Lass: Can you believe it? I actually updated! I know, it's been very long. If there's anything I hate, it's a writer's block. But please enjoy reading!
Disclaimer: Even though I wish I did, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters. I do own the plot of this story and this account, so don't sue me.
>
She heard the plane flying as she sat in her seat. A stewardess had been so kind as to show her to her seat. She was almost at Domino airport now. When she had phoned her brother she would come she had heard him cheer loudly and apparently his friends were over there too because she heard lots of cheers in the background.
She had a smile on her face now. She was flying to Domino City, to her brother. At the moment, Serenity worried about nothing. Why should she? She was away from her demanding mother, about to see her brother again as well as his friends, and her sunglasses were on. Serenity was glad it was summer now, so that it didn't seem strange to wear sunglasses.
They did not improve her sight, of course, but her eyes weren't visible this way, and that was exactly the only thing she wanted. Slowly, she dropped into a light sleep.
She shot awake when she heard the pilot tell the passengers to secure their seatbelts, because they were arriving in Domino City. The tension inside of Serenity began to build and she gulped as the wheels hit the ground. Her brother and maybe one or so of his friends would be waiting for her at the airport, to bring her to the hotel every contestant of the tournament was at. Everyone could bring one guest, since the hotel was colossal. At least, that was what her older brother told her on the phone. She became sad as she knew she wouldn't really be able to see if he was right.
The plane's wheels hit the runway. The plane had arrived at its destination, perfectly on time. Her real adventure would start today, even though she didn't know yet. And who knew whether she would get trough it unharmed. Serenity would need all the help she could get, but the question was if she would accept it.
>
She walked out of the airplane; following the footsteps of the people in front of her to make sure she wouldn't get lost. The vague colours that always told her where everything was, more or less, were vanishing more and more. It wouldn't take long before she was completely blind. Then she heard her brother call for her. She turned in his general direction and plastered a smile on her face. "Hey brother!" She felt strong arms envelop her and hugged him back.
He held her in front of him and took a good look at her. "You've changed a lot, sis!" He grinned at her when she said he looked just the same as he had before. She secretly hoped she wasn't too far from the truth. "My friend Tristan is getting your bag for you, so we can catch up a bit."
Serenity was glad that she didn't have to worry about finding her bag. Her brother led her outside, talking happily and asking her questions. The thin soles under her shoes told her that they were now crossing the road that was in front of the airport. They sat down on a bench.
Then Serenity decided to bring up the letter. "Brother, I need to ask you something. Why were you so anxious to have me here?" She heard him sigh next to her. At the same time she knew he was looking straight at her.
"It's really somewhat selfish. I know I'm taking all of your holiday, but…" She put a hand on where she supposed his shoulder was. The big blotch that represented her brother turned away from her in shame. "We haven't seen one another for a long time, and I missed you. Really much depends on this tournament, and there is just so much that I want to talk about, but there really isn't anyone who I'd like to burden with my troubles. Well, it's actually more like, I don't trust anyone with them, if you get what I mean. No one wants to see the always-so-cheerful-goon worrying. 'Cause that's more what I am to them. And you always knew how to brighten me up, even when dad was still alive, you know. And there is really no one that knows me as well as you do."
He seemed a little embarrassed by his emotional 'outburst', but she hugged him. "You know you can always tell me about your problems, brother." He nodded, not knowing that she wasn't able to see it anymore, and hugged her back. She had always been the smarter one of them.
He smirked. People had a completely wrong view on their relationship. They always thought that she was the dependant one, while he was the always smiling protector. In fact, it was her support of him that made him smile, her serenity the thing that calmed him down, and her humour that tested him and his thinking capacities. She wasn't as childish and dependant and he weren't as dumb and rash as everyone thought. They kept up the masquerade, though, for fun and for the reality they both wanted to escape. This was just so much easier, and it never hurt anyone. And both liked the idea that they might someday surprise someone who had the complete wrong idea about them and would try to take advantage of them. For that would happen; they were sure. They just hoped it would take as long as possible for that to happen.
