Ranko: I noticed that a few people were asking about what happened with Malik at the end of the last chapter. Let me just say, that there is a bonus chapter at the end of Ready or Not that explains all of that so I suggest you read it! It was a gift for Sozan-Uzumaki who so generously makes the cover pages for The Shadow Game series.
Yami: The bonus chapter Ranko is talking about is chapter 17 of Ready or Not.
Yuugi: Without further ado, it is time to answer reviews.
CrimsonStrawberry17: I guess that you're right, but I wouldn't call them stupid ;) just not very smart at times. I mean, they've been through a lot of crap and they are tired, so yeah. Also, Mai still has the number 2 on her side because the last few chapter (actually, all of them) has been the span of about a day, so its still 2. All will be revealed soon ;) Thanks and please continue to review!
IlluminatedWord: Welcome, we're all mad here! Poor Yuugi and poor Anzu too! Why did you have to be attacked by my favorite cat? There will be more tendershipping a promise you that! You are correct, Ryou is connected to Akefia in some way, which will be explained. Everyone is just so lonely! Thank you and please continue to review!
SincerelyChristina: Its all good, that kind of thing happens to me all the time. It is not weird that bronzeshipping is one of your favorite couples, I love Malik and Marik together! They are just too cute; its too bad there is not more of it. Thank you and please continue to review!
Great: I don't think that he is becoming insane, there is a reason for what is happening to him which will be explained this chapter. Please continue to review!
lilpopsplash: You always make me feel so loved!
Cascade00: Not all of their past is revealed yet, so you might want to hold onto your seat because this is going to be a wild ride! There will be more juicy info coming up. And yes, Yuugi and Yami did have past life together (chapter 8). Please continue to review!
hikari no senshi17: Actually, the past life thing was my own original idea. You're reviews always make me smile :)
Zeladious: You are very close (to what happened in Malik and Marik's past). But I ask that you please read chapter 17 of Ready or Not so you can understand it better :) thank you. Also, more will be revealed this chapter. Please continue to review!
ak: No! Spoiler alert! :)
yugioh fan: Unfortunately, I cannot add Dartz in here.
LobaKarina15: Oh, thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it so much. But you know that it was Suguroku that Yami met so long ago, right? Please continue to review!
Tyrant Dragon Knight: Yeah, you can hug me! I love hugs! Thank you so much!
raindropdew: You've reviewed, haven't you? Or is my memory just that bad? Oh well, thank you so much!
Dinogirl: Welcome back, I hope that you had a fun trip! Maybe the Shadow Men can be saved, maybe not; you'll just have to read and find out ;) I'm evil like that. Thank you, you make me feel so loved.
Cheshirecat23The: You're back! I'm so glad to receive a review from you again and I am really sorry that you can't get into your account, bummer :( I understand what you mean, my feelings for Yami really teeter back and forth, but I just can't help but love him. A lot of people have used a lot of different adjectives to describe me, never epicness though. Thank you and please continue to review!
Yuugi: Ranko has some really exciting news for you guys at the end of the chapter, so stick around till the end to find out!
Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing…you guys know this.
Ranko: Enjoy!
-/-
Malik sat on top of Marik, his palms pressing down on the Shadow Man's muscular throat. Malik was breathing heavily and was staring at Marik with an almost crazed look in his eyes. "Tell me, Marik, who am I?" he asked again.
Marik stared up at Malik with a touch of sadness in his eyes that made Malik want to scream; how dare he belittle him. "Nahum," Marik began.
Malik shook his head quickly. "Why the hell do you keep calling me that? I am not Nahum! My name is Malik, damn it!" Spit flew from his mouth. He wanted Marik to be angry with him and torture him like he did the last two Games; that was familiar, that he could handle, but not…this. This kindness and patience.
"Alright…Malik," Marik said with a sign of defeat. "You know that all Shadow Men were once human before they were born as we are now." Malik nodded wordlessly and Marik continued. Marik lifted his hand and cupped Malik's cheek. "You…you are so familiar to me; you always have been. I've seen your face before, in a different time at a different place. And I know now that you are here, that you hold the spirit of someone I loved very much in my past life. I was forced to watch this person be tortured and then killed before my eyes…" Marik had tears in his eyes. "Nahum."
