Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 5: Jailbreak! Part 1: Daring Duo

The king and queen of the kingdom could have been walking out in the middle of the street with bathing suits on, and Cy wouldn't have noticed. The entire school building could have toppled on top of her, and she still wouldn't have noticed. The world could have stopped spinning and decided to play tag with the rest of the planets, and she still even wouldn't have noticed. A giant, four-headed brown monster with sharp fangs, foot-long talons, and spiked armor could have landed in front of her, and she probably still wouldn't have even noticed.

The only thing Cy probably could have noticed right now would have been Svrion. But he was somewhere in the Realm and Cy didn't know where that was. All she knew was that she had gotten him arrested.

Okay… so it was partially his fault. He could have kept his mouth shut, he could have acted half as brave, he could have hidden Aundren and Hufanse somewhere else… heck, he could have done a lot of things. Could a', would a', should a', he could have done it, he would have done it, and he really should have done it. But… life doesn't always turn out like it should. It could it if only would. Okay, let's get on with this.

The point was, Cy had made a terrible, awful mistake. If only she would have kept her mouth shut. But then, we would have to explore if she could have and… never mind. But, she had blabbed that Hufanse and Aundren were hiding and somehow Svrion ended up arrested and it was all Cy's fault. And, something like that didn't happen to the normal teenager.

But, Cy wasn't normal. That would be an excuse she could use to stick up for herself. But, it would just turn into other things and she didn't want that. So what was this poor teenage-Dark-Magician-girl-in-training supposed to do? Spring Svrion, Hufanse, and Aundren from jail of course. How hard can that be?

………

"Please, Celton?" Cy pleaded. "You must! Please!"

Dear mental diary, wait? Did those words just come out of my lips? I'm begging my brother? What could have made me sink this low?

Cy was indeed begging her brother, and it was for a task she was not sure he would accept unless she put it in the right way. It was a rather unusual request, and Celton was quite surprised. He backed up a step and raised his eyebrows.

"Let me get this straight, Cy. You want me to help you get Svrion, Hufanse, and Aundren out of jail? First of all, I think this is crazy. Second, I think you are crazy. Third, I would be crazy if I agreed to this. Fourth, who are these people?"

"First, this might be crazy. Second, I am not crazy, just not normal. Third, you are crazy already, and fourth, these are my friends." Cy and Celton stared at each other like the worst enemies they were.

"Best friends or boy friends?"

"Shut up!"

"Hold on… if they got into jail… then they must have done something bad…"

"Hufanse and Aundren are from the Dark Kingdom, okay! They came here as refugees but were discovered and arrested! When Svrion wanted to protect them he ended up getting arrested too!"

"Whoa! Back up! Rewind! Dark Kingdom? You want me to help release two Dark Warriors."

"I never said anything about releasing them. Just help me get into the place where they are. I feel like doing it myself."

"So you can impress them?"

"No idiot. So I can heal the damage I've done. I'm the one that got them in jail, and so I want to be the one to get them out." At this point, Cy could clearly tell Celton was not in for it. He had his hands on his hips with a disbelieving expression written on his face. Cy's hopes, some that had not started out high in the first place, sank heavily.

"Please, Celton. You have to understand! If this really wasn't this important, then I wouldn't be asking you."

"Why couldn't you ask our father?"

"He's the one who put them in jail."

"Oh!"

"But look, we're wasting time. Please, Celton. You have to do this." Celton shook his head.

"No, Cy. I am studying my last year of magic. If we get caught, I will be expelled. My dream will be shattered. Sorry, but I can't." Cy knew that would be the answer. She felt like crying. Without someone with great magical skill, she wouldn't be able to defend herself or do anything. And, Celton was probably the only person that would be able to understand about people in the Dark Kingdom being good.

Dear mental diary, well…I tried. I could try doing it myself, but I will probably get myself killed or something! And of course, Celton doesn't want to get his perfect record smudged! He wants to graduate and impress everyone, especially Renalyn. Wait…impress…Renalyn…I have an idea.

"Oh well. I expected something of this sort from you, Celton. It doesn't matter anyway. I mean, I can ask another person. Hey, you know your girlfriend Renalyn has an older brother right? What's his name? Renten, isn't it? I can just ask him. I'm sure the fact that I'm his younger sister's boyfriend's younger sister would persuade him. All I have to do is tell Renalyn that my own brother was incapable…"

"Now hold on a minute!" Okay, wait. One second. Most people would think that Celton of all people would definitely be able to tell that this was all just cooked up to get him to do what Cy wanted. Celton was smart enough to figure out that it was all crap that she was saying… right? Come on Celton. It's crap…it's crap…

"If it means that Renalyn will think I'm incapable, of course I won't back down! Never mind Cy! I'm willing to help. Tell me what to do." Okay, love is really blinding him for the moment. And making him deaf too. And stupid. Wait, he was already stupid. Never mind, take that back.

