To The Minotaur's Lair
It had only been one, maybe two minutes since he one the duel, but his exhaustion had still taken its toll. 'Jonouchi,' someone called, the blond unable to hear who it was. Katsuya's head slumped forward as he leaned back, eyes closed and senses all but cut off from a majority of the living world. The blond was sleeping... Mostly sleeping at least, given that it had only been minutes since he chose to succumb to the feeling. His arms hung to the sides of the chair as he took long, peaceful breaths, the sound of shouts just barely reaching him from in the distance. 'Jonouchi,' someone was calling, their panicked voice somehow held with a confident air. The voice cleared, and as his eyes opened blearily the blond could make out a figure from the side of the glass. "Jonouchi, What happened?"
Reds, golds, and blacks... Wait... Those colorus were- He blinked, frowning slightly. Heck, colours aside, that voice sounded like... "What the.." He groaned, holding his head as he cleared his vision up. Candle light... It wasn't much to go on but- The blond turned to the source of the voice, staring only a moment grinning. Yugi... And... "Ah! It's you guys!" They... They were all there! Behind the glass stood the 'Other Yugi', along with Anzu, Bakura, and Honda. Why the 'Other' one was there, he didn't know... But right now, he was just glad to see them really! "Hah! I don't believe it... You all came..." How had they found him..? This would be the last place he'd come to duel, and yet... He shook it off, focusing on the positives. "Yugi," he shouted, grabbing his things from the table. "You just missed it man, I won on my own!" Why did that come out more like a kid proudly showing off his homework than what it was supposed to sound like? Well, Yugi didn't seem to mind at least... Coming out as he clipped his four new starchips in place, he gave a light shrug before breaking into a grin again. "Well... It was mostly luck again but..."
"It doesn't matter," Yugi was saying with a smile, cutting the blond off. "You did it, didn't you?" Hah... Yea, he did... Didn't he.
Katsuya's grin grew, and he rubbed his head with a laugh. "Hahah! Yea! You guy's should've seen it," he began with a shout, momentarily forgetting about the skulls around them. "I took them down in one move, with a deadly one-shot combo!" Sword and Shield... With an instant kill. Awwww yea...
As he said this, the others stared, blinking. He wasn't sure if they were listening to the details of his combo but... "Wow," Honda muttered, the others nodding at the side. They all looked at his left hand, where the glove's metal band was shining dimly in the candlelight. "Eight star chips..." Eh? Oh right, he'd just clicked those in huh...
"Sounds like it went great," Anzu added, smiling. "Even if it was mostly luck..." Er... Much as he wanted to argue that... Yea. He guessed that luck had a fair bit of power in it all really.
The blond shrugged again, stretching a few kinks out of his arms while Honda frowned. "You know Jonouchi," he started, eyes 'narrowed' in faux wisdom as he spoke, "This streak of good luck is something to think about... Did you ever think that since you came to this island you were wasting the rest of your life's luck?"
"E-EH!" He turned, eyes wide. Wasting his luck? That couldn't happen right? "No way! That' can't be it," he shouted, grabbing Honda by the shirt. "T-Take it back man, you say things like that and it'll actually happen!" He'd doom them all damn it!
His friend merely laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulder and throwing off the blond's grip. "Hahaha! Prove me wrong then and tell me you're running on more than just fumes!" What what what! No! This wouldn't help at all ahhhh...
"Damn it Honda!" As Katsuya turned to continue the verbal battle, he frowned, cutting off. -clack- That sound... Rocks? His frowned deepened, and the sounds continued. -clack- "...Hang on..."
The others turned as well, expressions mimicking Katsuya's own. Far off down the tunnel they'd come in... was that a person..? "Hey," he shouted, running after the now clattering sounds of footsteps. Whoever it was he'd spotted was now barreling down the tunnel in an attempt to escape, Katsuya soon coming within just a few meters of them. "Wait a second," the blond continued, squinting in the dark. That was... Oh, hell, it was them. (Why were they still there? ) "HEY! YOU!" He continued running, the people ahead stopping in their tracks. Kotsuzuka, his two friends... And as he came close a familiar black vest and flag bandanna came into view, the blond scowling in response. "Bandit Keith!"
The reaction from both sides was something he'd more or less see coming. Keith, of course, turned to face the group, along with everyone else with him. The American leveled a narrowed glare at the group, while his three 'friends' merely stared at them with narrowed eyes. And as Yugi and the others came up from behind, he could hear their surprise at the group as well. "Jonouchi," Honda was saying with a disbelieving tone, Katsuya stopping to turn to him. The surprise was expected really... This was the number one duelist in the US... Or 'was' really. "You got in a fight with these guys?"
"Psh..." He shook his head, frown returning. "Naw... It wasn't like that..." More like he'd been attacked really... His scowl deepened, and he clenched his fists. "These guys shanghaied me and dragged me down t' this crypt!" As Honda and the others blinked, before turning to look at Keith, he continued. "They were stalking us the entire morning, waiting t' make their catch!" The people in front of him merely glared in response, and Katsuya growled. "Tch... 'Bandit Keith'," he shouted, pointing at the man accusingly. The American grit his teeth, fists clenching in response. "If you call yourself a duelist then why don't you fight fair next time, instead a' hiding behind someone else?"
Keith merely growled, and while his eyes were hidden behind the shades his anger was was more than evident. "Fucker," he shouted, the same ragged slurr he'd heard before echoing around the cavern. "Don't tell me how to play you yellow-ass punk!" Yellow what? What did he just call him! As Katsuya growled, Keith turned on them all with the same 'slasher smile' from before, and a shiver ran down his spine. "You want me to 'play fair'? HAH! Don't make me fucking laugh... Card games are about outwitting your opponent," he shouted with a crazed sneer, the others drawing back slightly. "And that starts before the game! So don't go talking about shit you know nothing about... Hell," the man snorted, "You know what I'm talking about right?" As he pointed toward the blond, tilting his head with that same grin in place, Katsuya tensed. What the hell was he talking about..? "Tell me you're pulling my leg 'Jonouchi'! There's no way in hell you can be this naive! Stop pretending to be a 'nice guy' kid," he continued with a laugh, the blond across from him barely holding himself back. Much as he'd like to rip this guy's head off, he had a nasty feeling about what was in that vest... "That's when all the glory and cash comes flying your way!" As the group merely stared with a frown, Keith grabbed the sides of his vest and held them forward. "Check it out!"
Holy fucking... Katsuya's eyes widened as he looked at the number of pockets, and he took a few steps back. "What... What the hell..." The others as well stared, silent as the dull candlelight revealed a number of cards on the sides. "You've got at least twenty decks in there!" At least it wasn't a weapon..? Seriously, what!
The American chuckled darkly, adjusting his vest before closing it back up with a snap. "That's right," he said with a grin, adjusting his sunglasses. He could see how..? "Dragon decks, warrior decks, machine decks..." He trailed off, hands in his pockets as he continued. "And they're filled to the brim with dozens and dozens of rare and powerful cards!" Katsuya growled, face going red as the man continued. "And I've got a deck to beat any poor sucker who fights against me... HAHAHAHA!"
Beside him, Yugi merely snorted, arms crossed. "Bandit Keith," he began, eyes narrowing. "If I recall, wasn't there a rule that stated you could only bring forty cards to the island?" That was very true, but did he look like he cared?
Anzu nodded in agreement, frowning. "Yea," she shouted, expression mirroring the others. "You're allowed to trade as much as you like... But once we got to the island, they checked everyone's decks! After they counted forty, the extra cards were confiscated, no questions asked!" Again... Did he care?
A howling laugh cut the woman off, and Keith shook his head. "Fuck you guys are dense!" His chuckling grated their ears, as did the man's voice as he grinned. "You think I'm really in this tournament? It's only for the Japanese league you morons! Which means I'm not officially a competitor..." As he pointed toward himself, he lowered his laughter to a dull and dark chuckle. "And because of that, it also means the rules don't apply to me!" What the... Well, that explained why he was acting through other competitors but... God what an asshole... (And since when did this make him above the rules!) "I only have one rule," he continued, turning around with the others as he continued to laugh. "Do whatever the fuck it takes to get to Pegasus' castle! HAHHAHAHAAA!"
As the group left them ('H-Hey Keith', Kotsuzuka shouted, 'Wait up!'), Yugi and Katsuya's frowns deepened. This man... Damn it, he wasn't even worth going after. Punching this guy's lights out would just get his hands dirty and Keith a better looking face. "Bandit Keith," the shorter of the two shouted, pulling his friend out of his mind again. Keith turned briefly, expression seemingly neutral as Yugi continued to frown. "The 'Duelists' Pride' is the rule on the island... Not your desire for vengeance," he added with a glare. "Remember that..."
Keith merely snorted in response, turning back with the rest of his 'party'. "Pffft!" The man continued to laugh, giving a dismissive mock salute as he moved on again. "Don't make me laugh, midget goth," he shouted with a smirk. "I don't have anymore words for a bunch of dumbass punks like you! HAHAHAHA!" With those last words he disappeared, Katsuya seething in his place. Yugi didn't appear to be responding to the insult much, but nonetheless...
