Chapter 10 - The Tests Begin!

"We're surrounded!" Téa cried. The gang stood in a circle back-to-back while the zombie monsters laughed around them.

"All I can say is do what your instinct tells you," Crimson said.

"Why?" Kaiba asked.

"Just do it, okay?"

"Well," Tristan said. "My instinct tells me to stay put. Maybe they won't notice us."

"Yeah, righ'," Joey scoffed. "Dat's why they're laughin' at us?"

"I thought we're camouflaged. That's why we were supposed to wear black."

"Wake up, man! We ain't camouflaged!"

"Unless you haven't noticed, Tristan," Crimson informed. "We're wearing black, while the rest of the scenery is gray, purple, and blue. I think we stick out like a soar thumb."

"Besides," Kaiba added. "With all the racket we're making, they're sure to find us."

"Shut up, Kaiba!" Crimson growled.

"You first."

"Argh!" The zombies snickered. "Okay, instinct people."

"Stay calm," Téa reminded. "Maybe we can work something out together if we don't panic." The zombies unsheathed their swords. "Um..." The zombies shrieked. Suddenly, they charged on the gang.

"I summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" A white-scaled dragon roared as it soared into the sky. With one flap of its giant wings, it sent the zombies scurrying for cover.

"What was that, Kaiba?" Crimson asked.

"Instinct, I guess. I don't know exactly. One second I'm seeing zombies flying at me, the next my hand reached automatically for the card in my pocket."

"Well, instinct takes better control in the Shadow Realm. You'll find yourself doing and saying things that you want to keep to yourself, but your instinct wants you to do it."

"Like what you did last night."

"I have completely forgotten what happened." Crimson crossed her arms. Kaiba smirked. The others turned to Yugi.

"What happened last night? I think we left before figuring it out..." Bakura said. Yugi fought back the urge to laugh. A glare from Crimson helped.

"It was nothing..."

"Anyway, one more thing," Crimson said. "Monsters here are REAL, so if you see zombies with swords like that, they can really go through you." Everyone but Kaiba looked around nervously.

"Yeah, right, there's no such thing as real Duel Monsters."

"Of course there is! If magic exists, then so do they!"

"That's the thing. Magic doesn't exist either."

"Yes it does!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Yes." They continued their banter as the others watched helplessly.

"Will 'day eva' stop?" Joey asked. Yugi shrugged. He kicked at the ground. The others sighed and sat down near the gravestones, watching Kaiba and Crimson argue.

"I told you it does!"

"It doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"Prove it."

"Why do you think we're here?"

"It's a dream, most likely."

"Har, har!" The two glared at each other.

"I wish we had some popcorn," Tristan joked. "Then we can really sit back and enjoy the movie."

"What movie?" Crimson asked. The others looked at each other.

"Oh, nothing...no movie really..."

"That movie?" Kaiba inquired.

"Huh?" The others looked in the direction he was pointing. They saw a small swirling mist by one of the gravestones. It grew larger and larger until it had shrouded the entire graveyard. Ripples formed in the background as the scenery transformed into a forest.

"Great Scott!" Bakura cried. "Look at the forest!" The others murmured in surprise as they found themselves in the clearing surrounded by miles of trees. The sky above was still pitch black, but some unseen light gave them clear sight like an invisible light bulb.

"This is kind of spooky," Téa said.

"I agree," Tristan said. "This is not the place I'd want to be in inside the Shadow Realm or whatnot."

"Whatnot is a funky word," Crimson remarked. Kaiba shook his head.

"You're mental," he replied.

"I am not! You're the totally insane...evil... evil... crazy... I'll- never-laugh...JERK!"

"I've laughed."

"When? In your past life?"

"Yeah, in my Ancient Egypt one."

"You don't have a..." Crimson froze, her mouth dropping open.

"Now that's just scary," she stated. The others looked at them with quizzical expressions.

"Come on guys, it's no time for arguing," Yugi said.

"Yeah, Yug's righ'. Your racket is gonna wake up all the animals 'dat live in 'dis forest!"

"Yeah right!" Crimson scoffed. "What kind of animals would live in the Shadow Realm? Here, let me prove it." Crimson screamed at the top of her lungs and hollered everyone's names. For a few seconds, they waited in silence. "See, no animals live-," Before she could complete her sentence, a loud thump sounded from the depths of the forest.

