Freeze Play Part I

Téa was just glad that was over.

'I've had enough man-eating giants for today,' she remarked as she climbed. 'Well, I'm almost there.' She climbed up the final few rungs. 'I wonder if everyone's having as much fun as I am.'

Odds were…yes.

YGO

Yugi ran through the dark corridor. It seemed endless. Logically, he knew Sharee would be fine. She didn't duel competitively, but she was just as good as both he and Joey were. And Joey would be fine. The ones to worry about would be Téa and Serenity. Neither of them really knew how to duel.

Serenity, he was sure, was with Sharee. After all, Sharee had a hand on her arm when they fell. That meant when it came time for her to duel, it would be up to Sharee to work it out. That meant that Téa was the first one they had to find. It was just a good thing she watched them duel so much.

But with that self-imposed mission in mind, Yugi sought out the end of this corridor.

But he had to stop to catch his breath. 'Does this tunnel ever end?' He turned his head when the Pharaoh answered.

It might, but only when Noah wants it to. You mustn't forget, Yugi, he's controlling everything around us.

Yugi scowled. 'Noah can try to stop us if he wants to, but we're gonna find our friends, no matter what!'

Right.

They took off running again.

But they didn't run for very long before the tunnel transformed.

'What's going on?'

A vortex appeared under his feet and Yugi fell.

YGO

Téa finally came over the top.

'This easily wins the prize for the worst day ever!' She managed to crawl a few meters and then she collapsed. Panting for breath, she rolled over onto her back. 'I need a nap.' Just a small one. So I can get…my energy…back. She closed her eyes for a moment. The next thing she knew, she was back at school and talking to Yugi.

'Hey, Yugi!' she said. 'I had a dream that we were trapped in a virtual world and we had to duel these five old guys to escape.'

'Uh, Téa,' Yugi said. 'This is the dream.' As if to prove it, he produced a duel monsters card out of thin air. 'And when you wake up, you'll need this card.'

Téa stared down at it. It was one of the more human-looking ones, a pretty girl with rosy cheeks and a bright smile. 'I will?'

'Yup. It's the Dark Magician Girl.' Yugi's face lit up. 'Remember? There was a Broadway play about this card. We saw it a few years ago.'

'We did?'

'Well, not really,' Yugi said, 'but this is your dream so just go with it.'

Téa found herself reliving this…memory. First, seeing the advertisement for the show and then being in the audience. Then hearing the announcer declare that one person from the audience would join the show. The next thing Téa knew, she was in the Dark Magician Girl's outfit and flying overhead.

When she looked down, she was unsure if she was looking down at Yugi or the Pharaoh.

Téa was then woken up.

Opening her eyes, the face of a penguin faded into view. 'Ah!' She sat up fast, but then she quickly recognised it…she thought. 'Wait. I know you.' It wasn't like a human face, but she was sure it was the same penguin that'd saved her from the cave. 'I thought I was seeing things, but I really was rescued by a penguin. Thanks for getting me outta that cave.'

And Sharee wasn't here to tell her if this was really as weird as she thought it was.

The penguin made sounds that sounded like chirping, and waved his…fins? Arms? Flippers?

Téa blinked in confusion. 'Say what?'

Then the penguin turned and began to waddle away. It took a few steps and then chirped again, looking back at her. It waved to her in a gesture she could guess on.

'I…guess I'm supposed to follow you?' Téa asked as she stood up.

The penguin then led her away from the gorge. Unfortunately, she began traversing a lot of different terrain, including a narrow ledge on the side of a cliff. Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder. She followed the penguin through the jungle and out towards a river.

She looked over in surprise. 'Huh? There are more of you guys?' There were a whole bunch of penguins sitting around a raft. She followed the penguin to the edge of the river's pier. It hopped onto the raft and chirped at her, waving at her to jump on board. 'Well, what do I have to lose? Let's go.'

Téa jumped onto the raft. The other penguins jumped on the raft too, and pushed it off from the pier. The jolt made Téa lose her balance and she fell on her backside. Rubbing the sore area, she decided to just stay where she was. She remembered hearing from somewhere – it might've been Sharee – that you were better off sitting down on a smaller boat.

A raft was about as small as you got.

'Take it easy, guys.' She paused as she realised what had just happened. 'Yup. I'm talking to penguins.'

