And here we go, ch7! Please note that some [most] of the cards in this story probably do not exist... I know a few do [Orichalcos, Koumori Dragon] but I also know that the way they're used in this story is probably not how they're meant to be!

BIG WARNING: This is where the rating is meant for. Very dark, mature themes in this chapter; please don't read if you'll be offended. Mentions of rape, torture, etc. Also drinking. And language. Be careful.

On with the story...

One drew his first card. 'Well, what do you know. I play the Orichalcos!'

The now-familiar green ring encircled the four duellists, and the circular symbol appeared on the heads of both One and Two.

'Yeah, yeah, what a surprise,' Raven yawned. 'Shakin' in my boots here.'

'Shut up, Raven,' One snarled. He set one facedown card and played a monster in facedown position. 'Your turn.'

Two drew his card, and grinned. 'I play Flaming Zombie in attack position, and activate the spell card Burning Embers. It boosts the attack power of all fire monsters by five hundred points, and reduces the attack power of all water monsters by the same.'

His Zombie's attack points rose—now sixteen hundred—but so did those of Raven's dragon. Hers only rose to twelve hundred.

'Lucky for you, we can't attack straight away,' he said. 'I end my turn.'

'Fine by me,' Raven said, drawing a card. 'I sacrifice my Koumori Dragon to summon Dragon of the Castle.' The magnificent red dragon rose from the shattered pieces of her first dragon, roaring as its attack points rose to two thousand one hundred. 'Dragon of the Castle, attack his Flaming Zombie!'

'Not so fast,' Two called. 'You've activated my trap card, Flames of Redemption!'

'They really like fire, don't they?' Valon commented.

Ignoring him, Two continued, 'Flames of Redemption allows me to trade attack and defence points of one of my monsters with one of yours.'

Seto's stomach flipped. Why hadn't she seen that coming?

Valon began laughing. 'Sorry, mate, but nice try; I activate my trap card Shutdown, which negates any and all trap cards played before it.'

'Shit,' Two said.

'Shit is right. Destroy the Zombie!'

The flame-torn carcass exploded under a ball of fire.

Two groaned in pain as his life points dropped, the magic of the Orichalcos making itself felt.

'Told you it'd be easy,' she commented.

Valon drew his next card. 'You were right. Alright, I play Robot Assassin in defence mode and activate my Rise of the Machines. This allows me to sacrifice two mechanical monsters in order to summon one from my deck.' He rifled through his cards, grinning as he found the one he was looking for. Quickly reshuffling his deck, he slid it back into the slot. 'I summon my Dark Mechanic Monstrosity!'

A large black and grey robot in roughly human form rose in front of Valon. It held a rocket-launcher in one hand and a wrench in the other.

'Unfortunately, I can't attack straight away,' Valon said. 'Your turn. Better make it good, or it'll be your last.'

Seto had to admit that they were good duellists. They worked well together despite their differently-themed decks. Neither of them seemed fazed by the dark magic surrounding them; then again, he supposed, they had been clearing the area for a while now. And it wasn't like Raven would lose her soul even if they did lose.

What did they have to fear?

'I don't think they know what a good turn is, Valon,' Raven said languidly. 'This isn't a duel; it's what toddlers do between naptimes.'

'They say pride always comes before a fall,' One growled. 'Maybe you need a reminding.'

'Of what?' Raven said.

Two started laughing. 'You'll soon find out.'

'Oh, shut up,' Valon said. 'Make your move already.'

He drew his card, smiling. 'Looks like we're in luck, Jonno.'

'Jonno?' Raven whispered. She started to pale.

Raven, paling? This was new. A pit of worry began to gnaw at the inside of Seto's belly.

'Raven, just ignore them,' Valon said.

'She can't ignore us,' Jonno said. He lowered the hood of his cloak, revealing a square jaw that held two dark brown eyes and a thick nose.

'What's going on?' Tea called.

Two chuckled. 'You'll see in a few seconds. First, some explanation. Ever heard of a card called Memories Chain?'

'Of course,' Yugi said. 'Until a three-card chain is completed, it remains on the field, and limits opponents to half the number of trap, magic, and monster cards.'

'That's in the normal game. Under the power of the Orichalcos, things get much more literal,' Jonno snickered. 'Care to explain, Chaz?'

Raven began shaking.

'Just ignore them, Raven, dammit,' Valon said, turning to her. 'They can't fucking do anything here, you're safe!'

Chaz shrugged. He lowered his hood as well; unlike Jonno, he had a rounded chin and green eyes, but his nose was crooked to the left. 'True, she's safe from us. But she can't save herself from her own memories. Under Orichalcos, Memories Chain becomes more of a problem. Especially for the skank.'

'SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

'Oh, you hurt its feelings,' Jonno remarked. 'No matter, she'll be hurting herself soon enough. You see, Memories Chain forces all duellists to remember one episode in their lives that all of them shared—but each of them will only reveal one part of the linked memory chain. Until the three parts of the memory are remembered—and showed to all—opponents are manacled. They can still play… if they can reach their cards.'

Raven and Valon shouted as their arms were dragged out to the side, as if they were being crucified. Thick chains formed around their wrists. They rose off the ground, hovering in the air.

'I get to go first,' Chaz sniggered. 'Damn, I've been waiting for this for too long. You oughta remember this pretty well, bitch.'

Raven began shaking her head. 'No, no, no, no—'

'Raven, tune it out, tune it out!' Valon shouted. 'Look at me. Look at Valon, come on girl!'

'She can't hear you, Valon,' Jonno said. 'She knows what memory I've chosen.'

'STOP IT!' Raven screamed.

The fear and pain in her voice was enough to make Seto feel sick to his stomach.

'What the hell is going on?' Yugi yelled.

Chaz laughed. 'You'll see—right now!'

Raven began screaming.

'Raven, it's only a memory, it can't hurt you!' Valon howled. 'It's alright, it's alright!'

The centre of the field shimmered and merged into a black portal. For a moment it sat silent, but then—

'Whoa-hey, nice tits, shorty.'

'Shove it up your ass.' Raven's voice, a few years younger, but still instantly recognisable.

'Bet you'd love to!'

'Go fuck yourself.'

'Rather fuck you, sweet thing.'

The image faded into view. A nondescript corridor lined with plain doors filled the area. The voices' owners arrived instantly after.

Raven, dressed in a uniform of loose grey track pants, a white shirt and a grey jacket, strode down the centre of the aisle. Her hair was a little shorter and still straight black, and she only had one teardrop tattoo. Despite the loose shirt her chest easily stood out.

Seto's heart began pounding. That must be the detention centre.

Chaz and Jonno's faces clearly stood out in the blur of faceless boys lining the corridor. They didn't call out; they only watched, smirking.

Raven made her way down the corridor. She eventually reached a door, and made to enter it, but paused. A note was attached to the window in the door.

Mathematics C is being held in C10 for today only. Late arrivals will not be permitted entry, as per standard centre rules. Non-attendance will be punished.

Raven swore and began running down the corridor. Behind her, a faceless boy moved into view and pulled the sheet of paper off the door, laughing, before slowly following her.

They watched as Raven came back into view, panting slightly as she skidded around the corner. She sprinted towards the door marked C10.

'NO!' the real Raven screamed.

'Oh, but we're just getting to the good part,' Jonno snickered.

The companions watched on in horror as the memory played out. As Raven skidded to a stop at the door, Jonno sprang from across the corridor and tackled her through the now-open door. It slammed shut. Another piece of paper appeared on the door:

C10 is unavailable for classes today due to maintenance. Do not disturb the workmen.

Inside the room Raven was beaten into submission and was forced to kneel, her arms pinned by two faceless goons. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

'What the fuck do you want?' she spat.

Chaz moved forwards. He and Jonno stood in front of Raven, four or five buckets, and another six boys.

'I would have thought it was fairly obvious,' Chaz said.

'You can't do shit, fuckwit. Unless you want your dick removed, that is.'

'We're not that stupid, whore,' Jonno cut in. 'No, we're more interested in a few other things you have to offer.'

Two of the boys encircling Raven moved forwards, and Seto shouted in anger as they squeezed her chest.

Raven lashed out, biting one of the boys on their face. He fell back.

'Squeeze your own, bastard!' she shouted.

Jonno slapped her across the face. 'Bad mistake, Raven.'

Chaz laughed. 'Guess what's in the buckets?'

'I don't know, your masculinity? Oh wait, that's right, you have none.'

'Guess again,' Jonno snarled. 'Five week's worth of jizz.'

Joey swore.

So did Raven.

The present Raven collapsed into tears. 'No, no, no—'

'And guess what we're gonna do with it,' Chaz said.

Memory-Raven spat at him. 'Shove it up your ass.'

'We considered shoving it up yours,' Jonno said. 'Then we thought, no, that's a waste. Since you're such a slut you probably have a taste for this stuff.'

'So you get to drink two full buckets,' Chaz said.

'And the rest you get to swim in,' Jonno finished. 'Open up, whore.'

Raven glared and clamped her mouth shut.

He sighed. 'Figured that would happen. Chaz, you want the honours?'

