Chapter 6

Freeze Play: Part 2

"The Sage's Shining Jewel"

Deep in a virtual forest, the Kaiba Bros and Fluttershy were walking along. "I wonder if these virtual berries have any flavor. I feel like I haven't eaten in months." Fluttershy said, clearly hungry. "Hey, you think there's anyone inside that shack up on that hill?" Mokuba asked. "I doubt it." Seto answered. "But a house in the middle of the woods, seems all too convenient." he added. "I used to live in a cottage near the edge of a forest, you know." Fluttershy pointed out.

"You two think it could be one of Noah's traps?" Mokuba asked. "Just let me open it, and stay close to both me and Fluttershy, little brother." Seto replied as he did so. But once he did, they all saw the inside of their step-father's mansion. "Wait a minute! This is the house of our step-father!" the elder Kaiba said in shock. "Another blast from our past." Mokuba said before they all saw a virtual replay of when Hobson, the family butler, brought them in.

"Wait, I think Noah's replaying the memories you two have from the first day you set foot in this mansion." Fluttershy said. "That's right, the day Gozaburo took us to his home from the orphanage!" Seto confirmed in shock. "And trust me, Fluttershy, it was no picnic." Mokuba stated as they saw Seto nearly falling asleep from exhaustion during a math lesson, being reprimanded by Gozaburo for his lacking in several areas of education, and when Hobson, by order of Gozaburo, took all of Seto's board games away, including his chess set.

However, there was one thing that made him smile back then, when Mokuba snuck his brother's Duel Monsters cards into his room in a text book. And among them was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon that Mokuba drew for his brother, a creature that Seto vowed to have in his deck one day. Suddenly, the scene disappeared and the three wanderers heard Noah chuckling and clapping before laying eyes on him.

"A good show by the Kaiba boys. That trip down memory lane could just pull at the heart strings, couldn't it?" he said, smugly. "Noah, we've had enough of your sick and twisted games. And forcing Fluttershy to watch these flashes from me and Mokuba's past is even worse than making us relive them." Seto said sternly. "On the contrary, the games have only just begun, and Fluttershy was simply in the wrong place at the right time. So she'll get to see every moment from your entire lives, be they joyful or painful." Noah responded.

"It's going to be a very bumpy ride from here on out." he added. "Noah, what do you expect to gain from mentally torturing Seto Kaiba?" Fluttershy asked. "Everything that should've been mine from the beginning." Noah answered before fading away. Meanwhile, Yugi, Twilight and Pinkie were figuring out how the game Noah dropped them in works.

"So, if we went through a one star door and defeated a level one monster, that means we just have to follow the number of levels from one to four." Twilight figured. "And we also have to defeat the monster behind each door." Pinkie added. "Right. The doors are directions and each door hides a monster that's one level stronger than before. We follow the doors in the right order, we can get out of here." Yugi stated. "Then let's see what's behind door number two!" Pinkie shouted. "I summon Ancient Elf!" she shouted before her monster appeared.

From behind the door, a level two, Earth attribute Plant monster with 700 attack points and 600 defense points called Firegrass, appeared. In moments, the creature was destroyed. "Nice work, Pinkie." Twilight said, to which Pinkie just smiled her usually goofy smile. "Now, let's go find Tea and Applejack!" Yugi declared before they all started running through the doorway. Meanwhile, in the arctic, the duel continued.

"A bit brisk, isn't it?" Tea asked, still chilled by the weather. "I can't even, f-f-feel my toes." she added. "That's the two-hundred and fourth advantage of being a penguin; our flipper feet are thermo-insulated. Now let's get back to business, shall we?" Shozu responded as Tea drew. 'Be strong.' the Dark Magician girl said as she held Tea's hand steady. "Alright, let's do this." Tea said boldly. "Good. The sooner you make your move, the sooner I can freeze you over and win this duel." Shuzo replied.

"You're already knee-deep in ice and the worst is yet to come, my dear. My all-powerful Flying Penguin is already set to sour straight through your puny defenses, whatever they may be." he added. 'Great, if his Flying Penguin attacks, Tea will be all but wiped out. And if she places her Deck Master on the field to defend herself, she'll be destroyed.' AJ thought. "Remember, Tea, if you place your Deck Master on the field and she gets destroyed, then, my dear, you automatically lose the duel." Shozu pointed out.

