[Alternately titled: "Leen learns a new word"]

Okay, truth be told, I kinda had a bit of writer's block after the last chapter. I mean, I couldn't make my fingers type, and I had no idea what I wanted in this chapter. But I don't want it to take very long for me to update all the time, especially since my summer break started like, last Thursday, because college is stressful and tbh it's a bunch of hoopla, like why do people even go to college -

ANYHOO -The new Fall Out Boy song kinda inspired me. I've been listening to it nonstop ever since they released it. Listen to it for the love of all that is good. Just listen to it.

Also - after the chapter, I'm going to be answering the questions I got in the reviews of the last chapter :D So stick around for those, m'kay?

"Stop your whimpering," he snarled at the fallen duelists grovelling on the ground before him. I suppose I was no different, kneeling beside Zorc's feet, clutching the burning hot crystal fragment in my hand and ignoring the heat, wondering if perhaps the pain was supposed to send me some sort of message. "Nothing can save you now. It's over."

The three let out a collective gasp, their shivering increasing in frequency, their pale hands grabbing clumsily at each other as though their friendship could save them from Zorc's fickle whim. The one in the middle, Bonz, lowered his head, breaking eye contact with his abuser and closing his eyes. Was he praying? Or did he simply not want to look at what was coming? Did the three of them somehow, somewhere deep in their hearts, know how much power the being before them possessed? Did they know that they were about to die?

A bell tolled in the distance -a churchbell probably… No, an execution bell, signalling irrefutably their ultimate demise. And there the executioner stood, playing with the victims of his folly and malignity.

"You've dueled me and lost. And now, I'm going to send you all to hell."

There was no mistaking the seriousness in his tone, and the three sobbing, cowering duelists were now screaming and begging. I felt a pull in my arms and legs to go help them, but I knew I couldn't stop him even if I tried.

"Z-Zorc, maybe you shouldn't -"

His head turned towards me suddenly, and I felt warm and cold all at the same time, like a violent fever had taken over my entire body. In that glower, I could see a being who was beyond human, beyond mortal -something celestial, powerful, dangerous.

"Maybe I shouldn't what?"

What happened to the good ol' Shadow Realm? We aren't sending people there anymore?

And I knew he wasn't counting on an answer from me, so I simply shoved the warm fragment between my crossed legs to warm them, feeling feeble and weak, unable to do a thing but watch on as those poor duelists lost their lives, but it was of some consolation to see the tall redhead's eyes meet my own; they were terrified, but also understanding, like he realized I was nothing but a prisoner. Still, I was the one who got to live in the end, so shouldn't that have made me detestable?

There was a muffled shuffling sound -the sound of dirt moving and settling and then slowly something began to dig its way out of the earth… No, not something, for it was more than one thing. Countless hands began to come out of the ground, and in the gaggle, I almost saw something like a face. Then it was more than a face, a whole head, dozens of them, crowded around those boys like lions to their prey.

And all around, the bell tolled and Zorc cackled a little less like a boy at a carnival and a little more like a man who should be institutionalized for his own safety and the safety of everyone around him. I couldn't imagine anyone enjoying a sight like that...

Chomp, chomp, chomp…

It was the same sound as before… Unable to move, or speak, or react, I didn't notice one of them stray and approach me, and it was likely Zorc hadn't noticed it either, as I doubted he wanted to kill me -at least not right then.

The groan of the dark creature was too close for comfort when it brought me back to my own body and my own mind. I felt my legs ache as I edged towards Zorc, one hand holding onto the fragment while dragging my backpack behind me -like I would actually need it if I got caught by that thing -and my free hand reaching desperately for the denim of Zorc's pants.

"Zorc!" I wailed, feeling my eyes begin to blur as I blindly edged towards him, still trying to reach for his legs.

Before I knew what was happening, a pair of arms had grabbed me from behind and I let out the loudest scream my lungs would permit. Panting heavily, I tried to get my vision in focus as a voice mumbled into my ear. "Lorna, calm down and try to stay behind me." It was Zorc's voice, but why couldn't he simply call off those things? Didn't he call them out?

