Chapter 6 - Finding Mokuba
"I don't get it," Téa said. "I remember last night they were fine. What could be wrong?" The others at the table looked at each other uneasily. Crimson twisted her fork between her thumb and index finger.
"Well, last night..." she started, "I was looking at myself in the mirror. I heard Mai scream and rushed to help her. The problem was that my Anklet was starting to take control again. I didn't want to burn down the castle or anything. I thought you guys would hear her..."
"We didn't here anything," Bakura stated.
"Well, I could have been imagining things..."
"I don't think so," Yugi cut in. "It's too much of a coincidence. Now, we just have to figure out why both of them are gone. You only heard Mai scream..."
"Maybe Bandit abducted her and escaped from the island!" Tristan said. The others gave him The Look.
"Ah, come on, Tristan! He wouldn' do dat!"
"Besides, how would Croquet speak about it in that way?" Crimson queried. "I mean, they couldn't have told us that they asked that we start eating."
"Good point," Tristan said.
"Maybe we should search de castle...there could be clues?"
"Good idea, Joey," Téa said. "We should look around to see if there are any clues." Everyone nodded and got up from their chairs.
"I think 'dis was Mai's," Joey announced as he opened the door to her room. The other's peered inside. Yugi walked in first and gasped.
"No way!" he cried, looking at the cards sprawled on the table. "Mai would never leave her Deck." Bakura came in and looked at the cards. He picked up the Mirror Force off the floor.
"She's got one good strategy," he said. "She was about to place this card when she was interrupted. I wonder...what happened?" Téa came in as well.
"Nothing else looks disturbed. There wasn't a real fight." Crimson, Joey, and Tristan walked in.
"No forced entry," Tristan noticed, as he saw the window was still locked and the door was intact. "Whoever came in just let themselves in."
"The door wasn't locked," Crimson said, a hand on the brass knob. "I can somehow tell by just touching it. It was open..."
"Someone must've just walked up to her," Yugi concluded. "But she didn't go willingly. If she did, she would've taken her cards."
"No," Crimson said. She bent low to the floor, running her hand along the smooth carpet. "I feel energy waves. Human type, so no magic sorcerer or anybody was running around. I think about three to five men, yes, about that range, came through here." Crimson crawled over to the table. "Mai sat here, they surrounded her." She fingered a spot on the floor. "Something lay here, yesterday night. Something..."
"Are you serious?" Téa asked. "A few men?"
"Probably those freaks dat side with Pegasus!! Those suits!" Joey yelled.
"I'm not sure," Crimson said. "Wait...a jacket was here."
"WHAT! THEY TOOK OFF HER..."
"Calm down, Joey," Crimson assured him. "I doubt that they...I mean, it was picked up soon after."
"If they did anything to Mai..."
"Relax. I think I've gotten all the clues. Let's go to Bandit's room!"
Yugi and Crimson were the first to enter Bandit's room. Bakura, Tristan, Téa, and Joey soon followed.
"Look, again, no forced entry," Téa noticed.
"But look at dat!" Joey exclaimed, motioning to a pair of overturned boots and a vest. "Aren' dos Bandit's?"
"They are," Crimson said. She fingered the air as if it was a strand of ribbon. "I feel a gun." Everyone panicked and started to look around. "I meant last night."
"In that case, those two might have been threatened to leave," Yugi mused. "Maybe they were kicked off the island cause they cheated."
"Mai certainly did, and Bandit...what he did was bad enough. Maybe all of this is really nothing dangerous at all." They looked around.
"This is too weird to be a normal disqualification," Crimson stated. "Something is afoot. I mean, ya'll are forgetting the possessions they left behind."
"Right," Bakura said. "Let's check the rest of the castle."
Mai moaned and slowly opened her eyes. As everything came into focus, she realized she was basically on top of Bandit. She let out a yelp and backed away. Her sudden shriek awoke Bandit.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Nothing, you lazy sloth. Now get up, it's morning." He stretched and sat up straight. He noticed two plates of toast waiting for them.
"Where's the blondie?" he asked. Mai looked around.
