Chapter Text
Driving around Domino, the car that Kaiba and Mai had taken was a target that numerous shadowy creatures—ones that the two both recognized.
“Those are Duel Monsters—just as you predicted,” Mai noted. “Look—that’s a Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress, made entirely out of shadows! And that’s a shadow version of Gearfried the Iron Knight!”
“I’m a little busy here!” Kaiba replied, through gritted teeth, as he swerved to avoid Gearfried.
“Luckily for you, I can hold my own against them,” she smirked. “Go, Cyber Harpy!”
She easily dispatched the two errant shadow monsters, but even as they disappeared, more monsters emerged from the shadows—Celtic Guardian and Swordsman of Landstar. They were also no match for her Harpy, but an unpleasant feeling began to well up in her—a feeling that only increased as, following their defeat, Rocket Warrior and Gamma the Magnet Warrior appeared to take their place.
“We seem to be under attack by shadow versions of monsters that belong to Yugi and Wheeler,” Seto noted, voicing exactly what was making her uneasy.
“Whatever the reason, it can’t be good,” she replied, biting her lip.
Two more monsters appeared to take the place of two more that the Cyber Harpy took out—Baby Dragon and Time Wizard. Mai swore aloud, knowing exactly what was coming.
“Cyber Harpy—take out the Time Wizard before it can cast its spell!” she ordered.
She had almost succeeded—but, inches before her claws could reach the Time Wizard, a binding circle appeared around the Harpy, stopping her in her tracks.
“No!”
“Spellbinding Circle,” Kaiba hissed, recognizing it all too well. He slammed the brakes of the car. “I’ll have to summon Blue-Eyes after the Thousand Dragon appears, or else it’ll just get caught in the time warp, too…!”
He trailed off as a red laser beam shot out from afar, striking the Spellbinding Circle and breaking it apart, freeing Cyber Harpy. Able to attack once more, she took out the Time Wizard, and then Baby Dragon with two more swipes of her claws.
Mai breathed a sigh of relief.
“Whatever you did, thanks.”
“…That wasn’t me,” Kaiba replied, just as stunned. “But a laser that destroys trap cards… that’s…”
“Jinzo,” Mai finished. She gasped as the Jinzo that had saved them—one in a proper form and not the shadow version—came out from behind the warehouse it had been hiding behind, and her heart skipped a beat, igniting a spark of hope. “…Joey!?”
“I’m afraid not, Miss Valentine,” the Jinzo spoke aloud in a Southern accent, prompting her to recoil.
“What in the—!?”
“It can’t be…!” Kaiba fumed. “Leichter !?”
“Huh!?” Mai exclaimed, utterly confused. His voice did sound familiar, but she didn’t recognize the name at all.
“And, of course, I am not alone…” Leichter-as-Jinzo said.
He indicated behind him as the Deepsea Warrior, Nightmare Penguin, Judge Man, and Robotic Knight also appeared.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Mr. Kaiba?” Leichter continued.
“Not long enough!” Kaiba shot back. “I thought you five suits were long gone when the virtual world was destroyed! What are you doing in the real world!?”
“Our bodies are, once again, out of our reach,” Gansley sighed, bitterly. “So we had to return as our Deck Masters.”
Mai’s eyes widened, now recalling why their voices were sounding familiar.
“You’re those five creeps with the five-headed dragon!” she accused. “You had me test that virtual world just to prep it for Kaiba—and you were going to just leave me there!”
“Perhaps so, but you did sign a contract,” Johnson mused. “Or did you gloss over the fine print as most of the population tends to do?”
Mai swore at them again.
“Before you rant and rave, my dear, I think we should point out that we just saved your Cyber Harpy,” Crump pointed out.
“And why would you help us?” Kaiba asked, as Mai scowled.
“Because logistics have made one thing quite clear,” Nesbitt said, in his usual monotone. “The time has come for us to work together.”