A/N: Part One for arizonaicerose. I slightly cringe away from this. This fanfic is a sort of prelude that opens up to another one, the main one. I used the episode and went word-for-word on dialogue and such. And, added in some Mai-esque thoughts plus the actual confrontation between her and Raphael. This is set during Season Four, right after Joey loses his soul. Part Two will be published immediately after this one. Anyways, this is an offering ofr arizonaicerose's bid to help the Oil Spill Relief Project over at a community at LiveJournal.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! DM.

Warnings: The pairing, or main pairing, expressed is Mai and Joey. Spoilers for Season Four. And probable typos.

Forget and Be Content, part I
For: arizonaicerose
By: Nuit Songeur

"Joey! No!" exclaimed Mai as she was shoved away from him. The necklace around her neck snapped and fell to the pavement. The gem it contained instantly shattered. Mai felt suddenly cleared, her anger and frustration ebbing away. She was free, in the truest sense.

But what did that matter when grief replaced all of her anger? What good did it serve that, now she was free, she didn't have anyone to rejoice it with. Joey was gone now, his soul taken from him. All because of her. She'd done this to him and he willingly allowed it. For her. To save her. All because she had forsaken him for a madman that promised her power. This was her fault…

The anguished roar of dragons resounded from throughout the city. But Mai paid no attention to them. Her focus was on the Joey's body as it slowly became limp in its prison of green light. Soon, the light and the Orichalcos pentagram disappeared and Joey fell to the ground, soulless. The Orichalcos had done its job. And now, Joey was trapped inside a stone engraving that locked away his soul. Somewhere in the confines of Dartz's lair.

Mai was suddenly hovering above him. The card The Claw of Hermos slipped from his unclenched grip. Mai barely noticed.

"Joey, wait!" she exclaimed, her voice becoming thick as she refused to believe the inevitable. "Snap out of it!" she demanded as she took him into her arms. Tears fell from her eyes and splattered his face. She didn't care, her heart felt like it was ripping itself to shreds. "This is all my fault," she told his unconscious form. "I was angry and confused and I blamed all my loneliness on you. So, I tried to get rid of you. How could I be so selfish?"

Mai held him tighter to her chest, closing her eyes and burying her face into him. She did nothing to repress the trembling that was shaking her body. "You're the only one who ever cared about me." She paused to sniffle for a few moments. "You're the closest friend I've ever had and what did I do to repay you? By leaving you for a madman who promised me power," she answered bitterly, her words coated in self-loathing. She was really the evil one here.

Mai picked up Joey's fallen card, The Claw of Hermos, and examined it. No, it couldn't be all her fault. She would never voluntarily harm Joey like this. It was him- Dartz- that did this. He was the one who poisoned her mind with thoughts against Joey and the others. He was the one to brainwash her to do his own bidding. He was the one to pit her against Joey. Kind, selfless Joey…

"I'll make him regret the day he ever met Mai Valentine," she promised him.

Wiping away her tears on her arm, Mai set to work. She carefully dragged Joey's body next to Valon's limp form against the chain-link fencing. He should be safe there until Yugi or someone else found him. Then, she gathered up her own cards that had scattered across the ground when she had rushed over to Joey and put them back in her own deck. And, with Joey's card tucked securely in one of her jacket pockets, she threw her leg over her motorcycle and, revving up the handlebar, speeded away. Her destination: Dartz.

The only way to fix this is to meet Dartz face to face, she thought to herself as her long, blonde hair whipped behind her. The city and its lights were nothing but a blur she left behind until she finally reached the headquarters and stopped. She cut the engine and stepped off the bike, walking toward the ominous building with a new sense of wariness that had never been there before when she approached it. But, Mai was tough as she stared it down fearlessly.

"Here goes nothing."

Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and finally level 8. The elevator doors slid open and Mai stepped out, looking around cautiously. Her heels clicked on the floor with metronomic rhythm. Click, click, click, click. She turned to another hallway that branched off to the right and paused, hearing another person.

"Hey, Dartz! Is that you?" she called down to an approaching figure.

"Guess again, Mai," said the all-too-familiar voice of Raphael. She was surprised but quickly masked it with irritation.

"What do you want?" she barked. Raphael got closer and closer to her until she could see his violet, gray eyes, glinting malevolently. He crossed his arms across his chest and Mai could almost see the Orichalcos emblem blazing on his forehead.

"For him?" he asked, mocking. "You give it all up for him? Some punk who thinks he knows what he's doing?" Mai grit her teeth.

"He's not like that!" she defended. Raphael continued, ignoring her.

"You had everything, Dartz had given you all that you wanted-" Mai cut him off.

"I've had it with your ridiculous world domination mumbo-jumbo and I want out! It's time for Dartz to answer for what he made me do to Joey. Let's see how he likes it when the Orichalcos captures him!"

"You sure you don't want to take that back? Dartz isn't exactly known for his sense of humor."

"So?"

"Then you leave me no choice. It's my duty to protect him." Raphael lifted his dueling arm. "So say good bye to your soul." His duel disk activated and Mai activated hers as well.

"Fine, after I'm done with you, Dartz will have no more of his cronies. And then I go after him while he's left defenseless."

"You know, I never trusted you," Raphael said, drawing five cards. "You were weaker than the rest of us, even after you were granted with the Orichalcos. It was only a matter of time before you turned on us. No matter what you did, you were always unhappy, isn't that right you ungrateful wench?" Mai ignored his jibes as she drew her cards.

"You're wrong," she said to him, making her first move.

The duel raged on for what seemed like an eternity. Mai was itching to be over with this duel so she could finally face Dartz and make him pay for Joey. But, with her impatience, she got careless. And Raphael's insults only distracted her. Then, suddenly, her life points went from four thousand straight down to zero. She felt the magic of the Orichalcos drain her energy. She felt herself falling but she was too exhausted to care. She had failed.

"Joey!" she moaned, her last words. "I'm sorry. I tried my best." And failed

Mai was unconscious before she hit the ground, Joey's card clutched in her hand. Her mind, her soul was in nothing but darkness and agony. And she could only regret in this void, regret for failing Joey. Regret for what she had done. Regret for ever doubting him.

I'm sorry.

Part Two is coming right after this. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.

-NuitSongeur