Chapter Two
No one was very happy with the realization that they were no longer in a family-friendly Mario game. Very dim lights came on overhead, allowing them to see their surroundings while still keeping an eerie atmosphere.
"Okay, so what's this game about?" David asked nervously, adjusting his glasses. "All I know is it has something to do with rabid animatronics. I always liked Chuck E. Cheese's, so I wasn't so keen on having those memories spoiled."
Joey looked around wildly, terrified. "This is all your fault, Tristan! If you hadn't joked about Freddy's, maybe that creep wouldn't have got the idea to stick us in here!"
"Hey, you're the one who mentioned it first!" Tristan shot back.
"To answer your question, it's basically a survival horror game involving trying not to be caught by said rabid animatronics," Yami Bakura grunted at David, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Most games take place in a security office. Since we are not in a security office, I will assume this . . . alternate me has decided to bring in elements from a game that has the player wandering through the entire building attempting to complete certain tasks."
"Hey, you said you play first-person shooters," Tristan remembered.
"You are also aware that I like things such as disturbing dolls," Yami Bakura sneered. "I found the concept of this game series amusing, so I've tried it. I far prefer the freedom of movement over being trapped in one room for the duration of the game. Unfortunately, the game that allows you to roam doesn't even have the survival horror elements for the most part. Most disappointing. And I'm sure this alternate me won't go that route for us."
"How right you are," laughed the Game Master. "The animatronics are their usual deadly, malfunctioning selves. And unlike the game, which will tell you what you need to fix, you'll have to wander through the entire building to figure out what's wrong before you can attempt to fix it!"
"Oh no!" Joey wailed.
"Calm down, Joey," Atem told him. "Let's just get started. It won't do any good to talk to our captor. He's determined to put us through this dangerous series of games."
Bakura frowned. "If I could only reason with him . . ."
"Why are you always so ungrateful, Landlord?" the Game Master snapped.
"Ungrateful?!" Bakura exclaimed in disbelief. "What do I have to be grateful about concerning this situation?!"
"I've always seen into your heart, into the depth of your soul, unlike anyone else you've ever known. You wanted to be with your friends forever, so I granted that wish by placing their souls in figurines for our game. And any time you were tormented by bullies, deep down you wished for them to be stopped and punished. I never let any of them get away with their cruelty towards you! But instead of being grateful, you were always horrified by what I did to them!"
Bakura stared in the direction of the voice, his mouth hanging open. "I . . . I don't know what all you did," he finally stammered. "You remember, don't you, that I'm not your Bakura? I don't know what was in his mind. My Yami also tried to protect me from bullies, though, and I didn't always like his methods, but that doesn't mean I wasn't grateful that he was trying to protect me. . . ."
The Game Master just snarled at him in response.
"Don't waste your breath on him, Bakura," Tristan said in frustration. "We've gotta figure out what's wrong in this place before those things catch up to us!" While Bakura had been conversing with the Game Master, the others had spread out around the room, looking for anything amiss. But aside from the lights, which they assumed were dim because it was after hours, nothing seemed wrong.
"Yes, but . . ." Bakura bit his lip and turned away, knowing Tristan was likely right. Still, he was concerned. This other Yami Bakura clearly had some different issues to work through than the one Bakura knew, but he could hear similarities as well. He couldn't deny that part of him really wanted to see if he could help in some way. Anyway, it might actually prove vital for getting them out of this mess.
Yami Bakura was frowning as well. It was chilling, hearing another version of himself throwing these comments around. Maybe in some ways, it was strange that he hadn't had such issues after being freed of Zorc. Instead, he had been left so badly confused that he hadn't even been sure who he was anymore, and he had focused on figuring it out rather than continuing to deny who he was. Had he stopped to think about these matters regarding Bakura, his mind had been clear at long last and he would have already seen the answers. This alternate Yami Bakura's mind was still muddled in madness, or maybe he had been driven mad by the horrors of ancient Egypt even before Zorc had taken him over, in which case Yami Bakura doubted there was anything anyone could do for him.
