Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow Realm: Fifteen ❯ Psycho Shocker ( Chapter 14 )

Although the end of the hallway was now only a short distance from where the four monsters sat, Fifteen had suggested a break - between his battle with Breaker, Raelvion and Tilde's inability to move, and Tessia's session on the Nightmare Wheel, all four of them needed some time to catch their breath. The others had agreed, and now they sat on the floor, Tessia leaning on Fifteen.

 

“Does our enemy have any henchmen left?” Tilde asked. Having no legs, she was none the worse for wear from having to stand perfectly still - unlike Raelvion, who was currently trying to massage life back into his calves.

 

Lifting his hand, Fifteen counted on his fingers: “There was Copycat, who we killed a while ago; Breaker, whom I just killed; all of his guards in the hallway - they're dead… Gaia didn't work for him, and I can't think of anyone else.” He looked at his fingers and shrugged. “I doubt there'll be anything else in the way.”

 

“Here's to hoping,” Raelvion answered. He stood up, twitched, and collapsed, his legs quivering. A few quiet curses in Gigatongue followed.

 

Even as Tessia slid under one of Fifteen's arms, she asked, “What time is it?”

Tilde fished out her watch and checked it, answering, “Thirty-one minutes after four.”

Taking out his staff, the Dark Magician jammed it into the flooring, pulled himself up, and readjusted his hat, declaring, “In twenty minutes, we go through that door. Objections?”

None were voiced. None needed to be; even as they agreed, the other monsters let their expressions make their silent objections.

 

None of them were confident about their chances of survival.

 

0000000

 

On the other side of the door, the machine stared at the mold containing its finest creation. Its eyes glowed, and it let out a mental chuckle, setting one hand to its nonexistent chin. [Such a fine work… And to think, this will be the beginning of the end.]

 

Now, however, the time for contemplation had passed. Moving back to the center of the room, the machine let its mind loose, moving its focus out of the chamber and into the hallway, sliding it around the four intruders and scanning their surface thoughts.

 

Tessia… I'm sorry I ever got you involved in this. If we survive, I'll never let you get in danger again.

 

Oh, Fifteen… I may have gotten in a lot of trouble by being with you, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're the only one I'll ever want.

 

You're finished once we get in there, whatever you are. The Shadow Realm has survived for too long against too much for me to let you bring it down… OW! Damn it, leg cramp!

 

(…)(…)(…)

 

The machine stopped, pulling back its mind. For some reason, it had proven unable to read the Rogue Doll's surface thoughts. This was a first - it had never failed that before. [A puzzlement], it thought to itself. [Taking hold of her will be a more difficult task than anticipated. But… then again, that's half the fun.]

 

Letting its mind loose again, the machine hurled it at the Rogue Doll, smashing through her outer mental defenses…

 

0000000

 

Even as the group began to move, Tilde came to a dead halt. The lights in her eyes turned off, and she stood absolutely still, not even her arms moving.

 

The others stopped and turned to her, looking her over. Finally, Tessia asked, “What's wrong with her?”

Raelvion shook her head. “It seems we've run into another of our opponent's traps,” he answered.

”But I can't see any trap cubes,” Fifteen said, ducking low and looking over the hovering spellcaster.

”Not all traps are cubes.”

 

0000000

 

The machine's mind forced itself through the last of Tilde's interior mental barriers, and now looked around within her mind. To its surprise, the mind was an absolute blank, except for a single table.

 

A simple thought moved the machine's mind to the table, where it found an unusual item. On the table sat a puzzle box, about six inches square on each side. It looked like it was made of wood, and the pieces of the box seemed like they would slide easily.

 

Picking up the box, the machine's mind snorted. [Such an elaborate mental defense,] it thought. [If I'm correct - and in mental matters I always am - the real center of her mind is sealed inside this puzzle box. I have to solve it before I can take control of her, and if I fail, the box will lock - and then no amount of force will get her to serve me.] It laughed. [Elaborate, but it will prove to no avail.]

 

Concentrating, the machine began to undo the puzzle box, moving pieces slowly and carefully into position. The early steps were obvious, since this was a puzzle, not a con game. The only sound in the mind was that of clicking wood as piece after piece moved into place.