They travelled up the river. Or was it down? Either way, the further along they went, the colder it got. Soon it felt like the kind of environment she'd expect to find penguins in. And the further along they went, the more uneasy Téa felt. She was suddenly remembering what the real danger here was – and it wasn't the man-eating freaks.

'Mr. Penguin,' Téa said. 'Um…could you squawk twice if we're almost there?'

The penguin she'd been talking to then squawked twice. Then all the penguins dived into the water.

'Hey, don't go!' But it was too late. They were already gone. However, the chirping around her had her looking around. The land – which seemed to be made up of ice – was crowded with penguins. 'Oh, you have got to be kidding me!' She looked ahead to see a patch of land with greenery and a long stairway leading up to a kind of place. 'Of all the possible places I could have gone, I had to end up on a raft ride to a virtual Antarctica!' The Raft came to a stop. 'Or worse, planet of the penguins!' She looked around, unsure. 'Hi, there. I come in peace?'

They started moving.

'Uh…take me to your leader?'

Then she realised the penguins were forming a path to the stairway that led up to the palace. That didn't look like a short climb either, and she was not wearing the shoes for it. Tea growled to herself and found herself wishing for Sharee's runners or combat boots.

They'd be far better for walking up those stairs.

'If I'm gonna climb 2000 stairs, there better be someone up there who speaks Japanese.'

Her legs were killing her by the time she got up there. The doors swung open in front of her. The room she stepped into was full of penguins. 'Hello?' she called out as she walked in. 'Is anybody in there?'

She recognised the voice that answered. 'Of course. Open your eyes and look around, will you? You're surrounded by my penguin army.'

'I know!' Téa snapped. 'I meant, is there anyone in here without feathers and a beak?'

'There's no one here but us penguins, Téa,' he sneered.

'You know my name?' Téa asked.

'I know more than that, Téa Gardner. Five foot five, size six sneaker. I've got all the numbers in my report. And I'd say your number is up, because I'm about to put the freeze on you!' He cracked up laughing.

'Who are you?' Téa demanded. 'And what do you want from me, anyway?'

'Don't tell me you forgot our last meeting.' The penguins moved out of the way and she saw a desk and chair set up. A larger penguin in a top hat and a waistcoat.

'Huh?' Téa started. 'I think I'd remember you.'

'Look, things are never what they appear to be here so when we met earlier I looked a bit different,' he said. 'Give up? I'm one of the Big 5!' He flipped off the desk and landed in the chair, pulling out a clipboard. 'The name's Crump, former accountant of KaibaCorp.'

Téa did remember him! 'Disguised as a penguin?'

'Yes, and I'll explain all that soon.' He flicked a page over in his clipboard. 'But, for starters, let's do a quick run through your numbers. According to my notes, there's a 100% chance that we're going to duel!'

Téa drew back. 'Me versus you?' That must've been what Yugi meant in that dream she'd had. She'd need the Dark Magician Girl in her coming duel.

'Exactly. Winner gets to leave this world. Loser is trapped here forever. Now then, let's get back to my calculations. Says here you've duelled five times in your life, which gives you a 1% chance of actually winning this duel. It also says you've eaten 216 slices of pizza.'

'Hey, how do you know all this stuff about me, bird-brain?' Téa demanded, cause that felt really invasive.

'Collecting facts and figures is my job, and you'd be surprised what numbers tell you about a person's life.'

'Look, Crump, my life is none of your business!'

Crump flipped over another page. 'I'm going to have to disagree with you. I need to know everything about you. That way, when I win this duel, I'll be ready to become you.'

'No way!'

'My partners and I no longer have our own bodies.'

That piece of information startled her. 'So that's why…er…' She looked around at the penguins.

'Yes, that's why I've taken the form of a giant virtual penguin and come here to live with my penguin brothers and sisters.'

The penguins all gave him a round of applause.

Well, he seemed popular enough with this crowd. 'Why don't you stay here?' she demanded.

'Cause I need the real world, Téa. And once I completely outduel you here in my very own Palace of Ice, I can finally return to the world disguised as you.'

Anger rolled in Téa's gut. 'Listen to me, Flipper-Feet! I've had enough of this, so I'm outta here!' She turned and ran.

Running out of the Ice Palace, Téa ran into the surrounding woodlands. Suddenly the entire environment changed and she had to come to a sharp stop. As she did, she slipped a bit on the ice. 'What's going on?' The trees were all covered with snow and so was the ground under her feet. In the next moment, everything fell and she found herself standing on a pillar of ice in the middle of the ocean.

