Chapter 7 - Escape!
The gang rushed to Crimson's room as fast as possible. Once they were in there, they locked the door and put a table in front of it. Breathing heavily, they all fell back on the floor.
"That was close!" Crimson said again. "But I wish we could have gotten Mai and Bandit out!"
"We'll go back again when we get the chance," Yugi said. "But right now, we have Mokuba, and that's a good start." Tristan set Mokuba down on the couch. The boy seemed to stare out into space as if he couldn't do anything else.
"Mokuba!" Téa cried. "It's us! Remember?" The raven-haired boy kept staring out into space. "Mokuba!"
"They must have done something horrible to him!" Bakura said. "No wonder Seto Kaiba seemed almost willing to do anything to win. Maybe, if given the chance, he would have cheated."
"What did 'dos suits do?" Joey demanded. "Poor Mokuba." Crimson sighed and touched Mokuba's hand. Almost immediately, she yelped and ran back a few steps.
"What's wrong?" Téa asked.
"He's cold! Ice cold!" The gang gasped and looked back at Mokuba.
"Why would he..."
"That can mean only one thing," Crimson said. "They've taken his Soul too."
"Come on! We've no time to lose!" Croquet shouted to the nine guards who were following him. They raced through the dungeons. They had long since memorized every single twist and turn, every possible route, every dead end. These mazes were like child's play to them.
The ten guards made one final turn into the hallway where Mokuba's cell was. Indeed, his stuck out like a parrot in a worm jar. The middle bar had completely vanished, and the surrounding ones looked half melted. The chains inside had also been melted, each now deformed and twisted into eerie shapes.
"What...thing could have made such a mess?" one of the guards asked. Croquet studied the bars more closely. He touched it and pulled back with a hiss.
"It feels like the bar is moving under my touch, as if there's a layer of something over it!" The other guards looked uneasily around each other.
"We must inform Master Pegasus about this," one of them said. Croquet nodded.
"Shouldn't we check on the other two?" the first guard said.
"Oh yes! We must make sure they are still there." The ten guards rushed off to the cell. In a few moments, they had reached it.
"Why don't we make our getaway now?" Bandit asked Mai. She glared at him.
"You heard the sirens. If we go now, they'll catch us for sure. I have another plan if you just let me speak."
"It might take them a few more minutes to come! We could be outta here and-,"
"Shush! I hear footsteps!" Mai and Bandit retreated to the very corner of the cell. Ten guards rushed into the scene. They gasped when they saw the bars.
"Why happened?" Croquet demanded. "Speak!"
"It...was...terrible!" Mai stuttered. "A monster! It...melted the bars...and we couldn't escape! It was in the process of...eating something...it looked like...like a boy!" The guards gasped.
"We must inform Master Pegasus about this immediately," Croquet said. The guards rushed off. When their footsteps had finally faded away, Bandit and Mai managed a small chuckle.
"I can't believe they actually believed that!" Mai giggled. "Now, we are free." She squeezed through the bars. Bandit, somehow, managed to follow her. They raced off the way they remembered the guards had gone.
"Taken his Soul?" Yugi gasped. "Then...it's just like my grandpa!"
"Pegasus doesn't even show mercy for children," Téa said. "It must be terrible to have such an experience when you are so young."
"No wonder Kaiba was so desperate!" Bakura stated. "He would have nothing else if his brother was gone. It would almost drive someone like him mad, even to his death." Crimson gasped.
"Then we have to find him!"
"What's the point?" Téa asked. "There's no way to help Mokuba. Pegasus is the only one who can free him, and we can't ask him."
"There are other ways," Crimson replied. "More dangerous, but certainly can be done. We'd all have to travel to the Shadow Realm and..." she trailed off as she noticed everyone's nervous faces. "That's the only way, it seems."
"You're right," Bakura said. "If we want to rescue Mokuba's Soul, we have to free it from the place where it is imprisoned."
"Can we also save Grandpa that way?" Yugi asked.
"Definitely. But first we have to get out of here. Duelist Kingdom is a dangerous place for us now." Everyone nodded. Joey suddenly leaped to his feet.
"I just remembered somethin'!" he cried. "I'm Duelin' in dis tournament for money for my sister's eye operation. How else can we get it?"
"Maybe if we rescue Kaiba's brother, he'd give us the money," Tristan joked.
"Not funny!"
"Don't worry, Joey," Crimson assured him. "I'm sure Mystical Elf wouldn't mind giving another favor. That's what she does best. But maybe I better use Lady of Faith this time instead..."
"It's so cool that you can summon monsters to real life," Téa said. "I wish I had powers like yours."
"It's true," Crimson agreed. "I might have powers like Invisibility, Levitation, Teleportation, the ability to free and capture Souls, and even bring Duel monsters to life, but one of the downsides to that is that my Item is sometimes too powerful! It can overwhelm me very easily. I have to be extra careful."
"That's somewhat like my Puzzle," Yugi said.
"So now that that's all settled," Bakura said. "Let's get out of here!" They got up, and Tristan took Mokuba into his arms. Just as they were about to move the table to leave, a knock pounded on the door.
The ten guards reported back to Pegasus's security room. He was staring at all the computer monitors, trying to figure out what happened.
"Pegasus, sir!" Croquet called. The owner of Duelist Kingdom headed toward him. "I have some terrible news!" Pegasus immediately frowned.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Well..." Croquet replied. "We went to see Mokuba's cell and found that everything was melted. The same at Mai and Bandit's cell too. They told us that a monster had come through melting the bars, and it ate Mokuba!" Pegasus was furious.
"And you believed it?" he roared. "Tell me, Croquet, why is it that I still keep you in my department?" Croquet shuddered nervously.
"Well, the bars seemed to still be alive. It was as if the bar was moving under my touch."
