Just revised some things!
Chapter 9
Marik landed on the mattress below with a thump. He saw the arrows, the same red arrows from outside, pointing the way down a hall. They could lead him to Arkana, or another trap. "Only one way to find out."
[-]
"We have to follow him." Yugi said, moving toward the hole.
"Don't be a fool." Kaiba barked, causing Yugi to stop and look at him for an explanation. "If that fool Marik wants to run into a trap, let him. If you want to do something productive, we should find one of Arkana's lackeys."
"What are you talking about Kaiba?" Joey demanded.
"If we can find of one of the Rare Hunters, we may be able to find Arkana and your friends." Kaiba elaborated. "From what I remember, they were cowards. If we can get ahold of one, it shouldn't take much to get him to tell us where they are."
As if on cue, a Rare Hunter appeared in the wings. Tristan was the first to spot him. He ran to tackle the man. After a struggle, he managed to pin the man against the wall. "Ok punk, tell us where our friends are right now."
"Forget it." The man barked.
"Listen buddy." Joey spat as he made a threatening fist. "Either you tell us where our friends are, or I can knock your teeth out."
"Fine." The man spat. "I don't know where Master Marik is, but I can tell you where to find the girl." He said, breaking away from Tristan.
"Oh no you don't." Tristan shouted, grabbing the man again. "You're coming with us."
Tea, who had been wandering around the theater attempting to call the police, went back up on stage. "I can't get a signal in here." She said approaching the group. "And whatever is blocking my signal drained my battery. I'm going out to try to find a payphone."
"Good idea. We're going to stay and make sure these creeps don't try anything else." Duke replied. Tea nodded and started off the stage.
"Be careful." Yugi called after her.
"I will." She called back as she ran out of the auditorium.
"Come on, who knows what Arkana's got planned next." Tristan said as they began to exit though a door backstage.
Yugi took a step forward to follow but stopped when he saw the key Marik had discarded laying on the ground. Take it with you, Yugi… a strong voice told him. It was strange, it almost sounded like…
"Come on, Yuge" Joey called, breaking Yugi out of his own thought.
Yugi quickly picked up the key and ran toward his friends. "I'm coming."
[-]
The arrows took Marik to a set of mirrored double doors. He burst through and found himself in the middle of a maze of mirrors. For what felt like an eternity, he wandered around the maze making little progress. After he bumped into his own reflection for what felt like the millionth time, he heard a familiar chuckle echo through the maze.
"Stuck, Master Marik?" Arkana's voice came in through an intercom.
"Coward!" Marik shouted in response. "Show yourself."
He heard the chuckle again. "Very well." Suddenly, the mirrors filled with Arkana's image.
"Enough tricks Arkana. Get out here and face me," he shouted, looking above the mirrors.
"Ah, but I am, Marik," the voice came over the intercom again. "You just have to find me. Which one? Which one?"
Marik looked around wildly, unable to decipher any difference between the images. He did see one thing, however. Arkana had slipped up. With Arkana's image filling the mirrors, Marik could clearly see the path out of the maze. Choosing a mirror at random, Marik put his foot through it, making sure to hit it right in Arkana's smirk. The glass, shattered, revealing that they weren't mirrors, they were screens.
As predicted, Arkana's cackle echoed out of the intercom. "Nice try Marik, though it looks like you missed the mark."
"That's what you think," Marik grumbled before darting down the path of the maze. He managed to make it out before Arkana was able to turn the screens back to mirrors. He burst thought the double doors and out into yet another hallway with more red arrows pointing him to the next obstacle.
[-]
Arkana's smirk grew as he watched Marik follow the arrows down the hall. It doesn't matter if he found a way out of the maze… he thought, leaning back from the screen. He is running right into another of my traps.
He quickly glanced at another screen that showed feed from the location of the girl. He watched as his prisoner all but climbed the walls, attempting find a way out. His face fell as this sight involuntarily brought back thoughts of the strange incident that occurred that morning.
The girl began to stir and Arkana let the grin stretch across his face. She glanced around at her surroundings and picked herself off the floor. "Where the hell am I?" She muttered as she began to regain her senses.
"You're still with me," Arkana replied. He saw the fear pass momentarily across her face, but she quickly attempted to mask it. Her attempts at strength were pathetic. No matter what she said or did, the fear was always present in her eyes, and Arkana was starting to like it.