"Man... That creep..." He wanted to shout back at this moron, say something that would shut the asshole's mouth right up. He doubted that simply shouting 'Hey! I'm gonna beat you!' would work though, and something told him even using his fists wouldn't silence the guy. Hell, he was probably waiting for that! 'I'm going to beat you!.. Regardless of that being what he wanted to say, the blond thought to himself, he couldn't honestly do that could he? After all... This time around, Keith was essentially using Kotsuzuka as a pawn. All he'd done was buff up his deck... Next time...
Now that he knew what sort of deck he played, Keith could just build a complete defense against it, making it even more difficult for him to get through. The blond swallowed as the footsteps in the distance faded, lost in his own thoughts. He'd have to get stronger... Find ways around that... From behind, the group continued to stand in silence. No one was moving or speaking... Finally, Honda coughed, attempting to get moving again. "Hey, come on guys," he said, "Let's get out of this place too! We got work to do right?"
As the others nodded, Katsuya found himself going pale, remembering where they were. Right. Cave. ...Crypt. Hihhhh... "Y-Yeah," he muttered with a nervous laugh. They might have gotten out of the creepy skeleton area but... "I hate dark places," he muttered to himself, fairly certain that a few of the others were rolling their eyes at that. In the end, as they took off on their own as well, he found himself turning to Yugi. Now that he had eight starchips... They were a lot closer huh? "Oi Yugi," he asked, the teen turning to him. "You've got six starchips right? And... I've got eight..." As his friend blinked, nodding, he grinned. "So maybe if we win our next duels, we'll both have ten eh?"
There was a curt nod, the shorter of the two giving a small grin in response. "Right," he said with a smile. "Then let's finish this with our next duels!"
"Hah! You got it!" They continued down the path up to where they'd come in from, the fork in the tunnels leaving Katsuya scratching his head. All he'd really seen was ceiling so... As to where they were going to go, he had no clue really. Left, right..?
Bakura pointed to one of the paths as he and the others came behind the blond, smiling. "Ah... I think the exit is this way," he said with nod, looking to the others for their input.
Honda as well nodded, moving toward the path to look around the corner. "Yea, I'm pretty sure we take a right here... Came in and turned left after all so..." As he said this, the path they came to brightened, and he grinned. "Alright! How do you like that?"
"Hah! YEA," Katsuya shouted from behind the teen, running forward. Outta the crypt outta the crypt outta the crypt! "The way out! YEEHAW! Sunlight," he shouted, eager to get as far away from the caverns as possible. "Let me feel your warm embra- Eh?" He skidded to a stop, the others freezing as well. The tunnel exit was still a fair distance away but... Was that a shadow up there..? As the light began to fade, he tensed, stumbling and skidding on his feet as he charged forward. "S-Shit!" Shouts came from the other side, and as he came within a few meters of the boulder blocking their entrance there was little more than a sliver of light left. "Awww shit! SHIT!" He skidded, feet slipping beneath him to reward his efforts with a mouthful dirt. "PWEH!
Mad cackling sounded from the crack, and as Katsuya looked up through a muddied squint he could make out Bandit Keith's crazed grin. "HAHAHA! Hey there losers!"
"Gh..." He growled, watching as the boulder shifted an inch or so. "You rat... What the hell do you think you're doing?" Attempting to pull himself up, he slipped again, the others coming up from behind with a bit of difficulty. Wet... Great, he must have uncovered part of a spring or something... Just what they needed going up hill.
Keith merely grinned viciously, still laughing as those in the tunnels attempted to make their way forward. "Hehehhe... If the law of the island is to win duels," he began, still laughing "I figured then I'd just have to win like this!" That fucking piece of- He grabbed the side of the wall, attempting to make his way toward the boulder. "Now that I'm this close to getting at that castle," the American continued, "You morons are just in my way... So why not join everyone else in there in the crypt," he shouted, laughter coming from outside the cave. "Tough luck for you guys I guess! Maybe if you're lucky," he said as little more than a sliver of light came through. "Someone will find you... In five years! HAHAHHAHAHAAA!"
AUUUUGH, screw the cards, he didn't care what kind of weird disease he got punching this bastard! "KEITH," Katsuya roared, charging the slit to get his message through. The ground had leveled out just enough for him to reach it from where he'd fallen, and the blond pounded against the stone in a rage. He pushed against the rock fruitlessly, a few of the others coming from behind to help while he screamed. "I'M GONNA BEAT THE EVER-LOVING CRAP OUT OF YOU! GET BACK HERE!"
"HAHAHAHHAHAAA!" The target of his frustrations howled in response, and while he couldn't see him he had a feeling he could guess what the man was doing. "Scream all you like," he called through, likely grinning at their misfortune. "Maybe someone will hear you... See you later, 'Champ'! And with a final slamming echo, the boulder closed over the entrance, leaving them in the darkness.
Damn it... Katsuya's arms shook as he stood there, eyes still wide with anger. If he had to dig his way out of this cave he'd get to that bastard... Mark his words! He grit his teeth, before pushing against the boulder. Come on... come on, it had to give at least an inch... Not a single sound came aside from the group's breathing now, that and the occasional 'plink' as water dripped from above. "Ungg... Damn it...!" By this point Anzu was essentially the only one not helping- though that was because, with all four of the guys there, even with Yugi being as small as he was, it was more an issue of not pushing each other instead of the rock. Unlike outside... "Damn it," he growled, finally pushing back from the rock with a scowl. "It won't budge!"
The others as well stopped, while Anzu searched through her bag for something. "I guess we'll have to look for another way out," Honda was muttering, arms crossed. Thanks to the candles below, he could still see a slight outline of the others... Either way, Katsuya thought as he leaned against the wall, it was hard not to bump into anyone. "Provided there is one..." Yea... That too. As they turned back to the fork of paths they'd come from he continued speaking, the others ignoring the occasional slip and grunt of 'watch it!' from anyone else. "Path to the left takes us to the duelbox, but there's no where to go after that..."
"Hihhhh..." Katsuya gave a shudder, shaking his head. Skulls and zombies... Even if there was another path from there he wouldn't have looked forward to that! "I ain't going anywhere near that place again..."
From ahead, Bakura turned slightly with a chuckle. Oh, so his fear was funny was it? Then again, they'd looked through Bakura's deck on the ship, and that alone was the stuff of nightmares... "Hahahaha..." He cut his quiet laughter short, before the smile vanished to a more serious stare. "Well, if we were on the surface," he began, turning back to look at the paths, "We would be better off taking the right really... The passage goes in the direction of the castle..."
Katsuya turned, as did Anzu and the others. Huh. How did he know that... "Really Bakura," she was asking, blinking as she voiced the confusion of the others. "You've got a good sense of-" The woman paled, as did everyone else when they noted the soft glow of gold in their friend's hands. "O...Oh... You used the Millennium Ring..." HAH-AHH-AHHH! What!
While Bakura nodded, an oddly distant look on his face, Katsuya swallowed. "H-Haaaahh... I thought that thing was staying in the bag!" Where it belonged. Or maybe in the ocean, far away from them. That would be better. (Much. Better.)
"We can't help it if it's doing a good job Jonouchi," Honda said with a shrug, walking down the right path. What did he mean can't help it, it was like the ring was trying to get on their good side or something. "Let's just take this passage for now, we mind as well take advantage of it's handy 'compass' abilities too..." And it was working...
He swallowed again, frowning. From the side, Yugi was giving Bakura an odd look as well... So at least he wasn't the only one feeling completely off about using this ring thing... As it was. He swore he heard rumbling whenever it was going on- -click- "Agh!" The blond jumped, hissing slightly as a beam of light struck his face. Oh god it was blinding! "Watch were yah point that thing Anzu!"
Anzu smirked, giggling. Conniving little... "Really," she said with a smirk, "It's just light..." The woman turned the flashlight down the path, bright gold light illuminating the walls completely. "It's a good thing Mai gave us this flashlight though," the woman muttered, the group walking off yet again. "Otherwise we'd be completely stuck in the dark."
Well, Katsuya added mentally as he took a nervous glance at Bakura's ring again. Mostly at least...
Seriously, gold glowing objects... That couldn't be normal even with all the crap they'd done right? He fell silent, as did the others, and soon the only sounds were the constant clacking of shoes against echoing ground. The ceiling was getting lower... Katsuya frowned slightly, looking around the tunnel with skepticism. "We're getting pretty far," Honda was muttering. As he spoke, the 'clumping' noises against the uneven rocks and dirt became more echoing, the path becoming flatter. "Haven't seen a way out, but at the speed we're going we've made pretty decent time..."
Katsuya nodded, frowning. "Yea... But th' tunnel's getting narrower," the blond stated, running a hand along the sides. Earlier, the wall was obviously craggy, being nothing but tunnel but... "Weird," he muttered, frown narrowing. "Walls are all smooth, like a brick-lay..." Same with the ceiling and the floors... He froze, before shoving past Honda.