Someone came sneaking up behind them. She heard it first, and smirked. "Hello," she said while turning around. A shocked gasp from the person's general direction told her she'd scared him quite a bit.
Now, Joey had noticed him too. "Tristan," he said grinning, "were you trying to sneak up on us?" He squeezed his sister's hand in pride, unnoticed by Tristan, and grabbed the cup of water the Tristan had had with him. All Serenity heard was a great amount of water being thrown at someone, but she realized she'd just 'saved' her and her brother from a very cold shower. The indignant scream of someone unknown, whom she supposed to be Tristan, told her that he was now both wet and cold. At least she wasn't the only one anymore who thought summertime was very useful. Unfortunately, it was just sunrise at the moment…
The guys came back to where she was still sitting on the bench. Joey introduced Tristan to his little sister and she held out her hand to where his voice was coming from. He grabbed it and shook it fervently. "It's so wonderful to meet you. Even though I mainly know you from what your brother told me, you seem like an angelic creature to me that has graced the earth with her presence…" He wished to continue, but Joey interrupted him, annoyed at his attempt at getting Serenity to like him. Tristan went after every pretty girl he saw, and he didn't want his sister to end up with someone like his friend.
She was glad he'd stopped talking. It had annoyed her slightly, although she supposed there had been girls who'd hit him for this and ones who'd dated him gladly. Her patience was legendary, though, and so was her resistance against everything that had to do with boyfriends. If there was anything she absolutely didn't want, and luckily, her brother knew that too…
Not long after, they were inside a cab. The driver had bothered them some time about Tristan's wet clothes, but a pleading smile from Serenity (and a towel she'd gotten from her bag) they were off. Serenity was not looking out of the window, for a good reason. Every time they passed by something important, Joey would point at it and ask her what she thought of it. She would answer neutrally, therefore giving him the false idea that she was indeed seeing them.
The girl could feel Tristan looking at her every once in a while, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. When he saw him staring, Joey hit Tristan over the head, but most of the time he missed his looks.
Finally the cab had reached its destination. Joey got out first, followed by Serenity and Tristan. When they had gotten her bag and paid the driver, they walked into the lobby of the hotel. They checked Serenity in, and then went to the elevator which would take them to the good floor. Pushing the button for the eighteenth floor Joey turned towards the others once more.
"It's still very early, so everyone is still asleep," he told Serenity. She nodded, already having realized this. There was a time difference between the US and Japan, and she'd noticed so before, when her mother and her had moved to America, and the times she'd come to Japan to visit her brother. Her brother had come to see her some times too, and he was always talking about having problems with sleeping and things like that too.
Inside the elevator, Tristan stood very close to Serenity. She tried to get even farther into the corner to evade him, but he just moved closer. When her breath became slightly quicker, Joey finally noticed it and pulled Tristan away from her. "We'll be having a nice conversation when we get to her room, Tristan," he hissed. The boy nodded, slightly frightened. At least for now he'd gotten the hint to stay away from the petite girl, something she was relieved about. The elevator stopped and they exited.
The hallway was completely empty, and there was no sound aside from to their footsteps. Serenity carefully glided against the wall with her hand, counting the doors they passed until they arrived at her room. At what she supposed was room 18;22 they stopped. Her brother opened the door and they entered. Knowing that this was a very expensive hotel, she gasped. "The room is beautiful." She always used the information she had to make up an appropriate reaction. Apparently, she had been correct once more, as her brother agreed with her.
"I'm on this floor too, in the room next to this one, on the right. Everyone I know, except for Kaiba, is here on this floor. On the other floors, there are others that I don't know, or don't know yet. In the basement, there are arenas. Everyday, there are battles over there. The loser has to leave, so we all hope that we won't have to face our friends too soon. But for now, I think you should sleep some to catch up. I'll come to get you for breakfast, 'kay?" She nodded at him smiling, and the boys left her in the room.