"I'm afraid this will be your final stop." He replied.
"What does that mean?" She asked. He could hear a touch of fear in her voice too.
"I hope you enjoy your day in here." He said with a smirk. "I'm afraid it will be you last."
"What? You said you would let me go!" she exclaimed, no longer masking her fear.
Arkana took a few steps closer, wanting a better look of her face. "Why would I let you go? I still need you to deal out a long overdue punishment. " The girl's feet scrambled back with each step he took toward her. He moved closer than he first intended just to see her jump. "I said I would be free of you, and that's true. Before this day is over, you will be dead, and I will never have to concern myself with you again."
She stared at him, eyes filled with fear. "I won't die here," she said, attempting to maintain here brave façade.
He chuckled. "It's a shame you have no choice in the matter." He could see, however, that the girl was no longer listening. Her eyes darted to open door behind him. He'd purposely left it open; let her believe there was hope for escape. She wouldn't get far. Two rare hunters guarded the door, but that wasn't all. He laid a trap for her and he wanted her to find it.
In an instant she pushed past him and made a run itr. She made it to the door, then let out a small cry as her foot came down on a pile of broken glass. She stumbled. To his disappointment, she managed to catch herself on the door frame. His face twisted into a grimace. He wanted more. He strode toward her and grabbed the back of her shirt. He shoved her forward, wanting her to land sprawled on the glass-strewn floor. Instead, she twisted her body as she went down, latching onto his arm. He had to grab onto the door frame to keep her from pulling him down. Her legs still gave out beneath her, landing half-kneeling on the shards of glass. She screamed as the glass embedded itself into her flesh, and he liked that sound. He'd considered physical torture beneath him before, now he wondered why.
He laughed cruelly. One of the rare hunters picked the girl up underneath her arms and threw her back into the room. She fell against the back wall and crumpled to the ground. Glass stuck out of her legs and she moaned in pain. Another threat had already formed on his tongue when something strange happened. The girl's long curly hair became straight and short. Her green eyes became brown. The features of her face shifted until she resembled another person entirely. The recognition halted his threats and calmed his frightening demeanor. Slowly he approached her and laid a hand on her cheek.
"Catherine?" He dared to speak her name.
"No!" The girl shouted – the girl who was not his Catherine. She shoved him back. He blinked a few times and it was all back: the curly hair, the green eyes, the girl's face. She was not his Catherine, and never was.
"I'm not Catherine," she cried, confirming his thoughts.
He got up and brushed himself off. "I am well aware of that, Molly." He used her name, attempting to convince them both that he did not believe she was Catherine. "I suppose I must say my final goodbye," he said, regaining his composure. "I have some business to attend to and I simply must be going." With that, he turned to leave, not allowing himself one look back to check; to make sure it really was Molly he was leaving.
Arkana rubbed his eyes and forced the memory back. It wasn't the first time he'd thought he'd seen Catherine's face. He'd thought he saw her on the street or on the subway, but it always turned out to be someone else. He pushed those incidents aside for now. Whatever had transpired that morning had no effect on the present. It was simply the light playing tricks on him. The room was dark, he couldn't see properly. He was not crazy. He wasn't seeing things. He was not beginning to see his Catherine everywhere.
Deciding it was time, he pressed button on his control panel. This allowed car exhaust to be released into the room though hidden pipes in the walls. He couldn't tell if the girl noticed any change but he decided it didn't matter. Soon the girl would be dead, he would have his revenge, and he would no longer be haunted by these illusions.
[-]
Molly crouched in a corner of her dark prison. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there. She tried to find a way out, a hidden window or a weak spot in the door, but she came up with nothing. She watched the door, clutching her weapon, waiting for them to come in and try to take her away. Then, she heard something, a hiss that sounded like it came from the ceiling. The smell of car exhaust came in with it. She dropped the glass as it dawned on her what was happening. This was it. This was how they planned to kill her.
"No, no, no, no, no..." She got up and rushed toward the door. Frantic, she pulled on the handle and banged on the door. She couldn't believe this was happening. She wouldn't even get her chance to fight. There had to be a way out, or at least a way to breathe. "I won't die, I won't!" she cried. She didn't know how long it would take for the room to fill with gas, but she knew she had to get out fast.
[-]
"What's with all the broken glass?" Duke wondered as they followed the rare hunter down the halls. Shards of glass covered the floors, making it impossible not to step on them.
