Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Limit Break ( Chapter 13 )

Thirty minutes previously, Fifteen had fought hand-to-hand against the Copycat who had specialized in impersonating him, and Tessia had landed the mortal blow on it by accident. Now, however, the group of four (Fifteen, Tessia, Raelvion, and the ever uptight Tilde) faced an even greater challenge, one that no amount of brawn could hope to penetrate.

 

“Do you think whoever drew the blueprints for this sector had the hiccups?” Fifteen asked.

 

“Perhaps,” Raelvion answered, “they simply had severe undiagnosed mental disorders.”

 

The questions were quite appropriate, as, opposed to the long, straight hallways the group had traveled to this point, this set of hallways twisted like Sinister Serpents caught underfoot. Twenty of them forked out from the main hallway, no two alike in terms of twists and turns. And whereas the lighting had determined which way to go by only illuminating the proper path, here all the pathways were lit, as if their enemy wished to shed light on how lost they were.

 

After staring down the closest hallway for a moment, Tilde asked, “Splitting up isn't an option, is it?”

 

“No, it is not,” Raelvion noted, “because whoever found the correct path wouldn't know until they found Naomi, and by that point I doubt they could backtrack.” He paused. “What time is it?”

 

One hand fishing out her watch, the Rogue Doll reported, “Fifty-three minutes after three.”

 

All four monsters looked down different hallways, and then Raelvion took a deep breath and let it out in a long, slow sigh. “No choice,” he muttered. In one motion, he flipped his staff over in his hand and tossed it to the ceiling, speaking a quick incantation.

 

The staff began to rotate on its own as it left Raelvion's hand, smashing several light bulbs and forcing Fifteen and Tessia to duck out of the way of the falling glass. A moment later, it stopped spinning and fell, pointing down one of the hallways.

”So what did he just do?” Fifteen asked Tilde, brushing glass off of his hat.

 

“It's called Find the Path,” Tilde answered. “It's a cantrip - a quick spell - to find the proper direction to go. Its success rate is ninety-five percent, and so far it's never failed.”

 

Suddenly, down a side tunnel, a voice could be heard echoing, “Huh? What was that noise?” The sound of metal clanking came down the tunnel, and then a Mighty Guard stepped into view, looking around. There was a pause of about a minute, as the group and the Mighty Guard stared at each other, before a low “pwemp!” came from the machine's head and it yelled, “Who's that?”

 

The Sword of Deep-Seated flashed, and Fifteen passed the Mighty Guard, coming to a stop as his arm stopped in front of him. By the time he had straightened up and lowered his sword, the Mighty Guard's upper half reached the floor. Both halves exploded into shards, glittering briefly amid the broken glass.

 

“Well, the spell does have a five percent failure rate…” Tilde grumbled.

 

Raelvion, meanwhile, had moved up to his staff. Glancing down the Mighty Guard's hallway, he nudged the staff until its head pointed that way. “Divine intervention,” he told himself.

 

The decision was unanimous, and the four moved into the chosen hallway. As they did, the lights in all of the other hallways went out.

 

No further guards interrupted the progress of the group, and so they made good time down the passage. Raelvion, being the group's strongest member, led the way, Tilde beside him for support. This left Fifteen and Tessia bringing up the rear, and for a fairly long period, they walked together without so much as a word.

 

The silence broke when Fifteen said, “Back there, after the Copycat died, you kissed me. Might I ask why?”

A furious blush invaded Tessia's cheeks, and she failed in her attempt to shake it off. Finally, she said, “Well… I did almost kill you, and I'd never done it before…”

 

“So it was an apology, then?”

 

“No!” Tessia said, her voice quivering with offense. “It… it was…” And then she stopped, blinking once and unable to answer.

 

Pulling his hat slightly over his eyes, Fifteen inhaled, held the breath a moment, and then let it out in a rush before saying, “If it's what I think it is, I feel the same way.”

