Love, War, and Magic

(Edge)

Our story begins in the big urban area of Battle City. Seto Kaiba, a teenage billionaire, arranged a special tournament to be held. Everyone in the city,possibly everyone in the world,knew the stuff Kaiba liked to do. He was the undisputed king of games,that is,until a high school boy named Yugi Muto defeated him. Kaiba,filled with rage,was ready to do anything to reclaim his title.Yugi,who is normally a shy and weak person,has a dark side in him. Yami,the ancient pharoh that is a gambler and hardcore game player,often fights Yugi's battles for him. He is summoned by the Millenium Puzzle,one of the seven Millenium items. Much conflict has been happening over these items,and some owners would kill others to gain the power of the items. Yugi and the help of his friends stopped one of these killers,the future seeing Maximillion Pegusus. When the events were over,everyone had time to rest.

Joey Wheeler [Jonouchi Kazuya in japanese version] was laying on the couch of his living room. His sister Serenity was having eye surgery that could help save her from blindness,so he was home alone. Memories flashed in his head about everything that happened. The first time he learned how to play Duel Monsters,the duels he had on the island, winning the Red Eyes Black Dragon card,the duel that earned him the money for Serenity's surgery, and the downfall of Pegusus,thanks to the help of him and his friends. He also remembered Mai,the beautiful blonde that he met during the events. Suprisingly,even though she was a pro at Duel Monsters,she lost to him due to dumb luck.

"Dang! Now that the freak Pegusus is gone and Serenity is in the hospital,I'm bored out of my mind!" Joey shouted to himself. Just then,he heard a doorbell. When he went to answer it,he saw 3 men in business suits and sunglasses standing there.

"Ahhh!! Its those Matrix robots!!" Joey yelled. Obviously these were just some of Kaiba's lackeys,but late night movies and gallons of Mountain Dew can make someone a bit slow in the head.

"We are here from Kaiba Corporation to invite you to the Battle City Tournament. All you need to do is find your opponents and eliminate them. The Kaibas will be keeping an eye on you,so don't worry about what happens" one of the businessmen said. The other ones were whispering to themselves

"I can't believe the boss wants this idiot in the tourney" one of the men whispered.

"Yeah,but orders are orders. It'll be an easy win" the other guy said.

"No freakin' way! I just got home from another off-the-wall tournament with Kaiba in it,and now I'm bein' drawn out to another? No way I'm going!" Joey yelled at the first guy. The stress and adrenaline was enough in that tournament to give anyone a seizure,and there was no way in hell he would be going through that again.

"Of course you will be crowned 'King of Games' and be financially compensated for winning this event" the first person said. There had to be a cache to this,but Joey was a bit slowminded and couldn't figure it out. The fame and money was just too much to turn down.

"Alwight,you got yourself a player,but there better not be any soul stealing this time!" Joey said. With that,the businessmen left. As they walked away,one of them pressed the radio transmitter in his ear.

"Sir,we have the final participant in the tournament" he said like he was an Agent,or a Secret Service worker.

"Excellent. Arrange for them to meet each other and go into battle. When the finalists are decided,meet me at the battle blimp" Kaiba said,a hint of satisfaction in his voice. He turned off the connection from him to the radio and sat back in the presidental chair in his office at Kaiba Corporation.

"Soon,I will not only be King of Games again,but I will have the millenium items and the 'God Cards'! This plan is fullproof!" he shouted aloud. He had one of god cards,Oblesk the Tormenter,but he wanted them all to have the most fearsome deck in the world.

Joey sat back on the couch and started watching another episode of Sealab 2021 when the doorbell rang again.

"Oh jeez,what now!" he mumbled as he went to the door. It was a pleasant suprise. His friends, Yugi, Tea [Anzu],Tristan [Honda],and Bakura were there.

"Hiya Joey! Mind if we come in?" Tea asked cheerfully. Of course he let them in. Bakura saw the TV and was dumbfounded that sensless violence and stupidity was considered entertaining. Tristan was raiding the kitchen as usual,and Yugi and Tea sat down on the couch.

"Did you by any chance get an invintation from Kaiba today?" Yugi asked.

"As a matter of fact I did,and seeing as your at the top of that freak's hitlist,you were invited too." Joey said with a smirk.

"Thats strange,because I got an invintation as well" Bakura said,his eyes focused on the TV. Seems sensless humor can attract just about anyone.

"Just what is Kaiba up to this time" Tristan asked them. Kaiba wasn't some cheezy anime villain that hatches halfbaked schemes that fail every time. He was a genious that devastated people with his plans and ideas. A tournament like this usually means trouble.

"Maybe this is just Kaiba's chance at getting his glory again" Tea said.

"I highly doubt it. If he wanted to be King of Games again,he'd have only challenged Yugi" Bakura said.