Malik shook his head. "No, I am not this person from your past life; that's impossible!"
Marik continued to stay calm. "Haven't you been wondering why you have been having those strange visions? Hearing those voices that are so familiar but you know you have never heard them before?"
Malik finally lifted his hands from Marik's throat. "No…"
Marik lifted himself up and leaned back on his elbows. "Malik, you were once Nahum, I know that you were. Nahum died after he was tortured by a group of bandits that burned down our village. They forced me to watch while it all happened."
Malik covered his eyes with his hands and began to shake even more violently. "N-no…"
Marik removed Malik's hands from his face and made the smaller boy look at him. "Malik, there is something else that you need to know…"
"No!" Malik screamed. He got off of Marik's lap and ran. And ran…and ran.
Elsewhere ~
Yuugi and his group of friends had traveled over to the arcade and were currently inside, wondering around. Yuugi and Mai had noticed that the arcade was how it used to be when they were kids; there was nothing new about it and there were the classic little machines that Yuugi remembered spending all his pocket change—or all of his parents' pocket change—on.
As Yuugi wondered around in excitement—he was glad that he had found something familiar in this haunted park—his other friends seemed hesitant to let their guard down.
"Do you think we should try some of this stuff?" Bakura asked. Anzu shivered and held her broken arm closer to her; Yuugi and everyone else knew why. She was afraid for the same thing that happened with the Cheshire Cat to happen again.
"I guess we have to," Anzu said slowly. "In case there is a coin in one of them; what better place to hide one, right? Just stay back from them…and if anything goes on by itself, run."
Everyone nodded and began to explore around the arcade to look for small gold coins.
Yuugi ventured a little further down, near the back of the arcade. There were some things that he didn't want to touch that he knew would probably make great traps. After what happened at the mine, he wasn't taking any chances.
Yuugi saw a shabby wooden box with dark glass. There was a sign above it that read: HAVE THE GYPSY READ YOUR FUTURE ON HER CRYSTAL BALL! ONLY 10 CENTS!
Below there was a sticker above a small slot that said: RECEIVE PREDICTION HERE.
Yuugi couldn't remember if he had ever tried this as a kid or not. He shrugged and slipped the dime in the coin slot.
He heard the small dime clunk in the innards of the machine. A faint buzzing followed and then a mechanical ticking. The glass brightened, illuminated by two light bulbs that he didn't notice before.
The lights shined above the gypsy woman who was maybe two feet tall and had a strange sadness in her eyes. The machine began to move like clockwork. Her strange colored eyes opened and closed. The mouth moved the same way; it was like she was mumbling to herself.
The little gypsy wore a bright colored dress and there was a silky cloth wrapped around her head, where her lanky black hair fell to her shoulders. Her hands were positioned over a crystal ball. He noticed that her nails were painted black and her hands were tiny. Whoever created this was definitely an excellent artist. Her features were just right and she almost looked real.
A strange feeling came over Yuugi. It was a squeezing in his chest. The automaton looked so familiar but he knew that was impossible. It was just a gimmick; nothing more. But he also couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor thing; trapped in that box…
The gypsy's hands began to move up and down, around the crystal ball. Her eyes rolled and moved back at forth.
Her lower lip moved again and Yuugi noticed white painted teeth.
Yuugi couldn't get over how familiar this automaton looked. There was something about the plastic face, a face frozen forever to be sad.
The glass eyes rolled again and stared straight at Yuugi. The machine's eyes matched his own amethyst colored eyes.
Yuugi knew.
He knew for sure then but he refused to accept it. It was too bizarre, too impossible, too unlikely. But what other possible truth could there be? He internally shook his head and slammed that idea in that back of his mind, far away from thought.
There was a soft clicking as the card popped out at the bottom. He reached for it reflexively, not really giving it much thought and turned the card over to read it.
MY DARLING YUUGI
Yuugi felt himself beginning to faint as the simple words swam in his eyes. He couldn't seem to control his body; it was trembling so horribly. It felt like his stomach was doing flips. He couldn't feel his legs and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground.