"Hey, what the hell-" The blond ignored him, taking a few steps ahead of him and frowning as he placed a hand in front of him. Wall... At the end of the path was a wall, the path itself dividing in two. He frowned, turning to the right with a few more steps in the darkness. "Jonouchi! What the hell are you doing man?"
Again, the teen stopped, this time finding the path split into three. "Shit," he muttered, the others coming up from behind to gasp. Yea, they could see it now... The ceiling was just a few inches above his head now, and in Honda's case it was brushing against the teen's hair. The path had narrowed to the point that from there on out it was single-file and nothing else... "SHIT," he muttered again, kicking the dirt. "We're in a maze!" Katsuya grabbed his head, expression of annoyance replaced more with dull shock. What the hell was with this island, it had everything... Volcanos, mazes, what next sharks?
From behind, there were a few worried mutterings before Honda spoke up. "Well it's obviously here for a reason," he was saying, Katsuya turning against the glare of the flashlight to see a frown. "There's really only one thing to do now..."
He nodded, frowning slightly. "Yea... Guess that makes sense... Well," he continued with a nervous smile, looking at their options. "At least we know we're close right?"
"Hah, that's one way of putting it," Honda said with a grin, leaning against the sides of the tunnel. "So... You gonna lead the way, or are you waiting for someone to light a campfire to sniff our way out?"
Auuuughhh again with the dogs... "Honda..." He tensed, deciding against the risk of smacking his fist into the stone wall and moving toward the path heading straight ahead. Damn it. Later... Later! (If he remembered...) "Gh! This way then," he shouted, pointing ahead. "Lets go!"
Katsuya received no answer from that save for some muttered 'Alright!'s really. As it was though, he decided as they moved, he really hoped he'd picked the right path. Granted, the blond thought as he trailed his hand along the sides, the path hadn't diverged since that point... So unless he randomly came to a cross-roads, they were probably scott free, even if they had to turn back! Speaking of... He blinked, stumbling for a brief moment as a bright light came from the end of the path. Holy shit... He really did pick the right one! (And Honda said he was losing his luck... PAH!) As they walked, the 'exit' was getting larger... The ceiling slightly higher... But this wasn't sunlight, Katsuya decided as they went. Too bright, no warmth... This was coming from a lightbulb, or maybe even just a really powerful lamp... Or...
The group came to the open exit, staring out at what it opened up to in shock. Or a really, really well lit room he guessed! "What the..." Katsuya blinked, eyes wide as he took in the room, shaking a bit of hair out of his face as he took it in. "What is this place?" A pillar at each corner, the kanji 'Mayou' at one side in a large marble carving, with 'Miya' at the other... 'Delude' and 'Shrine'.. Wait.. ...Meikyuu? 'Maze'? Abruptly, something shifted in the air, and he tensed. Someone was there... But where-
-tph- From the ceiling came two figures, each one resembling little more than a blur as they shot down to the ground and rushed forward. Backflipping one over the other they moved, before both landed directly infront of the group in a bizzare sort of mirror. The men stood back to back, arms crossed as they stared at the group through narrowed eyes.
"H-HEH!" He stared, eyes wide as the pair looked at them in silence. The way those two were flipping off the ceilings... That was insane! "What the hell are you guys," he shouted, the two both having little reaction to the question. "I mean... You two could have been in a Hong Kong movie!" Hell, they looked like they came from a Hong-Kong flick with those outfits!
The two men again had little reaction, merely shifting their arms as they bowed their heads to the group. If their actions hadn't made him flash back to watching old movies at his original house, their outfits did... Definitely not Japanese whatever they were wearing. Maybe Chinese, or Korean, who knew really... "We," the pair began, both sending a stern gaze toward the group, "Are the guards of the dungeon- We are the Meikyuu brothers," the two continued, bringing their arms to the sides.
As Katsuya merely stared ('...Mei... Kyuu...' Maze brothers?), there was a snort from behind. Anzu quickly covered her mouth, face red as she held back a laugh. At the moment, it looked as though Katsuya and Yugi were a little too distracted by the duel rings that the pair had to really bother with that... Though Honda was also sniggering behind them at the pun, and it looked as though only Bakura's polite nature prevented him from doing the same. (He had an amused smile though.)
'Kyuu', rather the one with 'Kyuu' on his brow, tilted his head before frowning slightly. "Hmmm... What have we here brother," he asked, bringing a hand to his chin. "Five travelers, lost in the maze?" Lost? They weren't lost, they knew exactly where... Wait, so there was another path then? Damn it, he really was wrong.
"Who knows brother," Mei said with a shrug, also frowning. The duel rings on their wrists... A gleaming row of starchips sat on them, and Katsuya tensed slightly. These two were probably player killers then... "It wouldn't be a maze if people didn't get lost." They weren't-! Auugh, forget it...
The pair turned, facing them completely as they continued. "Have you come to ask us lost travelers," they asked, voices echoing around the room, "Of the right path?"
"Of the right door," Mei continued for his brother, the two stepping away from the other in a blurr as they gestured to the table in the center of the room. "To find the answer," he stated, Kyuu speaking in the same instant, "You must face us in a duel!"
Katsuya stared, frowning. "Wait," he said, pointing forward. All weird 'twin voices' aside... That thing was almost round, and had four chairs. "That thing's a duel table!" Come to think... He frowned, Yugi nodding beside him.
"It mirrors the room," the teen stated, neutral expression in place. A chair for each pillar, symbols carved on the sides... "Including the two doors at the other end!" Which, like everything else in the room it seemed, had the kanji 'mayou' and 'miya' on them... Huh. Weird.
The two brothers before them nodded, hands hidden in their sleeves as they gave a curt bow. If they acknowledged the comparison, they didn't show it. Instead, they merely addressed the group once more. "Now," they both spoke, voices creating a bizarre double echo. "Will two duelists please step forward! This duel will be an unorthodox two-on-two battle!"
"Two on two," Yugi was muttering under his breath, Katsuya blinking as his own expression shifted to his standard 'game face'.
So then... "A duel monster's tag-team match..?" Weird... How would that work? He frowned, watching as the twins before them (had to be twins, no one looked this similar) nodded.
"Beat us," Kyuu began, "And you will learn the right way..."
"But run," his brother finished with a smirk, "And you will all be lost on the path of darkness!" Eh? Path of darkness? ...Right. The maze. Er... He didn't like the sounds of that...
The group turned to each other, Yugi somehow holding his serious expression despite the humor of the situation. Seriously... 'Meikyuu'? "Jonouchi," he began, hands in his pockets. Katsuya coughed, turning to his friend as the boy continued. "It looks like we have no choice..."
He grinned, nodding. Well... After this, they would have to be set for the castle right? "Yea!" He pulled out his deck, watching as his friend did the same before turning to the Meikyuu guardians. "Bring it on, 'Mario Brothers!'" No reaction again? Sheesh, did these guys live under a rock or something?
As they moved to the table, each taking a seat on one of the sides of the octagon, the brothers nodded again. "Very well then," they began, Katsuya looking over the board curiously. Looked like a giant grid... Weird. "We welcome you, to the Labyrinth Field!" Alright! If they didn't win, they wouldn't get out of these tunnels... But if they did win... Ten starchips! Whoo! Speaking of winning and dueling in general...
He frowned, and a quick glance at Yugi's own expression told him that his friend had similar thoughts on the current board. If this was a 'labyrinth' field, then where was the labyrinth... Heck, normally there was at least a drawing of sorts on the board, but this was bizarre. "Wager your star chips," came the guardian's request, and he nodded in response. Right. Time to start dueling then.
"I'll be two," he stated calmly, pulling the pair off and placing them on the edge of the table with a -clack-.
Beside him, Yugi did the same, pulling out double the amount of his friend. "And I'll bet four," he stated with a nod, before leaning back on his chair. "A total of six!"
The Meikyuu brothers nodded, each one pulling three starchips from their gloves. "We'll meet that bet then," they chorused. "Six Starchips!" From the side, Yugi turned to give Jonouchi a determined stare, a small smirk on his face.
"Let's do this, Jonouchi," he said with a nod, the blond turning to him with a smile. "If we win this duel," the teen continued, "We'll have ten starchips each... We'll both be able to get to the castle!"
Another nod, and the smile grew into a grin. "Hah! You bet," he answered, before turning back to the board. Win this, and Mokuba would be right in his reach... Along with Pegasus' pasty face for his fist! He looked over the board again, the smile vanishing into a frown. Alright... Sooo... Where was the- "Duel Start," the twins cried, the four players each drawing their hand. "I go first," Kyuu shouted, pulling a card from his hand. "And I play this card! Labyrinth wall!"
The moment the card was set, Katsuya's question was answered. "What the-" The sounds of gears clacking came over the air, and the slats between the 'grid' squares opened up.