"Maybe he wants the Millenium Items like Pegusus did" Yugi said. It did seem like a possibility.

"If thats the case,then why was I dragged into it?" Joey asked.

"This isn't making any sense." Tristan said. For the rest of the night they were hanging out,discussing Duel Monsters, talking about high school, stuff like that. When day finally came,the tournament began.

It seemed like a simple Dual Monsters tournament,but there was the strange appearance of a gang that was said to be running around and terrorizing people. The leader of these people was unknown for now,but there was a strange suspision going around. This gang was known as the Ghouls,and their hobby was stealing rare cards. Yugi and Joey had already defeated 3 of them,and were starting to think about where these guys were coming from.

"Any idea whos the ringleader of these freaks? You think Kaiba is behind this?" Joey asked.

"No way. This isn't his style. Someone else is behind all this" Yugi said. The two of them went back home to rest when Yugi saw a strange note on his door. It read "Pharoh,the end is near. Yours truely,Master Marik". Yugi didn't know who this Marik guy is,but Yami sure did.

"Yugi,watch out. Marik is a monster of a person and a master of dueling. He has never lost a match." Yami told him. Usually when Yami gives advice,it is something of dire importance,so Yugi heeded the warning. Joey met up with his sister Serenity,who now had perfect vision.

"Hey sis,hows it goin'?" he asked,a big smile on his face.

"I'm doing great! I heard you made it to the finals. I knew you'd do it." Serenity said. "I'm going to be there cheering you on!" she said as she hugged him.

"Take it easy. I'm going up against the top of the league,so I ain't gettin my hopes up about bringing home the gold. Thats usually Yugi's job". He said. Serenity was a bit hurt by this. She had a lot of faith in him,yet he lacked confidence,which is very unlike him.

"Don't say that Joey. I havn't seen your ego get deflated like this since when you were in junior high." she said. That was back in the day when Joey was nothing more than a friendless thug that never had plans in life.

"Never had a date,never will" he said with a bit of laughter. Serenity couldn't help but giggle. He was always bad with girls,except for her and Tea.

"Who knows bro. You might find someone special and fall in love." she said with sparkles in her eyes. Joey laughed again

"$10 says that'll never happen." he remarked. She smiled and gave a nod.

"Your on!".

The next day,the finalists met at Kaiba Corporation's rooftop,where the battle blimp awaited. Yugi,Joey,Bakura,Kaiba,a mysterious new friend who calls himself Nabu,Mai Valentine,and an unknown person.

"Whats your name?" Kaiba asked him. For a little bit,the man didn't talk,but when he did,it was a response that sent chills down everyone's spine.

"My name.........is Marik!" he said in a low tone. Everyone except Kaiba and his workers gasped and stared at him.

"So this is the Marik I've heard so much about. Well,in any case,welcome to my ship. The same goes for all of you. As a request from my brother,you are all allowed to attend this event." he said aloud. Normally,only the finalists were allowed onboard the ship,but Mokuba,Kaiba's little brother,asked if their friends could come along. Yugi saved Mokuba's life from Pegusus,so it was sort of like repaying a debt.

"There are 7 finalists,but in the end there will be only one king of...." before Kaiba could finish,Mai gave him a dirty look,so he corrected himself "King,or queen of games and win the grand prize of 10 million dollars.". Joey and Mai began to think about the money,but all Yugi wanted was to defeat Marik. As for Bakura,him becoming evil might be of problem,but it was nothing he hasn't faced before,and Nabu didn't seem like much of a threat. After the introduction,they stepped onto the blimp and settled in. The ship took off and the fight was about to begin.

It was lottery drawing that decided the match order. Sure enough,Joey ended up against Marik in the first round.

"There goes my prize money!" Joey said to himself in anger. Kaiba gave out a laugh.

"A shame,and I wanted to crush this monkey myself"he said. Monkey jokes are what gets to Joey more than anything,so this made him furious. A loud yell of cursing later,he had to be dragged into the guest room to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"I wish Kaiba would loosen up. Its like all he knows is fury and hatred." Tea said.

"Yeah,that would be cool. Then he could feel fear" Tristan remarked.

"Hey guys,we should direct our attention to the matter of Marik instead of talking about Kaiba." Yugi said.

"I could duel this guy,and even if I do lose,we'd at least know what kind of deck hes packing. Better than nothing. Hey,I might even get lucky out there and beat this guy!" Joey said. Now wasn't the time to be negative about this. If there was any hope of beating Marik,it had to be done with pure thoughts and a positive attitude.

"Thats the spirit!" Serenity said.

In the other guest room,Mai sat alone on the bed. She remember the day on the island when she lost to Joey over a simple effect. The Time Wizard card saved him many times,which isn't much news to Joey,but to her it was devastating. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Other than a loss to Yugi and a forefit to Tea,she had never lost a duel in her life. It was the defeat by Joey that meant the most to her,and she would never let herself forget it. This was all starting to really bother her.