She walked around slowly. That way, if she hit something and therefore found where in the room it was, she wouldn't hit herself too hard. Soon, she pretty much knew what the room was like. It was bigger than the living room at her mother's, but it had everything in one room. There was a small bathroom on the left, which had a shower, a toilet and a washbasin. The bed was in the back of the room, with a small bedside table next to it. A closet to put her clothes in was not far away and in the front side of the room was a nice sitting area. There was a television and several nice chairs around a coffee table. A desk was against the wall, across from the bathroom. There was a soft, fluffy carpet on the floor, warming her feet. She absolutely loved this room. After putting her stuff away she went to bed. She'd missed out on quite some sleep during the flight and was really too tired to do anything useful anyhow. She was asleep in no time.
While Serenity was exploring her room, Joey pulled Tristan into his room before the boy could run. He turned to him. "Listen carefully, cuz I'm only gonna say this once. Ya're still my bud, but I dun wanna see ya trying ta hit on ma sista. Next time I see ya doin' so, ya're in deep trouble. And I ain't joking. Undastood?" Tristan didn't understand why Joey would suddenly use the New York accent he hadn't used for so long again, but he was smart enough to understand that he'd better not mess with him now. He nodded, and although Tristan didn't see him doing so, Joey relaxed. "Thanks bud," he said.
Joey's grin told Tristan that he only said that for his sister, not because he had anything against him. It reassured him, and he decided that he'd ask him later why he was actually so protective of her concerning boyfriends. But then again, from what he'd heard and seen the few times he'd seen her before was that he was always the protecting one and she was always the dependant one, so it wasn't really that strange. But she had changed since the last time she'd come here. She had matured quite a bit and had turned into a beautiful woman, of course drawing his attention.
When he walked back to his own room a little further down the corridor he was still thinking about the girl. She was so different from before. Her body was older and much more beautiful than it had been before, and one would be blind to miss the striking beauty she'd become. But he was tired right now, and he'd have a conversation with Joey later on. For now, he just wanted to sleep until it was time to have breakfast.
>
Serenity was already up when the knock on her door sounded. "Who's there?" she asked. Her brother answered, and she told him to come in. She turned off the laptop she'd been working on and got up from the chair at the desk. She asked him how his sleep had been, and he told her it'd been fine.
"Ya know, if I'd known you were up already, I would've come earlier. The rest is already having breakfast downstairs. I thought I'd better let you sleep in, but apparently you don't need that." She grinned at him.
"Probably jetlag," she said. "So I'm finally going to meet the rest of your friends. Tristan was the only one I'd seen before, so I'm really excited. I've heard about them from you, of course, but I've never seen them for real. They have to be great people, to be your friends."
He didn't miss the joke in her voice, and neither did he hesitate to answer. "I'm not that hard to live with, am I?" She snickered, and he joined in. "No, they're really nice. I bet you'll like them. And I don't doubt that they'll love you."
She looked at him, for as far as she really could. "Will they love me or my nice, obedient counterpart?"
"Both of them." There was no doubt in her brother's voice. Then, to cheer up the atmosphere, he started chatting about the tournament. Or rather the ones that would duel. "You know, people actually came from other countries to try and win here. We met some people from Egypt a few days ago. They were actually quite nice. Some girl and her younger brother, I believe. The boy is about our age, the girl is older. They're very rich, which has something to do with Ancient Egypt, something they're specialized in. It's quite strange, though, because the period they're the most familiar with is the one which includes the Millennium Items. I told you about them, didn't I?" She nodded. "Yugi and Bakura have Millennium Items, but we've seen that at least the sister has one, too. We don't know if the brother has one, but it doesn't really matter. Then there is also some freaky old guy, whom I think is somewhat crazy, who has an Item. He has an eye, like the one on the other Items, only this is really an eye. It's stuck where his normal eye should have been, and I really don't want to know how he got it in there." He shuddered.