'This can't be good.'

'Nice try!' Crump mocked her as a second pillar rose up across from her with him on top of it. 'Looks like my iceberg duelling field is about to leave you cold.'

A duel disk suddenly appeared on her arm. Téa looked down, startled. It looked just like the ones Kaiba had released for Battle City. She looked up as something caught her eye. There were rows of duelling cards floating up past her. At least Crump explained without any prompting.

'Before we start, we'll have to choose our virtual decks from this card database. Not that it really matters what cards you decide to pick. The probability that you'll be victorious is slim to none.'

Téa looked at the cards. 'How am I supposed to choose when I've never even seen most of these cards before?' Suddenly one caught her eye. 'Oh!' Wait. That one actually looks sort of familiar. She started picking her cards, going for the ones that she recognised. Good thing I've spent so many hours watching Yugi and Joey duel. As she selected her final card, the rest of the options vanished.

'Okay,' Crump said. 'As per the new rules, it's time to choose your Deck Master.'

Téa's deck appeared in her duel disk.

'It can be any monster in your deck.'

Téa took the deck and began looking through the cards. Remembering Yugi's words from the dream, she sought out the correct card. 'I know exactly who I wanna choose.' She took the card from her deck. 'So check it out!' The Dark Magician Girl emerged from the card and came to hover by Téa's side. 'Dark Magician Girl's my Deck Master. Who's yours?'

'I've already taken the form of a monster known as Nightmare Penguin, you fool! So I'm both the duellist and the deck master – two threats in one. And once you're put on ice, I'll be free to waddle my way to the real world.'

'Guess again, Crump!' Téa activated her duel disk.

Crump activated his.

'It's time to duel, Shorty!'

YGO

Yugi and the Pharaoh stood in a room with four doors around them.

'Which door to chose?' Yugi moved towards one of them. 'If we don't pick one, we're stuck here.'

Don't touch it! The Pharaoh called out to him, stopping him from doing just that.

Yugi looked back at him.

We have to test all of these doors for traps first, the Pharaoh explained.

Yugi reached into his pocket and grabbed a coin. He flicked it at the door he'd been heading towards. Something exploded out of it with a roar and the coin came flying back. It landed at Yugi's feet with a sound like it'd landed on concrete. 'Testing doors is definitely smart.'

It's true, the Pharaoh said. We won our duel, but I sense a whole new game has just begun.

New Haven, CT, USA

Shauna had been flicking over each person and she'd found Téa duelling.

Sharee said Téa duels even less than she does. I better get Yugi there as fast as I can. So, she'd gone looking for him. She found him in a virtual corridor that was designed to keep him trapped. If he solved the puzzle Noah had set – and, really, a puzzle? – then she should be able to find a way to pass him through.

Shauna just had to find a way to communicate with him.

She turned her head as her mother came in with, among other things, a headset.

Virtual World

'Time to kick your feathered butt!' Téa drew. Hm. Mirror Force. 'To begin I'll place one card face down.' She set the card in question and also played a monster card. 'And then I'll summon Ancient Elf to the field, and that's all for now, Crump.'

Crump chuckled. 'Now the fun begins. Watch this!' He drew. 'I'll start off by summoning my Giant Red Sea Snake!' He played the card and the monster appeared on the field with an attack strength of 1800. 'And he gets a little power boost!' The attack of 1800 shot up to 2000.

'How did your Snake get more attack points already?' Téa demanded.

'Well, my Deck Master's special ability increases the power of every water monster on my side of the duelling field,' Crump answered. 'So now my Snake has 2000 attack points and that's a number you can't argue with!'

Téa's eyes narrowed. 'That's what you think! So…are you going to attack me or what?'

'Patience,' Crump said. 'We accountants are a cautious bunch. I never rush into anything unless the numbers are there to support it. To attack now, I'd have to ignore one important fact: your face-down card. I'm more than 90% sure it's a trap.'

Téa gasped.

'That's not a risk a man in my position can afford to take. Of course, there's one way around that.' He set a card. 'I can activate the magic card, Cold Wave!' The card appeared on the field and lit up as it activated. A sheet of ice went over Téa's card. Crump explained. 'When Cold Wave is in effect, it freezes all magic and trap cards on the field for one full turn.'

Téa gasped again.

'Which means your Ancient Elf is now a sitting duck. Attack, mighty Sea Snake!' Crump's Snake shot forward, striking the Ancient Elf and destroying it.