"Walls," Yugi shouted with a slight jump, he and his friend both watching as from small slits in the board a randomized series of walls appeared. Not just walls... A maze! So this was the maze of the 'labyrinth field'..! ...Sheesh, what would have happened if they hadn't drawn that card, would the board have just been flat..? "Now this is interesting..."
That was one word for it... Some luck these twins had though. "This is the labyrinth field," Mei said with a smirk. "You just try and get to these doors!" Hn! There were a few shouts of good luck from behind, and the two shared a glance. If they won this, they would make it forward after all...
"I'm ready when you are," Katsuya said with a grin, his friend nodding in response. Now or never really... "Alright... Lets go!"
Across from them, the brothers nodded. "This game is a matter of life or death," Mei was stating with that same smirk. "Now listen carefully..."
Life or death... If they lost, getting to the castle would be the least of their worries! He wouldn't put it past that bastard Pegasus to just lock them in there and throw away the key... Listening was probably a good idea... "Now that my first turn is over," the second of the brothers continued with a slight frown, "I will explain the rules." He crossed his arms, expression far calmer than that of his twin. "All four players have 2000 lifepoints each," he began, gesturing to the point-counters at the side. "But your life is tied to your partner's! If one loses their lifepoints, so does the other... And you both lose!" They'd both lose? Shit... He nodded as the rules were logged in his head, frowning slightly. If he screwed this up he wouldn't be able to look Yugi in the eye for a long time... He'd have to really watch himself huh... "We alternate turns," Kyuu was saying, Katsuya watching as the man gestured over the board. "One player on each team... From myself, it goes to the opponent across from me. Then, it will be my brother's turn, after which it end with the one across from him... Before continuing in a cycle." There was another pair of nods from Katsuya and Yugi both, and Kyuu then gestured to the maze. "And now... About this labyrinth field," he began, Mei continuing for him.
"We shall explain how to play!" Why were they doing this 'finish sentence' thing, it hurt his head... Mei as well crossed his arms, smirk vanishing as he explained. "To make it simple," he began, "Think of your monsters as chess pieces. If the card is in attack mode, it can advance as many spaces per turn as the number of stars on the board." Alright... So they had to go through the maze then... Chess eh? ...Sounded like Seto-chan.
As those thoughts came to mind, the twins both continued their explanations, switching yet again. "If you can survive the dungeon and beat us gate keepers," Kyuu was saying, "You can open one of the doors."
At these words, Mei smirked again, expression far darker than that of his twin. "But which door will you choose? Mei, the door of deception..."
"Or Kyuu," the second guard began, "The door of the palace?"
Katsuya tensed, frowning. Well wasn't that lovely... "So... Only one door leads to the outside then..." His frown deepened, and the blond crossed his arms. Great, that wasn't good at all... "Then which door do we head for..?"
The brothers merely smirked, Mei's appearing far darker than before while Kyuu answered. "Well," he began, "We will of course, each do our best to guard our doors..."
"We are the gatekeepers and dungeon masters after all," his brother continued, resulting in a scowl from the blond at the other side. He kinda figured they'd have to beat them... But if one would lose when the first did, that would be a little hard!
What was with those faces... Weirdos... "Oi oi," he shouted, fists tightening. "You're playing with human lives here! What the hell do you mean that there's only a 50-50 shot at escape if we win!" The blond growled, face going red while the others merely watched in silence. "Give us a fair shot... A clue at the right door at least!" They should at least get that!
The twins stared, blinking before giving a nod. "Very well," they both stated, Mei's smirk shrinking slightly while his brother gained a neutral expression once more. "Then from now on, one of us will always tell the truth... And one of us will always lie!" Eh?
One tells the truth and one always lies..? That sounded familiar, like a riddled he'd heard... What was it again... He frowned, while Yugi as well drifted into thought. Oh yea! The riddle with two guards! 'The Road to Heaven'! His expression brightened slightly as he ran over the riddle in his head. "That better be the truth," Yugi was muttering at the moment, as Kyuu nodded. 'Of course it is,' he was saying, before he and Mei to point at their doors to proclaim them the correct options. This riddle... How did it go...
'A traveler comes to a fork in the road on the way to the afterlife. Next to each of the forks stands a guard, and they state the following. One is that while one of the paths lead to Paradise, the other leads to Hell. It's impossible to distinguish the two paths, same with the guards, and it is also impossible to turn back.' Alright... Similar to now, they had two guards and two doors. One would get them out, but the other one would mean they'd be stuck there forever. (Though he could always just follow the guards when they went to get food he guessed... Even they had to eat right?)
'In addition, one of the guards always tells the truth, while the other always lies. You may ask one guard one question in order to ascertain which path leads to Paradise.' Well, he didn't know if they had the same question limit but...
Katsuya's eyes narrowed as he looked at the doors. That question... It was... Was... What was it again? Oh, right! 'If I ask the other guard, which path will he choose to lead to Paradise?'
That was it! He blinked, before smirking. That was right... If it was the liar, he'd say the honest guard would point at the wrong path, his path! But if it was the honest one, he'd point out the wrong path, because that was what the liar would tell him! He got it! "Alright," he shouted, the brothers before him looking up. "You gotta answer our questions, understand?" The men nodded, while Mei held up a single finger. One question huh... Figured really, but at least he knew what to ask. "Ok then... In that case, I'll ask you," he continued, pointing at Mei. "Which path... Er, door," he corrected, "Would your brother say is the right one?"
Across from him, Mei merely smirked, before pointing at his own. Alright... So then Kyuu was the right door then! "Hahahha! Alright!" He grinned, putting the smirk in the back of his mind before turning to Yugi. "We're in the clear now... Kyuu is the right door, and Mei is the liar- now we know which one to head for!" At this, Yugi merely narrowed his eyes, staring across the table. "Nh... Y-Yugi?" Katsuya's grin faded, and he blinked. "What's wrong... That's how the riddle goes right..?" Had to be right! Made sense in his head, that was for sure...
Yugi's stare merely narrowed further, and he shook his head. "Depending on how you look at it, your question is logically correct," he began, frowning. Alright, so he was right then... "But should we really take their words for truth? Hnhnhnhn..." The teen smirked, and his friend frowned in response. What did he mean by that... "I'm a cautious man... I don't think we should."
"Wait... What do you mean," the blond said with a frown. "If one's honest and one's a liar then they should've answered the question..." That was how the riddle went wasn't it? One lied, one told the truth...
Again, Yugi shook his head, the smirk vanishing momentarily. "No... I'm saying it's too dangerous to compare our current situation with the 'Path to Heaven' riddle; after all," he continued, arms crossed, "Simply saying 'one of us will tell the truth and one of us will always lie' is in itself suspicious! If one of them is a liar," he stated, "Both of them should claim to be honest... Which means that they're also a possibility that they're both liars!" Both of them- He blinked, mouth hanging slightly open. Shit... He was right... They'd said one would tell the truth, but if the liar said that then... There was no honest person... But that meant... Eh... Damn it his head hurt, but either way it couldn't be good. He looked at Yugi with wide eyes, the teen nodding. "Right," he stated, somehow knowing just what his friend had assumed. "It's not even certain that 'Paradise' lies at the end of the road... For all we know, they both lead off a cliff!"
Across from them, the twin brothers had abruptly smirked, eyes narrowing in response to those words. Either they'd been seen through or... Something. "All that aside," Yugi muttered, leaning back against his chair. "We're still playing... RESUME THE GAME!" Alright! Yugi's turn... The teen pulled a card and placed it on the board as he spoke. "I play the Beaver Warrior in attack mode!"
As Yugi said this, the monster slowly misted into appearance. It wasn't so much of a beaver as a rat really... The creature's whip-like tail swished in nervousness, his master muttering as it moved. "Okay," Yugi was saying, his friend staring as the warrior gave a worried cough. "Four stars... So four spaces." One two three four... Beaver Warrior was visibly nervous, and was dragging his blade against the wall with a small yet audible swallow while he walked. Soon enough however, he came to a stop, shaking with his master's next words "...End turn," Yugi finished, Katsuya looking over the board.
Alright... There was still a fair bit of distance between them and the doors, but they could still make it. After all... Even with all that distance, and Yugi's maze disadvantage, from what the blond could see he had a direct path! Speaking of Yugi... Why did he take the dead end path? They'd get no where with this one... Maybe it was the board? Across from him, Mei smirked. "I know what you're thinking," he muttered, before the grin widened. Eh? What were they thinking? "And you're wrong! I will teach you the true terrors of the labyrinth, right now!" No seriously, what were they- Placing a pair of cards on the board, the man continued, Katsuya staring. "First," he shouted, "I play the Polymerization card... And then I play the Shadow Ghoul, merging it with the board itself!"
"It can't be..." Heh, took the words out of his mouth, Katsuya thought mentally. How the hell did he merge his monster with the maze! And-
His eyes widened, and both he and Yugi leaned forward as a shadow of sorts appeared on the walls. "What the... Something's coming after the beaver!" Lighting quick the shadow approached, Yugi's monster looking around with wide eyes as a pair of claws shot out from behind. "It..." Ahhhhh fuck.
