Chapter 30

Yugi found himself in a large, dark, empty space. Every sound he made... ever step he took forward echoed around him endlessly. He felt lost and lonely and completely out of his depth, but for some reason he was able to keep moving forward. No, it was more than just being able to move forward, he felt as though he was being compelled to somehow. As though some unseen hand watching over him would only be happy if he kept moving.

After what felt like an eternity he spotted a single, large gravestone ahead of him. Cautiously he moved towards it, despite the biting feelings of fear gathering in his stomach. As he got close enough to read the name and the dates, he found himself falling weakly to his knees.

'Téa...'

Even as he said the word, the weirdness in his vision bubbled, distorting the name in a way which half revealed another inscription underneath. Before he had a chance to read what it said, everything around him swirled and he found himself stood in a dimly lit little room, staring into a mirror. Instead of seeing himself, the image reflected by the glass was that of a redheaded girl. For a few minutes he found himself playing with his reflection as if to check it really did belong to him; it mimicked every single one of his movements perfectly.

'Who are you,' he edged towards the mirror, 'what's going on here?'

He wasn't expecting a reaction, but he was pretty certain he saw the redhead's lips twitch of their own accord right before the mirror and the room disappeared. He now found himself stood in front of a row of cages. In every single cage was the unconscious form of Téa repeated over and over again. Instantly Yugi found himself backing away in horror. As he did his vision bubbled again, creating a strange dual layer to what he was seeing; where the top half of his vision held Téa's form but the bottom was just a collection of strangers. The bubbling lasted slightly longer than before, but it eventually burst leaving the repeating form of Téa as the ultimate representation.

'What... what is this...?' Yugi slowly shook his head. 'What's going on?'

'What... what is this...?' The sound of her voice made him jump. 'What's going on?'

Turning he saw the redhead from his reflection stood not too far behind him.

'Who are you?'

'Who are you?'

'Stop repeating me,' Yugi gritted his teeth, 'just tell me what's going on already.'

'Stop repeating me,' the redhead took several steps towards him, 'just tell me what's going on already.'

'Stop it,' his voice came out sounding shriller than he'd intended, 'stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it.'

He took less than half a step towards her, when the scene around him changed again. Now he found himself sat in what looked like a doctor's office. His Mum was sat to one side of him, looking strangely calm, almost emotionless and his Grandpa sat to the other side of him looking bored and restless. Another bubble appeared in his vision, turning their faces into masks under which Yugi could just about make out two complete strangers before the bubble burst and their faces became faces again.

'We just don't know what to do anymore doctor,' his Mum spoke, her voice as unsettlingly calm as her face, 'we just can't take it anymore.'

'We're seriously worried he might be a danger to himself and others,' his Grandpa sounded bored, 'are you sure you can't take him in?'

'I have seen no evidence that he's a danger to anyone,' a faceless doctor appeared in the chair opposite Yugi. 'I know this situation is very distressing for you, but I see no reason to commit him at this time.'

'No reason...' Yugi shook his head as the scene around him froze, 'but I put Téa in the hospital.'

Almost automatically he got up from his chair and turned around. He now found himself in a large hall, decorated with party decorations. At one end of the room was a long table filled with presents. Cautiously he made his way towards it, all the while aware of how different this place felt compared to everything else he'd experienced so far. He couldn't explain how or why, but...

'Help me with the presents, won't you?' The redhead appeared out of nowhere beside him as he reached the table.

'Whose party is this?' Yugi's head felt dull and confused.

'Does it really matter?' She waved a hand dismissively. 'Just help me, won't you?'

'Okay,' he finished his approach to the table, 'what do you want me to do?'

'I want you to open that one there,' she pointed to one of the larger boxes, 'and hand me the present that's inside.'

'Why,' he shook his head, 'it's not my gift so it doesn't make sense for me to open it.'

'None of this makes any sense and that's the problem,' the redhead sighed and shook her head. 'So just open the box and give me the present, will you?'

Yugi studied her for a few moments, before turning his attention towards the box. He carefully lifted the lid and stared down at the object inside. Instantly his hands began to sweat and his heart began to pound hard in his chest.

'No... no this can't be,' he shook his head. 'How... why... I don't...'

'What do you see?' The redhead's voice was strangely calm.

'The Elemental Axe,' he glanced towards her, 'why is the Elemental Axe here?'

'Because you need to pick it up and give it to me,' she rolled her eyes, 'I told you.'

'No,' he shook his head, 'I can't... I can't pick that...that thing up, not after what I did.'

