Yami no Yugi was not taking any chances with this madman. He examined the hallway carefully from his vantage point before he even thought about moving.
It was long, brightly lit, and had three doors: two on the right and one on the left. The walls were a dull, sickening green and the floor chipped tile. It looked innocuous enough. But there was a buzz in the back of Yami no Yugi's mind, an instinct that told him to be cautious. Something...didn't feel right.
He examined the floor again. There was nothing there. He glanced at the walls, the three doors, even back at the bathroom he had just escaped. But his eyes kept returning to the floor. Something was off...
Ah! There! The small squares were in an alternating pattern of black and white. But there was one tile that was a dark blue. In the lighting, it had looked almost black. Yami no Yugi took a few cautious steps across the floor. His footsteps sounded eerie in the empty hallway. But he didn't hesitate much longer. His instincts told him the dark blue square was the only thing out of place, and he trusted his instincts. Especially inside a game.
He approached the first blue square. It sat right in front of the first door on the right, which was closed tightly shut. Yami no Yugi knelt down, examined it. It was a little bit higher than the rest of the squares. His eyes darted around the walls for some clue as to what might happen. The tile was obviously pushable. And it was set just so – he would have walked right over it if he hadn't been looking.
There, a small indent on the wall. A booby trap? Yami no Yugi reassured himself that there were no other out of place markings, repositioned himself out of the sight range of the indent, and pushed down on the tile.
The wall popped open. Yami no Yugi tensed, waiting for a spurt of poisonous gas, a gunshot, even an arrow or something –
No. It was a compartment. And it held another tape recorder. Yami no Yugi grabbed it. This had to be the next clue, the next set of instructions.
"Congratulations on escaping from the darkness. Your will to live is exceptional. But now you have a choice. If you walk to the end of this hall, there is a dresser. There are four keys in the top shelf. Two will open rigged doors, that will kill you if you open them. One opens the door that leads to the other participants. The fourth opens the door at the end of the hall that leads outside. You can choose to walk away unharmed from this game. Or you can risk your life to enter the other rooms."
The tape ended abruptly. A tremor started to pulse through Yami no Yugi. His hand shook on the tape recorder, his knuckles gone white.
Other me?
Yami no Yugi smiled darkly.
"Does he really think I'm just going to walk out?"
He threw the tape recorder to the ground.
"This is my answer to you."
He stomped on the tape recorder. It cracked and shattered satisfactorily. He took the other tape recorder from his pocket and tossed it against a wall.
Other me? Yugi said again.
Yami no Yugi's fists clenched, and then relaxed.
I'm sorry, Yugi, he thought. But I'm going to play this game through to the end. I'm not leaving anyone behind.
Yugi's voice was warm when he replied.
I didn't expect anything different. I would have been upset with you if we had left.
Yami no Yugi didn't hesitate now. He marched down the hall. It branched off in two directions, but ended quickly. On his right was a door. On his left, tucked in the corner, was the dresser. He didn't bother looking for traps. That didn't seem to be the type of game this man was playing. He ripped open the drawer. There were the four keys. He glanced across them, looking for some pattern that could give him a clue to which key was which. There was none, so he scooped all four up and returned to the hallway.
How are we going to find the right door? Yugi asked nervously.
Yami no Yugi smiled in spite of himself.
"Don't worry about that."
He scanned all three doors. They looked exactly alike. The keys had no defining details, either. But Yami no Yugi was not an ordinary gamer.
"This man is going to regret challenging me," he said.
He moved to the wall with one door and gripped the handle. He jiggled it a bit. Nothing happened. He moved to the door across from it and jiggled the handle. This time a sort of buzzing sound. He nodded, and moved to the final door. This one gave off a half click sound. Yami no Yugi pushed the handle a little more. A clickity-tap-tap-tap. Yami no Yugi nodded.
What did you notice? Yugi asked.
He said two would have an instant death trap when opened. Naturally, it would have to be tied to the opening of the door, and thus the handle. I can hear the mechanism readying to snap when I move the handle.
Yami no Yugi walked back to the only safe door and started trying each of the keys. The third one worked, and he cautiously, slowly, pushed it open.
Nothing snapped out at him. He found himself staring at an even longer hallway, this one dimly lit.
No time to waste. There are other people's lives at stake.
He headed down the hallway. There were no doors on the walls, nor windows. The only light came from a few half dead fluorescent lights hanging above. It smelled dusty, a lot drier than the last place.