"Damnit Wheeler! Why do you keep messing with me like this?" she asked herself. Deep down,she had a feeling inside for him that she just didn't know and couldn't explain. All of her life she knew only how to be alone,and the thought of having feelings of someone else was new to her,and for most of mankind,new means scary. It was evident she was afraid of her emotions,so she decided to get some early sleep.

"Maybe some rest will ease my mind." she said before laying back and closing her eyes,falling into a deep sleep.

In a short amount of time,it was time to duel. Joey and Marik went to the top level of the ship,were the Duel Monster arena awaited. Yugi and friends were at ringside,watching.

"Alwight Marik! Lets see what your made of!" Joey shouted. Marik had a cold look on his face,no hatred or anything. He was more emotionless than even Kaiba.

"Trust me. This will be an event you will never forget." Marik said slowly. The duel began and each of them were planning a strategy. Joey had more of an offensive style while Marik had all magic and trap cards (I don't remember much of the duels,so bare with me). Every time Joey would try to make a move,Marik had an effect to either stop him,or cause damage to his life points. This began to anger Joey even worse than the monkey jokes.

"Is there any way to beat this guy!?" Joey yelled out in anger. Everyone was watching in excitement except for Kaiba. He was studying Marik's strategy. Using almost no monsters and having mass amounts of magic and trap cards was a tactic he has never seen before,and it was working. When Mai finally woke up,she looked at her watch,her eyes going wide.

"I'm late!" she shouted and ran down to the arena. The sky was turning pitch black and there was a dark aura that everyone could feel.

"Whats going on?" Yugi asked himself. He looked next to him to see Bakura become possesed again. The darkness was just too much for the poor guy. The now evil Bakura began to laugh

"I never thought it was possible,but we are in the Shadow Realm itself." he told them. It was then that Mai finally reached the battlefield. When Joey saw her,as if fate had decided this,had drawn the trump card he needed to win,and he did just that.

"No way....I defeated Marik!" he yelled in happiness as he dropped to his knees. Everyone was dumbfounded at this,even Kaiba.

"The monkey actually did it?" he asked himself,about ready to puke from shock. Nabu stepped forward,an angry look on his face.

"How dare you fail me Odion! You know the penalty for failure." Nabu said. The sky began to thunder.

"Master Marik,please,have mercy on me!" Odion said,a deep look of fear in his eyes. It turns out that the Marik they thought they defeated was only the right hand man. And to make matters worse,Nabu was the real Marik all along. Who knows why he did that,but everyone's best guess was that it was for infiltration purposes. Joey and his friends felt sorry for poor Odion. He may have been acting evil,but he was put up to it and is now about to die for it. The real Marik made the thunder worse and out of instinct, Joey ran over to him to get him out of danger.

"Look out!" he shouted as he ran to Odion. Right as he was able to knock him out of the way,a massive lightning bolt came down and hit both of them. Joey and Odion screamed in pain as the dark electricity surged through their bodies. When the lightning finally faded,they collapsed to the ground,out cold. Mai gasped and ran up there to save them.

"Someone help!" she yelled to the crowd down below. Tristan and Tea came up and helped Mai take the injured duelists to the medical ward. Yugi,shocked and frustrated by this,morphed into Yami and approached Marik.

"How could you do that to your own partner?" he asked,about ready to explode from anger. Marik merely laughed.

"I was counting on revealing everything in the final round when I defeated you,Pharoh,but the best suprises are the ones that get you completely off guard."Marik said.

"What do you plan to accomplish from all this?" Yami asked. Marik gave another laugh.

"I plan to obtain the God Cards and take the title as pharoh from you,and theres no one out there than can stop me." Marik said. Yami could punch his lights out,but that wouldn't solve anything,so he grit his teeth and walked to the medical ward.

"Are they ok?" Yami asked. Everyone was concerned,well,everyone there at least,but the biggest shocker was Mai. She was kneeling at his bedside and holding his hand,tears in her eyes. Serenity was standing at the other side of the bed,equally saddened.

"Damn that Marik! How could he be so heartless?" Tristan asked,his eyes watering and his hands balled into a fist. They talked for awhile,thinking of a plan to get through this alive. Mai was just talking to Joey,knowing he couldn't respond.

"Please get better. I still owe you for the duels we went through. You inspired me to improve on my skills,improvements that got me to the finals. Don't leave me Joey! I....I....I..I love you!" she said to him. Everyone turned their attention to the now fully crying Mai. Serenity walked over to her,ready to cry as well.

"Don't worry. I know my brother,and hes very strong. He'll be ok" she said,hugging her. Kaiba then entered the room,looking at them with an unsympathetic look on his face.