 

One of Tessia's hands shot up, covering her mouth, as she tried to look at Fifteen. A shudder ran down her spine, and she looked away, a deep blush sneaking past her hand.

 

“But now is not a good time to discuss it,” Fifteen continued. “Best to discuss it when it isn't so likely we'll die halfway through.”

The Magician of Faith let out a relieved sigh, her blush fading, and then smiled to the Witty Phantom and nodded.

 

And then her foot hit a protruding switch in the floor, one that Tilde had floated over.

 

There was a loud bang, and a concussive blast floored Fifteen, almost knocking the Sword of Deep-Seated from his hand - he barely caught it on his fingertips. Once his head cleared, Fifteen sat up and looked to Tessia…

 

…and immediately regretted doing so. For what he saw was Tessia strapped to a massive spiked wheel, ghoulish devices only inches from her body.

 

0000000

 

In the Central Shadow Realm Police HQ, Dupin stroked his mustache and sipped a snifter of brandy, turning what Aysev and Geefor had told him over in his mind. “So,” he said for the fourth time, “you're telling me the Shadow Killer was there, but the Dark Magician announced that the Council had pardoned him?”

”Yes, sir,” Geefor said, not a hint of exasperation coming through in his voice, despite having said this four times so far. Beside him, Aysev tapped her foot steadily; the tempo and volume gradually moved up and down the scale.

 

Dupin finished the brandy and thought silently for a moment. “Damn,” he finally said. “After the deaths of Ansatsu and the Dark Witch, why would they go and pardon him? It makes no sense. Could you be certain it was actually the Dark Magician?”

Aysev said, “The aura matched up. Sir… have you considered the possibility that D-15A was framed?”

”Several times,” Dupin replied, “but bringing in D-15A would be a necessary first step towards settling any such frame-up. And after the Council members died, the option was erased - you and I both know the public would tear us to pieces if we merely arrested him after that. To be honest, something's nagged at me about the case since the Blue Nemuriko incident.”

 

Geefor waited a moment, and then asked, “What's your decision, sir?”

The monster once known as Freed the Matchless General paused, scratched at his chin, and then said, “We don't have any options. The pardon shall stand. Tell Ninef to summarize the case files and then go about closing it. Until further notice, you're back on open status and patrolling duties. Understand?”

Both Aysev and her partner saluted, declaring, “Understood, sir!”

”Dismissed,” Dupin finished, pouring himself another drink.

 

The two left the office, and as soon as they were outside, the Unfriendly Amazon wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “Thank the gods for that one,” she muttered. “If he'd told us to ignore the pardon, I don't want to think about the consequences.”

“I have to wonder,” Geefor asked as they headed back to their own office, “where D-15A and the rest of that group went after we left the Level Four Fiend Living Quarters.” He then noticed how everyone else was moving around frantically and muttered, “What's got the rest of the force so excited?”

”Probably wiser not to ask that question, Geefor,” Aysev replied. Passing Ninef in the hall, she rapped on the Masked Sorcerer's mask and said, “Message from Dupin, start summarizing Case #36304921.”

 

“Got it, got it,” the legless mage replied. He then stopped halfway down the hall and said, “What?!?”

”You heard me,” Aysev yelled back. Turning around, she barely managed to avoid running into Don Zaloog.

 

The two just looked at each other for a moment, before Aysev's eyes moved to look past the bandit's shoulder. She found the other four Dark Scorpions standing behind him.

 

“That explains why everyone's so frantic,” Geefor finally said, stating the obvious.

Don Zaloog chortled a bit and held his hands up. “Relax, oh great superdeformed warrior. We're here to turn ourselves in.”

 

“And you expect me to believe that?” Aysev said, drawing her gun.

 

“Why shouldn't you?” he replied. “After all, isn't it the dream of every cop in the Shadow Realm to nab the Dark Scorpions? Well, dreams come true and we're living proof.”

As one, the rest of the Dark Scorpions raised their hands, Chick the Yellow beginning to shiver.

