Chapter 12

The cold metal dug into her wrists with enough pressure that even the slightest motion caused her throbbing pain. Serenity curled her legs closer to her chest and settled into a breathing pattern, determined to keep her head straight and not go into a panic attack. She was trembling noticeably, the temperature in the air being likely below standard room temperature. There wasn't a whole lot that she could see in front of her, aside from the silver bars of her prison cell and the dark burgundy brick of the walls of the dungeon. Closing her eyes, Serenity continued breathing evenly and told herself firmly that her brother was probably already on his way to rescue her. Now, she thought, I've just got to work my way backwards from what I remember in order to figure out where I am. She remembered a man dragging her into a dank and decrepit building, and shoving her into a weird pod, just like one that she had been in when she went into a virtual world with her friends during the Battle City Tournament. And then she had woken up here. Where was here? Was this another virtual world? The prison certainly didn't look like anything like what she'd seen when the man was pulling her half-way around the city. All right, thought Serenity, so it's Noah's world. That's not so bad.

Her eyelids fluttered open at the sound of a door creaking open past her prison cell. Serenity squirmed a little on the hard cot she was on, and dragged herself into a sitting position so that she didn't feel completely helpless. She waited with baited breath as the footsteps drew closer to her cell and finally entered her field of view. It was the man who was her kidnapper.

"Ah, good. You've awakened." He gave her a feral grin.

Serenity jerked her arms towards her chest in a protective gesture, realizing too late that they were still cuffed behind her back. She let out a small cry of pain. This appeared to amuse him. "Oh, go on. Keep struggling. The worse the condition they see you in, the more they'll try to fight to save you, you see? Even if this is only a virtual hurt, a virtual pain, your mind still thinks otherwise. So that's going to make the experiences all the more real, now, isn't it? How are you liking Gozaburo's virtual technology so far, Serenity?" He taunted, tilting his head in mock seriousness.

"You'll never get away with this, Dr. Yoshida. My brother and everyone else will come and save me, just you wait. I'm sure they'll come for me, I just know it!" She told him, her words holding more confidence than she actually felt.

He ignored the statement and drew closer to the silver bars of the cell, causing her to edge further away from him on her cot until she had her back pressed against the brick of the wall. "It's more than just virtual technology that's going to make this experience completely realistic, though. I've added something else to the mix that's going to have an even stronger effect on everyone in this world. Can you guess what that is, Serenity?" The grin was back on his face, and she watched in morbid fascination as his tongue darted out to lick his lower lip. He was enjoying her pain, and she only now just comprehended this. It sent several shivers down her spine, adding to her trembling. "No, I guess not. I'll show you then, shall I?" Dr. Yoshida reached one hand beneath his cloak and drew forth something golden...something ancient...

Though it had no physical presence in the virtual world, the Millennium Rod had a great deal of spiritual presence, and it was real enough to the people hooked up to the virtual pods. Darkness issued forth at Dr. Yoshida's quiet command, and then grey and black and moving, breathing shadows spilled through the prison bars and slunk towards Serenity. She yelped at the sight, and then lost her voice at the terrors, the blackish purple groping fingers, the dark red eyes, dripping ooze and shadow blood and moaning and groaning in her head...

...the fingers reached up to curl their way around her legs, her arms, her throat, and just as the deep nothingness of the shadows entered her mind, she found her lost voice.

"JOEY!"

xXx

Yuugi wrenched his body around with a start, his pulse spiking. But there was nothing behind him but more ice and snow, and beyond that, the faint edges of the green forest he'd left behind, blurred over the horizon. "I could have sworn I heard Serenity..." he mumbled under his breath, his teeth chattering from the slow freeze that had begun working its way into his bones. With a sigh that fogged the air in front of his face, he turned back around and continued crunching through the snow. His duel disk glowed dimly, a few more magic and trap spaces filled up than before. He had long since removed the Trap Hole, and thankfully the water monster he'd once ensnared in it had not come after him. That was a trap in his graveyard now; Yuugi knew it would be useless to make a hole appear under monsters in this terrain, where the hole would simply go straight through the ice and down to the water beneath. And the water was their domain.