 

Suddenly, the movement of one piece left a sizable gap, and the machine found itself seeing into the past.

 

0000000

 

Raelvion had just left the Northern Gravekeeper's Shrine that day, some ten years ago. He always went to the shrine when someone close to him had died; spending time among the Gravekeepers helped to ease the pain in his heart. Over the years, he had visited the shrine some fifty times, and he had long since befriended the Gravekeeper's Chief for that shrine.

 

Even as he walked, it began to rain. It always rained when he left the shrine, as if the Shadow Realm could sense his sadness and decided to mock him for it. Adjusting his hat, he put his arms over his head and started to run for a Labyrinth Tank post.

 

Needless to say, the post was out of order.

 

Raelvion wondered, as he had so often before, whether someone in the Higher Planes had too much time on their hands.

 

Now resigned to having to catch a train, the Dark Magician set off down the road. It was a few steps later before he realized that he wasn't getting wet anyone. A glance up revealed there was an umbrella over his head.

A glance down revealed there was a Rogue Doll carrying the umbrella.

 

“Thanks. You are?” he asked her.

 

Bowing - which caused the umbrella to flick water on the back of an unfortunate Wandering Mummy - the Rogue Doll answered, “I am Rogue Doll M-RD17, sent by the Central Shadow Realm Council to serve you. It is a pleasure to meet you, Spellcaster Representative Raelvion.”

 

Raelvion let out a low whistle, noting, “Your predecessor only died a week ago. This is the fastest the council's ever sent a replacement.”

 

A smile crossed the doll's face as she raised the umbrella over them again. “I'm honored I could be so convenient,” she replied. “I hope I serve you well.”

As they reached the train station, Raelvion looked up to the clearing skies and muttered, “I think you might, M-RD17. I think you just might.”

 

0000000

 

As the flashback ended, the machine resumed his manipulation of the cube, unaffected by what it had just seen. Its attention was fully on making the proper moves and not setting off the lock.

 

However, it had just enough of its mind on the outside world to note the activities of the Rogue Doll's companions. And it didn't want any interruptions as it worked.

 

A mental command slid the door open, drawing the attention of the Amphibian Beast within the chamber. Another mental command was brief and swift: [Pav, sic.]

 

0000000

 

“So what's happening to her?” Tessia asked. The three monsters stood in a circle around Tilde, all three trying not to look into her blank eyes.

 

Raelvion shook his head. “It's a mental assault,” he answered. “Whoever's in her head is trying to take over her mind and give her commands. My best guess is that this is what kept the riots going. Unfortunately, Tilde will not be an easy target.”

”Why not?” Fifteen asked now, bouncing his sword off the palm of his glove. It was fairly frustrating to encounter a problem he couldn't stab to death.

 

“Because Tilde hears a lot of my secrets, I installed a puzzle box defense in her mind. Anyone who tries to take over her mind has to get through that, and if they screw up they can never get into her mind again. It also makes reading her mind impossible if they don't undo the box.” Raelvion then stopped, turning towards the door. “What was that noise?”

Tessia and Fifteen turned to the door as well, and then Fifteen raised an eyebrow. “Do you hear something growling?”

Immediately after that, the Amphibian Beast pounced on Fifteen. He fell backward, thrusting his sword up and flipping the creature over him. It skidded, snarling, and left scrapes in the metal as it drew its claws back. Nervous sweat slid down Fifteen's forehead.

 

Tessia grabbed Tilde and moved back, clinging to Breaker's shield, as Raelvion stepped forward, glaring at the Amphibian Beast. “Stand back, Fifteen,” the Dark Magician announced. “I'll handle him.”

Even as he said this, key pieces of metal retracted from the ceiling and floor. A large metal wall slammed shut in front of the door, and as several vents opened, another wall slammed into place down the hall, trapping them. Two large designs were now evident in the floor and ceiling, and they and the trapping walls were made of a very familiar shiny metal.

 

“Ah, damn,” Fifteen muttered. He turned off the Sword of Deep-Seated and tucked it into his pocket, taking several steps away from Raelvion and keeping Tessia behind him.

