Death T-1 has been conquered! However, Yugi's group will realize it was only the easy one…
Yugioh: The Hope of Six
Chapter 17: Kaiba Arc – Part 7
He sat there, alone in the darkness. He was waiting… waiting to be set free. He had been there for hours, yet his patience didn't waver. He knew his time would come, and it would come soon. The one who put him here promised him that. All he needed to do was wait.
All was quiet for some time. Then, a moment ago, he heard a low booming noise and felt a slight shaking in the room he was in. He chuckled. He was told to expect an explosion shortly before his release.
He now knew it was almost time. As he sat, waiting for the door in front of him to be opened, he made a twisted smile. As he did, he held a tight grip on the axe on his lap. It had been so long since it last did it's work. Those kids on the other side have no idea of the nightmare that awaited them. When he was let out, he would enjoy every second of it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
After a few minutes, Yugi and the others fully recovered from their ordeal in Death T-1. "That robo alien was bad news. I hope we don't face something like that again." Yuya prayed.
"Me too." Serenity said as she and the others took off their vests but kept their laser guns. She much preferred Duels that were fun, not when it involved life or death.
"I think we can all agree on that. So where are we now?" Joey asked. He and the group took the time to take a proper look around. The new room was far smaller with three other doors and a large podium in the center. The door on the left had a guillotine painted on it. The right door showed a pair of knives, while the door directly ahead showed a big sword raised up high. The gang noticed that each symbol was painted dark red and had the appearance of dripping blood. The rest of the room also had two words painted everywhere the same way: "Die!" and "Chopped!"
All this sent a chill down everyone's spine. "Guys, I definitely don't like the look of this place." Tèa said, her voice quivering a bit.
"Did we just enter some kind of horror themed fun house?" Tristan asked.
"It sure looks that way." Yugi said, trying to not sound as afraid as he felt.
"I see you all manage to survive Death T-1. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You guys did get out of worse than that before." Everyone nearly jumped when Noah spoke again.
"Cut the crap Noah! Not cool of you to keep info like poison filled cyber vests and mecha extraterrestrials to yourself!" Joey yelled angrily.
"What fun would that be if you knew everything beforehand?" Noah complained playfully.
"There's nothing fun about endangering people's lives for your amusement!" Yuya told him.
"It's fun for me. And it's only going to get better!" Noah said with a wicked chuckle.
"Sicko." Tristan muttered under his breath.
"Now then, I'm sure you've taken notice of your surroundings. This is Death T-2, where the next game will be much more lethal."
"I can tell." Yugi said as he gazed around again. Noah continued.
"As you can see, there are three other doors aside from the one you just came through. None of them lead the way out, so don't bother asking me."
"Wait, none of those doors are the exit?!" Tèa asked incredulously.
"Then how do we get out?" Serenity asked.
"Take a look at the podium before you." They all walked up to the wooden podium, which appeared to be blood stained (further creeping out the gang). At the top, there was a hole in the shape of a cross.
"Is this… a keyhole?" Yugi wondered.
"That's right, Yugi. There is a key that will unlock the real exit that leads out and into the next stage of my tower. All you have to do is find the key, insert and turn it in that hole and the door will open. Of course, I'm not going to make it that simple for you lot. Therefore, I have set up some "fun" surprises for you."
"In other words, booby traps?" Yuya guessed.
"Call them what you want. It won't change anything. As I was saying, you will need to find the key to get out. To start, enter the rooms those doors lead into. Inside each room, you will find a key protected by a defense mechanism I've had put in place. Those mechanisms can be fatal if your aren't careful enough to avoid them. In fact, those bloody paintings on each door are clues as to what those surprises are. Hehehe."
'Man. How sick is he?' Yuya asked himself in his mind.
"He certainly is insane, as well as obsessed with deadly traps that he calls "fun"." Zarc responded in disgust.
"Once you claim all three keys, leave the rooms and return to the podium. After that… I will tell you what you should do next." Noah instructed.
"A hint by any chance?" Joey asked, hating not knowing everything.
"Nope. One last thing, don't rely on your lasers anymore. The second you left Death T-1, they all became deactivated. I can't have you guys have an unfair advantage. Now… have fun with getting those keys!" Noah laughed again he signed out.