It came out of the wall... Rotted green skin and claws the size of the Beaver Warrior's sword, its waist, head and arms solidified on the side of the wall. The ghoul moaned eerily as its victim turned with a high-pitched squeal, claws gouging the beaver through the neck to silence it before pulling him back to its domain. "Labyrinth Kamaitachi," Mei shouted, Yugi's lifepoints dropping slightly as the shadow retreated. "The Beaver Warrior dies!" Yea. A bloody and fairly horrifying death he might add. What was wrong with Seto-chan when she designed- Wait. He already knew what was wrong, lets not go there.
Katsuya swallowed, looking down at the board with a frown. Shit... The shadow didn't have to bother with the board, it was hiding in the walls! Stupid loopholes... He grit his teeth, before steeling himself. Whatever... This was the first turn- it was too early to decide who would win or lose! "My turn," he announced, taking a pair of cards from his hand. "I'm playing the Axe Raider in attack mode," the blond began, before setting another card beside it on the field. This trap would be good... And Yugi could use it too! "And one more card face down on the board." As the dark-skinned warrior appeared to swing his blade, Katsuya frowned. "But I can't fight what I can't see..." That was common sense really, but all the same... A real pain in the ass to tell the truth. "I'm not moving on this turn," he continued, the twins across from him merely nodding dully in response. "I'll keep some distance from the wall and stand-by; if anything comes close, I attack!" He just hoped that Yugi caught the strategy he'd just set into motion...
From behind, the others were whispering he noted. Huh... Wonder what they were talking about? Anzu's voice was the first one he heard, and it instantly had him mentally groaning. "I hope Jonouchi doesn't do something stupid..." Oh... Thanks... Thanks Anzu. He wasn't that bad...
"Don't worry," Bakura was muttering in response, and just as quick as his mood came up it was pulled right back down. "Yugi will back him up!" Oh come on!
As the three fell silent again, Honda spoke up, and Katsuya had to scratch his head. "I hope so too," he was saying, likely to Anzu rather than Bakura. Seriously Honda? Why... "Since it's a tag-team match, there's a chance their opponents will concentrate on Jonouchi to take him down..." Eh? Abruptly, the teen blinked, the words hitting him with a rather cold feeling.
Shit! That was a good point! What would happen if they targeted one single person? ...He still wasn't a weak link though. "It's my turn," Kyuu shouted, pulling the blond's attention back to the board in an instant. "First, I'll set a card face down," he announced, Katsuya swallowing. Great... Now he had a trap... "And now," the man continued, placing another card. "Labyrinth Tank!" As the monster appeared in the middle of the maze, he frowned. Huh... That one was pretty powerful... As it moved forward from the far end of the maze however, he shook it off. At the distance it was, there was a chance he could counter it though... Maybe if he could get Flame Swordsman and Salamandra...
"It's my turn," Yugi stated, drawing a card. For a moment, Katsuya sent the teen a glance, silently attempting to pass along a message. They needed to pull out the Shadow Ghoul for this to work... Come on... He'd set that card for a reason... Come on... The teen smirked in response to the look, and Katsuya had to mentally sigh in relief. Alright! He'd seen it then! "I play the Elven Knight in attack mode," Yugi announced, and in a shimmer of light the armed celtic guard had appeared. "I advance into the labyrinth," he continued, the elf moving four steps into the maze before freezing. Silence filled the air, and with a single nod he ended his turn.
Mei's reaction was fairly expectant; a large smirk, as he drew the card for his turn. "Hnhnhn... My turn... And the wall shadow strikes," he announced, the familiar shadow appearing across the walls again. "And his target is the Elven Knight!" The shadow continued along the walls, Yugi's elf taking an uneasy stance as the sound of sliding came over the board. "Hahahahahha! You can't escape," Mei shouted with a grin, his brother appearing just slightly uncomfortable with the volume. "The wall shadow will kill you in one blow... The elf is dead!"
With those words the familiar mutated figure appeared from behind Yugi's elf, only for both Katsuya and Yugi to smirk. Regardless of how creepy that thing's blood-stained claws were... "Heheheh... Got you," Yugi said with a grin, he and Katsuya both chuckling. Mei's expression became that of shock as from behind the Axe Raider came a silvery blur on a chain. "Chain Boomerang!" That wasn't what it was called... Eh, whatever.
The chain clanked loudly, a large steel boomerang blade digging into the ghoul's side. The chain wrapped around the monster's hide and dug deep welts into its skin, Axe Raider smirking as he pulled the trap taught. "Hahaha!" Katsuya grinned as he flipped the card over, holding it for their opponent to see. "Check it out," he shouted, grin widening as both Mei and Kyuu stared in shock. "Kunai with Chain wraps around and immobilizes enemies when they try to attack, lowering their power 500 points" he shouted, watching as Axe Raider tossed the weapon over to the Yugi's elf to hold for the moment. "I saved this trap card to help Yugi!" And it worked too!
As the ghoul struggled pointlessly against its hold, Yugi as well smirked. Still his turn, Katsuya thought before pointing his friend's monster forward "Counter, Elven Knight," he shouted, the swordsman's strike cleaving its opponent's head clear off the monster's shoulders. He didn't need a command to do that of course... In fact, to his shock, it looked as though for a moment the elf had turned back to give him a look that said 'What was the point of that?'. All the same though, there was a hissing scream the monster collapsed into a pool of blood, neck twitching before the beast vanished into a mist. Yugi's Knight handed the boomerang and chain back to Katsuya's own Axe Raider, the monster nodding as it placed it on his side. "The wall shadow is killed!" As 'Mei's points dropped by a small amount, he crossed his arms. "Hehehe... How about that for a combo eh? C'mon Yug'," he shouted, mood greatly improved from a few hours prior. "Let's break this maze in two!"
"Right!" From behind, the others were cheering... They were always cheering really; it really helped though, keeping his head on his shoulders during the duel. 'Nice move,' Bakura was shouting, the target of his shouts mentally nodding with a grin. 'You can do it!'.
Well, at least they weren't doubting him anymore! "Did you guys see that," Anzu was shouting from behind, Katsuya focusing his attention on the board for the moment. Had to focus on the duel, focus on the duel... "Jonouchi's trap just saved Yugi's monster!" Yes, it did.
"Yea..." Bakura and Honda both seemed just as excited as their friend, though Bakura's voice was of course not as loud. "It was a nice combo," he said with a smile.
Honda merely grinned, nodding. "Hah! You said it!" Back at the table, Katsuya's grin had shrunk into a small smile to continue his own move. Alright... That was 'turn one', now it was turn two... They had to win this duel for everything, so he couldn't lose focus! All that in mind though... It was nice, hearing things like that behind him. Where it used to be 'can he do it'... Now he was getting 'he will'!
These stupid player killers couldn't stop them... Not when he and Yugi were the opponents! "Jonouchi," Yugi said, turning to the blond. Katsuya blinked, before nodding. Right, right... He had to stop spacing out, honestly. "It's your turn..."
"On it," he said with a nod, drawing a card. Alright... He only had Axe Raider on the board, and it would probably be best to play more support for Yugi... "For my first move," he began, taking the card he'd drawn and playing it on the field, "I play the Flame Swordsman!" The warrior appeared in a column of flames, before moving a few spaces toward Yugi's elf. He wouldn't go the full six, but even a few steps were good really. Lucky draw though, he thought with a smirk; this was one of his best monsters! "Next," Katsuya continued, as his Axe Raider adjusted his grip on the kunai he had, "I move the Axe Raider closer to the Elven Knight. Now that Axe Raider's used the kunai for a surprise attack," He continued, his monster grinning in response, "It becomes a normal weapon... But because of that, he gains a 500 point attack bonus!" Lesse, 1700 plus 500... Hah! 2200! Not a bad combo he had here! "And I'm done," he stated, leaning back on his chair. Now then...
What would 'Kyuu' do... "My turn," Kyuu shouted loudly, Katsuya jumping in response. Holy... He expected that from his brother damn it! That was loud! "Labyrinth Tank moves forward," he called, the monster trundling down the maze with a loud roar. The tank itself already looked fairly frightening, even as a miniature; the entire front was made of gyrating drills, each one of a different size and pointed toward the front. Six squares later however, it wasn't anywhere near the group... And as the whirring ground to a halt, that was a fairly large relief.
"It's my turn again," Yugi called, drawing his card and staring at the board. The boy seemed to sink into thought as he looked over his hand, leaving the room to fall in silence.
Katsuya frowned as he looked over, eyes narrowed. "Damn it," he muttered, leaning on the table. He had a feeling this duel would take a while... It would be more than worth it true- but it would take a while. "If only they could just jump over the walls, we could get this done way faster..."
Beside him, Yugi chuckled, the blond turning in response. What was so funny..? "We can't do that Jonouchi," he said with a smirk. Oh. It was that. "Besides, Flying monsters don't work in the labyrinth!" Wait... They didn't? Why not..? At his look of confusion, Yugi continued, still smirking. "We can't see it as the players, but in actuality, this setting is a dark, stone dungeon with an equally solid ceiling. There's no room to fly!"