'Fine, it doesn't bother me if you fail,' she turned away from him, 'just be prepared to hang around here for... however long.'

'What... what's that supposed to mean?'

'It means if you don't hand me that weapon you'll never leave this place,' she shrugged, 'well at least until the game is over and who knows how long it'll take the others to complete it.'

'But... I can't... I can't...' he shook his head as his vision tried to bubble again, but failed.

'It doesn't bother me either way,' she began studying her nails, 'pick it up, don't pick it up; it's your choice really. You're the one who'll be answering to the others if they fail because you weren't with them in the next stage.'

'Do you... do you have to be so cold about this?' Yugi stared at her. 'You have no idea what I did with that... that weapon. How... how can you ask me to pick it up and give it to you like it's nothing?'

'Because I'm not the one giving the weapon meaning, you are. So, like I said, it's up to you what you do from here.'

Yugi gawked at her for a moment, before turning his gaze back to the weapon. Once again his vision tried to bubble and reveal something to him, but just like the last time it failed to form. That alone made his palms sweat and his hands tremble. He didn't want to pick that weapon up. He didn't want to be anywhere near it. But at the same time the thought of letting the others down began to get to him. There were already too many things in his life he was struggling to live with, he really didn't want to add one more to it.

Somehow he managed to reach a hand towards the weapon and, with his heart pounding like a jackhammer, he picked it up.

When Joey and Mai reached the pink stone structure they found Tristan casually leant against one of the upright stones, with Kaiba perched on the lower one next to it. There was something odd about the way Tristan was staring at him, although Joey would have been hard pressed to say exactly what it was.

'Hey Tristan,' Joey forced an uncomfortable smile onto his face, 'are Duke and Yugi back yet?'

'I haven't seen them,' one of Tristan's eyes twitched strangely as he continued to study Joey.

'Great,' he rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the uncertain feeling he was getting, 'just when we get Mai back, Duke and Yugi go missing.'

'You don't think they're being challenged, do you?' Mai bit her lip.

'I take it that means you guys have one of these too,' Tristan smirked as he held up the Blue Eyes Knight card.

'Yeah,' Joey nodded, 'what about rich boy?'

'I have his,' he carefully revealed the edge of a second card behind the Blue Eyes Knight, 'so there's no need to worry.'

'Does that mean he's got his memory back then?'

'Does it look as though he has his memory back?' Tristan shot him a look as he slipped both cards back into his pocket. 'I won his for him.'

'What?' Joey laughed in surprise. 'Are you allowed to do that?'

'Apparently certain rule changes are being made when it comes to the two of us,' he shrugged. 'So Wheeler, did they tell you what all this is about?'

'It's to do with Jo and Crovell,' Mai answered before he could. 'The gods are testing our village to make sure we have what it takes to raise them properly. Or at least that's my understanding of it.'

'I see,' he folded his arms. 'Well I have to hand it to the gods for having a better of a sense of humour than I would have given them credit for.'

'Just what's that supposed to mean?' Joey cocked an eyebrow.

'I wouldn't have thought a dog like you would have been smart enough to figure it out.'

'I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'and when the hell did you decide to forget that?'

'When have I ever referred to you as a wolf?'

'You always referred to me as a wolf Tristan, it's your little boyfriend that calls me a dog,' he growled. 'Please don't tell me you've been picking up his nasty little habits on top of everything else.'

'I haven't picked up anyone else's habits Wheeler, I just think you're a little confused about this situation.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

'It means I'm pretty certain I'm not seeing what you're seeing right now,' Tristan smirked and turned his gaze away from him. 'Like I said, the gods have one hell of a sense of humour.'

Joey opened his mouth to say something else to him, when Catilin and Ahna made their entrance.

'Hiet braysta you're here,' Catilin threw herself at Joey with her usual gusto. 'You look funny,' she giggled as she stroked his bump.

'Well I'm sure whoever's got my tattoo will be glad that's the only thing they got in the swap,' Ahna covered her mouth as she attempted to suppress her own giggles. 'Has... has anyone ever told you pregnancy really brings out the colours in your cheeks Veronie.'

'Since when did you start telling lame jokes Ahna,' Joey rolled his eyes. 'So have you two seen any of the others?'

'Jay was with us last night but...' she half turned away from him.

'He lost his challenge?'

'That's what Fray told us,' Ahna nodded. 'What about you?'

'Well Yugi and Duke are around here somewhere, unless they've lost too, of course.'

'I hope not,' she bit her lip, 'considering what's at stake here, I get the feeling we're going to need all the help we can get.'