'Oh, no! My life points!' Téa's life points dropped to 3450. Suddenly, something cold appeared at her feet and she looked down. Téa cried out in alarm as she saw her feet and calves were encased in ice.

'Oops,' Crump sneered. 'I forgot to mention, as each duellist's life points decrease his or her body will become encased in a block of solid ice!'

Téa forced her fear down and ground her teeth, even as he toes went numb.

'So, get ready for quite a chilling ending! Your mind will be frozen stiff until the end of time!'

YGO

'Man, it's cold…I can't take much longer!'

Yugi was sure that was Téa's voice. He was certain. 'Téa! Where are you, Téa? Tell me!'

She evidently couldn't hear him like he could hear her. 'It's so cold!'

'Téa needs our help right now!' Yugi insisted as he looked at the Pharaoh's thoughtful expression. 'We have to find what part of this virtual world Noah sent her to!'

Noah's letting us hear her just to torture us, the Pharaoh stated. What a cruel trick.

Yes, it was. But all it did was give Yugi added motivation to find her. 'We have to break outta here and find her!' He turned and ran at one of the doors. He was hit by something and there was a bright flash of light. The next thing he knew, the Pharaoh was propping him up. He looked back at the door.

Don't panic, Yugi. That's just what Noah wants you to do.

'What about Téa?' Yugi demanded.

The Pharaoh turned his head. Look up over the doors.

'Huh?' Yugi looked, and then he gasped. 'A star?' The pieces came together in his mind. 'Of course! In Duel Monsters, stars represent a card's strength.'

Right. So I'd say behind that door a one-star monster awaits us.

Yugi stood up and activated his duel disk. 'And I bet if we can defeat it, you and I can get through that door.' He drew a card. 'I summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!' He played the card and the monster appeared in front of them. 'Attack! See what's behind door number one.'

The Winged Dragon shot forwards. A green serpent monster appeared in front of the door, but it was a weak one. The Winged Dragon spat a fireball out and it was destroyed instantly. The door cleared, as did the "field". It looked like the Pharaoh had been right after all.

'Wow,' Yugi said.

All right, the Pharaoh said. We'll go in. But who knows where it leads.

'Hopefully, to Téa.'

YGO

'What's the matter, Téa?' Crump mocked her. 'Got cold feet?'

'Real funny, Crump!' Téa tried to snap, but her voice shook too much from the cold. 'You accountants are hysterical.' She drew. 'I-I place a monster in defence mode.' She set the card.

'Sounds like someone's got a case of the chills,' Crump gloated. 'You should really dress more appropriately for the weather, dear.' He chuckled darkly.

The monster card appeared on the field in front of her. 'Sorry, my tux was at the cleaners!'

'You got spunk, kid,' Crump remarked. 'Too bad it'll all go to waste when your mind is frozen here. Now, then.' He drew. 'Let's see. This could take me some time.' He looked between the cards in his…hand, so to speak. 'This card's good. But, there's always these.'

'Hurry up, Beak-Breath, it's freezing!' Téa snapped. 'So just go!'

'I need to weigh the percentages before I make my decision,' he said. 'Dark Magician Girl isn't much of a risk to me on her own. But if you added other cards, she could become more of a threat.'

Téa was startled. 'Add other cards to her?' What did that mean? And why would he tell her that?

'Of course,' Crump said. 'Every duellist knows that fact. What's the problem?'

'There is no problem.'

'Oh, I get it!' Crump sneered. 'You forgot to devise a strategy when you were picking all your cards.'

Téa growled.

'I knew it! Only a pure amateur would make that mistake.' He burst out laughing. 'I'll keep you guessing by playing these two cards,' he set the cards and they appeared on the field, 'then I'll wait for your meltdown.'

Téa studied the cards in question. He didn't attack, which means he must be planning something big.

'Soon my brain will be inside that empty head of yours, and I'll finally be free!'

'You're not flying the coup just yet so chill out.' Téa drew and then she set her card. 'I play Mystical Space Typhoon!' The card appeared on the field. 'This card allows me to destroy one of your trap or magic cards!' A typhoon exploded out of the card and crossed the field to destroy one of Crump's face-down cards. 'So say goodbye to that one!'

But Crump laughed. 'You took my bait! You destroyed one trap card, only to fall victim to another!'

Téa ground her teeth. Then she gasped as the other one flipped up.