"You're willing to help?" Cy asked in her innocent voice, as if she would have never expected it. Celton nodded. "Wow! Renalyn will be impressed! If she has time for that… she's a month away from being an official Lady of Faith and she has to take her exams."

"Yeah… I hate it that different schools have different years. All her holidays come at different times! Anyway, we have more important things to discuss. Where are Hufanse and Aundren being held?" Cy's eyes widened.

"I thought you would know!"

"Uh… did they give any clues?"

"They said dungeon!"

"That can mean anything!" Cy sighed. It appeared that not all her problems were solved. "I know that they throw Dark Warrior prisoners in the Labyrinth, the Shine Palace dungeon, or send them to the neutral Castle of Dark Illusions. But since both kingdoms have access to that, it's not the best place. But, I doubt by the way you said it that Hufanse and Aundren did anything major… so they could be in any of the three places." Cy sighed again.

"We can't check them all!" she cried. "They would figure us out long before that."

"Our first guess needs to be right! Did they say anything besides dungeon?"

"No… jeez, I wish you knew."

"I did, a while ago. In our second year we had to study each of the major dungeons and memorize the offences that got you into them. That was the one test I got full marks."

"And now… you can't remember?"

"Yeah… the thing is, I made a rhyme to remember them. I remember that I made the rhyme, but I don't remember it exactly. I chose not to. My instructor told me that rhyming doesn't make me smart and that I should be able to know them in my heart and infuse them in my brain."

"Yeah, I heard that from somewhere. Oh, I think Xane said that when Svrion said something. Oh yeah, he said a stupid rhyme. Let's see… it was like this. 'They aren't spies. They aren't even in disguise! You can't send them to their demise. Throwing them in the Labyrinth is treacherously unwise'!" Celton and Cy laughed for a second, before stopping with a short gasp. They looked at each other with wide eyes.

"The Labyrinth!"

"How could I have been so stupid? When wartime's ahead, the good save their head. The ones in trouble got to the Labyrinth instead! I knew it! That's part of the rhyme!" Cy stared at her brother in confusion.

"O-kaaaaaay… well, let's not waste any time. We must go there immediately! We have to save Svrion!"

"How about the other two?"

"Of course we have to save them!" Cy rushed to get ready.

"But you thought of Svrion first because he's your boyfriend." Celton also proceeded to straighten his uniform.

"Hey! It's just a small crush…" Cy hurried to put on her helmet over her uniform that she had been too distressed to take off. And, she had started begging Celton the minute he had gotten home so he hadn't either.

"A small crush?" Celton asked as he prepared himself too. "You can't fool me with that kind of crap."

"Speaking of crap…" Cy started as she backed up to the door. "Renalyn doesn't have an older brother. Renten is her pet Baby Dragon." Cy rushed out the door ready to rock n' roll. Celton stared after her for a few seconds before he grabbed his rental staff and proceeded to chase after her with it.

………

"So…what…are we supposed to do?" Celton asked, emerging into the clearing. Behind him, Cy struggled through the dense shrubbery. By the time she got out, her hair was all tangled and pulled and just plain messy. Because of her elbow-length gloves, her arms were mostly spared, but her cheeks sported random cuts from stray branches. She had a cut also on her thigh above her knee, and she was wincing in pain as she tried to stop the bleeding. Celton turned and sigh.

"I told you that thing was not a statue," he said. Cy glared at him.

"Yeah, after I went ahead and touched it, making it reach out and bite me. Those things are dangerous."

"It's okay, the bite and the blood will disappear after a few minutes. It's just supposed to stall any trespassers with pain."

"Why would they put anything like that here?"

"Because no one is supposed to be trespassing!" Celton turned back to the clearing. By the time they had reached the place, it was nightfall. The moon was bright behind the clouds, glowing furiously as if to warn them about the upcoming challenges. It illuminated the cave entrance in front of them.

"I knew this was the place!" Celton said.

"If it was so secret," Cy queried. "Then why would they tell you straight out in class."

"Because…besides being a dungeon, it's also an escape path of all people and so everyone will be told. But it's weird though… I've been here once and I doubt you can escape from anything in there. You'll get yourself lost." Celton shrugged as he neared the entrance. As he did, the doors slid open with a hiss.

"This is it!" Cy informed. "After this, there's no turning back!"

