Mana lies wide awake in bed that same night. She lays on her side with her arm outstretched and her phone in her hand. She stares at the message on her phone from Kisara. Typically she wouldn't give it a second thought and she would spring into action any other time. But things are different now.
With his arm wrapped around her, Atem groans lightly, shuffling a little in his sleep before drifting back off to bed. She exhales and looks out the window, pondering whether or not she should tag along with Téa and Kisara. Atem has already had a stressful day and they have been on good terms. The last thing she needs is for them to be butting heads again.
'But what if we can prove Ziegfried really is behind all this? Things can go back to normal and everyone can stop being stressed out,' Mana says in her head. Taking a deep breath, she slides away from his grasp and quietly puts on a black hoodie, leggings and gym shoes. Then she takes one final look at Atem who is sound asleep before tip toeing out of the house.
Kisara stands in between two buildings alongside Téa. They decided to meet up a block away from the actual park before making a movie. Sighing heavily, Kisara looks at the time on her phone. It has been thirty minutes since she texted Mana the meet up spot. "What's taking her so long?" she asks, growing a little impatient.
"Maybe she's having second thoughts?" Téa guesses.
"Not Mana. That's not her style."
"Hello!" Mana plops down between the two of them while simultaneously covering both of their mouths to muffle their frightened screams. "Relax you two. It's just me."
Kisara pulls away, glaring at her mischievous friend. "Where in the world did you come from?"
"I'm climbed down the ladder," she replies, pointing at it.
"So you snuck up on us by climbing up a ladder, only to jump down to scare us." Téa dims her eyes in disbelief. "You're such a kid."
Kisara takes a moment to catch her breath and then regains her composure. "Well it took you long enough. I was starting to think you wouldn't show."
"Let's just make this quick," Mana says, knowing that if Atem finds out about her whereabouts, she would be in hot water. She prays that there isn't anything that will stir him out of his sleep, especially since he seemed so exhausted right before going to bed.
Pasted up against the brick wall of the park, they carefully shuffle sideways to avoid being seen. Téa's arm hits up against a steel ladder and she points upward. Upon reaching the roof, they come across a door. Kisara turns the door handle, but not to their surprise, it is locked.
"Mana, you can get us in there, right?" Kisara asks.
Mana jumps slightly at the call of her name. "Uh…" She hesitates for a moment to both Téa and Kisara's confusion.
Téa tilts her head. "It's a simple spell right?"
"Uh…right!" She does have a point. A simple spell such as that shouldn't give her a negative reaction. Taking a deep breath, she hovers her hand over the doorknob and it begins to glow blue. There is a clicking noise and Kisara tries to open the door again. It is a success.
"Nice work," Kisara compliments and she leads the way in, followed by Téa. Mana sighs in relief and places a hand on her stomach. So far so good.
Though the inside is dark, they can still very much see due to the moon shining its light through the large windows that are high up near the roof. The high ceilings make it possible for there to be a wide variety of rides, including a rollercoaster that spans the entire width and depth of the building. Mana and Téa's jaws drop in amazement. A double carousel, two roller coasters, a ferris wheel, bumper cars and a ride with an extremely tall drop are but a few attractions that are at Schroeder Park.
"Whoa this place is massive," Mana whispers loudly.
"I know right? We gotta come back here," Téa agrees.
"Focus you two," Kisara says, cutting her eyes at them and they both chuckle nervously.
"Of course it's got nothing on KaibaLand," Téa says assuringly, trying to save herself from her last comment.
"There's gotta be some sort of office around here somewhere. Let's split up." The three women nod and disperse in different directions.
As she explores the area further, Mana can't help but have a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knows she has no business being there, but against her better judgement, here she is spying on an amusement park, trying to dig up dirt on Ziegfried.
Kisara opens up the double doors to another area and gasps at what she comes across. In it, there is a huge duel arena, similar to Seto's design. It appears that duelists are able to play it via holograms. As she looks further, she spots a shelf that contains what looks like duel disks. Once again, the design is similar to Seto's, but with modifications. She takes out her camera phone and quickly snaps photos.
"It's all starting to make sense now," she comments to herself. "This guy really is trying to compete with Seto. And by trying to bring Kaiba Corp down, he can further push his own company and holographic technology."
