Freeze Play Part II
Once again, the Kaiba brothers found themselves walking through the woods.
'I wonder if these virtual berries have any taste,' Mokuba mused. 'I feel like I haven't eaten in months.' They both came to a stop. 'Hey, do you think anyone's serving food in that shack?'
'I doubt it,' Kaiba said. In fact, he was suspicious of that shack. But there seemed to be nowhere else to go. They climbed up the hill towards it. 'Hm…a house in the middle of the woods. This seems a little too convenient.'
'You think it's another one of Noah's virtual traps?' Mokuba asked.
Kaiba wrapped his hand around the handle. 'Just let me open it, and stay right next to me, Mokuba.' Inside, the first thing they saw was pitch darkness. Then a very familiar front lobby appeared around them. Kaiba started and cried out in alarm. 'What? Hold on! It's our stepfather's old house!'
The Kaiba brother stepped in and looked around.
'Another blast from our past,' Mokuba remarked. Ahead of them the old butler led their younger selves through the place. 'Look! It's a virtual projection of our first day in this house!'
'That's right!' Kaiba exclaimed. 'It's the day Gozaboro took us home from the orphanage!'
New Haven, CT, USA
Shauna and Noel sat in the computer lab, watching this.
'How is he even doing this?' Noel asked.
'As I said, I think he's got some kind of software that interacts with your memories,' Shauna said. 'At least, that's what I gathered from what happened with the Pharaoh.'
Noel looked at her. 'So, that was the Pharaoh's memories?'
'Yes. It happened after he died, but he must have still somehow been conscious of it.' Shauna frowned. 'Still, this doesn't look good. It's like Gozaboro never heard the phrase "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy".'
Noel pulled a face. 'He was making him study at the level of an adult at knifepoint and with a shackle around his neck. And I can't believe that none of the other adults in that house did anything about it!'
'Yeah, from the look of it, those are all the same servants that were bought out by Pegasus and assisted in kidnapping Mokuba when Kaiba's back was turned. I think Gozaboro just hired people that cared more about the size of their pay checks rather than any moral implications of what they were doing.'
'Not a single one of them?' Noel huffed. 'If I'd have gotten my hands on them, I'd have…' She made a gesture with her hands.
Shauna chuckled.
Then they watched them take away his toys.
Her mother repeated the gesture.
Virtual World
Kaiba and Mokuba tensed as they had to rewatch the absolute torture Kaiba had gone through as a kid at the hands of Gozaboro and the devil-butler that Kaiba should have gotten rid of as soon as he took over. After all, he'd been one of the vultures bought out by Pegasus.
'Sleeping?' Devil-Butler in question said, putting the book in front of Seto. 'Already? You still have one more lesson left tonight. And you left this textbook behind. If I were you, I'd be more careful next time.'
'Whatever you say, Hobson,' Seto mumbled.
Hobson bowed and left with the statement, 'Your next lesson's in one hour.'
Seto hauled himself up and looked at the book in question. He glared at the book and threw it aside, only for the book to fall open, and a folded up bit of paper to fall out. Seto looked over, startled. The pages had been cut out and duel monsters cards had been shoved into the hole. He moved over and picked up the note first.
Kaiba still remembered the contents of that note.
Dear Seto, Mokuba had written, I guess you found my hiding place. Remember, big bro, they can't take away everything from us. So enjoy my gift, but don't let them find it. Love Mokie.
Seto smiled. 'Thanks, bro.' He picked them up. 'My Duel Monsters cards!' He flipped through them. 'Well, they're not the greatest cards, but they're mine.' He paused. 'Huh?'
Yeah, Kaiba remembered that too. Before he'd owned any actual Blue Eyes White Dragons, Mokuba had drawn one for him.
'A Blue Eyes White Dragon?' Seto got up and walked out onto the balcony with the cards. 'Mokuba made me a Blue Eyes card. One day, I know I'll have the real thing in my deck. Just wait!'
Not that Kaiba was overly proud of how he'd gone about getting the real thing in his deck.
The whole world around them dissolved into blackness.
Mokuba looked around. 'Huh?'
The slow clapping told Kaiba exactly what was coming, even as Mokuba looked around in confusion. Noah chuckled before he faded into view. 'A good show by the Kaiba boys.' He propped a hand on his hip. 'That trip down memory lane really pulls at the heart strings, doesn't it?'
'Noah!' Kaiba snapped. 'We've had enough of your sick and twisted games!'
'Why, the game's only just begun,' Noah said, 'so get ready to relive every painful moment of your entire lives!'