"Come on here!" Joey suddenly wailed. "There's gotta be something we can do!" He looked to Seto and the Big Five in desperation. "What about your rings?! They've gotta work, right? It's a magical catastrophe!"
"But they'll only activate if it's a catastrophe great enough to endanger the entire world," Gansley objected. "I doubt this alternate Yami Bakura has enough power for that."
"Well, try anyway!" Joey begged.
"It's a waste of time when we need to find out what's wrong," Nesbitt scowled.
"Let's give it a try anyway," Lector said. "If we could summon our dragons, those animatronics wouldn't stand a chance."
"Or heck, if we could even just conjure up the elemental powers," Crump shrugged.
Seto grunted. "We might as well."
But try as they might, the rings would not activate. Finally, in frustrated despair, they gave up.
"Hey, I think I found what's wrong!" Mokuba called from backstage. "The stage lights aren't coming on! I guess we'll have to find a fusebox or something."
"And it sounds like we don't have much time!" Téa cried in horror. "I can hear gears squeaking and moving down the hall!"
"Worse, I hear one of them singing," Tristan said.
". . . What happens if we're caught?" David said in concern as they headed backstage to look for the fusebox.
"They'll try to stuff us in spare animatronic suits, effectively killing us," Yami Bakura said flatly.
". . . I'm sorry I asked," David said, chagrined.
"Maybe the fusebox is under the stage," Yugi suggested.
"Let's pull the curtains to try to keep those creepy things from getting to us," Téa gulped.
"Already on it." Mokuba grabbed the heavy rope, jerking the curtains shut. Outside in the restaurant, the creaking gears and the singing were joined by the sound of very audible and very mechanical footsteps.
"Oh gosh." Téa shuddered, terrified of the prospect of being found by one or more of the animatronics.
Seto lifted a trapdoor, dropping into the basement. "There's definitely a fusebox down here," he reported. "Unfortunately, there's not enough light. I can't see which one is for the stage!"
Lector took out his phone, frowning when he couldn't get it to light up. "It figures this wouldn't work."
"Too easy," Crump sighed. "Is there a flashlight around here?"
"Be quiet, you guys!" Téa hissed. "It's coming closer. Can't you hear it?!"
Everyone froze. They could indeed. The curtain swirled, and the feet of Freddy himself appeared at the bottom of it. Was he going to pull the curtain?
After an agonizing moment, the creature walked on.
"Whew. That's a relief," Joey breathed, holding a hand to his heart.
The curtain abruptly flew open, revealing Bonnie the Rabbit right in front of Joey's face.
His horrified scream echoed up and down the theatre and the lights went out.
xxxx
"Oh . . . what happened?" Téa mumbled as she slowly woke up.
David was badly shaken. "Are we all dead?" He opened his eyes, then stared in disbelief. He and Téa were each lying on a giant mushroom. Looking around, some of the others were as well, while the rest were sprawled in the grass. "Is this Alice in Wonderland or something?"
"Oh please, no," Téa groaned.
Yugi sat up on his own mushroom and it wobbled. "Whoa!" He gripped it and looked to the others. "I think this is Mushroom Hill."
"But is that Alice in Wonderland or not?" Duke grunted.
"Nah, it's Sonic the Hedgehog," Joey said. He shuddered. "Man, I thought I was gonna wake up being crushed in some animatronic suit. . . ."
"I think just knowing it was going to happen was just as terrifying," Téa said.
"So how do we escape from this game now?" Gansley wondered, pushing himself up on the grass.
"We just walk through, collect Rings, and maybe play a minigame through a Giant Ring portal to look for Chaos Emeralds," Yugi said. "Oh wow, I hope everyone will be able to handle the loop-de-loops. . . ."
"Hey, maybe those won't be here since, you know, none of us can go into a Sonic Spin," Tristan retorted.