A single door catches Téa's eye and she slowly opens it. Inside, there's a expensive looking desk that is made out of glass and metal, a computer, flat screen television and more. Her eyes scroll over to a nearby cabin and she quickly makes her way over. As she's doing this, Mana walks past, but backtracks when she sees Téa in there.
"What'd you find?" Mana asks, joining her side.
"We'll see." She pulls open one of the drawers and shuffles through the papers. Then to the second drawer to do the same. Mana turns her head and her eyes are set on the computer. She walks over to it and moves the mouse a little so the screen will turn on. Surprisingly, the computer has been left unlocked. She clicks through some open tabs to see if she would have any luck in finding anything.
A folder at the bottom of the screen catches her eye and she clicks on it. Two separate windows show up and she gasps. On the left side is the original photo of the bomb with Ziegfried's logo on it. And on the left is the edited version.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Mana says with a smirk.
Téa walks up beside her. "That's great! But I feel like we need more. Is there a video anywhere?"
Mana presses the arrow keys down to go through each file. After a few moments of clicking, a familiar video pops up. It is the footage that was shown on the news of Mana disposing the bomb. But this video appears to be longer than the one that was shown all over the world. There is a longer interaction between Seto and Mana and a clear view of the logo on the bomb before Mana flies up into the air.
"They must've edited the video before sending it out to the news stations too," Mana assumes. "We need a way to record this somehow."
"Rewind it and I'll record from my phone."
After gathering as much as they could, they both head out of the office to meet back up with Kisara. As they walk down the hall, Téa comes across another door that is closed. "Hold on, let's check this room out really quick." They both go up to the door and open it.
Mana's face drops and a look of horror appears on her face. "Oh crap. Is this a security room?" she asks, seeing the tons of screens that surveillance the park.
"You mean we were being recorded this whole time?" Téa asks, placing her hands up to her head in disbelief. Seeing no one inside, they rush in to see if there is anyway to delete any footage from the past hour. But there are so many buttons that it becomes overwhelming and panic begins to set in for the both of them. "We are so screwed!"
The sound of a nearby restroom flushing causes them to freeze and the color drains from both of their faces. "This night couldn't get any worse," Mana groans. If only they had just left after recording the footage. Why oh why did decide to come here? She could be sleep safe and sound in her bed and Atem would continue to be on good terms. After tonight, she'll be surprised if he ever speaks to her again.
"HEY! What are you two doing in here?!" a booming voice yells and the two women hesitantly turn around to see a tall bulky man wearing a gray security guard outfit.
"I don't knoooow!" Mana whines, wishing she was anywhere else but here.
"You're that chick I saw that one night!" he remembers and Mana's jaw drops. Now that she has a better look at him, it's totally the same guy that slipped something into her drink and Atem pulverized him. And the more he stares at Mana, the more enraged he seems to get.
"Oh great, you've ran into this guy before?" Téa asks.
"Now that your man isn't around to save you, you're gonna pay!" he yells, lunging at both women and they both quickly run opposite directions in the room to avoid his grasp. The room is so small, that they can barely avoid his attacks. Mana bumps into the controllers that are hooked up to the surveillance cameras. The security guard's eyes lock on her and he aims a punch to which she quickly ducks down so that he hits one of the screens. "ACK!"
She stands up quickly and waves her hands. "Easy! Easy!" He aims another punch and she dives out of the way, causing him to hit another screen. That's when an idea hits her. "On second thought…" She pulls her bottom eyelid down and sticks out her tongue, taunting the muscular man, which only angers him more.
"Why you little!" With each and every blow, Mana dodges and he destroys every single screen, one by one. He growls with frustration and punches the controls, not realizing that he has just helped Mana and Téa out immensely by doing so. His fist gets stuck within the jagged edges of the destroyed controls and the two women seize this moment to run away.
Kisara steps out into the main area and looks around for her two friends. "Where did they go?" Her question is soon answered in the form of heavy breathing and quick footsteps. From a dark corridor, Mana and Téa emerge with panicked expressions. "Uh...What's going on?"
"RUN!" Mana yells.
Téa looks over her shoulders and gasps. "How did he catch up with us so fast?!"