 

Raelvion blinked, and then sighed deeply. “Metalsilver,” he said. “The walls and those designs are metalsilver. My magic's useless. Our enemy knows more about us than we thought...” He then slid off his hat and robe, tossing them to Fifteen; now he was clad in a sleeveless purple shirt and purple pants, similar to an Apprentice Magician's outfit. “…but not enough.”

 

Stumbling back as he caught the clothes, Fifteen asked, “What are you doing?”

 

Tessia, to his surprise, answered that question. “Apprentice Magicians are taught bojutsu, the art of staff fighting, in addition to magic,” she said. “This sort of situation is exactly why they're taught it - magic can't always save you.”

 

Spinning his staff around his body, Raelvion smirked and signaled for the Amphibian Beast to attack. It pounced, whereupon he caught it on his staff and slammed it to the ground. Half-turning, he waited for a moment, and when it lunged at him, he spun the staff, smashing it against the floor.

 

Not expecting attacks like that, the Amphibian Beast growled, swiping at the magician's leg. The point of the staff slammed down, pinning the claw to the floor. Then, flipping over the bizarre-looking fish beast, Raelvion brought the staff down hard, again knocking it to the ground.

 

Enraged, the Amphibian Beast roared, blood beginning to drip from its maw. Charging forward, it snapped at Raelvion's leg, only to get a snap-kick to the jaw. Sliding back, the Dark Magician launched an overhead strike; when that hit, he spun sideways and struck again, and then a third time. By now, the fish beast was staggering, severely injured.

 

“This isn't a fight, it's a rout,” Fifteen said, eyes wide in awe. “We have nothing to worry about. Tessia, how's Tilde doing?”

A sigh escaped the Magician of Faith's lips as she turned Tilde to herself, eyes scanning over the Rogue Doll's empty ones. “No change,” she replied.

 

0000000

 

Within Tilde's mind, the machine's mind was still at work on the puzzle box, having sat down on the table. By now, half the pieces were in place, and it had found a pattern to their placement. By its estimate, it would finish the job in less than ten minutes at the current rate.

 

As it had solved the puzzle, the machine found itself repeatedly reliving parts of the Rogue Doll's life. This was immensely frustrating to a machine that didn't care about such things, but it seemed an unavoidable consequence of solving the puzzle box. As it neared the center of her mind, more and more memories would launch themselves, as a cross between a last-ditch mental defense and the flashing of a dying person's life before their eyes.

Even as it thought that, the machine clicked another piece into place, and was struck with another piece of the Rogue Doll's past.

 

0000000

 

“M-RD17, where did you put my robe?” Raelvion was flipping through an arcane tome, lying on his bed in the Apprentice Magician outfit he usually wore under his robe. At the moment, however, he didn't have a robe to cover the outfit with, as the dry cleaners (run by the Shadow Realm's least ambitious Jerry Beans Man) had done their magic to it and had only given it back that day.

 

Floating in from the kitchen, the Rogue Doll smiled, pointing to the closet. “The last time I left it on your bed, sir, you complained about having to move it, so it's in your closet this time. Isn't that proper?”

Raelvion took a deep breath, slid off the bed, and opened the closet before sighing. “Now I have to rummage through my clothes to get it!” he grumbled. “Can't you just hang it over the bedpost or something?”

For the past three years, the Rogue Doll had put on an enthusiastic front. This, however, forced her to drop it like a burning stick. Her expression cracked, and she said in a strained tone of voice, “If I put it over the bedpost, you'll complain that it's getting wrinkled. Should I just hang it on your staff?”

In the midst of retrieving his robe, Raelvion froze. Just as the Rogue Doll though she had overstepped her bounds, the Dark Magician began to wave, leaning on his closet doorframe for support.

 

“Sir?” the Rouge Doll asked.

After catching his breath, Raelvion looked to her and said, “You know, you've served me very well over the last three years. Allow me to give you a name.”

It is technically impossible for a Rogue Doll's eyes to widen, but hers did. “A name? That's a high honor, sir…”

 

“One you've earned,” the Dark Magician replied. Putting a hand to his chin, he thought for a moment, and then snapped his fingers. “I'll call you Tilde. Do you like that name?”

