As much as the constant threat of Hanaq was constantly buzzing at the back of her mind, Yugi was vibrating with excitement as she practically pranced down the blue corridor.
She'd been looking forward to a duel against Mai, ever since she'd been denied the chance to face her idol at Duelist Kingdom. That she was getting to face her now, in the finals, in front of thousands upon thousands of people was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
Jiisan had been the reason she'd gotten into Duel Monsters to start with, but it'd been following Mai's career that'd inspired her to enter her first competitive tournament, back before she'd ever even heard of Kaiba Seto. That she'd been unable to duel her head on and had to let her sister step up instead had been crushing.
But now she was getting the duel of her dreams, and as she hovered in the entrance, waiting for her name to be called, she had to take a deep breath to calm herself and try to block out the sheer noise of the spectators in the seats.
'You going to be alright?' Her twin asked, more amused than concerned as Yugi slipped Osiris and Obelisk from her deck, not wanting to hurt Mai and slipped in a couple of replacements.
"Fine. I'm fine." Yugi spoke out loud in her excitement, unable to resist peeking out at the seats, which were finally full once more as everyone returned from the restrooms and concession stands for the final duel of the day.
At least, the final official duel.
Yugi shivered, dreading meeting the insanity that was currently roaming the island somewhere after this was all over.
'Don't focus on that now.' Meisa put her hands on her Imoto's shoulders. 'Don't focus on Hanaq. You've been looking forward to this duel as much as I looked forward to the one against Kaiba. You deserve a chance to enjoy yourself. Take it.'
'You're right, you're right.' Yugi took a deep breath, grateful for her Anesan's words. 'Worrying now won't help. Mai's a good Duelist, and she'll have prepped for this duel too. If I can't focus…'
'Take another breath. You have this. I have faith in you.'
'Well, I'm cheering for Kujaku.' Yugi let out a startled laugh when Ba-Khu-Ra's voice echoed in the back of her mind, the sheer normality of the statement helping break the bad mood that'd begun to descend.
The sounds of the commentator starting his speech made Yugi shift from foot to foot, nervous excitement taking hold again.
'Seriously though Runt, you better not lose. I don't want to have to hunt Kujaku down for the God cards later.'
'I won't.'
"…from the blue entrance, the Mistress of Magicians, the World Champion, the one, the only Queen of Games, Mutou Yugi!"
As she stepped into the sunlight, the twenty-thousand strong crowd roared. Their voices were so loud that it made Yugi's ears ring and almost sent her skittering back into the corridor.
Instead, she pushed back the stage fright, drew on the public speaking classes that Anzu had taken her to and stepped up, waving at the crowds as she went.
"And from the red entrance, the Amazoness Monarch and Sovereign of Harpies, the Duel Queen of Europe, Kujaku Mai!"
Mai stepped from the red entrance, holding herself tall and proud, but her eyes were focused purely on her opponent and her smile was sharp.
"Mutou to move first."
"Yugi! Before we begin, I want you to put those God cards back in your deck."
"What?" Yugi blinked, staring at her opponent, shocked that Mai would know her that well.
"I didn't knock Ishtar out just for you to nerf your deck." Mai shot back, "You and I are honourable Duelists. We're Queens of the game, and we both deserve to be here. I've been looking forward to this duel for a year and I won't accept anything less than your all."
"You're sure?" Yugi asked, aware of how much damage the Gods could do.
"Completely. I want to know that when I knock you off your throne, it's because I've defeated you at your very best. Using the very best that your deck can provide. So put Osiris and Obelisk back in. I'm not scared. If I can beat Ra, I can beat them."
Yugi couldn't help but be amused by the confidence that Mai was projecting, even as she wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea. Still, if Mai really wanted to face the Gods, if she knew the danger level and still was demanding their inclusion, who was she to keep them back?
It wasn't like this was a Shadow Game. The Gods would be magic boosted holograms, not real, living, breathing creatures.
"Alright."
The buzz of the crowds as she undid her changes and slipped the two Divine Beasts back into her deck made the air vibrate. She still worried about utilising the Gods in battle. While Osiris seemed to have settled and was no longer shocking her, Obelisk was giving the same energies off that Osiris had before the docks duel, running warm with Anesan and cold with her.