"Joey?" she called. "Are you here?" The cell only echoed her call.
"Strange."
"I thought they would bring Joey to the cell. He is also one of the finalists."
"Maybe they forgot."
"Fat chance," Mai scoffed. "And I don't think they were frightened off by him either. I wonder what happened..."
"Well, Miss I-Had-A-Good-Plan, how are we gonna get out now?"
"Shut up and let me think!"
"Let's try your room next, Joey!" Crimson suggested as she raced across the hallway, followed by her friends. She threw open the door and looked around.
"I don' get it, why d'ya wanna look through my room?" Joey asked.
"If you didn't notice, Mai and Bandit were both finalists. And so are you! That means it could have been connected. Maybe they came in here..."
"Good point," Yugi said.
"Then why didn' 'day get me?" Joey queried.
"Maybe cause you managed to fight them off in your sleep?" Téa teased. Joey scowled at her. Crimson bent to the ground and traced the floor, her hair almost touching it.
"They were here!" she gasped. The others looked at her. "At least three, they came a few steps in, and apparently went right back out."
"You're lucky," Tristan said.
"I have a feeling it's more than luck..." Bakura trailed off.
"It probably is," Crimson finished. "Something is really afoot."
"Let's search the rest of the castle," Téa said. Crimson nodded and the six ran out of the room.
They searched every nook and cranny of the castle. Crimson tried to follow the energy presence waves but there were too many. They explored the top three floors with all its bedrooms, the dining hall, the galleries, and the Duel Platform. Finally, they approached a door they hadn't seen before.
"What do you think is in there?" Yugi asked. Crimson twirled a loose strand of her black hair.
"I don't like it," she said.
"Maybe Pegasus is keeping them in there," Tristan said. The six looked at the door. "The question is, where does it lead?"
"Ah, come on! Ya'll aren' scared of a door, are ya?" Joey teased as he grasped the knob. "I mean, what 'arm can it do?"
"Joey, I wouldn't open it if-," Too late. Joey grasped the doorknob and pulled it open. Everyone braced themselves for the worst...
The door was an entryway into a long, black corridor. Everyone sighed with relief.
"We were some fools," Crimson said. "After all, what could he have hid in there? A monster?" The others laughed nervously and looked at Crimson.
"Are we going to go in?" Bakura asked.
"We have to if we want to find Mai and Bandit Keith," Tristan stated. The others shrugged and they entered.
As they groped their way along, Crimson tried to imagine where the corridor might lead. She was sure it was probably some pathway to a dungeon because of the stone walls and narrow space. After a few minutes, the gang came to a turn. The corridor to the left had a few dim lamps lit, and it looked a bit more inviting. The six teenagers chose that route. As they got farther along, more and more tunnels began to branch off. Each one took turns choosing a path. Some lead to halls filled with prison cells. None of them were occupied.
"This is getting nowhere fast," Téa complained.
"We might be lost forever, we gotta get out," Crimson said. They turned around to head back.
"Anyone mark the way we came?" Tristan asked.
"I remember some of the turns we took," Yugi said. "But not all of them. I think we're lost!"
"Don' panic!" Joey advised. "There's gotta be a way outta here!"
"How about this way?" Bakura suggested, pointing down a pathway that was a bit brighter. The gang followed him. They ran along another cell-lined hallway. They made a right turn just as they heard a yell behind them.
"YUGI! JOEY!" The six turned around.
"Okay, now I'm freaked," Téa admitted.
"That sounded like Mai!" Yugi cried. "Come on!" He took off with four of the others. Before turning the corner, he stopped. He realized Crimson had not joined him.
"Crimson?" he asked. She was standing right where they had been a moment ago. Her face wore a worried expression. Slowly, she raised her hand and pointed to the cell in front of her.
"How long do you think it'll take for them to finish the finals?" Mai asked. Bandit smirked.
"Given up on finding a way out?" he sneered. Mai scowled.
"No! I just wanted to-," she stopped. She scooted over to the cell bars.
"What the-,"
"Shush!" She pressed her face against the bars as far as it could go. She strained to hear the voices.