The news about the laser guns frustrated the gang, but could do nothing about it. After tossing away the now useless weapons, everyone looked at the doors, then at each other. None of them liked where things were headed. "This whole thing smells like a really bad horror flick." Tristan said, not bothering hiding his disgust.
"What gave you that idea?" Tèa asked sarcastically.
"I hate horror movies. They never end well." Serenity said, now shivering from fear. Tristan then held her tight.
"Don't worry. We made it through the the last game. We'll get past this one too." He assured her.
"I hope so." Serenity said, relived a little from his words. Joey was glad to see his sister not be so scared, even if by a bit. He was even more grateful Tristan was doing it. He promised himself he would definitely live through this to see the two of them go on that date they planned.
"Well, who's going to which room?" Yuya asked a moment later. Yugi figured that each booby trap had something to do with a blade of some sort, judging by the door paintings. He hated to think what traps lie in each separate room knowing that, but they had to face them to get those keys. There was no other way.
"Tèa and I will take the door with the sword." He suggested as he stood next to his girlfriend and took her hand. Tèa gripped his hand back and nodded in agreement.
"I know I'll be fine if I'm with you." She told him. Yugi smiled in return.
"I'm taking the door with the knives. You want to come with me, Serenity?" Tristan asked. He hoped the knives would be the least dangerous of the three, at least for Serenity's sake. She looked up at him and took his hand.
"I'm going." She said, sounding braver. "Is this okay, Joey?" Serenity asked her brother. Joey smirked as he nodded.
"Fine by me, sis. I know you're in good hands." Serenity smiled from that. Joey then looked at Yuya. "Well Yuya, looks like you and me are heading to the guillotine." He said, pointing a thumb at the remaining door.
"Yeah, but I plan to come back with my head attached." Yuya said, getting a little laugh from Joey.
"You and me both." He said. Yugi then looked at everyone.
"Okay guys, let's get those keys and all meet back here. Watch yourselves and return in one piece."
"Got it." The others told him as they split up and headed to their respective doors. Once they opened them and stepped inside, the doors slammed shut automatically.
Noah and Vivian grinned from watching Yugi's team entering the different rooms. "Those kids have no idea of the real horror on that floor." The woman said.
"They will soon enough, Vivian. They will soon enough." Noah replied, eager to see how Yugi and his friends deal with the rooms' traps… before meeting him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yuya and Joey nearly jumped when the door suddenly closed loudly behind them. "Dang it! I hate doors that close themselves!" Joey complained. Yuya tried to open it again, but it did no good.
"It's locked. I don't think we can get out until we get the key in here." Yuya said.
"I guess so. So, where is the darn thing?" Joey asked as he and the younger boy scanned the room. There wasn't much to look at, save the massive guillotine at the other end of the room. Right there, where a person's head would be cut off, was the object they sought.
"That must be the key." Yuya said, eyeing a small rusted bronze key. He didn't like that it was placed right in the slot where the razor sharp blade would drop. "Guess that door painting really did show what to expect." Joey nodded.
"Yeah." He then looked around the mechanism itself for a moment before turning back to Yuya. "I don't see any kind of rope. What could be holding up that blade?" He asked.
"Beats me. More importantly, how do we get the key? I really don't think we should just try to pick it up." Yuya strongly advised, eyeing the evil machine with extreme caution.
Joey then decided to test it by picking up a small nearby wooden pole and hold it over the key's resting place. He approached slowly, the pole ahead of him. The instant it was over the key, the massive blade dropped and sliced a good chunk off.
Yuya and Joey paled as the deadly device retreated back up and resumed it's previous position. Thankfully, the key was not damaged. It seemed the blade stopped only less than an inch from it's resting place. It didn't touch the key, but it left no room to get it out either. The pair stared at one another, gulping as they did.
"This… is a problem." Joey said as he stared at the now smaller pole with wide, fearful eyes.
"If that had been one of our hands…" Yuya couldn't finish as he shivered. The thought nearly made his stomach churn.
"There has to be way to get the key without losing any body parts." Zarc said.
'But how? Anything that comes close to the key gets cut in half!' Yuya said to his partner, not willing to risk an arm. Zarc thought it over for a minute.
"Noah wouldn't have made this problem without a way to solve it. Look around the room again. Maybe there is something in here that the blade can't slice through." Yuya then looked around the room again, this time for anything that seemed thick enough to withstand a guillotine. However, he didn't see anything sturdy enough.
'No, nothing.' Yuya said. Zarc frowned.