"I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn for now, Shuzo." Tea said as she made her move, knowing that she couldn't do anymore thanks to the effect of Offerings to the Doomed. "An extremely desperate move from an extremely desperate girl. While my hand continues to grow with options." Shozu stated as he drew. "And now, take this! Flying Penguin, attack!" he declared before Tea's set monster, a level two, Light attribute fairy/flip/effect monster with 900 attack points and 400 defense points, known as Skelengel, was revealed and destroyed.

"There goes your defensive monster, now you're back where you started." he said with a grin. "Not quite. By revealing my Skelengel, you activated its ability to let me draw a new card." Tea revealed before drawing. 'Black Pendant. This could come in handy.' she thought. "I've run the numbers and you're out of luck, so play whatever card you'd like because it's only a matter of time before you're frozen here forever, or my name isn't Shuzo Otaki the Third, master of the art of number crunching and best dressed penguin in the world." Shozu squawked, confidently.

"Sorry, partner, but the only birds I'm comfortable around are chickens, and I think me and Tea are in the mood for a barbeque." AJ responded before Tea drew. 'Maha Vailo? It's not powerful enough to get Flying Penguin off the field.' Tea thought, worried. 'Tea, don't give up so quickly. He has a special ability that will prove helpful.' Dark Magician Girl advised. "Of course! I remember this card, Yugi told me about it the day before Twilight and her friends arrived in Domino City." Tea said before remembering the day that she asked Yugi which Duel Monsters card looked more like him, to which he answered Maha Vailo was most like him. She also remembered that Yugi told her there was a hidden power deep inside the spellcaster.

"I'm not through yet! I summon Maha Vailo in attack mode!" Tea declared before her magician appeared. "Looks weak to me." Shozu said. "But I'm not done there! Next I activate Black Pendant to raise my monster's attack and defense points by 500!" Tea retorted before Maha Vailo's attack and defense points increased to 2050 and 1700, respectively. "You must've slacked in some of your math courses, kid, it's still too short on attack points to defeat my Flying Penguin." Shozu stated.

"You must not know of Maha Vailo's special ability, he gets 500 attack points or every magic card equipped to him." Tea retorted before Maha Vailo's attack points jumped to 2550. "No way!" Shozu said in shock. "Yes, way!" AJ declared. "Go, Maha Vailo! Attack his Flying Penguin with Mystic Lightning!" Tea commanded before, with one strike, the Flying Penguin was blasted apart and Shuzo's life points lowered to 1850, causing him to become encased in ice a bit more. "Well, we're safe. At least for now." she said.

Meanwhile, Yugi and the girls heard Tea complaining about the cold weather some more. "We're getting closer." Twilight said, hopeful. "You're right, Tea's voice is getting louder." Yugi concurred before they started running again. 'Time's running out. The girls and I have to defeat more of Noah's virtual monsters so that we can get out of this maze and find both Tea and Applejack before it's too late.' he thought before they came to the doors.

"Alright, where's the three star door?" Pinkie asked before they quickly spotted it. Yugi drew soon after. "I summon Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight!" he declared as his monster, a level seven, Dark attribute warrior/effect monster with 2300 attack points and 2100 defense points, appeared. "Yugi, stop the attack!" Twilight shouted, realizing something was up. And she was right, because right then and there, one of the engraved glyphs on the door disappeared, and Gaia's own attack was reflected right back at it.

"What was that?!" Pinkie asked. "I think that door has some facedown cards, and I think Yugi triggered one of them when he ordered Gaia to attack, and the one he triggered was Mirror Force." Twilight explained before pointing out that the facedowns were engraved under the level stars. "I get it. Noah didn't want to make this easy for us. Well, better try again." Yugi said before drawing. "I summon Gazelle!" he declared before the creature appeared and the monster behind the door showed itself, it was a level three, Dark attribute Fiend with 1200 attack points and 800 defense points.

"That's the Dark King of the Abyss!" Twilight said in surprise. "This should be easy." Pinkie said, confidently. "I wouldn't count on it. Look! Another facedown card is being activated." Twilight pointed out. And it turned out to be the Sword of Dark Destruction, which raised its attack points to 1600. "Now it's stronger than Gazelle." she added. "Then I summon Berfomet!" Yugi declared as his creature appeared. "And now I'll use Polymerization to fuse them and form Chimera!" he added as his two monsters became one. "Now attack!" he commanded.

