Thank you very much to Rowena Raven and Yugi and Mai for reviewing my last chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Kazuki Takahashi does.
Key
#Blah# Someone thinking, or talking to someone else through a mind link i.e. Yugi to Yami.
"Blah"Someone talking on the other side of a phone conversation, etc.
Warning: This story contains bad language, so if you get offended easily please don't read.
Episode 14 – Right on Time
Joey groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head, blinded by coloured light imprints on his eyes. He blinked for a few minutes, trying to get them to go away, before slowly standing up and gawking at his surroundings.
He was on what appeared to be a giant game board; what game it was, he couldn't tell, but he didn't have much time to ponder on this as a loud, booming voice echoed over his head.
"Welcome, Mr Wheeler, to the Game." Joey looked up to see a figure floating above him; he was big, with long flowing hair and a cloak billowing out behind him. He hovered down towards him, causing Joey to back away with caution.
"What do you want?" Joey said quickly, backing further still.
"I wouldn't take another step if I were you." The figure said without contempt. Joey looked behind him and saw that he was right on the edge of the board, and below him there was…nothing. It wasn't even blackness; it was indescribable. He looked further over the edge to try and get a better look, but didn't get very far when-
"RROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!" Joey screamed and fell over backwards, banging his head on the ground.
"Aw, fuck it!" Joey growled, sitting up.
"Language, Mr Wheeler."
"What was that?" Joey asked, standing up and moving closer to the figure for fear of being eaten.
"It was a monster…a monster hungry for human flesh." Joey looked at him with wide eyes, fear pulsating through his veins. "Which brings us back to the point. This, Mr Wheeler, is the Game."
"Yeah, I figured…" Joey squinted up at the man's huge face, trying to discern some of his features; but not much was visible in the dim light of this large room. "Who are you?"
"My name is Kamu-Kaji, and I am the Game Master."
"Uh-huh. So, that still doesn't explain why the fuck I'm here." Though the figure's face was shadow by darkness, it was clear he was smiling with amusement. "Hey, this ain't funny! Now WHY AM I HERE!"
"Patience, Mr Wheeler; all will become clear…" The man moved aside to reveal a large die sitting behind him; it was your regular die, with six sides and different amounts of dots on each side. Joey looked up at him with confusion.
"So, what the hell am I supposed to do? Why am I even here?"
"Ah, all will become clear. Why you are here, that is…but the risks of these games are things that you will have to find out yourself." Kamu-Kaji turned around and picked up the die easily, before hurling it across the board and waiting for it to be still. When it was, it had landed on a five; and before Joey knew what was going on, he felt himself being jerked along the board by an invisible force tugging at the front of his shirt.
"ARGH!" Joey yelled as the force suddenly stopped, causing him to fall head over heels onto the ground with a crash. "Ow…" Joey definitely wasn't liking this. He got up on his knees and looked down to see a number imprinted on the ground beneath him: 5. "Hey, Kaju-Kami, or whatever your name is…" Joey turned around and looked at him questioningly.
"It's Kamu-Kaji."
"Yeah, whatever… What the hell is going on here!"
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" He let out an amused chuckle, before walking in front of him. "This is a game." Joey remained nonplussed. "Stand and see for yourself." Joey did as he was told and to his horror he saw all sorts of strange things around him. And from the things he saw, he guessed it was…
"S-snakes and ladders?" Joey looked around and could now see the room was made up of a giant board, with REAL snakes and REAL ladders; they appeared to be standing up straight, but upon closer inspection they were lying flat, as if they were lifeless. "What kind of sick world is this?"
"Look at the square you are standing on…" Joey looked down just in time to see a picture that resembled a Duel Monster, before he saw no more…
"Yami…? Yami?" Yugi opened his eyes blearily and looked around, panic starting to seize his mind. "Help…" Tears began to swell up in his eyes as he desperately tried to find out where he was. He couldn't see much; the light was dim, and his eyes were watering too much for him to see anything anyway.
He felt his way around and found a corner, and as soon as he did he backed himself into it and sat down, drawing his legs up to his chest and crying into his knees. He had no idea where he was; he didn't even think the others knew where he was.
#Yami…please say something…# Silence. #Yami, please say something to me!# But there came no answer. Yugi sobbed loudly before lying down on the floor, the feeling of true loneliness grasping at his heart. He held the Puzzle in his hands, the only thing that could keep him safe. He stared at it for a moment, before leaning forward and placing a small kiss on the surface. #I love you, Yami…# Yugi closed his eyes and cried silently as he fell into a fitful sleep, Yami never leaving his thoughts.
"Come on, we have to find Yugi!" Yami shouted, walking away from the group.
"Wait!" Ryou shouted, running up and grabbing Yami's arm. "We don't even know where to begin looking! We can't split up!" Yami stopped and turned, but instead of greeting Ryou with a growl or even a frown, he had a look of the deepest sorrow and hurt on his face; he gasped and fell to his knees, tears spilling down his face.