They had been walking downstairs by the stairs, since Serenity really didn't like elevators. Sometimes, she got somewhat panicky in them, and they had time enough to get downstairs at the moment. If she could, she'd evade an elevator. "Also, there is some young girl from the US, like you are. She is one of the best duellists over there, even though she is very young. She's a little conceited, but I still believe that she can be a very good friend, like the most of us think. And we've met some shady character." He laughed, but his sister looked at him, not understanding it. "You only get the joke in that when you know his name. I've heard it's Shadi, which would make 'shady character' somewhat funny. But you don't have to laugh about it."
She shook her head. "Brother, if we were in an anime right now, there would be a giant sweat drop appearing on my head."
He snickered. "I know, I know… it was a lame joke. Just thought of it all of a sudden."
"You hang around too much with your friends and too little with me. You don't have to act foolishly around me." She looked in his general direction, and she heard him sigh. He didn't speak, however, but she could imagine her brother looking at the ground, thinking. Realizing that they were not downstairs yet, and that it would take some floors to get there, she asked him a question. "What's the problem about this tournament? I mean the one you asked me to come over for?"
He sighed once more. "I knew you'd ask me that soon. But I'd really rather discuss that when we are alone in one of our rooms. We can still be heard here, and it's really not something everyone needs to hear about." She nodded in understanding. They talked some about lighter subjects, and they were soon downstairs.
Many sounds attacked her sensitive ears, and Serenity found herself wishing that she'd come a little later to miss most of the people. But Joey pulled her with him, and when they stopped at a table with chatting people she realized that this were probably his friends. She smiled politely as he introduced her to them.
They liked her immediately. She was polite to everyone, and shook their hands shyly. Her brother and she sat at the table and started to eat. But while Joey ate as if someone would try to steal his food if he didn't eat it fast enough, Serenity calmly ate something while having an interesting conversation with them.
She heard Joey devour his meal next to her; another thing he never did when only she was around. While talking to his friends, she tried to get all the information she could about them.
Yugi was older than she was, just like the rest of them. He was friendly, and slightly shy, too. But he possessed an inner strength Serenity did not miss. If he was determined to do something, or if his friends were in trouble, he wouldn't hesitate to help and succeed, even if it cost him his own life.
Tea was a kind girl, very friendly. And while she was a girl, she was very strong-willed. She would assist and support her friends, just like she'd come here to cheer them on while she would not participate herself. She had faith in all of their abilities, even from those who seemed weak.
There was also Bakura. He was shy, but he liked his friends a lot. He seemed to feel almost guilty about something, which the rest didn't notice, when they were talking. She wondered what exactly was going on here, since most of them seemed to be tense. Her brother's antics seemed to lighten the tension a bit, and she tried to be relaxing too, but it still didn't disappear completely.
If Tea was strong-willed, Mai was absolutely unbending. She was a nice woman, yes, but incredibly self-absorbed. She did like the others around her, but she didn't understand the concept 'friendship' yet. From what Joey had told her, she knew that Mai wasn't with them for long yet, but that she had helped them a few times, even though it was good for her every time she did. Serenity was sure, however, that this tournament would change her vision on some things quite a lot. There was something eerie about all of it, which she knew even without her brother telling her exactly what it was.
Next to them, Tristan and Joey, there was also Duke. He was arrogant, but kind too. She gathered that he was the inventor of a new game, Dungeon Dice Monsters, but that he'd come here to duel. What was worse about him, though, was the fact that he seemed to hit on her, too. It made her feel very uncomfortable, even though she knew how to hide it very well.
She was glad that Tristan had stopped trying to get closer to her all the time, but now Duke was doing the same. She nudged Joey, who was seated next to her, and he noticed what was going on. Serenity assumed he'd given Duke one of his 'keep-ya-hands-offa-ma-sista' glares, for he stopped for the time being. She quickly managed to lighten the mood once more, however, when she started talking about the shopping spree, which in reality she hadn't had, with her friends, who she didn't have either.
So, with a completely made up story, she got them telling about some funny moments in their own lives. Joey pinched her arm slightly, and she knew he was proud of her. This helped for her mood, too. But when the meal was finished and they could leave once more to prepare for the duels, which would begin the day after the next, she and Joey went to her room for a nice talk. In the meanwhile, she heard Tristan pull Duke aside to warn him to stay off her, because of the warning she didn't doubt Joey had given him in the morning.