"We'll see," Yugi said. "And watch out for some of the mushrooms; they can bounce you around like trampolines."
Joey suddenly screamed as he stepped on his mushroom in a particular place and it did exactly that, sending him soaring through the air to land on a piece of land high above them.
"Joey!" Serenity cried.
"I'm okay!" Joey called down with a wave. He placed a hand over his heart. "But whoo, what a ride. . . ."
Crump gawked. "There's alternate pathways, right?"
"I think so," Yugi said. "But in some places, you have to do the weird stuff like loop-de-loops or you can't advance."
"And as I recall, the minigame involves jumping on red balls and turning them blue," Lector said. ". . . Mokuba used to play that."
"I still do!" Mokuba grinned. "I could totally ace that minigame!"
"But it's turning blue balls red," Seto deadpanned. "If you touch a red ball, the game's over."
"Playing it on a console is one thing. Actually doing it yourself is another," Duke objected.
"We'll see what happens if we encounter the Giant Ring," Atem said. "Mokuba is welcome to try. The minigame isn't dangerous, just challenging and strategic."
"Speaking of danger, don't let the robots hit you," Seto warned. "And if you can, destroy them to release the animals trapped inside." He demonstrated by kicking a nearby jumping mushroom robot and sending it into a tree. It broke and a bird flew out.
Nesbitt cringed. From his expression, he didn't know if he could destroy robots.
"Is anyone else coming up here with me?" Joey suddenly called down.
"I'll come," Tristan called.
"Me too!" Serenity waved.
"Then I'm going," Duke said.
"And that will count me in too," David added, although he eyed the trampoline mushroom with unease.
The groups proceeded down their chosen paths. When they encountered a Giant Ring, Mokuba ran through in delight.
"Mokuba! Wait for us!" Seto exclaimed. But the boy was already through and the Giant Ring was gone.
"There aren't any enemies in there," Yami Yugi assured him. "Mokuba will be back in a few minutes."
Everyone jumped at the sound of a heavy wall slamming into the ground in a nearby chamber.
"And that is a trap, I presume," Lector frowned.
"Yeah. You'll have to watch out for those too," Seto said.
A glow lit up the spot where the Giant Ring had been and Mokuba stumbled out, triumphantly holding a purple gem. "I got it!" he said happily.
Seto finally smiled a bit too. "Good job, kid."
"Yes. Only, what do we do with them here?" Marik wondered. "If we collect all seven, is someone going to go into Super mode?"
"In this place, who knows," Seto grunted.
A yelp from Joey caused all of them to jump as they emerged from the Giant Ring chamber. High above them, Joey was hanging on to a vine for dear life.
"Joey!" Yugi cried.
"I forgot that vines come out for you to walk on at drop-offs!" Joey wailed.
"So just climb back up," Duke said in exasperation. "Or let go; you'll just fall down to where the others are."
"Good point." Joey scrambled back up the vine and paused to catch his breath on the edge of the cliff. Then, straightening, he turned back to face the vine. "Okay, let's try this again."
Serenity stared as the vine stretched out horizontally to be walked on. "Be careful, Joey," she worried.
"Hey, no problem. Piece of cake!" Joey blustered as he started across.
"The lower path really would have been safer," David remarked.
"Yeah, but not as adventurous!" Joey retorted. He made it the rest of the way over and sighed in relief. "Whew."
"I'm not sure I want to go over there," David frowned. "I think I'll go down to the lower path instead. Who's with me?"
"I think I should stay with Joey," Serenity said. "Anyway, what if we have to be up here to complete the level?"
"Then everyone down there is in big trouble," David winced. "I don't think the vine would hold everybody, or that they would even be able to keep their balance long enough to walk across it."
On the other side, Joey stared at his surroundings in bewilderment. "Hey, it looks like autumn over here," he called.
"It's summer on this side," Duke retorted, twirling a piece of hair around his finger.