He hoped Joey was okay, wherever he was, since he knew he would probably be facing just as many problems as he had been facing. There was a very small chance that he had managed to end up near where his sister was being held, but it was probably Dr. Yoshida who had chosen their starting points, so Yuugi didn't think it was likely. Yuugi wondered at what the man was planning. The battles he had faced so far had not been too difficult, although he was a little concerned at his dwindling magic and trap field zone. Three spaces were currently alight, signalling that they were in use. Yuugi knew he'd been separated from Joey to make it easier on Dr. Yoshida to harm them, but he still had no idea why the man wanted to even harm them in the first place. They certainly hadn't known Dr. Yoshida before this entire incident...

"Hello, Pharaoh."

Yuugi rubbed his arms hard to keep his blood (virtual blood, he chided himself, this wasn't real) moving. He tried to sort out the confusing phone conversation he'd had with the man. Why had he called him Pharaoh? Was he really after the Pharaoh? But he had said on the phone that he knew Yuugi didn't have the Puzzle anymore, and that he knew the Pharaoh wasn't with him. So what was this really all about? It was too confusing to fit all the pieces together...there was so much information wandering around in Yuugi's head, and trying to figure out the situation was hard when he couldn't concentrate on anything but the safety of his two friends. Please, let them be okay, Yuugi prayed. His head snapped up; for a second his teeth stopped chattering. Had he just been pleading with the Egyptian gods? A tiny smile flickered on his face, and then flickered out. I've been believing in fate and destiny for too many years to just give up on that belief now, he thought with a sigh. They'll be okay, because they have to be. That's all there is to it.

Making his way around a deep crack in the ice, Yuugi found he had to halt at the top of a downward slope. Just below him, the ice he had been walking on ended abruptly. The blue-white ocean swirled where the ice ended, swishing against the shore like a contented cat. All around him there was an almost dead silence, but Yuugi wasn't fooled. The little wooden rowboat waiting for him at the bottom of the slope was too perfectly convenient for him to see it as anything but a threat. Yet he had no choice. He had to cross the short span of ocean in order to reach the ice on the other side —where he knew it eventually ended in a more rocky terrain— so that he could continue to head towards Noah's castle. It was not too far from where he was now, and he was sure he would be able to reach it within a short span of time (how long, who knew, time was a difficult thing to measure in this world). Yuugi felt sure that the castle was where he needed to be. It was where Joey was sure to be heading towards. Where Serenity was sure to be.

Rubbing his numb fingers to loosen them up, he started down the slope, his disk raised and his hand hovering on his deck. Two of the traps he might be able to remove, if he needed the space...but the third had been due to a battle not too far away, and Yuugi wasn't sure he wanted to risk it. The black hood on his sweater had been pulled up in an effort to keep his ears warm, but Yuugi pulled it down now, not wanting the edges of the fabric to block his vision. He slid the last few feet, his shoes providing no traction against the slick ice underneath the layer of snow. As he drew closer, he could see that the wooden boat was anchored to the shore by a knot of rope hung loosely over a wooden stake jammed into the ice.

Yuugi pulled the rope off of the stake as he placed one foot into the boat, legs spread apart wide enough for him to keep his balance. With one hand on the shore (though it chilled him deeply to do so) he placed his other foot in and bent over to pick up the oars.

There was a rapid gust of wind, and suddenly the boat took off, skimming the water at a great speed. Yuugi lost his balance and fell over onto the bench in the boat, but quickly regained his senses and scanned the skies for his opponent. There! Two creatures, one like a blue figure made entirely of wind, and the other like a fiery ball of light with a face. He raised his disk and drew some cards. The attack had been unexpected —he had been assuming that it would come from the water, not the skies. Next time he would be more careful. But the duel with this monster (it was one monster, made of two creatures) would not be too tough, Yuugi was sure. He knew the name of the monster he was facing, and really, that was all that he needed in order to win. "Go, Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress 1!" His monster was flying towards the creatures the very moment he had placed the card onto a monster space. Yuugi directed its attack anyway, just to be sure. "Attack Ray & Temperature!" He yelled, and then returned his attention to the more immediate problem he was facing.

