Joey and Serenity wandered the twisting halls of the mansion together. Serenity held her brother's hand tightly, and did not stray far from his side. Joey squeezed her hand back, and kept his other arm around her shoulder, to comfort her.
They passed under an archway into another giant room. Together, they walked silently to the middle of the room, trying to decide where to go next.
They did not see Korimo crouched on top of the archway, ready to strike.
Korimo waited until she was sure they did not know she was there. In the thin glow of moonlight trickling in from a window on the opposite wall, she focused her magic and sent an immobilizing spell to Joey.
Joey, who had been standing rather still anyway, took a moment to notice that he could not move. He cried out, trying to make his legs move forward, or to remove his arm from around his sister.
"Joey! What's wrong? What is it?" Serenity pulled out of her brother's frozen grip.
"I...I dunno..." Joey said with difficulty- the curse had almost frozen his jaw shut.
"Don't worry, your brother will be fine," Korimo said, jumping nimbly from the arch down to the floor in front of the pair. "My spell will begin to wear off once I've left the room."
"Then go away!" Serenity yelled.
Korimo chuckled. "My, feisty one, aren't we? Serenity, your test begins now." With a waive of her hand, Korimo sealed all of the exits to the room with a pulsing magic barrier. Serenity looked around nervously, still clinging to Joey's hand.
"What...what do I have to d-do?" Serenity asked timidly.
"It shouldn't be TOO hard," Korimo started. "I'm going to tell you a few things. True things. All you have to do is keep your faith in your brother here," Korimo laid a hand possessively on Joey's shoulder. Serenity's fist clenched as if she were about to pull Korimo off her brother, but she did nothing.
"I can do that," she responded.
"We shall see." Korimo began to circle around the siblings. "Tell me Serenity, who is your brother's best friend?"
"Yugi," she answered instantly.
"Really? Interesting," Korimo looked at her long nails, "considering that he and Tristan used to beat Yugi up all the time."
Joey would have clenched his fists had he been able to move. No...no, she isn't supposed to know that...Serenity isn't supposed to know what I did.......
"What? Joey wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't he? Think about it Serenity. After all, your brother almost caused Yugi's death not too long ago, didn't he? In a duel, when the loser was eliminated."
Joey's eyes raced wildly around the room in his agitation.
"But that wasn't his fault, Yugi told me," Serenity said.
"It wasn't?"
"He was being controlled, it wasn't really him. Just like when Duke attacked me."
"But can you really forgive him, Serenity?" Korimo asked, walking a little way away and speaking over her shoulder. "After all, if he had been stronger, he wouldn't have been controlled. I underestimated Duke's feelings for you apparently- his desire not to hurt you was strong enough to throw off my spell. If your brother really cared about Yugi-"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Serenity yelled. "Joey definitely cares about his friends! And so do I!"
"But do they care about you? They ran off when they were supposed to meet you, weren't they? After your operation?"
Serenity's eyes widened. "How...?"
"It doesn't matter. Joey wasn't even there when you got out, was he? He made you wait to see the world for his own selfish battle."
"N-no! That's not true..." but Serenity's voice was faltering. A little voice in the back of her head wanted to believe that it WAS true. Korimo turned back to Serenity.
"You've lost, Serenity. I can tell that you don't believe in your brother the same way you did this morning." Joey wanted nothing more than to tell his sister that it was all wrong, to explain what really had happened, but there was nothing he could do. "I'm afraid I'll have to send you away for now." And with the same magic that imprisoned Duke and Tristan, Serenity vanished. Korimo waved her hand, and released Joey from her hold.
"What did you do to her!?" Joey shook himself loose and put both his fists up.
Korimo folded her arms and smirked. "Really now, Joseph, is it wise to attack me? You saw what I did to your precious little sister."
"I hate you."
"Very well. That doesn't excuse you. Your test will begin shortly." Again, Korimo snapped her fingers and the intricate stone of the walls dissolved, replaced quickly by a large maze of high walls. Joey stood at the entrance, and Korimo perched on top of the first wall, looking down at him.
"What's goin' on?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten already. This is your test."
"I know that. Whadda ya want from me?"
"Your task, Joey, was picked just for you, based on what I've learned about you and your friends." Korimo said, smirking.
Joey clenched his fists and yelled back, "get to the point already!"
Korimo waved her finger at him. "Tut tut, at this rate you'll fail very quickly. And trust me, you do not want to fail."
"I ain't afraid of you!"
"You may not be. But I know your sister is." Korimo relished the instant change in Joey's expression at the mention of his sister- from a tight, angry bravado to desperate fear in half a second.
"WHERE IS SHE!?"
"Calm, Joey. Calm. She's just fine. For now."
"What did you do to her!?"
"I said, calm." Korimo dropped her amused air and set her ruby lips in a hard, serious frown. "Serenity is fine. However, if you want her to stay fine, you must pass your test."
Still clenching his fists and jaw, Joey forced himself to stay quiet this time.
"Good. Very good. You can be taught after all." The familiar smirk returned to Korimo's face. "So I suppose you want to know what your test is, don't you?" Joey's left eye started to twitch as he fought to keep himself quiet. "Very well. No doubt you've noticed the walls in front of you. Even you can't be that stupid." She paused, just to make Joey a little more irritated. "Through those walls you will find a series of several objects, people, scenarios, etcetera. Your task is to keep your cool through to the end of the maze."
"Whadda ya mean keep my cool?" Joey asked through gritted teeth.
"Should you become so frustrated that you yell, hit, or in any other way lose your temper, you will lose."
"That easy, huh?" Joey asked, a bit of his usual bravado creeping back into his voice.
"Oh no, not even close." Korimo smiled widely. "Before you lose, a warning shot will fire."
"Warning shot?!"
"Oh yes." She snapped her fingers, and Serenity appeared floating above her, tied up in rings of Korimo's magic.
"SERENITY!"
"Now, now, remember Joey, you must remain calm," Korimo reminded him. "If you are about to lose your temper and lose the game- and believe me, I will know- it's little Serenity here who'll pay the price."
Joey would have jumped the entire height of the wall to get to Korimo, were he not afraid for Serenity's safety. Instead, he had to content himself with resolving to beat the game he was about to play.
"So," Korimo continued. "I'd advise you to play extra-carefully, if you want to keep her safe."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Good. It's so much more fun when the victim tries his hardest before failing." Korimo smirked yet again, and snapped her fingers. A kind of rope swing made of the same energy beams as Serenity's bonds descended from the ceiling, giving Korimo a place to sit and watch, next to her newest captive. "Now, you may begin when you are ready."
Bracing himself for the worst, Joey walked around the first stone wall.
"But really, what are we gonna do now that we know this?" Duke asked, pacing around the new cell on the top floor.
"We can make a plan to escape, that's what," Tristan provided the answer, standing with his back against the wall.
"How? The only thing we know is that she'll be weak in two nights. By then, this'll all be over. One way or the other."
"We'll pass this along to Yugi. He'll know what to do," Tea repeated.
"But we'll only see him if he gets captured, too," Tristan protested.
"Wake up Tristan, he's not going to get out of this if we didn't. Not that it helps- he'll be in the same fix we are by the time he gets here."
"He'll find some way to get us out of here. There's gotta be something we're not thinking of."
"If we can't think of it, what makes you so sure Yugi will?" Duke asked.
"Nah, Tea's right," Tristan said. "Yugi's gotten outta tighter spots than this, hasn't he? Once we're all here, we'll be able to think of something."
"I really hope you're right," Duke said, and stopped pacing. He sat on the floor under the single, barred window and wondered silently how they could possibly get out alive.