'It's called Driving Snow!' The card lit up as its effect activated. 'When activated, it creates a blizzard to blow away one of your face-down cards. So get ready for the storm of the century!'

Both Téa and Dark Magician Girl covered their faces as a frigid blizzard came out of nowhere and blew away her Mirror Force trap card. 'Ah!'

'Cold enough for you?' Crump crowed. 'Now you've got nothing to stop my attack, so my Giant Sea Snake is free to strike!'

'Oh, yeah?' Téa shivered. 'It'll take a lot more than that to freeze me out.'

Crump smirked. 'Isn't the weather wonderful today? It's a pleasant -16°.'

Téa reached for a card in her hand. Dark Magician Girl suddenly put a hand over hers.

Téa, wait.

Startled, Téa looked over.

My Deck Master ability allows us to communicate mentally. The Dark Magician Girl smiled. I'm here to guide you.

Well, that would certainly help. Téa nodded. 'Okay. You have my trust.' They both took the card and set it. 'Now, I activate this card, Offerings to the Doomed!' The card appeared on the field and activated. Bandages shot out and wrapped around the Snake. 'Looks like I've got this duel all wrapped up, cause my magic card destroys one of your monsters. See you, Snakey!'

The Sea Snake was destroyed. Crump said nothing but he drew back.

'Now for my face-down monster! I'll switch it from defence to attack mode!' She did so and the card moved. 'Reveal, Fire Sorcerer!' The monster, which she had originally seen in Sharee's deck, emerged in a burst of flames. 'Pretty cool, right? And, now, it's time to warm things up a bit!'

Without needing the explicit commands, the Fire Sorcerer drew her fire into the palm of her hand and threw it outwards, directly in a circle around Téa and the Dark Magician Girl first off. Tea put her hands out and enjoyed the heat offered. 'Much better.' She then took her cards and said, 'Next, I'll activate Fire Sorcerer's special ability by discarding two of my cards,' she dropped them into the graveyard, 'I'm able to burn through 800 of your life points.'

Fire Sorcerer lifted her hands. The flames vanished from her palms. Crump leaned forward in confusion, before his own hands caught fire. He screeched and flapped his arms like a fat penguin trying to fly. Finally, he jammed his flippers in his mouth, extinguishing the flames, but the damage had been done. His life points dropped down to 3200.

'And don't think I'm finished with you yet, Crump!' Téa called out the official attack. 'Fire Sorcerer, put that bird on the hot seat!'

Crump screamed and ran around his platform as the Fire Sorcerer rained fireballs down onto him. A fireball finally hit him. His life points dropped down to 2200.

'And, since you lost life points, your own rule gets turned against you,' Téa said as ice covered Crump's legs. 'How do you like being frozen?'

'I absolutely love it!' Crump proclaimed. 'If you hadn't noticed, I'm a penguin, and we like things on the cool side. Or do you need a lesson on Antarctic birds?'

'Well, now that you mention it, I do have a question, Crump.'

He spread his arms. 'Where did I get my good looks from?'

'No, not quite. I wanna know why you're so obsessed with penguins.'

'Not that it's any of your business,' Crump said, 'but when I was a young man these little flightless birds saved me from living a life of misery. You see, I was an only child and my parents were never around. They worked late and were too tired to spend any time with me. So, to entertain myself, I would sit for hours and count things. Crumbs on the rug, dots on the wallpaper, whatever I could find. Then, one day, while counting books on the shelf, I discovered a book about penguins! I learned that a mother and father penguin actually take turns sitting on their eggs. These birds had a bond with their children that I never knew could exist. From then on, my life revolved around my two loves: numbers and penguins. And I devoted myself to both. As I grew, I dreamt of a career that would combine my two great passions. Then, one day, that dream almost came true. I climbed my way to the top of the Kaiba Corporation as the company's Chief Accountant and Number Expert, and I had an idea that would have tripled our profits – an All-Penguin Theme Park. So I brought my proposal to Seto Kaiba.'

Téa could imagine how Kaiba would have responded to that.

After all, she thought it was stupid. Kaiba certainly would have.

'He completely dismissed it out of hand!' Crump raged. 'That good-for-nothing punk shot down my dream! And once I'm free from here, I'll finally have my revenge!'

'But what does that have to do with me?' Téa demanded.