Still, Mai had asked for them to take the field and Yugi didn't want to disappoint, or dishonour her friend by not giving it her all.
She handed her deck to Mai, took that of the Amazoness Duelist, and they shuffled for the last, official, time.
Yugi could see the moment the energies of the Gods hit Mai's hands. The tiny jolt, the widening of her eyes, the shocked look that she gave the deck. She couldn't help but wonder if Mai was regretting her request when she sped her shuffling, practically pushing the deck back into Yugi's hands.
Mai, on the other hand, was excited. The sheer weight of the power in Yugi's deck was exhilarating. She knew, without a doubt, that she was about to go through one of the toughest duels of her career, on the biggest stage that there'd ever been in the world of competitive Duel Monsters.
Ishtar had been dangerous, overzealous, murderous, but this duel?
This duel would be the one to show the world that she wasn't washed up. That she could still duel at a level beyond anything anyone else could match.
Win or lose, as long as she gave it her all, and as long as Yugi brought every drop of her strength to this duel, this duel would engrave their legends in Dueling history.
Not that she intended on losing.
And as they took their marks and activated their Duel Disks, both Duelists grinned as they spoke in unison. "Let's duel!"
"I set a card in defence mode and two cards face down." Yugi called, sliding the cards into place, her voice shifting up slightly in her sheer joy at finally getting to face Mai head on. "Your move!"
"I set a card face down and play Amazoness Village!"
The stadium floor shifted around them. The dirt floor of the Amazoness Village took over the turf beneath their feet and trees sprung up around the walls. A pair of chickens clucked their way across the stadium floor as wooden huts materialised at the edges, leaving plenty of room for their monsters.
"I summon Amazoness Princess."
At Mai's call, the Princess leapt from the trees to the field, her white hair pulled back by her horned headband and her beads shimmering in the sunlight. Her attack points flashed at 1400, causing a round of murmurs.
"She gets an extra 200 from her home Village." Mai explained, "And thanks to her ability, I can pull a Spell or Trap card from my deck to my hand. I pick the Amazoness Heirloom, which I equip to her."
The shimmering green sphere in a gorgeous hand-carved ornament barely fit in the Princess's hand and she looped it onto her belt, before pointing her spear at the defence monster on the other side.
"Princess, attack!"
The girl darted forward. Before she could reach the face down card, it flipped face up, revealing a burly man with an absolutely huge shield and 2600 defence points.
The Heirloom's glow grew bright as the spear bounced off with a ting, the tip snapping off and tumbled through the air until it hit Mai's arm, ripping away 1200 lifepoints. The aura from the equip card surrounded the Big Shield Gardna, who let out a bellow and shattered into fragments.
"What just…?"
"When a monster equipped with the Amazoness Heirloom attacks a monster, the enemy monster is destroyed, no matter what its attack or defence is." Mai explained with a grin, "And, when Princess attacks, I can discard a card from my hand to summon any monster from my deck in defence mode, so…"
The Amazoness Queen took the field, sat upon her throne, which appeared just to the left of Mai. The Princess bounced over and sat upon the arm of the throne, whispering something in the Queen's ear as the Queen's 2600 attack and 1800 defence was revealed.
Yugi knew what her draw was the moment her fingers laid upon it. The heavy weight and dark strength trembled through her nerves like an earthquake. Glancing at the card and confirming that it was, in fact, Obelisk the Tormentor, but it wouldn't help her. Not right now.
Instead, "I activate Swords of Revealing Light."
The blades of pure white light slammed into Mai's side of the field, preventing her from making an attack on Yugi for three turns.
"And I summon my Queen's Knight, who attacks your Princess!"
The red armoured card knight didn't hesitate to launch herself forward, slashing out the Princess, who stumbled back as Mai's lifepoints tumbled by 100, but wasn't destroyed.
"The Heirloom?" Yugi asked.
"First time she should be destroyed each turn, the Heirloom protects her." Mai nodded as her lifepoints hit 2700. "Are you done?"
"Yeap, your move."
"First, I activate my Amazoness Onslaught. Then I switch my Amazoness Queen to attack mode and summon Amazoness Paladin."