His boat was still gliding along at an uncontrollable speed, going in a direction perpendicular to the one he actually needed to be in. Yuugi considered his options. The oars would be of no use; placing them in the water would only snap them away from his hands due to the speed of the boat. He didn't think he had enough arm strength to slow the boat down, anyway. He thought through his deck, and then, he knew exactly what he needed. Please, heart of the cards...he drew, and smiled in relief. "I summon Great White!" He called out.

The shark did not appear in the air in front of him, but rather was instantly in the water, swimming alongside the rowboat, keeping speed easily. "Please, stop this boat!" Yuugi asked of the shark, not entirely sure that the creature could hear him under the water. But the lone dorsal fin raised higher above the water, and Yuugi saw the shark's eyes blink at him before it disappeared underwater completely.

The Great White was a card he had rarely used (perhaps once in his duel against the videotape of Pegasus, now that Yuugi thought about it). But it was a card that had been in the deck given to him by his grandfather, and now he was glad that the water monster was there for him. Though shaped much like a great white shark, the fish had webbed hands, large and heavily muscled. It used these hands now, gripping hold of the boat as it used its tail movement in order to push against the boat in the opposite direction. Finally, the boat began to slow, and then it stopped.

Yuugi raised his head to get a look at his Dragon, who was circling overhead. Ray & Temperature was destroyed, then. His gaze was yanked back to the water when a splash sounded not too far from the boat. Something metallic shone in the daylight —Yuugi ducked.

The arrow missed his head by mere inches, embedding itself into the side of the boat. Heart pounding against his ribcage, Yuugi took a quick glance over the side of the boat and was rewarded with another arrow barely missing his head. But he had gotten what he needed: Red Archery Girl in her shell, firing arrows from some distance away on an ice floe. "Great White, attack the Red Archery Girl!" He shouted from his position crouched under the bench of the rowboat. With a rush of water, the monster shark took off, and the rowboat was left rocking wildly from side to side in its wake. There was another whistle in the air...it flew short, and there was a slight splash as the arrow dropped into the water in front of the boat. Yuugi crawled out from under the bench and righted himself, surveying the situation.

He never got a good look at the battle, because quite suddenly another duel monster raised itself up from the depths of the ocean, having apparently waited until Yuugi sent his shark away. A diversion! A monster known as Octoberser wrapped all of its eight mauve tentacles around the boat, intending on dragging the craft along with the duelist inside to the bottom of the ocean. He needed a new monster, and fast. His Dragon didn't have the required amount of attack points, and regardless its fire blast would knock Yuugi overboard and destroy the boat. Yuugi gazed at the cards in his hand and pocketed them, as they were useless to him at the moment and he needed both hands in order to hold on to the side of the boat. The wood was splintering under the pressure of the tentacles, and the boat started to take on water. Alarmed at the sudden turn of events, Yuugi kept his dueling arm as high above the water as he could. He suspected the virtual water would short circuit the thing.

Octoberser raised the blue, fish half of its body out of the ocean and angled a rather nasty looking spear. Yuugi's eyes widened. The bottom of the boat cracked. Quite suddenly he was treading water, and then the Octoberser abandoned its effort on the boat to wrap all of its tentacles around Yuugi. "Ah!" He screamed. The freezing water combined with the powerful pressure of the tentacles was becoming increasingly unbearable. His shark! Why hadn't his shark returned yet? Yuugi realized with another shock that that particular light was dim on his monster zone. Great White must have been ambushed. No —so what could he do then?

A great roar came from above, as his Dragon watched helplessly as its master was being crushed to the point of his unconsciousness. Yuugi could feel himself start to lose his grip on the reality of the situation...his eyes were sliding closed...

"Winged Dragon...attack...Octo—" Yuugi wheezed with some difficulty.

The wailing Dragon immediately took a dive. Octoberser looked up with a slight jerk, having anticipated this last desperate move from the duelist. It raised its spear and aimed; Winged Dragon adjusted its tail to swerve from side to side in its dive. Although Octoberser had more attack points, if it missed the shot, the Dragon was free to attack from point blank range. Winged Dragon opened its jaws and let out a loud roar, and its neck muscles tensed...