"I guess it changes as you go deeper into the place," Tristan shrugged.
On the lower path, the seasons were also changing. "This must mean we're getting close to the end of the level," Yugi said. "It only turned to autumn for the last third or so."
Téa wandered ahead and through a curtain of vines and leaves. "Uh . . . guys? Sonic games never had cemeteries, did they?"
"I sure don't remember any that did," Mokuba exclaimed. He ran to catch up. "Oh wow."
Everyone else chased after them. Indeed, on the other side of the veil was a nighttime setting in front of two large, open gates. Beyond them were tombs of all shapes and sizes, on many different pathways.
"This . . . is definitely not a Sonic game anymore," Téa gulped. "But I'm not sure what it is!"
A rustling above them startled them, and they looked up to see the rest of their group falling from the higher path down to their level.
"Hey, it's a Nancy Drew game!" Serenity exclaimed. "I recognize this! It's from The Legend of the Crystal Skull."
"Skull?!" Joey wailed.
"Well, then, you're the expert, hon," Mai said. "What do we do now?"
"We have to go in." Serenity stepped through the gates, then paused and looked back. "Oh . . . Mr. Lector? I'm sorry, but . . . this game is set in New Orleans. . . ."
Lector sighed. "I thought as much. It looks like a New Orleans cemetery." New Orleans would likely always hold dark and sad memories for him after the way he had been treated there by most of his family.
Crump laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Man, this place is like a maze!" Joey exclaimed. He walked in, turning around as he stared at every pathway. "You could get lost here!"
"It is pretty confusing," Serenity admitted.
"Uh . . ." David's shaken tone caused the entire group to look his way. "I'm guessing this isn't part of the original game?" He was pointing at the nearest mausoleum. Carved deep within the stone was the name Yugi Muto.
Yugi gasped.
"Well, that's sick!" Téa cried indignantly.
"That creep!" Joey yelled. "I'll bet every tomb in the place has one of our names on it!"
Horrified, Serenity ran ahead, looking at every mausoleum. "Téa Gardner . . . Tristan Taylor . . . Joey . . . !" Her hands flew to her mouth.
"That psychotic nutcase," Tristan snarled.
"And this will probably confuse the girl too much to be able to remember how this part of the game works," Nesbitt frowned.
"Then let's just go around and look at all the tombs," Yugi said resolutely. "Maybe we can figure out the solution ourselves."
Atem nodded. "Those Nancy Drew games are puzzle games. There must be some kind of pattern to this."
"There is in the original game," Serenity said weakly. "Maybe there won't be here."
Duke put an arm around her. "We'll soon find out," he vowed.
And so they started going up and down every path, reading off the names while Crump tried to make a map of where each tomb was.
"Looks like he put all of us together," he remarked.
"How generous of him," Lector grunted, folding his arms.
Nesbitt snarled in disgust.
Lector looked to him in concern as they walked towards some old and cracked stone steps. "You haven't said a whole lot since we got into this mess," he remarked. "You're not still embarrassed about how we woke up, are you?"
Nesbitt flamed red. "I had no idea what was happening. . . . I didn't know I was laying on you like you were a pillow."
"Well, neither did I," Lector retorted. "But at least you weren't causing me to fall out of bed. It was just that alternate Yami Bakura's idea of humor."
"His idea of humor is sticking us in a cemetery with all of our names in it!" Nesbitt boomed.
"Almost all of our names," Crump corrected. "There's no tomb here for Bakura."
"Hmm." Atem leaned over, looking at Crump's map. "You're right."
"He even has one for me, which is more than a little unsettling considering we're different versions of the same person," Yami Bakura growled. "Although I have to admit, I prefer distancing myself from him as much as possible."
"What about down there?" Mai stared as they reached the top of the stairs. Sprawled around them were even more tombs. But they quickly found that all of these resting places were blank.
"He really doesn't have one for me," Bakura remarked, petting Oreo. "I wonder if that means he doesn't plan to kill me. . . ."
