This one is a long one! It was originally longer but I cut it into two chapters and gave you all a cliff hanger; apologies now! This chapter is exciting for me because this was the chapter that began this exciting journey with Meg. Lots of references, lots of nerdness, lots of insanity. I hope you enjoy it!
*I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I only own Christine, Meg and Daisuke, my OCs. If you recognize something, I don't own that either. References include 2016 era Dead by Daylight, a Dungeons and Dragons text post, Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, RWBY, Dragon Age and more.*
Meg had been utterly panicked when she returned to the gang alone. Yugi could feel his other-self stiffen because of Christine's absence. The panicked girl was able to say that Christine had been grabbed from behind while on their way back from the store. The gang immediately mobilized as the girl said she had a good idea about where they were taking her.
Meg had begun to slow down even before they reached the building she said was the base of the circle in the city. Yami had noticed and bade Yugi to stop and find out why. The boy listened, stopped, and turned back to Meg.
The girl was beginning to turn a light green. Her hands clenched into fists and he could see they were beginning to shake.
"Meg?" Yugi asked. "Are you okay?"
The girl looked to him and Yugi saw the absolute panic in her eyes. She fought it back for a moment, forcing herself to take a breath, before she spoke.
"I know that we need to get her but..." Meg began in a shaking voice.
"We need to!" Jounouchi interrupted. "If we don't, who knows what will happen to her!"
"I know...!"
"So what's the hold up? She's your best friend, right?! So why aren't you-?!"
"I can't get us in!" Meg finally shrieked.
It was a good thing that the group was in a deserted alley as everyone in a good vicinity would have turned to see what the commotion was. Meg gasped for air as everyone looked to her with wide eyes. A tear streaked down her cheek when she began to speak again. "People like me are not allowed in the circle. If I ever did go in without someone sneaking me in, I had to fill out special paperwork in order to even get in the door." More tears began falling down her cheeks. "I want to help 'stine more than anything but... *hic* I can't get us into the damn building."
Anzu, who had been standing closest to Meg, wrapped her in a hug but Meg didn't return it. Her head had fallen into her hands as she heaved sobs. Yugi chanced a glance to the rest of the gang and saw their sad expressions. His connection to his other self gave a sad hum that told him that the emotion had even spread to him.
They were at a stalemate. His other self's destiny was entwined with Christine's and if she were to actually fall... Who knows what disaster might occur?
There was silence for a moment, nobody knew what to even say in the face of a distraught Meg and the idea that Christine could be lost to them forever. Yugi saw Jounouchi go to speak after another moment of silence.
"We'll bust our way in." He huffed out. "We've managed things like this before, we can do it again. We have to."
Meg looked up from her hands, desperate to keep the tears in check. She leveled Jounouchi with a blank stare as she straightened up but was still encased in Anzu's comforting embrace.
"And how do you plan on getting past all the witches with legit magic?" She asked in her typical deadpan voice. "As much as I would love to see the Pharaoh Mind Crush every person we come across, that wouldn't end well."
Yugi fought off the snigger that tried to escape him at the mental eye roll that his other self gave in response to the words. If he was quiet enough, he could hear the words that the Pharaoh was thinking. 'Of course Meg would know about that whole debacle.' Yugi couldn't hold back the soft snigger that time.
At that moment, a saving grace finally appeared.
"Peters!" A whispered voice snapped from the nearby entryway.
Meg snapped up straight, pulling herself away from Anzu's embrace, and searched for the voice. "Over here, Peters!" Meg turned her head and the gang followed her lead.
Yugi recognized the person that walked out of the shadows as the waiter from the restaurant from their beach trip over a year ago. Daisuke was his name, right? He was dressed differently than how Yugi remembered him, a white baseball t-shirt with jean shorts. His other self gave an almost growl at the sight of him but Yugi held him back when Meg began to speak to him.
"Transfer?" She asked, her head tilting in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
Daisuke kept walking until he was in front of Meg but he wasn't able to reply to the question as Jounouchi hopped into the conversation, literally.
"I remember you!" He hollered. "You were that whack job from the beach!"
Honda gave a nod, remembering him as well, then leaned over to Ryuji to explain. Yugi let the memories come back as well but couldn't dwell in them for long.
"Whack job?" Daisuke deadpanned back before giving a roll of his eyes. "Oh, the things fate has in store for me."
Daisuke turned back to Meg. "Come on. I'm getting you guys in."
"And why would you help us?" Anzu asked before Daisuke was able to turn away. "From what I saw, you and Christine didn't get along."
"And what if he's just going to turn us in to the circle?" Ryuji added on. "How can we trust you?"
Daisuke, surprisingly, said nothing. Yugi saw the rise and fall of his shoulders that was the telltale sign of a sigh then he turned around. He kept his eyes on the gang but be lifted the sleeve on his right arm, jutting it out towards Meg.
Right where his elbow was, a hand shaped bruise popped out of his skin. Yugi stared at it for a moment before his eyes caught the snowflake symbol right where the palm would have been. It was Christine's little mark, the symbol of Iliana.
"No way." Meg breathed. "'stine would actually go through with something like this?"
"Believe me now?" Daisuke huffed, not moving.
Meg spoke for everyone before anyone could reply.
"Lead the way."
"Meg-!" Jounouchi went to huff but Meg leveled him with a glare, effectively shutting him up.
"I believe him. Now, let's go; he's our only way in."
Jounouchi gave one last growl before he went silent. Daisuke took that as his chance to turn back the way he came.
"Keep close." He said, already walking in. "We're going in the back way and I don't want you all getting lost."
There were no arguments as everybody raced after the young man. It was completely silent as they entered the building. The only sounds that permeated the area were their footsteps and the creaks of doors as they walked through them.
What amazed Yugi was that there were some people in the rooms they passed but it looked like they didn't even notice the group was there. The people just stared blankly through them.
"Hey, Meg." Yugi asked. "How come those guys can't see us?"
"You can thank the transfer here." Meg replied. "With his powers, he's almost overshadowing them."
Yugi was confused and Meg knew it. "Ok, think of it like this: Transfer here is overwhelming those guy's senses to the point where they are totally blank." Yugi's alarmed expression made Daisuke chuckle.
"I don't hurt them." His words attempted to soothe Yugi. "The effects only last until I am a few feet away, just enough time to get all of you through."
"Oh..." Yugi breathed in relief. "That's a relief."
Daisuke gave out a sigh, the smile slipping from his face. Yugi felt like that was the question he was asked often; did he ever hurt anybody? He remembered the last time he saw Daisuke, lying in a hospital bed with a broken rib or two. He had been so cocky then but now... it was almost like he was a different person.
Meg then jumped to walk next to Daisuke and, thankfully, talked loud enough for everyone else to hear them.
"So... are the rumors about the crone true?" She asked. "Did 'stine have to drink that horrible potion?"
Daisuke gave a nod.
"She's a trooper; drank the damn thing herself." He replied.
Meg gave a wild shiver and a disgusted noise. "I was asked - well, more ordered - to bring the potion and she recognized me." Daisuke gave a sad chuckle. "I had heard rumors that she..." He looked back to Yugi and the boy saw the glance down to the Millennium Puzzle. He looked back towards where he was walking to continue talking. "It's crazy when you think about it but... I'm alright knowing it's her rather than that crazy bitch."