 

Aysev set her hand to her forehead, shook her head, and then turned to a group of M-Warriors, reholstering her Sparks gun. “You heard him,” she said. “Bring them to the holding cells for now; we'll work this all out later.”

The group nodded, drew their own guns, and set them into the backs of the Dark Scorpions. “Watch it!” Meanae the Thorn hissed as one gun jabbed a little too far down for her liking.

 

En masse, the Dark Scorpions marched at gunpoint towards the holding cells. Cliff motioned to his pocket, whereupon an M-Warrior took out a paper tissue. Without lowering his hands, the trap remover managed to indicate what he wanted… and thus the M-Warrior held the tissue in place as he blew his nose.

 

After a moment, Chick whispered, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

”Please,” Don Zaloog muttered. “If this place is anything like last time they caught me, I could pick the locks with an eyelash. But seeing as our lair is in the Warrior Living Quarters, this is as safe as anywhere else. I don't want to walk into the riots, do you?”

Chick shuddered involuntarily and murmured, “Good point.”

 

0000000

 

It was all Fifteen could do to avoid running up and slamming on the wheel with his Sword of Deep-Seated, in an attempt to free Tessia. He managed to hold off, not wanting to risk the wheel going off and torturing her. Instead, he swore under his breath.

 

The bang had sounded throughout the hallway, and Raelvion and Tilde were there in short order. Both stopped at the sight of the wheel, and then Raelvion asked, “What happened?”

 

“I don't know,” Fifteen replied. “There was that loud bang, and then she was like this.” Tessia moaned, and the Witty Phantom sank to his knees. “Is it what I think it is?”

 

Sighing, Raelvion nodded. “A Nightmare Wheel,” he answered. “If any of us so much as touch it, it will go off… and none of us want that, do we?”

 

A voice from down the hall called, “Perhaps none of you. I, on the other hand…”

 

Fifteen, Raelvion, and Tilde turned as one, and saw an odd, spherical device rolling down one side of the hallway. Balanced atop it, sword drawn and shield at the ready, was Breaker the Magical Warrior. Front-flipping off the sphere, he landed fully upright, licking the back of his blade.

 

“I could hardly be less surprised,” Raelvion muttered, drawing his staff and pointing it at Breaker. “It's a pity we won't have time to talk, but getting obliterated will tend to cut conversation short.”

Raising both sword and shield, Breaker yelled, “Hold it, man! Before you fire at me, I suggest you look at your feet.”

 

The Dark Magician looked down and then gasped. All around his feet sat primed trap cubes, each of which had emerged from the floor just seconds previously. A similar garden of trap cubes had appeared around Tilde's lower half, and she snatched up a bit of her apron to keep it from brushing one.

 

“The Dark Magician makes a move,” Breaker went on, “you all die. Those little cubes are Widespread Ruins, every last one of them. Each one is on a hair trigger, so anything can set them off. Don't move, don't put your staff down - and definitely don't try to take a shot at me!” Breaker grinned, tossing a remote control out of his shield hand and slashing it in two. “And now you can't retract them,” he finished.

 

First checking to make sure he wouldn't step on a Widespread Ruin, Fifteen strolled forward, sword in hand. “Listen very closely, Breaker. You'll undo the Nightmare Wheel and let Tessia go. You'll shut down those Widespread Ruins. And then you'll get the hell out of our way and let us settle the score with your employer. Refuse and I'll see what your skull looks like without skin or muscle. Got it?”

A moment passed, and then Breaker gulped before regaining his composure. With one hand, he flipped another remote into view and pointed it at the Nightmare Wheel, explaining, “Now, now. If you get too testy, I can turn the Wheel on at any time. Remember that.”

 

Fifteen stopped in his tracks, sword low. “All right, then. What do you want?” he asked.

