Dimensional Warrior Girl: The Winter Tournament
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
First Conceptualized: October, 2003
Posted Chapter 10: March 26, 2004
Updated: December 22, 2005

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I wouldn't have ended the manga where it did… hell, I wouldn't have ended it period. But, since I haven't read that far anyway, it's a rather moot point. But I've heard things!

Author Notes: Cool Beans! New chapter! And the next duel is about to begin…

Chapter Ten: The Search

Jenni watched the others run out into the streets while she pulled on her warmest clothing. Wrapping a scarf around her neck, she pulled on some real gloves over her fingerless ones. She buckled her belt on, Duel Disk and deck in tow. Then she ran to her room, returning with the Slifer Card. She had no idea why, but she thought she might need it. She put it in her deck box with her deck, and then turned the cider on the stove off. She walked to the door, and pulled down Fenris' leash. Buckling it to his collar, she hugged him. "You've got to help me find Mai," she told him. He looked into her eyes, and then tugged her out the door. She locked it firmly, setting the dead bolts. Then the two made their way into the blizzard outside.

Joey and Serenity stepped into a store while Serenity checked in with the others. "Still no word on Mai," she told her anxious brother, slipping her phone back into her purse. "But we'll find her, I know we will," she hugged him.

Joey tried to smile at his sister, but couldn't. "C'mon, let's go," he said, pulling her back outside.

Jenni couldn't be sure, but she felt like something was guiding her and Fenris. She unconsciously put her hand over her deck box, squinting to see through the snow around her. She had walked back to Perks, and from there she felt compelled to walk East through the business part of town. The storm was beginning to slacken off, but night was falling fast. The streets were still pretty empty, a combination of work being over and the still-falling snow. Jenni sighed as she and Fenris trudged down the streets.

Something was pulling her along, and it wasn't the dog before her. She slipped her hand into her deck box, and it seemed like her senses began to sharpen, alerting her to an unseen danger. She pulled out the Slifer card, staring at it. She knew the card was responsible, but nothing more. "Please, Slifer, help me find her," she whispered, her breathing coming out in fog before her.

She felt a sudden jolt of danger, and she gasped, reeling from it. She put the card back in her case and she and Fenris both started running – to where, she did not know.

"Hey, isn't that Jenni?" Mokuba gasped, looking out the window. He and Seto had just picked up Joey and Serenity, and were headed back to the game shop to check in with the others. They all looked out the window, watching her and her dog running blindly through the snow into a nearby construction site.

"Driver, stop the car," Seto yelled, and the four tumbled out after the girl and dog.

Jenni ran through the orange netted-fences, looking around her. Fenris tugged her towards a rickety staircase that had been erected next to the giant steel structure, and they both ran up the stairs.

Jenni's pace had slowed by the time she reached the top floor, probably a good ten stories off the ground. She looked around as she walked out onto the partially finished floor. It was deathly quiet, and she heard nothing but her own footsteps as she walked out into the open.

Fenris barked, and Jenni gasped as she looked up. Mai was hanging by her wrists from a hook a couple of stories above them, looking cold and blue in the face. Jenni could see that she was still breathing, and she quickly looked around for the release on the pulley. Spotting it, she dropped Fenris' leash and ran over to the lever. A shot rang out, and a bullet sparked as it barely missed her. She jumped back, looking up.

A man in a long black cloak and with wild red hair glared down at her. "To release the girl, you must agree to duel me. Her life means nothing to me; your acceptance will grant her freedom. If you accept the duel, grab that hook before you and release the lever. She will be lowered to her own freedom."

"Why bring her into the equation, why not challenge me to a straight-forward duel?" Jenni yelled back at him.

"Because I want the card you carry – the card that led you here," he replied calmly.

Jenni knew he meant Slifer, but didn't stop to think how he knew about the card. She could hear footsteps running up the stairs behind her, and so she yelled back. "I accept!" She grabbed the hook and kicked the switch as Joey led the others out onto the landing. Fenris barked as Jenni was pulled up to the girders two stories above.

"Jenni!" Mokuba yelled, as Joey caught Mai and lowered her to the ground. Joey pulled out a knife and quickly cut her free. Seto and Mokuba were staring at Jenni as she swung herself onto the girders above, glaring at the man in the cloak.

"Put your card and two cubes in the box on the beam there," he said, pointing to her left. She saw a box bolted to the beam, and carefully walked over to it. She paused and turned back towards him. "I have put one of my own cards and two cubes into the other box here," he said, pointing to another box. "We will duel across from each other, up here across the girders. Are you ready to duel?" he sneered at her.

Jenni looked down. It had to be a twelve story drop below their arena. She said nothing as she gingerly walked along the beam to her dueling place. The steel was slick with the snow.

"Careful, I wouldn't want you to fall – yet," the man yelled at her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked across at him. She looked down and saw Mokuba and Seto staring up at her, but she said nothing.

"How dare you bring my friend into this," she yelled at the man. "You will pay for it – now! Let's duel!" she screamed, shoving her deck in her duel disk.

End Notes: O.O A duel on cold steel above a huge drop? What's gonna happen!