'Oh, you know I do,' Chaz said eagerly. 'Listen up, bitch, you got a choice: you can either open your mouth on your own, we can force it open ourselves, or—my personal choice—we can hurt you til you scream, and then we'll just keep it open.'

Raven started bucking against the boys pinning her, but the remaining four boys jumped in, holding her immobile.

'I'll take that as the third option is a go,' Chaz snickered. 'Oh, look here! C10 is the manufacturing classroom. What would suit better, Jonno—pliers, clamps, or a chisel?'

'Pliers, I think,' Jonno said. He picked them up and handed them to Chaz. 'Guys, get rid of that jacket and shirt. Oh… don't forget the bra, either.'

Raven began bucking wildly as the memory faded out.

Chaz and Jonno hi-fived each other. 'Best thing the system ever did to us was send you to the centre,' Jonno laughed.

'What the hell kind of centre was that?' Yugi choked, disgusted.

'Cairo City Boy's Juvenile Detention Centre,' Valon said softly.

'But Raven's a—'

'Raven was a special case,' he said. 'I'll explain later.'

'Your turn, Valon,' Chaz said. 'Remember what happened next?'

The manacles binding Valon's wrists disappeared, letting him drop back to the ground. He rubbed his wrists. 'Yeah, I do,' he said softly. He glanced up at Raven, who was still sobbing. 'Raven… god, girl, I'm so sorry.'

The area began to shimmer again.

This time it was Valon who was walking down the corridor. Unlike the previous memory, however, he was alone in the corridor.

Fucking hell, why'd they have to stick that crazy bitch in my room? His thoughts echoed for all to hear. He shook his head. Sure, she's a girl. A pretty girl, at that. But come on—look at her record! What's stopping her knocking me off?

'Move it, fucker,' someone snarled, shoving him against the wall.

Valon shrugged it off and kept walking. So much love. Thanks Chaz, thanks Jonno, so kind of you to turn the whole fucking centre against me.

Suddenly voices began echoing from around the corner.

'Whoa, yeah!'

'That's the way, bitch!'

Valon looked up. Shit, what's happening now?

Someone ricocheted around the corner, stumbling into the wall and falling to their knees. They scrambled to their feet. Valon took a quick breath.

Shit.

Raven was covered head to toe in white goo. Her shirt was askew and only one sleeve was on; her jacket had been roughly tied around her waist. She was sobbing loudly and retching.

Seto felt his breakfast rising.

'Hey, are you—'

She knocked against him, shoving him against the wall again, before sprinting away down the corridor, a trail of vomit following her. Valon put his hand to his chest where she'd hit him. When he drew it away, thin white strings followed his fingers.

He looked up after her. Fucking damn, I'm gonna regret this.

Valon began jogging down after her. Her sobs faded until they couldn't be heard. Eventually, he reached a room that had a thick metal door with a keycard lock.

From around his neck he took out a small card, swiped it, and opened the door.

'Uh… Raven?' he called, cautiously entering the room. 'You alright?'

He looked to the back of the room, where another door led to the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar. From inside, a running shower could be heard. Valon slowly walked to the door and knocked on it. 'Are you in there?'

She didn't reply, and he knocked again. 'Ah, Raven? Are you alright?'

He twisted the knob and pushed it open.

'Holy mother of—'

Raven was slumped against the wall under the running showerhead, wearing only her shirt and a pair of shorts. Her left arm had a long, deep gash from elbow to wrist. On the wall behind her, written in blood, was a message.

I'm sleeping. Don't wake me up.

'Shit…' Valon ran towards her, punching a red button on the wall. 'Raven, are you still awake? Raven!'

The memory faded.

Valon looked down. 'That's two parts remembered, asshole.'

'True, but you need the third to get her back in the game,' Chaz said. 'And from the looks of things, she's out for the rest of this duel.'

The companions looked to Raven.

She hung limply from the manacles, eyes wide open, staring a hole into the ground. Tears dripped from her eyes. She didn't blink them away.

'Raven,' Tea whispered. 'Good god.'

'And now you're well and truly fucked,' Jonno said. He drew his card. 'One on two? Hope you enjoy losing your soul.'

'Guess she doesn't remember what comes next.'

'Or maybe she does, but just doesn't have the courage to show it to you.'

'Either way,' Chaz said, 'She's not going to be able to help you now.'

Seto had never felt as helpless as he did now. He wanted nothing more than to save Raven from her own memories, from the two monsters torturing her… from herself. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch as Chaz and Jonno laughed at Raven's motionless body.

I hope you weren't too offended by what's going on; I apologise if you were, but I did warn you!

Chapter Eight will be up shortly; 7&8 were originally one chapter, but it was too long, so I split them. Should be up later this evening [by Aus standards]. Reviews are loved!