That didn't sound good. 'What?'
Noah sneered. 'It's gonna be a very bumpy ride.'
'Look, kid. What do you expect to gain from this?'
His face went crazed. 'Everything that should've been mine from the beginning!'
YGO
'This game's pretty easy,' Yugi remarked. 'The stars above each door represent the strength of the monster behind that door. Beat the monster and get through.'
There's a clue we're missing, the Pharaoh said.
'But what can it be?' Yugi pondered for a moment. 'I know! Maybe the stars represent more than just the power level of the monsters!'
But what, Yugi? His face was still twisted, so Yugi imagined part of his mind was still on that nightmare vision that Shauna had accidently conjured.
'Well, what if…they're like directions for us?' He turned to the two-star door. 'Yeah! Through the one-star door first, then the two, then the three, then the four.'
Yes! And the reason you and I have been travelling around in circles is because we've only been choosing to battle against the monsters that have one star!
'Well, let's try this door!' Yugi turned to the two-star door and drew a new card. 'So now I play Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!' He set it and the monster appeared on the field. 'Attack!' The monster came out of the two-star door. His Guardian destroyed the monster.
Well done.
Yugi gave him a thumb's up. 'Now, let's go through and find Téa!' Yugi ran through the doorway.
YGO
'A bit brisk, isn't it?' Téa quipped, even as her teeth chattered. 'I can't even…feel my toes!'
Crump chuckled. 'Advantage number 204 of being a penguin: we have thermo-insulated flipper feet. Now, let's get back to business, shall we?'
Téa lifted the card, but couldn't hold her hand still. The Dark Magician Girl reached over and held her hand steady. Be strong. Her skin certainly felt a heck of a lot warmer than Téa's did. Téa looked at her and steeled herself. She turned back to Crump. 'All right. Let's do this.'
'Good! The sooner you make your move, the sooner I can freeze you over and win this duel!' Crump laughed again. 'You're already knee-deep in ice, and the worst is yet to come, my dear. My all-powerful Flying Penguin is all ready to saw straight through your puny defence.'
'No!' Téa looked at the Dark Magician Girl. 'If his Flying Penguin attacks, I'll be wide open. And if I place you on the playing field to defend me, then he'll just destroy you!'
'So very true,' Crump remarked, calling her attention back to him. 'And if your Deck Master is destroyed, well, then, you automatically lose the duel, my dear.'
Téa played her card. 'I'll place one monster face-down in defence mode and then I'll end my turn, Crump.' The card in question appeared on the field.
'An extremely desperate move for an extremely desperate girl!' Crump drew. 'And my hand continues to grow more powerful! And now, take this! Flying Penguin attack!'
The Flying Penguin attacked and sliced right through Téa's defence. Snow somehow shot up around them.
'Ha! There goes your face-down card!' Crump crowed. 'Now, you're back where you started.
'Not quite,' Téa said. 'You revealed my Skelengle, which lets me draw one new card.' She drew the card in question. Magic Formula. This could come in handy.
'I've run the numbers and you're out of luck,' Crump said. 'So play whatever pathetic card you'd like, cause it's only a matter of time before you're frozen here forever, or my name isn't Adrian Randolph Crump III, a master in the art of number-crunching and, I must say, best-dressed penguin in the world.' He laughed and stuck his tongue out.
Téa stared in disgust. 'You are a weird little bird, Crump.' She reached for her deck. And I'm in the mood for a barbeque. She drew. 'What's this?' Maha Vailo? No! He's not powerful enough! There's no way he'll beat Flying Penguin!
Téa, the Dark Magician Girl called her attention. Don't give up so fast. He has a secret skill that can help you.
'Huh?' Téa faced her. 'What kind of a skill? Hold on! I remember this. Yugi once told me about this card.' He'd compared it to himself. It didn't look like much, but there was a hidden power deep inside. For Yugi, that was the Pharaoh. For Maha Vailo…Of course! Its hidden strength! She looked back up at Crump. 'I'm not done yet!'
'Huh?' Crump demanded.
'Now I summon Maha Vailo in attack mode!' Téa set the card. It appeared on the field and Maha Vailo emerged from the card.
'That's weak!' Crump sneered.
'Wait, I'm not done.' Téa took the other card from her hand. She set the card. 'I activate Magic Formula!' The card appeared on the field and the edge glowed as its magic worked. 'Raising my monster's attack points by 500.' Maha Vailo's attack power went from 1550 to 2050.