"When you all stop crying over Wheeler,I'd like to see you at the arena. Mai will have the honor of facing Nab..I mean Marik."he said.

"For the love of god Kaiba! Can't you just show a little bit of respect in times like these?" Tea asked. Kaiba stepped forward and got a closer look at Joey.

"The only thing I regret is not being the one to do this to him. The pitiful monkey would have been fine if he stayed put,but as I always said before,he is too weak and will always be the one under me."he said. Mai stood up and was about ready to explode in rage.

"Wait and see Kaiba. You'll pay for your attitude problem,even if I have to do it myself!" she shouted at him. Kaiba broke out laughing hysterically in a maniacal tone.

"Valentine,the only way you'll ever have enough power to make me do anything is if we are in an alternate universe."he said as he pushed her back with one arm,his laughter gone and a look of anger on his face. He walked off and waited at the arena.

"Mai,I'm sorry that all this happened. Mark my words,Marik will not get away with this." Yami said to cheer her up. She knelt down and kisses Joey on the cheek before walking to the arena. Everyone else followed. It was sad really,that a girl has to be the first person to face the legendary evil. Marik stood there,holding in his hands a golden staff. He began to glow gold,his hair spiking up and his face looking demented.

"Well well,it seems this pretty little girl is my first victim" Marik said,his voice evil and echoeing. Mai was afraid,very afraid. This monster almost killed his own partner,as well as her friend.

"I wish I was stronger,that way I can save my friends from him" she thought to herself. With that,the duel began.

Joey Wheeler layed there on the medical bed,resting away. Odion took more of the attack than he did,but his life was saved by Joey's selfless actions. During his sleep,Joey began to have a dream. In the dream,he was standing in a room of endless white.

"Weird. I wonder if I can summon weapons like in that movie." he said,amazed by this. For a while he walked around before a strange shadow appeared,forming into the Red Eyes Black Dragon. The dragon stepped over to Joey and looked down.

"Woah! My cards have been manifested in flesh form" he said,not really grasping the seriousness of this situation.

"You have two options. Do you desire power,or do you desire the person closest to you to have power?" the dragon asked. Joey began to think for a bit before giving his answer.

"Having power and all that would be great and all,but if my friends had it I wouldn't have much to worry about. They'd put it to better use than I would." he said,a laid back yet sincere expression on his face.

"So be it...."the dragon said before it was vaporized by a blue light. The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon now stood there alongside Winged Dragon Ra. Joey backed away in fear,not knowing what to do. These were the best monsters around,and a human was no match for its power.

"You made a foolish choice Wheeler" the Blue dragon said.

"You gave up eternal power just for your pitiful friends. They will forget you and leave you to die at our hands." Ra said. The two dragons then power up a massive blast,enough to make an office building collapse. Joey stopped backing away and lowered his head. He could have ran off,but what good would it do? Its best to go out in honor than in shame.

"It don't matter,as long as my friends are alright. If I have to be the sacrifice to make sure their ok,then I got no regrets. Come on and finish me off!" Joey said,ready to die. The dragons fired their beams,but Odion appeared in front of him. The blast didn't do any damage to him at all.

"My favor has been repayed. Thank you for what you have done,Joey Wheeler." he said. Odion then disappeared and the dragons were about to attack again when an even more powerful ray of light hit the dragons,vaporizing them instantly. This almost made Joey wet himself.

"Looks like someone else wants me dead" he said to himself. Above him,he heard a thundering voice.

"YOU THINK I'D HURT YOU LIKE THAT? I'M REALLY DISAPPOINTED." the voice said. It took awhile for Joey to realize it,but that voice was Mai.

"Mai,is that you?" he asked.

"YES,YES IT IS. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME,BUT ITS TIME FOR YOU TO WAKE UP. I'LL BE WAITING,MY DEAREST JOEY...." Mai said.

"What do you mean by that?" Joey asked. The dream soon started to fade and he woke up.

"Oh no! The tournament!" he shouted as he got out of bed and ran to the arena.

Even though he got there as fast as he could,it was too late. Marik's Winged Dragon Ra had defeated all of Mai's monsters and was about to launch its final attack. Joey jumped up into the battlefield and ran to Mai. He got in front of her as Ra fired a golden beam of light at them. He was immediatly knocked back,but he was still awake.

"Joey!!" everyone shouted. Marik laughed evily and commanded Ra to fire again. The blast came toward Mai and hit her head on,sending her to Joey's side. She was hurt far worse than he was from the attacks. He knelt down beside her and held her in his arms.

"Damnit! I'm too late! I'm sorry I failed you Mai. Please be ok" he said to her. Marik sighed and listened to them. Yami was shocked and furious about all this and was about ready to do something about it when Marik's magic staff began glowing.

