Ugh God this chapter is so weird, but here... just whatever. This is where the Virtual World gets exciting... or cringe-worthy. Yeah, probably more on the cringe-worthy side. Ahh... I hope you like this...

"Mmh… What happened?" I groaned, although, my articulation wasn't really at its best at the moment, so it was more of a drowsy "mm-whahaben" I could barely get my eyes open, but I knew there was something damp and prickly like grass beneath me, rubbing against my legs as I gently stirred them awake.

"Y-You're asking me?" came Zephyr's voice in response, just as tired as my own.

I grunted, planting my hands on the dirt and pushing myself up into a sitting position. I blinked in quick succession to get my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and assessed my surroundings. If I wasn't so freaked out, I could have called this place beautiful. We were in a vast plain surrounded by flowers in every single color you could think of, and off in the distance, I could see a vast, seemingly endless forest.

"Is this the virtual world?" Sun asked, being the first of us to rise to her feet and dust herself off. "This isn't how it's supposed to happen," she informed us.

"It's a TV show in your world, too?" I inquired, standing up at her side and gazing down at the flowers I had ruined with my chubby fingers.

"You could say that…" she answered vaguely, abruptly turning her attention to nudging one of the flowers on the ground with her shoe.

"I think it's a TV show in all our worlds," Zephyr answered, rubbing his neck and sighing as he got to his feet as well. "I mean I don't think it's the same –uhh –show, but… Sun's right. We were supposed to all end up together with everyone else. It's just the three of us here as far as I can see."

"D'you think it had something to do with that weird headache that we all got before we passed out?" I reasoned, placing a hand on my hip and letting the wind blow away the sweat on the back of my neck.

Zephyr bit his lip in contemplation and craned his head around. "If it did then something's missing, don't you think?"

I raised my brow quizzically. "Missing? What's missing?"

Before he could open his mouth to reply, Sun interjected. "Serenity. She was affected as well, remember?"

"M-Maybe that was just because she's my anchor. Doesn't she feel the things I do or something?"

"She does?" Zephyr asked, looking genuinely taken aback. "How did you figure that out?"

"Ah… call it a gut feeling," I said dismissively. Their remarks concerned me, though. I wasn't familiar with this season, but if they said we weren't supposed to be here then they must have been right. "So what was that headache all about, anyway?"

For a moment, I didn't expect them to have an explanation, but Sun, as always, had the answer at the tip of her tongue. "Our physical bodies don't really exist, they're only a manifestation of our consciousness in the realm of the living. When they tried to take our consciousness to the virtual world, we glitched out. Or more likely, our bodies glitched out, since they're not really supposed to exist."

Okay so… how exactly did she know all this stuff? I crossed my arms over my chest and coughed uncomfortably. "You make it sound like we're machines or something…"

She scoffed. "Well, I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that we're only 'alive' so to speak by the will of another human. And whatever is manmade can't be perfect."

"Thus the 'glitching out'" I added. "So do you think we never made it to the virtual world?"

"I doubt it," a new voice responded. The three of us turned on our heels to find the speaker. "Or I wouldn't be here."

"You!" I choked out in recognition. I could tell by his MC Hammer pants and his showy hat that this was none other than Peten. That resolved all my doubts; we must have been in the Inbetween.

"Lorna!" he greeted like he was meeting a long-lost friend. "How have you been?" Sun and Zephyr tensed and gave Peten wary looks. The clown sighed in exasperation and put his hands on his hips. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm here to help you guys."

"The last time you came to help me, I nearly drowned," I told him, grimacing at him.

"You tossed me off of a mountain me the last time I was here," Zephyr added.

"And you buried me alive," Sun informed him matter-of-factly.

Looks like I wasn't the only one who was fucked over by this asshat. He didn't really seem all too bothered by these accusations, though, as he chuckled and put a finger up. "Ah, ah, ah! But you didn't die, did you? Now, if I wanted you to die, you'd be dead."

"Are you fucking serious?" Zephyr spat. "You expect us to believe you have our best interests at heart?"

Peten shrugged and cocked his head to the side. His black and white mask reflected a wry smile, but his voice was deadly serious as he spoke. "I expect you to believe it, because I brought you here. And it wouldn't really help me if you died again after all the trouble I went to."

"And why would you do that?" Zephyr asked, his voice steady and low, almost menacing.