Kisara's mouth drops. "You mean to tell me there was a security guard here this whole time?!"
As Mana and Téa run to meet up with Kisara and they all make a run for it. Téa drops her cellphone and she stops in her tracks. It clacks a few times until it lands facedown on the floor. "My phone!" She turns around to retrieve it, but the guard is standing over it, grinning down at her.
Mana quickly whips out her wand, running at the guard who prepares to grab a helpless Téa. She jumps in the air, spinning around and whacks him in the head, causing him to stumble backward. Téa takes this opportunity to grab her phone, putting it in her pants pocket and they attempt to make a run for it again.
In a fit of rage, the bulky guard slams both of his fists down to the ground. The impact is so strong that it causes the floor beneath them to shake violently. They all let out a yelp when they lose their balance and take a tumble until they hit up against a wall, trapped.
He lets out a laugh in triumph. "Now who should I dispose of first?" He eyes the three of them before they land on Téa. He approaches her and crouches down as she sits up against the wall, trying to move as far back as she possibly can despite the solid wall behind her.
"Stay back!" she yells, using all the strength she has to land a slap on his face. His head jerks to the left and he places a hand on his cheek. That action infuriates him more and he attempts to grab her again.
"She said stay back!" Kisara loudly reiterates, angrily shooting a blast from her mouth. He narrowly dodges it and swoops in to grab her by the neck, lifting her up into the air.
"KISARA!" Mana yells, clenching her wand tightly. She doesn't know what to do. Obviously this man is strong and she needs to set Kisara free before she loses air and passes out, or worse. She watches as her friend struggles to break free from his grasp, but to no avail. The large hand around her neck will not budge. Mana shuts her eyes tightly, having an internal battle in her mind. Maybe if she attacks, but doesn't use all her strength, it would suffice, she thinks to herself. A pain filled groan escapes Kisara's lips, breaking Mana out of her thoughts. She has to act fast. She can practically see the life draining from Kisara as each second goes by.
"Serves you right for breaking in here," the guard says, snickering.
Mana closes her eyes and quickly reopens them, revealing her glowing pink eyes. "LET HER GO!" The golden ball tip of her wand begins to glow. She holds her wand like a baseball bat and swings with much force, striking him in the head. He wobbles around a bit, still holding on to Kisara. When he finally catches himself and regains his balance, he is met with Mana's hands inches from his face. A pink magical sphere forming at her palms.
"What the—?!"
"EAT THIS!" she shouts, landing a direct hit to his face. He finally releases his grasp and falls backward to the floor.
Téa immediately runs to Kisara's side as she begins to sit up, looking slightly dazed. "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she replies and she looks to Mana. "Thank you M—" She stops mid thank you when she sees blood dripping from Mana's nose. She pants heavily, still holding her hands out in defense, seeing the guard beginning to stand up again. She shoots another blast, knocking him off his feet once more.
'That's strange. I've see Mana do far more than that,' Kisara thinks to herself with concern. 'Her attacks aren't even fully powered. It's no wonder he keeps standing. Has she not recovered from the last incident?'
'I may have gotten carried away there…but I'm not even pushing myself that hard. Is this really my limit?' Mana says in her head, using the back of her arm to wipe the blood. A wave of fatigue seems to hit her at once and a static feeling in her abdomen hits her so hard that she is scared to make another move.
"Hehe…is that all you got?" he asks, standing up and walking toward her until he is standing directly in front of her. She looks up at him, disoriented and sluggish.
"Mana, watch out!" Téa warns before looking at Kisara. "Why isn't she moving?!"
"Something's wrong…"
He yanks her up by grabbing her from the top of her head and he stares at her menacingly. "Pathetic." She coughs a few times, blood spattering out of her mouth. Some of the drops land on his face and her narrows his eyes. "You disgusting little—!" He brings his fist underneath to land a punch in her stomach and she swiftly blocks him by using both of her palms.
'Not good…' she thinks to herself as she continues push against his fist to prevent him from striking her. 'Ra, get me through this…' She clenches her teeth, trying to gather any remaining strength left in her body to land one more final blow. She knows that she will have to make this next attack count. Her eyes glow momentarily then return back to normal.