"The future.......its so bright..." Mai slowly said as the once black sky began glowing gold.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kaiba asked as he talked into the radio at his side.

"I don't know. These scanning are going off the charts!" said his brother Mokuba. Things were getting more confusing.

"Marik,is this another one of your tricks?!" Yami asked him. Marik was dumbfounded by this. His once evil look was now replaced by shock and even fear.

"I...I..I don't know! This isn't one of my doings!" he yelled.

"We have to get out of here!" Tea shouted.

"Its no use. The shadow realm is deciding our destiny" Odion said as he walked into the arena. His movements were slow,since he was still injured. Everyone saw a flash of gold before everything faded....

The next thing everyone saw was a vast forest. Everyone seemed to be there and in one piece,except for Mai,who was nowhere to be found. Yami had went back to normal Yugi,but Marik and Bakura stayed the same. They looked around and traveled for a bit,but they didn't seem to find anything.

"How about we split up,and meet back later?" Serenity suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea." Tristan said. They then went into two teams. The first one was Yugi,Tristan,Tea,Serenity,and Odion. The second was Joey, Kaiba, Marik,Bakura,and Mokuba. They searched the lands for hours until nightfall came.

"This is like that dream I had. Maybe it wasn't a dream." Joey said to himself. It was something he should have kept to himself,because this made everyone else in the group really,really,really mad.

"You mean to tell me....you had something to do with this Wheeler?" Kaiba asked.

"Um..I don't really know. I guess so....I mean.." Joey tried to talk,but this was too much for them to take. Marik and Bakura held Joey's arms while Kaiba punched him around. Mokuba just sat by and watched. 20 minutes later,Joey was on the ground,his face bleeding badly.

"Seto stop! Hes had enough!" Mokuba yelled. Kaiba gave a slow nod

"Yeah,I think I shouldn't punch him around anymore." he said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a switchblade.

"Any last words,monkey boy?" he asked. Suddenly,there was a shadow over them. Mokuba,Bakura,and Marik were staring into the sky,their eyes wide. Joey was down on his stomach and Kaiba was looking at him,so they didn't notice.

"PUT THAT KNIFE DOWN,NOW!!!!" a voice thundered. Kaiba didn't know what it was,so he didn't change his attitude.

"I take orders from no one,you hear....." he was about to finish when he turned around and saw the one thing he'd never though he'd. There Mai was,standing 300ft tall and looking down at them. Kaiba immediatly dropped the blade. No one was talking for quite a bit until Joey broke the silence.

"Huh? Whats going on?" he asked.

"You might want to stand and look up." Bakura said. Joey got up right away and inclined his head. When he found out it was Mai,he almost wet himself.

"Mai....is it really you?" he asked,his face in total shock. She knelt down and took a closer look at them.

"YES JOEY,ITS ME. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" she asked. He thought for a moment before responding.

"I'm not sure if you got bigger or if we got smaller,but I'm sure...." he was about to finish when he was cut off.

"NOT THAT, STUPID. I MEAN YOUR FACE. YOUR COVERED IN BLOOD!" she said,very concerned. Kaiba began to turn pale,fearing for his life for the first time ever. Bakura and Marik merely stepped back and hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Everything was fine until Kaiba went nuts and punched me around. Nothin' I ain't used to really." Joey said. Now Mai was mad. She gave a threatening glare at Kaiba,which at her normal size would only make him laugh,but now it scared the life out of him.

"YOU DARE HARM MY DEAREST JOEY?!" she asked him. Kaiba nodded and backed against a tree.

"Please Mai...please don't kill me!" he yelled,tears forming in his eyes. It wasn't the fear of death that got him,it was the fact that all his taunting and harassment has come back to haunt him. Mai wasn't satisfied though. She reached over and grabbed him,holding him to eye level with her.

"I SAID I'D MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVERYTHING KAIBA,AND I MEANT IT. YOU MADE ME MAD BEFORE,BUT THEN YOU HAD THE NERVE TO HIT MY BOYFRIEND AROUND?!". she yelled at him,her voice hurting his head.

"Please Mai,have mercy on him! He can change,I know it. I already lost my parents,and losing my brother would be too much. Please Mai,forgive him." Mokuba pleaded. She saw the fear and sadness in their eyes,so she sighed and placed Kaiba back down on the ground.

"ALRIGHT,YOU MAY LIVE,BUT I'M GOING TO ESTABLISH SOME GROUND RULES. FIRST OFF,I AM IN CHARGE OF WHAT GOES ON UNTIL WE GET BACK HOME. SECONDLY,NO ONE HARMS JOEY IN ANY WAY. LASTLY,I WANT YOU TO SIGN OVER ALL OF YOUR ASSETS OF KAIBA CORP. TO ME." she said.