As the Queen rose to her feet, one of her Paladins took the field, gaining 200 from the village and another 300 from the Amazonesses on the field, for a total of 2200.
"But since I can't attack, that ends my turn."
"I summon King's Knight." Yugi was aware she was in trouble and was pleased to see the second of her Arcana Knights as the bronze armoured Knight took the field, "And with both of them on the field, I can summon Jack's Knight!"
Mai let out an unamused snort as the blue armoured warrior joined its comrades, its 1900 attack and King's 1600 flickering for the whole stadium to see.
"And I set a card face down. Your turn."
Mai, who'd seen the flicker of surprise and acknowledgment when Yugi had drawn two turns ago, wasn't sure if the thing she'd pulled from the deck was a God card or the Dark Magician, and she wasn't a fan of either option.
So…
"I activate Exchange."
The flicker of fear that flashed across Yugi's face told Mai it was the right move to make as she strode across the arena floor. Taking a look at Yugi's hand gave her two options, and she knew which one she wanted.
"I'll take Obelisk, thanks." Her fingertips tingled as she borrowed the God card from its owner. "What do you want?"
"I'll take your second Heirloom, just in case."
Yugi did NOT want that attached to a God monster and as Mai sauntered back across the field, she couldn't help but wonder if Mai was really going to play the God.
She didn't have to wait long to find out.
"I sacrifice Princess, Queen and Paladin for Obelisk the Tormentor!"
At Mai's call, the trio of Amazonesses sank into the ground, giving their lives to summon the great guardian God, who rose behind Mai in a quake that shook the, thankfully earthquake resistant, stadium. Mai's head spun a little as his power tested her but she stood her ground and smirked at her opponent.
"And he's only affected by the Swords for this turn, so next turn, he's going to squash your Knights."
Yugi knew she was in trouble. With the God facing her, she knew she could only hold it off for so long, unless she got really, really lucky.
And her draw didn't help, so instead, "I activate Card of Sanctity, allowing us to both draw until we have six cards in our ha…"
Her eyes widened as electricity shot up her arm and she grinned.
Here was what she needed.
"I sacrifice my three Knights for the Sky Dragon of Osiris!"
The huge ruby-scaled dragon swirled down from the air, lighting raining down as it settled behind the Queen with 5000 attack points, thanks to the five cards in Yugi's hand.
"Osiris, Thunder Force attack!"
The first maw opened, unleashing a burst of electricity that caused the front couple of rows to scream in surprise and shock, as it slammed past them and collided with Mai's huge brute, who roared in pain and exploded into shards, taking 1000 lifepoints with him.
"He won't stay gone." Mai promised, "First I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, blowing away your Swords of Revealing Light."
Yugi wasn't worried as her swords vanished in a powerful gust of wind. Her Divine Beast should keep her safe.
"Then I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Obelisk."
Mai could feel the fury pulsing off the Divine Beast as he retook the field. As his gaze turned to her, she swallowed and stared back at him, refusing to lose a battle of wills with a monster she'd brought back from the Graveyard. Seeing her determination, Obelisk nodded and suddenly information slammed into her mind, giving her a clue of his true power.
"I summon a second Amazoness Paladin!"
Osiris's second mouth opened instantly, ready to eradicate the Paladin, but in response, she used her Amazoness Onslaught's effect to summon the last Paladin in her deck. With the 200 from the village and the 200 from their own effects, they survived the burst with 100 attack points left.
"And I tribute them to activate Obelisk's effect."
The Paladins turned into light, which flowed into Obelisk, whose blue skin turned red as he swelled to twice his size, his attack points rising and rising until the system could no longer compute them and simply displayed the infinity symbol.
"This duel is over, Yugi. Obelisk, attack Osiris!"
"I activate Magical Hats!"
Five top hats, each with a red question mark upon them arrived on the field. Osiris dove underneath one and then they shuffled until Mai was no longer sure which hat the God card was hidden under.
"I thought traps couldn't target God cards?"
"Enemy traps. Osiris can choose to be affected by mine, like Obelisk could choose to be affected by yours." Yugi grinned at her, shifting excitedly from foot to foot. "So, take your guess. If you hit him, you win."