"I have the odd feeling that he thinks he cares about you," Yami Bakura grunted. "He's just become so twisted and warped through the centuries that he doesn't even know anymore what it is to love. I didn't either, although I never thought I did by performing demented acts and thinking you would be pleased."
"There's something else that concerns me," Atem said. "We've only been spending minutes in each game world. Why? Is it just his way of toying with us, or is he trying to catch us off-guard?"
Yugi nodded. "It still seems too easy," he agreed. "I think he's planning to make things harder later."
Suddenly Oreo yowled and struggled down from Bakura's arms.
"Oreo?! What are you doing?!" Bakura exclaimed.
The cat leaped over the grass, galloping down the stairs and over to a tomb hidden farther in behind some others.
"Cat!" Yami Bakura yelled in aggravation.
The group gave chase, soon following Oreo down to the tomb, where she sat and stared up at it.
Yugi took one look at it and his eyes went wide in horror. "Oh my gosh!"
Written across it was SOLOMON MUTO.
"That means your grandpa's in here somewhere too!" Téa cried.
"Yeah, but where?!" Yugi exclaimed. "We haven't seen any trace of him!"
"Oh, haven't you?" came the Game Master's sneering voice. "Maybe you just haven't known what you're looking at. Yes, you'll have to search for him from game to game, never knowing where he is or where you're going next."
"You big jerk!" Joey yelled, shaking a fist at the sky. "Why don't you come down here and take your medicine like a man?!"
"Stop it, Joey!" Serenity exclaimed. "That's not going to help!"
"No, but breaking his nose would make me feel good," Joey scowled.
Yugi clenched a fist. "My grandpa taught me so much about games. I'm sure he's doing just fine."
"Yeah, he might even be having fun," Tristan remarked.
"And we're going to find him!" Yugi promised. "No matter what it takes!"
"Well, have fun, Yugi," the Game Master laughed.
". . . Hey," Mokuba suddenly realized, "I've still got the Chaos Emerald from the Sonic game!" He pulled it out of his pocket.
". . . We still have everything we earned in every game," Duke noticed. "The coins, the Rings . . . all of it! I wonder why."
"Because it's all one big game, of course!" the Game Master told him. "It would be pointless to collect items only to lose them five minutes later, wouldn't it?"
"This whole thing is pointless!" Joey snapped.
"Calm down, Joey," Yugi said. "It must mean that we're going to need all of our items eventually. That's encouraging in one way. We're not defenseless."
"But it must mean we're really gonna be in for it," Joey knew.
"Then we'll deal with it when it happens," Yugi said.
"And meanwhile, you've seen what you needed to here, so I say it's time for a little change of scenery!" The Game Master's voice echoed eerily around them as the cemetery morphed and changed into a strange castle and its entrance.
"What the heck?!" Joey yelped. "What's this place?!"
Most of the group was equally bewildered. They looked around, baffled, and slowly walked towards the castle.
A scroll fell in Yugi's hands and he opened it in surprise. "It says we have to find this treasure and then find the way out of the castle, with the help of this magic wand," he said. "It's another puzzle game."
"Yugi, do you know what it is?" Atem asked.
"I think I do," Yugi said. "I remember Grampa playing a game like this on an old computer and then letting me play it. If I'm right, it's a game called Clyde." He winced. "But Joey . . . you're not going to like the treasure we have to find. . . ." He held up the scroll.
Joey looked. "Aw, no!" he wailed. "Not a crystal skull! Come on!"
"They say that crystal skulls speak to their finders and endow them with knowledge," Yami Bakura smirked, whispering in Joey's ear from behind.
Joey jumped. "Let's just find it and get out of here!" he yelled, running ahead.
"Just be careful!" Yugi called. "There's traps!"
Joey stopped running. ". . . Of course." He scowled, but waited for everyone else to catch up. "This just keeps getting better and better."