"Yes,anything you want!" Kaiba said,hoping to make her happy.

"GOOD." she smiled and licked the tip of her finger,cleaning the blood off of Joey's face. She then took notice to Marik and Bakura,who tried to sneak away.

"OH NO YOU DON'T! I DIDN'T FORGET WHAT YOU TWO PSYCHOS DID TO ME.......THANKS!"she said as she smiled greater. It was Marik's magic and the power of the Shadow Realm that caused all this to begin with,so she had to thank him.

"Now we need to find the others. I bet Yugi and the others will be stoked when they find out what happened." Joey said. As he began to walk off,Mai scooped him up and placed him in her shirt pocket.

"Thanks,girlfriend." Joey said. As for the others,she placed them in the pocket of her shorts. She walked around the forest,being careful not to step on anything of importance,and making doubly sure not to step on Yugi and the others.

Yugi and his team were at a nearby lake,setting up camp. They still had no idea where they were,and they felt very bad for letting Joey tag along with Marik.

"I hope hes ok. What if something bad happened?" Serenity asked. Tristan walked to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your brother is a tough person,so I know he'll be fine. Don't worry." He said,hoping to ease her thoughts. Tea was sitting at the edge of the water next to Yugi,watching the sunset. When they looked into the water,they saw the water ripple a bit,but then it got worse,and eventually the ground started shaking.

"An earthquake can't happen in this area. Somethings not normal,I can feel it" Yugi said. The next thing they saw was a massive boot step into the ground,almost crushing any one of them.

"OOPS. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT! IS EVERYONE OK?" Mai asked. Just like Kaiba and the others,they were staring at her in awe. Odion was the only one not staring. It was because of him that she found them. When they first set up camp,he made a big fire which caused the smoke to be seen clearly from Mai's height. Serenity and Tea were more afraid than ever until Joey stuck his head out of Mai's pocket.

"Hey everyone! Great view up here!" he shouted in happiness. Mai set everyone on the ground and sat down at the edge of the lake,which to her is like a small swimming pool.

"I SEE EVERYONE IS ALRIGHT." Mai said as she looked down at all of them. Yugi walked over to her and asked what happened to her.

"IT WAS MARIK'S MAGIC THAT CROSSED WITH THE EFFECTS OF THE SHADOW REALM AND DID THIS TO ME. I REALLY LIKE IT." she explained. She also talked about what she did to Kaiba and how he cried like a baby. This made everyone,even Bakura and Odion laugh. Mai gathered fish from the lake and fruit from the forest which would be enough to feel a village,but it was only enough for a small snack for her and dinner for the rest of the people. Nightfall came and everyone went to sleep except Joey. He walked out into the forest and looked into the stars,as if something was on his mind. Mai soon joined him.

"WHY AREN'T YOU ASLEEP JOEY? YOU NEED REST FOR TOMARROW." she told him.

"I'll come and sleep soon. I just got some stuff to think about." he said.

"REALLY? WHATS ON YOUR MIND?" she asked. Joey felt kind of awkward,but he said it anyway.

"When we were on that blimp,and I was unconscious,I had a dream you were like this. I have so much feeling for you,and I didn't know how to say it at first since I was never too good with the ladies. When I saw what Marik did to you,I didn't know what to do." he said.

"JOEY,I REMEMBER THE DAY YOU DEFEATED ME FOR THE FIRST TIME. I WAS DEVASTATED,BUT I SOON LEARNED THATS WHAT I NEEDED. I LEARNED THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP FROM YOU,AND AT FIRST I THOUGHT OF YOU AS A FRIEND,BUT NOW I LOVE YOU DEEPER THAN THAT." she said to him. His heart was racing now. The girl he fell in love with on Kaiba's ship is even more loving now that shes a giantess.

"I love you too Mai,and I always will." he said. She smiled and softly kissed him before picking him up and taking him back to camp. Elsewhere,on the other side of the lake,Marik,Bakura,and Kaiba were talking things over.

"Ok,she made a total mockery of us,so now what do we do?" Marik asked.

"I'm not sure if we should get revenge guys. Maybe this is a sign or something." Kaiba said,his voice a bit timid.

"I hate to say it Kaiba,but you've gone soft" Marik said in a taunting tone.

"Yeah,I may be soft,but I'd rather be soft than be dead." Kaiba said before returning to camp,getting some sleep.

"There is a way to destroy Mai,but I will need your cooperation in order to do it." Bakura said.

"Tell me what you have in mind. My Millenium Rod stopped working when I defeated Mai in the duel" Marik said.