I could vaguely see my surroundings now. My backpack was hanging in the crook of my elbow and I was somehow on my feet with Zorc's back to me. I shakily put the fragment in my bag and gripped the back of his shirt with both of my hands, feeling my eyes fill up with tears again. "Make them go away, Zorc. It's enough, please…"

"Y-Yes…" I heard him mutter with a hint of irritation in his tone, but oddly enough, it wasn't directed towards myself.

I didn't want to look, but I could tell that those who couldn't get a taste of the boys were switching targets -to Zorc and me, namely. Now, Zorc would probably be fine, considering it wasn't his body and he could simply have the Ring find a new host, but I was pretty sure Ryou and I would be deader than dead if those things got a hold of us.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be what I suspected.

"N-Nothing! They're supposed to leave as soon as they have devoured those fools, but…" He didn't bother to continue his sentence; instead, he simply turned around, untangling my hands from his shirt and scooped me into his arms. "It seems they're taking their sweet time and some have gotten bored. It's best we leave now." He began rushing out of the graveyard.

Feeling imbalanced, I heaved the bag onto my chest so it wouldn't dangle at the side. "W-Well, did you get your stupid locator cards?" I snapped at him, trying to sound indignant, but only managing to sound breathless and tired.

Something about this whole scenario just made me feel like this wasn't supposed to happen at all in the show…

"Of course, I did!" he replied, sounding more annoyed with me for insinuating something so stupid. "And this is where you get off," he added once we were out of the graveyard.

I braced myself as he let me down on my feet surprisingly gently for someone who just unleashed the nightmarish terrors of hell upon three unsuspecting and undeserving people.

"Thanks," I mumbled dryly, gripping my backpack and covering my cold forearms. I wondered what we were going to do next… Something else traumatizing and horrific? Like maybe, kidnap some duelists, trap them in an abandoned warehouse and force them to mutilate themselves to escape? 'I wanna play a game,' he'd say… Aw, hell, why the living fuck was I joking about this?

"Can you walk?" he asked in a businesslike tone, extending his arm slightly for me to latch onto in the same fashion as our previous arrangement. I was going to say something pissy, but decided to simply let out a defeated sigh and accept his offer.

The walk was quiet, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything to break it. I wasn't exactly feeling up to listening to that raspy, evil voice, so I reached into my backpack and felt for my fragment, deciding to analyze it again.

It was irregularly shaped, but if it were a sphere, it would be barely a half an inch in circumference. So what was this supposed to do for me again? Show me the truth?

"What's that?" Zorc piped up. It was clear that even millennia old all-powerful beings were as easily distracted by shinys as normal mortal people.

I closed my hand around the fragment protectively, because I wasn't about to let Murder McMurder-Face over here get his sweaty palms on it. What if it was as powerful as the Millennium Items? Something inside me wondered 'What if I was as powerful as the Millennium Items?' … but that was crazy-talk. There was no way…

"It's um… a fragment?" I replied uncertainly.

"And what would the finished item be?" he asked impatiently. Why was he so insistent? Could he sense its power or something?

"A-Ah… I don't know… A-A crystal?" I sputtered, holding it close to my chest. "I don't know what it does."

"Then why leave it with you?" he murmured, but when the two of us were in such close quarters, it would have been impossible for me not to have heard him.

I frowned slightly. "I won it… in a Shadow Duel…"

At that, I heard a loud bark of laughter. "You won a Shadow Duel? Do you expect me to believe that?" He let out a few more laugh before getting breathless and giving me a toothy grin. "Say I believe you, alright? Why were you trusted with something like that?"

I scowled and countered with a question of my own. "Why are you so set on making me out to be some sort of incompetent good-for-nothing? I won that duel fair and square."

Even though I can't remember winning it at all… but I must have, right?

"Well, well, well… Now, I'm impressed," he remarked sarcastically.

"Shut up," I mumbled. "How do you even know where we're going?