Peten chuckled derisively and bowed in mock apology. "Ah, I forgot that you two ended your lives by choice. Isn't that right?"

I whipped my head around just in time to see my companions' faces turn sour at Peten's words, their lips taking on similar pursed demeanors. "B-Both of you -" … committed suicide… Though it was best that I didn't finish that sentence. In hindsight, it was a tactless and thoughtless remark. I wasn't an idiot; the looks on their faces said it all. "Just tell us what you want!" I demanded, looking back at Peten's emotionless face. "Why did you bring us here?"

He crossed both his arms and his legs and leaned forward. "It's a secret."

A secret? I could almost taste the venom on my tongue when I lashed out at him. "Oh, yeah? Well, I bet your mom wasn't a secret!" Not my finest moment. "Because… of how many people… have…"

"Not your best work, Lorna," Peten noted wagging his finger at me as he walked past me, stopping a few paces away with his hands on his hips, facing the forest.

I heard Sun let out a loud groan. "I'm surrounded by morons," she hissed.

Like I said, not my finest moment.

"Enough!" Zephyr snarled, snapping us out of the awkward mood. "Who else is here?"

"I'm glad you asked. The party's all waiting for you in the Solitude." He jerked his thumb back and tilted his head slightly.

"What's that?" I asked ahead of everyone else, not liking the idea of a place called "The Solitude" Just imagining it sent shivers down my spine.

"Oh, it's not too bad… kinda bleak and gloomy, and the Warden's a bit of a pain in the ass, but otherwise, it's nice… and roomy. Great place to spend an eternity of isolation and suffering."

"And what if we don't want to go?" Zephyr chimed in.

"Oh…" Peten said in a low tone, turning to face us. "I really think you do want go. It would be a shame… if anyone you knew were to… say… die in there. You know what happens to spirits who are destroyed in the Inbetween, don't you?"

"W-Wait," I yelped. "Who's in there? Tell us!"

"And ruin the surprise?" He laughed sinisterly and turned on his heel. For the first time, I saw the flowers wither and die underneath each of his footsteps. He waved his hand, gesturing for us to follow him, and reluctantly we did.

He led us to a great wall, one that seemed to go on forever and ever in both directions, with a single gate at its center, but I didn't have time to see how far it went as I stared in surprise at a very familiar figure blocking our way through. Clad in layers of violet from the tip of his hat to the soles of his boots, Dark Magician hovered before us, looking more alive than I had ever seen him (which wasn't saying much since the most I'd seen of him was his trading card). His eyes apathetically looked us over; his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Mahad! Buddy! How have you been?" Peten greeted, taking his floppy hat off of his head and showing off the mussed up ginger hair underneath. He swooped down in a jovial bow. "You're looking remarkably purple today."

I averted my eyes nervously, uncertain whether it would be more appropriate to feel apprehension or embarrassment at that. Dark Magician didn't seem very amused, however. His eyes shut briefly and he let out a sigh so devoid of emotion that perhaps "alive" wasn't the best way to describe him after all.

"I've told you several times; I am not Mahad," he replied, his irritation lining his tone like static electricity. "Mahad is dead…" He leaned over to the side to glance at me and my companions. "... unlike you."

"Jeez, pal," Peten replied, putting a clawed hand on his hip and adjusting the hat again over his wispy ginger hair. "You're more of a miserable asshole than usual. So -uh -you gonna step aside or what?"

Dark Magician shook his head slowly. "You're fully aware that you're not allowed in the Solitude."

I fidgeted in place and stepped forward. "What is the Solitude?" I asked, the question coming out of me almost involuntarily. "And why can't we go in there?"

Chills ran down my spine when the magician's eyes met my own. There was so much in there that I couldn't even begin to describe -complex emotions and something not entirely human that just made my body tingle in awe and a little bit of fear. "Not you. Him. His presence agitates the Warden."

Peten crossed his arms and hopped on the balls of his feet immaturely. "Does not. I like to think the Warden and I are great friends."

Ignoring him, Dark Magician addressed me sharply, "You. You're one of Yugi's friends, are you not?"

"I… I suppose I am," I replied tentatively.

"Then this is a friendly warning. Do not go in there. That place is full of despair and the Warden… The Warden is one of the most fearsome monsters in this realm." His words held a power in them that wasn't exactly magical, but it sent me back a few steps, my eyes warily eyeing the gate.