Giving it a moment's thought herself, the newly-named Tilde nodded. “It's a fine name for me, sir.”

 

0000000

 

Mentally cursing, the machine forced the next piece into place, shaking off the memory. [The faster I get done with this and get past those damn memories, the better,] the machine's mind told itself.

 

0000000

 

As the machine had drawn its attention away from the outside world, the riots in the Warrior Living Quarters were slowly dying down, the police managing to regain some tiny control over the section (although after the last attempt led to things just getting worse, they were walking on eggshells). Fires had reduced much of the Warrior Living Quarters to ashes, and so most of the monsters were currently in refugee housing in the Spellcaster Living Quarters.

 

One warrior of significant standing, however, had no intention of going anywhere near the refugee housing. Needless to say, that warrior was Yamato the Noble Samurai. Having cleaned up his silks and armor, he had taken one look at the single building used to house all the refugees and spun on his heel, storming away and dragging his student (the Command Knight) with him.

 

Now, as a Labyrinth Tank broke the surface of the Work Quarters, he sprang off the back, launching into a forward roll and landing on his feet. The Command Knight, meanwhile, shook her head, still securely belted into the back of the Labyrinth Tank.

 

“Damn it, man, watch yourself! Our insurance doesn't cover fancy stunts!” the driver of the tank yelled at Yamato. “Either way, Work Quarters!”

 

Undoing her seat belt, the Command Knight jumped off, whereupon the Labyrinth Tank aimed itself downward and smashed through the ground, driving away.

 

Brushing off, the Command Knight looked around - she had cleaned up as well since the destruction of the dojo. Finally, she said, “Remind me why we're here.”

 

“Because I want nothing to do with the refugee center,” Yamato answered, “and this is the safest place to be right now. Nobody in their right mind is going to work while the Central Shadow Realm is the way it is at the moment, so there shouldn't be anyone here.” He flicked a speck of dust off of his armor, and then continued, “Now if you would come with me, we need to find a phone.”

Moving alongside the samurai, the Command Knight asked, “A phone?”

Even as he spoke, Yamato was already heading towards the nearest factory. “My apprentice, Sashia the Samurai Squire, sent me a note saying she was going to hide out with an old friend of mine, the Master Monk Eisai, in the Rock Habitation Quarters. I need to call him and make sure she's there.”

The Command Knight sped up, keeping pace with her teacher as she asked, “I've always wanted to know, why does a samurai have a squire? I mean, that's in the tradition of knights, not samurais…”

Grimacing, Yamato answered, “Blame my old master. He felt he was getting too old to teach her and so he shoved her off on me. She calls herself a squire - no matter how many times I tell not to use that name, it never sinks in.”

 

The following hour was an exercise in futility unseen before in the annals of the Central Shadow Realm, as Yamato and the Command Knight wandered from factory to building to factory in search of a working phone… and didn't find a single one. All the phones they did find were broken, disconnected, or only for internal use.

 

Finally, Yamato the Noble Samurai stood outside of an old, abandoned Equip factory, staring at the door. The Command Knight caught up to him, pointing out the obvious: “Something tells me this place won't have a working phone either…”

 

“If it doesn't, we're out of options,” he replied, striding into the factory. The two warriors split up, searching the building.

Yamato forgot the search entirely when he found a large metal door set into the floor. Kneeling, he traced the metalsilver with his fingers, muttering, “The hell?”

 

From an upper catwalk, the Command Knight yelled down, “I found a working phone! Not sure why, but there's one here!”

“All right, I'll be up in a minute!” Yamato yelled back, adding to himself, “And I have a hell of a story for the cops…”

 

0000000

 

Raelvion spun the staff over his head and connected with the Amphibian Beast's jaw, hurling it across the floor. The fish beast hit the wall with a low thudding noise, sliding to the floor and twitching, its blood a long line on the metalsilver.

 

Tessia was hiding behind Fifteen, her face pressed into his back - she couldn't take the sight of Raelvion pummeling the Amphibian Beast. Fifteen, meanwhile, was looking through half-parted fingers. Even fiends only had so much they could stand.

 

By now, the Amphibian Beast was a sorry mess, a shell of itself. Raising its head, it let out a weak roar and charged forward… and Raelvion kicked it hard in the face. The beast fell on its side, splitting blood.