"What can be done?" He said to himself. Yuya then thought of something else.
"Maybe I can use one of my Monsters to stop the guillotine from falling while you grab the key." Yuya suggested to Joey. "With the Action Duel program in my Duel Disk, it should work."
"Go for it Yuya." Joey said, glad to hear some kind of plan. Yuya then tried to activate his Disk, only it wouldn't.
"Joey, my Duel Disk isn't working. It won't turn on!" Yuya said in alarm.
"Are ya kiddin?! Why not?" He demanded. Yuya groaned.
"I don't know. My Disk doesn't look like it's damaged. Maybe something about this room is preventing it from working." He guessed. It had to be that, since Serenity's Duel Disk worked back in Death T-1. Scratching off that possibility, Yuya decided to take a better look at the guillotine. Joey almost freaked out when Yuya approached it, but he assured him he was just going to look around it. As long as he didn't try to reach for the key, the blade would not drop again.
"See anything?" Joey asked. Yuya didn't answer as he kept looking. From the side, he thought he saw a light from just above where the key lay. Upon a closer but careful inspection, Yuya found a line of red light coming from a small round sensor. He found it connected to another sensor on the opposite end. It wasn't the only one. There were two other lines of light that nearly connected with the lowest one.
"Joey, when you reached out with that pole, was it about this high?" Yuya asked as he held his hand up at the estimated height. Joey thought about it for a second before he nodded.
"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Yuya then started to form a plan.
"I think I know how to get the key without getting cut." He then pointed at the shortened rod he still held. "We'll push the key off and get it once it's free." Joey looked annoyed.
"Yuya, I'm waiting to hear the part about NOT GETTING CUT!" He shouted. Yuya remained calm as he explained.
"Listen. There are a few sensor lights on both sides of the guillotine. It dropped when the pole crossed the lights. But look here." Yuya pointed to the small space where the key was. "This spot is right beneath those lights. If we use the pole below where the sensors are, we can dislodge the key without triggering the trap. It should be small enough to fit without setting the guillotine off." Joey eyed the thing again wearily, as well as the pole.
"That doesn't leave a lot of room." He pointed. Yuya shook his head.
"No. We just got to be very careful." He advised. Joey understood.
"Okay, here goes." He said as the duo reached out with the pole on either side, knowing where to poke. Joey was reaching out with the pole while Yuya was helping to keep the it steady. They were reaching out slow and steady. When the other end of the pole was about an inch from the key, Joey hesitated.
'You can do this.' Yuya thought confidently.
'Come on, Joey. All you're doing is trying to get a stupid little key without some huge piece of metal falling down and making a mess. No pressure.' Joey told himself in his mind, though he felt nothing but pressure. He stared to sweat from nervousness. Little by little, he inched the pole closer with Yuya continuing to support. He still tried to keep his tool from touching the sensors.
Joey and Yuya both flinched and clinched their teeth when the pole actually touched the key. It actually moved a bit. Fortunately, it did not cross the sensor lights, making the two sigh with relief. Now came the really tricky part.
"So far, so good." Yuya said softly. "Just one good push and the key is out."
"Assuming the key doesn't trip in the sensors and the blade falls." Joey muttered.
"We definitely don't want that." Yuya said. "Trust me, you've got this."
Joey then focused on the key sitting before them. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating on making the right move. Yuya made sure the pole didn't veer off. The pole was still touching the key but without actually moving it. Joey gave it a tiny nudge and the key moved a bit further. Still no blade. Joey kept at it bit by bit. It seemed to take forever. Finally, after a very intense minute, the key fell off the guillotine and landed on the floor. All the while, the blade remained where it was.
"We did it!" Yuya cheered. Feeling more than a little relieved, Joey dropped the pole and wiped the sweat of his forehead.
"Man, all that trouble for a little key. Talk about overkill." He complained. Yuya agreed as he walked over and picked up the key.
"Let's hope everyone else gets their keys."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
After being locked inside their room, Tristan and Serenity took notice of their new surroundings. The walls were filled with knives of all shapes and sizes, all hung up on hooks. Tristan suddenly had a mental image of an unstoppable serial killer marching into the room wielding two of the nastiest knives imaginable. He silently prayed that wouldn't happen in here. Then again, he knew knives would somehow be involved…
"I really don't like this, Tristan." Serenity told him.