"Don't listen to him, Lorna," Peten argued. His hand shot out and pointed to Dark Magician in an accusatory manner. "Mahad, you absolute devil. You dare to besmirch a lady's honor like that? The Warden is such a kindly woman. Please don't fall prey to this vagabond's lies, Lorna, my dear."

If looks could kill, Dark Magician would have been committing mass murder. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were set in a line so tight that it seemed like a single movement would make it snap into Peten's face.

"I don't trust you," I told the clown.

"Me neither," Zephyr stepped in, but Sun remained very quiet, observing the scene with an unreadable expression.

"And you trust this guy?" Peten asked, gesturing towards Dark Magician. "He can't even dress properly. Purple on purple? That doesn't sound like the fashion sense of a person I would entrust my life to. I mean, I'm just saying. The guy's a walking cartoon."

… Did Peten even have a shred of self-awareness? No, for real. The baggiest striped parachute pants I've ever seen and a floppy red hat? He looked like demented offspring of the eighties and a Victorian clown.

Peten gave me a look and then grumbled. "Don't be fucking rude, Lorna."

"I didn't… say anything," I mumbled. Right. Mind reader, too. I forgot about that part.

"You forget that if you don't go in there, you'll be leaving people to die," he said, brushing my comment aside. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Leaving who to die?" I cried out. "You keep telling us someone is in there but you're being really cryptic about it. What aren't you telling us?"

A laugh rumbled from within Peten's chest and he twirled around once in happiness. "Oh, I'm glad you noticed all that cryptic nonsense. I've been trying to go for an edgier look lately. Was it working -"

"Just tell us already!" I yelled, balling my hands into fists and burying them in my elbows.

"Ahh…" he sighed. "You guys are no fun. If you must know, Serenity's in there. Last I heard, she and the Warden were going head to head and as far as I know, the Warden never loses. We're here to save her life and whatever."

"Wh-Whatever?" I nearly screamed. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"So you would have been fine if you had to leave someone else to die?" he asked, his words sending a poison dart through my heart.

My words tumbled into the bottom of my stomach, almost like my entire vocabulary was hit by and earthquake. "N-No… I…"

Zephyr cut in before I could say anything. "How did she get in there? Why is she even in the Inbetween? Is my anchor in there? Or Sun's anchor?"

Peten shrugged. "Well, I know I found your anchor and Sun's anchor wandering not far from where I found you guys and I sent them back to their own realms. But Serenity was sent immediately to the Solitude."

"Why?" I inquired, feeling a misplaced sense of guilt at the fact that my anchor, out of all of them, was the one to end up in the Solitude.

Sun broke her silence then. "Maybe she never left. Back on the blimp, she went unconscious. Maybe that's where she was… and maybe… somehow… she never left."

I stared at her incredulously. "Th-That… That's insane! We saw her wake up and talk to us. She was awake!"

She simply looked away and crossed one arm over her torso. "Yeah, well, maybe it was still possible… for her conscious mind to be in the realm of the living while something else made sure that her subconscious never left the Solitude."

"You're pretty smart for a dead chick," Peten remarked. "I'll admit that's entirely possible." He raised his hand to twirl a strand of his hair. "I mean, it's happened to Lorna before -or does our resident amnesiac not remember that either?"

I frowned, opting to ignore his comment. We had more pressing issues at hand, and I would deal with the things I couldn't remember later. There was something else we needed to do first. I faced Dark Magician and timidly spoke. "We need to get in there."

He absentmindedly adjusted the cuff of his sleeve as he spoke. "No. He can't come with you."

"Then we'll go… alone," Zephyr countered, sounding unsure of his words. Could we really go in there without Peten though?

"No dice," Peten butted in. "Either you let us all through, or we make you step aside."

Dark Magician's frown deepened and he conjured his staff into his right hand. "I'd like to see you try, clown," he threatened, raising his staff into the air. The tip began to glow in a lavender color which began to expand all around him. In less than a minute, the light had stretched across the entirety of the wall, even the parts that were too far to see. The entire structure sent out waves of heat that made me question how he was even able to stay in such close proximity to it -especially under that heavy looking coat.

"Very mature, Mahad. Stop being a dick and let us through," Peten called out, raising his voice so that the magician could hear him through the magic wall. With his free hand, Dark Magician held up his finger, shaking it very calmly, and then crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his staff close to him.