Expecting a fire ball attack but not pausing enough to wonder why the Dragon would risk its duelist master, Octoberser let loose the spear at the Dragon. The yellow handle gleamed in the sunlight, and the Dragon watched it, predicting the path it would take. It curled its wings closer against its body and twisted, flailing its tail up to bat the spear out of the way. Octoberser reeled backwards with fear. It started to untangle its tentacles from the duelist, but it was too late. Winged Dragon slammed into the water monster, knocking it into the depths of the ocean, and its hind legs hastily snagged the arms of its master from the water. Flapping hard now, Winged Dragon shot several fire balls down to the water, hoping to keep the aqua type duel monster at bay while it made a break for it. The heat and smoke from the blast were sure to keep the monster from seeing them as they made their escape.

Yuugi coughed as his lungs readjusted to being able to breathe properly. His vision was returning, but he had a massive headache, and he felt dizzy, as though the world were spinning in far too many circles around him. Blinking, he realized that this was due to the erratic flight of his Dragon, who alternated between climbing higher and twisting in its flight to get a look at its master beneath its wings. Yuugi blinked again as he stared into the monster's large eyes. "Ah...I'm okay, you can sop checking," Yuugi confirmed.

Winged Dragon gave a huff, letting out some smoke from its nostrils. Yuugi cleared his throat again and tested the muscles in his arms and hands to be sure that he hadn't lost any feeling anywhere. He was almost completely frozen, he decided, and if it continued he didn't know how badly his virtual body would be affected. Yuugi found he could not breathe without taking in icy air that burned his lungs in its intensity. Forcing himself to keep moving, he clenched and unclenched his muscles in an effort to reheat them. He abruptly noticed the weight on his leg and let out a yelp, shaking it hard. A blue starfish monster dropped off with a slight sucking sound, and Yuugi's breathing returned to normal again. His arms were terribly sore and were nearly being pulled from their sockets, though, from being held hanging beneath his Dragon from its hind legs. He peered into the distance and saw with relief the white expanse that indicated the ice on the other side of the ocean that he had been trying to cross earlier. "Dr-drop me o-off there..." his teeth were chattering so hard that it was becoming difficult to speak. Yuugi snapped his jaws shut tightly.

His Dragon did not miss the condition its master was in, and so sped up, wings flapping even harder, and it tilted them in such a way so as to try and minimize the wind being blown at Yuugi. Finally, they reached the other side of the ocean and the Winged Dragon settled down to land, dropping Yuugi when he was a couple of meters from the ground. Crying out in pain, Yuugi's hands reached suddenly for his leg, and he curled upon himself in the freezing snow, confused at the stabbing sensation pricking at his leg like a knife. Concerned, his Dragon lowered itself beside Yuugi, and wrapped its wings around him, breathing hot smoke to try and dispel the cold. Yuugi thought that he had better have the monster take him the rest of the way to the castle, as soon as he recovered from being frozen. It would not due to waste any more time getting there. Hopefully there would not be many flying duel monsters ready to attack them from the sky, which was his major concern at the idea. Although he supposed it could not be much worse than the multitude of monsters he encountered on the ground.

After a while Yuugi's teeth stopped chattering and he found his lungs no longer burned from the icy air. He thanked his Dragon quietly, and tentatively pulled up his pant leg, wondering at the pain that had afflicted him earlier. Yuugi looked down in horror at the mottled green, purple, and blue colour his skin had taken, and at the puncture marks in the skin. He realized it was the starfish who had probably done this. I'm infected with some sort of duel monster poison? Yuugi thought with slow growing dread. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't what happened with duel monsters. Duel monsters don't attack duelists —they attack other duel monsters. And for that matter, the virtual world was definitely not supposed to hurt as much as it did. The cold wasn't supposed to feel as real as it did...Yuugi had been surrounded by this ice before, in this very place, many years before, and he could not remember it being this freezing.

Yuugi started to shake as he finally grasped the situation.

This wasn't just a Duel Monsters game anymore. Dr. Yoshida was using the Rod to do this.

This was a Shadow Game.

xXx

Joey dropped with some defeat onto the bench, exhausted and sore. He had been eager to return to searching the castle for his sister or his friend, but the congregate of monsters that seemed to wander the grounds in some sort of eternal watch were keeping him from getting too close. As it was, he was stuck in the one area of the castle not usually explored by the monsters: a bit of a separate building that held a court room. Figuring that Yuugi would think to look for him there, Joey had settled down on one of the spectator benches to wait (in a seat Yuugi had sat in himself years before, no less).