"Me neither. Let's get that key and get out of here." He replied strongly.
"There it is!" Serenity exclaimed, spotting it in the center of the room, encased in glass.
Tristan looked around, but didn't see any obvious traps protecting it. "This seems too easy. Something has to be protecting it, but what?" His gut told him it would be a bad idea to just walk up to the glass case and open it, so he kept his distance. He told Serenity to stay back as well.
While he was pondering on their approach, Serenity gazed around the room again, and stopped. She thought she saw a pair of dark eyes on top of a pair of huge steak knives to her left. The upper part of the room was shadowed, so she couldn't see what exactly was there. However, she could tell the figure was small. She gasped when she saw the eyes blink. "Tristan, there's something watching us!" She shouted, fear evident in her voice as she turned to Tristan.
"Where?!" He shouted back.
"Over there, above those steak knives!" They both turned to where Serenity was pointing, but saw nothing. The eyes the girl had seen were now gone.
"I don't see anything." Tristan said, briefly looking over the immediate area.
"I swear I saw eyes blinking at me! There is something in here with us!" Serenity said frantically. Tristan tried to calm her down, holding both her shoulders.
"Take it easy. Look, I believe you. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past Noah to have some psycho waiting in here to…" Before he could finish what he was saying, something small and metallic slashed through the air and planted itself right between pair. They looked down to see a large kitchen knife wedged on the floor. Eyes wide now, Tristan and Serenity slowly turned to the direction the small blade came from…
There, crouching on top of the glass case containing the key, was a little brown monkey wearing a belt filled with small knives. It snarled and frothed at the teens and while holding two carving knives. The creature seemed to want them to dare come closer.
"What the? A monkey?!" Tristan exclaimed in surprise. This brought back the memory of him being a digitized monkey during their last situation with Noah. Not one of his fondest experiences.
"Is it… trying to kill us?" A fearful Serenity asked while holding Tristan. He was watching the small primate, but it remain perched on case. He tried to take a step closer, but the monkey tossed one of it's knives at him. Thankfully it fell short and missed Tristan's foot by an inch. He figured it was a warning.
"I think I get it. That monkey will only attack if we try to get near the key. The first knife throw was just to get our attention, and that second one was telling us to keep away or else."
"But we need that key to find the exit! How are we going to get past that monkey without getting killed?" Serenity asked.
Tristan was already thinking of a plan. He needed something to defend himself, so he took another look around. He found the biggest knife he could find and took off it's hook. 'This will do.' He thought to himself. The monkey tensed itself, seeing the human taking a weapon of his own. Tristan then turned to Serenity.
"Here's the plan. I'm going to get that monkey to throw every knife it has at me, cause we know it won't move from it's spot. I'll use this for protection." He said, holding up his own knife. "Once our hairy friend runs out of ammo, I'm betting it will have to jump to one of the hooked rows to restock on it's weapons. That's when you make your move to grab the key. I'll cover you. After that, we'll need to get out asap. I'm sure that monkey will be pissed off and try to slice and dice us to death."
"But you could get hurt, or worse!" Serenity told him, clearly worried for his safety. Tristan sighed.
"I know, but I can't think of a better idea. Can you?" The girl shook her head, knowing she didn't.
"No. But I still don't like this."
"Me neither." He then raised his weapon. "Be ready when I give the word." He instructed. Serenity nodded, saying she will be ready.
Tristan then started to move toward the case again. "Alright you crazy chimp! Bring it on!"
As he expected, when he got within a certain distance, the monkey threw another of it's knives. Tristan blocked and deflected it with his own while taking another step closer. Not happy by that, the monkey howled as it threw one knife after another at Tristan. The young man was able to block the others coming at him, though he made sure none of them would cut Serenity by accident.
He wasn't entirely successful, however, as he got cut on his left arm. "Tristan!" Serenity yelled. The monkey seemed pleased it managed to inflict some damage on the dumb human. Though he flinched from the hit, Tristan didn't have time to look how bad it was as the knife onslaught kept coming. He received another wound on his right shoulder. In spite of his injuries, he was able to keep blocking to prevent more serious wounds. This went on for nearly a minute before the monkey finally ran out of knives to throw.
The little animal was not happy that it couldn't hit it's target. It hopped up and down on while banging the case with it's fists, howling all the while. "Come on. Move away." Tristan said softly. Serenity prepared herself for her run. The monkey's temper tantrum went on for several more seconds before it hopped off and scampered to one of the hooked knife rows. "Go!" Tristan called out.