Hoh... Like the actual room then. And the maze behind them. Well, if the board mirrored this place, that made sen- Wait. "H-Hold on," he said, going pale. If flying monsters didn't work... "My red-eyes black dragon is a flying monster!" Shit! That was his best card too... "Agggh..."
Yugi nodded, smile vanishing. Yea, he got that too, didn't he... "That's right... Dragons are no good in this setting," the teen stated with a frown. One could practically see the gears clicking in his head as he thought over that fact. "Warriors, beast-warriors, spellcasters... Anything that remains on the ground is fine. For now however," he continued as he drew a card. "We'll just have to go one step at a time! Now then... I play the Dark Magician!" A whirl of shadows appeared from the card, reshaping into the confident and violet robed sorcerer. "Advance," Yugi stated, giving a single nod before his monster moved forward. One two three... Six spaces.
Huh... Katsuya looked down at their group of monsters, blinking. Their group was pretty tightly packed... Those Meikyuu brothers wouldn't be getting any sneak attacks near them at all! Hah! It was Mei's turn now though... The man drew a card, before a frightening grin came over his face. Aw hell, that was never a good sign... Why did the opponent have to get that look whenever they came close to winning? "I play this card," he shouted, grinning. "Magical Labyrinth!" Magical laby-
There was a clacking sound, the walls retracting into the ground. What the hell! Gears sounded through the table, the entire thing vibrating violently as new walls appeared. Awww fuck, not this... The maze changed! "Gh..." And since their monsters took up two squares... "Shit... There's a wall between our monsters!" Damn... His two on one side, and Yugi's on the other... They'd split the team clean in half! Completely at that! "Tch... Okay," he shouted, drawing a card. Couldn't let this bug him... Yea they were separated now, but he had to at least keep a clean head about it! Or something... Either way, had to win somehow. "I'm gonna go!" He'd need to take a big detour to get back to Yugi... At this rate, it'd be better to meet him at the end. "Alright guys," he decided, speaking mostly to his monsters. Not that they could hear him but... ...Well, regardless of doubts, they'd both just turned to him, creepy as that was. "Looks like it's just us warriors! Lets go!"
Alrighty... Flame Swordsman could move 6 squares that was true, but Axe Raider was ahead of him, so for now it was just four... Axe Raider was already making his move in fact, though a small click came around the board at step 'three'. Eh? As the monsters moved, Kyuu's expression abruptly changed into something far more frightening once more, Katsuya tensing in response. Aw shit, not that again- "Trap card activate," Kyuu shouted, the blond across from him groaning in response. Ahhhhh shit. "Jirai Gumo!" Spiders? Ffffff... NO! NO. AUGH. Auuuughh... Crap there went his monster. "The trapdoor spider attacks your piece," he shouted, the ground cracking beneath the Axe Raider. As the monster looked down only seconds later, a monstrous spider tore through to throw the raider back. Axe Raider scrambled to flee the beast, only for the spider to pin him down and tear him limb from limb. Blood and bone scattered the field, and as the Flame Swordsman drew back, Jirai Gumo pulled itself out of the hole to sit in place with a series of chittering clicks. "That's the end for the Axe Raider!"
"Awww man..." He winced, watching his lifepoints drop down. Shit... That wasn't fair, the spider had a hundred less than Axe Raider, he shouldn't have been kill- He groaned, looking at the kunai and chain that had dropped to the ground in Axe Radier's death. Great... He'd been unable to use the weapon thanks to the trap... Damn it. 'Hang in there Jonouchi', Yugi was saying from the side as the blond looked down at the table. 'Hang in there!' He was hanging in there alright... Somehow.
Meanwhile across the table, Kyuu was proving how very like his older brother he could be. "HAHAHAHHA! He fell for it like a ton of bricks," he roared, his opponent growling in response. Oh great, talk to him as though he wasn't there why didn't he... "It's my turn," Kyuu shouted, eliciting another wince. Great. "And the Labyrinth Tank moves!" Shit... Shiiiiit! The loud whirring roared over the table as the tank came to life, barreling down the maze before taking a sudden turn toward the Flame Swordsman and Jirai Gumo both. Shiiiit!
"G-Ghh..." Jirai Gumo with 2100, Labyrinth Tank right behind it with 2400... Nothing but wall behind his monsters... Flame Swordsman was all he had, and there was only 1800 in his case! "Shit... Looks like he's dead..." Sorry Flame Swordsman...
As Katsuya grit his teeth, the others shouted from behind. "Don't say that Jonouchi," Anzu was shouting with a frown. Well what the hell else was he supposed to do?
Honda as well joined in, nodding. "Yea! Come on man, you can't give up just like that!" Yea, except that there was a wall between the Dark Magician and all these monsters... This was as good as checkmate, unless Yugi got something. Wait...
Speaking of Yugi; "It's my turn isn't it?" The teen drew a card, giving it a single glance before smirking. Ah... That look... He had something then! Across from him, Kyuu continued to chuckle, before it faded. And it looked like he'd seen the look too. "You think that you have him 'beat'? Don't be so cocky!" The smirk on Kyuu's face vanished completely, and Yugi dropped the card on the table. "My next card... Mystic Box! And I use them with the Dark Magician!" Hang on what? Mystic Box..?
As if to answer the question, the spell activated with a dull glow. Around the Dark Magician appeared an enormous box with slats on the sides, three doors locking the monster within after he willingly stepped inside. From the other side of the wall, another box also appeared... Though the other inhabitant wasn't so willing. The sound of swords clattering came through the air, and for each slat on the side of the box a sword pierced through clear to the other side. 'Did he just kill himself,' Kyuu was muttering with wide eyes, a piercing scream going through the table. Katsuya winced slightly, before shaking it off and paying attention to the duel. What kind of scream was that... Yikes... 'No,' Mei was shouting. 'Look!'
On the board, the door that was in the Dark Magician's place slowly creaked open, and Katsuya found himself grinning as Kyuu's words said exactly what he saw. "Th... The one who died was the spider," he shouted with horror, as the door to the second box in front of the flame swordsman opened. "The Dark Magician moved between the boxes!"
Yugi nodded, eyes narrowed. "Get it now," he asked, arms crossed. "The Magician teleported using the Mystic Box... It switched places with your spider, using it as a sacrifice! And now," he continued, his opponent's growing pale, "It gets another attack!"
H..Hah! "Yugi..." He grinned, turning back to the board as his friend continued. Alright... They were in the clear again!
"Dark Magician," he shouted, the sorcerer pointing his staff towards the motionless Labyrinth Tank. "Cast your spells! BLACK MAGIC!" In a thundering crash of dark waves and lightening the tank collapsed. Metal creaked inward on itself before falling to bits on the ground, and as the younger of the Meikyuu brothers cried out at the strike to his lifepoints Yugi merely smirked. "The Tank is destroyed... Sorry to wreck your plan, 'Meikyuu brothers'," he stated, expression mirrored by Katsuya beside him. "But not even these walls can keep us from working alongside each other!"
As the twins across from them seethed, Katsuya turned to his friend with a look of relief. "Man... Thanks Yug, you really saved me there..." Like really. Saved him. Well, it was an even trade off after the earlier trapped he supposed.
His response was a curt nod as it came to the next of the brothers' turns. "Let's get out of this maze together Jonouchi," he said with a smile, the blond nodding in response.
"Right!" Back to the game... Jonouchi smirked, turning back to the board with a determined gaze. They couldn't lose... Like the maze behind them, they'd just have to break through the one on the table! They could do this!
AN: I put 'AN' in bold. Since when I re-read these, I find it hard to spot otherwise. Whoo~ Anyways. Took a while to get this chapter up, for a very good reason I promise. Lots of new things for you, mostly in the fanart section (Can you say 'ink' and 'spoilers'?)... I'm planning on going through the Yu-Gi-Oh meme with either FanFic Jonouchi or FemKaiba as well, let me know if you'd be interested in that.
And hoooollly shit this duel! The reason why it took so long for an update is because when I type out a 'duel chapter', I go right to the end of that duel. As in, from beginning to end, events of the last and first chapter included. So this one was no different, regardless of the fact that, as I realized looking back, it spanned over double the average chapter count.
What does that mean? It means this one totaled up to 23 pages, double the amount of a normal chapter! For that reason, expect a lightning fast update after this (As in, new chapter tomorrow), since all I have to do is edit the second half of this and it's... Done. Which means that (unfortunately) we STILL don't get to see Kaiba being amazing and badass, or Pegasus being a complete creeper.
Whhyyyyyyyyyy...
Also, new poll results! YAY~ So far we have...
5 for Female Crossdressing Priest Set
3 (One vote is anonymous) for Female PriestESS Set
And last but not least, Male Priest Set finally has a vote as well! And now... On to the reviews!