The hallway turned sharply to the right. A door lay at the end of the hall. He tried the handle. When it didn't turn, he tested the key he had used for the last door. It worked, and the door swung open.
A horrible sight stretched out in front of him.
It looked like a small warehouse. The tile floor was grubby and damp, something green growing between the cracks. Unfinished walls were coated with mold. A horrid set of razor sharp wires crisscrossed the whole room.
And there was a woman on the other side of the room, half naked and bleeding all down her arms. Tears ran trails through the grime of her face; her strawberry blond hair was matted and torn. He recognized her as the woman he had tried to rescue at the beginning of this crazy adventure.
She saw Yami no Yugi instantly. Her lips formed into a silent scream, and she tried to stumble backwards.
"Don't move!" Yami no Yugi said in English, jerking his hands up. "Don't move!"
The woman froze, inches away from a wire behind her. She hiccuped with barely constrained tears.
"W-who are you?" she said.
"My name is Yugi," Yami no Yugi said. "I'm here to help you."
He took a tentative step into the room, scanning it. The wires were dense. He could imagine that one could wriggle around them, but not without taking some serious cuts. That would explain the girl's injuries.
She had her arms wrapped protectively around her chest – all she had on top was a bra. Yami no Yugi tried to avert his eyes to protect her modesty, but he had to look at her if he was going to try and keep her calm.
"Are you hurt too much?" he asked.
"I am fucking cut up all over," she said.
"Have you tried to get through?"
She swallowed.
"Only a few feet. I – I think I'm stuck."
"Just...try to stay calm. I'm going to help you. I promise."
She tried to swallow again but only managed a hiccup.
"What's your name?" Yami no Yugi asked. He had to keep her talking, keep her from going into too much shock. He glanced around the room as he talked, trying to find some way to get to her safely.
"Alice," she said.
"Did you get a tape recorder?"
"Yeah."
"What did it tell you?"
"I have to make it through these wires, find a key, and get out that door," Alice said, nodding toward a door on the left wall. "I have...I think twenty minutes left before it...it...seals for good."
She choked on the words. She looked like she might die of fright any second.
"That's not going to happen," Yami no Yugi said. "I promise."
And then the door behind him snapped shut of its own accord. Alice screamed. Yami no Yugi whipped around. He grabbed the door handle and yanked on it. No good. He tried the key that had open it before. That didn't work either. He whipped back around to face Alice, whose breaths were coming in wheezy, high pitched gasps.
"Calm down," Yami no Yugi said. "Calm down!"
"I – I can't – I don't – want to die –"
"You are not going to die, I swear to you. I will get you out of here alive. I promise."
"How can you fucking say that? You're what, a fucking high schooler?"
Yami no Yugi held her gaze. It seemed that in that single moment, she realized the deep crimson of his eyes, because her mouth dropped open.
"I'm the King of Games," Yami no Yugi said. "I have never lost a game. And I will not lose this one."
His eyes snapped around the room. The wires were attached with thick bolts. There would be no releasing them, even if he could reach where they were held. He had nothing sharp, no weapons, nothing that could break through them. His eyes scanned the floor –
Oh.
Colors. There were different colored tiles: a deep, dull red, a dark blue, and white.
"Alice-san. Was there anything else from the tape recorder? Any other clues?"
Alice trembled.
"I...yes...he – he said...watch your steps."
"Then there's a pattern through this. It's a maze," Yami no Yugi said. "Try to take deep breaths, Alice-san. I'm going to figure this out."
Key. He had to find another key, get Alice out of the razor wire maze, and figure out this puzzle. Red, blue, white. Red, blue, white. Red, blue, white...
Alice sniffled. Sweat beaded on Yami no Yugi's forehead. There had to be a pattern. There had to be!
Other me!
Yami no Yugi startled up at Yugi's tone.
What?
The pattern, I have it! In English, red has three letters. Blue has four, and white has five.
Comprehension snapped in Yami no Yugi's mind like a lighter.
"Watch your steps," he murmured. "The number of steps. You wouldn't pluralize that normally!"
He took a step forward. There was a red square – and yes, there was a nice, clear gap to slide onto that square. He balanced on the square.
"What are you doing?" Alice squealed.
"There's a pattern," Yami no Yugi said. "First step to a red square, then a blue one, and then a white one. Red, blue, white."
"But –"
Yami no Yugi took another careful step, finding it easy to step over and duck under the wires that led to a blue square.
"Alice-san, please, step to a white square. The one closest to the door. Then a red one. I promise, you'll make it through."
Alice swallowed. She looked absolutely terrified. But she nodded, and started to squeeze through to a red square.