"Crazy bitch?"
"Right, you don't know much about it; my bad."
Daisuke stopped talking for a moment as he peeked around a corner they were passing to see if anyone was coming by. When the coast was clear, Daisuke kept moving and talking. "Just appeared out of nowhere, claiming she was Iliana. She practically has the crone and higher ups eating out of her hand."
The Pharaoh growled in Yugi's mind but he didn't have time to take over his body because Daisuke continued. "I didn't buy it, not for a second, and I know a couple of other people agree with me. The whole confirmation thing was done behind closed doors so how the hell am I supposed to believe it? So, when I heard that your friend was brought here with that necklace around her neck, something clicked. It was lucky I got picked to bring the potion to her-"
"How is that lucky?" Jounouchi huffed.
Anzu shushed Jounouchi while Meg gave him a dour look. Daisuke seemed to brush it off.
"As I said, she recognized me. And, funny enough, she reacted the same way you guys did. If I hadn't ducked fast enough, she'd have hit me clean over."
That set a smile on Jounouchi's face. "It was also dumb luck that I knew Meg and I think that sent a few gears turning in her head."
"Which is how she thought of the vow." Meg breathed.
Daisuke nodded.
"What is that anyway?" Anzu asked. "The 'vow'?"
"It's a promise." Daisuke answered. "One that must be made willingly on both sides."
"It leaves a physical mark on your body so that you and others around you know of something you need to do." Meg explained. "Transfer's is probably the weirdest one I've ever seen; probably cause 'stine's involved."
Daisuke rolled his eyes at Meg's words.
"Think of it like an unbreakable vow. If I didn't go through with it, I'd be in a world of hurt. You only go through with it if you're absolutely sure they'll follow through."
"What did you promise?" Yugi asked, his voice soft.
Daisuke looked over his shoulder to Yugi again.
"That I'd get you all in."
Daisuke said nothing more, turning back around to keep walking.
It was quiet for minutes as the gang continued to follow Daisuke. Yugi heard the soft thoughts of his other self as they echoed in his head. He was obviously confused but didn't say anything.
When they reached a corner, Daisuke told them to stop then continued alone. Meg managed a peek around the corner. A large warlock was stationed at what looked like a door and Daisuke was approaching him. "Sup."
The man turned his head and Meg shivered at the dour expression he wore.
"Hmm." The warlock replied. "You're late."
Late?
"My bad. Conversation that went on for far too long."
The warlock was less than amused. "How about this? I stay a little longer before the next shift; an extra half hour for me."
The warlock seemed to think about before he nodded.
"Fine. I'll let them know."
Turning away, the warlock walked away, turning down another hall. Daisuke situated himself in front of the door and waited there for a second.
"Ready." He whispered, not moving his head.
Understanding the signal, the gang rushed around the corner to meet up with Daisuke. Taking one last look around, he nodded to them. "This is as far as I can get you but she's inside."
"Thanks, transfer." Meg breathed a sigh of relief.
"No problem. I'll see if I can hold them off while you guys wake her up."
Meg pulled open the door and popped inside while the gang stayed out for a moment. Daisuke must have been able to tell their thoughts by their expressions. "Don't even think about it. I didn't do this to get thanked. I did this as an apology." Yugi, while still confused about his motives, nodded anyway. Daisuke jutted his head to the door. "Go on."
They needed no encouragement.
The gang hopped into the room and Yugi felt his heart drop. Christine was laid out on what looked like an altar. Her already pale skin was white as a sheet; the gang had only ever seen her like that when she was sick. Her breathing was faint but she was alive at least. Meg holding onto her wrist like she was checking her heart rate.
"She's alive." Meg, if given the chance, would've collapsed back into tears from relief.
"But how do we wake her up?" Jounouchi asked.
Meg gathered herself to jump turn around.
"We go into her head."
She'd answered it like it was the most common thing in the world. Jounouchi's expression dropped into a deadpan.
"And how do you plan to accomplish that?"
Meg's smile grew.
"Simple." She hopped over to Christine's forehead and placed her thumb on the skin there.
The room pulsed for a second. The lights didn't flicker but the room seemed to disappear into shadow for a moment. "The potion 'stine had to chug completely disarms the mental defenses, allowing anyone to enter. Christine's may be tough but I doubt they could withstand it. Using the potion's effects, we'll enter and wake her up."
There were nervous glances from one to another but there was nothing to be said. This was their only chance.
Everyone approached and settled a hand on Meg's. "All right. Hang on." The room pulsed once more and everything went dark.
Yugi awoke to someone shaking him. His eyes opened to see his other self, kneeling above him.
"Partner!" His other self-gave a bright smile.
"Wha...?" Yugi managed, his voice hoarse and obviously confused.
"Welcome back to the world of the living." Meg's voice shot in with a tease.
The Pharaoh helped Yugi to sit up and see the rest of the gang gathered around. "You ok?"
"Yeah." Yugi nodded. "But where are we?"
They were obviously not in the altar room where they were with Christine's body. It was a ruined building complex. Trees had destroyed many of them, others had simply fallen due to age. In the distance, a large window was still intact but bricks could faintly be seen inside.
"This can't be the inside of Christine's mind, right?" Ryuji asked.
"Maybe Christine had a fail-safe just in case something happened." Meg answered. "One last layer of defense should the others go down. She did say she redecorated."
"Though that hardly answers where we are." Honda retorted.
"Well... if I had to guess..." Anzu answered while Meg gave Honda a dirty look. "I'd say a building that got swallowed by nature."
"It looks like the Asylum map from Dead by Daylight." Meg joked.
The color drained from Meg's face just as she finished speaking when a screech filled the air. The gang had frozen as well, eyes wide with surprise.
"What the...?" Jounouchi gasped. "What the hell was that?"
Meg's face was still pale but she was adjusting much faster than the others. She glanced around the area once more before she spoke.
"Nurse-chan." Meg said simply, words coming out in a huff. "Oh, Andraste's tits."
"Nurse-chan?" Ryuji repeated. "Who's-"
The screech came again and this time, it was closer.
"We need to move."
Meg crouched and snuck through the rubble. Yugi and the Pharaoh glanced to each other before following after, the rest of the gang on their heels. The teen girl was crouched next to a large generator, one that looked like the ones in the video game Meg and Christine played. "Brilliant. I'm sticking my fingers into a generator in hopes of powering it. What could possibly go wrong?"
"The sarcasm is strong in that statement." The Pharaoh muttered to Yugi as he moved to stand nearby.
Meg heard the jab.
"Ha ha. Very funny, your majesty. Now help me repair this thing."
The Pharaoh shrugged but did as he was told. Yugi followed him and the two had to be careful as they played with the wires. The Pharaoh faintly heard a ding everything the wires began to spark. Not looking away from the generator, Meg spoke again. "We need to power up five of these things. We do that, we get out of here through the large doors. And don't let Nurse-chan catch you. Hide in closets or around corners if you hear her coming. A heartbeat will echo in your ears to let you know. If she hits you, run around in circles to lose her and find one of us, we can heal."