"With the power of my Millenium Ring,I can bring any monster to life and use it under my control. I can use all three of the God monsters and send her to oblivion! All I need is your Ra,Kaiba's Oblesk,and Yugi's Slypher. I trust you know pickpocket skills." Bakura explained. The plan was in set,and all Marik needed to do was be quick and stealthly. Mai was still at the lake with Joey,getting her feet wet since the water wasn't that deep to her. The rest of them were asleep,so getting the cards wouldn't be much trouble. Marik sneaked over to the sleeping Kaiba and slipped his hands into the jacket pocket,taking out his Duel Monster deck.

"Like taking candy from a wuss" Marik said to himself as he walked to Yugi,taking his cards as well. When he returned to Bakura,the cards were sorted out so that all three god cards were ready for summoning.

"Excellent! Now we have everything we need." Bakura said. He began to use the power of the Millenium Ring and brought the 3 monsters to life.

Oblesk,Slypher,and Ra emerged from their cards and roared loudly,waking everyone up. Yugi and the others looked on in horror as Bakura and Marik started laughing.

"I guess you were right Yugi. Teamwork does accomplish things!" Bakura said.

"This ends here,Pharoh!" Marik said. They could have killed them then and there,but they had another idea on their minds.

"How about we destroy that overgrown Mai first? She is the one who crushed Kaiba's spirit,so it will be a pleasure to send her into oblivion." Bakura suggested. Marik nodded and smiled. Bakura commanded the monsters to travel to the other end of the lake where Mai and Joey were having their first date,even though it was just talking under a full moon.

"Please,give Joey and Mai the strength to overcome evil." Serenity said,praying for their safety.

Mai and Joey were talking about their plans in life. She wanted to be a champion duelist and have lots of money. Well,one out of two isn't bad. There was no way a girl at her size could even hold a card anymore,let alone play. Joey suggested that she become the worlds greatest tourist attraction,and the idea made her laugh a bit. The two teenagers were so deeply in love,nothing can seperate them,well,except for 3 monsters heading toward them.

"WHAT THE? RA,OBLESK,AND SLYPHER ARE ALIVE?!" she asked to herself. Joey stepped back,afraid.

"My worst fears have manifested into living creatures!" Joey yelled as he tried to run away,but Mai quickly snatched him.

"IF YOU RUN,YOU WON'T GET TOO FAR BEFORE YOUR HUNTED. STAY WITH ME!" she told him. Bakura and Marik climbed off their dragons and looked at them.

"I never did get to finish you off,miss Valentine. I will have Wheeler torn limb from limb,and then I will have you vaporized." Marik calmly said. This drove Mai into a fury as she balled her fist and gave them a glare. No one threatens her Joey,especially when all that power has made her overprotective. Joey was a bit afraid,but this wasn't anything he hasn't dealt with before. He knew the best he could do is cheer on from the sidelines. Mai stood up and got into a battle stance.

"LETS END THIS LITTLE BATTLE,SHALL WE?" she asked. Bakura and Marik nodded and the dragons took flight while Oblesk stayed on the ground. Slypher fired a blast at her,but it only knocked her back. Oblesk got behind her and fired his beam,and since she was off guard,it packed a little sting.

"OWW" she winced in pain as Ra soared above her,powering another blast. The formation was a triangle,so she couldn't block or dodge all of the attacks. Joey was starting to have memories of the dream as he was placed in her shirt pocket. Attack after attack hit her,and she was running out of options,but when all hope was lost, Kaiba was standing not too far away,wishing her luck. Soon Yugi was there,as well as Tea,and Mokuba,and everyone else.

"You can do it Mai! We believe in you!" Serenity shouted.

"Yeah. We believe in you!" Kaiba said

"Use the power within and vanquish your enemy." Odion said. The inspiration was calming her spirit and helping her focus. She knew she needed strategy to get through this. Yugi used his mind to get through all of his battles,even when he was outnumbered or outpowered,and this situation with Mai was no different. Alone,she could destroy any one of these monsters easily,but all three of them was just too much to handle. Plan of action was set: Isolate and destroy. After telling the others to stay put,Mai ran into the forest. Obviously she was followed. She wanted to make sure she had enough time to fight each one individual monster. As she ran,she suddenly turned around and leapt into the air,swatting at Slypher. The red dragon was knocked back from her attack and as she landed on the ground,she landed a heel kick into Oblesk. While Slypher was trying to get back and fight,Mai was slapping and punching Oblesk around. Ra got behind her from a distance and powered up a blast with everything it has.

"Mai,look out!" Joey shouted as he noticed the golden glow behind them. The blast came right for her,but now that Mai knew of the attack,she grabbed Oblesk and turned around,using it as a shield. The monster was vaporized immediatly. One down,two to go.

"THANKS LOVE!" Mai said,knowing Joey's help saved her life back there.

"No problem. Now,how do we deal with two airborne dragons?" he asked himself. Marik and Bakura,who were riding their dragons,were shocked that she was able to destroy one of the monsters.