"You going to tell us, or what?" Tristan demanded of the Rare Hunter.
"It was for the girl," he answered. "It was in case she tried to get away." The man remained silent until they stopped at a door marked Prop Room.
"She in there?" Joey asked. The man nodded silently, so Joey reached for the door knob. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked.
The light from the hall illuminated the otherwise dark room. They could see nothing but a small cage, a throne, and few dusty, discarded props piled on the corner.
Angered, Joey grabbed the Rare Hunter and pinned him against the wall. "Quit stalling and take us to our friends," he demanded. "Unless you want that ass kicking we talked about."
"You fools, it's already too late for your friends," the Rare Hunter spat back.
Yugi looked around at his friends. Most of them kept up a tough exterior, but he could see in their eyes that they were losing hope. It's not too late… the voice spoke again.
"He's lying!" Yugi exclaimed, trusting the voice.
"What? How do you know, Yuge?" Joey asked, turning back to his friend, confused.
"I can just tell," Yugi replied, deciding to explain later.
"How do you know your friend was ever here?" the rare hunter said with a mocking smirk. "For all you know, she was never even in the building."
"Hold on…" Kaiba said. He reached into the room and picked up a pair of women's tennis shoes. "Do these belong to your friend?" He asked, handing them to Yugi.
Yugi had never paid much attention to her shoes, but they certainly looked familiar and as far as he knew, none of the rare hunters were women. "They must. So she was here."
"Well buddy, now we've got proof." Tristan said to the rare hunter. "You might as well take us to her and she'd better be alive."
The man growled in frustration. "As far as I'm concerned, your friend was dead the second we brought her here."
[-]
Once again, the arrows stopped in front of a door. This door was metal and had a green light over it. Marik warily stepped inside. The door slammed shut behind him. He looked around the room and could see three more identical doors. The one directly across from him had red light, the one to his left had a blue light, and the one to his right had a yellow light.
He'd barely begun to wonder what this meant, when the floor moved under his him, knocking him off his feet. The entire room was rotating. It would rotate one quarter, stop momentarily, and then rotate again. Once the room stopped moving, Arkana's voice came in on the intercom again. "You may have figured out my last puzzle, but this time it won't be so easy. One of these doors will lead you on your way, but it's all a matter of picking the right door. I'll give you a hint though; it's directly across from the one you came in."
Marik got to his feet and cautiously made his way to the red door. The moment he opened it, a large weight fell from the ceiling. He was able to jump out of the way before the weight had a chance to crush him. Arkana's chuckle rang though the room. "I forgot to mention that choosing the wrong door can have some unfortunate results. Be careful though, next time you might not be so lucky. Now, you may want to hurry. She's running out of air."
"What do you mean by that?" he shouted at the ceiling, but received no answer; not that he expected one. He shuddered at the implications of Arkana's last statement. He put it out of his mind in order to think. Arkana must have meant that the corridor that laid behind the red door when he first walked in lead in the correct direction. Because the room rotated, it now laid behind a different door. He stopped to remember how the room had been rotated. He counted three clicks to the left and four to the right.
Before he could determine the correct door, the room started to move again. This time he remained standing and carefully counted the clicks again. This time it was two to the left, three to the right, and one more to the left. Carefully, he determined that the correct door was the blue one. Cautiously, he opened the door and peaked outside. He could see another hallway, once again with arrows pointing the way.
Marik jumped out of the room before Arkana could move it again. He gazed suspiciously down the hall. He was certain it would only lead to another trap, and he doubted Arkana would lead him to Molly, at least not before he had a chance to hurt her.
He looked around the hall. It was mostly dark and he could only see the arrows. It appeared to only be a hall without choices, but Marik figured that may not be true. Arkana was an illusionist. It was possible that his lack of choice was an illusion too.
He began feeling the around the walls looking for something: door, a window, an empty corridor, anything that Arkana might not want him to find. Eventually his hands came across something thin and metal. A ladder! He began to climb it, not caring that he didn't know where it would lead. It was so shrouded in shadow, Arkana clearly hadn't wanted him to find it.
[-]
It was getting worse, she was feeling weaker, sicker. It was getting harder to breathe. I have to keep trying, have to keep... Her brain was moving slower. Stay up, stay awake... she begged herself as she pulled weakly at the knob a few more times. Keep going, keep... Her body slumped against the door. Got to keep...