The gang nodded nervously but before they could walk away to search for generators, Meg called out once more. "Oh, yeah... also be careful of where the hooks are. Being hooked, in the sex dungeon as I call it or in general, would not be fun."
"Anything else we should know?" Honda asked, almost nervously.
"Don't die."
"Thanks."
The gang filtered off leaving Meg, the Pharaoh and Yugi all working on the generator. The area was quiet for a moment. Meg, a few seconds later, was muttering numbers.
"And... good!"
The light above the generator flashed on and Meg bolted off. "Stay safe, you two!"
The Pharaoh and Yugi gave each other a look before bolting away. They carefully slid around buildings so that a trail couldn't be followed. When the Pharaoh turned his head around a corner, a familiar gasp hit his ears. He turned but there was no one there, only Yugi giving him a confused expression.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Did you hear that?" The Pharaoh asked quickly. "That gasp."
Yugi shook his head. The Pharaoh was sure he heard it but... The person it belonged to wasn't here, they were inside her head! Still, it was disconcerting.
When it was safe, the two headed off toward the large windowed building and saw a generator inside. They attached themselves to it and worked in silence for a moment before a loud screech echoed and a shout of pain hit their ears. They knew that shout...
"Jounouchi!" Yugi gasped.
Somehow, the two were able to see where Jounouchi had fallen. A bright red outline of the blond's body had hit the ground but it vanished as he was picked up by an unknown being. The Pharaoh made a decision quickly.
"Stay here, I'll go get him."
"But..."
"Trust me, I got it."
Yugi nodded before reattaching himself to the generator. The Pharaoh moved toward a broken window, sliding out it quickly and made his way toward where Jounouchi was downed. There was no sound, a near dead silence. The Pharaoh kept walking, maneuvering around rubble so he was always in the shadow of something.
Suddenly, Jounouchi burst from a bush at full speed. A screech was heard and a blur streaked right past where the Pharaoh was hiding. "Holy Shit." He cursed, mentally blaming Meg and Christine for making him slightly impulsive like this. He backed further into his hiding spot. He wasn't sure if his own heart was beating in his ears but it nearly blocked out every other sound in the area. After a second, it faded into nothing. That must have been the heartbeat that Meg was referring to.
Something tapped his shoulder and the Pharaoh nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to see an unfamiliar face. She had dark skin, glasses and a maroon jacket. With a closer look, the Pharaoh saw that the jacket and her pants were covered in blood. Her bushy black hair was pulled back in a pony-tail and out of her bloodied face. "Who...?" She put a finger to her lips. She was shushing him. The Pharaoh listened but the girl still said nothing. She moved the other way around the rock they were behind before waving him to follow her. He didn't move for a second and the girl waved him again. Was she trying to help? He figured what the heck and followed.
With the Pharaoh on her heels, the girl bolted into the ruins. They were headed straight for where the screeches were going. As they got closer, the heartbeat got louder and louder in his ears. The Pharaoh heard Jounouchi go down once again and suddenly, the girl made him stop. She pointed in the direction of the fallen Jounouchi before she bolted the other way. "What...?" The girl didn't wait for him to finish his question before she bolted toward where a floating being was.
The scary thing was that he recognized it. It was the same being that Christine called the Nurse from that game she and Meg played. She, and the Pharaoh could tell it was a she based on the outfit, wore a white nurse's dress. A white bag hung over her head, black marks almost burned into the fabric to show facial features. Limply in her hand, she was holding a saw that dripped in blood. The girl ran toward the Nurse, seemingly gathering her attention, before she bolted off. The Nurse screeched and shot after her.
The Pharaoh stared at the girl's retreating form for a moment before realizing what she was doing. She led the Nurse away so that he could get to Jounouchi. He quickly shot towards the blond and was happy to see him still moving. He was grumbling under his breath as he moved on his stomach.
"Damn thing..." Jounouchi muttered as he continued to slide on the ground.
The Pharaoh kept trying help him but the blond kept moving. He quickly got annoyed.
"Quit moving, Jounouchi." The Pharaoh snapped quietly.
The blond stopped thankfully and, using the same habit from the generators, the dings echoed in his head as the wounds on Jounouchi vanished. Once Jounouchi was able to stand up, the generator that Yugi had been working on went off. Then another a good distance away. "How many is that?"
"Three."
The two glanced at each other. The screeches were still echoing across the area but they were far away. "Where's Yug?"
"Most likely looking for another generator. I had to leave him to find you."
The blond looked sheepish under the Pharaoh's annoyed glance.
"Sorry. She snuck up on me!"
"You can hear a heartbeat!"
Jounouchi really looked sheepish now. The Pharaoh brushed off his annoyance, beginning to move back into the fray. He hoped to find Yugi soon and keep him safe. The blond followed after and eventually they came to a generator that hadn't been started yet. Yugi nor anybody else had come by this way so the two simply started on it.
The screeches were still far away and neither of them had heard any of their friends fall so they kept at the generator. Was that girl still running distraction? He wondered if she was ok.
When the generator lit up, a scream echoed from a few meters away. It wasn't any of their friends so the Pharaoh assumed it to be the girl.
"What do we do?" Jounouchi asked.
The Pharaoh thought about for a second. She had helped them; it was time to repay the favor.
"I got it. Go find another generator or even one of the doors so that when the last gen pops, you can open it."
Jounouchi nodded and headed off into the brush. The Pharaoh turned and carefully made his way to where he saw the girl fall. She didn't run past him like Jounouchi had done but he saw when the Nurse impaled her shoulder on a large meat hook. The girl gave a blood curdling scream before hanging limply there. It was slightly reminiscent of the videos of cattle that lingered over some websites. The Nurse shot off past the hook, leaving her there as she whimpered in pain.
"Yeowch." Meg's voice appeared from next to him. "That has to hurt."
Meg was crouching next to the Pharaoh, her face a light green.
"Everyone else ok?" The Pharaoh asked.
Meg nodded.
"Honda and Ryuji are on the last gen and Anzu and Yugi are headed to the door. Hopefully they find Jounouchi on the way."
"I did send him that way."
"Good good."
Meg's eyes returned to the hanging girl. Her expression became serious. "I'm going in!"
"What...?"
Meg popped up and ran into the clearing where the girl was hanged.
"How's it hangin', Claudette?" Meg asked cheerily as she pulled her down. "Not a good day, huh?"
The girl, obviously named Claudette, gave a bright smile at the words but still said nothing. "Let's get 'cha patched up. Help me out, Pharaoh." The Pharaoh stepped out from the brush and helped Meg heal the girl.
The screeches were headed back when she stood up straight once again. The last gen also popped and a horn blared across the map. "Doors are powered and Nurse-chan is on our asses. Brilliant."
The girl, Claudette, tugged at one of the hands of both the Pharaoh and Meg and the three bolted across the map. They ducked around trees and foliage until the Pharaoh saw Anzu jumping up and down while shouting at Jounouchi.
"Hurry up!" She cried.
"Working on it!" Jounouchi barked back. "It's being really damn slow!"
Meg made a sound of annoyance and as the three got closer, she let go of Claudette and raced to Jounouchi. She shoved him off the lever and spoke over her shoulder.
"You have to hold it down." She said, yanking down the lever with small sparks coming out of the faulty wiring. "Keep watch you guys."