"Right. Once we step in, the doors will seal shut. This is only an entrance. The exit is somewhere else. Are you sure you want to do this?" Cy faced Celton. Her eyes narrowed and the moonbeams reflected off her determination.

"We are Svrion's only hope!"

"Aundren and Hufanse…?"

"Oh, right, right! Them too! But anyway, we have to rescue them. It's okay, Celton! I'm ready to face anything!" Celton nodded and the two of them faced the entrance. The looming blackness did not look inviting. Simultaneously, they both took a breath. Then, they entered the darkness together.

After the first step inside, the doors slammed shut, sealing in the shadows. Small torches automatically lit. To either side of them stretched the endless bounty of passages that marked the Labyrinth. Starting from the dead end they were standing, the way stretched out over millions of different squares and possible routes.

"Okay," Celton said, breaking the silence. He quickly surveyed the area. The walls rose to either side of him, stretching up at least twice his height before vanishing into the endless gloom of the ceiling-less sky. The only path was straight in front, splitting into three paths within a hundred feet.

"This is really important, Cy! Whatever happens, stay in front of me. But, always on the same square! Never get off the square I'm on for more than a split second. If you do, we could both be separated-,"

"How?"

"I'll tell you later. Just remember. The Labyrinth swallows its prisoners alive. It will do anything to put you in danger, especially by alienating you from others. It has a mind of its own. We must be on guard." Cy nodded, though she did not like the swallows its prisoners alive part. She wasn't necessarily worried about herself. It was Svrion she was more concerned with.

Cy and Celton started to walk forward. As promised, Cy stayed almost right in front of her brother. They always crossed the borders of squares at the same time. And at first, everything was going perfectly well.

At first. The key words there. It must have been an hour at least before Cy and Celton got suspicious. They were deep inside the maze already, somewhere on the random path. Cy led Celton wherever she wanted – an assortment of dead-ends unfortunately, oh Cy! – but the two had realized that besides that, no challenges had accosted them. It might have seemed, initially, a great relief. But soon it grew to worry. They were expecting something…

"Is like, the Labyrinth dumb?" Cy asked. "This is getting really boring. Nothing's happened since the doors to the Labyrinth shut!"

"True," Celton agreed. "I would hope that it's because the Labyrinth wanted to be nice to us. Sometimes it can favor certain people—hey!" Celton bumped into Cy as she stopped walking. Slowly, she turned and stared into the path behind her. Celton, worried, copied her.

"I feel cold…" she said. "Something is approaching." Celton put on a brave face and slowly raised his staff. The two stood in the silence that surrounded them, glancing around from time to time into each of the seven pathways that branched off from where they stood. Celton warmed up his staff by making it emit purple sparks.

"See anything?" he whispered. Cy shook her head. The two became more and more worried with each passing second.

Suddenly, a breeze blew into their area, their hair dancing as it passed them. Cy and Celton looked at each other. The Labyrinth wasn't supposed to be windy. Cy turned back to the path she had looked at earlier. Suddenly, it started to go in and out of focus, becoming bigger and smaller. Cy started to back up and Celton noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Cy couldn't answer, mesmerized as she was by the passageway. She raised a shaky finger to point to it just as a shadow appeared around the bend of its wall. It didn't look like a person's shadow. It was tall, with long arms that blended into talons. It had long, arched legs under its skinny body and a head with a nose that was way too long.

"What is that?" Cy cried. The creature appeared in view, snarling at the two of them. The two of them shivered with the coldness that plagued them.

"A Shadow Ghoul…" Celton whispered. "The King of the Labyrinth. I'd rather not fight this… RUN!" The Shadow Ghoul caught onto their plan and lunged toward them. With a scream, Cy started running with Celton in tow. The two sprinted down random paths with the Ghoul easily catching up. However, Celton quickly pulled Cy into an unnoticed area and the Ghoul passed them.

Cy fell to the floor as soon as she got into the secret place. It seemed to be a square room, twenty-five squares in area, hardly noticeable from the outside. Celton bent to catch his breath.

"Phew!" he gasped. "See what I mean. This Labyrinth is treacherous. We shouldn't have gotten in here. This is a favorite spot of the Tanks, the Labyrinth's army. If they get in here, we'll be drilled through with holes."

"Oh! Celton, let's get out of here!"

"We can't! It's too late-," Celton stopped and squinted at the walls. Cy noticed them too. They had started to ripple like a pond newly disturbed. Waves of energy seemed to radiate from them.

"What the-?"

"It's the Wall Shadow, Shadow Ghoul's morphed form. We're doomed! Nothing can escape this great beast!"