 

Turning on one heel, the remote held high for Fifteen to see, Breaker paced off about twenty steps. He then turned back to his opponent and said, “As much as I want to kill the Dark Magician, I'm afraid my current employer wants you dead first. I haven't had a chance to have a good fight in some time, so you get to defend yourself. And so you know, if you try to run or die, I turn on the Nightmare Wheel. So you'd better give this all you can.”

 

Testing the edge of his sword, Fifteen shuddered somewhat, and then relaxed. He reached up, took off his hat, and set it on Tilde's head. Next, he slid out of his jacket and hung it on the edge of the Dark Magician's staff.

 

The spellcasters could only stare. Finally, Raelvion whispered, “I've become a coat rack…”

 

Having gotten the preparations over with, Fifteen spun the Sword of Deep-Seated twice and said, “Let's go.”

 

“Indeed!” Breaker answered, and then the Magical Warrior charged, spinning at the last second and sweeping his blade around. Fifteen blocked it, and then stepped to one side, chopping at Breaker's side. The sword merely bounced off his armor.

 

Backing up to a wall, Fifteen turned his unprotected left side towards Breaker. Unfortunately, the Magical Warrior knew a trap when he saw it, and instead went low, slicing at Fifteen's legs. The fiend barely rolled out of the way, and tried to attack his enemy's legs in revenge. This got him struck down with the edge of Breaker's shield. Only a quick scamper back kept him from being impaled after that.

 

Although his concentration was mostly focused on not moving, Raelvion managed to say, “There are five schools of warrior swordsmanship - one-handed, two-handed, two-sword, sword-and-shield, and fencing. Breaker's not even a warrior, but he's a recognized master of sword-and-shield, while Fifteen has no training in his two-handed style. Our friend is in deep trouble.”

”What do we do if he dies?” Tilde asked, fear evident in her voice.

 

The answer was not comforting. “Make peace with the Shadow Realm and blow up.”

 

Breaker thrust his shield at Fifteen's face. The Witty Phantom dodged, and then swung his sword down to block Breaker's rising strike. Turning the blade over, the mage-knight slashed at Fifteen's ribs, and when it was blocked he spiraled away, dancing behind his opponent.

 

Fifteen tried for a blind stab backwards, only to get his sword knocked towards the ground. Losing his balance, he collapsed into a heap. This time, as Breaker jabbed downwards, he almost got Fifteen's arm - the fiend only just pulled it away in time.

 

“Amateur!” the Magical Warrior taunted, before leaping into the air. With a remarkable amount of agility for someone in plate mail, he kicked off of the wall and came down in a flying kick at Fifteen. The Witty Phantom raised his sword to block, and thereby went sliding across the metal floor before slamming into a wall.

 

Even as he slid down in pain, Fifteen saw his opening - Breaker's flashy kick had left him open, and at the moment he was correcting his stance. With a shout, he swung his Sword of Deep-Seated at the mage-knight…

 

…and Breaker caught it on his shield. There was a flash of light, and the Sword of Deep-Seated shattered in a rain of green fragments.

 

The fiend could merely stare; his hands opened and let the broken sword's hilt dissipate into smoke.

 

“Surprised?” A laugh escaped Breaker, and he took a moment to recover. “My shield possesses the power to destroy magic and traps merely by touching them. This discharges its stored energy, but my shield will recharge in a few minutes, and then you'll lose your next weapon. And this will just keep going until you die!”

His mouth open, Fifteen backed away, pressing up to the wall as he reached it.

 

“Now…” Breaker never finished the sentence. Instead, he rushed at Fifteen, sword jabbing at him repeatedly. The Witty Phantom twisted repeatedly, keeping his body just out of reach of the sword's point. With a grin, Breaker began to spin the sword as he thrust, catching Fifteen's shoulders and sending up fine sprays of blood.

 

Tilde and Raelvion both winced, and Tessia let out another moan from the Nightmare Wheel.

 

The Magical Warrior laughed, and then grunted as Fifteen rammed his elbow into the stomach of his armor, forcing it into his stomach and knocking the wind out of him. An uppercut followed, snapping Breaker's head back. He rubbed his chin, and then struck Fifteen across the head with the flat of his blade, causing the fiend to fall. A downward swing followed, but Fifteen rolled out of the way, climbing slowly to his feet.