Nobody argued. All eyes moved to the area in front of the gate. The only sound was the loud clunks and a horn as the door began to open.
The screeches of the Nurse were starting to close in once more.
"I'd appreciate not being sliced, Meg!" Ryuji called quietly.
"It takes a second!"
At the rate it was going, the Pharaoh realized that their hunter was going to catch them before the door opened. What happened next, the Pharaoh didn't expect.
Claudette pulled herself away from the Pharaoh and over to Meg. She gathered Meg's attention and began to mime something. None of the gang understood what was 'said' but Meg did. "Oh no... You don't even know where it is!" Still without a word, Claudette gave a bright, Christine-like, smile and bolted off into the ruins.
"Hey!" Jounouchi called to her. "Where are you going?!"
"Meg?" Anzu's voice wavered in worry.
Meg was silent for a moment and replied just as the door opened.
"She's distracting Nurse-chan then going for the hatch."
"Hatch?" Yugi asked.
Meg glanced back toward where Claudette had run off to. "Meg?" She shook her head and pointed harshly to the door.
"Out." No one moved. "Come on, we only have so much time before she comes back."
The gang hesitated but did race to escape. The arena faded into darkness and the only thing now in their vision was a bright blue door. The Pharaoh couldn't help but think it was made of ice. He glanced around to see that the rest of the gang had made it out.
All except Claudette.
The Pharaoh, concerned, turned to see Meg fiddling with something from the direction they came from. "Come on... come on..." A small screen popped out of the darkness to reveal a sort of scoreboard. Meg tapped a corner and Claudette's back popped up. "All right! Guys, come here!" The gang gathered around her and saw that they were looking at Claudette in real time. She was racing through an area the Pharaoh hadn't seen. She found a large wooden pallet sitting up and just as the Nurse went to slash her, Claudette pulled it down, jostling the killer. "Pallet slam! Wooo!"
Claudette continued to run through the ruins, ducking and weaving around trees to avoid the Nurse shooting towards her, until she came to a metal hatch in the ground. Was that the hatch Meg mentioned? The girl jumped inside, the lid snapped shut and everything went black. "Boo-yah!" Meg cheered, jumping up and down. "We all escaped!"
"Is that a good thing?" Ryuji asked.
"Duh!"
Meg popped away from where the screen was, a bright smile on her face. "GG, Nurse-chan! Sorry, but the Entity is displeased with you!"
"Do I even want to know who the Entity is?" The Pharaoh muttered to Yugi, thankfully, with Meg not hearing.
"I don't think so." Yugi replied. "Let's leave it at that."
The Pharaoh didn't argue.
"What about that girl? Claudette?" Honda asked. "She hasn't come here yet."
"She's fine!" Meg replied in a chirp. "'Stine must have had her be a safety thing just in case something happened in the game. Since she escaped, ol' Claudette is just fine!"
Meg smiled at the gang, hoping it would help calm them down. When it seemed to work, Meg's face became pensive. "Now then..." She hummed, looking towards the large door. "We have to get in there... I think..."
"You think?"
"Hey, I've never been in here before! I'm rolling with common sense. The door is obviously where we want to go."
The gang sighed, making Meg give them dirty looks. "Have I steered you wrong yet? Come on!" Meg began to walk over to the large blue door. With a glance over to the Pharaoh, who nodded, the rest of the group followed after.
Once she reached the door, Meg tried to push it open but it didn't budge. "What the frick? Locked?" She shoved it this time but with the same outcome.
"Something wrong?" The Pharaoh asked.
"Yeah... the door's locked. Surely the potion would have it be open. Why is it shut?"
"Another fail safe?" Anzu asked.
"She did mention yesterday that she had made a few adjustments to her mental defenses but this seems a little too much. I don't know-!" Meg's words cut off in a scream. "What the hell?!"
Black ooze was pooling out from under the door. It bubbled and drooled towards them. The gang backed away, Jounouchi nearly jumping into Honda to get away. Once they were far enough away, which was a good near 20 feet away, the ooze stopped and receded back under the door. Meg watched it go until everything was quiet once more. "'Stine? Is this you? Are you trying to stop us?"
"She knew we were coming, why would she stop us?" Yugi countered.
Meg didn't reply. Her eyes were still locked on the door in front of them.
"Maybe it's another effect of the potion." Ryuji suggested. "To stop outside people from waking her up. It's probably waiting for that crone lady."
"That's a good thought." Meg breathed, nodding her head and turning towards the gang. "Then we need Christine herself to open the door."
"And how do we do that?" Jounouchi asked. "That's why we need to open the door!"
Meg looked to the door again, unsure herself, and the answer became clear.
"Those two indentations."
No one had noticed them before but with everyone looking at them, the obviousness made them grow in size. One imprint was shaped like a sword, the other was an almost circular shaped hole. "We need to find the two things in 'stine's head that open that door."
"Got any clues?"
"Not a single one. Let's go!"
Well that was comforting. The Pharaoh rolled his eyes and followed after Meg when she skipped off away from the door and into the darkness.
It didn't remain dark as even when they entered what looked to be darkness, light was still shining overhead and lighting their way. Nothing was around them so Meg just kept skipping away with the rest of the gang on her heels. The Pharaoh couldn't help but be on edge. What other fail safes did Christine have in her head to protect herself? Why did she have to protect herself like this anyway? Was it after Shadi? Or even Marik? He wished he had some semblance of an answer.
After a few minutes, a flickering light appeared down the way. Meg stopped skipping and quickly walked toward whatever it was. The girl smiled. "Oh! Cool!"
"What is it?" Jounouchi asked, running over as well to see what it was.
Jounouchi stared at the light, his eyes visibly widening. "Wow! It's me!"
The rest of the group raced over at the words and saw flashes of faces and snippets of words. Yugi's face, Grandpa's face, Anzu's face all flashing quickly by.
"What is this?" Ryuji asked almost breathlessly.
"I'm gonna say they're 'stine's memories." Meg answered. "Well, the ones of you guys, I mean."
Yugi stared at it for a minute before recognizing some of the moments being reflected. The popularity contest last year, his duel against Weevil in Duelist Kingdom and hanging out with the gang in school.
"Why are they going by so fast?" Yugi asked.
Meg hummed. She shifted on her hip and brought a hand to her chin in thought.
"I don't know. Maybe it's something to do with the potion? I can't be sure. It's probably confusing as all heck."
"How many things does that potion do anyway?" Anzu asked in response.
"To be honest, I have no idea. Nobody does."
"Then how do we stop it?" Honda asked. "It seems almost impossible."
"Not entirely." Meg countered, a small smile spreading across her lips. "A couple of weeks ago, there was a rumor about someone who was nearly able to get away. Apparently, she had a friend on the inside who tried to make a liquid antidote to it and once drunken, it would remove the effects."
"How did that go?" Anzu asked, worried about the answer.
Meg looked slightly away and the Pharaoh knew it was going to be bad.
"It nearly worked but the potion has a protection backup against potions and that kicked in a couple minutes later. Nearly killed the girl."
That sent the mood spiraling down again. This time, though, it only took Meg a second to turn around to look at them all again. "But I'm sure that this is the best and only way to effectively wake someone up from this. We have to trust that."
