AN: First of all, I apologize for the long, long wait you've all had to suffer (yes I do suffer from delusions of grandeur from time to time) but first I had a bunch of projects to finish for school, then I had to study for and take my semester finals, then last minute Christmas stuff, then, I'm ashamed to admit, I suffered from writer's block. That means it's been what…2 months or more? Well, thank the person who reviewed recently, as that finally pushed me off my lazy bum when I realized that it wasn't fair to make you wait just because I hadn't bothered figuring out how to do this chappie. So, thank my sister Evil Midget Turtle for allowing me to bat around ideas with her and finally provide the little twist I needed at the end. And for those of you who have read the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony, yes I did kinda steal this idea from him, but I modified it to my own needs so it's not exactly the same. And I'm giving him credit right here so don't give me any grief!
Chapter 10
Silver-Tongued Syllables
Yami's glare shifted to the people currently cowering around the room. On the outside, he showed only anger and determination, which was what frightened those assembled. Inside, however, he was shaking, and his heart was pounding in his chest. The last round had ended poorly for him, and he was still shocked at the display of spite the Collector had shown, culminating in that final frightening moment where he had thought he was going to lose the one he held most dear. But the fear, instead of deterring him, as the Collector doubtlessly intended, had hardened his resolve. By the end of this round, the two of them were going home, together.
"Choose your man, as agreed," he said in a harsh tone to the Collector, denying him the courtesy of even looking in the man's vicinity.
"Why, my friend, I'm surprised," came the reply in confident joviality, "I thought for sure you would have been one to steer clear of sexist assumptions and chauvinistic remarks." The pharaoh's eyes narrowed sharply as a dark-jumpsuited woman, the one from before, stepped forward with deadly grace in response to a beckoning hand and mocking laughter. "Mari, my fatal flower, my pernicious purveyor of peril, you may do the honors."
The woman cocked her head, the movement so small it was barely noticeable. She was silent for a moment, seemingly unaware of the figurative spotlight shining upon her as she coldly calculated her next words. Then she spoke.
"The Challenge will be a test of ingenuity and cleverness, what is commonly referred to as a 'battle of wits' among that rabble with which our guest associates." Her words were demeaning, but devoid of emotion, matter-of-fact, making it all the more insulting. "The game will be one of modification and revisions of reality, done through holograms and carefully worded verbal instructions." She was obviously trying to be obscure and unclear in her description, but from the sound of it, this was to be a game of trickery and semantics, both of which the Collector had proven himself to excel at.
"This pointless display of vocabulary means nothing. Explain the rules in 'layman's terms' so we might get this affair done with. The two of us would like to go home." The Collector smiled at the spirit's interruption, clearly enjoying what he perceived to be the home stretch to victory.
"Very well, I'm a little weary of these meaningless antics as well." Mari stepped back to meld once more into the crowd of onlookers, a smug smile nearly visible on the thin line of her lips. The Collector continued. "We shall play with a holographic representation of a cave. A figure will be placed inside. We each will then take turns entering in a statement to modify the projected reality. You win if he leaves the cave; I win if I manage to…eliminate him. For example; my first move might be a line like 'A ferocious lion enters through the cave entrance.' You would likely counter with something similar to 'The lion, however, is distracted by a fresh carcass in the corner.' Gruesome, to be sure, and something I would rather not see holographically displayed, but an effective disposal of the threat to the poor solid-light man caught in our deadly game. Clear enough? I think it will be easier to understand after a few rounds have passed." His laughing voice and drawling tones carried malice even in so seemingly innocuous words.
"Shall we begin?"
A bright light pierced down from the ceiling near the now retracted hanging lamp that had illuminated the wooden table from before. It diffused into a myriad of colors and highlighted airborne dust motes in rainbow hues before settling into slowly solidifying and ever more recognizable forms. Between the Collector and Yami formed the holographic walls of a dark, dank cave apparently deep inside a mountain. It depicted a wide subterranean room of grey rocks and green moss with only one entrance, only one way out, heading off to Yami's right side. "Now for the piece de resistance…" As was implied by the rules spelled out by the Collector himself, a figure appeared inside the cave near the back wall, ensuring the most work for him to reach the goal of the exit tunnel. And it seemed familiar.
"Since this game can be seen as merely an extended metaphor for your visit here, I found this rather fitting." The Collector chuckled in awful merriment as he watched the holographic figure finish materializing in the form of the true object of their contest, in the likeness of Yugi.
Yami scowled at the transparent attempt to get a rise from him, but said nothing. The unbecoming glee of the Collector faded slightly at his lack of reaction.
"Fine then, I'll start. Opening move." The words must have been some sort of verbal signal to whatever computer ran the hologram machine, for a soft whir began to sound through the room, as if in anticipation of the coming input. The Collector obliged by stating his opening move. "Though at first glance the cave exit seems empty, soon it becomes apparent that there is another occupant, as an enormous dragon emerges from the shadows to charge at his prey."
At his words, the hologram in between the two began to change, matching the scene to what the Collector had said. From the darkness and shadows surrounding the exit to the chamber, a great green, scaly dragon emerged, just as the Collector had stated. Short, muscled legs pushed its ugly, squat body forward, and it looked so comical it might have been one of Pegasus' toons if its eyes didn't glint with hunger or its teeth glisten with what look ominously like blood. It stalked slowly at first, then shattered the silence that had fallen throughout the room with an ear-splitting roar before it charged. Yami watched it run, wondering when it was going to stop and allow him his chance to modify the situation.