Anonymous Review Responses
Hey there Iona! Yea... Jou gets hurt a lot doesn't he... In the end, aside from the two accidents that got him in Kaiba's house it's all canon though. ...Wait, my injuries were worse! What's wrong with meeeeee. Oddly enough, he actually did break his arm falling down the stairs. Rather, he fell down the stairs after getting a fairly large number of blocked fists and frying pans against it, which fractured the arm... After which the fractures broke completely during the tumble down the stairs. OUCH.
Your prayers have been answered! Here's a bit of a spoiler; though he only knocks him over the head in the manga, Jonouchi will indeed pummel the crap out of Saruwatari. Not toooo much, as he needs to appear during the 'Legendary Heroes' arc, but definitely more than just a fist to the face. Think 'concussion'.
HAhaha! Yea... It actually does balance out in the end with all that... I have to admit, Sid does make sense given 4-Kid's style for things when I think about it. I looked up 'Zygor' though... All I get is World of Warcraft. So really, the question still remains... 'WHY?' And to the next topic..~
Heheh. He probably doesn't walk around the island much... My guess is he figures that too many will be booted off for the lack of sanitary disposal to be necessary. Or it didn't hit him (No food or shelter after all) at all... Who knows really. That would be something that would likely bug him if he thought of it though... Hahahah. Yeaaaaa now I'm getting the ick-vibes as well.
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that yet again has a bit of non-Japanese info for you! Hooray!
First off, the bit of 'non-Japanese' here... The title of this chapter, 'Minotaur's Lair', is a pretty well known reference to the Labyrinth that everyone is in at the moment. Specifically, the legend of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth originates in Greece, and is centered around an enormous maze (Labyrinth) that the architect Daedalus built for King Minos of Crete. The maze was built specifically to house the monstrous 'Minotaur', who was half man half bull. (Which you probably knew.) This monster was locked in there, and every now and then people would be sent in for him to eat. (As to why a thing that was half herbabor was eating people... Lets not go there.) Specifically, it was seven maidens every year, from Athens, as payment for a battle. OUCH.
Interesting fact behind the Minotaur; he's essentially the result of pissing off the Goddess of Love. Minos must have done something stupid, because not only did his wife suddenly fall in love with the Cretan Bull (Which Poseidon had given to Minos. And told him to sacrifice. He didn't, the moron.), she had a wooden cow built for her to sit inside in order to... Eh... Have some fun with it. HUHHHHH? (Origin of 'yiff' I guess.) He was apparently alright as a kid... But then he got older and went all man-eater on everyone, so Minos went to an Oracle for help. Apparently, the Oracle told him to build a giant maze, and put him in there.
Ah well. In the end, the Minotaur was killed by Theseus... So that was one problem solved I guess. In any case, by the 'lair of the minotaur', you can also refer to the center of the Labyrinth. Technically they're at the end of the maze here, but really, a labyrinth only has one exit and entrance. So really, it's a one-way ticket in a true labyrinth.
Jonouchi's 'sleep' is based on the fact that he managed to space out in his win at the end of this chapter of the manga. It was a little weird actually, as unlike the fanfic, he was staring directly at the ceiling of the box. Hoh. That was the state that everyone else found him in as well; which of course had them going 'OMG DID HE LOSE? WHAT HAPPENED...' At which point he snapped out of it and grinned, going on about how he won.
One would wonder why Keith and the others stayed behind, but the fact is there were no other paths past the duel arena. Most likely, they heard the others coming and were forced to hide along the walls, sneaking past... Only to fail. D'OH.
When Jonouchi explains how he was caught in the manga, he first makes the comparison to a pack of hyenas... Also, in a tiny bubble to the side you can see 'they even punched me once!' But... They didn't do that. The closest they came was a slap in the face waking him up from the black-out spell, and in the fanfic's case the knife-hand strike to the neck. However, there was no punch.
How colourful is Keith's language? Enough that every other line has a collective of '#$%*%' in it. That's how. I can't obviously tell what he's saying through all that, so I took many, many creative liberties... He has some interesting comments too; 'Baby Goth' is what he actually called Yugi, though I switched it out with midget. Because seriously... 'baby goth'? What the hell does that even mean? Yellow, however, is not something he even came close to saying; I used it there because there was more random symbols. As it is, you can probably guess that yellow is a purely racist comment on his part, ('Yellow' is a derogatory way of referring to Asians. It's like calling an African 'nigger'. Don't do it.) though it completely flies over Jonouchi's head in terms of the actual meaning. (Probably because, what with him being blond, he doesn't really invoke that comment when meeting a foreigner that rude.)
Good thing Katsuya didn't actually try to attack Keith (Not that he wouldn't get a fair number of good hits in)- the man is completely unpredictable, and though it might have been a gun in the anime (Not sure), he's later seen in the manga attempting to attack Pegasus with a knife. This fails. Horribly, I might add. As for what else is in that vest...
I can see him hustling cards on street corners thanks to that scene...
Now why didn't Katsuya try and push at the boulder? Because the exit is on a slope; they essentially 'slid' down the entrance. Not only that, but as the boulder was being pushed over the entrance, and by four other people nonetheless, it wasn't likely he'd make it. There's room out side true; but in the cavern, at least in the manga, there's barely enough space to stand three people side by side. Which unfortunately means they're outnumbered in the attempt to get up there and just push the damn thing back.
In the great 'WE'RE IN A MAZE!' reveal, for some reason everyone's in a solid line leading in circles. This would make sense if not for one very interesting point. Not only is Anzu so far back that the moment Honda turns the corner they'll be face to face, but Yugi, who was behind Jonouchi and Honda when they entered the maze (which is too narrow for more than one person to pass through), but in the panel after we see him, Bakura takes his place. And then, even more confusing, we see Yugi a few feet ahead of Jonouchi, behind Honda, while Bakura is just a meter away from Jonouchi's back.
Where the heck did they find the room to do that kind of switching around! As a side note, the maze is pretty pathetic; there's really only two paths to start, and once you're on the right one you're about set. Of course, that might be me looking at the manga...
Even more interesting but they didn't seem to realize they were in a maze until about a third into it. Even... Though it was nothing but sharp turns in there. Bwah?
Interesting note here. 'Meikyuu' is seen as the word for 'Labyrinth' or 'Maze', that's true. But technically, it's wrong. Rather, it's not the first one you're going to find in the dictionary when searching flat out for 'maze'. The first kanji, Mayou (or 'Mayui', to be lost or deluded), becomes 'Mei', and that one doesn't change. However, rather than using 'miya', or 'shrine' (Alternatively Palace, and the 'Kyuu' in 'Meikyuu') for the kanji, the word 'Maze' uses the kanji for 'road', or 'ji'. (Pronounced 'ru' in it's use, making the word maze 'meiru'.) Strange, I know... Ironically, 'ze' sounds can be mutated into 'ji' sounds, as the 'e' in Japanese is pronounced 'eh' rather than 'ee'... And there is no 'zi' sound. Regardless of dictionary translations however, Meikyuu is still easily recognised and also more commonly used for the word 'maze' and 'labyrinth'... Giving the word two different names really.
Make up your mind Japan!
That's right; Japan's version of Indie films are Hong Kong action movies. They ARE pretty over the top when you get the B-Rated ones... Granted, Japan is no better when you look at some of their live action. Look up 'vagina bubbles from hell' on youtube. I am completely serious. (There's nothing explicit, and anyone can watch it... But I would still label it as 'Not Safe For Work' given what it implies.) ...The lady killed a guy with this move by SITTING THERE. (JAPAN. JAPAN WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR FILM INDUSTRY?)
Mei and Kyuu, the 'Meikyuu brothers' were of course the 'Paradox' brothers in the dub, Para and Dox respectively. Mei has the corresponding kanji 'mei' on his forehead, whereas Kyuu has... Well, 'kyuu' on his forehead. They don't rhyme in the Japanese version either; that's dub only. I eventually opted to keep the rhyming business out as well, it was giving me a headache. (They do, however, finish each other's sentences as in the manga. Or are they both speaking at the same time? Who knows...) Technically, neither Mei nor Kyuu actually have names. Rather they're 'Meikyuu Brothers - Elder' and 'Meikyuu Brothers - Younger'. However, for the sake of keeping it simple, we're naming them by the kanji on their foreheads... Which makes sense, since that's probably what Jonouchi was doing in his mind anyways.
Most likely, when the brothers say 'lost' it's more to creep the group out. (It doesn't work, as you can see Anzu snickering in the background.) However, you never know... Maybe it was possible to avoid those two! (That would suck. A LOT.) Though I have to say, I wonder what would have happened to anyone unlucky enough to come down there alone... Would they have to wait there for another person or what?
Even the Meikyuu brothers state that 'tag team dueling' is 'unorthodox'! SHEESH. Interesting point about this; of the two brothers, Kyuu is either constantly serious or constantly scowling, while his brother Mei tends to have some twisted smirk on his face. What is he plotting... Granted, by the end, this switches. Kyuu flips out completely and Mei is the one sitting at the side with a smaller smirk than normal. Maybe Kyuu has personality issues? I dunno.