"You might have spoken too soon," Bakura informed. Crimson eyed the forest. Another thump followed the last one, with another quick follow up. To accompany them, a roar pierced the air.

"I have come to the conclusion that the sound is no longer a normal act of nature," Tristan whispered. More roars followed, with snorts, thumps, and a wide variety of other noises. The gang gathered closer.

"What do you suppose those are?" Bakura queried. The others glanced around nervously. Soon, creatures began to surround the clearing. Amongst the wide array, several stood out quite clearly, including a couple of giant three-headed ants, a mile-long green centipede, and a beetle about the size of a redwood tree. All of them were definitely different from Earth creatures, especially in the number of faces each had.

"Okay, I'm getting something from my instincts here," Téa told the others.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, eyeing the monsters.

"It's telling me to do something."

"What is that?" Crimson queried.

"Run!" The gang followed her command and raced off the opposite direction. The creatures followed with amazing speed.

"Why are you running?" Crimson demanded, looking at Kaiba.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Cause to you, 'monsters aren't real.'"

"So? If I stopped now, you all will leave me behind. And I want to find Mokuba."

"Guys," Tristan interrupted. "If you guys argue, we'll never get out of here."

"Right!" Crimson screeched to a halt and faced the monsters.

"What are you doing?" Téa called, stopping as well.

"I'm not afraid of them!" Crimson announced. The centipede seemed to snicker as it approached her. The ant and other giant sized bug followed, roaring with delight. For a moment, Crimson stood there blankly, trying to comprehend what was going on.

"Guys!" she said. "What am I supposed to do?" The others sighed.

"I don't know!" Yugi replied.

"How about doing what I did earlier?" Kaiba suggested. "With the Blue- Eyes White Dragon, I mean, summoning them to us." Crimson placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.

"And this is coming from a jerk who thought Duel Monsters weren't real."

"Why am I a jerk if you thought I was cute?" The other five sighed as Crimson and Kaiba glared at each other. Even the mysterious monsters stopped in confusion.

"I was contrasting your usual self. You aren't really cute." Lie she thought. Well, actually it is the truth. After all, he isn't really cute. He's more than that...I should stop thinking like this. Who knows what my instinct might do?

"If I'm not cute, then what am I?" Just then, Crimson's instinct decided to answer...

"Hot." Crimson blurted out, and then covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh!" She stomped her feet. "I hate instinct!" Kaiba smirked evilly. The others gaped at Crimson, giving her a second degree Look.

"No! Don't give me the evil smirk. And don't give me the Look!"

"Mai would have something to say about this if she were here," Tristan said. Crimson glared at him.

"Anyway!" Crimson continued. "Sure, we can try it." She raised her eyebrows at Kaiba. "If you ever bring this up... my instinct is bad enough in normal life." Kaiba just chuckled. The others noticed it actually wasn't one of his "evil, haughty, I'm cooler than you, and you're a moron" chuckles. It was more of an "I actually enjoyed that, I think I can call you my friend" chuckle.

"Well, it's worth a shot, you try it first," Yugi suggested. Crimson nodded and slipped a card from her pocket.

"Enchanted Javelin!" Her card glowed and a purple staff appeared in her hand.

"I thought you'd summon a monster card," Yugi thought out loud.

"I would, if I had one," Crimson confessed.

"You don' even 'ave a monsta' card!" Joey freaked.

"Calm down! This works fine!" The monsters, seeing their opponent armed, charged. Crimson lashed out with her staff and hit the ant on one of the heads. It staggered back.

"If you say so," Kaiba said. "Sword of Dragon's Fear!"

"Silver Bow and Arrow!"

"Salamandra's Sword!"

"Sword of Dark Destruction."

"Commander's Tools!"

"Sword of Fate!"

Different weapons appeared in the friends' hand. The monsters, seeing the alarming power of the weapons, retreated into the darkness.

"Well, I guess it's over," Crimson said. Her staff disappeared back into the card. The others also returned their weapons. "It was just a test to see if we could survive in the Shadows." The scenery changed into a black empty space as far as the eye could see. They were clearly all standing on the ground, but it seemed like they were floating in the middle of black nowhere.

"So, what now?" Bakura asked.

"I suppose that we walk forward or whatever until something else comes up," Crimson reasoned. "I mean, the Shadow Realm is a freaky place. And apparently, we're not going to get to the Shadow Castle without a few more tests."