The conveyor took them for a few thousand meters, beneath the dim lights of the subway station, glowing like small stars in the darkness. When it came to an end in front of a set of electronic double doors, seemingly newly installed, they both stepped off the platform.

"You been here before?" Joey asked.

Mai shook her head, reaching out to the cold metal. "I don't see a way in," she huffed. "How idiotic, forcing us to come here without a way to get inside."

"Um, maybe it's this touch-thing here," he suggested, pointing to a palm-sized protrusion from the wall that was glowing a vague teal color. "I think it's a code, though."

"Yeah, and we have no clue what it is." Joey shook his head ruefully as he watched the blonde woman cross her arms in a pout.

"I know the code, if you'll excuse me, Miss Valentine."

She gasped at the sound of the familiar voice, turning to confirm her suspicions. Of course, who else could it be

"Hello, Valon," she muttered.

He grinned, strode past her to set in the code. "So, you'll be the new players the system registered, I assume."

As the door opened, he stepped in between Mai and Joey. "Don't worry, you'll learn your way around soon enough," he promised, as if he were giving a tour luxury resort. "They're nice enough here, most of them anyway." Valon lead them down the white corridor, lit with burning fluorescent light-bulbs that only enhanced the blinding effect.

"Wait a second." Suddenly, he put his arm in front of the other two in order to keep them still. They were stopped in front of an elevator with a complex series of buttons. The brunette made short work of the code.

A few seconds later, the elevator arrived, but Joey merely stood there in a befuddled sort of way. He had no clue where he was, or why he was here. Worse, Hhe didn't know quite how to behave around the man who had nearly taken the Mai he knew away. Still, they had reached a common ground with each other in their well-meaning mutual affection for the woman, so perhaps he would figure out how to deal with it.

"After you, Wheeler." He playfully shoved the teen into the box.

"So," he began, after righting himself "what exactly are we doing here?"

"Like I said, you're a Player in The Game."

"I generally appreciate knowing the rules before I decide to play something, and even then, it's my decision," Mai scoffed.

Her remark pulled a half-chuckle from Valon. "Yes, that's what we all thought," a dark shadow cast over his words, "but the only way to survive is to win. None of us has a choice in this. Not you, not me, nobody."

Joey bit his lip. "Are you saying they're gonna kill us?"

"He's saying we have to everything we can to win."

"She's got the idea," Valon affirmed, winking. "I always knew you were smart, Mai, even with all that blo-"

Unfortunately, the young man was pinned to the floor before he could finish. Joey raised his eyebrows in awe, though it was nothing compared to the shock that Valon must have been feeling. Mai was standing over him, kneeling on his chest.

"Make one 'blonde' remark," she seethed, "And I'll make sure you never enjoy sex again."

The elevator opened, but Mai had no intention of moving until she'd scared him senseless. "Got it," he squeaked, and she backed daintily off him.

"Now, tell us what exactly we're up against."

He pointed to another doorway, similar to the one at the entrance but without a code-lock system. "I'll give a rundown once we get something to eat."

As soon as they reached the mat in front of the door, it opened to reveal a room that was about the size of a large cafeteria, littered with collapsible tables and shelves with blankets of the same gray hue. To their left, a kitchen, to their right, another room with bunk-beds.

"Welcome home, mates," Valon said softly. "Most everyone's out collecting equipment for the next event."

"What exactly is an 'event'?" Joey queried as he followed the brown-haired man to the kitchen area. Just like the previous rooms, it was bare white, with linoleum floors. The only splash of life and color came from the lights on the walls; they were tea-lights, and what looked like Christmas lanterns of various tacky aquas, indigo, and reds.

"Ah," Valon said. "That's what I'm about to explain."

"So hurry up," Mai urged, pulling out a rickety chair near a wooden table in the center of the room.

Valon sighed and handed them a pack of peanut-butter crackers and a glass of water, then he too sat down. "You know of the Monsters, obviously." They nodded. "What you don't know, is that Kaiba thinks he knows of a way to get rid of them. But we needed people willing to go out and find the materials for the project, as you can see we're not exactly well equipped."

"That's when Kaiba proposed The GAME, The Gathering of Monster Essence. He knew that people were losing resources fast, which is how he pulled them in."

"You mean these people are going out there to collect food?" Joey cocked his head, puppy like. "But that'd mean this is voluntary. You mentioned that we don't have a choice."

"Not quite. Once you're here, we take you to the Screening room to see if your fit enough to participate. If all goes well, you'll be sent off to the Armory. And if you're lucky, they'll find you incapacitated and offer you a room." Valon frowned. "Most people, though, participate, for whatever reason. The Game is as follows: There are two types of teams, Hunters and Gatherers, and six different Elements*, Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Dark, and Light. With me so far?"

"Well," Mai said dryly, "I don't know about the knuckle-head here, but I'm pretty average. No super-powers here."

"The teams are made of six people, with one of each element in each. You decide your powers first, based on their availability, and then we place you in a group that's lacking.

"The Hunters go and, well, hunt. More specifically, they go on the offensive and actively go after the Monsters, once the Trackers have pinpointed a location. That's my role," he pointed to a nasty scar that ran from his forearm to his elbow. "It can get rough out there."

"Gatherers have it a bit easier. When it comes time, they search for the specified materials that Kaiba asks for. I dunno much about what they look for, though."

"Last, the Trackers act as a sort of go-between for the other two. They rarely leave the building, 'cause we count on them to lead us to the next location. They use the computers to find the items and Monsters and point the way to them."

"My brain's hurting," Joey muttered, scrunching his eyebrows together pitifully. Mai was twisting her hair around her finger, yet listening in an intent sort of way.

"So, where do we sign up?" Mai had always been a go-getter.

Joey scrambled off his seat, the chair tipping with a sharp crack on the floor. "You're crazy! Mai, I'm not going to let you go out there and get hurt!" He shouted. "I've seen what happens to people who go up against those things. I seen what it does to people and I refuse to let it happen to you to!"

Instead of being afraid or offended, Mai calmly stood and crossed over to where he stood. Gently, she put her hand on his shoulder. "We don't have much of a choice, Joey. You know that as well as I do." When he seemed calmer, she stepped away. "Besides, I might not have to go outside."

"But you'll want to," he whispered.

She flashed a fierce grin, "You bet."

"I don't."

"You can't stop me," she warned. Her eyes were shining with an intensity that rivaled all that he'd seen in them before. "I want to fight, Joey. How else would my life have meaning otherwise?"

He brushed her cheek with his finger; she flinched away "Just by being alive, being here with me-"

Valon cleared his throat. "If you'd like, I can take you to the Screening Room now. If not, you have less than an hour before the guards will take you there by force."

Joey reluctantly acquiesced. "Let's go."

***

They watched Valon explain the intricacies of the system. Their was a caliper with electronic readings, a heart-rate machine