Originally, the riddle Katsuya thinks of is 'Honest Town'; a man comes to a fork in the road, by which an elder sits. There are two towns, but the sign is ruined; honest town, and 'false town'. He want's to go to Honest Town, but doesn't know if the man is from that same town (Which would mean he would tell the truth), or from the other (Which would make him a liar.) The solution to the riddle was for the traveler to ask the man for him to take them to their town. If he was a liar, he would pretend Honest Town was his town and take him there. If he was Honest, he would take him there regardless. In this case, in addition to the already stated defense up above, Yugi states that rather than one person, there are two... So they can't really compare. (Ironically, by simply altering the question you get the reverse answer and get it right.)
In all honesty however, (Hee. Honest.) the riddle of the two guards can arguably take the same defense that, if one always lies, then they should both be claiming to tell the truth... Kyuu claiming that it was true and Mei saying nothing, and when they were asked the question, neither one of them spoke.
Basically... Because they said they would tell the truth or lie, they had a loophole. By keeping silent, they could lie as much as they wanted. (In the end, they didn't actually care...)
Yugi's Beaver Warrior has the teeth, but it doesn't have the tail! More likely it's a mouse, rat, or maybe even a muskrat. Here's an interesting 'western' folk tale; years before, it was said that the muskrat had a large flat tail while the Beaver had a long one. The Beaver, seeing the use in this tail, managed to flatter his way into switching with the Muskrat... And when the Muskrat found that out, BOY was he pissed!
Interesting point; despite the fact that Yugi and Jonouchi essentially have a direct path to each door on their side, they took the middle path first... Which... Clearly ends with a dead end. WAIT WHAT? Maybe they were forced to go there, I don't know... The monsters certainly appeared to be summoned on the cards. Maybe the direction they walked was pre-programmed?
'Elven Knight' is the original name of the 'Celtic Guardian' for those wondering.
Anyways. 'Kamaitachi', half of the Wall Ghoul's attack, is the name of a Japanese monster. It means 'sickle weasle' (Kama being sickle, and itachi being weasel.), and... Well... It's pretty much what the name implies. A spirity-weasel. With a sickle.
Jirai Gumo on the other hand, comes from these two words; 'Jirai', made up of the kanji for earth ('ji') and thunder ('rai', or 'kaminari') means 'Landmine'. 'Gumo' however, comes from the word 'kumo', which means 'spider'. Basically, 'Jirai Gumo' means 'Landmine Spider'... Appropriate given how it was used as one.
For some reason, Axe Raider, who has 100 more points than Jirai Gumo with his equip card, was completely owned by the thing. So I came to the conclusion that monsters caught by surprise don't get to use their weapons. Oh well. Sucks to be Axe Raider I guess.
The spell 'Mystic Box' is followed by the words 'The Magic Boxes of Death!'. Uh... 'Magic Boxes of Death'? REALLY? I have to admit though... It's not as bad as some real card names out there. (-coughGiantTurtleWhoFeedsOnFlamescough-) An interesting note, whenever they combine cards in this duel, the word 'combo!' appears in the background. Whoo!
Yugi's original line in the manga at the end there is 'The power of teamwork will over come any wall!'. Really, REALLY cool in Japanese. English... Not so much. It's essentially a 'Cave of your heart!' situation here, sooooo... I made it a little more language appropriate for the chapter, given that we aren't dealing with insults or anything.
Anyways, as you can see, the duel's been cut in half! So I'll see you tomorrow with the thrilling (Thrilling?) conclusion to it! Whooooo~ Yea. Also, sorry that this took so long... Not to mention that it had to be cut in two in the first place... Don't go yet, there's MORE.
Fan-Art/Fic-Art Section
Been a while hasn't it? Unfortunately, though it's mostly inked, I can't finish the 'Matryoshka' picture until the poll closes. Mostly because it kinda determines what I put on the nesting dolls. D'OH. However, I have new sketches for you, and a COMPLETELY INKED IMAGE. So hopefully that cheers you up! Now, unlike last time where the pictures mysteriously shrank in the scan, these ones are very big. Just a warning. As usual, remove the spaces and go crazy!
'Skin' - http: /i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO%20 Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ YGO. jpg - I got bored one day, and decided to make a 'movie poster' for the picture. There's a few spoilers if you squint, reaaally hard. Also, take a look at Kaiba's scars; they'll be where the title, 'Skin' goes. ... No this is not why the fanfic is called Skin. I just couldn't think of a name (SHAME)
The Spirits of Kaiba Past (Part 1) - http: / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO%20 Fanfic%20 -%20Skin/ KaibaSpirits1. png - As promised, all the 'forms' of Kaiba's spirit-y self from Yugi's duel. I'd ask you to guess where each age and point was, but that would be mean, so here you go.
First - Age 4, the 'oh-so-famous' (In the fanfic at least) 'Yukata' one. Basically tiny little 'Seri'/Seto during the time where there was no Mokuba, her parents were alive, and she was stuffed in a yukata to go to a festival. Whoo~ She doesn't likely remember much of this, as most people (And I mean most), can't remember anything past age three going back.
Second - Age 5, this is what she wore during her Mother's wake. A wake is the gathering before a funeral if you didn't know, the 'last good-bye' sort of thing. An interesting fact about wakes in Japan, but in the past it was customary to wear white. However, and this is most likely from 'western' influence, it's now more customary to wear black instead.
Third - Age 7, this would be a bit before her and Mokuba's father died. That or it could be a while after, when she's eight. And hasn't gotten bubble gum in her hair yet. This is what Yami Yugi saw when he mentioned 'a girl in a flowered shirt'. I already went pretty 'out there' in terms of putting Kaiba in a dress, I wasn't going to go any further, regardless of the fact that this is Fem Kaiba... So her parents would have bought 'girly clothes' for her. The closest thing she gets to pink in those days are the red flowers on that shirt though.
Fourth - Age 8 or 9, right after the 'hair' fiasco. To sum that up, Mokuba got gum in her hair so she cut it all off... Leaving it in TATTERS. The clothes she's wearing are from shortly after she made a deal with her Aunt concerning their adoption; basically, by dumping them at an orphanage that had no connections to them, they skipped over getting any real papers... After that it was a giant mess of issues in terms of getting the gender covered up, leaving the Aunt out in exchange for just giving her the guy clothes and not bothering to hand over any papers. (Which she did by just leaving them there and driving off.) That week would have been HECTIC. As in 'Missing Persons' hectic. I think I fudged up her face...
Fifth - Lastly we have what Kaiba would have looked like around age 10, essentially 'orphanage time'. I can't remember if Kaiba was adopted at age 10 or 12... I'm fairly certain that it's 10 though, so this could also be taken as 'shortly after adoption'.
The Spirits of Kaiba Past (Part 2) - http : / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic%20- %20Skin/ KaibaSpirits2. png - Second half! There's only three Kaiba's here.
First - Age 12, this is basically what Kaiba wore (According to the manga) during Gozaburo's rendition of a training from hell session. I'm not kidding, it was basically a simple shirt, likely just as plain pants, and a freaking collar. I think it was a dog's collar. Yikes...
Second - Age 14, this would be shortly after the forced vocal lessons, hence the turtle-neck (She actually wore these because of a sudden fear that people would realize she didn't have an Adam's Apple. 'People' being Gozaburo. She's realized by now that no one's really looking all that close though.). I screwed up her face really badly here, I'm sorry... (Will fix that in the ink.)
Last - Death-T Kaiba! I had a few troubles here; mostly because of Kaiba's fem design, as I realized a little later on that I actually gave the woman some pretty curvy hips. Anyways, I fixed it in the end... And ooooooh I love her expression here, just saying. You can still see the line where I drew her body here; gravity works in her favor really, as since she rarely runs, the shirt is pulled straight down from her shoulders. Which are obviously wider than her waist and hips. (Most women have shoulders wider than their hips... Yay anatomy~) Actually tested with myself; I put on that shirt, I wouldn't even have to wear binding to pass off. (Until I spoke. Or walked. My walk would give me away.)
Doodles and Design - http: / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO%20 Fanfic%20- %20Skin/ AwesomeDesign. png - Basically, it started with me fleshing out what will indeed happen in the Virtual World arc during Kaiba's 'mind fuck'. Rather, the Noa VS Kaiba duel, where Noa repeatedly slams crap like this in Kaiba's face. Starting with poofing her into the female school uniform in front of the main cast. Whoops~ Came out rather well I think... It ended up developing into a 'human' version of the figurine from the Monster World Arc (The 'Birdtail', Kai.), which also came out pretty good in my opinion. Heck, everything about Kaiba came out well on this page.
Anyways, that led to me attempting to do the same 'figurine counter part' thing for Jonouchi, which failed pretty hard... And then as I was re-watching the Legendary Heroes arc, I had to wince at Jonouchi's outfit again. What was it, a caveman costume? I added buckskin pants and a shirt to it in the sketch you see here, and I have to say... Daaaaaamn I love it. Also eyes. And profile views. Whoo~
And that's all for now guys... See you tomorrow with the next chapter!
