It was the third day of the tournament and by now most of the duelists were either just waking up or going through their morning routine before breakfast including the only bi-polar duelist in the tournament.
"Okay, just got to get freshened up, get dressed, take my meds and check in with Sophia." Ariana thought as she brushed her long hair in front of her bathroom mirror after just drying it off whilst covering up her naked body with nothing but a towel, it took her more time than usual to get to sleep after her nightmare the night before, but she was eventually able to get a decent amount of sleep. "Simple right? What's the worst that can happen?"
"Are you sure about that?" The same voice who had helped her win against the Gemini Elves that night before, but Ariana did her best to ignore it, that is until she dropped her hairbrush and bent over to pick it up.
When Ariana stood up straight, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the same demonic face that she had seen in the women's bathroom before it disappeared only to show her a hellish landscape seemingly confined to the inside of the bathroom mirror, Ariana tried to move but suddenly found chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles which, despite having no visible anchor point, were firmly keeping her in place. "You belong here!"
"No, no." Ariana whispered as she shook her head, she looked around the bathroom sink, spotted her hair dryer and she grabbed it, without a second thought she threw it at the bathroom mirror shattering it and thankfully that seemed to end the vision. "What the hell is happening to me?!" Ariana asked as she took several deep breaths. "Am I losing my mind?"
"Ms. Sommers?" One of the guards called out and Ariana looked up. "Are you alright? I heard glass smashing."
"Oh great, how am I supposed to explain this?!" Ariana thought as she looked at the shattered remains of her bathroom mirror, most of the pieces had managed to land in the sink but a few had made their way to the bathroom floor. "Pretty sure that mirror alone costs more than my North Academy Tuition Fee!"
"Do you want me to come in?" The guard asked again, and Ariana shook her head.
"Unless you want to see a teenager in nothing but a towel, then no!" Ariana called back and when the guard didn't respond she continued. "I had a freak out and broke my bathroom mirror in the process, otherwise I'm fine."
"Don't worry about that, Sophia will cover it." The guard assured her, and the Greek-Iranian woman breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me know when your decent and I'll send in a clean-up crew to clean up the mess."
"Yeah, sure." Ariana responded before stepping out of the bathroom and being careful to not step on the shattered glass that had made its way to the floor and started getting dressed. "I know I have mental problems, what with my bi-polar disorder and all." Ariana thought as she finished dying herself off and started getting dressed. "But whatever that demon is, it's seriously messing with my mind!" Ariana thought before she picked out a black tank top and dark blue jeans from her wardrobe and started putting them on. "Damn it, why can't I be normal?!"
*ten minutes later*
Once she had taken her meds and the clean-up crew had cleaned up the mess Ariana went straight to Sophia's office for her check-in, and if Sophia wasn't already annoyed from the events of the previous day she was now.
"Ariana, you realize how expensive those mirrors are, right?" Sophia asked with an exasperated sigh and Ariana lowered her head. "Don't worry about replacing it, it should be replaced and paid for by the time the first session ends, but if this continues then I may need to stop being so lenient with you."
"I swear, it won't happen again." Ariana responded as she ran a hand down her face. "I just wanted that vision to end and that was the first thing I thought off."
"Frankly, I'm just glad that you had enough sense to break it with your hair dryer rather than your fists." Sophia responded with a deep sigh and Ariana quickly nodded in agreement, "Other than that, everything going well?"
"Yeah, I think so." Ariana responded as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. "Had another nightmare last night but that was short lived, and yes, I took my meds are soon as I got dressed."
"As long as you stay on them, that shouldn't be a problem." Sophia responded with a nod and Ariana shifted her weight. "How are you getting on with Nicola's party?"
"Fine, I mean it was awkward since I started off as her boyfriend's enemy, but we got passed that hurdle pretty quickly." Ariana responded before letting out a deep breath. "I did accidentally blurt out that I was bi-polar, but they accepted me for who I am, guess it helped that Nicola is autistic and all."
"Perhaps but watch who you say that too." Sophia advised her as she shifted her weight. "I know better than anyone that gossip travels fast in the dueling world, whilst your party might respect the need for your privacy who's to say the next person you tell will do the same?"
"True enough." Ariana nodded and Sophia paused.
"You mind if I ask you something?" Sophia asked and Ariana shrugged prompting her to continue. "I know I said before that I've heard horror stories about people with bi-polar disorder going off their meds, how do you feel about you condition exactly?"
"How do I feel?" Ariana echoed before letting out a deep breath. "If your asking if I'm going to be a spokesperson for people with bi-polar disorder like Nicola is for people with autism, the only chance of that happen is by complete accident."
"Really?" Sophia asked with a raised eyebrow. "You were open about it on the roof."