'I told you I need a human body in order to escape from this cyber realm,' Crump said. 'You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the future, be more careful about who you hang around with.' He sneered. 'Of course, the odds of you actually having a future are slim to none. So let's continued this duel so I can get out of this place already. Now I summon…' He drew and then set the card in question. '…Flying Penguin!' The card appeared on the field and emerged from its card. 'And, thanks to my Deck Master's special ability, it gains 200 attack points right away.' Its attack went from 1200 to 1400. 'But, that's just the beginning! Next I'll play Penguin Sword,' he played the card and his monster was equipped with a sword, 'raising its attack strength 800 more points.' Its attack flew up to 2200.

'That's not good,' Téa said. 'My monster's toast.'

'That's right. And now my Flying Penguin, attack her Fire Sorcerer!' The Flying Penguin swung the sword, sending an energy attack out. The Fire Sorcerer was destroyed.

'That's my last defence!' The ice on Téa's body climbed up higher and her life points dropped to 2250.

'And since you lost more life points, the freezing continues!'

Téa began shivering again. 'You're…sick!'

'It'll all be over soon, Téa,' Crump said. 'Your life points are down almost 50%, and with no more defensive monsters to hide behind, you're out in the cold.'

'You wish.' Téa narrowed her eyes as she struggled to think of a way out of this.

YGO

Yugi and the Pharaoh ran out into another room.

We don't seem to be getting anywhere, the Pharaoh remarked.

Téa's voice echoed around them again. 'It's…freezing. My legs are numb!'

'We're coming, Téa!' Yugi called out. 'We gotta find our way outta here right now!'

The Pharaoh's eyes skated over and he turned his head. Yugi, look on the floor.

Yugi looked and gasped. 'That's the same coin I threw at the door! We were here…before. So…that means we've just been running around in circles!'

Suddenly, something seemed to happen to the floor. A circle was drawn. Yugi and the Pharaoh watched as the circle shimmered for a moment and then an image of a room of a stone room took form. A little boy was pressed against a corner, curled in and covering his head.

Yugi suddenly recognised him. 'Isn't that the boy that comes to us in the Shadow Realm?'

Yes, the Pharaoh said, looking disturbed. But how could Noah know of him?

Then the boy looked up, eyes wide and tearful. The angle changed and he was seen looking up at a tall woman with harsh features and black eyes. She held a wicked-sharp knife in her hand. Then she drew it back over her head. Yugi's gut dropped and he twisted away.

The boy screamed.

Yugi looked at the Pharaoh. His teeth were clenched and he was glaring down at the image. His hand was reached out, as if to stop that horrible woman. Yugi didn't dare look back until the boy stopped screaming. Slowly, he turned back around. He could feel the rage rolling off of the Pharaoh at a level he'd simply never felt before.

Hesitantly, Yugi looked back into the portal. The image had faded, but another one was shown. This time the murderess was facing off against the boy's mother. Her face was tear-streaked but the two women were surrounded by a large group, including a lot of men with spears.

'Donatiya,' the mother nearly growled. 'You…traitor!'

'I'm a traitor?' she sneered. 'That boy had no right to call himself the heir to the throne!'

'He was,' her voice was temporarily muted, 'son! And you murdered him! He was the most important child in all of Egypt!' Her voice was muted out again, 'did everything to help you! And you repay him by murdering his heir! Everything I did, I did for that boy! And now you've taken him away!'

Tears were now freely streaming down the woman's face.

Donatiya then smirked and threw a dart. It hit the mother in the shoulder, and she immediately fell back, crying out in pain and gripping her shoulder.

Donatiya's eyes flashed green. 'Then why don't you join him?'

And then the vision was gone.

'W-w-what happened?' Yugi demanded, his voice shaking beyond his control.

The Pharaoh's voice was tight, his rage apparent. We just saw the fate of the woman and her child. That is how they died.

A familiar voice sounded from above. 'Testing, testing. Can you hear me?'

'We can hear you!' Yugi yelled up above, desperate to get as far away from what he'd just seen as he could. 'What was that, Shauna?'

Shauna sighed. 'No idea. I'm doing some hacking of my own. Noah seems to have some softwares that activate with memory. I must've hooked into one of those and accidentally activated it. Right now, he's more focused on Téa's duel and the Kaiba brothers so he shouldn't notice this conversation.'

'So, can you get us to Téa?' Yugi asked.

'Yup. You're in the middle of one of those side-quests. Solve the puzzle here and I should be able to push you right through.'

'You're the best!' Yugi declared.