Meg turned away from the fast-moving memories and headed back into the darkness. "Let's keep moving." The gang all followed behind her, all wanting to move away from the nervousness of that moment.
As they walked, more memories began to appear along the 'walls'. Yugi always saw Christine pictured there, laughing at something or making a face at whatever was recording her. Yugi also recognized Meg in the images, her arm wrapped around Christine's shoulders in a hug.
They walked another minute or so before Anzu stopped, staring at an image that appeared.
"What is it, Anzu?" Jounouchi asked, stopping to turn back.
Anzu stared for a minute more, ignoring Jounouchi.
"Meg?" Anzu finally said. "Is this you?"
Meg, eyebrow raised, walked over to see what Anzu was talking about. Meg only needed a second before a soft smile took over her face.
"Yep, this is me on the day I met 'stine." Meg replied.
"Really?!"
The boys all raced over to see the memory as well. In it, Meg looked to be around six. Her brown hair was down to her shoulders but there wasn't a ribbon around her neck like her present self. She looked completely defeated and bored seated on a large couch with no one else around. All the adults passed by like she wasn't even there.
"How come you look so upset?" Ryuji asked.
"This was the entrance to the circle back home. I'm not allowed in because..." Meg trailed off since they knew why. "I had to sit out front."
"That's horrible!" Jounouchi growled.
Meg shrugged dismissively.
"You get used to it."
Yugi stared at the image until it began to move like a movie. It was normal speed and Yugi could hear the door inside creak open. Who walked in made his jaw drop.
"Christine?" He breathed.
She was six from the looks of it but completely recognizable. A halo of shoulder length white blonde hair and her icy green eyes were completely identifiable despite the age difference. She was wearing a cute little pink summer dress patterned with flowers. The Pharaoh thought she hated the color pink but she looked comfortable in the color here. Clutching at the hand of an older woman - most likely the woman who raised her - she walked into the room and immediately caught sight of little Meg sitting on the couch.
Yugi could see the gears moving in her head and the smile when she came to an idea; the exact same one she wore in the present. Slipping out of the woman's grasp and successfully sneaking away, she popped down next to Meg with a bright smile.
"Hi!" Christine chirped; her voice slightly squeaky with excitement.
Little Meg didn't reply. She stared back at Christine like she was expecting an annoyed reaction to her presence. Christine was slightly put out at the lack of response but she continued chatting away. "I'm Christine and you are?" Meg still didn't respond and Christine was starting to look nervous. The girl played with her fingers but refused to move away.
"Meghan." Little Meg finally mumbled and Yugi could tell Christine just barely heard it. "But I just go by Meg."
Little Christine's smile was back and she beamed at her new companion.
"How come you aren't going inside? I hear it's something cool today."
Meg seemed nervous to reply. She caved on herself like she wanted to hide.
"I'm not allowed in."
Christine's head tilted in confusion, the smile dropping quickly from her face.
"How come?"
"I'm..." Little Meg seemed to be fumbling over her words now. "I see things. My mom calls me cursed."
A pout crossed Christine's face; she was obviously annoyed at this news. Little Meg barely had a chance to react before the little blonde grabbed her wrist and began to drag her towards the door. "Wait! What are you-!"
Christine didn't heed Meg's complaints and continued to drag her towards the door.
"Dear." A burly man posted outside the door Christine's 'mother' went through stopped the little girls in their tracks. "You can't bring her in."
The Pharaoh recognized the look that crossed Christine's face then. A complete glare. The man froze. There was nothing visible to say what scared him but the shaking of Meg's arm in Christine's grasp increased at whatever feeling was racing through the air. The man's eyes widened further when they flicked away from Christine's face and towards something behind her. The color drained from his face at whatever he was seeing.
"Watch me." Christine hissed back, bringing the guard's eyes back to her.
The man jumped back in fear as Christine continued to drag Meg through the door. Just as the two walked in, the memory vanished. It disappeared into the wall and was gone.
"Woah..." Jounouchi breathed, voice shaking in fright. "That was a heck of a glare."
"Agreed." Honda breathed in reply. "To think she was that scary as a kid."
"'stine was plenty scary." Meg giggled. "That was the first time she did that to get me in." The laughter died then. "She could always get away with it."
Quickly, Meg continued down the path they had been walking on. The gang all looked to each other but no one said anything. Anzu took the initiative.
"What do you mean by that?" Anzu called before racing after her, the boys not far behind to hear the response.
"'stine was the darling child of the circle, their most powerful in years. If she wanted it, she had it." Meg chuckled for a second.
"Surely someone would try to stop her." Ryuji argued.
"The crone would stop her sometimes but 'stine was smart; she'd always find a way around that old bat."
The Pharaoh noticed the wistful expression on Meg's face. Could she be...?
"You almost sound jealous, Meg." He commented.
He expected her to be mad at him but Meg gave another laugh.
"Oh, I was. She had everything I ever wanted: a happy family, the circle as a support... I never had any of that all because I could see something that was never meant to be there."
The watery twinge Meg's voice faded into made it clear that the conversation was over. Nobody argued with her; it was bound to be a tough conversation, especially with everything that has happened to Meg because of her 'curse'. Anzu offered comfort and while it didn't look like Meg wanted it, Yugi and the Pharaoh saw her lean into the embrace.
Another memory appeared on their left side after a second of walking. It was a library based on a passing glance, books stacked high on their shelves. Everyone stopped walking when a little Christine, probably only about nine now, appeared and was pouting at an elderly woman holding a large book. "The crone from home." Meg explained just as Christine spoke in the memory.
"Why won't you let me see it?" She asked petulantly. "I just need two or three pages from it."
The crone wasn't fazed by the annoyed look on Christine's face. She took the book and put it up on a higher shelf. Meg breathed something when she saw the spine of the book but said nothing to explain it.
"It is not something a little girl like you should be reading." The crone chastised. "You may be powerful but you lack control. Move on to something your level."
Christine attempted a glare but the crone was quick to turn on her heel and back out of the aisle. It was another second before Christine huffed and looked back up to the book the crone put away.
"Something doesn't make sense." Meg breathed. "Christine has that book already."
"What?" Jounouchi asked, turning to her.
"I've seen that book in her mom's collection. Why would she need it from the library?"
No one could answer so they turned their attention back to the memory. Little Christine stared at the book for a moment longer before glancing down the aisles.
"Too narrow for Marshmallow." She muttered. "And I'm too short to jump for it..."
She pouted until a bright smile spread across her face. Turning away from the book, Christine bolted down the aisle only stopping when she reached another book. She flipped through the pages until she reached the one she wanted. The gang could faintly hear her reading the passage and attempting to understand it quickly. When she got a passing understanding, she snapped the book closed, put it back on the shelf, then backed further away.
"Is she trying to go for a running start?" Honda asked. "But she's still too short."
Nobody could reply as that was when Christine bolted down the aisle towards the book. Just as she jumped, a faint image of Marshmallow the giant killer snowman appeared, almost sticking out of the bookshelf itself, and with a clawed hand, thrust her higher up into the air. She flew high enough that she could pull the book off the shelf and carefully land with it in her arms.