"Mana!" Kisara yells, attempting to shoot another blast from her mouth, but smoke comes out in its place. Her neck is still sore from him grabbing it.
He slams Mana down to the floor, pressing his hand hard against her face as she struggles to break free. "I'll crush you like the bug you are!" He laughs while Kisara and Téa look on helplessly. Téa can't but help but feel the cause behind this. Why did she have to suggest such a thing? She didn't think it would turn out to be like this.
"Any last words?" he asks to which Mana mumbles something. But because his hand is enclosed around her face, he cannot understand her. "What?" She muffles something once more and he removes his hand, growing agitated. "WHAT?!"
"Dark. Burning. Attack," she replies, pronouncing each word slowly so that he understands.
"Huh?" He suddenly feels himself being blown away, colliding into the many tables in chairs in the concessions area.
Mana looks over to see her monster, the Dark Magician Girl. The blonde haired magician that is nearly identical to Mana wears blue and pink clothing and twirls her wand, placing it over her shoulder in a victorious pose. It's not everyday that she summons her, but when she does, the magician can pack quite a punch.
"You're the best," Mana sighs in relief, as her magician disappears.
"Come on you guys. Let's get outta here quick!" Téa exclaims and Mana wobbles to her feet so that they can finally make their exit.
"Are you alright?" Mana asks Kisara once they finally make it outside and a safe distance away from the park.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Kisara says, seeing her friend's blood stained face.
"Ah…" Mana breathes out with a smile, trying to put on a facade that her injuries aren't as serious as they appear. "Nothing a healing spell and a shower won't fix."
YGOYGOYGOYGO
Mana stumbles in the house, wheezing and out of breath. She drops her wand on the floor, tripping over her own feet and landing at the foot of the stairs. She looks up in the direction of where the bathroom is and lets out a heavy, exhausted sigh. Using all the strength within her, she climbs up the stairs, grunting when she manages to make it to the top. Then she uses a nearby wall to help her to her feet. She holds onto it as if her life depends on it, using it to edge her way to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up. But she isn't expecting the gap in the wall from an open spare bedroom and she plops down the floor on her side.
At this point, her energy is draining and fast. The pain in her abdomen intensifies, causing her to cough up more blood. She realizes she is too far gone to heal herself. She can't move anymore and she is starting to hallucinate.
She finds herself in a dark abandoned gym room, laying in a pool of her own blood. A growl causes her eyes to scroll up, seeing a large monster tower above her, preparing to strike. A man with white hair laughs at her pain and anguish and orders his monster to attack.
She clenches her eyes. "Atem…Atem! Please!" she cries out.
Atem opens his eyes and shoots up into a sitting position on his bed. He could've sworn someone had called his name just now. Was it all just a bad dream? He looks over to see the empty space in the bed, shortly followed by the call of his name. "Mana?"
"Atem! Help me, please!"
He swings his feet out of bed and runs out of the room, turning the light on in the hallway. To his horror, Mana lies on the floor, blood surrounding the upper half of her body. He dashes over and slides to his knees, lifting her up into his arms. "Mana! What happened?!" Her eyes are starting to lose that glimmer of life and she struggles to keep them open.
"I'm sorry…I'm so…stu—" More blood gushes from her mouth and her head slumps back.
"Mana, I need you to stay awake, you hear me? You better not die on me! Don't you dare!"
The same words he pleaded as she lay lifeless, knocking on death's door when they were younger. To think they would be in this situation again after all these years. He runs alongside her as the doctors wheel her into the hospital with an oxygen mask placed over her face, speaking medical terminology. He'd never thought he would be in this position again. Everything was fine just a few hours ago. How did they end up here? What did she get into now?
"Don't…leave…don't leave me alone…" she manages to say in between breaths. The doctors prepare to take her into the ICU and tell Atem to wait.
"I'm here Mana. I'll be waiting for you. Just hang in there."
The double doors close and he watches through the glass windows until she is wheeled into a room. He plops down in a chair, burying his head into his hands and hunching over. He runs his fingers through his hair, exhaling loudly before slamming the back of his fist into a nearby wall.
"Don't you die on me."
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
Whoa…Looks like she's gotten herself into more trouble. *shakes head*
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