No sooner had he stretched out his legs and closed his eyes did the screaming start. Joey jumped to his feet, spinning on the spot as he listened intently to the very human noise. "Serenity?" Taking off down the aisle, he threw himself at the heavy double doors and burst into the sunshine outside. He'd walked out onto a terrace, a low brick wall surrounding the area, preventing accidental falls over the cliff the courthouse was built upon. The area was empty save for himself...but then the scream came again, causing Joey to turn his attention skyward.

A vicious looking dragon was flying overhead, complete with a knight on its back, all dressed in black armour. Was that...a woman dangling from the dragon's claws? "Serenity!" Joey yelled. He raised his disk and drew a card. Exactly what he needed. "Okay! I summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" His favourite duel monster appeared several meters above him, flapping its wings to hover above its master. The appearance of the Black Dragon caught the attention of the knight, and the enemy turned away, speeding up. "Not so fast...Red-Eyes, show them why you're one of the most powerful dragons in the game! Knock that knight from the dragon's back with your Inferno Fire Blast!" Joey shouted, and his Red-Eyes complied, climbing higher and rushing forward. It was faster than the enemy dragon, and it closed the distance between them quickly. When it was only a few wing beats away, Red-Eyes let loose its attack, and a ball of fire ripped through the space between them. The enemy tried to avoid the attack, curling its wings to drop in elevation, but the attack moved too fast for it to respond in time. The armoured knight crumpled and fell from the sky, trailing smoke.

The blast had harmed the knight's mount as well, and it let out a pained cry, back convulsing and body twisting. The woman it had been carrying was released from its claws, and she dropped like lead brick from the sky. Joey swore and yelled out his sister's name, but he need not have been concerned. Red-Eyes settled into a smooth dive and dropped under the woman, and she landed hard on its back.

Joey waited impatiently as his Red-Eyes returned to him. He could see his sister clearly now, and she cried out his name as she drew closer. "Joey, it really is you!" Her face looked half-torn between fear and relief. Landing as carefully as it could, Red-Eyes pressed itself closer to the ground so that Serenity could slide off its back. "Joey!" She cried out, tears pouring down her face.

He raced forward and drew her into his arms. "Serenity! Are you okay?"

She nodded into his shoulder. "I was so scared...but I just knew you would come for me, I knew it!" Her arms tightened around him.

Joey felt his body relax, and all of the tension that he had been feeling was released. "Of course I came for you. I'm your big brother, aren't I?" He tugged her away from him a little, gently, so that he could wipe the tears from her face. "Don't worry, I'll get you outta here. We just gotta find Yuugi now —he came in with me— and then we can leave this place behind, okay?" He gave her a big reassuring smile.

"Unfortunately for you, I can't allow that."

Joey whirled around and moved protectively in front of his sister. His Red-Eyes snarled. Standing across from them near the wall surrounding the terrace was the knight from before. His black armour was partially melted and much of it had fallen off, revealing flimsy brown clothing underneath. The dragon he had been riding on crouched defensively beside him, midnight blue wings raised to block an attack from Joey's dragon, should it come. "Wait a minute...you survived that? What the hell?" Joey stared in confusion at the enemy that should have been destroyed. And since when do duel monsters talk? Joey wondered.

The knight reached one gloved hand up and removed the black helmet. Joey stumbled backward in shock. "Yes...I am Dr. Yoshida. I must admit, Joey, I really didn't expect you to attack me while I was holding your sister captive. I only wanted to lure one of you out, you see, and I didn't think you'd be careless enough to engage me in battle. You're much more stupid than I was led to believe. Or is it that you don't care for her as deeply as I thought you did?"

Having overcome his stunned amazement, Joey responded furiously. "Don't you dare talk to me like that. You're lower than the scum beneath my feet, okay? And now that my sister's back with me, I have nothing restraining me from attacking you with all of my strength. Red-Eyes, Inferno Fire Blast!" Joey commanded.

Red-Eyes arched its neck and spat the molten flame at the horned dragon across from it. Growling, the creature raised its wings to protect its master. The blast hit, flinging the enemy dragon backwards, right through the low brick wall and into the space beyond. The creature disintegrated into nothingness.