[-]
Arkana stopped watching the screen showing the moving room when Marik left it. It hadn't kept him occupied as long as Arkana had hoped. He looked up at the screen showing the girl. To his dismay, she was still standing, still struggling to get out. She appeared to be coughing and getting weaker, which was a good sign.
Marik only had one more trap to survive through, and then the arrows would lead him to the girl. By then, she should have passed on. Marik would find her dead, find that he had failed. And Arkana would be there to deal the final blow that he so deserved.
He heard the door slam open behind him. He turned around, intending to yell at the Rare Hunters that he was not to be disturbed, but he did not see a Rare Hunter. Instead he saw Marik standing in the doorway, absolutely fuming. "How did you get in here?" Arkana asked, surprised.
"I'm finished with your games, Arkana," Marik declared firmly, taking a step forward. He grabbed Arkana's collar and slammed him against the wall of screens behind him. "You will tell me where Molly is."
"Why not see for yourself?" He replied, gesturing to the screen showing Molly's room. Marik looked just in time to see Molly lean against the door and slump lifelessly to the ground.
[-]
"Do you guys smell that?" Bakura asked as they made their way down another hall.
"Yeah, it smells like a gas station," Joey replied.
The group arrived at another door by the directions of the Rare Hunters. Once again the floor was covered with broken glass. "This is the correct room," the Rare Hunter stated.
Joey immediately started pounding on the door. "Molly, you in there?"
"She can't answer you," the Rare Hunter said, flatly. "Like I said, she's already dead."
"And like we said, we don't believe you," Tristan retorted, tightening his grip on the Rare Hunter.
"I'm going to try to break it down," Joey said, taking a running start.
"Wait!" Duke cried, just as Joey bounced off the door. "We can't break it down from this side." He said, gesturing to the hinges.
"Well, how else do you expect to get in?" Joey asked.
The Key… Yugi remembered. He removed it from his pocket and approached the door. "Let me try." He said. He put the key in the lock and turned it. Thankfully, the lock clicked and Yugi was able to open the door. Duke rushed in and pulled Molly out.
"Is she ok?" Yugi asked, closing the door again.
"I can't tell," Duke answered, hoisting her over his shoulder. "We need to find Marik and get out of here."
"Wait, put her on the ground," Bakura directed, to everyone else's surprise.
"Put her down?" Tristan asked. "Are you nuts? There's glass everywhere and we need to get out of here, dude."
"She may need to be resuscitated," Bakura explained. "It'd be better that I do it now instead of later."
Understanding Bakura's explanation, Joey quickly used his denim jacket to clear a space on the floor. Duke laid her down and the rest gathered around. The Rare Hunter had broken out of Tristan's grasp and run off, but they didn't pay too much attention to it.
"What happened to her?" Yugi wondered aloud, looking at the blood on her hands, her tattered clothes, and the bandage wrapped around her calf. He felt a familiar fire burning in his stomach. Someone hurt his friends. Someone tried to kill them. What made it worse was that, right now, there was nothing he could do to help.
Bakura titled her head back and leaned in, listening for breath and watching to see if her chest would rise and fall. He then placed two fingers on the side of her neck, checking for a pulse. He looked up to see his friends all holding their breath, waiting for an answer. "She's still breathing." He confirmed, letting a few of his friends exhale.
"Thank God you're pre-med," Duke muttered.
[-]
Marik dropped Arkana and leaned into the screen, attempting to determine any movement or sign of life in her. He could tell nothing from the screen. She's dead. The thought came from a darker part of his mind. He'd failed. An innocent life was gone because of him and his past.
"You know, in a way, I'm glad that you found me," Arkana said as he slowly put an arm around Marik's shoulders. "Now we can watch her die together. Maybe, if we watch carefully, we can spot the exact moment her soul leaves her body. Look...I think...wait...there. I believe she is gone. Where did she go, I wonder. Wait, you follow that ancient Egyptian religion, right? You're big on the afterlife, what do you think?"
Marik stared into the screen, rage building in him with each word Arkana spoke.
"The Rare Hunters thought I should have killed her as soon as I got the chance. It would have been easy, after all. But, I knew it would be much more satisfying to watch her slip right through your fingers. I'm afraid our minions don't have as sophisticated minds as you or I. You should have heard the disgusting things they asked to do to her. Don't worry, I didn't let them. I had my own plans for her. Anyway, that doesn't matter anymore. Her suffering is over now, and soon, yours will be as well."