"Oh, Pharaoh!" The Collector's singsong calling caught his attention, and he looked up. "You might want to do something fast. This game is played in real time. Did I forget to mention that?" He cackled as Yami's eyes widened in surprise. The spirit looked down quickly and saw the dragon nearly on the holographic representation of his hikari. He didn't have much time to react due to the Collector's treachery. He frantically searched his mind for something to do to stop the attack. If only it was Duel Monsters, then he could spring some trap, a trap like-
"A trap hole appears beneath the dragon to halt its progress!" Unlike the Collector, Yami had shouted his command, desperately trying to stop the charging dragon of solid light. He was rewarded by a giant hole appearing in the ground beneath the hungry beast, and the holographic dragon fell with a frustrated, angry roar into its dark, unseen depths. The mini-Yugi stepped back from the cave wall it had pressed itself against in an attempt to get away. Yami realized he had stepped forward unconsciously, and made himself return to his position and forced now-tense muscles to relax.
"Interesting response, seeing as you now have to get your friend safely around that hole you just created while at the same time dodging my monsters." He smiled, perfectly aware it had been a reflex reaction with little thought at all other than instinct.
Great, Yugi thought, trying to see the playing field from his sitting position, he's already got the Pharaoh on the defensive. This doesn't look good! He watched and listened as the play continued.
"A man-eating plant begins to escape from the lower caverns through the trap hole, reaching for the boy."
"The plant, however catches fire, its attack stopped as it dies a fiery death."
"But the flames catch on the moss of the cave, and the conflagration begins to spread throughout the room."
"Water from an underground river rises up through the hole, extinguishing the fire."
The back and forth exchange reminded Yugi of a picture book he had read as a young child. The first sentence had something happening to a young boy, and the next sentence continued with, "Unfortunately, blah, blah, blah." Then, "Fortunately, something else happened," and "Unfortunately, something bad happened next." Back and forth it went, fortunately and unfortunately, just like it did now.
"The water doesn't stop coming, though, and the cavern begins to flood."
"A friendly fish allows him to ride its back, so he does not drown."
"The water finally begins to drain, beaching and suffocating the fish."
The Collector had reacted this time, instead of initiating an attack, leaving Yami an opening to make his first offensive move. "A bridge forms, allowing him to cross the hole so that he is closer to the exit."
The Collector frowned at his misstep, but recovered quickly while Yugi celebrated the progress. "An earthquake begins to shake the cavern, dropping sharp stalactites down upon his head."
"He manages to escape to a protective overhang of rock."
"But the earthquake begins to shake that loose, as well, bringing it down on him."
"However, it crumbles so that the pieces fall harmlessly to the side."
"A giant crack opens up beneath him, the shaking threatening to drop him in."
"But instead the shaking throws him across the gap to the other side."
"The ground heaves, tipping the earth backwards, and the boy begins sliding back toward the crevice."
"But the crack and the hole fill in with dirt from the heaving, leaving a stable surface."
"Well," the Collector remarked affably, "It seems we are right back where we started. Well played."
"Pharaoh! What are you going do? Everything you do he just blocks and attacks right back!" Yugi cried.
"Don't worry, Yugi. It seems I can stop him as well. I can keep 'you' alive for as long as necessary." Yami smiled at his friend, a look in his eye saying he had figured out something. "That is, along as he doesn't bring out a sphinx."
"What?" Yugi didn't bother hiding his confusion at Yami's statement. Why not a sphinx? Yami merely kept smiling warmly, sending a wave of reassurance over their bond, though the distance between them weakened it.
The Collector's face split wide, and he began once more to laugh. The pharaoh turned, his expression once more stony while the obese man's mirth subsided. "So. No sphinxes, then, hmm?" He was sure he had the game won, now that Yami had stated what he thought it would take to beat him. "Then this is my move: A monstrous sphinx appears, blocking the exit."
"Thank you," Yami replied, now smiling at the Collector.
"What do you mean 'Than-" the Collector stopped when the woman-headed sphinx began to speak, her eyes showing that she addressed the holographic Yugi.
"Poor men have it, rich men don't want it, and if it is eaten, you will die. What is it? Answer correctly and you may live." A tawny tail twitched as she waited for a response.
"The answer is simple," Yami said, "It is the same thing that stands in my way now: Nothing." As he spoke, the sphinx opened her eyes wide in horror, then threw itself upon one of the fallen stalactites. "Now for my move. Yugi was able to walk free of the prison!"
"What! You cheated, Pharaoh! What did you do to my holographic programming!" The Collector demanded, incensed at his loss.
"I did nothing underhanded, you can be sure of that. I simply realized that by going second, I was forced to mainly react instead of initiating anything, rendering me effectively useless, simply a shield. To be able to win, I had to get you to do what I wanted. When I said what I did about the sphinx, it was true; it was simply going to be a stalemate until you summoned it. But once you did, I simply waited. As the game played out in real time, I merely needed to stall until the sphinx's natural love of riddles broke through. Then, since I answered correctly…well, perhaps you aren't familiar with the Greek legend of the sphinxes. It tells how they have such pride in their intellect, they commit suicide if a 'mere human' manages to answer their riddles. As you saw, this one clearly followed the legend, allowing me a clear path to the outside, which you could not contest as it was not your turn. Your overconfidence that you had this won was your downfall."
"Clever," the Collector sneered, while the holograms of the final, deciding battle faded away with the pharaoh victorious.
AN: And thus is finished the chapter I had no ideas for. Stay tuned, I also haved the last installment of the Collector coming up!