Dr. Yoshida removed the last of his melted armour and chuckled at the fuming Joey. "So you've destroyed my dragon. I no longer feel like pretending to be Dark Blade the Dragon Knight, anyway. But I'm not going to tolerate your threats, Joey. This is my virtual world now, you see. There is nothing that you can do to stop me. So say goodbye to your dragon." Reaching under a brown cloak, Dr. Yoshida pulled out the Millennium Rod and pointed it at his Red-Eyes. "Program, remove the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from this world for good."

The Rod glowed brightly, and Joey gasped, spinning around to look at his beloved creature, who was suddenly shimmering like static on a television screen. Red-Eyes let out a mournful sound before it disappeared from their sight. "No," Joey breathed. How was he supposed to fight against the man if he could remove his duel monsters from his sight so easily? How...? Joey shook the thoughts from his head and shouted with a confident tone. "I don't need my duel monsters to defeat you. Eat this!" Running forward, Joey caught the man off-guard as he swung his fist at his head.

Dr. Yoshida stumbled backwards, and the Rod fell from his hands, which he raised to try and block the flurry of punches Joey was quickly issuing. "Joey!" Serenity wailed. Dr. Yoshida caught his next punch, and pushed the younger man back, using the time he had gained to seize the Rod from the ground. "Watch out!" Serenity yelled in fear.

Too late. Joey collapsed to the ground, holding his head in agony. "Get...out o-of...my head..." he groaned, and Dr. Yoshida smirked in anticipation. Joey squeezed his eyes shut and tried to fight the Rod's control. "Ah..."

"Stop right there!"

Letting go of his mind, Dr. Yoshida abruptly turned to face the man intruding on the situation. Yuugi stood gasping and panting in the doorway of the courthouse, leaning heavily on one of the doors. One leg was lifted slightly from the ground, as though it hurt to put pressure on it. His injured appearance did nothing to change his tone, however. "Step away from my friend or I'll make you regret it, Dr. Yoshida." He demanded.

He only lifted his eyebrows in response to Yuugi's outburst. "And how are you going to do that, Yuugi? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you can barely stand, let alone fight me." Dr. Yoshida taunted.

Yuugi lifted his duel disk and snapped a card down, praying that his disk still worked in the light of the water that had gone through it. "Go, Dark Magician! Attack him!"

Dark Magician appeared in a flash, hovering in the air, much to Yuugi's relief. The deep purple robes quivered slightly at the breeze his appearance had brought forth. Raising a great staff, the Magician attacked. A green light jumped from the head of the staff and jolted towards Dr. Yoshida. He pointed the Rod at the light. "Remove this now!" Instantly, both Yuugi's monster and the magic attack disappeared from sight. Dr. Yoshida moved to point his Rod at Yuugi, only then just realizing that the duelist had moved from the door to his friend's side. He levelled a hard look at both of them. "Don't think that being together is going to help you any. You're completely at my mercy. Because there is nothing in this world that I can't do!" He laughed maniacally.

Putting an arm around his friend, Joey pulled himself to his feet and murmured to Yuugi. "How did you get here so quickly? Never mind, explain that later. Listen, I'm sorry, buddy. It's hopeless...there's nothing we can summon that he can't just send away again with that stupid Rod of his. I think we're done for, man." He started as he got a better look at his friend, at the exhaustion, at the way he was obviously favouring one leg. Yuugi tried to dispel his concern with a smile, but Joey wasn't fooled. "Yuugi...you're in way worse condition than me. The way things are going..."

"We don't have to win, Joey," Yuugi interrupted quietly, his mouth close to Joey's ear. They had to make this conversation quick before Dr. Yoshida got bored. "We just have to distract him for long enough to grab Serenity and escape..."

"I'm growing tired of this. Whatever little plan you're trying to come up with, it's not going to work. You might as well give up now," Dr. Yoshida suggested mildly. The two duelists glared at him.

"Ready, Joey?" Yuugi drew a hand.

Joey did the same, gritting his teeth. "Ready, Yuugi."

They each slapped a card down onto a monster space and ordered their attacks.

One final effort.