"Because the demon outed me, and I figured that there was no use in lying or sugarcoating it." Ariana responded and Sophia nodded in understanding. "Truth be told, there isn't a day where I don't wish that I never got bi-polar disorder, I hate having to take medication for it twice a day just so I can function and go about my daily routine, hell I almost got arrested for drug smuggling by the TSA after they found my meds in my carry-on luggage."
"Let's be honest, that would make you out to be a very incompetent drug smuggler." Sophia joked and Ariana grinned a bit before sighing.
"Phil said as much after I accidentally outed myself as bi-polar to my party." Ariana nodded before she frowned. "I'll probably laugh about that incident in later years but in all honesty. I just want to be normal." Ariana sighed as she lowered her head. "Taking meds daily just so I don't go insane? That's not normal and I hate it! But at the same time, I know what'll happen if I go off them."
"You make it sound like you've gone of your meds before." Sophia commented and Ariana nodded reluctantly.
"Only once, it was during the early days, when I was still coming to grips with the fact that I have to spend the rest of my days on meds just so I can function." Ariana admitted before taking a deep breath. "I know you said that gossip travels fast but can you make sure that what I'm about to say doesn't leave this office?"
"You have my word." Sophia nodded and Ariana took a deep breath.
"I was still at North Academy at the time when I foolishly decided to not take my meds, I thought I could handle it." Ariana responded before taking a deep breath. "I didn't even last five minutes before I beat the crap out of another student, I can't even remember the reason, but it was bad, they found me sobbing in a fetal position nearby." Ariana added before seeing the look on Sophia's face. "If you're about to say that I was lucky to not get expelled, believe me, I know, but once I admitted that I hadn't taken my meds the school took pity on me and even the student forgave me."
"Just be glad that it wasn't before you were diagnosed." Sophia commented and Ariana quickly nodded in agreement. "I don't think the school would've been as merciful in that case."
"For what it's worth, I haven't even considered going off my meds since then." Ariana responded as she took a deep breath. "There have been mornings where I haven't taken my meds because I slept in but I made up for that by just taking twice the regular dosage at once during the evening, and yes, I've been careful about doing that, I know drug overdoses are a thing, but even with that in mind, it still affects my social life."
"What do you mean?" Sophia asked and Ariana sighed.
"The only reason I'm still single in spite of my looks is because most boys my age get scared off when they learn that I'm bi-polar and believe me, I want a boyfriend, preferably before I turn twenty one, but at that rate I'm going I'll still be single by the time I'm in my thirties!" Ariana added with an exasperated sigh as she leaned back. "All because of the horror stories you mentioned, I had plenty of interest before the diagnoses, even had a few dates set up, but once word got out all the boys suddenly lost interest."
"I'm sorry if I hit a nerve both times, I said that." Sophia apologized and Ariana shook her head.
"You couldn't have known and it's not like you have your dad's Millennium Item hidden under your hair." Ariana pointed out and Sophia nodded before showing that her right eye was indeed intact. "I wouldn't event him at his worse to probe into my mind anyway, I'm not even sure what goes on in there most days."
"You won't have to worry about any of that on the pro-league, just from my own experience there's hardly any judgmental assholes on the pro-leagues and by and large, they are a welcoming bunch." Sophia assured her and Ariana grinned.
"I have to admit, I was worried about how the older pro-leaguers would treat me, being a relative unknown at her first major tournament and that's before they find out that I am bi-polar." Ariana admitted with a grin. "But my party's been friendly with me and Amanda and Adrienne even invited me to join them at breakfast yesterday when there wasn't a table available and suggested that I sue my former management company after I told them about how badly they screwed me over."
"They weren't wrong about that." Sophia responded as she shifted her weight. "When a management company takes on the contract of a young up and coming duelist like you, their job is to guide that duelist's career to the best of their abilities, especially if they turn out to be a hot prospect like someone coming in second at their first regional tournament."
"The ironic thing is the management company told me as much when I signed that contract." Ariana added and Sophia nodded.
"If it's any consolation, they will be under investigation as soon as the tournament ends, turns out you weren't an isolated case." Sophia explained and Ariana nodded. "As for the boyfriend thing, don't worry about that, it may be an old cliché but it's true, there's plenty more fish in the sea."
"Again, mom told me that every time I got rejected, kinda got sick of hearing that phrase after a while." Ariana admitted as she shifted her weight. "But like I said, at this rate I may be thirty before I find a boyfriend." Ariana added before she heard her stomach growling. "Can I go off for breakfast yet?"
"Go ahead, it's still early so finding a table shouldn't be a problem." Sophia nodded and Ariana grinned before she stood up, as she went to open the door it opened and Kaiba stood in her way. "Let her pass Kaiba, she just did her check in."
"Very well." Kaiba nodded before standing to the side to Ariana pass and she walked past him and headed to the dining room, Kaiba closed the door behind him and sat down in front of Sophia's desk. "We had to let Max go."