"Fools!" Pegasus grimaced. He knew only one thing could make the bars vibrate like that. Millennium Item magic!
"What should we do, Master?"
"Go to the finalists' rooms immediately! Find the group of teenagers and bring them to me! Go!" The guards rushed off without wasting a second in leaving.
"And just in case they fail..." Pegasus's Millennium Eye glowed. "I will have another way to get those meddlesome fools!"
"Oh no!" Yugi whispered. "They found us!" The gang bunched up together.
"What are we going to do?" Téa cried. "There's no escape!"
"We know you're in there!" came a muffled voice from outside the room. Crimson felt her Anklet vibrate. It was screaming out to be used.
"I sense something!" Bakura noted. "From the window." Crimson also felt the strange energy waves. Her Anklet glowed furiously and tugged at her to go to the window. She obeyed,and threw it open.
"What is it?" Joey asked. At first, Crimson saw nothing. But soon, twisted vines started to crawl up the side of the castle. They seemed liquid, yet solid, in a color of the shadows that creep in the dark. Crimson screamed and shut the window.
"What?" Tristan queried.
"We're trapped!" Crimson said. The gang looked behind them to see the Shadow vines creeping up the glass.
"What are we going to do??" Yugi asked. Crimson shrugged. Suddenly, a glass broke. The vines shot into the room.
"Run!" They scattered throughout the room. The vines felt their way into every nook and cranny, sniffing and sneaking. They were like black twisted snakes, trying to catch their prey. Meanwhile, the knocks and poundings on the door grew louder.
"We're dead!" Tristan moaned.
"No!" Crimson yelled. "You guys, come here quick!" The others leaped over the vines as quickly as possible. Once they were all gathered around her, Crimson harnessed the power of her Anklet.
"Everyone, think of the hallway outside!" They closed their eyes and obeyed, and in a white flash they disappeared.
"This way!" Mai called as she and Bandit finally made it out of the dark corridors and into the bright hallway. They stopped to catch their breath when Bandit noticed a group of black, moving vines slinking down the gallery banister.
"I don't think we should stop..." he warned. Mai looked up and saw the vines.
"What are those?" she asked, a bit too loudly. The vines suddenly lifted and pointed in their direction. In one fluid moment, they shot after the pair.
"Run!" Frantically, the duo rushed off down the hallway. Behind them, the vines slithered after them at an amazing speed.
"Which...way is the exit?" Mai yelled while running.
"I am totally...disoriented!" Bandit answered, trying to run faster. They blindly rushed into any hallway they found. Miraculously, it led them right to the exit. They threw open the doors and closed it behind them. Leaning on it, they sighed with relief.
"Why, that was close," Mai remarked. "One more second and... ah!" The black vines had started to seep out of the door and through windows of the nearby rooms.
"Run!" They raced off through the forest.
"OOF!" The six friends, plus Mokuba, landed out in the hallway. The ten guards, who had been bunched up outside Crimson's door trying to get in, turned around. For a second, all of them stared at each other. Ten guards plus six teenagers on the floor, who were trying to save Mokuba...this could only equal one thing.
"Run!" Crimson yelled. The gang scrambled to their feet and raced off through the hallway. It took a second for the guards to recover from seeing a group of seven people fall out of nowhere into the middle of the hallway. After that, they rushed after the gang.
"We've got to get out!" The gang followed Crimson's lead, snaking around the hallways into random corridors. They finally turned onto the last corridor. They saw the entryway and the huge door. Crimson gasped. It was completely entangled in the mysterious vines.
"Oh no!" she said. The sound alerted the Shadow vines. They immediately turned and made for the six. "This way!" she turned into a smaller hallway that had an emergency exit. Behind them, the vines still followed. The guards gaped at the vines before turning around and running away.
"We're out!" Crimson exclaimed. As soon as the last of them had come outside, she shut the door. She could hear the vines crashing into it. She wiped her hands on her shirt. "That's done with." As soon as she said that, the vines started to seep through the hinges.
"Uh...run!" The others didn't need to be told twice; they rushed off on her command. They twisted through random paths on the forest. Behind them, the snakelike vines were starting to chase them again.
"I can see the ocean!" Yugi said. "A few more yards!" They ran faster. They turned one last time to mislead the vines.
"Ow!" Crimson bumped into someone. The two fell.
"Watch where you're..." Crimson trailed off. Seto Kaiba stood up and dusted himself. Téa nervously looked behind them. The vines had started to rush after them again.
"Ah, the gang again. What are you freaks...Mokuba?" Seto Kaiba's jaw dropped. "How did you...?"
"No time to explain!" Crimson hurriedly said. She ushered the others to hurry to the coast. "Come with us...hurry!" Crimson grabbed Kaiba's arm and tried to tug him.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. Crimson whipped around. He had never seen her eyes so serious. Well, he hadn't seen her eyes many times to begin with but...wait, maybe he had...they looked so familiar...
"Kaiba!" One sharp tug made him stumble forward. The vines appeared around the corner. His eyes widened when he saw them. "Run!" The pair raced off, the vines at their heels. They turned a corner and found the others waiting for them in the small ferry. The motor was already running.
"Hurry!" Bakura called. The pair jumped and landed into the boat. Joey started the boat forward immediately. They waited until they were several yards away from the shore before looking back. The vines had stopped at the water's edge. They seemed reluctant to come in.
"That," Crimson stated, "was really, really close."
"Hurry!" Bandit and Mai snaked through the forest. When the came to the shore, they found a ferry waiting for them. One had already left; they could see it in the distance.
"Look!" Bandit whispered. He pointed to retreating vines. "Let's make our getaway now!" The pair climbed into the ferry and started the engine. By the time the vines noticed, Mai and Bandit were already quite a distance away.