He heard the pounding of footsteps as his friends rushed towards him. He felt Mai's arms around him and he leaned into his cousin.
He heard his friends ask him the typical questions. "Are you alright?" "What happened?" "Did that machine do something to you?"
Yuugi ignored the questions and stared up at the gypsy-fortune telling box. The lights were still on and he could see the gypsy's shadow against the glass.
He knew that automaton looked familiar. There was no one else with eyes exactly like Yuugi's…
"It's my mother," Yuugi whispered; it was really just a breath. "Mai, its mama…its my mother." Mai sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at Yuugi as if she were saying to him, "Don't lie to me."
He felt someone put a hand on his should and telling him that he needed some water. Yuugi slapped that person's hand away and stood up so quickly that the room began to spin around him.
"No!" he cried. "Don't humor me!" He stood defensively in front of the wooden box. "That's my mother in there—the Shadow Men did that to her. Oh God!" Yuugi covered his face with his hands as he began to cry. "I thought that both of my parents were dead but this…this is much worse."
Mai stood up to join her cousin, trying to get him to calm down. Then she caught sight of the gypsy woman in the glass and saw her bright amethyst eyes. Mai's own eyes widened. "Oh my, God…" she said breathlessly. "Its my aunt."
Another card popped out.
HELLO MAI, MY DEAR.
Mai shook her head in disbelief. "There's no way."
Another click.
PLEASE HELP ME.
Mai took the card and gaped; she passed it around and let everyone else see what was written on the small piece of paper. Everyone looked at the box now, a little more convinced.
"See! She's trapped in there and she wants out!" Yuugi cried. Mai put an arm around her cousin as he began to shake again and she made soothing shushing noises.
Yuugi looked over Mai's shoulder at the gypsy trapped behind the glass. He had always thought the Shadow Men would eat his parents; he remembered the hunger in their eyes. But whatever they had done with their bodies, he knew that his mother's soul was here.
He squirmed out of Mai's hold and went closer to the box. "What happened to papa?"
The gypsy's hands moved up and down and her eyes moved side to side; a card popped out.
YOUR FATHER IS NOT HERE.
Yuugi furrowed his eyebrows together. "Where is he?"
HE WAS KILLED BY THE SHADOW MEN.
Yuugi gasped as fresh tears sprung in his eyes; he quickly covered his mouth with his hand to keep from sobbing.
There was a click as another card popped out.
THEY SPARED MY LIFE BUT THEY TRAPPED ME HERE…
The room on the card ran out and another followed it immediately.
AS PUNISHIMENT.
As Yuugi read these cards, blurred from the tears in his eyes, he realized something. Yami had said that this Shadow Park had been created ten years ago for a special purpose. He finally put two and two together; ten years ago was when his parents were taken away by the Shadow Men.
"They killed my father and they trapped by mother here so she could never die. This is punishment," Yuugi said just above a whisper. "They trapped her in this box the same way that my parents trapped them in a closet."
Honda gulped and Mai's nostrils flared.
Another card popped out and Mai reached for it this time.
LOOK IN THE BLACK CABINET.
"There," Seto pointed out behind them. Everyone turned and saw a shiny black machine with a wide, darkened oval window. It looked rather new and there was a sign above it, just like the gypsy machine, that read: SPEAK TO THE SPIRITS. ASK ANY YES OR NO QUESTION. 10 CENTS.
Yuugi knew this kind of game. The window lit up and a plastic skull nodded or shook its head.
Seto stepped up with a dime in his hand and slipped it in the slot.
The glass brightened. There wasn't a skull inside, but a head with closed eyes. The head was illuminated from below with a strange blue light. As soon as the window lightened, Anzu screamed and Bakura looked away. Mai squeezed Yuugi's arm tightly and Seto looked very green. Honda leaned his head against a far wall, not wanting to look.
Inside the cabinet was the head of Soren.
"Oh God," Yuugi said. He walked closer to the machine and leaned his hands against the glass. The poor boy; he never wanted to be a part of this whole mess. He never wanted to be controlled by Yami. He didn't ask for this. Why him?
It felt like ice water had been dumped over Yuugi's head.
"Ryou," Yuugi whispered quietly. "If Ryou—what if Ryou…?"
