a great pro duelist."
"Thanks, pal," thought Joey.
"Now Gandora, attack him directly!" ordered Yugi.
Joey closed his eyes as the attack hit.
Yugi LP: 300
Joey LP: 0
"That was so hard to watch," said Pinkie.
"You said it," said Tea. "Reminds of Duelist Kingdom. But once again, they never forgot their bond."
"The next duel will be Mai Valentine vs my big bro, Seto Kaiba!" said Mokuba over the mic.
"Wait! What?!" asked Joey. "Mai's here?!"
"Let's duel!" said Mai and Kaiba.
Mai LP: 4000
Kaiba LP: 4000
Turn 1: Mai
"Ladies first," said Mai. "I summon Cyber Harpie Lady in attack mode! Then I'll play Elegant Egotist so I can special summon the Harpie Lady Sisters! But why stop there? When I can play another Elegant Egotist and special summon another Cyber Harpie Lady! Next, I'll equip her with Cyber Shield, increasing her ATK points by 500." (Cyber Harpie Lady ATK: 1800 – 2300) "Finally, I'll place two cards face down and end my turn. He'll never get past my Mirror Wall. And my Harpie's Feather Storm will take care of any troubling monster effects. Plus, if he destroys my Feather Storm, I can add Harpie's Feather Duster to my hand for next turn. It's perfect!"
Turn 2: Kaiba
"To start my turn, I play Pot of Greed," said Kaiba. "Next I play Heavy Strom, which destroys all spells and traps on the field."
"You just destroyed my Harpie's Feather Storm," said Mai. "Now I can add Harpie's Feather Duster to my hand."
"So what?" asked Kaiba. "Now I activate Polymerization to fuse my three Blue Eyes together to form Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Then I'll play Chaos Form! This lets me banish one of the Blue Eyes in my graveyard, and ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon!"
"Oh no," said Mai in a fearful tone.
"Blue Eyes max Dragon, attack her weaker Cyber Harpie!" ordered Kaiba.
Mai cringed.
Mai LP: 1800
Kaiba LP: 4000
"And now, my Neo Dragon will finish you off," said Kaiba. "Attack her Harpie Sisters!"
"No!" cried Mai.
Mai LP: 0
Kaiba LP: 4000
"And that's it!" said Mokuba. "The four finalists are Yugi Moto! Tempest Shadow! Sunset Shimmer! And of course, Seto Kaiba!"
As soon as the duel was over, Joey walked over to Mai. "Mai… is that really you?"
Mai looked away. "Yeah, but I gotta go. I lost, so there's no point in staying any longer."
"Mai, wait!" called Joey.
"Sorry… I can't!" said Mai as she started to run.
"Let her go," said Tristan. "After what she put us through with those Orichalcos freaks, I wouldn't call her a friend."
Joey then punched Tristan in the gut, face, and kneed him in the crotch. "Never say that about Mai! Ever!"
"Tristan!" said Tea. "How can you say that?! It wasn't all her fault!"
Applejack and Rainbow then each hit Tristan.
"Told you he was a jerk," said Fluttershy.
"Total meanie," said Pinkie.
Joey then took off after Mai. He found her in the parking lot getting into her car. "Mai! Please just wait a second!"
"Sorry," said Mai. "I just can't look at you yet."
Before she could put her key in the ignition, Joey grabbed her arm.
"Let go of me," said Mai.
"Not til you listen to me," replied Joey.
"I said let go of me, now!" demanded Mai.
"Please, just talk to me, Mai!" said Joey.
"You freak!" said Mai. She tried to punch Joey in the face with her other arm, but he pushed it away and hugged her."
"Mai, please," said Joey. "I've missed you so much, and I was so worried when I couldn't find you after all that happened on Dartz's island. I'm just, so glad to see you're back to normal."
A tear fell down Mai's face. "I can't look at you. I don't dare."
"Whatta mean?" asked Joey.
"I just don't get it," said Mai. "How? How can just forget everything I did so easily? I tried to kill you! And you still want me as a friend?!"
"More than anything," said Joey.
Mai blushed. "How forgivable can one person be?"
"Not just me," said Joey. "We all want ya back. Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Bakura, the girls. Even Serenity."
"No," breathed Mai. "She shouldn't have someone like me around. I just wanted nothing but power, I didn't care about anything or anyone else. This is prove I shouldn't…"
"Mai!" said Joey cutting her off. "Do you remember when I feeling down at Battle City? Remember how you reminded me of the courage I showed at Duelist Kingdom? Well that's what you showed afterwards."
"What?" asked Mai.
"I heard from Yugi that you went after Dartz after you were released," said Joey. "He said you even took my dragon card, and tried to defeat Rafael with all your might. See? If you were really an evil person, you wouldn't have tried to make up for what you did. Just like how I tried to make up for Marik brainwashed and tried to turn me against my best friend. That proves you still have a good heart."
Mai began to tear up. "You really do have a big mouth. But an even bigger heart." She then wrapped her arms around Joey and hugged him with all her might. "Just like when you got rid of the darkness in my soul, you destroyed the doubt and sorrow in my heart. Thank you, for never giving up on me, and always being there to heal me. You're the first, and only person who's ever really cared about me this much."
Joey blushed. "You're welcome, Mai. I… I… don't really know what else to say…"
"Then don't say anything," said Mai. She then kissed him on the lips.
Tristan, Yugi, Tea, and the girls were watching from afar.
"How in the world did a doofus like Joey ever a girl, and I still haven't?!" asked Tristan.
"Cause you're freak," said Applejack.
"And a creep," said Pinkie.
"And a meanie," said Fluttershy.
"And ugly," said Rainbow silently.
Everyone laughed.
"What's so funny?" asked Tristan.
No one answered.