 

As Breaker pursued Fifteen, sword slashing, Raelvion's eyes narrowed, and he muttered under his breath, “How odd. Before his shield discharged, he was a master of the sword-and-shield style. Now, however, he has the same level of skill as a rank student. What happened?”

”Perhaps,” Tilde replied, “the shield granted him skill along with its power?”

 

“So it would seem,” Raelvion said, feeling his legs begin to tense up. “Unfortunately, even at his new level of skill, Breaker is still stronger than Fifteen. We're in trouble.”

 

Indeed, the same thought came to Fifteen at that point, as Breaker was swinging his sword just inches from the Witty Phantom's face. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he just kept dodging, slowly pushed back by his approaching enemy.

 

And then he felt a chill through the back of his shirt. He'd hit the wall.

Breaker smiled at his opponent. It was a smile normally seen only on large, hungry predators. Once the smile had sunk in, Breaker's sword flashed three times.

Three long cuts opened over Fifteen's torso and arms, and he grunted, trying to slip out of the way. Breaker's sword struck the wall just in front of the fiend, and as he tried to escape on the other side, the sword interrupted the attempt again.

A green light came from Breaker's shield, and he held it up, pointing to the gem in the center; having lost its sheen after it destroyed the Sword of Deep-Seated, it was shining again. “Fully charged,” he said, and then he slammed Fifteen in the stomach with his shield. Blood flew from the Witty Phantom's mouth, and he collapsed.

“Pity,” Breaker said, with a sigh at the end of it. “Thought you'd last longer.” He raised his sword, aiming carefully at Fifteen's neck.

 

0000000

 

The Shadow Realm consists of several layers, of which the Central Shadow Realm rests upon one. Above all the darkness sits the Higher Plane, a layer of purity and light. And on this plane of existence, five of the higher powers known as the Guardians were watching Fifteen and Breaker's duel.

 

“Sister Elma, tell me why we are watching this again,” a large, humanoid dinosaur growled.

”Because, brother Grarl, I sense a great evil at work here,” a fairly willowy woman answered. She slid one hand over the gem beneath her, changing the picture on it to the room where Naomi was held.

 

“Is it our dark brother Baou?” a thin, shirtless man asked, raising his swords in eagerness.

 

“Nay, brother Tryce.”

The swords lowered, and Tryce asked, “Then why are we wasting our time with this?”

 

A hulking figure on the other side from Tryce spoke next. “I agree, sister Elma. We can only act if it is the work of Baou or an equal evil. Why should we bother interfering?”

”Because it is an evil almost as foul, brother Ceal,” Elma said, changing the picture back to Fifteen and Breaker. “Should the Witty Phantom be slain, then all that ever was and will ever be shall have no meaning; and all that is shall be laid to waste.”

”Do you mean…” Ceal could not bring him to finish the sentence.

 

“Ay, brothers,” a mermaid said from her pool of water, around the corner from Tryce and across from Grarl. “Should he die, then Necross will break free from his iron confines.”

 

“Then let us act!” Grarl growled, rising to his feet.

Elma reached out and stopped him, shaking her head. “Nay, brother Grarl,” she said. “We cannot interfere personally. Even though the evil is great, it is still not Baou, and we may not physically intervene if that is the case.”

“Sister Kay'est, she must be wrong,” Tryce pleaded, turning to the mermaid.

 

Kay'est sighed, resting her head on her arms. “I am afraid she speaks truth,” she answered. “Baou has not left Pandemonium in some time - this evil is not his doing. We must stay out of it.”

 

“But,” Elma added, “we may send one of the Guardian's Weapons to aid the Witty Phantom. They are not us, and thus they are free.”

 

At that, Ceal stood up, declaring, “Send him my bow! It shall shatter the Magical Warrior's armor and pierce his heart!”