'You must have failed all of your math courses, kid,' Crump declared, 'because it's still too short on attack points to defeat my Flying Penguin!'
'I guess you don't know about Maha Vailo's hidden power,' Téa said. 'He gets 500 extra attack points for each one of my magic cards.' His attack points flew up to 2550.
Crump jumped. 'No fair!'
'Oh, it's fair!' She called the attack. 'Go, Maha Vailo! Attack his Flying Penguin with Sacred Lightning!'
Maha Vailo reached up to the heavens. A storm cloud appeared overhead. Thunder rumbled. Then the lightning shot down. First it went into her monster's hands.
'Add this up, Crump!' Téa called across the field.
Maha Vailo threw the lightning across the field. The Flying Penguin was destroyed. Crump screamed as the lightning flew over him.
'Extra crispy fried penguin anyone?' Téa quipped.
Crump's life points dropped to 1850.
'We're safe,' Téa said. 'At least for now.'
YGO
Yugi ran down the corridor. He was stopped by Téa's voice again.
'It's freezing!' It was the same words, only louder. He was beginning to wonder if she'd said that once and Noah was just repeating it over and over again. 'I don't know how much longer I can last out here!' Okay, that was a new one. Still, that didn't mean his thought wasn't right.
We're getting close, the Pharaoh said.
'Yeah,' Yugi said. 'Téa's getting louder!' He turned and ran again. But time is running out! The Pharaoh and I have to defeat more of Noah's monsters so we can get through this virtual maze, and find Téa before it's too late! 'I see another set of doors ahead!' He reached the end of the tunnel and came into yet another room.
Yugi looked around. 'We need the three-star door!'
They spotted it.
There it is!
'Yes!' Yugi drew Gaia from his deck and set it on his duel disk in attack mode. 'Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, attack!' Gaia appeared and charged.
No! Stop the attack!
'Huh?' Yugi looked back at the Pharaoh. 'It's too late!'
Gaia attacked but he was destroyed.
'Gaia!' Yugi cried.
That door has been equipped with a trap card, the Pharaoh said. Look more closely. Right under the stars.
Yugi looked, and gasped. 'Three face-down cards!' One of the card carvings vanished. 'Of course. Then that blast had to be a Mirror Force trap card.'
So, try again.
'Here goes.' Yugi drew again and played it. 'I summon Gizelle!' The monster appeared in front of them. Another monster emerged from the door.
It looks like Dark King of the Abyss, a weaker monster.
'Awesome! Say goodbye!'
No, wait! Another face-down card is being activated. A sword appeared in the Dark Kings hand. Now it's stronger.
Yup, by 400 points. 'Then I summon Burfermet!' Yugi played the card and the monster appeared in front of them. He grabbed the third card. 'Then I'll use this!' He played it. 'Polymerisation, fuse them together!' The two monsters fused. 'To form Chimera! Now, attack my Mythical Beast!'
Chimera attacked and the Dark King was destroyed.
'Yes!' Yugi took off. 'Let's go!' He charged through the tunnel and into the final room. Now, where's that four-star monster? He found it. There it is!
Patience, Yugi, the Pharaoh cautioned him. You must be very careful. This door has been equipped with five cards. Noah could have hidden just about anything behind that door. And you're low on cards so choose wisely.
Yugi looked at his deck. 'You're right. I only have a few cards left.'
Defeating a four-star monster plus five face-down cards is no easy task, the Pharaoh stated.
Yugi pulled the Dark Magician. 'This may do it!'
No! You mustn't play Dark Magician yet.
The Pharaoh must've known something he didn't. 'Okay.' Yugi moved it into his hand and pulled another card and played it. 'Then how about the Heavy Storm magic card?' The effect activated. 'It destroys all magic and trap cards!' The carvings vanished under the effects.
Nice work. Now his monster stands alone, with no face-down cards to protect it.
The monster in question appeared before them.
Destroy it, Yugi.
Yugi took his final card and played it. 'Four-Starred Ladybug of Doom should do the trick!' It charged at the monster as the aforementioned monster attacked it. 'It may seem weak, but watch this!'
The monsters collided. The Ladybug was destroyed first. But then Noah's monster collapsed in agony, star patterns appearing all over its body.
'It automatically destroys all four-star monsters!'
Just that happened.
'Oh, yeah!' Yugi cheered.
Excellent move.