"10 outta 10 for the landing." Meg applauded.
Christine waited a second like she was expecting some retribution but nothing came. Her smile grew even more as she skipped out of the library, book in hand.
The memory didn't end when she left, it shifted to little Christine reading the large book and forcing herself to understand it. The echoes of thoughts showed that it was complicated and she was constantly frustrated at the complex terms. She didn't give up though. The next scenes melded in and out so fast the Pharaoh and the rest of the gang couldn't see them. She was putting something together that much he could tell; anything more was fuzzy.
When the memory calmed once more, Christine was holding what looked like an amulet and skipping down a path in a park. Meg gasped at the sight. "No way..." Meg's hand covered her mouth and the beginnings of tears pricked at her eyes. What was that thing Christine was holding?
Little Christine turned the corner and stopped short. Meg was seated on a bench, completely curled into a ball. Surrounding her... they looked to be men but the dried blood on their faces and the almost rotting of their skin showed that these guys were dead. This is what Meg saw every day; the amulet must have allowed Christine to see them. They were pestering the little Meg, asking her to do them favors against the people that had schemed them in life. Meg wanted nothing to do with it and her kept her head down like she was trying not to acknowledge them. Christine huffed at the sight before stomping over to her friend.
"Hey!" She huffed at the spirits. "Scram!"
The spirits seemed frightened by the sudden intrusion; her suddenly being able to see them must have scared them. They shot away, fading out of existence. Once satisfied, Christine gave a nod of her head and popped over to Meg. "Ready?"
Meg's eyes were wide, not ever leaving her friend's face.
"How..." Meg was gasping for words. "How did you—"
"Oh." Christine held up her new amulet. "I came across it. No biggie."
Meg looked like she wanted more information but Christine only giggled and began to pull Meg off into the park. The memory faded then and present Meg gave a soft sob.
"She went through all that... just to get a stupid amulet to see what I saw..." Meg gave a hiccup. "Stupid 'stine..."
"Who are you callin' stupid?!" A slightly familiar voice cried out.
Everyone turned and their eyes widened. Six-year-old Christine, pink summer dress and all, was stomping towards them. "You're the one who's stupid!"
"Am not!" Meg immediately argued petulantly, wiping tears away.
"Are so!"
"Am not!"
"Are so!"
Meg looked to want to retort again, anger plain on her face, but the Pharaoh sighed.
"Meg, you're fighting with a six-year-old." The Pharaoh held Meg by the shoulder, physically holding her back. "I don't think you'll win."
Meg gave a sigh in return, pulling back to cross her arms and give a small glare to her tiny friend. Christine took it as a victory and gave a beaming smile.
The little girl then raced over to the Pharaoh and took his free hand, holding it in a tight grip. When he looked down, he saw that the victorious smile was gone and she just looked afraid now. Christine looked back up at him and he could see the fear whirling in her eyes. The Pharaoh picked her up, settling her on his hip. Her arms wrapped around his neck to help situate her weight. She was now eye level with the rest of the gang but kept her face hidden in his shoulder.
"It's hard to believe that this is Christine." Honda commented.
"Yeah." Jounouchi agreed. "She's too freaking bubbly."
Christine snapped her head out of the Pharaoh's shoulder then, glare plain on her face.
"What do you mean by that?" She huffed.
Jounouchi and Honda jumped away in fright. Anzu and Ryuji shook their heads in annoyance.
"So..." Ryuji began slowly. "Christine?"
The little girl turned to him. "Has something happened to you? Why do you look like you're six?" The girl shook her head.
"I'm only a memory. This is how I remember myself as a kid."
"Then where's the real you?" Anzu asked quickly.
Christine shifted back into the Pharaoh's shoulder for a moment. She gathered her courage before speaking again.
"In the big door."
"Big door?"
"The big blue one?" Jounouchi was quick to ask clarification and was happy to receive a nod.
"I've tried to go in and wake up but..." The little girl shook. "The ooze keeps me away."
What ooze she was mentioning needed no explanation.
"What happened to Marshmallow?" Meg asked. "He's normally first on the scene... unless the potion got him too."
Christine tightened her grip around the Pharaoh's neck. She was scared to reply.
"He's melted."
"Melted?!"
Christine nodded.
"I'm not normally awake but when I am, Marshmallow is with me. But when I woke up this time, he was a big puddle. I've just been walking around for what seems like forever."
She looked up to the Pharaoh. "I'm scared, Yami." Tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks at any moment. The Pharaoh, wanting to comfort her, wrapped his free arm around the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace. She shook with soft sobs but he didn't feel any of the tears hit his skin.
"We're trying to wake you up, Christine." Yugi finally spoke. "Maybe you can help us?"
Little Christine pulled away from the Pharaoh and stared at Yugi. "We need to find the two things that open the big blue door. Do you know where any of them are?" The girl thought for a moment, wiping some of her tears away. It took a minute but the girl's face finally brightened.
"I don't know where or what the second thing is but I know where to find the sword!"
"Awesome!" Jounouchi cheered. "Can you take us there?"
Christine smiled, asked the Pharaoh to put her down, then reached for Yugi's hand to drag him down the corridor. The boy had to lean down so that he didn't hurt himself from being pulled.
"She's so freakin cute!" Anzu cooed.
"Sure she is." Meg deadpanned. "But demanding. I can't remember if she was like that before."
Anzu rolled her eyes at the reaction before taking off after Yugi. Meg gave a sigh. "I just hope this works."
The rest of the group raced after Yugi, Anzu and Christine, hoping to keep up with them. The little girl kept pulling Yugi through different twists and turns until they hit a large metal door. She finally stopped tugging at Yugi and moved to the door. Christine pushed at it but it didn't move an inch. The little girl huffed and turned back around, this time going towards Jounouchi.
"Can you kick the door open?" She asked him. "I think it's jammed."
Jounouchi beamed in pride. He stepped towards the door.
"Don't worry!" He exclaimed. "I've got this, no problem."
Christine, not staying where she was, quickly moved to hide behind the Pharaoh's leg. He glanced down at her then to Yugi. The boy was looking to his friend as well, a smile trying to fight its way up to his lips.
"Shut it, Yugi." The Pharaoh huffed at his partner.
"But it's so cute!" Yugi giggled back.
The Pharaoh huffed again but did nothing to try and pull the little version of his girlfriend away. "Though that does make me think." The Pharaoh glanced once more to Yugi. "Why is she clinging to you? At this age, she knew Meg, not you, so..."
The Pharaoh immediately suspected that it was due to what Christine told him over a year ago. The thing about she, and including Meg now, was from another world where he and the rest of his friends were only the creations of some man's head. She must have already known about him and knew he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't tell Yugi now, he had no proof to back up his claim.
It could also be...
"Perhaps she has some of her present memories still." The Pharaoh suggested. "Maybe, deep down, she remembers who we are."
"Maybe." Yugi nodded his head to the thought, turning back to Jounouchi who was getting ready to kick the door down.
There was a tug at the Pharaoh's pants but he wasn't surprised. The Pharaoh looked back down to see Christine looking up at him now. Her expression was blank but her eyes were questioning him; asking why he didn't tell Yugi the truth. Perhaps she really did have some of her memories. He shook his head. Not yet. Christine reluctantly nodded, understanding for now.