Serenity dashed to the case and reached it in record time. She threw the glass lid off and took the bronze key. "Got it!" She said in triumph. As she did, Tristan saw the monkey throw another knife, this time at Serenity.
"Look out!" Tristan warned as moved to block the oncoming knife. To his horror, he missed and saw the blade fly past him. Thanks to Tristan's warning, Serenity ducked just in time to avoid the spinning knife, embedding itself on the spot where the key lay.
"I'm okay!" She said, getting back up and still holding the key.
"Great! Let's move out!" He and Serenity turned tail and ran back to the door. The enraged monkey still kept throwing knives while chasing them. Tristan still kept batting away the projectiles long enough for Serenity to open the door and run out first. After blocking another knife, Tristan ran out next and shut the door behind him, the remaining knives landing on different spots on the door. The monkey roared with fury that it failed and kept bashing on the door. It only stopped when a big shadow emerged above, making the animal tremble in fear for the first time…
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Yugi, I definitely don't like this." Tèa said. Once they were sealed inside, she and Yugi saw that the room was very much lethal like Noah warned.
The key's supposed resting place was surrounded by a huge pit filled with swords. There was only one path to cross it and it was very narrow. Not only that, but there seemed to be slightly elevated squares about a foot from each other. Lastly, a large saber was embedded in a stone basin on the other side. Judging by that, Yugi and Tèa would have to pull it together to claim the key. Which meant they both had to cross.
Yugi figured there had to be triggers to this room's trap. He decided to see what would happen if one would be stepped on. He took his right foot out and pressed it down on the nearest square. No sooner had he stepped away than several swords sprung up from below and crossed each other in a skewing motion. Tèa yelped as she covered her mouth. "Are you alright?" She asked. Her boyfriend nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." The couple then saw the swords pulling back and descended down the pit once more… only for them repeat the process over and over. It wasn't just where Yugi had pressed the square; six groups of swords from the pit repeated this action all along the path. All the other squares has sunk out of sight. Yugi guessed that those others squares were set in place incase a previous one got ignored. "I think it's safe to say we should definitely watch our steps here." He said nervously. Tèa nodded back in total agreement.
"With that walkway so narrow and those swords popping all over, we'll have to keep our balance if we're going to reach the key and make it back alive. That's why I will go first and you'll follow."
"You're sure?" Yugi asked. "One misstep and we're shish kabob."
"Just hold my hand and follow my lead." Tèa said, holding our her hand. Yugi took it and together, they treaded side by side on the narrow path to the key.
It was very slow going, but it was their safest plan. The couple moved nice an easy while keeping an eye on the pattern the swords had when striking and retreating. Each group of swords took several seconds to retract before instantly slashing upward again. Yugi and Tèa knew the best time to move would be while the dangerous blades were descending. Once the first sword batch was low enough, the two quickly jumped (one at a time) over the target area before they sprung back up. Tèa's jump was successful. Yugi nearly fell the first jump, but Tèa caught him in time. "Thanks." He told her gratefully. They repeated this for the duration to the other side.
Tèa nearly got cut once or twice, while Yugi struggled to keep balance. Unlike his girlfriend, he never took dance classes. It took them about ten minutes before they at last made it to the stone basin. Yugi and Tèa looked at each other and smiled. "We made it." Tèa said.
"Yeah, we did. Now let's get this key out." Yugi replied. Now they were at the basin, they looked where the saber was lodged in. The key seemed to be embedded in the stone as well as held in by the saber. The saber holding the key down was also much bigger up close, and it didn't appear it would come out so easily. Both of them took hold of the weapon's hilt and prepared to yank it out. "We'll really need to pull hard to release it. Ready?"
Tèa nodded as she tightened her grip. "I'm ready." Yugi tightened his grip too.
"On three. One… Two… Three!" They both pulled, but the blade wasn't going to let go that easily. It stayed rooted in it's position. The two stopped after a few more tugs. The saber didn't seem to budge an inch.
"Darn it. That thing really is stuck." Tèa complained while catching her breath, eyeing the saber with disdain.
"Sure is." Yugi added.
"Perhaps strength isn't the answer." Atem said.
'You think there's another reason the sword can't be moved?' Yugi asked him.