"How about this way?" a voice said in the dark with a British accent.
"It's them!" Bandit also came over to the bars.
"Who?" Just then, six people raced across the hallway. They passed the cell Mai and Bandit were in and took a right turn.
"YUGI! JOEY!" Mai cried. She heard the footsteps stop. They had heard.
"What is it?" Yugi asked as he rushed over to Crimson's side. He looked inside the cell and gasped. Inside sat Mokuba, all covered in bruises.
"It's Kaiba's brother!" Téa exclaimed. "Oh, we have to get him out!"
"How?" Bakura asked. Tristan stepped up to the bars and tried pulling on them.
"I had a feeling that it wouldn't work."
"You guys, look at the bars more closely," Crimson instructed. "You see how the bars extend from the inside of the floor to the inside of the ceiling. Well, this keypad on the wall allows you to retract those smaller bars. Then the cage slides open. The problem is, one of the bars on the bottom is attached to an alarm. If the connection between that bar and the switch in the floor is lost, then the siren will sound."
"Only one?" Joey asked. "Then we still have a chance of choosin' the right one!"
"To do what?" Yugi asked.
"You guys choose a bar, and I'll melt it," Crimson said. Everyone gave her The Look. "Don't worry, it'll be okay!"
"If you say so..." Yugi stared at the bars. Finally he pointed to the middle one. Crimson nodded and her Anklet glowed furiously. The steel bar began to turn red...orange...yellow...until it melted, leaving a gap big enough for one person to go through.
"I'll go in!" Crimson squeezed through and went to Mokuba's side. In the same manner, she melted the locks on his hands and feet. Then, she picked him up and handed him through the bars.
"Mokuba! Wake up! It's us!" Yugi cried. The raven-haired boy gave no response.
"It's okay," Bakura said. "We can wake him up when we get back to the room."
"Let's go get Mai and Bandit!" Joey said. "Well, I'd ratha' leave Bandit Keith in the cell where he belongs!" The six, plus Mokuba in Tristan's arms, raced back to the hallway where they had heard the pair yell.
"Mai!" Joey cried as he reached the cell.
"Joey! You guys!" Mai exclaimed. The others flocked around the cell.
"What happened?" Yugi queried.
"Ask later," Crimson said. She gripped the middle bar. "I've got work to do."
"What's going to happen?" Mai asked.
"You'll see, Mai, watch! This is so cool!" Joey said. Crimson smiled and her Anklet's power flowed through her. The bar turned different shades of red and yellow before finally melting. Unfortunately, this time it didn't go as planned.
Bright lights. A screeching siren.
The eight friends gasped. The alarm started to flash on and off and the siren grew louder.
"Oh no!" Crimson cried. "What are we going to do?"
Pegasus leaned back on the chair in his private room. The sun's rays were dancing on his bed.
"I wonder what my little Duelists are up to," he thought. He sipped his cool lemonade. "They better not have gotten into trouble." Just as he said that, the mini siren in his room went off. He spit out his lemonade in surprise and rushed to the intercom.
"Croquet! What is going on?" On the other side, a nervous Croquet stuttered.
"Come...come qui-quickly sire!" Pegasus shook his head and dashed out of his room.
A minute later he was at the security room. Three security men were trying to check every room with their camera televisions.
"The dungeons! You fool!" Pegasus barked. Immediately, the closest officer switched to Mokuba's cell. Pegasus's face went white as he saw the bars melted on the floor and the cell empty.
"Guards, down to the cell immediately!"
"Run!" Mai instructed.
"No!" Joey said. "Come through the bars!" The others nervously looked from side to side. The alarm was still ringing its head off and kept flashing white and red throughout the dark halls.
"There isn't enough time!" Mai argued. "Now go before they catch you too! Or else, we won't even have a chance!" Joey wanted to say something but Crimson pulled his collar.
"She's right, Joey! Run!" The six took off down the hallway, Joey a little reluctantly. They let their feet guide them. At full sprint, they didn't stop until they were out of the hallway and into the large corridor of the castle that was fully furnished and lighted.
"That," Crimson said, "was close!"