"Yah!" Jounouchi shouted as he kicked the door and it came open with a loud BANG!
The metal door swung on its hinges but thankfully didn't close again. "Awright!"
"Brute force does help in some situations; who knew?" Meg teased.
"Shut it!"
With a huff, Jounouchi turned to enter the room. The rest of the gang went to follow but Meg stopped short.
"'stine?"
The little girl was still where she was standing before. Her hands behind her back and a soft smile on her face. "Aren't you coming with us?" Christine shook her head.
"I can't go any further; my memory won't let me. I have to stay here."
"Then where will you go?" Yugi asked.
"I'll go sit with Marshmallow. It's a deserted corner of my mind so even if the crone gets in, I'll be safe there."
Christine gave another bright smile. "And when you get me up, I can send Marshmallow to wreck some people up!"
The rest of the gang laughed but Meg still seemed nervous. Christine noticed it and her smile became more comforting. "Don't worry, Meggie. I'll be just fine!" The name made Meg smile and she finally nodded.
With a chirp of goodbye, Christine ran off into the darkness and faded away. Nobody spoke for a long moment. They let the moment marinate before turning back and entering the room where Christine had led them.
It was a circular room, stone cobbled floor with a large podium in the center. Five stone doors surrounded it and no one knew what they were for.
"Weird." Ryuji breathed.
"Agreed." Anzu nodded her head.
Meg walked up to the podium and immediately gave a cackle, doubling over herself in her laughter.
"What?" Jounouchi asked.
Meg only continued to cackle. He looked to Yugi for an explanation.
"It's a puzzle room?" That was the only thing Yugi had that made some sort of sense.
"Yeah, a Crossword Puzzle room!" Meg cackled. "Typical 'stine!"
"How is that typical?" The Pharaoh asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"She and her dad would do these all the time back home. 'Stine's pretty good at them."
Meg looked to the podium again. On the piece of paper were five horizontal lines and one vertical. At some point in each of the horizontal lines, it crossed the vertical one. "If my guess is right, if we answer all five of these horizontal clues, we get the vertical answer and the sword."
"Neat!" Anzu cheered.
"Go for it!" Jounouchi cheered as well.
Just as he finished, the door they entered slammed shut on its own and the gang heard it lock. Honda, who was standing the closest, stepped over and tugged on the handle. The door didn't move an inch so Honda desperately tried to pry it open.
"This thing ain't budging!" He growled.
"Then what do we do?" Ryuji asked.
"The only thing we can do." Yugi simply said, turning his gaze to Meg. "We solve the puzzle."
Meg understood and looked back to the paper situated on the podium. A pencil had appeared next to it. Meg picked it up and glanced through the clues until one caught her eye.
"Ok... Four across: 'Meg's Dragon Age husband'..." While no one else understood at all, Meg's head tilted. "Dragon Age? Well, that's not so confusing. Alistair, duh."
She wrote it on the paper and when she lifted her pencil after the last letter, one of the large stone doors gave a loud thud as it suddenly hit the ground. Across from the podium, what looked to be the shining outline of a sword began to appear out of the dark of the room.
"Do the next one!" Honda cried. "It's working!"
"Right! One across: 'King under the Mountain'." Silence. "Oh geez."
Meg began to tap the given pencil. "Ummmmmm... I don't know this one."
"What?!" Jounouchi screeched. "Why not?!"
"This is 'stine's head! I can't know everything!"
She hummed, tapping the pencil even harder on the podium. The crackling of stone broke the silence. One of the stone doors was beginning to open.
"Meg!" Anzu shrieked.
"I still don't know the answer!"
The stone door continued to open and the Pharaoh began to see... something beyond the opening. It wasn't more of the same ooze, it was something different, more animal-like. The little shapes moved with the grace of a liquid but this water was filled with some kind of oil. It made the little animals slop towards you. And when the oil hit the ground, the sizzle of something rose up from it.
"It's a failsafe!" The Pharaoh called to his friends. "If you don't answer the clue in a certain amount of time, you die."
"Brilliant, 'stine, just what I need! A time limit!"
Meg groaned again. "A king under a mountain. What in Andraste's name could that mean?"
No one else knew what it meant but the Pharaoh had a sudden inkling. Though, not without a hint. Reflected on the opening stone - just a flash of an image - he saw an image... no, a cover of a book he had seen Christine clutching tightly when Grandpa bought her a copy. She'd forced him to read it religiously like it was some kind of bible. The name hit him then.
"Meg, I know-!"
"What? I'm working here!"
The Pharaoh groaned in annoyance. She really was Christine's friend, she was just as headstrong sometimes.
"Thorin!"
"Huh?" Meg turned around to look at him, obviously confused. "Who?" The Pharaoh groaned again.
"Thorin! King under the Mountain!"
It took Meg a second to understand. She ran it through her head for a second before a loud 'Oooooooh!' escaped her mouth and she quickly turned to write it down.
Just as she finished writing, the stone door slammed shut once and fell backwards. The outline of the sword across the room was becoming brighter and clearer. They were on the right track.
"How did you know that?" Yugi asked loud enough for everyone to hear.
The Pharaoh gave his partner a deadpan look. Yugi only raised an eyebrow in response.
"She made me read the book."
Yugi understood immediately, remembering the moment as well in the back of his mind. He nodded gravely before turning back to Meg.
Meg had returned to the crossword puzzle and was glancing through the three remaining clues.
"Ok…." Meg commented aloud. "What's up with this hint?"
"What's the hint?" Ryuji asked.
"All it says is 'The Real Ice Queen.'"
Meg stood there for a minute, tapping the pencil incessantly on the podium. Did she not know this one as well? The crackling of the stone door started again.
"Meg! I'd really not like to get used to this!" Jounouchi huffed at her.
Meg ignored the blond, tapping on the podium a little more. She stared at the hint and constantly flicked her eyes to the empty squares the answer would fill. It was only five letters; it shouldn't be this hard! A light bulb then lights up in Meg's head. Ice queen?
"Weiss!"
"Who?" Honda asked, obviously confused.
"It's a joke! Ice Queen was a nickname of a character in a show 'stine and I watched."
Nobody understood what she was talking about but nobody argued since the stone slammed closed and fell to the ground. The sword grew brighter once more.
Two more.
Meg looked to the third hint and raised an eyebrow. "One of the Egyptian gods?"
"Horus?" Anzu suggested.
"Too short."
"Sekhmet?" The Pharaoh suggested as well.
"Still too short. The answer's eight letters."
The group hummed. The Pharaoh rummaged through every god he could remember but couldn't name one that had eight letters in its name.
The stone door began to crumble open.
"Meg!" Yugi cried.
"Working on it!"
It should be easy! It was one of the... It was a question. Christine hated these hints in puzzles because they were always misleading. It was some kind of joke or pun.
A joke...
It hit. "Lady Gaga!"
"Huh?" The Pharaoh asked, he'd never heard of a god named that.
Meg cackled as she wrote down the singer's name. "Meg?"
"It's an inside joke." Meg replied, continuing to cackle.