"Look and see anything that might be out of the ordinary." The Pharaoh suggested. Yugi then examined the sword more closely while Tèa watched. As he did, he noticed some markings on the blade. They appeared to be…
"An arrow!" Yugi shouted in glee.
"What? Arrow? Where?" Tèa asked, not seeing arrows anywhere in the room, only swords. Yugi shook his head.
"Look here, on the lower portion of the blade. Do you see it?" Yugi asked, pointing at the what he found. Tea leaned in beside him, squinted for a few seconds, and saw it. It was a thin arrow pointing down.
"Yeah, I see it. What does it mean?" Yugi smiled up at her.
"It's the answer! The reason we can't pull this sword out is because we're not supposed to! The arrow here says so! Instead of pulling up… we have to push the sword down!"
"But won't that damage the key? It's still pinned in place." Tèa reminded him.
"I have a feeling it won't. Let's try it Tèa." Once more, the couple took the saber by the hilt. This time, they pushed it down… which showed a very different result. After pushing it so that the blade sunk beneath the basin, a hidden compartment opened up in the hilt, revealing the key.
"You were right!" After taking it, Tèa gave Yugi a kiss. "You really are an expert at puzzles." She said in admiration. A blushed Yugi chuckled.
"Well, Atem gave me a little help..." Before he could say another word, the room started to shake. To the couple's horror, the ceiling began to open itself up, revealing more deadly swords. Yugi instantly realized what was about to happen, and he knew that he and Tèa had to get out now! "Run!" He yelled as he and Tèa fled back across. The blades did not spring up anymore on the way back. As they ran, the path began to fall apart, one stepping block at a time. The falling blocks didn't take long to catch up, but it meant nothing.
Yugi and Tèa made it back to the entrance to the room without a second to spare. They opened the door and made it through just before the last stone block broke off and the swords above fell to the ground…
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Back in the main room, Yuya and Joey were the first to return with their key. "Looks like Yug and the others aren't back yet." Joey said, having seen no one else.
"I hope nothing's happened to them." Yuya said, starting to worry.
Just then, one of the other doors burst had opened. This time it was Tristan and Serenity that came out, with the former slamming door shut behind them. They both fell to their knees and breathed heavily. "You… okay?" Tristan asked as he turned to his girl.
"Yeah. Thanks." She said to him. Yuya and Joey showed immediate concern, especially when they saw the wounds on their friend.
"What happened to you two?" Yuya asked.
"And whats with those cuts?!" Joey demanded to Triston, seeing the blood stains. They looked up when they heard them and stood on their feet again. Tristan grimaced as he touched his wounds.
"We had to deal with a nasty little monkey. He really loved playing with knives." Tristan answered while holding a hand on his shoulder.
"Tristan, hold still." Serenity ordered as she took a cloth out from her pocket and wrapped around the cut on Tristan's shoulder. "Keep pressure on that. I'll do the same for your arm." She took out another cloth and repeated the process. She made sure it was on tight enough. "There. That should do for now, but we need to get you to a doctor once we've rescued Yuya and Yuzu's parents."
"Thanks Serenity." Tristan said appreciatively. The kind girl smiled back.
"You protected me in there. It's the least I can do." They looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever… until Serenity heard her brother clear his throat. He looked slightly annoyed.
"Well, while you guys were "monkeying around", Yuya and I had to push our key out of a huge guillotine without getting our hands chopped off." The two cringed at the thought.
"You two got your key?" Serenity asked. Yuya smiled as he held up his and Joey's key.
"That's two. But…" He then looked around, worry etching on his face again. "What about Yugi and Tèa?" The four turned to the sword door, where they the couple had gone into. They knew that all that could be done, was wait.
Suddenly, they felt the room shaking. "What's that?" Tristan asked. Before anyone could reply, the final door was flung open and their remaining friends came back through before closing it. They leaned back against the door and panted heavily. "Yugi! Tèa!" The two looked up to see the rest of their friends back.
"Guys! You all made it back!" Tèa said joyfully. Joey grinned.
"Yep, we did! You both okay?" He asked.
"We are, though we nearly got run through by like a thousand swords. We got our key." Yugi assured his best friend as Tèa showed the key they've obtained. "You all got your keys too?" Both groups showed their respective keys, grinning with success.
After a quick catch up, the group reconvened at the wooden podium in the center. "Okay. Now that we got all the keys, what's next?" Yuya asked. When Yugi asked to see the other two keys, he frowned. He discovered yet another problem.