And then the matter of the key, Yami no Yugi said. That can only be...
Under that violet square, Yugi confirmed.
Yami no Yugi slipped under another wire. White square. Red square. Blue square. White square.
"I made it!"
Disbelieving joy crept into Alice's voice.
"Are you hurt?" Yami no Yugi called, not daring to look away from his steps.
"Not much more than before."
She hesitated.
"We don't have much time left."
"I promised you I would get you out. I don't break promises."
There, the violet square! He had made it! He slid over a wire, one foot on the purple square. Bring the other foot over...
"AAAA!"
His foot slipped on whatever was growing between the cracks of the tiles. His legs went out from under him, Alice screamed, Yugi's cry echoed in the back of his mind. The back of his hand was sliced mercilessly open. A wire cut an inch deep into his calf. Several other wires sliced into his arms. He struck against the ground - the air whooshed out of him. Stars exploded in front of his eyes.
Other me! Other me!
Fiery pain rushed through him. His calf was still on the wire, pulled down because it was elevated above him. With a cry, he ripped his leg upwards and off the wire. But then the top of his leg hit another wire and he took another cut. He tried to smother the scream, but a whispered cry escaped him anyway.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God," Alice's voice clattered around his head.
He was in a terrible, terrible position. Wires all around, his leg screaming with pain, and no good way to maneuver his way upward.
How much time was left before the door sealed? He could hear Alice's sharp, jolting breaths, breaths that were obviously not filling her lungs. His own breaths didn't seem deep enough, or fast enough. He could barely think past the pain in his leg.
"Y-Yugi, please, oh God, don't die, I don't want to die here! I don't want to be alone here, goddamn it!"
Other me! Yugi screamed.
It was Yugi's voice that forced Yami no Yugi to get up. Slowly, he tried to situate himself upwards. He couldn't seem to coordinate his body. The wires were too densely packed. He had to move. He managed to roll onto his stomach. The disgusting, musty scent of the floor attacked his nostrils. He tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore the horrid pain coursing through his leg each time he shifted forward. He couldn't see the wires above him – he couldn't dare to get up. But crawling along on his belly would only get him so far.
He could reach the violet square, though. He stretched out and pushed the tile down. A compartment beside the door popped open, revealing a key hanging from a hook. Alice looked at it disbelievingly.
"Alice-san, get out of here," Yami no Yugi said. "Get out."
"B-But – goddamn it, what about you?"
"I can't...I don't think I can get up."
Alice gaped at him. He could barely see her from his vantage point, the top of her face completely obscured.
"Please," Yami no Yugi said. "It's no good if both of us die. At least...at least open the door before it seals. Please."
Alice shifted back, towards the key. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes. Dammit. He couldn't have lost already. At least...he could win for one person.
No! No giving up, other me!
And with surprising force, Yugi wrenched back control. Yami no Yugi was flung back into his soul room.
"Yugi!"
He charged forward, throwing himself against the door of his soul room.
"Yugi! What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!"
Well, staying there wasn't going to keep us alive, either.
Yami no Yugi watched in disbelief, through Yugi's eyes, as Yugi pushed himself up. A wire sliced across his back. Yugi barely even flinched. Determination pulsed through him like his entire body had become as tough as stone.
Another wire cut across Yugi's palm as he slowly inched back up to standing position. Yami no Yugi reached out, trying to take away the twinges of pain. But Yugi wouldn't even let Yami no Yugi share the pain. He had effectively blocked Yami no Yugi from everything except sight and hearing. One laborious step at a time, Yugi inched in, through, under, over and past the wires. He was clumsy in his haste. More wires sliced clean cuts across his arms and legs. But Yugi didn't falter. He didn't hesitate, didn't stop until he had gotten himself to the end of the wires.
Then he collapsed to one knee. Alice half ran to him.
"Oh God," she kept whispered.
"The door," Yugi said. "Quickly."
Alice's eyes widened until they were mostly whites. She bolted to the compartment, snatched the key, and shoved it in the lock. She flung the door open so quickly that she fell right through it.
Yugi's breaths came hard, his very mind seemed to ache. He didn't protest when Yami no Yugi slipped back into control.
You are reckless, Yami no Yugi said.
But we're alive, Yugi said, sounding tired.
A smile twitched across Yami no Yugi's face, but it was a poor mask to the rage of terror that continued to storm within him. He could now feel every cut, and realized how much pain Yugi had suffered getting through those wires.
That was a compliment, Yami no Yugi said quietly.