"We'll have to outmanuver her and attack when she doesn't expect." Marik suggested. There was not much they could do at this point,so they flew their dragons around her,circling and confusing her. She tried her best to attack,but they would only dodge.

"THIS ISN'T WORKING. I'M GETTING DIZZY!"she complained as they unleashed attack after attack. It was soon too much for her as a blast in the stomach from Slypher sent her back and into the ground,flattening any trees that were unfortunate enough to get caught in her fall. She closed her eyes and layed there motionless.

"I finally did it! I have destroyed Mai!" Bakura shouted in happiness as he landed his dragon.

"No! Mai,please get up! You can't give up!" Joey pleaded. Bakura landed his dragon and hopped off,laughing evily. It was then that Mai suddenly oppened her eyes and stood up,stomping Slypher with full force. The creature vaproized on impact.

"It can't be! Slypher! Slypher!" Bakura shouted in agony. Mai let out a giggle,feeling very happy from all this.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE POSSUM TRICK WORKED. ONE OF YOUR OLD TRICKS,RIGHT JOEY? ANYWAY,ALL I HAVE TO DO IS CRUSH THAT PUNK MARIK AND THIS'LL ALL BE OVER." she said,a wide smile on her face. She turned around to face Ra,but because she was too busy fighting Slypher,she forgot about the chance Marik was powering up an attack. The blast from Ra came right at her and slammed her in the chest,hitting her hard and injuring Joey as well. He was out cold again,almost in a coma. Mai looked at him in horror and broke down into tears. She had her own pain,but she ignored it as she looked at Joey.

"NO! HOW COULD I LET THIS HAPPEN?!" she screamed to herself. Marik let out a sigh. Even if he did fail,at least he got rid of one of his enemies. He figured one more attack would finish her off. She heard Joey's voice in her head.

"Don't give up my love. I know you have it in you,and all you need is to find that special power deep inside. Your special and I know you can do it. Do it for me,for Yugi,for Serenity,for all our friends,and most importantly,do it for yourself and all the people counting on you."the voice said. She was still in self doubt and sorrow,but she was now turning this into determination and focus. She looked toward Ra,which had another massive blast ready. The beam was fired and it came toward her,but before impact,she stuck her hand out and fired a beam of her own. It was flashing purple,just like in the dream. She let out a scream as the beam immediatly overpowered Ra's.

"This is impossible!!! No one is stronger than the Gods!!!!" Marik yelled in disbelief.

"YOUR RIGHT MARIK. NO ONE IS STRONGER,BUT THE POWER OF LOVE,FRIENDSHIP,AND TRUST CAN DESTROY ANY EVIL. I'M ASHAMED IT TOOK YOU THIS LONG TO FIGURE THAT OUT. SEE YOU IN OBLIVION!!!!" Mai screamed as the blast vaporized both Ra and Marik in a single flash of light. He didn't even have time to scream or make a vow of revenge.

"ITS OVER....ITS FINALLY OVER." Mai said as she took Joey out of her pocket and placed him on the ground.She let some tears fall to the ground as she looked at him.

"FORGIVE ME JOEY. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHIELD YOU OR SOMETHING. I'M SORRY JOEY,I'M SO SORRY..." as Mai kept talking,Joey sat up.

"Oww,my head." he said groggily. Mai smiled cheerfully and hugged him as carefully as she could. Yugi and the others soon came by,breathing heavily.

"Man you covered some distance Mai. You had to have ran 5 miles in only a minute!" Tristan said,exhausted.

"I'M REALLY SORRY GUYS. I ENDED THE THREAT OF MARIK ONCE AND FOR ALL." Mai said with a smile. The towering giantess had saved the day. Bakura walked up to them,now back in his good self again.

"Hello everyone. How did I end up out in the middle of nowhere?" he asked,very confused about all of this. Everyone laughed playfully and enjoyed the rest of the night.

When everyone returned to Battle City,Mai needed a new place to stay. The effects of her being 300ft was pernament,so she had to live with this somehow. As promised,Kaiba gave up all the assets of his company and gave the money to Mai. With 150 Billion dollars,she bought a house for herself on a nearby island and had enough for plenty of food and clothes to last the lifetime.Kaiba was a changed man now. Without corruption,he became happy and playful. This means that Mokuba finally got the big brother he always wanted.Yugi was very shocked to find that the Kaiba brothers were his new neighbors. The love between Mai and Joey became greater over time,and they were eventually married.Mai was not seen as a freak for her size,but was rather respected since she was gentle and fun to be around. Battle City loved her. The Duel Monsters game nearly went out for good,but one person revived the game. His name,Maximillion Pegusus. There will always be evil in this world,but Joey,Mai,Yugi,and even Kaiba will rise to the challenge and fight to make this world a better place.

END