"Noah said we have to unlock the exit by finding and using the key that fits this keyhole. The problem with that is…" He then holds up his key with the others. "All three keys look exactly the same. They all look like they could fit."
"Can't we just try them one by one until we find the right key?" Serenity questioned. Yugi shook his head.
"I don't think we should. Something tells me using the wrong key could be very bad for us."
"Or maybe nothing bad will happen at all." Tristan hoped.
"Knowing Noah, I very much doubt it." Yugi told him.
"At least we're not on the clock for this." Joey said. Just then, a deafening banging could be heard across the room… along with a muffled roar. "What the hell?!" He yelled, nearly jumping out of his skin. The noises continued, frightening the group.
"Those noises sound like they are coming from the knife door!" Tèa said, sounding really scared now.
"Didn't you say there was a monkey in there with you two? Maybe he's the one?" Joey asked.
"No way man! That does not sound like any monkey I know!" Tristan told him. "Besides, I can't imagine a little primate making a ruckus like that!"
"But there was no one else in there besides me, Tristan, and that monkey!" Serenity confirmed.
"There is now! Unless you act right away, you'll all be chopped to pieces… in a most brutal way!" Noah said, laughing at their new predicament. Angered by this, Yugi and Atem merged once more.
"Noah! What have you done this time?!" He demanded. Noah was all too eager to answer.
"Right now, a mass murderer is trying to break his way in to kill all of you. He entered the knife room right after Tristan and Serenity left with their key. Unless you can identify the correct key and escape in the next five minutes, that door will automatically open… allowing the Chopman to make quick work of you and your friends! Of course, the same thing will happen if you pick the wrong key! Either way, you better hurry Yugi! It's up to you now!" He ended his chat with another laugh before signing off again. Everyone but Yuya froze at the mention of the name.
"Did he say… Chopman?!" Tèa asked in utter terror.
"Not the Chopman! It can't be!" Tristan, clearly in denial.
"Who's Chopman?" Yuya asked nervously, clearly not familiar with the name.
"One summer at a camp near Domino Lake, ten boy scouts who had been staying there were all murdered in a single night. Their bodies were chopped into unrecognizable pieces. The news of the murders had all of Domino City in fear. The suspect came to be known as "The Chopman", but he was not captured and remained at large." Tristan explained.
"That's horrible!" Yuya exclaimed, disgusted by the man's actions.
"No kidding. Thing is, he hadn't had another mass killing in so long, people thought he might never come back. It happened so long ago. How the hell did Noah track that whack job down and bring him here?" Joey asked, not believing the legendary murderer was just one door away from causing another blood bath.
"I don't think that really matters now!" Serenity said, holding her brother tightly.
"Now I get why this room looks the way it does." Tèa said as she looked around again, the meaning all to clear.
Yugi's face grew more determined as he knew what he had to do. He had to solve the key dilemma before it was too late… for everyone.
All the while, the killer went on banging on the door, clearly wanting to add more victims to his list. "Chop chop people! Soon, I'll be right in and give all of you a chopping good time!" The killer laughed insanely.
"Curse you Noah." Yugi said angrily. He continued to examine the keys, trying to find something different about one of them. He scrutinized every minuscule detail, but still could not find anything to set one apart from the other.
As the minutes ticked by, the Chopman kept making taunts about their time running out. "Two minutes until playtime, kiddies!" He called out with a sick chuckle.
"Hurry Yugi!" Yuya yelled.
Yugi started to panic, looking from the keys to the cross shaped keyhole. That's when he noticed something he hadn't before. The right, left, and bottom ends of the cross each had a thin line running down the podium. And there, about halfway down each line, was another keyhole identical to the original. Yugi leaned over and rubbed one of the keyholes to make sure it wasn't just another painting. It wasn't. All of a sudden, he figured out the key problem. "Guys! I know what to do!" He said in elation.
"One more minute, then I will have my fun!" Chopman said behind the door.
"Then do it Yug, and do it quick!" Joey shouted hurriedly. Without another word, Yugi placed the keys in each of the keyholes around the podium and turn them. Once he turned the third one, a new compartment opened on top of the podium, right above the upper end of the first cross. Yugi reached in and pulled out a fourth key, this one a bloody red.