"Excuse me?!" Sophia demanded as her eyes narrowed. "That man impersonated my father, planned to rape me and leave me for dead and used my sexual assault to mock me and we're letting him go?!"
"I wasn't happy about it either, but I got a call from a top law firm in Chicago, they said that unless we released him in the next twenty four hours, they would be charging us with kidnapping and yes, I checked, it is a real law firm." Kaiba added and Sophia clenched a fist. "And unfortunately, the only witness to those incidents was you, me and our men, he is off the island however."
"This doesn't make sense." Sophia responded as she rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "There isn't any wi-fi on the island, the only reason there's an internet connection at all is because I paid for internet towers to be installed out of my back pocket and even that is spotty at best, how did they find out so quickly?"
"I don't know, my only guess is that there's another operative of the demon in the castle." Kaiba responded and Sophia's frown deepened.
"At least tell me we got something useful out of that bastard?" Sophia asked and Kaiba shook his head.
"Even after spending a night down there, he remained quiet." Kaiba responded and Sophia sighed. "I don't like that any more than you do, what about Ariana? I heard that she broke a mirror?"
"It was another vision and she used her hairdryer to break free of it and the mirror." Sophia explained with an exasperated sigh. "There are two things I'm thankful for, one, that it wasn't the mirror in the women's bathroom and two, Ariana didn't use her fists but I'm starting to worry about her mental health."
"We know her mental health is shaky thanks to her bi-polar disorder, as long as she stays on her meds, she should be fine." Kaiba nodded in understanding before sighing. "You know what you have the authority to do as the organizer of the tournament, right?"
"Off course I do, I was withdrawn from my first Battle City because of it." Sophia nodded as she leaned back. "I know that I can remove any duelist from the roster even if the tournament is ongoing, usually in case of family emergency or the duelist getting injured during the tournament, come to think of it, didn't that almost happen to Chloe after her first Battle City Duel?"
"The one where she had to leave in an ambulance because it was her first Orichalcos Duel?" Kaiba asked and Sophia nodded. "That was just the beginning of the PR nightmare that was the Orichalcos but back to the topic at hand, it's rare but it wouldn't be the first time a duelist was removed for the sake of their mental health and if you think the strain is getting too much for Ariana, you know what to do and I doubt that there will be a duelist on the roster who would blame you." Kaiba nodded before frowning. "I remember that happening to you."
"That wasn't my finest hour, to say the least." Sophia sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I remember being salty over the fact that my replacement got eliminated not long after I returned home, tried to get the teachers to let me go back even though, in hindsight, I know there wasn't a chance of that happening."
"A duelist's pride can easily be shattered, and I know that better than anyone." Kaiba nodded in agreement before standing up. "I think we'd better grab a table before they are all taken up."
"Agreed." Sophia nodded before leaving her office.
*later in the dining room*
By now breakfast was well underway and Ariana had managed to grab herself a table in the middle of the dining hall, most of the other tables were occupied so she paid the other duelists no mind.
Largely because there was a lot on hers. "Well, I haven't heard those whispers once since that dream last night so maybe they've left me alone now." Ariana thought as she ate her breakfast, scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast, whilst momentarily glancing around the room. "How messed up is my life when the fact that I'm not being tormented by demonic whispers is a highlight of my morning? Seriously!"
"Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" Ariana looked up and saw Claudio standing across from her with a plate of food in his hands though she couldn't see what was on it. "All the other tables seem to be occupied."
"Fine, not like there's much going on right now." Ariana shrugged her shoulders in response and Claudio sat down before setting his plate down. "I don't think I've seen you around."
"Oh, I've been around, just over at the other end the dining hall." Claudio responded as he motioned to the western half of the dining room. "Where are my manners? My name is Claudio Caruso." Claudio introduced himself and that set off alarm bells in Ariana's head.
"Claudio Caruso? The same Claudio Caruso who runs C.C. Management Inc.?" Ariana asked as her eyes narrowed and Claudio didn't answer. "Your company nearly sabotaged my career as a duelist!"
"My dear, you must have me mistaken for someone else." Claudio responded but Ariana remained unconvinced. "True, I run a management company, but I would've remembered having someone as beautiful as you on my roster."
"And he's flirting with a teenager, great!" Ariana thought as she quickly finished what remained of her breakfast. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but I want nothing to do with you." Ariana added before she picked up her plate and went to walk off only for Claudio to grab her by the wrist. "What the hell?"
"Leaving so soon? I swear, teenagers these days have no respect for their elders." Claudio mocked her and Ariana managed to wrestle her wrist free without dropping the plate. "Don't you wish to hear what I have to say?"
"No, now leave me alone!" Ariana responded before walking off only for Claudio to reach out for her wrist again only to be stopped by a much larger hand.