"Oh God…" Seto muttered, turning around and sighing. He hated all of this mushy stuff.
"Have you no sympathy, Seto?" Ryou said angrily, before turning his attention back to Yami. "Hey, don't worry…we'll find him." Bakura and Ryou knelt by his sides and hugged him tightly, whispering words of comfort in his ears.
"Oh please, I thought you were supposed to be a PHARAOH, not this wimpy, worthless, weak-"
"Shut the FUCK up, Seto. We came here because we are trying to find Joey, because we had SYMPATHY for you! Now why can't you do the same? You're not the only one who's lost somebody they love!" Ryou spat at him, angry. "I always knew you were ignorant, Seto, but now would be a really good time for you to stop."
"Well, fine. Yami can cry all he wants, but you don't see me crying, do you? At least you know Yugi is SOMEWHERE near here; I don't have a clue where Joey is." Ryou sighed and looked guiltily at the ground; he knew Seto was right. Malik had said that they would be with Yugi, but he never said much about Joey.
"I'm sorry…" Yami whispered. They watched as he stood up and walked unsteadily away, leaning on the wall with his hand as he went. "We should go." He pushed past Seto without apparently acknowledging his existence, and continued on only his senses as he hopefully drew closer to Yugi's location.
#Yugi…I hope you're safe…# Yami held the Puzzle tightly in his hand, afraid that if he let go it somehow meant that something bad would happen to Yugi. #Please don't give up…#
Malik growled with annoyance as he watched Marik being tied up onto a wall, arms and legs spread-eagled as his head hung uselessly forward. A spotlight was shining on him, and the rest of the room was hidden in darkness.
"I thought we had an agreement, Pegasus." Malik said angrily, turning to face the man standing behind him. Pegasus moved forward and chuckled, placing a hand on Malik's shoulder.
"We did, Malik. But, I was not entirely satisfied with your performance…" Malik pushed Pegasus' hand off his shoulder before backing away, looking at him with hatred.
"You said you would let him go if I did what you said! You've broken your promise!"
"Not…entirely. I did say that if you did something I didn't like, something would happen to your precious Marik…"
"You've done worse to him than this… And what did I do?"
"Huh." Pegasus smirked before turning on his heel and walking out, ignoring Malik's question.
"Tell me, Pegasus!" Malik shouted after him, feeling betrayed. He let out a cry of frustration as the door closed. Why wouldn't Pegasus tell him? He knew trying to talk to Yugi and the others was a bad idea, but he couldn't stand being treated like a puppet anymore. If only they knew…if only they knew how sorry he was…
"What? Where am I? What's happening now!" Joey said, completely baffled as the space around him was filled with colour and light. "WHAT'S GOING ON!" The walls of the room were made out of bare stone, and on these walls were brightly coloured pictures of various duel monsters, all executing some kind of attack on another monster.
"What have I gotta do? Hey, Kamu-Kaji guy! You there!"
"Yes." Joey gasped as he appeared right in front of him, landing on the middle of a lighted platform. "You recognise the layout of the board I'm standing on?" Joey walked forward, curious to see what he was talking about. In front of him, there was a table set out with Duel Monster equipment; mats, dice, coins, everything they would need.
"But why don't we just use Seto's Duel Disks? Wouldn't that be easier?"
"The rules set out for /this/ particular duel is to use the board provided."
"Fine. So, is there really any point in doing this? Are there any stakes?"
"Yes." Kamu-Kaji stood aside and revealed behind him something that made Joey yell with horror; there he saw, tied to the wall, was Marik; his head was leaning forward onto his chest, and appeared to be unconscious.
"MARIK! MARIK, YOU IN THERE!" But he didn't respond.
"He cannot hear you." Joey turned to Kamu-Kaji, his heart beating fast with anticipation.
"So…what will happen to him if I- if I lose?" He asked.
"He will die."
"WHAT! Oh, this is crazy, man…nuts…" Joey became disconcerted as he sat down at the stool that appeared in front of him, learning by the minute that it was probably better not to question anything. "Who…well/what/ am I duelling, then?" Joey felt ice plunging into his stomach as he watched Kamu-Kaji sit down opposite him, his breath catching in his throat. "Oh no…"
"You'll be duelling with me." Joey squeaked as he proceeded to take his deck out of his pocket, placing it with a shaking hand on the mat.
"This is nuts…this is nuts…" He whispered to himself as he watched Kamu-Kaji take his deck and shuffle it, at the same time passing his own deck to Joey. He obediently shuffled it before passing it back, taking his own deck and putting it down again.
"And so…let the duel begin." They shook hands, and drew their cards from the deck.
#Well this is it…I'm done for…#
Luff: And so we have the end of yet another chapter! Was that good, or was it crud? You tell me! I want opinions! Please R&R, and hopefully I'll see you next time! Bye!