Yugi faced him with a grin. 'Thanks. It's a good thing I had that little critter stashed in my deck.' The door cleared. 'This could be the last door! Come on!' He ran through a short tunnel and came into an ice cavern of some description. As he hit the wall, he could feel it vibrating slightly, but he could see Tea right through it, in the middle of a duel with a member of the Big 5 that'd taken on the form of Nightmare Penguin.
'Téa!' Yugi called. 'This doesn't look good.'
The Pharaoh pressed a hand to the ice. Shauna's trying to take down the wall, but I think she's still trying to work out the rules of Noah's world.
And, until she worked them out, they were stuck here.
YGO
Téa shivered.
'All right then!' Crump took his turn. 'I play Volt Penguin in defence mode!' He set the card and it appeared on the field. 'And, as an extra precaution, I'll play one card face-down.' The card appeared on the field.
'Your little turkey has only 800 defence points,' Téa stated. 'I could stuff it and roast it with one blast!' She drew. 'So stand back, Crump!' She called the attack again. 'Maha Vailo, attack his Volt Penguin now!' Her monster attacked and the Penguin was destroyed.
But Crump sniggered. He threw his head back and cried out. 'All my calculations were right on the money! Now I activate Revenge Sacrifice!' The face-down card on his side of the field flipped up. Worm-like tentacle shot out of it and headed straight for her monster. 'Goodbye, Maha Vailo!' They grabbed him and dragged him back into the card.
'No!' Téa cried. 'Not him!'
'Revenge Sacrifice destroys the card you used to attack my monster,' Crump said. He grabbed another card. 'And now I'll defend myself with this monster!' He played the card and it appeared, rising up out of the ocean from behind a massive wave. 'The Impenetrable Defender Iceberg!'
Téa stared at the enormous monster on the field in horror. 'Check that out! It's like a giant ice cube!'
'Yes!' Crump crowed. 'A giant ice cube with 2450 defence points! You'll never get past that! And don't think I'm done!' He took another card and set it. 'I'll place this face-down,' he played yet another card, 'and summon Penguin Torpedo!'
A penguin-shaped torpedo appeared on the field.
'This little bird is a real blast, kid! Especially when my Deck Master ability gives it a boost!' The Torpedo's attack went from 550 to 750, and then it was launched. He dived into the water and shot across the field. 'I almost forgot! It can attack your life points directly.'
It leapt out of the water and smashed into the base of Téa's feet. She yelled out in alarm as snow was thrown up. For a second, she thought she heard Yugi call out her name. Must be wishful thinking.
'And since you lost a chunk of life points, you gain another chunk of ice!'
Téa watched the ice grow up around to her midsection as her life points dropped down to 1500.
'Yes! It's quite chilling, isn't it?'
Téa drew and shivered uncontrollably. 'L-l-look, Crump! I'm not out yet!' She added the card to her hand. She looked at them. These two cards won't help. I'm out of moves!
There is one thing you can do, Téa, the Dark Magician Girl spoke to her again.Move me out to the playing field. She shifted. Trust me. It's your last hope!
Téa stared at her. 'I guess I have nothing to lose.' She made the statement. 'I move Dark Magician Girl to the field.'
Her Deck Master moved out.
'Don't you realise if your Deck Master is destroyed, you lose?' Crump demanded. 'You must have a pathetic hand to make that move!' He drew. 'Now watch and learn.' His face-down card flipped up and activated. 'I activate Ocean of Regeneration to bring back my old friend, Penguin Torpedo!'
The Torpedo reappeared on the field.
Both Téa and the Dark Magician Girl gasped in worry.
'This magic card allows me to bring any water monster back from my graveyard for one turn,' Crump said as the Torpedo's attack went back up to 750. 'Penguin Torpedo, attack her life points directly again!'
Once again, the Penguin Torpedo struck. She suddenly found herself encased in ice except for her head and arms. Her life points dropped to 750.
Crump threw his head back and laughed. 'Soon, I'll return to the real world as a free bird!'
YGO
Yugi banged against the ice barrier. 'Leave her alone! Téa!' He jammed his eyes shut to force the tears back. 'If she loses this duel, she'll be trapped here. But it's not fair! She's not experienced enough!' He clenched his fist. 'And she's losing badly!'
Téa can win, Yugi, the Pharaoh said. By trusting in herself and believing in the Heart of the Cards.
Yugi opened his eyes and looked back out at her.
YGO
I'm down to my last few life points, Téa thought. And my Dark Magician Girl isn't strong enough to get past his defence. Plus, since she's my Deck Master if she's destroyed, I automatically lose. She jammed her eyes shut.
Téa, there is one card in your deck that can save us. The Dark Magician Girl turned. It's the first card you picked.
