Leslie should have trusted her instincts regarding Scott Irvine. He unnerved her from the first day they met. But it had been impossible to listen to her gut while it provided no concrete evidence, and Scott offered a solution to all her problems as a woman trying to figure out how to fund her doctorate degree. After hearing he wanted her to help write and design a game based on stories she had loved since childhood, how could she say no, despite the unease he caused. And yet, the last time she had seen him, the man set off every internal alarm system. Even so, she had ignored the vague feelings of unease and followed him into his laboratory.
"Are you ready to see the fruits of your labor, Miss Evelyn?" He avoided eye contact, instead staring at a mural painted on the laboratory wall depicting a pair of dragons—one red, the other gold.
"I've been looking forward to it all week." Leslie lied, feeling out of place among the machinery, most of which she could not name. In her heart, she was nervous about using his prototype virtual reality system, but after spending almost a year working on the Kingdom project, she intended to view the results. As she seated herself in the pod, Leslie tried to ignore the sense of foreboding lurking in the corners of her mind. This was a video game based on the world of her favorite stories; she had no reason to fear it.
Scott stroked his neat, gray beard. "Since you love Kingdom, Miss Evelyn, I believe I am giving you an opportunity to acquire what your heart longs for, just as you have helped me work towards the power I crave as well."
"Wait, what?" Leslie felt panic rising in her throat as she started to rise.
"Good luck." Scott closed the door to her pod before she could stop him. If only she had been more forceful about it, Leslie might have been able to prevent it, but…
Various screens in the pod lit up, displaying metrics which meant nothing to her. Attempting to shove the door open, Leslie never broke eye contact with Scott, who watched with a satisfied smirk. A female computer voice began to speak behind Leslie. "Interdimensional transport sequence initializing. Activation in t-minus 15 seconds."
Confused, Leslie slammed her palm into the smooth glass door before her as Scott reached for a control panel on the side of the pod. Behind her, the voice counted down in gentle monotone. Leslie didn't quite understand what was happening, but all she felt was anger as she again slammed her hand into the glass with stinging force. "What is this, Scott? You told me it was virtual reality!"
Scott held down a button, and his breathy chuckling broadcast into her pod alongside the nearly finished countdown. "I lied."
A searing bright light exploded her consciousness as the countdown expired.
Months later, it was still easy to play back the scene in her head, repeatedly imagining everything she might have done differently, dissecting every decision leading to her excruciating entrance into this world.
"Lovely day for the pheasants to molt." A woman's voice broke Leslie from her spiraling dissection of the past. Startling violently, she took in the young woman standing before her, who wore regular clothing but for an embroidered armband sporting the image of a white, winged horse on one arm. The woman smiled in the bright sunlight, waiting.
Oh, what was the counterphrase? Fingering the collar of her open sports coat, Leslie fumbled out the words, "Indeed, although the pheasants need to be careful, lest the hunter snaps their necks." She was reasonably sure that was the correct response.
Pulling an envelope from her messenger bag, the young woman extended it casually. "Deliver this to Yugi, okay?"
Leslie nodded before taking the letter and glancing around nervously. Standing beside a pond, she saw no one else but a pair of farmers arguing in a nearby field. "Of course. What kind of advisor would I be if I blocked his mail?" She laughed from nervous energy; the library was her domain, and barring that, Yugi's camp. Clandestine meetups were not a job she chose for herself.
"You're Yugi's adviser?"
"Yeah. And you?"
Shrugging, the young woman refastened her bag, "Just a humble artist. But I don't think I would want your responsibilities." Waving farewell, she turned and began walking east. "Good luck."
Sighing, Leslie began the long walk back to the Resistance camp where Yugi and his spirit friend lead the solid beginnings of a threat to Emperor Haysheen.
After walking what felt like half the day, she made it past the wooden fence marking the edge of the Resistance's current base of operations. In the distance, she could make out her boss's distinctive silhouette.
"Lord Yugi!" Leslie called out to attract the attention of the leader of the Resistance. Normally she had no need of such formality, but here, among his collection of followers, it was best to maintain a sense of order, especially now they had moved out of the friendlier provinces to the north, and keeping a low profile was critical. It might even help them to view her as one of them, which was useful, since part of her job was judging morale, and she needed people to be at ease around her.
Today their forces were encamped outside the prosperous agricultural city of Sunny-Plain, and the weather was living up to the name. Yugi turned towards Leslie just as her dog ran by, barking and chasing after a small creature zigzagging for its life. Nearby, a group of young children and their mothers sat watching, the kids cheering either for her dog or its prey, the women looking up from their sewing with amusement. In the distance she could see Téa chatting with the trio of fairies the young woman commanded on the battlefield, although a group of laborers soon blocked her view as they walked past, carrying supplies, loudly joking and sharing news from town with one another.
"What is it, Leslie?" Hearing his voice, she realized the responder wasn't Yugi, but rather Pharaoh Atem. It was embarrassing, mistaking one for the other. She should have known, since Atem usually took the lead in situations among a crowd. Unfortunately, even after working as his chief advisor for months, she was unnerved by the idea of two souls sharing one body. Of course, she hid her unease, since admitting her feelings would have been rude to both Yugi and the additional spirit who shared his body. Fortunately, Atem not only responded to Yugi's name, but almost seemed to prefer it. Once, she had asked him why Téa was the only one to call him by name, and Atem awkwardly stumbled through an explanation about finding it strange to be called Atem in Yugi's body. Atem was his name when he was fully himself, but things were different when he shared physical existence with Yugi, and it was preferable if she called him Pharaoh, or Yami, or even just Yugi. When he made it back to the afterlife, that was when he would become Atem once more.
Finally reaching her target, Leslie pulled a letter from her bag, which she handed to the young man with both hands. "We got a response from the Imperial rebels." Sealed with light blue wax bearing the impression of a dragon, the message taunted her with its secrets. Her mind churned as she tried to imagine what the future held.
"You should open that in private," Tristan walked up behind Leslie, startling her. Even at the best of times, she could lose track of her surroundings, doubly so when mulling over possibilities.
She nodded, "Tristan's right." Until plans were settled, it was best to keep them quiet—half baked intentions always seemed most likely to spread around the camp as news, and Leslie didn't have the energy to deal with correcting false information today.
"Very well," her leader took the letter with a sigh, "let's see if Kaiba is willing to agree to a meeting."
Tristan shoved his hands in his pockets as they strolled towards Yugi's tent, "The real question is whether Joey will agree to the meeting. The Black Dragon Squad isn't famous for its love of the Empire. Or Kaiba."
As the Pharaoh called over Téa to join them, Leslie retreated into her thoughts. Around her, Yugi's followers spoke more freely than they would in the presence of their leader. Whispered conversations degrading the Black Dragon Squad as lawless bandits, and louder discussions regarding the Imperial traitors as dangerous rivals and disloyal scum, neither were an unusual occurrence. Despite this, if Yugi wanted an alliance, his forces would accept one—for every instance of distrust directed at the other sides of the conflict, Leslie heard three hopeful conversations about Yugi and his chances of taking the throne from Haysheen. However, she knew very little about factions outside her own, and in the absence of data, her mind felt the pull towards negative outcomes. Still, if Yugi wanted an alliance, she would find a way to at least bring the leaders together for a conversation.