“Nay, brother Ceal!” Elma answered. “The Witty Phantom has not the strength to pull back the string of your bow. The arrow would simply bounce off the armor.”

 

“My swords are out, then,” Tryce said, looking at them. “They would make him faster, but his blows would lose power, and all the speed in the world wouldn't save him.”

”As is my rod,” Kay'est said, picking up the thread. “It is worthless on the attack.”

Grarl closed his eyes, and then asked, “My axe, perhaps? It would provide its own strength.”

Elma shook her head and replied, “Nay, brother Grarl. Breaker's shield would banish it immediately. Only one weapon can save him, if he has the wisdom to use it wisely…”

The Guardians nodded, and as one, they called it forth…

 

0000000

 

With a flourish, Breaker spun his sword in his hand, and then brought it down hard…

 

…and with a flash of light, Fifteen was holding it off with a small, green dagger. He just stared at it, wondering when he had picked up something like that.

 

Tessia was still in a fog, the Nightmare Wheel playing an endless horror show in her head, but something about the dagger's appearance caused her to escape for a second. She saw the dagger, and then smiled.

 

“What the hell is that?!?” Breaker shouted, glaring at the dagger.

 

“I don't know!” Fifteen shouted back, scrambling to his feet. The dagger pulsed in his hands, and he gave it a closer look. Is this what I think it is? And if so… can I actually win this fight?

 

Breaker's eyebrow twitched, and then he laughed. “Waste of time,” he said. “If the Guardians are really on your side, they would have given you a better weapon. Pathetic, really.” He rolled forward and sprang at Fifteen…

 

…and the Witty Phantom slid under the blade, ramming his dagger into the shield. There was a flash of light, and when it cleared, the shield's gem was lusterless again, and both monsters were still standing.

 

And the dagger was still in Fifteen's hand.

Breaker's jaw dropped. “How did my shield fail?” he asked.

 

Shaking his head, Fifteen explained, “Don't you know the legend of the Dagger of Butterflies? It can only be banished back to the Higher Plane when its user is done with it. And it's indestructible, as well. It's the perfect weapon against you and your shield.”

 

When the explanation was done, Fifteen threw himself at Breaker, the dagger swinging up. It slid through the straps of Breaker's armor, gashing his forearm. The Magical Warrior gasped at the first wound in ages, and then fell back, raising his sword. Ducking low, Fifteen struck up, sliding between the plates and slicing into Breaker's stomach.

 

Desperate now, Breaker darted around Fifteen, waiting for his shield to recharge. Cursing his luck, he deliberately placed himself against the wall, sword and shield at the ready. The idea was a sound one: Fifteen would now have to come at him from a position he could defend, and couldn't get him at a tough angle.

 

The weakness of this idea was made clear when Fifteen dropped low and stabbed him through the hinge of one ankle. Instinctively, Breaker dropped low to defend himself, whereupon Fifteen kicked him in the face. Even with his armor, the Magical Warrior was stunned on impact with the wall.

 

As Breaker recovered, his shield flashed, and the gem resumed shining. “Hah!” he yelled, throwing himself at Fifteen.

Fifteen half-turned and swung his dagger, cutting through the shield's straps. It flew across the hall, hitting the opposing wall and ringing out like a bell when it reached the floor.

 

Before Breaker could even gape, the Witty Phantom grabbed his helmet, yanked it off, and slammed his enemy against the wall, dagger at his throat. “Any last words?” he asked.

 

Even with his life at stake, Breaker couldn't resist a smile. “You're still doomed, you know. My boss will rip you apart before you even get close to breaking your friend out of here.”

Another slam against the wall caused Breaker's smile to fade, as Fifteen pressed the knife harder against the mage-knight's throat. “Try again.”

 

“Okay…” Breaker said, now genuinely scared. “When you get to the last door, the code to get in is 33396948. But if you don't enter a 124 before that, it'll set off the trap, and that door's rigged with a max-power Cemetery Bomb. Set that off and it'll blow you into little pieces of little pieces!”