Bakura shook Yuugi by the shoulders. "Yuugi, calm down."
"What if we find Ryou…like that?" he asked, pointed towards Soren's head.
Before Bakura could say anything, there was a click as another card was dispersed from the gypsy-fortune telling machine. Mai took it out quickly and flipped it over; it read:
LOOK IN THE QUEEN'S CHOPPING BLOCK
"That doesn't sound good," Honda said.
"Do you think it is about Ryou?" Anzu asked before Bakura could.
"Or a gold coin?" Seto added.
Soren's bodiless head slowly bobbed up and down. Anzu quickly shielded her eyes. "Please, make that thing stop; it is so disturbing."
"I think that is our answer," Mai said, indicating to the nodding head.
"Yeah, but is it about Ryou or the coin?" Bakura asked impatiently.
Anzu shivered. "I don't care, let's just get out of here."
"No," Yuugi said softly. "We can't leave her, we can't leave my mother," Yuugi said, slowly moving back towards the gypsy box. He shook his head. "No, we can't go anywhere." He leaned his forehead against the glass. "There has to be some way I can help her."
"Yuugi," Mai said gently, putting a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "There is nothing we can—" Yuugi shrugged Mai's hand off and didn't look up from the glass. Mai sighed and her arms dropped to her side lifelessly. "Okay, what are you going to do to help her?"
Yuugi didn't know. If he could, he would just stay here with her forever. He didn't want to leave her alone, all by herself in this scary place again. She had been alone for ten years with no company; just wishing and waiting to die in peace but never getting that satisfaction to join her husband.
Yuugi knew that she would rather be dead than we like this forever. But how do you kill something that isn't alive, only trapped?
Yuugi remembered how his mother used to comfort him when he got scared as a child. He wished he could do that now for her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" he whispered against the glass.
His mother and father had taken his place; they had given themselves to the Shadow Men to save him and they had both paid the price. His father was dead and his mother was trapped here. But now, Yuugi could do nothing to help something that could not be fixed.
He stepped away from the glass and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see those glass eyes frozen in eternal sadness. "We'll go to the Queen's Chopping Block."
Mai nodded and led Yuugi out, a comforting arm around his shoulder. He couldn't believe he was walking away from his mother. Yuugi felt tears sting his eyes. He looked over his shoulder and saw the box still illuminated.
"I—I'm coming back," Yuugi choked out. "I promise; and when I do, I'll help you."
He could have sworn that he saw the painted lips on the gypsy turn upwards in a smile.
As Yuugi and the rest of his friends left, another card popped out of the slot.
GOOD LUCK, MY DARLING.
The quickest way to the Queen's Chopping Block is through the fun house that was right by the arcade. The simple wooden sign WE'RE ALL MAD HERE was illuminated by multicolored lights under it.
They entered through the double mirrored doors. When they entered they were surrounded by trick mirrors. It was a maze in this place but it was lit up by the little fairy lights and the designs that glowed on the mirrors.
There were also the black lights that lit up Seto's white jacket and Bakura's white hair. Yuugi saw Mai's teeth perfectly when she talked; her teeth were so perfectly white that they couldn't help but catch the black light.
The designs on the mirrors changed from pixies and flowers to broken hearts and fake blood dried on to the mirrors. The maze of mirrors changed into dark stoned-wall corridor with unsteady floorboards. There were displays ever few feet; it was like a museum and their displays.
There was a sign that Yuugi remembered seeing earlier that day when they had ended up here. It read: Any children turn back now!
In the displays were different kinds of torture scenes. The wax figures were set up as either the victims or the torturers. There was every kind of device to burn, cut, or maim and Yuugi hated to even describe it.
"God, I hate this," Anzu muttered, keeping her eyes downward as they began to walk down the corridor. "Why did your mom tell us to come here, Yuugi? It's so creepy and disgusting."
Mai suddenly stopped and leaned against the closest wall. She looked down at the ground and was breathing heavily, sweat rolling down her temples; she had a hand at her side and she was mumbling something intelligible.
Yuugi quickly went over to his cousin. "Mai, are you alright?"
Mai nodded. "Yeah, just give me a minute," she said, rubbing her side as if she had a cramp.