When they were in her room they sat down in the chairs, both in a comfortable position. She now had her sunglasses off, but he had better things to worry about than what his sister's eyes looked like. The door was locked and the walls were soundproof. Joey had told her that with a slightly suggestive tone while innocently asking why that would be. It lightened their mood considerably.
But eventually he would have to tell her about it. They both knew it, and a tension hung in the room. For some reason, this was really bad. That much Serenity knew. This was heavy to talk and think about for everyone. It made her feel slightly insecure; to know that something was so threatening that no one really dared to talk about it.
"There are many duellists in this hotel. The best ones are gathered here to duel. It's organized by Kaiba. At least, that's what the invitation says. But Kaiba hadn't been seen at all yet. People were getting worried, and there were a lot of stories going around. Then, everyone had to gather in the main hall. It was the day I wrote you. And while everyone expected Kaiba to finally show up, five other men came. They introduced themselves as the Big 5, the five top stockholders of Kaiba Corporation. They explained it all. This was not just a tournament, but a very dangerous one. The duellists that are here have won a chip. That chip, which is in fact a bracelet with a flat plate hanging on it, next to granting access to the building, also makes sure that we can't be away for more than three hours…"
She gasped. Her brother was having a hard time telling her, and he wasn't finished at all. "We had to show it at the entrance, where it was put around our arms and we were unable to remove it anymore. The guests get one too. You'll get one soon, I think. This way, we can't run, unless we want to suffer great pain and be tracked down once more to be returned. That was what they told us first. Then, they told why exactly they wanted to keep us here. We would duel as usual, but in a special arena. If you lose, you will be taken to them. They said that once you lost, you wouldn't ever see the outside world again. You would be used 'to serve their purpose'. They never clarified what exactly that meant, but it wouldn't be good. That much everyone understood."
They didn't speak while she was letting it sink in. Only one person would be able to win the tournament. That would mean that all the other duellists would be taken by this 'Big 5'. Questions rose from within her. She turned to her brother once more, who was now waiting for her reaction.
"You wouldn't lie about something like this. But why did you want me here then? And what happens to the guests if the ones that took them with them have lost?"
He sighed and looked over at his sister. His little, smart sister.
"They explicitly challenged us. They told us to go and find something to stop them. And if there's anyone I trust with finding a solution, it's you. Else, I'm sure I wouldn't make it out of here, just like most of my friends. I don't stand a chance against Yugi, and there are more good duellists here. As I told you, there are people from everywhere over the world to win this title. And I know I may act as if I think I'm unbeatable, I know very well that I've still got a long way to go." He put his head in his hands in defeat. Then, he answered her other question. "They haven't told us exactly what they are going to do with the guests. They haven't declared what they were going to do to the guests, but from what I've heard, the guests of who the hosts have lost are completely at their mercy. I'm sorry," he muttered.
The duels would start the day after the next one, and the pressure on the duellists was a lot. Some would lose just because of the pressure. And, she realized, some would lose on purpose, just because they didn't want to do something like that to others. There would most certainly be feelings of guilt after condemning someone to a fate like that one. Hell, the one who won the tournament must feel horrible, after all the ones he or she had defeated. And if not, there would be no good opponents anymore because they were all here.
While those thoughts were running through her head, Serenity was staring in front of her. There was nothing that she saw, only the vague dark blue colour of the floor. Her mind was working overdrive, and her brother knew better than to disturb her now.
Why would they want to do this? And why would they challenge them openly to find anything against it? Where was Kaiba? And what would be done about the guests? Question after question entered her head.
A knock on the door sounded. "Enter," she said. Someone came in, and from her brother's reaction, she could tell it wasn't a friend. He practically snarled at the one.
"I'm here to give you your chip. It allows you to enter the building, so you'll need it," a deep voice said. It was a man, probably about thirty years old. But it was filled with malice, and it made her hair stand up straight. She nodded, however. "Your arm, please."