 

“I hate doing this to a monster that can't help it,” the Dark Magician said, sighing, “but I have no choice. I get the feeling we can't move on until you're dead.” Striding across the floor, he kicked the Amphibian Beast onto its back.

 

Fifteen pulled his hat over his eyes and turned away, hugging Tessia to him. On a spur of the moment, he turned Tilde away from the scene as well.

 

The fish beast was breathing hard, unable to raise a claw. The Dark Magician sighed, and then raised his staff, point aiming down at the creature's heart.

 

0000000

 

Within Tilde's mind, the puzzle was almost finished. Only a few more pieces remained before the Rogue Doll was open to the machine's control. The machine's mind was doing all it could not to gloat.

 

Another piece clicked into place, and now it could actually see the center mind. Only four pieces remained.

 

It clicked another piece into place, and then made a critical error - it looked into the mind.

 

This time what struck the machine's mind was not a memory. It was an emotion, one that Tilde had stored up over the years she had served Raelvion. It was an emotion that was reinforced every time he accidentally slighted her, every time he did one of those things that irritated her (he must have left his hat on the kitchen table some five hundred times), every time he made life a little more difficult. But it was also reinforced every time he praised her, every time he gave her a gift, every time he just smiled.

 

The emotion wasn't love - love would have bounced off of the machine's mind like a rubber dart. It was, instead, a sort of strong affection - a loyalty that had strengthened and built itself up over the years until it had turned practically into steel.

 

And it rammed into the machine's mind with the same power as an Inferno Tempest.

 

Distracted beyond reason, the machine made another critical error, its thumb sliding down and moving the wrong piece in the wrong direction…

 

The puzzle snapped back into its original form, the force causing it to fly from the machine's mind's grip and hit the floor. The machine's mind bent down and picked it up.

 

Every side of the puzzle box was now covered in metal. It could no longer be solved.

 

[Drat,] the machine thought to itself. Discarding the puzzle box, it withdrew its mind.

 

In the main chamber, the machine shook the cobwebs from its head and exhaled steam, having spent a fair amount of time in the Rogue Doll's mind. Once its bearings were restored, the machine sent its mind out again, getting a look at the fight between Pav and the Dark Magician…

 

[That is far more damage than I anticipated to my unfortunate pet,] the machine thought, setting its hand to its chin again. [Time to pull it out.]

 

Raising its hands before it, the machine made several precise gestures.

 

0000000

 

Before the point of the staff could come down, the walls retracted and the metalsilver designs were covered once again. Raelvion looked around himself, confused greatly. Suddenly, the Amphibian Beast slid away at a fast clip, causing the Dark Magician to yell, “What's going on?”

 

The door slid open, and the Amphibian Beast moved right through it before it shut again.

 

Staring, Raelvion lowered his head and muttered several curse words in Gigatongue again before heading to Fifteen. The fiend, knowing what his ally wanted, handed over the robe and hat.

As he tugged on the robe, Raelvion couldn't resist asking, “Tilde, is it straight in the back?” He then bit his lip.

 

But then he heard the reply: “I'm afraid that wrinkle just above your hips hasn't given up yet, sir.”

 

Tessia squealed, and Fifteen managed a relieved smile, as Tilde stretched her arms and put both hands to work massaging her temples. “I don't want that to happen again,” she said. “This migraine will not go away for the next year.”

Before she could say anything further, the Dark Magician knelt and hugged her tightly, not saying a word. Words weren't needed at that point.

 

Fifteen seconds later (Fifteen timed it off in his head), Raelvion let go and stood up, actually blushing a bit. Tilde saw that and smiled, mocking him a bit with, “I never knew you felt that way, sir. This may cause a scandal.”

“The newspapers are going to go after me anyway…” The Dark Magician pointed to the door and asked, “Onward?”

Agreement was unanimous. Relief is fairly infectious.