"Let's just -" Zephyr began, but was promptly interrupted by Peten.

"Well!" he declared. "I tried everything I could. I guess we're going to have to kill him." Those words were said so confidently and unyieldingly –fuck, I couldn't even buy a laptop with that much self-assurance. Were we really going to trust him?

Startled, I grabbed my wrist and leaned in. "W-We can't do that!"

He shook his head and exhaled slowly. "Yeah, you're right. We can't kill him… but we can kick his ass…" As a side-note, he added, "By the way, it looks great in that cloak, Mahad. I can tell you've been working those glutes out." He ended his sentence with an awkward chuckle and Dark Magician simply rolled his eyes, not amused and not flattered.

Peten gave me an expectant look. "Well?" I asked him. "You don't expect me to do anything, do you?"

He raised his arms towards me. "I do, actually. You're the perfect person for the job. He's dark -you're light… You're both goody two shoes who can't take a fucking joke. In fact, if I wasn't expecting you to kick his ass, I'd kinda ship you."

I groaned internally and then looked at the ground. "I thought you said you didn't want me to die…" I bit my lip when I remembered that I was already dead and added an "again" to the end of my sentence, just in case.

"C'mon, you know how to transmogrify, right?" he asked. "The rest will come just as naturally."

Well, I did know that much. But I couldn't fight. Shit, I got jitters just thinking about it. I mean, everything about fighting someone like the Dark Magician felt wrong, but Peten wasn't about to leave and we needed to get in there. Reluctantly, I tried to trigger the transmogrification, feeling relief when, for once, something decided to cooperate with me and the familiar sensation ran down my arms and legs. The armor hugged my skin and flexed with my muscles. The helmet was a bit snug but it allowed me to breathe while making sure nobody stabbed me in the head, so I couldn't really complain.

"Should we help her?" Zephyr questioned from behind me.

Peten held out his hand and shook his head. "No, no. She can do it." No, I can't. "I need you two to watch my back." Watch his back? I was the one who was about to get creamed!

I hadn't really had time to appreciate the sensation of being in this armor the last time I put it on, but it did send a sharp jolt of courage into me. I really didn't want to fight, but the more time we spent out there arguing, the less time we'd have to save Serenity. This wasn't a matter of what I wanted to do… it was a matter of what I needed to do.

"God, I'm so sorry," I whispered, my eyes meeting Dark Magician's eyes. He made no move to defend himself, seeming awfully confident in the magical wall he had constructed. Then again, he was going up against a girl who didn't even know how to even start fighting. The only physical training I had ever had was dancing… wait. That… That could work.

I bounced slightly on my toes for measure and then treaded lightly towards my opponent, who simply gazed curiously at me. All the while, I could feel something hot and powerful surging through my body and buzzing at the tips of my fingers. What if I could use that?

Once I was standing a mere couple of feet away from him, I gently raised my arms and cupped my hands in front of my chest plate, watching white light like fire form against my palms. It reflected against the armor and was nearly blinding to look at. Dark Magician held his staff in both of his hands, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape; he wasn't the only one surprised, as I hesitantly continued doing whatever it was that I had managed to do, constantly fearing that I wouldn't be able to maintain it.

Peten let out a victorious laugh, causing an unexpected surge of pride to rush through me. No, I shouldn't have been proud of myself. "Atta girl!"

The fire felt heavy in my hands in spite of what I had assumed was its nature. I moved my left leg back, holding the white mass in my hand like a football (an American one -not one of your un-American soccer balls). I sucked in a deep breath, channelling everything I could remember from PE class, which wasn't much considering the fact the sole reason I died was due in part to shitty hand-eye coordination.

With a grunt, I threw the flames at the magic barrier. At first, I thought nothing happened, but upon closer inspection, the area that was hit by the white fire looked like it was flickering. It was faint, but that might have been the crack I needed to break through.

Alright, Lorna. Just do this again. That wasn't too hard. You can do this…

I held both hands up at my sides, watching them heat up and feeling the power course through me. It was weird and I think I liked the way it rippled like water. The second time was the charm as it took much less time for significant fireballs to form in my hands. Alright… time to Kamehameha this motherfucker. I held my hands out in front of me and shut my eyes. If I was estimating my abilities correctly, I would be able to extend those fireballs into a giant pillar of magic flames. God, I sincerely hoped I was that badass.