Serenity stretched her left arm, and some sort of machine was put around it. She felt a sharp stab of pain, but she didn't make a sound. When the machine was pulled off again, she realized she was now wearing a bracelet, which was closed below her skin. It was too tight to be pulled off, and with the lock inside their arm, not many people would try to get it out. And even if you tried and therefore hurt yourself, it was probably such strong material that it wouldn't be breakable anymore. That wasn't too hard to understand.
The man started talking once more. "I'm Nesbitt, one of the Big 5. But I'm sure your host must've told you about us?" She nodded while they both ignored Joey's growl. He wanted this man away from his sister. "Do you have any questions, or should I leave?"
Serenity thought it over for a while. Perhaps asking some questions would help clear some things up. But if she played innocent right now, she might have shock with her later on. "You're not going to hurt my brother, are you?" she asked, with her most innocent eyes.
The guy chuckled. This innocent girl might prove to be fun, once her brother lost. He smirked at the brother, who was ready to attack. He seemed to be very protective of this naïve girl. "That would depend on what you call 'hurt', little girl." Then, he turned and left the room, only looking behind him once. The girl was sitting there with her head bowed; worry marring her features, while her brother was glaring at him and hugging his sister, comforting her. After that, he was gone.
When he was out of earshot, Serenity got out of her brother's arms and had a serious look on her face once more. "Well, there's your bracelet…" Joey trailed off. Neither knew what to say right now.
"Joey?" Serenity asked after a while. She heard a slight rustling sound and assumed he'd turned his head towards her. "You should be with your friends right now. I'll be staying here for a while; you can just tell them I still have some trouble with jetlag right now in case they ask."
She heard him leave, but not before he'd given her a strong hug and telling her he'd be back to get her for lunch. Serenity nodded and told him goodbye. Then, she was alone.
The fingers of her right hand touched the bracelet. It wasn't large, but she noticed that the material was very strong, as she'd expected. There was something hanging from it, which she assumed to be the 'key' into the building. Her sensitive fingers however felt that the plate wasn't as flat as it seemed. There was something engraved in it, very small lettering. Beneath her fingers, a text became legible.
'S. Wheeler; Guest of J. Wheeler; little sister; devoted and dependent; attached to one another; no duellist; no danger expected; 1822; time outside: two hours'
So that was what they thought of her, after they'd seen her. She assumed that they had watched her when she came in, and when she was at the table this morning. Else, they would have noticed that her sight was bad, something she assumed they wouldn't have missed if there was a camera in her room. She reminded herself to watch it while she was outside of the room. No cameras were used, for her behaviour had been anything but dependent when she'd walked downstairs with her brother this morning, but they might walk into someone out there.
After what she'd read on her own chip, she wondered what would be on the others'. But, although that was interesting, it was not what she should be thinking of right now.
Cursing under her breath, Serenity stood and walked up to her laptop. She would have to see what would happen to the ones who lost to know what to do about it. She opened Word and opened a document. While writing, she thought about what would have to happen. For one, Kaiba seemed to have disappeared. Then there was the problem that she had no idea what would happen to the ones that lost. Also, the purpose of this was a mystery to her.
By the time her brother came to get her for lunch, she hadn't really thought of anything yet. When she was submissive while they were walking downstairs once again her brother immediately got the hint to play along. The rest of the day went by swiftly, and when they all went upstairs to go to bed she knew the others better. She was still thinking while she was lying in her bed, until she finally managed to get to sleep.
>
A knock on her door disturbed her. "Who's there?" she called. When there was no answer, she repeated her question. No one responded, but she heard a soft thud.
Serenity got up and walked to the door, opening it. She took one step outside when she felt her foot hit something. Kneeling down, she touched it. 'It' was in fact a breathing person. She pulled them in and put them on her bed. The person was clearly unconscious, so she touched the face. It wasn't an old person. Then, she got an idea.
She grabbed their arms and felt them down, sighing in relief and victory when she found the chip. Touching it with her fingers, she gasped in shock.