”Thanks for the info. Now rest in peace,” Fifteen said. He then jabbed the dagger in, slitting Breaker's throat with one swipe.

 

Eyes wide in shock, Breaker stared at his opponent, mouthing the words, “You actually did it”. He then collapsed, shattering into a thousand shards and taking his sword with him.

 

The battle finished, Fifteen opened his hand, letting the Dagger of Butterflies fall from it. It turned into a cloud of butterflies, which flew in all directions and vanished. One, however, landed on Fifteen's finger.

 

Slowly, he raised the butterfly to his eye level. “Thanks,” he told it.

 

It touched his nose with its antennae, and then flew off.

 

Moving up to where Breaker's shield had landed, Fifteen picked it up and marveled at how the battle hadn't scratched it. Next, he walked to the field of Widespread Ruins and laid the shield on it, gem down. Its magic shot through the connected cubes, shattering the group.

Now freed, Raelvion collapsed in a heap on the floor, his legs all but rubber. He handed Fifteen his jacket, and the Witty Phantom put it on, also retrieving his hat from Tilde.

 

The three waited a moment for Breaker's shield to recharge. Once that was done, Fifteen took the shield and slammed it, hard, into the Nightmare Wheel.

 

The torture device melted like wet sugar, and Tessia slid from the dissolving bonds, falling towards the floor. She never reached it - Fifteen was there, and he caught her in his arms, although his knees buckled from the impact.

 

A moment passed, and then her eyes opened again, looking up into his. “You saved me,” was all she said.

 

“That I did,” he answered. “Can you walk?” She nodded, and he set her down.

 

Pulling himself upright, Raelvion muttered, “Sure, nobody cares about if I can walk…” Regaining his composure, he reached into a pocket and withdrew a magic cube. “Need a sword?” he asked Fifteen.

The Witty Phantom nodded, and then caught the magic cube tossed his way. Flicking it on, he spun the Sword of Deep-Seated around in his hand, readjusting his style.

 

The Dark Magician, meanwhile, pulled a handful of magic cubes from his pocket. Counting them, he shook his head. “I only have three cubes left,” he announced. “Be very careful with that sword, because I can't replace it now.”

 

Picking up Breaker's shield, Tilde set it on her back. “This should come in handy,” she noted.

 

Once everyone was set, the group headed down the hallway. Unlike before, however, they could see the door ahead of them - the end was a fair distance off, but it was in sight.

 

0000000

 

Within the complex's heart, the floating machine had set its mind on the group, monitoring the fight closely. Its eyes darkened as Breaker died, and a hiss of steam escaped it. [The Guardians… what a pitiful group. Their interference was to be expected. It seems all of the forces of the light do not know when to mind their own business.] Shrugging, it moved up to a control panel, flipping a pair of switches. [Not that it matters, anyway. When my plan is completed, they will be dealt with swiftly, as will everything else. For now, however…]

 

The machine's mind locked onto one of the group approaching its chamber - the Rogue Doll, Tilde.

 

[Three sacrifices will work as well as two for my purpose,] it thought to itself. [And she is a wild card in their ranks - getting her out of the way will reduce the randomness, and that will work greatly to my benefit.]

 

A commotion caught the machine's attention, and it looked to the giant device in the back of the room. It seemed that Naomi, the Witch of the Black Forest locked in the device, had slipped down her gag. Ignoring the distractions, the machine worked out what she was saying: “Let me out of here! Please! Don't do this!”

[Silence!] the machine thought, sending a mental shockwave at her. It hit Naomi, knocking her unconscious. The shockwave also disturbed the machine's Amphibian Beast pet, causing it to growl. [Calm down, Pav,] the machine thought with a placating tone. [It's your turn next.]

 

Having dealt with the interruptions, the machine returned to its work. As it manipulated the control panels, the nozzle at the end of the device lowered, hooking to the mold with a solid click…