"Comrade, I believe the lady said no." Dmitri commented as he glared at the older man and Claudio turned to the massive Russian. "Now leave her be."
"Fine." Claudio backed down once he realized how much bigger Dmitri was than him. "But this isn't over."
"I beg to differ." Sophia's voice rang out and Claudio span around to see Sophia standing behind where Ariana was sitting. "Another stunt like that Claudio and you'll be the first duelist to be ejected from the island, because you were disqualified for assaulting another duelist."
"Fine, I know my place." Claudio scoffed as he folded his arms and Ariana quickly left the dining hall after putting her plate with the dirty dishes.
*a few minutes later*
"What the hell was that about?" Ariana thought as she felt up the wrist that Claudio had grabbed, she was still outside the dining hall and had no desire to go back in after that incident. "I finally meet the guy who tried to kill my career before it got started and he assaults me? That definitely wasn't what I thought would happen before I left Pittsburgh to come here!" Ariana thought as she glanced at her aching wrist.
"You know what you need to do to combat someone like him." A familiar voice rang out as the hallway darkened and Ariana froze as her doppelganger appeared before her wearing the same outfit, before Ariana could do anything else her double pinned her to the wall in a manner that suggested that they were about to start making out. "Join me and we won't have to worry about people like him!" Ariana's double added as she leaned in for a kiss and Ariana closed her eyes.
"Miss?" Ariana opened her eyes and saw that she was alone in the brightly lit hallway again, well aside from the much larger man who had addressed her. "Are you alright?" Dmitri asked as he closed the door behind him, and Ariana shook her head.
"My wrist aches from where he grabbed me but I'm fine otherwise." Ariana responded as she glanced up at the massive Russian. "Thanks for your help back there I don't think he would've left me alone otherwise."
"Don't worry about it, I simply happened to be the closest person who was paying attention." Dmitri assured her before offering a handshake. "Dmitri Romanov, Russian National Champion."
"Ariana Sommers, came in second at the Pennsylvania Regionals and that's about it." Ariana responded sheepishly as she accepted the handshake. "I'm still in my rookie year, hell this is my first major tournament."
"Ahh, we've all been there." Dmitri said reassuringly and Ariana grinned. "How has your first tournament been?"
"Mixed bag to be honest but I'm just glad that I'm competing in a major tournament after my first management company nearly screwed me over." Ariana admitted and Dmitri raised an eyebrow. "My first management company was deliberately withholding major tournament invites from me, including this year's Battle City, that guy I was talking with? He runs that company though he denied it for some reason."
"Likely so you couldn't embarrass him in front of everyone but that is not good." Dmitri responded with a grunt though she could tell from his body language that he had more than a few choice words about that. "Your planning to sue them, yes?"
"My parents are, I'm only nineteen, but my mom's busy with her restaurant and my dad's a criminal defense lawyer." Ariana responded with a shrug and Dmitri frowned. "It took Sophia to get me back on the Battle City Roster but that's a long story."
"I can assure you that your first management company isn't an indication of what the others are like." Dmitri assured her and Ariana grinned. "Look forward to facing you in the tournament at least." Dmitri added before he started to walk off.
"Just one question." Ariana asked and Dmitri turned to her. "How tall are you exactly? I don't think I've ever met someone as big as you before." Ariana asked and Dmitri chuckled.
"Six foot eleven out of game, in game? Likely closer to eight foot." Dmitri responded and Ariana blinked. "I chose the Goliath race."
"Right, makes sense I guess." Ariana responded with a sheepish grin before Dmitri walked off. "Maybe the session will be normal compared to everything that's happened during the interlude."
*in the virtual world*
The session had finally started and after it took Nicola's group a moment to regroup the Gemini Elves led them further into the jungle in search of the mystical beast, however Ariana still had the events of her last duel on her mind.
"Who knows what would've happened if Sophia hadn't intervened?" Ariana thought as she walked through the jungle trailing behind the others as she did. "And then there's that voice! I could've won that duel on my own, but she still helped me, whoever that is."
"Are you sure about that?" The voice asked her, but Ariana never finished as the elves led them to the grazing area and sure enough, the beast was there.
"Be careful as you approach, if you scare it off, you'll never find it for the rest of the night." The redhead advised Nicola who nodded before entering the clearing, the beast, which resembled a male deer but had a more dog like head and the horns, seemingly didn't notice her until Nicola stepped on a twig causing its head to snap up.
"Think fast Nic." Nicola thought before casting Speak with Animals. "I do not wish to harm you I only wish to ensure your safety." Nicola said simply and the beast tilted its head in Nicola's direction before motioning for her to follow it into a nearby cave.
"Should we follow her?" Phil asked and the blonde shook her head.