 

0000000

 

Pouring himself another snifter of brandy, Dupin - once Freed the Matchless General, now Chief of the CSRPF - looked up to the picture over his door. It showed him in his army days, just before the final charge on the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, along with Exodia the Forbidden One, the first St. Joan, the Airknight Parshath, the first Dark Magician (Wagnard), and Gaia the Fierce Knight. They were posed around the skull of a Tyrant Dragon, and Wagnard and St. Joan were looking at each other meaningfully.

 

We all had dreams back then, Dupin thought. But look at us now… St. Joan became Guardian Angel Joan and ascended to the Higher Plane. Airknight Parshath left to guard the iron door after the First Dragon War ended. I haven't heard from either of them in centuries. Gaia went insane after the Second Dragon War ended - and now he's dead. Exodia hasn't answered any of my letters in months; sometimes I question his stability…

 

Dupin looked at the photo again, his eyes focusing on Wagnard.

 

Sometimes I think Wagnard had the right idea, he thought again. He died on that charge. He didn't have to put up with any of this garbage. He didn't have to worry about Joan not loving him anymore, or about Gaia coming after him. He just went to the Graveyard.

 

Suddenly realizing his train of thought, Dupin shook his head and looked at his drink. I shouldn't drink this stuff, he thought. It makes me too pessimistic.

 

His phone rang. The chief answered it, saying, “I'm here.”

“Sir, I've got a call from the Work Quarters on line three,” the Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands on reception answered. “It's Yamato the Noble Samurai, and he says he's found something suspicious in an old Equip factory.”

 

“Patch him through,” Dupin answered.

 

The following conversation took three minutes. During the first minute, Dupin was wary; during the second, he was confused; during the third, he was outright intrigued.

 

After hanging up, he looked at a different photograph, on the wall to the door's left. This one was taken during the ceremony celebrating his appointment as Chief of Police. It showed him shaking hands with Exodia (the Forbidden One's hand dwarfing his); behind them stood the late Dark Sage, Kalvelos the Summoned Skull, Forseti the Buster Blader, and the second Dark Magician.

 

According to Yamato, that Dark Magician's aura could be sensed near the suspicious metal door.

 

That day was the last time I ever really felt good about this job, Dupin thought. Ever since, the job's consisted of one bad day after another… but now I feel something about this. Something… alive. Something that tells me this will be more than just another assignment.

 

Once more, his eyes went to Wagnard in the group photo.

 

Sorry, old friend. I've got other things to do before we meet again.

 

Picking up his phone, he called the reception unit and said, “Get me through to the special forces.”

 

0000000

 

The four monsters strode up to the door, Fifteen in the lead. He looked to the code input and asked, “What's the number again?”

 

“Start with 124, and then enter 33396948,” Tilde replied.

 

One white-gloved hand flashed over the numbers, tapping in all twelve digits. The door slid open.

 

As the four stepped into the room behind the door, their attention was consumed utterly by just how large everything was. Pipes ran along the ceiling, all connected to one gigantic device in the back. The device looked like a pair of scales, both cups of which held a drill, and with a nozzle descending from the middle. Attached to the nozzle was a large mold, vaguely familiar. No other furniture could be seen, just the device.

 

In the right cup of the scale, the wounded Amphibian Beast was chained up, growling helplessly as it pulled at its chains. And in the left cup…

 

“Naomi!” Tessia screamed, dropping her staff. The Witch of the Black Forest was tied down, tugging helplessly at her bonds. The gag in her mouth prevented a reply.

 

[Do not move yet,] a voice in their heads warned them. [I will take it as an affront.]

 

“Look, we've admired how you've hidden yourself,” Raelvion said bluntly, “but I'm sick of it now. Come on out.”

 

Calmly, the source of the voice floated into view from the shadows. The monster wore a green coat, held shut with a strip of yellow metal and a black collar piece welded around it. It floated off the ground, but there were black boots on its feet. It wore rubber gloves, and its arms were crossed. On its face, instead of eyes and a mouth, it had two glowing red discs and a vent where it should have had a mouth. It was bald, and a strip of black metal ran up from its “face”, circling around its head and rejoining the “face”.

 

All four monsters gasped. Finally, Fifteen spoke: “You're a rumor, you know. People whisper about you. But now I see you're real.”

[That I am,] the machine answered. [I dare to guess you know my name, but courtesy demands I say it. I am Jinzo.]