He chuckled at my indignance. "I have an acquaintance who was kind enough to disclose the location of the Finals. The only reason I need these locator cards is to qualify as a finalist."

"Lorna!"

My eyes burned as I saw her standing far away, blurred by red and yellow lights.

"Did you say something, Zorc?" I whispered, holding the back of my hand to my forehead, feeling a headache pulsing and racing angrily under my skin.

"I was just telling you about…" he trailed off, giving me an unreadable expression. It looked like the sort of expression you'd give a broken car -when you feel like it needs to be fixed, but you can't be bothered to get it to the mechanic. He let out a huff and decided to ask, "Are you alright?"

"My head just hurts a little bit…" I groaned feeling the hand on my forehead shake and the one digging into Zorc's arm weaken. The pain was unbearable, blood pumping through the veins branching beneath the skin of my temples and behind my eyes at an unnatural rate. It was just pushing out more and more, like it was trying to get out of my head, like something in there was furious. It extended to my throat and gut, too, as if it wasn't enough that my head hurt; my stomach acid was bubbling like a volcano ready to erupt.

I felt the arm that had only been hanging lazily for support unhinge itself from my arm and wrap around the center of my back. "You look like you're about to collapse," he groaned bitterly. Well, thank you for implying (again) that I was burden to you just in case I had forgotten.

And the red and yellow lights danced around me, sending me into a whirlwind, with no earthly tether but that bright blue in the middle…

"Get out of my way, Téa. You'll get hurt."

"It's the fragment, Lorna!"

Oh, gosh… "I think I'm going to vomit…" I felt my knees buckle, but the arms holding me up were too rough… too solid to let me fall.

The blue was now so bright, it was almost white and blinding me, trying to push me away…

"No, I won't."

"Stop holding it. It's doing this to you!"

Lorna, let go of the fragment-

"Saturn, attack."

"Téa!"

I winced, my hand clenching unconsciously around his forearm, my eyes shut as though magnetized, and my head cowering in an unwilling shoulder. "No, no, no, no…"

The lights were gone now, and all that remained was a blurry sort of reality, covered in black fog, or were all the lights around me just dimming?

I didn't. I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I really didn't do it.

I'm not bad. I'm good. I didn't do it.

Please tell me I didn't do it.

Lorna, those are lies…

That's it. They're all just lies…

Trust me. Remember: you trust me.

I trust you… I can trust you...

"P-Put me down, Zorc. I need to vomit… I can't…" I muttered breathlessly to him. "I have…" I felt my chest tighten and my legs wobble, simply refusing to give me solidarity at this time. My stomach lurched just as Zorc let my body fall from his grasp.

My hands shook and relinquished their grip on the boy, simply slipping down and following the rest of my body down to the ground. I didn't even care about the friction between the ground and my legs. I was numb to the rocks rubbing against my calves and thighs. There was a sting at impact, and when I started crying, I couldn't be certain if the tears came before or after I hit the ground.

With a cough, I doubled over, heaving up whatever my stomach allowed; there wasn't much in it anyway. I kept coughing, forcing whatever was in me to get out, feeling chunks and bile rush through my throat and onto the ground in a puddle. Spit and vomit covered my mouth and I let a trembling hand rummage through my bag for a tissue.

"L-Lorna -" He gasped in surprise. I guess he didn't expect me to "pull a Lorna" and start crying for no reason. Maybe the combination of crying with barf kinda came out of left field for him.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "I'll get up. I will…" I held my hand to my head again, shutting my eyes and listening to my own pulse. It was so loud and it kept banging against my skull violently.

My vision blurred suddenly, and when it returned, they were there again. The dark tendrils… the ones from my nightmare. I could see them everywhere. They were trying to get inside of me. I couldn't let them. I absolutely couldn't let them. I looked up pathetically at Zorc, who was struggling to figure out what had come over me.