'M. Kaiba; Guest of S. Kaiba; little brother; energetic and devoted; attached to one another; able to duel; strict watch; 2802; time outside: zero hours'
The young brother of the infamous Seto Kaiba apparently managed to escape. She checked him for injuries and found only a bruise on his head, where he had probably been hit. It was longer ago, for it was already subsiding, but it had been a good hit. She assumed that it had caused him to faint while looking for help.
He began to stir. She sat back just in time for him to miss her when he shot up. Then he spotted her. "Who are you?" he asked worriedly. He was younger than she was, she heard, and quite anxious.
"You're Mokuba, right? The younger brother of Seto Kaiba?" A soft rustle told her he nodded. "I'm Serenity, Joey's sister and guest. You know Joey Wheeler?"
A soft gasp, and then he answered. "Yes, I know him. Have you told anyone about me being here? How long have I been here? What happened?"
She giggled. "Those are a lot of questions, Mokuba. Relax, please. I haven't told anyone, you've been here for a few minutes, and I heard a knock on my door. When no one answered when I asked who was there, I went to the door and found you. That's all I know."
Serenity heard him lay back, mumbling a little. He was clearly thinking of something. "Serenity," he said tensely. She nodded. "I fainted somewhere on a hallway and I didn't knock on any door…" She pondered on this. Someone else must've brought him then. But why would they bring him to her?
"Mokuba, what do you know about the plans of the Big 5 and about Kaiba himself? Something must be done, and swiftly. I need all the information you can give me," she said. They might find him soon, and she needed all information in order to think of anything. This might be her only chance.
There was silence for a while, and just when she thought he'd fallen asleep, he started to tell. "I was used as some kind of hostage. Seto had to listen, or else they'd hurt me. From what I've heard, they are planning to use the loser of a duel for some kind of sick experiments. They were talking about putting them in a computer world, and making them duel monsters or something like that. But that would be their body. Their mind would be somewhere they said was the Shadow Realm. I don't know what it is, but I do know it's no good, since they were talking about 'pure torture for the losers'. Apparently, it had something to do with the duels being Shadow Games instead of normal duels. If you lost, you lost your soul, and your body could be used in any way they want. I don't know about the guests, though. They were having all kinds of gross fantasies about blackmailing them into doing things with the promise of bringing their friends back. But I gathered that that is impossible…"
She drank in all of the information. She tried not to think of how everyone would be lost in the Shadow Realm she had once made Joey talk about. But the Shadow Games had everything to do with Millennium Items, and she had heard of the ones who possessed them. It should not be the Big 5. But then she remembered the one Item that hadn't been mentioned yet. If they had the Millennium Rod, they could play the Shadow Games and send souls to the Shadow Realm. And the only way to get them back out was with another Item.
Soft sobs disturbed her, and she took the shaking Mokuba in her arms. Serenity softly soothed him until he had calmed down again. When he had, he continued. "We were organizing this tournament, Seto and I, when they suddenly took me in the middle of the night. They told him to finish the preparations and announce it. Then, when it started, we were brought here and locked up on the top floor. I tried to get away this night, but they had hit me on the head once, and I fainted in the middle of a corridor on the 21st floor. They tell a maid to bring food up every morning. She is the only one, next to the Big 5, who has a key to our rooms. She's not big, but we are given some kind of stuff that makes us very weak. She's also very mean, and continually keeps saying mean stuff."
She had an opening now, she knew. She asked Mokuba about the maid, and what she'd said. As Serenity had expected, the maid had told him some useful stuff. A plan began to form inside her head. And while Mokuba was sleeping in her bed, Serenity was working out a plan. It wouldn't stop the Big 5, but she might be able to get more information on everything that was going on. But she had one day, after which the duels would start. It wouldn't be enough, but she would have to do something as quick as possible. At four o'clock in the morning, Serenity left her room to go to the kitchen. No one noticed the practically blind girl silently make her way to the kitchen.
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Lass: So, how was it? If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve the story or my writing, please tell me! I really want to know what I can improve, and it'll be more fun to read if I do. So please, review!