In no time, the Dark King of the Abyss was trampled. "Great! Now let's go!" Twilight said before they charged forward. They stopped in the final part of the maze. "There's the four star door!" Pinkie said. "Not so fast, guys, this door has its entire spell and trap zone filled." Twilight cautioned. "Noah could've hidden anything behind this door, and we can't run out of cards so we must be careful." she added. "You're right. Pinkie and me have a few cards remaining." Yugi concurred before drawing. "This will do the trick." he said upon finding that he drew the Dark Magician.

"No, don't play it yet. We have to get rid of those facedowns first." Twilight advised. "Okay, then I play Heavy Storm!" the boy stated before his magic card took effect and blew away all the facedowns. "Good, now that Noah's monster is alone, we can get rid of it with ease." Twilight said approvingly as the creature revealed itself to be a level four, Dark attribute fiend/effect monster with 2000 attack and defense points called Flash Assailant.

"The Four-Starred Ladybug of Doom should do the trick here." Yugi said as he drew and summoned said monster, a level three, Wind attribute insect/effect monster with 800 attack points and 1200 defense points. "It may seem weak, but watch." Yugi said as the two monsters clashed, with Flash Assailant seemingly winning. "Its special ability automatically destroys all level four monsters!" he revealed before the creature was covered in stars and promptly destroyed.

"Nice move." Pinkie complimented. "Thanks. It's a good thing I had that little critter stashed in my deck." Yugi replied as the final door opened. "This is the last one, come on!" he called as he and the girls ran forward and found themselves in an icy cave. And on the other side of a sheet of ice, was Tea and Applejack. "Tea! Applejack!" Twilight called. "This doesn't look good, Tea's in a duel with one of the Big Five." Yugi said. "Not to mention her opponent took the form of a penguin." Pinkie added. "Don't worry, Tea! Stay strong! We're right here for you!" Yugi called.

"Alright, then. I summon Bolt Penguin in defense mode!" Shuzo said as his monster, a level three, Water attribute Thunder monster with 1100 attack points and 800 defense points, appeared. "And as an extra precaution, I'll set two cards face down." he added. "Your electric penguin only has 800 defense points, I can roast him in just one blast." Tea said as she drew. "So stand back, Shuzo! Maha Vailo, attack his Bolt Penguin, now!" she declared before her monster blasted the bird apart. But Shuzo chuckled.

"All my calculations were right on the money! I activate Waboku to brace myself for what's about to happen, and that being activating this! Revenge Sacrifice!" he declared as his two cards activated. Suddenly, red tentacles came and captured Maha Vailo. "Goodbye, Maha Vailo!" he declared as the mighty sorcerer was pulled forward. "No! Not him!" Tea shouted. "Revenge Sacrifice allows me to destroy the card you used to destroy my monster, and Waboku will protect me from the added effect of your Black Pendant." Shuzo explained.

"And now I'll defend myself with this monster, the impenetrable Defender Iceberg!" he declared as his creature, a level six, Water attribute aqua/effect monster with 0 attack points, now increased to 200 by way of Shozu's Deck Master ability, and 2450 defense points, rose from the water. "That's got to be the BIGGEST ice cube I've ever seen!" AJ said in shock.

"That's right, and this giant ice cube has 2450 defense points! Tea will never get past it!" Shozu stated as he drew. "And don't think I'm done, I'll set one card face down, and then summon Penguin Torpedo!" he continued before his new monster, a level three, Water attribute aqua/effect monster with 550 attack points, now increased to 750, and 300 defense points, appeared.

"This little bird is a real blast, kids, especially when my Deck Master ability gives it a boost! And best of all, it can attack your life points directly!" he added before the creature launched and nailed Tea's life points directly, lowering them to 1500 and encasing her in ice even further. "And since you lost a chunk of life points, you gain a chunk of ice! Quite chilling, isn't it?" he concluded. "L-l-l-look, Shuzo. I'm not out yet." Tea said as she shivered and drew.

'These two cards won't help, I'm out of moves!' she thought. 'There is one thing you can do, Tea. Move me out onto the field, trust me. It's your last hope.' the Dark Magician Girl advised. "I guess I have nothing to lose. I move Dark Magician Girl to the field!" Tea said at last. "I'm sure you realize that when your Deck Master is destroyed, you lose. You must have a pathetic hand to make that move." Shozu stated. "Now watch and learn." he added as he drew.