It was sometime later when I regained my conscious mind…

I didn't know where I was. I didn't know how I had gotten there. I didn't know what was happening to us. All I knew was that I was alone in the battered toolshed of an abandoned mansion, huddled over the unconscious body of Ryou Bakura. I knew it was Ryou; it was him without a doubt. I could tell by the soft brown eyes beneath those closed lids which had shown me nothing but kindness and understanding. I would have been lost without them…

I don't know how I know that…

The old shed smelled like garbage, dirt, and rot, a stench that beat its way into my nostrils like rabid beasts, clawing through my resistance. Whether I inhaled it through my mouth or nose, it made no difference; the taste was rancid just the same, and the small wooden building was the worse for wear. Almost anything could get in, and almost anything was trying with great dedication -a deadly commitment to seeing myself and my companion dead. I looked down at him, my eyes darting quickly to the door every couple of moments, as though my gaze alone was keeping the rickety wood from breaking down and letting them in.

Please wake up. Please, please wake up. I can't do this alone. I'm so scared.

The swarm was getting closer, banging on doors, rapping on windows. They begged for entrance and the fragile skeleton of the building we were in wasn't doing much to deny them that primal and savage need. The building rattled and moaned, echoing every tiny noise around it. Although this place must have been quite sturdy once, it was anything but that at the moment, and every second spent there was playing my anxiety like a grand piano.

I wasn't brave. I've never been brave and I've known it from the very beginning. I was a coward through and through. I didn't fit in with Yugi's friends. They were all so brave and kind.

"I can't die now…

I'm not…

ready…"

To save myself,

"You... you haven't learned a thing from this, abomination, have you?

I may die here, but your fate is sealed."

"Shut up and die, Viola."

I killed Viola.

"Get out of my way."

"No, I won't."

"Saturn, attack."

"Téa!"

I killed Téa.

I was going to get Ryou killed, too.

I couldn't protect him even if I wanted to. Why have faith in someone like me? Why trust someone like me? And it was all my fault. These were conscious choices that I made because deep down,

I'm just an abomination.

THUD THUD THUD

My eyes glanced around at the walls of the shed. It was quite large and much sturdier than your average garden shed, but whoever owned this place must have emptied it completely. There were no tools -no weapons -nothing to fight off the threat just outside, clawing at the walls and groaning. Each thud was like a thousand volts to my heart; I couldn't take the velocity of my heartbeat, the speed of the muscle as it erratically bumped into my ribcage. I almost expected it to burst and kill me right there and then.

"You know what I like to call this place?"

I turned my gaze carefully in the direction of the voice's owner, expecting a man, but finding what looked like a large doll instead -larger than even me. He looked completely out of place in the setting, his clothes were gaudy to say the least, from his striped bouffant pants to the giant violet feather in his big prissy hat. The most notable feature, however, was his face, a wooden mask of complacence -quite literally -almost like an eternal smirk.

Noting that my tongue had had failed me, he decided to continue speaking. "The Aperture of Reflection."

"A-Aperture?"

His voice was by all accounts jovial as he spoke to me, like a salesman trying to trick me into buying a faulty vacuum. "Yes, because it's a gap, a void, the absence of something, and what is that something?" he paused as though waiting for me to answer, but my mouth simply opened and closed pathetically with a lack of a proper response. "Finality. They like to call it the Inbetween, but really, this place is Infinity, the paradox between life and death, because what are you if you're not alive? And what are you if you're not dead? You think it's a trick question, but it's not too hard. You're proof of its existence. You and all of the chosen ones are Infinity."

"Infinity?" I asked, feeling stupid for simply repeating his words, but his words weren't making any kind of sense that I could follow.

"Ayep, and 'Reflection' because this is also where all your sins are judged."

My sins… It wounded me so deeply that when he spoke those words, five faces came vividly to mind (three more than I had expected), that I wanted to claw my heart out of my chest and use the organ as a stress ball.

Who was this strange clown person? And why was he suddenly telling me all of these things? I didn't understand anything. It sounded like something important, but I had other things to be worried about, namely the groaning and the banging which had gotten so loud that the strange being was almost shouting at me to be heard.