"The beast only trusts Nicola, if you follow her then that trust might be shattered." The blonde responded and Phil nodded as they watched the area, seconds later the ping rang out from their duel disks indicating that they had found a destiny orb and Nicola emerged from the cave. "I trust that went well."
"Yeah, and I got a new card out of it." Nicola responded with a confused look on her face as she held up a duel monster card with the beast's image on it, the text read "Mystical Beast Pieus" and it was a level four monster with 1500 attack and 1200 defense. "Don't really know what to make of it right now." Nicola added as she pocketed the card. "But it's getting late." Nicola noted as she glanced toward the sky and Ariana got an idea.
"Gemini Elves, I know we didn't get off to a great start, but can we stay in your village for the night?" Ariana asked and the elves shared a look before nodding. "I don't like that look they just shared."
"Off course, we have room in the village." The redhead added before they walked up to Ariana and caressed her chin. "And you are free to join us for the orgy, been so long since we've had a Tiefling partner, I especially love it when their tails go in…..." The redhead added and Ariana blushed a furious red.
"I'll…...I'll pass, thanks." Ariana stammered as she quickly backed away from the elves before giving the redhead a chance to finish. "I'm trying to save myself for marriage!"
"Are you sure? Many married couples have met each other at our orgies." The blonde responded and Ariana quickly shook her head as did the others when they turned their attention to them. "Suit yourself, you don't know what you're missing."
"I'm missing my wife never letting me live down the fact that I took part in an orgy in a virtual world." Phil thought as they followed the elves back to the village. "I think we made the right decision, especially since Ariana getting married to a virtual being would be all kinds of weird, not to mention the fact that she's only nineteen!"
*elsewhere in the world*
Now that they were finally back in the Virtual World Theresa's group were back to the point, they were at prior to the session ending early, namely they were on the run from the mob boss's men.
"Steal one Destiny Orb they said, it'll be fun they said." Theresa grumbled under her breath as the party ran deeper into the forest were the bounty hunters had chased them. "What possible negative consequences could arise from stealing from a mob boss?"
"Is that sarcasm I hear?" Yugi asked as he turned to Theresa and Theresa shook her head.
"Nah, I legitimately thought that Don Forreone was going to be perfectly okay with me stealing from him." Theresa responded with a tone that dripped sarcasm as the party went deeper into the woods. "Especially since I have ties to him thanks to my criminal background!"
"Let's be honest, that probably hurt more than stealing the destiny orb." Tyler commented dryly before something caught his eye just ahead. "There, we can hide in that cabin." Tyler called out and the other party members nodded before they made a rush to the cabin, Marie reached it first and held the door open for the others before entering the cabin and slamming the door shut. "Do you see them Marie?"
"They must've gotten lost in the foliage." Marie responded as she shook her head before glancing around. "Someone give me a hand barricading this thing, I'm not very strong in real life to begin with but as a gnome I'm even weaker."
"I'm on it." Tyler responded before moving a nearby closet in front of the door and Marie grinned. "I thought you had been going to the gym with Marcus anyway."
"Yeah, since I got him on the diet that basically saved his life." Marie nodded before frowning. "But I'm five foot nothing and weigh just short of a hundred pounds in real life, what I'm saying is that I'm not exactly the bodybuilding type and I mostly just stick to the treadmills and helping Marcus on the bench press when I go to the gym with him."
"If it helps, I think a six pack would look weird on a woman as tiny as you." Tyler admitted and Marie grinned in response. "So, what's next for us?"
"Well, we're in a cabin in the woods, if I see any redneck zombies then I'm out of here faster than you can say "best horror film produced after the 1980s." Theresa responded as she shook her head before sitting down on a table. "Cabin looked abandoned from the outside but it's in decent shape, we can probably hang out here for the night and leave in the morning." Theresa added and the others nodded. "If it was an option, we could sleep here for several nights but we can't stay in one place for to long with those bounty hunters after us."
"And if it comes to it, we can defeat them in a duel, so far me, Yugi and Tyler are the only ones who haven't dueled yet." Marie responded with a nod before she made herself comfortable. "I think we'd better have a look around before we do anything else, the cabin looked pretty big from the outside so we might be able to find some bedrooms at least."
"Agreed, and considering how late it is, I think we'd be better off doing it now." Yugi nodded in agreement before they left to explore the cavern.
*elsewhere in the world*
By now most of the adventuring parties were asleep but the woman running the tournament still needed to be updated on what was going on.
"Let's get this over with so I can get some damn sleep." Sophia groaned as she entered the HUD and Rachel's face appeared on the computer screen. "Didn't get a chance to say this before the session started but I'm glad to see that you're okay Rachel."
"Thanks, to be honest, I'm more embarrassed that I fainted than anything else." Rachel admitted with a sigh before taking a deep breath. "I'll get the big one out of the way, we might have just set a new record for fastest elimination."