Mai crossed her arms and scanned the field, trying to see if there were any differences, at all between the hats, but there was nothing. No hint at all as to which hat the giant serpentine god was hiding under.
Behind her, a huge blue stone skinned beast crossed his arms in an echo of the one who'd summoned him, awaiting her order.
The stadium was silent as everyone waited for her choice, knowing that the entire duel rested on this move.
If she missed, Yugi would draw at the start of her next turn and Osiris would have enough attack points to win the duel for the Queen of Games.
If she hit, the Queen of Games would be dethroned.
Mai's hands balled and unballed, her heart racing and her face flushed. This was it, this was the duel she'd been looking for, everything coming down to this last spectacular moment.
"Obelisk! Attack the middle hat!"
The God slammed his fist into the middle hat in a vicious assault that sent shockwaves across the ground and knocked Yugi off of her feet. The trees behind her tumbled over and a crack appeared in the barrier wall.
But nothing else happened.
She'd chosen wrong.
"Nice try." Yugi giggled as she sat up, eyes bright as Obelisk deflated, shimmering through purple back to blue, his attack points returning to his normal 4000.
"Good game." Mai acknowledged the loss as Yugi rose to her feet. "Finish this up so we can let these guys enjoy the rides?"
"Sure. I draw."
With the extra card in her hand, Osiris's attack points grew to 6000, enough to wipe out Obelisk, Mai's lifepoints, and end the duel.
The Divine Beast emerged from the leftmost hat and let out a victory bellow before unleashing its attack upon Obelisk, who, to Mai's surprise, shielded her from his attack with his giant hand before shattering.
"Mutou takes the win! The Queen of Games retains her title and takes home the prize!"
As Osiris faded and the skies cleared, the stadium's roar was deafening. Yugi, who had lost track of the people around them when she had gotten caught up in the duel, startled and glanced around. Mai helped her cover it, by stalking across the field and raising her arm in a victory pump that made the crowd scream louder.
"When I get Ra from Ishtar, it's yours." Mai promised once the trophy and prize money had been delivered, not by a Kaiba, as Yugi would have expected, but by one of their mooks, fireworks shot into the sky and the crowds started to rise to their feet to do as Mai had suggested and enjoy the rides.
"Hopefully that'll be soon." Nerves hit Yugi as she realised that Battle City was over. Meaning the protections the rules had offered them no longer applied.
And Hanaq was still roaming the island.
'I promise, Imoto, I'll stop her.'
'We'll stop her, together.'
Neither said it but they both had the same thought floating through their minds.
'I hope.'
The tournament finalists were halfway back to the blue tunnel, planning to head to the infirmary and plan their next move, when pain slammed into Yugi like a truck.
She screamed and dropped her winnings as her nerves caught fire. Mai rushed forward and supported her as she shuddered, the skies darkened and Shadows flooded out of the corridors, erupting up the sides and splashing up the stands.
Meisa seized control, pushing back at the pain as she held Mai tightly, her eyes and Puzzle glowing as she shielded them both from the tidal wave that'd struck the stadium.
'Our friends!'
The Pharaoh was as concerned as Yugi, but there was nothing she could do right now. She couldn't even lower her shield until the darkness had settled down to a thin layer across the floor and stopped trying to devour their souls.
Like they'd taken the souls of the collapsed people in the stands.
The silence that'd consumed the screams of the crowd was deafening. The cold of the dark realm around them was oppressive and Mai rubbed her arms, trying to get some feeling back into them. The Shadows spanning the sky dimmed the available light, making the world so dark that they couldn't see the upper half of the stadium clearly.
The Pharaoh knew that whatever had happened to cause this, she was in over her head.
"Yugi?" Mai asked as Meisa's shimmering shield faded away and the Shadows lapped at their feet, like waves upon the sand. "What just happened?"
"I don't know." The Pharaoh breathed.
The seal hadn't broken. She knew she would've felt that. It was still cracked beyond repair, and the Shadows were seeping back into this world, but this tidal wave of darkness wasn't because of them or anything they'd done.