"Sounds like you've got a bit of trouble, eh?" he said, and I could almost see the smirk on that wooden mask grow exponentially. His long metallic finger pointed to a space behind me.

My neck twisted painfully as I tried to get a look at where he was pointing and finding that it was much worse that I had originally thought. Not only was the door slightly open, but they were filtering in slowly, still trying to figure out how to make the gap of the open shed door even wider. "I-I…" I gasped, feeling the air leave my lungs and my brain, feeling my consciousness begin to fade. "We closed that. I swear we -"

"Oops. I must have forgotten to shut it behind me on my way in," the man replied with no clear remorse in his tone. "Oh, well. We all make mistakes." Those words held something dark in them and he tossed those thinly veiled intentions in my general direction.

"Not like this!" I shrieked at him, turning my head towards him to glare and scold him, but he was no longer there. "Where did you go?" I called out after him, unable to get to my feet, lest I leave the paralyzed boy on the ground before me, and struggling to hold onto my mind. If I was doomed, I didn't want to be awake, but there was even an iota of a chance, I didn't want to be asleep.

Of course, there was no time to shout at a ghost when he wasn't there anymore, as there was no one there to hear my screams but the creatures anxiously making their way clumsily through the benches and shelves I had overturned and placed in their path. My voice would only serve to excite and motivate them. Soon, they would surround us, and it was all my fault -always my fault.

Like a taunt, I heard that same voice again coming from right behind me. "Let me give you a hint... Lumen." Before I could say anything or do anything, something was on my head, covering my eyes, like claws, and out of nowhere, a warmth surged through my body, followed by severe heat. My vision swayed and blurred, and out through my lips, black smoke shot out like a hose, spreading out all around me as though it had a mind of its own. And then black was all I could see...

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

What in the fuck is that infernal beeping noise?

I let out a small groan and took in long breath through my nose, inhaling a familiar scent that I, in my grogginess, couldn't quite place, but familiar was good… always good. My legs were still not one hundred percent, but somehow, they felt lighter to me.

"Oh, you're awake."

Zorc.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking shitfuck. Why did it have to be him?

"Yes, I am," I murmured, suddenly feeling less enthusiastic to open my eyes. "Where are we?"

"We're in a medical center on a blimp owned by KaibaCorp."

I opened one eye for a peek at my dear companion, who, bless his rotten soul (and the jury is still out on the soul thing), was looking just as grumpy as usual, if not grumpier, sitting on one of the hospital beds with his arms crossed over his chest. "Blimp? We're on the blimp?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"And when you say 'We'..."

He shut his eyes in irritation and I smirked because I knew I hit the jackpot. "I'm here as a patient as well…"

"Good." I felt content with myself, if not a bit drowsy and disoriented from whatever I had just dreamt about. "Hmm…" I shut my eyes and thought about what my friends were doing and almost jumped out of my bed. "Holy shit! They're dueling, aren't they?"

"Calm down before you have another aneurysm," Zorc growled, clearly not pleased with that fact.

Wait.

Oh, no…

Oh, yes! This is delicious.

"You lost, didn't you, Zorc. First duel, as a matter of fact. Am I right?" I asked, reciting what I knew to be true. For once, my knowledge was coming in handy, even if it was for something as mediocre as annoying this fuckboy. I sat up in my seat, facing him, and leaned in close with a giant, goofy grin on my face and my eyes as wide as a bambi.

He scoffed and laid back in his bed, turning his face to the wall rather than to myself. "Shut up and go back to sleep."

I leaned back into my own bed and looked up at the ceiling as a certain realization dawned on me. My friends were here…on this blimp. Joey, Tristan and Yugi were here, but was Téa?