Téa gasped. She knew exactly which card the Dark Magician Girl meant. Wait. Is it…the Sage's Stone magic card?
Yes, Téa. That's the card you need to draw.
'But…it could be at the bottom of my deck for all I know.'
I will help you draw this card, the Dark Magician Girl announced. To do this, I must first invoke my Deck Master's special ability to call upon every monster in your graveyard, Tea. Behold! 'Dark Magic Energies, please hear my call! Enter our graveyard and revive the monsters within!'
Téa looked down, startled, as her duel disk glowed and then four pink lights shot out of it before the glow vanished. The four orbs of light grew as they approached. By the time they came to a stop, circling around the Dark Magician Girl they were the same size as her. All four of her previously lost monsters appeared in the orbs. Energy travelled from the orbs to the Dark Magician Girl like electrical currents.
'What's going on?' Crump demanded.
Téa, I have formed a soul-circle with the four monsters in your card graveyard. This allows you to draw four new cards. Téa's deck glowed and the four cards seemed to draw themselves. They floated in front of her. The rest is up to you.
Téa quickly looked at the cards in front of her. Let's see. Did I draw the card I need? She gasped as she saw it floating in front of her. Yes! There it is! She stretched over and took the Sage's Stone magic card. Now to…play it! The ice made it difficult to get the card into the duel disk. 'Stupid ice!' She got the card in and the slot glowed. 'Did it!'
The glow and the other monsters disappeared from around the Dark Magician Girl.
Téa looked up at her. So…what exactly does this card do?
YGO
On the other side of the ice barrier, Yugi's deck suddenly glowed. He gasped and looked down. His entire duel disk was glowing. A purple orb appeared over his deck. 'What's up with my duel disk?'
At a guess? The Pharaoh responded. Téa just played the Sage's Stone magic card.
The purple orb shot out and grew in size, revealing that the Dark Magician was inside. 'Wow! My Dark Magician! But how was he summoned?'
Simple, the Pharaoh said. The Dark Magician Girl would have special features attuned to him, as she does in normal play. She's been moved onto the field, so using Sage's Stone would automatically call the nearest Dark Magician onto the field to join her. The nearest one just happens to be in your deck.
The Dark Magician turned and smashed through the wall. His purple orb sailed across the icy water and shrank as it got closer and closer to Téa. Yugi watched in astonishment as it flew over to her duel disk and then the Dark Magician appeared on the field with the Dark Magician Girl.
'…I take it he won't be in my deck anyone?'
No. He'll be on Téa's duel disk.
Téa gasped in surprised as a purple orb flew out of the air from somewhere behind her – where she swore she'd heard a crash – and settled on her duel disk. When it faded, she was shocked to see what card was sitting there. 'Dark Magician?' Her head snapped up as there was a bright glow on her side of the field. She was startled to see the monster in question hovering side-by-side with the Dark Magician Girl. 'I have no idea where he came from, but I am not complaining!'
Crump seemed to be freaking out. 'But…how? What? My calculations assured me that I would win this duel! This just doesn't add up at all!'
'The power of the Sage's Stone magic card bestows upon me the unique ability to call forth the Dark Magician from any nearby player's deck,' the Dark Magician Girl said.
'What?' Crump demanded. 'This can't be!'
That must mean that Yugi was somewhere close!
'Double Dark Magic Attack!' Dark Magician Girl cried out as she and the Dark Magician both attack Crump and his monster as one. The two beams fused into one. They punched through his defence monster and went on to hit Crump directly. The accountant screamed and his platform was destroyed. He was digitised and flew up into the air.
His life points dropped down to 0.
Our task is complete.
The Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl looked at each other. They smiled and nodded before they vanished. 'Whoa! I won…' But it'd all been too much for her. The world went black. She wasn't sure how long she was out for, but she was roused by a familiar voice.
'Téa? Can you hear me?'
Téa opened her eyes and Yugi's face swum into view.
His concerned face lit up into a smile. 'Téa! You did it!'
It took her a moment to remember what'd happened. 'Yugi!' She was vaguely aware of the fact that he was holding her up. He let go once she no longer needed it. 'I was almost a human ice-pop!' She threw her arms around him and hugged him. 'I'm so glad to see you!'
'Hm mm.'
She barely noticed. She just tried to keep herself from crying. It felt like this had been the longest day ever!
Either way he recovered himself. 'Me too, Téa, and now that we're together, I promise I'll stay that way!'
They just had to find the rest of the gang.