She would've blamed Ba-Khu-Ra, but she wasn't capable of making this sort of mess at the moment.
'Harsh but fair.' The fragment of the Thief Queen that was sprawled on the bed in Yugi's soul room chuckled, unnerving Meisa as much as amusing her.
'Oh shush.'
The pain that'd struck so hard had stopped almost as suddenly, like a light switch being thrown. Meisa wished that was reassuring, but previous experience had taught her that the ache only faded when the connection to the one attached to it did, or they were able to heal them.
And since she hadn't been able to do the latter, that only left the former.
As she snatched her phone from her pocket and rang Anzu's number, the questions that wouldn't leave her heart was, who had Ishizu attacked?
And could she get there in time to help?
"Pick up, pick up…"
"Yugi, what the hell?" Jonouchi answered the call.
"Is everyone alright? Where's Anzu?"
"Anzu fumbled her phone in the tidal wave. We're safe, me, Honda, Amane and Anzu, no one else is." Jou's words made her grimace. "I'm guessing the Puzzle bond thing we did's protecting us because our hands are glowing, but everyone else is out like a light."
If it wasn't one of them, then it was someone else she was connected to through the Puzzle. It couldn't be her grandfather, because he wasn't anywhere near Hekigan, so that left only two people.
Both of whom had control over this island.
"Mei?" Jou's tone turned worried, "You alright? That wasn't…"
"No. No, Imoto's alive. This wasn't us. I'm not…"
The Pharaoh trailed off as the sounds of laughter came from the stands. The same voice echoing from the throats of every single soulless form, cackling the same deranged laugh that unbalanced both Duelists in the arena and those who heard it over the phone.
Mai, without a second thought, dragged Meisa behind her, shielding the younger Duelist as best she could, even if they were surrounded.
"Pharaoh!"
Meisa's eyes widened as she recognised the speaker.
"This island. These souls. Your life? It's all mine to do with as I please. In other words? You lose."
"Yugi?" Mai asked quietly.
"Let them go, Hanaq!" Meisa's furious demand just earned her another laugh.
"You have no space to make demands, Pharaoh." The demon's sneer echoed in a round that made both Duelists grit their teeth. "I could have my puppets tear you and your friends limb from limb here and now and it would be oh so satisfying to watch but, after burning the Kaibas alive, I'm feeling nice."
The cursing that emerged from the handset in her hand only matched the churning of Meisa's stomach and the hiss the Mai let out.
The Pharaoh refused to believe it. There was no way Seto and Mokuba were dead. It wasn't possible. She denied it.
And yet she knew it would match with the agony that'd slammed into Imoto.
"So, you have an hour to say your goodbyes before I end you. I'll let you go and give your boyfriend one last kiss. Let you hug your friends one last time. But once my guards come to collect you? Your time is up. You'll pay for everything my people, and the people of Kul Elna went through because of you, and the Shadows will claim this world."
Meisa barely held back her shudder at Hanaq's words. She hadn't been responsible for the creation of the Millennium Items, nor for the creation of the Tomb Keeper tribe. Neither were her fault.
A hint of fury trickled through from both her and Ba-Khu-Ra. Hanaq had no right to claim she was doing anything for Kul Elna, when she'd tried to erase the only survivor, with no care for their tale.
Meisa's stand firmed and she glowered around at the stands, refusing to back down now, when everyone and everything was relying on her.
"If you dare disappoint me? If you try to refuse to surrender to me? Or worse, make me come to you? Everyone you care about dies. Every. Last. One. Slowly, painfully, and I'll make you watch every moment before I end you."
At the threat to her friends, she felt her twin's soul tremble. Her own echoed it as she realised that there wasn't anything she could do to stop Hanaq's threat from coming to pass.
She was trapped. None of them were pilots or sailors. There was no way off of the island. And with every soul, bar those of her friends, under Hanaq's sway, there was no way she would be able to protect everyone forever.
Eventually Hanaq's zombies would get through her spells and any barricades they erected, and her friends would be killed.
Seeing the Pharaoh's posture shift as her furious confidence broke, a snicker erupted from the crowd.
"See you soon."
With that, the bodies of the spectators slumped back down.
Leaving the Duelists to process what had just happened.