The gang looked to each other and sighed. Meg was definitely strange. But her strangeness was helping them solve this puzzle. They weren't going to complain. "Ok, last hint. 5 across-" The hint made Meg's heart drop. Oh no...
'The Pharaoh's true name.'
"What?!" Meg shrieked in disbelief.
"What is it?" Jounouchi called to her.
Meg couldn't say anything. If she said the hint aloud, it would give away the fact that she and 'stine weren't from this world. What would they say to that? She kept quiet and kept her eyes on the hint.
'What do I do?' Meg thought. ''Stine doesn't remember his name and since I got here, neither do I. How on earth can I solve this?!'
The door continued to open while Meg was beginning to panic. She could hear the cries of the gang behind her but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't answer the hint!
There was a giggle in Meg's ear then. Meg looked up from the paper to look around. What the... There was no one around; the closest was Anzu but she was facing away from her. A scratching sound hit her ears and Meg turned around to see something writing on the paper.
'I'm kidding, Meggie.' The invisible pencil wrote. 'I'm not that mean.'
Huh? The pencil continued to write, crossing out the original hint, writing a new one and added more boxes onto the answer. 'This one should be a little easier, eh?' Meg looked to the new hint.
'My true name.'
Meg blinked. What in the heck just happened?
The shouts of the gang hit Meg's ears once more and she realized that she was wasting time. 'Stine's true name, huh? She remembered last night when Christine showed her the memory of who she was. Her thoughts also crossed to who her new friend was. The possibility of finding out where her curse comes from hitting her again. Meg heard her own voice coming out of the other girl's mouth and saying the name. Meg wrote it down just as the Pharaoh shouted her name.
'Iliana.'
There was a growl and Meg turned just in time to see something jump in front of her. There was a slicing sound then a thump on the ground. One of the oily animals had jumped out of the door and had shot towards Meg as she was finishing the puzzle. By how close it was to her, Meg guessed that she had finished just in time. But who sliced it in half? The gang was staring at someone next to her and Meg smiled as she recognized the silver armor. "Took you long enough, Sword of Eldath."
The woman had blonde hair pulled back into a tight braid that fell down her back. She had blue eyes and a teasing smile as she looked back to Meg. Silver armor protected her body and the sword, which Meg guessed was the one that saved her, was being placed back in its sheath.
"Took you long enough to finish that puzzle, Trickster." The woman retorted.
"Hah!"
The rest of the gang was completely confused. What was going on?
"Uh... Meg?" Anzu began shakily. "Who is that?"
"This!" Meg waved her arms dramatically towards the woman. "Is the answer to the Crossword Puzzle. Neyla Brighton, Sword of Eldath, and 'stine's Dungeons and Dragon's character."
The woman gave a chuckle at the dramatic introduction. The Pharaoh could hear bits of Christine's voice in the woman's - Neyla's - voice but it couldn't be any more different.
"I'm still confused." Jounouchi breathed.
"Me too." Honda agreed.
Meg huffed in annoyance. Neyla placed a hand on Meg's shoulder and the girl settled. Neyla turned back to the gang to speak.
"I am a creation of Christine's mind." Neyla explained. "Through her, I have my identity and powers as a Blade Mage. When she was in her original home, Vanadis Zesse - Meg's trickster persona - and I went on many adventures."
Meg snickered and the Pharaoh recognized it as the same laugh Christine would do when she was teasing: the 'Mutley' laugh.
"I got us out of a lot of trouble." She laughed.
"You also got us into a lot of trouble."
Meg didn't appear apologetic but she did look mad. She crossed her arms, petulantly.
"Hardly. Remember the dragon?"
"Yes but you're the one who pissed the cultists off in the first place."
"Yeah...? But I managed to get rid of said cultists."
Neyla rolled her eyes to look at the gang. A less than amused expression on her face.
"She tricked the dragon into eating the cultists instead of her."
Meg snickered again, apparently prideful in her accomplishment.
"Woah!" All the boys cried.
"That's crazy, Meg!" Yugi cheered.
The praise immediately went to Meg's head as she beamed and gave a lighthearted salute. Neyla only seemed slightly annoyed but she was still smiling.
The Pharaoh's eyes moved to the sword strapped to her hip. The one they had been revealing on the opposite side of the room was gone and his mind shifted to little Christine mentioning the 'woman with the sword'.
"Neyla?" He called and the Blade Mage turned her gaze to him. "Your sword... is it the one to open Christine's mind?"
Neyla unsheathed it. The shape of it was the same as the lit outline during the puzzle. It flickered in the light of the room.
"It is." Neyla nodded her head. "I was chosen by Christine to be a guardian of her inner mind during what you all know as 'Battle City'."
"Though what happened?" Ryuji jumped in to ask. "How come you weren't at the door itself to protect it?"
"The potion. It has thrown Christine's mind into disarray. The trial against the killer you overcame must have been the only defense truly left intact, though perhaps weakened. I was sealed within this puzzle and I'm sure that many of the other defenses that she has made after expelling the trespasser have been taken down or adjusted to fit that witch's needs."
'Trespasser'? The Pharaoh wasn't sure what to make of that. The only one he knew who could enter minds like they were was Shadi. It seems weird that Christine would have a large number of traps just for Shadi. Neyla didn't explain who the trespasser was and no one asked her. "Since you have freed me from the potion's hold, you only need one more object to enter Christine's inner mind and release her."
"Do you know what it is?"
Neyla nodded, though it seemed hesitant.
"I must have seen it but I cannot say what exactly it is; I have only seen its wielder."
She said nothing more. She actually seemed nervous to mention anything more. Nobody could argue with what she gave; it was something at least.
"Do you know where we can find them?" The Pharaoh asked, quickly getting off the topic.
Neyla turned away, pointing to a newly revealed door. It clicked and swung open.
"The guardian is through there." Neyla turned back to face the group. "I do not know what effect the potion has taken on them so be on your guard."
Neyla sheathed her sword once more, walked past them and towards the door the gang walked in. With a gentle push, the door opened up.
"Where are you going?" Anzu asked.
"I am returning to the door. My presence will be needed there when you come with the second item."
Saying nothing more, Neyla continued out the door. It closed behind her and vanished into a dark mist. The gang was left in a dark hall with only a light to guide them down the corridor.
"Well that was cheery." Jounouchi huffed.
"She's like that." Meg explained. "'Stine's put that girl through some serious shit."
Meg began to skip down the corridor. The gang quickly following on her heels since there was nowhere else to go.
"What do you mean by that?" Yugi asked.
"'Stine made the character. She created her backstory, her personality, everything about her. I even think she's planning on killing her in some crazy heroic way so that she can come back and have a normal life."
"Dang." Honda breathed. "Christine's really put a lot of thought into that."
"Duh. You have to. To make a convincing character, you need to make them have pros and cons, virtues and faults. I'm sure Kazuki Takahashi did the same for you guys."
"Who?" Yugi asked and Meg stopped dead in her tracks.
Yeah! Another one down!
Bakura: How's the rest of the story going?
Good! Except... the Yu-Gi-Oh website no longer has subtitles on the website to help me write the episodes...
Bakura: R.I.P
And then my computer keeps switching into French so typing has been weird.
Bakura: Double R.I.P
It's been an exciting couple of days.
See you all in the next chapter