"I activate Ocean of Regeneration to bring back my old friend, Penguin Torpedo!" he declared as his torpedo returned to the field, shocking both girls. "This magic card allows me to bring back one water monster from my graveyard for one turn." he explained. "Penguin Torpedo, attack Tea's life points directly again!" he commanded before his weapon of feathery destruction launched and nailed Tea once more, lowering her life points to 750 and further trapping her in ice, to the horror of AJ and the group behind the sheet of ice.

"I'm suddenly in the mood for a glass of iced Tea!" he joked. "Soon I'll return to the world as a free bird!" he declared. "Leave my friend alone you mad bird!" Pinkie shouted as she banged on the ice sheet in vain. "If she loses this duel she'll be trapped here forever! It's not fair, she doesn't have enough experience. And she's losing badly." Twilight said as tears formed in her eyes. "Tea CAN win this, Twilight, by trusting in herself and in the Heart of the Cards." Yugi said, reassuringly.

'Tea's down to her last few life points, and Dark Magician Girl isn't strong enough to get past that Defender Iceberg. Plus, if she's destroyed, Tea automatically loses.' AJ thought, worried. 'Tea, there is one card in your deck that can save us, it's the first one you picked.' Dark Magician Girl said, causing Tea to remembered when she first picked her cards, and the first one she touched, specifically. 'You mean, the Sage's Stone magic card?' the nearly frozen girl asked, mentally. 'Yes, that's the card you need to draw.' Dark Magician Girl confirmed.

"For all I know, it could be at the bottom of my deck." Tea pointed out. 'Then I will help you draw it. But in order to do so, I must use my Deck Master ability to call upon all the monsters in your graveyard.' the wise magician said. "Through my magical powers, I hereby raise every monster sent to my friend's graveyard!" she declared as Tea's four fallen monsters appeared around the Dark Magician Girl.

"What's going on?!" Shuzo asked in shock. "I think Tea activated her Deck Master's special ability!" AJ said in surprise. 'The four monsters I have brought back have formed a soul circle, Tea. Now you can draw four new cards. The rest, is up to you.' Dark Magician Girl explained as four cards magically flew out of Tea's deck and showed themselves to her. 'Let's see. Did I draw the card I need?' Tea pondered before she saw the very last card. 'Yes! Now, to play it.' she thought before she took it and slotted it into the empty spell/trap card slot. "Now what does this card do?" she asked.

Suddenly, behind the sheet of ice, from Yugi's deck, the Dark Magician came forth. "The Dark Magician? But we're not in the middle of a duel, so how was he summoned?" Yugi pondered. "Only one way, Tea must've played Sage's Stone!" Twilight said, realizing what was going on before the creature burst through the ice and joined his female counterpart on the field. "What in tarnation?! It's the Dark Magician!" AJ said in shock.

"I have no idea where he came from, but I'm not complaining!" Tea said, completely surprised. "What?! But how? My calculations indicated that I'd win this duel! This doesn't add up at all!" Shozu said in shock. "The power of the Sage's Stone magic card bestows upon me the unique ability to call forth my counterpart, the Dark Magician, from any nearby player's deck." Dark Magician Girl explained. "WHAT?! That can't be! That means..." Shozu began to say in horror.

"It most certainly does, Yugi Muto, the King of Games, is present! From him, through my protégé's power, I have come!" the mighty magician declared. "Double Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician Girl declared before, in mere moments, Dark Magician's attack destroyed Defender Iceberg while Dark Magician Girl's attack wiped out Shozu's life points completely, obliterating him. 'Our task is complete.' Dark Magician Girl said, mentally, before she looked toward her male counterpart. nodded, and disappeared with him.

"Whoa. I won." Tea said, relieved that it was over before passing out as the ice that encased her disappeared. "Tea? Can you hear me?" Twilight asked before Tea woke up and saw her, Pinkie, Yugi and AJ looking down at her. "You're okay, and you did it!" Pinkie said with a big smile. "Yugi, Twilight, Pinkie! I was almost a human ice pop! I'm so glad to see you all." Tea said as she hugged all three of them with tears in her eyes.

"So are we, Tea. And now that we're all together again, I promise it'll stay that way." Twilight said, reassuringly as Noah looked on from his control room, slightly disappointed. "How nice. Little do they all realize, I'm just getting warmed up. They're all fools, if they think they can escape my virtual universe, for that will never happen. NEVER!" he said, determined not to let them beat him.