A small glint of metal reflected in screen, catching Marik's attention. He saw that Arkana's hand, now holding a knife, had stretched across his body, ready to slide the blade across his throat. Marik's hand shot out, grabbing Arkana's wrist and pulling the knife away. He threw his elbow into Arkana's throat, causing the mad man to drop the knife and back away. Marik lunged at Arkana, grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Rage clouded Marik's mind, almost completely blocking out his other senses. To his surprise, Arkana laughed.
"You're pathetic," He said. Arkana kicked Marik in the knee, causing him to stumble.
Marik grabbed the front of Arkana's and punched him in the face. "You won't get away with this."
"Fool, attacking me won't bring your girlfriend back," Arkana scoffed. "As long as she's dead, I've won."
Enraged, Marik picked Arkana up and slammed him to into a wall. "Listen to me," he growled, pulling Arkana close by his collar. "You will pay for this. You have taken an innocent life and I will make sure you pay." However, he noticed Arkana wasn't listening. Instead, he had his eyes fixed on the screens behind Marik.
"No…" Arkana breathed, eyes widening. "That's impossible…"
Marik looked over his shoulder. He saw that the room that held Molly was now empty. He was about to turn to Arkana and demand an explanation when he saw what was on the screen next to it. He saw his friends gathered around Molly, and one more person standing off the side. Kaiba?
Finally he saw what had taken Arkana by such shock. Molly was no longer lying motionless. She was stirring. She was waking up. She was alive.
He relaxed, allowing his grip on Arkana to loosen. Arkana slipped out of his grasp and darted out of the room, but Marik didn't chase after his enemy. He stayed and studied the screens, trying to connect them to a path that would lead him to his friends. He had to make sure everyone was okay, and that they got out safe.
[-]
Everything was fuzzy when she woke up. She could hear someone saying "Molly." It took her a minute to comprehend that it was her name. When her eyelids no longer felt too heavy to lift, she saw that it was Yugi.
"Yugi?" She slowly started to sit up. As she looked around, she could see that more of her friends were gathered around her. It couldn't be real. She was dying only a second ago and here they were. Is this a dream? she wondered. Am I dead? "What are you guys doing here?"
"We followed Marik here," Yugi answered. "He was trying to find you."
"Marik?" She asked, still not completely back in her senses. "How did he know where I am? I don't even know where I am."
Yugi crinkled his eyebrows together in confusion. "Molly, you know Arkana was after Marik, right?"
"This is taking too long," Kaiba grumbled. He stepped forward into the group and tossed Molly her shoes. "Here…"
She took the shoes and started putting them on. "Uh…thanks…"
"Kaiba's right," Tristan said. "We'll have plenty of time for explanations once we find Marik and get out of here."
The crunching of glass caught the group's attention. They turned in the direction of the sound. Joey and Tristan got in a fighting stance, expecting to have to face some Rare Hunters. Instead, they saw Marik. He leaned one hand against the wall to catch his breath, having just sprinted there from Arkana's control room.
"You're okay…" He said between breaths.
Molly shakily got to her feet. She walked toward him, limping on her injured leg. Please be real, show me I'm safe. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Marik I…"
He didn't let her finish. He pulled her into a tight embrace, one he had no intention of breaking soon. He saw the blood, but he didn't let it repulse him. She needed him and he couldn't let a little blood get in his way. She was here, safe in his arms. He'd make sure of that. He'd keep her safe. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her anymore. Let's see Arkana rip you away from me now, he thought. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry they hurt you. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I..."
"Marik..." she whispered back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
He looked over Molly's shoulder at his friends. They were all there, and for the moment they were safe. Except… "Wait, where's Tea?"
"Tea?" Molly broke away from Marik's arms. "Does Arkana have her too?!"
Joey shook his head. "She should be fine. She left to get help.''
"Now that we're all back together, we should get out of here," Tristan added. "I'm getting sick of this creepy place." They started making their way out, when light from a group of flashlights landed on them.
"Freeze, police!"
"That's them! Those are my friends!" They heard Tea say. She appeared in front of the police officers, looking relieved to see her friends were alright.
"Is everyone here?" the officer asked.
"Yes, sir," Yugi answered.
"Alright then," the officer said after silently counting heads. "Everyone come with me."