"Really?" Sophia asked in an amused tone as she raised her eyebrow. "Let me guess, someone was in the middle of a duel when the session ended early yesterday?"
"Bang on the money, the duelist who came in second in the Scottish Nationals, Jenny McQuaid? Her duel against Guardian of the Throne Room got interrupted." Rachel nodded as the sounds of a Scottish Woman swearing loudly could be heard. "She was winning as well, then the guardian revealed his deck master ability and the fact that he was running an Exodia deck."
"Guardian of the Throne Room, what was that thing's Deck Master ability again?" Sophia wondered before bringing up the Deck Master selection screen and looking for the Duel Monster. "Ahh yes, once per turn draw one card for each monster with more than 2000 defense points you control, you cannot conduct your battle phase the turn you use this Deck Master Ability and you skip one draw phase for each card you draw." Sophia read the deck master ability out loud before frowning. "At most that would've given the Guardian five draws, no one's lucky enough to draw the five Exodia pieces all at once, not even the AI."
"True but he was also using the Classic Exodia Strategy." Rachel responded before frowning. "You ever read Yugi's autobiography?"
"It's the only one I do read regularly from that era, for one thing, it wasn't written by a ghost writer like Joey's or full of ego stroking like Kaiba's." Sophia nodded before it hit her. "The Guardian's strategy was similar to that unnamed Rare Hunter Yugi fought in his first Battle City Duel?"
"Yep, well, aside from the blatant cheating or using three copies of Exodia." Rachel nodded in response and Sophia chuckled. "Did they ever find out that guy's name?"
"Not even the other surviving Rare Hunters knew his name, based on the interviews he wasn't particularly well liked by the other members of the organization either and, well, we both know that they were largely scumbags." Sophia shrugged her shoulders in response before sighing. "Tell Jenny that she can remain on the island if she wishes but if she proves to be a problem then I will be forced to kick her off the island."
"Will do, but I doubt that'll be necessary, she has a good reputation among the pro-league duelists in Scotland and it's more likely a case of her being upset over how she was eliminated." Rachel responded as she shook her head. "As for the other thing, Theresa's party has stumbled upon the cabin."
"I didn't think anyone would find that place until the finals." Sophia responded with a frown as she glanced at the cabin's picture. "That's meant to be an end game area, I take it your taking steps to avoid four players being eliminated at the same time, including Yugi Moto."
"Whilst I would love to watch the reaction from the dueling world to Yugi being eliminated early with a bag of popcorn in my hands, I have a job to do, they'll only encounter low level enemies and find a destiny orb." Rachel responded before she shook her head. "The main area will be blocked off for reasons they'll find out once they find it, assuming they don't leave the cabin immediately after their long rest of course."
"Keep me posted, I need a long rest as well." Sophia responded before leaving the HUD area. "Though I will admit to wanting to see the look on Kaiba's face when he learns about Yugi being an early elimination."
*back at the cabin*
By now the occupants in the cabin were either fast asleep in their rooms or getting ready to go to sleep, however there was one occupant that couldn't get any sleep.
"I can't shake the feeling that this is too easy." Marie thought as she sat at the edge of the bed still in her day clothes. "Those bounty hunters were relentless, but they didn't follow us into the area with this cabin. There wasn't exactly much stopping them from setting fire to the building either, not saying that I wanted to burn alive off course." Marie thought before hopping off the bed and glancing around the room, on the far wall there was a bookcase and despite the cabin being seemingly abandoned it was well stocked and the books looked to be in good condition.
Marie walked over to the bookcase for a closer look and looked it over, she was a short woman in real life and was used to not being able to reach up and grab things on high shelves, it was something she usually left to Marcus when they were out shopping, but being a gnome in game limited her reach even further than normal and she could only reach the first few shelves as a result.
And those shelves were all she needed for her to accidentally push the fake bookcase door open nearly falling down the steep staircase in the process. "I knew this was too easy! Just my luck that I get the room with the secret entrance. I'd better wake up the others before I go down there!" Marie thought before running out of her room, remembering that her room was next door to Theresa's she made that her first stop and entered opened the door without knocking. "Theresa I…..."
Marie barely had enough time to duck the incoming pillow from the topless Theresa. "Marie, do you mind?!" Theresa demanded as she hastily covered up her breasts, Marie quickly closed the door and Theresa put her top back on before letting Marie know that she was decent. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"As much as I'd like to say that, even in the game world, every female pro-leaguer has bigger breasts than me." Marie deadpanned before she passed Theresa back her pillow. "I had a feeling that this was too easy, and I couldn't get any sleep, usually I read something on my kindle to help me nod off, or in this case, one of the books from the surprisingly well kept bookcase."
"Let me guess, the old "fake door disguised as a bookcase" cliché?" Theresa asked and Marie nodded prompting Theresa to stand up. "I'll go wake up the others, but not before knocking first, wait for me outside your room."