Somehow we are done with this chapter... I friggin' hated writing this chapter. In fact, I hate this chapter. I hate how it came out because I feel like I left too many things unexplained, but I also want to explain them later. Like, a bunch of this weird falling unconscious and not remembering things and Peten the Dark Clown and all that will be explained in more depth on the blimp, because Lorna sure as hell ain't dueling on the blimp. (Speaking of dueling, there was also supposed to be a whole 4-chapter duel somewhere between the zombies and Lorna getting onto the blimp, but I relocated it because I didn't want to waste any more time before the blimp -also Zorc is such a pissbaby. I hate him)

Anyway, long story short, I'm not satisfied with this, because there are things that I need to put into the fanfic that are not in the fanfic yet and the more I stall the more antsy I get to put those important things in.

And here's the really long Q&A section :D

1) What are your favourite pairings (in general in this fandom)?

Ooh, let's see... My number one ships are Trustshipping and Puzzleshipping, but I enjoy Peachshipping and Pleashipping.

2) Who is your favourite character to write in this?

My favorite character to write is probably Joey. He's so cute, like he and I are probably getting married once I wrap up this fic.

3) What are Lorna's favourite tv shows?

Lorna is super into "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt", "Kill La Kill", and "Dangan Ronpa"

4) What are your personal thoughts on this fanfic, how do you feel about it from the writer's P.O.V?

I think this fanfic isn't really perfect, but it's the longest consistent piece of fiction I've written with which I was semi-satisfied. I'm sort of happy with it, more so than a lot of my original fiction. I mean I wrote it on a whim and now I pretty much think about it all the time.

5) What has been your favorite chapter to write so far and which chapter do you think may need improvement?

My favorite chapter to write... hmmm... it's a tie between "Extinction" and "Caelestis I" and I think the chapters that need improvement are most definitely the first 6 which I wrote without having a clear plot or genre in my mind.

6) What is your opinion about the 'Fangirl Goes to Anime World Fic', since this started out as a parody of that story type?

I think that when written properly, they have so much potential, but I rarely find ones that pique my interest. You've got this MASSIVE and amazing YGO universe and you've got your own OC, and rather than take advantage of the world Takahashi created, you use it to write the most generic, clichéd, overdone, contrived romances. And usually they've got this half-assed backstory created purely for angst, but the psychological repercussions of this backstory aren't explored. I feel like this makes a character cheap. Like, if you want to make your OC an orphan with abusive step-parents and colleagues who bully her with YGO as her only escape, then great, but have her deal with it realistically. You know, just research it and you'll find a richer plot and more natural character interactions. With no reason to root for this character, I can't possibly see them with one of the characters from my beloved fandom. But of course, not all of these fanfics are like that, but it's hard to find one that isn't. (sorry for rambling hahaa -this is probably more than the question asked, but i have a lot of feelings about this topic)

7) When do Zorc and Lorna become a couple XD? They are SO destined for each other after this chapter!

Shhh gurl, that's confidential - I mean, I know their chemistry is all over the place, but you can't be throwing around spoilers like that omg But like, we all know Lorna's all about his 20ft long dragon ;) ifyouknowwhatimean. They're pretty much canon at this point. The only reason they haven't gotten it on yet is because Lorna is strictly into his giant terrifying monster form, and also [CAUTION FANGIRLS] screwing Zorc while he's in Ryou's body is basically rape because Ryou can't consent to it. -wags accusing finger at pretty much every fanfic author ever-

8) Who are your favourite characters in the anime/ manga?

UGHHHH I LOVE THEM ALLLL, but if I had to pick a top 10... they'd be (not in order): Duke, Joey, Téa, Ishizu, Yugi, Tristan, Thief King Bakura, Dartz, Mai, Marik (u don't understand how hard that was)

9) What are your thoughts on vaseshipping?

Hmmm... tbh I'm kinda neutral. I adore their friendship, but I don't really actively root for their relationship. I personally prefer Atem with Yugi.

**DISCLAIMER** I know I pretty much rag on Bakura/OC authors a lot, but I promise I'm just teasing. You guys are like the backbone of the YGO OC community. Well, not really... maybe the Atem/OC authors are the backbone, but you guys are definitely at least a lung or like a spleen or something idk