"What are you mumbling?" Yuugi asked.
Mai sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. "It's this line from a kung fu movie I watched as a little girl; I watched it with the nanny since my parents were always gone. The line is, 'I am my only master.'"
"I am my only master," Yuugi repeated, testing how the words felt when he said it. He liked that. The Shadow Men may be the game masters of this world but they could not control her. "Is it helping?" he asked.
Mai nodded again. "Yeah, it always does help calm me down."
Yuugi could not even picture Mai being scared. She was always so strong and level-headed. When Yuugi or anyone else would have a breakdown, she would always stay stable and help that person until they felt better. The idea of Mai being just as weak and vulnerable and afraid…he couldn't imagine it.
Or maybe she was just that good of an actress and hid her true feelings that well.
When Mai had gotten her breathing under control and calmed down, they continued down the corridor. Yuugi had a strange feeling about this place and it wasn't just the different means of torture. There was something that was wrong; the atmosphere was different.
They had to check ever wax figure, staring into their faces, deep into their eyes. After finding Yuugi's mom and Soren's head in the arcade, they needed to know if the soul of another person they knew was trapped here.
None of the eyes looked like Ryou's. They did not have that same shine; the same glow. Bakura eagerly went from display to display, ignoring the torture scene and staring into the wax figures' eyes for a good fifteen seconds each and then walked away disappointed before hurriedly going to the next display.
He felt someone tap his shoulder and he turned around and saw Seto staring wide eyed at a certain display a little further up. He didn't look disgusted, it was more along the lines of borderline shock.
"Yuugi…" Seto said; he coughed clearing his throat that was dry and raspy. He pointed and Yuugi followed his finger. "White."
Yuugi saw what he meant.
There was a pile of white on a round, wooden table. Above it, suspended by a rusty chain, was a huge wooden disk with bloody iron spikes. It was just a pool of white.
But there was something inside the fine material.
The white was lying on the table, encasing a human body. The figure's face was turned away from Yuugi, but he saw the tiny, barefooted feet that were as pale as snow—just as the rest of the person's skin. And he recognized the silky white hair that was currently a tangled mess on the person's head.
Yuugi was frozen in place.
This was all happening so fast and so quickly that Yuugi was not prepared for it.
"You can die in this world but you do not die, you simply move on to another realm. It's quite strange really. Usually you move world to world at random, but I made sure that Ryou would be taken care of."
"So, he's still alive somewhere?"
"Yes, if you can win the Game that is."
Yuugi remembered Yami saying that to him in the first Game. He had always known that they were looking for Ryou, no matter how different Ryou may be now. He knew that Ryou was still alive and that he would find him. But now he was face to face with the thought and he couldn't cope with it.
He didn't want to go and look, he didn't want to know the truth. He glanced at the others; they had noticed and they were also paralyzed, unprepared and shocked. Even Bakura seemed a little lost.
No matter how much the voice in his head tried to deny this face, he knew that that figure was not just a normal wax figure.
The huge disk swung on its chain above the table.
Why weren't his legs moving?
As Yuugi was having this internal battle in his head, Bakura had seemed to get his bearings and had found the motivation in his mind to move forward.
He had not noticed that Bakura had started moving until he was close enough to touch the figure lying on the wooden table.
The log swung, creaking.
Bakura reached for the figure's shoulder.
Yuugi had not realized he had taken so many steps forward before he reached out for Bakura and cried, "Look out!"
-/-
Ranko: Yes, I am ending it there, because I am a bitch! I am also really sorry for updating late (did I?) time really got away from me!
Yami: Yeah, yeah, aren't you going to tell your reviewers the big news?
Ranko: Oh yeah! Well, a lot of you may already know this if you have read Not All Princes Are Frogs. Well, I got an email from a cosplayer (XxHeartlessAxelxX) and she told me she was going to make a cosplay movie of The Shadow Game! I am so excited and she is worth checking out on deviantart, she is a really cool cosplayer. Her YouTube channel is ThirdMoonCosplayers (where she will be posting the movie). I will keep you guys updated!
Yuugi: I believe that is everything! Please leave a review and tell Ranko what you think!