"I'm never living that down for the rest of the tournament, am I?" Marie deadpanned and Theresa shook her head before Marie stood aside to let the taller woman past. "At least let me duel whatever's down there and claim that destiny orb if there is one? I haven't dueled since the World Championship Qualifiers and I got knocked out in the first round."
"You didn't have any practice duels against Marcus?" Theresa asked with a raised eyebrow and Marie shook her head.
"I did, but what I meant was that I haven't had any real duels, those practice ones were just that, practice." Marie responded before letting out an annoyed huff. "And because I'm a former Orichalcos Duelist, most game shops won't serve me, let alone let me participate in any duels, I usually have to order new cards from Amazon."
"You do know that you have no one to blame but yourself for that, right?" Theresa pointed out and Marie let out a deep breath.
"Why do you think I joined the Redemption Seekers in the first place?" Marie asked and Theresa paused. "Besides, we both know that's ancient history as far as the dueling world's concerned."
"True enough, see you in a bit." Theresa nodded before running off to fetch the others.
*a few minutes later*
Fortunately, unlike Theresa, Yugi and Tyler were in their night clothes and getting into bed respectively when Theresa interrupted them and once they had gotten dressed again, they met in Marie's room where they saw the steep staircase.
"I take it you didn't go down there before you want to fetch Theresa?" Tyler asked Marie who nodded in response as she glanced down at the staircase. "Can't tell how deep that goes down and it looks dark, anyone have Darkvision?"
"I'm a human so no." Yugi responded as he shook his head. "What about the girls?"
"I'm an Assamir, Marie's a Gnome." Theresa responded as she turned to the living legend. "So yeah, we do, think it's limited to something like twenty feet."
"I say we let the tank lead the way." Marie responded as she motioned to Theresa. "This is based on Dungeons and Dragons and it's typically the Paladins that are the tanks of the group, so it just makes the most sense to me."
"Sure, just don't fall down the stairs." Theresa responded before she led the party down the deep staircase, it took them about twenty minutes to reach the bottom and they found that it had led them to a cavern. "Just how deep are we?"
"I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to say that we are deeper than six feet." Tyler responded as he glanced back at the staircase. "I'm also beginning to think that your horror movie joke earlier is appropriate here Theresa."
"I was thinking that too." Theresa nodded in agreement as she glanced over at Tyler. "I mean yeah, Cabin in the Woods is more of a loving tribute to everything horror than anything else but there was still some horror elements, in any case we've come this far, we may as well see what's down here."
"Just remember that I called dibs on the duel and claiming the destiny orb." Marie asserted as they started following Theresa. "Assuming there is one down here."
"I doubt the game designers would go to this much effort and not put a duel and a destiny orb down here." Theresa assured her as they followed the cave system, however as they followed the path Theresa realized something. "This isn't natural."
"Theresa if we want to get technical, nothing in this world is natural." Tyler pointed out and Theresa shook her head as she turned to him.
"Not what I meant this doesn't seem like a cavern that formed naturally." Theresa responded as she motioned around her. "It's like someone dug it out and built the staircase we went down." Theresa elaborated and the others looked around.
"She's right." Yugi realized as he glanced around. "Could've been Dwarfs, they'd have the expertise." Yugi added and Marie shook her head.
"Duergar more likely." Marie responded earning a confused look from Yugi. "Underdark Dwarfs, really pale, white beards, really nasty bunch, if they did build this tunnel and that staircase then it's likely we'll run into a group of them further down."
"That doesn't explain the cabin." Tyler pointed out as he folded his arms. "Duergar live underground, why would they build that staircase and hide it behind the bookcase in your room."
"Maybe the game designers were just making this up as they went along like most DMs do," Theresa suggested with a shrug before motioning them to continue. "If we keep discussing this, it'll be morning before we find anything, and I doubt Marie's willing to try dueling anyone whilst sleep deprived."
"I did, once." Marie responded with a sheepish grin. "Stayed up all night watching gameplay videos on Twitch the night before a tournament last year, I got eliminated in the first round." Marie added and the others sweat-dropped. "And no, I don't want to do that again, even if it means sleeping in this cave instead of that comfy bed back in my room."
"We won't have to worry about that," Yugi responded and the others turned to him. "My level one feat was Magic Initiate and I took Dimension Door I can get us back to her room in an instant."
"Good, let's get going." Theresa added before leading the others away.
*an hour later*
The cavern went on for a while longer to the point where the party was starting to consider going back to the cabin and returning to the cavern in the morning, that is until they came across something they weren't expecting.
"A forcefield?" Marie asked as they stared at the forcefield blocking their path, it wasn't exactly hidden from view as it was bright purple in color and fortunately there was another path that would've led the group to the left but the fact that the path in front of them was blocked had made the group curious. "Anyone have Dispel Magic?"