'This has to be it!' Yugi thought as he inserted the key in the hole and turned it. When he did, the ceiling right above the podium slid open to reveal a ladder and a tunnel heading upward. "There! That's our way out!" Yugi said as he pointed up.
"Sweet! Let's go!" Joey said.
Noah snickered from watching in the control room. "Yugi figured it out, as expected." Vivian said, knowing he would. Noah nodded.
"I'd be shocked if he didn't. Unfortunately…" Noah grinned maliciously. Before him, a timer had just reached "0". "It seems he found out a little too late."
Back in the room, everyone heard a loud groaning noise.
"Now what?" Tèa asked.
"Look!" Yuya shouted, pointing at the knife door. The gang's fear increased as not just the door, but the entire wall around it began to slowly rise upward. Everyone seemed rooted into place as the figure behind it was revealed. The Chopman was a huge man that wore dark shorts and a leather like mask over his face. His chest was bare, ripping with muscle. In his hands was a big rusty axe, darkened by stained blood.
"If we're in a horror movie, this would be the part where things get very violent." Tèa said, trembling. The Chopman grinned viciously.
"Hello, there." He said. His very voice sent cold shivers down everyone's spines. "You are all much older than my previous victims, but that won't change the fun for me. Now, who do I get to "play" with first?" Chopman studied each member of the group before settling on the youngest teen. "I know. How about you first? You look right ripe for a chopping!" He said to a petrified Yuya.
"You're not touching him!" Yugi said bravely as he and the others moved to shield Yuya. The murderer laughed.
"Very well. I'm gonna have so much fun with you lot!" He then made his way toward Yuya and the group protecting him. Surprisingly, he didn't make it far. He barely took his first step when the wall suddenly fell back down, sealing Chopman off from advancing any further. "Hey! What gives Noah!? Let me out!" He yelled as he banged on the door again, enraged by the unexpected betrayal.
This event left everyone shocked, especially Noah and Vivian. "What's going on? Don't tell me you're going soft on those twerps." Vivian complained. Noah sneered.
"Of course I'm not! I didn't seal the wall again! There must be something wrong with the system!" He then did quick diagnostic on the software for Death T-2. 'I don't understand! This shouldn't have happened! Everything was working perfectly before Yugi and the others showed up to my tower! What caused this?!'
While Noah was trying to figure out the technical problem, Yugi and his friends realized that they had just been given more time to escape. They knew they had to get on top of the podium to reach the ladder leading to their survival. "I don't know why that wall did that, but I for one glad it did! Let's haul keister now!" Joey said as they made their getaway.
Serenity went up first, followed by Tèa, Yuya, Yugi, and Tristan. Joey was the last one. "Come on Joey!" Yugi called. Joey started to climb up the podium, but he slipped and fell down on his butt.
"Dammit! That just had to happen, didn't it?!" He complained while massaging his rear end. Just then, a loud crack came from the knife door. The Chopman was trying to break it down with his axe.
"Screw you! My chop time will not be denied by some stuck door! Nothing will!" The psychopath declared while splintering the door. He was just about through.
"Joey, hurry!" Serenity shouted. Her big brother scrambled back to his feet and climbed up again. It was then the door finally fell and the Chopman roared while rampaging into the room. Joey barely managed to make it out only a split second before the axe embedded itself on the wooden podium. As it did, it damaged the ceiling door mechanism, causing the exit to close up once more. Seeing that his playthings escaped him, the Chopman screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Hmph. Everyone made it out alive again." Vivian said, feeling more disappointed than last time. Chopman wasn't the only one pissed off. Noah was certainly not happy with how the second game played out.
'From the looks of it, someone or something hacked into the Death T-2 systems and ordered the wall to close again. But who could've done this? And how? I hacked into KaibaCorp itself with no issues, so it should be inconceivable that there is another with computer skills superior to my own! Even Seto couldn't have pulled this off, and he's locked up! So who did this?' Noah tried to trace the source of the hack, but whatever did it had vanished. There was no way to trace it. This left him more than a little frustrated.
"Well, crap. I guess Chopman won't be having his fun after all." Vivian said while watching the murderer chop up the podium to vent his anger and disappointment.
Noah suddenly regained his smile before switching monitors. He and Vivian were now observing Yuzu Hiragi's group. They were still waiting inside the elevator that took them far below the surface… to Death T-F. "Actually… maybe he will."
To be continued.