I shyly opened one eyelid and the sight, I'll admit, excited me more than it should have. My flame pillar was actually happening… as in… I had powers. How cool was that? It was way too bright to actually see the extent of the damage it was dealing, but it had to be going well, right? My hands were beginning to feel like they were on fire after a minute, unfortunately, and I had to take a break and check out what I had managed to do. Panting slightly and feeling a light coat of sweat covering my forehead, I took a step forward to examine the spot that I had been attacking…

… only to find not a single crack or dent in the magic barrier. I let out a loud whine and kneeled over with my hands on my knees, turning my gaze to Peten. "It didn't work," I informed him breathlessly. "Any chance I could get a helping hand here -"

"Wait," Zephyr interjected. "Lorna, look! It's doing something."

I whirled around and straightened my back, watching the barrier carefully. He was right; something was happening. Slowly, but surely, cracks started forming on the surface of the barrier, but they were unlike any cracks I had ever seen before. These cracks were in small and precise shapes, cutting into the violet almost as though someone were pressing them in with a cookie cutter. They started where I had been directing my flames, right in front of Dark Magician, and spread out in all directions along the magic wall.

In that moment, there was something very fragile about that barrier, almost like a good kick would knock that thing down, and I could tell by the look on Dark Magician's face that I was right. Something felt off about fighting Yugi's favorite monster, but Serenity was in trouble and I'm sure Yugi would forgive me.

Alright… so how am I gonna approach this?

I was a dancer once upon a time…Y'know -like Téa only worse. I think I told you that already. I was out of practice for the most part and I would probably strain every muscle in my body doing this… Ah, fuck it. Fuck it all.

"Okay…" I told my companions as I began to take a few steps back. Dark Magician was beginning to repair the barrier so I would have to hurry. Why didn't he just fight me? I mean, I didn't want to fight him, but it struck me as odd to see him holding back like this. "You might wanna stand back for this," I warned, stopping a few feet away and stretching out a bit in place.

Hoo boy, Lorna. You can do this. Piece of cake.

I leaned forward, put one leg in front of the other and jumped, landing on my hands and flipping back, repeating the motion over and over and building up momentum as I went along. I was actually kind of surprised that I still knew how to do this after a while of being the laziest piece of shit ever ejected from a uterus. I was only a few handsprings away from my target and closing in fast. Nearly two feet away from him, I let my impetus carry me to where I needed to go, leaping off of the ground with my hands and aiming to land right on the magician's (admittedly handsome) face.

I sucked in a deep breath as I felt my body leave the ground for the final leap, hoping and praying that whatever was letting me do all this would allow this last hit to count. After what felt like minutes, I felt myself hit something and heard a loud shatter followed by a loud grunt, which likely came from Dark Magician himself. When it was over, I was somewhere unfamiliar and standing on his torso. Losing my balance, I toppled to the ground. So much for my big finish.

It seemed like I had managed to send myself and Dark Magician crashing through the gate he had been working so hard to guard. Shit. Why was I proud of myself for hurting someone else? Did I really want to be like Zorc?

"You don't know what you've just done!" I heard my opponent bellow over the howling of the wind around us.

I crawled back, away from his hulking form, eyeing his magical staff warily. Well, he certainly looks pissed as fuck. Zephyr, Sun, and Peten came rushing through the gate and past us. "Keep him distracted for a bit, Lorna!" Peten called out. "We'll find Serenity!"

Yeah… Sure… Abandon me. I've always thought 'You know what would make life after death even more pleasant? Dying again.'

Dark Magician didn't notice the trio that had just run by him -well, either that, or he was beyond worrying about them at that point. The only thing on his face was determination and anger… two things that he was like to invoke to aid him while beating my fat ass into the dry dirt beneath me. I'll admit I was off to a good start, but I doubted he had been planning on hurting me at first. Now, things were about to get serious… and man, I hoped I wouldn't need a new pair of panties after this.

Ahaha yeah so that was a thing.

Alas, poor Lorna. I knew her...

also RIP IN FUCKING PIECES YA MARY SUE

(BTW -next chapter will not be in Lorna's POV - bc I'm secretly Zorc and I like leaving you with cliffhangers- it will be called Lumen III)