"I do." Yugi chimed in before he stepped forward. "I can only cast it at 1st level though, if it's anything higher than that then it'll fail and likely be way out of our league."
"Feels weird hearing that come out of Yugi Moto's mouth." Theresa thought as she watched the legendary duelist cast the spell, however after a few seconds he collapsed to his knees whilst clutching his head in pain. "Are you okay Yugi?"
"I'm fine but that path is definitely a no go." Yugi assured her as he got back to his feet. "That's a ninth level spell, likely to keep low level players like ourselves from going down that path."
"So, we stumbled upon an end game area?" Marie asked and Yugi nodded as she glanced at the forcefield. "You'd think the designers would've hidden them better than just sticking it under a random cavern in the woods."
"It's more likely that the whole woods is an end game area and not just these caverns, might explain why the hunters didn't follow us." Theresa reasoned as she folded her arms. "If these woods contain high level monsters then I can't blame the bounty hunters for basically going "I'm not getting paid enough for this" and heading back to civilization." Theresa added before glancing at the other path. "Fortunately, we have another path we can explore, considering it's not blocked off by anything I'd say it's a safe bet that it's more our speed."
"Fine, and once we're done in here, we'll go back to the cabin, get a long rest and get the hell of here." Marie nodded in agreement before they ventured down the path.
*minutes later*
The second path was much shorter than the first path and at the end of it the party came upon a chamber that seemed to have been carved out of a mountain that was occupied by several robed figures, and in the middle was a destiny orb, behind them was a stone table with shackles at the top and bottom but that didn't have the party's attention.
"You guys see what I see, right?" Marie asked as she glanced at the Destiny Orb in the middle of the chamber and the others nodded, Marie did a quick headcount of the robed figures and frowned. "Twenty of them, and they are all facing the Destiny Orb, I'm not going to be able to sneak up and steal it without something changing."
"These are likely CR1 Enemies, I doubt they are that tough." Theresa assumed as she went for her sword, but Tyler stopped her.
"Let's listen in before we head into battle." Tyler told Theresa and she nodded before the party listened in.
"Oh Vecna, The Whispered One, hear our voice and grant our prayers." The figures chanted as two more robed figures entered the chamber via a hidden door dragging a half-naked Half Elven woman with them. "Accept our sacrifice at the midnight hour."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Theresa commented as the woman was strapped to the table and the leader raised a golden dagger, Theresa nodded towards Marie before she charged into the chamber and cut down the nearest robed figure with her sword.
"WHAT?! How did you…" The leader never finished his question before Marie fired two crossbow bolts into his throat killing him instantly, seconds later the rest of the party entered the chamber and drew their weapons.
"You fools, do you have any idea what you've done?!" One of the robed figures demanded as he prepared a spell.
"Saved an innocent woman's life as you were ready to sacrifice her to Vecna." Theresa answered as she pointed her sword to them. "Now, let us pass or else."
"You will all be fitting sacrifices to Vecna." The figure responded before Yugi cut him down and Tyler did likewise with another figure, realizing that they were outmatched the remaining figures fled the chamber and Marie grabbed the destiny orb without hesitation.
"Okay, let's free her and get the hell out of here." Marie declared as the ping rang out from their duel disks and Tyler went about freeing the woman. "I was hoping to get a duel in, but I'll still take a destiny orb."
"Oh, thank you!" The Half-Elf thanked Tyler as he helped her off the table. "I was captured whilst I was away from my village. They did terrible things to me before they were going to use me as a sacrifice."
"You can thank Marie." Tyler responded before motioning To Marie. "We wouldn't have found this cavern if it weren't for the entrance bring in her room in the cabin."
"Cabin? Yes, off course, that makes sense." The half elf nodded once she realized what Tyler meant, now that the party had a better look at, she they realized that she was a beautiful blonde half elf who looked to be the same height as Theresa (5ft 7). "My clothes are in the room they dragged me from, you will be safer in my village than the cabin, but it isn't far."
"I can use Dimension Door to get us back to the cabin." Yugi responded and the Half-Elf turned to him. "Can you get us back to your village from there Ms.?"
"My name is Keyleth and yes, I know it well." Keyleth responded with a nod before she led them away. "We had better hurry before the higher ups in the cult are alerted."
"If they are the ones blocked off by the forcefield then that sounds like a good idea." Theresa thought as Keyleth opened the door, once she found her clothes the party turned away to give her some privacy. "Just one last thing, Marie was hoping to get a duel in tonight."
"There are duelists in my village, I'm sure they will be adequate competition for your companion." Keyleth assured her as she put her top on and Marie grinned. "Let's get going."
"Let's." Marie nodded in agreement before Yugi cast Dimension Door. "Hopefully I won't lose my first duel of the tournament after all this build up."