The game as it had been made, seemed a little odd. Didn't look exactly demonic. The simple questions attached to feelings. The difficulty levels were a little ridiculous, but once again, doable. Isis had made the easiest of games for a reason.
I Spy. Marco Polo. Shadow Tag. Egg and Spoon Balance Walk?
Thoth approved the rules, all directions, all difficulty levels, and all writing for the pop quiz.
It was only after the pop quiz was given out to spirits of the First Tears of Ra, that Isis was starting to get a bad feeling.
"Who made this?" Masika asked. "This should have more options. This is ridiculous."
Téa had the same kind of response. "I don't know if love is the word, love is a really hard word."
"I don't know about hate, it's definitely not hate, but not love," Masika complained.
"Just answer to the closest you can," Isis encouraged them. "Once they are done, then the simple game will take place, and then it is done."
"Oh, definitely a no," Masika said to the paper. "And there. And there."
Hmmm. Isis looked toward Bastet and Sekhmet who came with her.
"I don't know that language, how can I answer that yes or no?" Téa complained.
"For the game, you will be getting two sets of memories. For now, put no. It is asking if you enjoy the smell of something foul. Just put no."
"I don't understand how any of this is really helping a God's Game?" Téa asked. "It feels more like schoolwork."
"Level of difficulty and playing order," Isis told her once again.
After they handed their work in, Isis went to the other side.
With Bastet and Sekhmet following.
When Isis came with the papers, she gave them to Atem first. "Fill these out. I have the other sides done." He was less than courteous but took the papers. He then received the instructions.
He looked quite surprised. "These are the games?"
"Isis should be the goddess of trickery," Bastet said.
Isis held her hand to her. Not more of that. "Just fill it out. The game will begin soon afterward."
"Yuugi."
Yuugi answered his bedroom door in the middle of the night. Atem was at the door.
"For the Gods Game Isis conned us into," he said handing out some papers. "We'll be playing toddler games."
"Toddler games?" Yuugi looked at the paper. "I Spy? Egg and spoon. Shadow tag? These are kid games." He looked toward Atem. "Zorc signed off on it?"
"Just like the ultimate bluff, when they convinced everyone they were giving us little gods, but just sped up Hikaru." Atem smirked. "The shame. They fooled me twice."
Really? "Isis was on our side the whole time." She must have known the cats would rebel. What the results would be.
"Yes, but she put Silhouette in harm's way, and the others to get this," Atem reminded him. "A deities kindness isn't always so kind."
Right. Those were some big risks, and Silhouette was probably psychologically scarred from the Shadow Realm area. "Kindness isn't always easy to see with them." Agreed. "Not planning on saying thank you, are you?"
"Not unless I think it will help in the strategy."
It that case, no. Which was fair. Why did deities have to play so much with their personal lives and feelings? "I'm just relieved she was on our side." Yuugi looked over the rules again. "It's a little weird. Why are we getting the memories of our other selves who performed the Ammut test?"
"Probably Zorc's input. He had to have input for this game to happen," Atem reminded him. "Anyway. Goodnight, Yuugi. Fill those out with Anzu. I gave Masika her part. I don't really see any conflicts in even the quiz questions."
Yuugi looked at the quiz questions. "Just based on feelings. I don't see anything wrong either." He would look deeper but it looked like Isis' swift speed probably saved them from more input from Zorc. "Goodnight, Atem."
"Goodnight, Yuugi. Sleep well. Tomorrow, I suppose we will be playing young brat games, unless there is something that I am missing."
Well, if there had been? Yuugi didn't see it.
Simple kid games. Game started the next day. Isis didn't think it would take too long. She neither got smirky, frowny, or happy about landing the real power of the game control. Either she was nothing but polite and professional, or she wasn't getting a good feeling with it either way.
"The playing order has been decided, according to the pop quiz questions. The Ethereals memories have been blocked to only theirs, and a copy of yours given for a short time. When the game starts to proceed, the answers to the pop questions and difficulty level will be shown. You have no time limit in this game. Since the result of the winnings do not matter until after your deaths, you only need to win out with your partners. Darks are with Darks, and Lights are with Lights in this game. I bid you goodbye. Take over Bastet." She disappeared, no longer needed.
"You are all in a dream state for this, you aren't dead nor are you being shoved into a real past," Bastet said. "It's more like a storybook come to life. It also means while you are in there, if you get hungry, there is no real food. The game is not intended to last long, but? We do have special permission slips Isis has added that you should consider signing. Just in case the game does take too long."
A game with no time limit. Yuugi could see the need as he was handed his papers. The gods could connect with an old friend on standby. "If we are taken to a hospital, they should assume we are just in a coma, right?"
"Right, and they will take it from there," Bastet said. "When the game is over, you will normally wake up. Even for longer games, you will simply wake up. We are not barred from this game like the last one. If you need help, just call for me or Sekhmet."
"I don't think we should need help, but these games are tricky," Anzu agreed. "You said the winnings aren't distributed until after we die. What about Hikaru?"
"Hikaru isn't a winning," Bastet smiled. "Isis had every intention of returning them. She needed to play evil to lure Zorc out for a game to get the upper hand against him."
"She put the kids in danger!" Anzu was less than pleased. "I'm not saying thank you for that."
"She doesn't accept or need thanks," Bastet said rather coldly. "She did what she thought was best for the situation. She got the game she needed to rescue everyone from this awkward presentation, which is extremely kind for Isis. Why are you angry with her?"
"Don't," Yuugi said to Anzu. "You know them. They . . . are shaky in their emotions. Remember?"
Anzu hugged Yugi. "They can be such . . . sometimes."
Yuugi smiled. It was nice to have his Anzu's edge back with her again.
"When I snap my fingers, we will be in the dreamscape. The Ethereals will be there along with the other Tears of Ra. All of you have been given clothes to change into. They are all the same as them. Everything is the same. When you arrive, you will also have their memories right before the crash as well."
"You should not be able to know who is who," Sekhmet added. "Zorc's humor is stupid. You can play baby games with each other in any fashion, you'll be fine. Try not to die from embarrassment."
When Yuugi arrived, he was with no one except Téa. Or Anzu? "Hello." Was that English or Japanese? "Is that English or Japanese?"
Sekhmet appeared. "Like we are that dumb. You got language packs for the dream to keep it fair too."
Huh. Yuugi moved closer to her. "Anzu?"
"Maybe?" she said. She sounded the same. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's Téa?"
"We aren't supposed to know." That made this kind of tricky. "If it's you Anzu, then. No, if it's you Téa then . . ." He didn't even know which version of him he had been. "Let's just do our best with the game."
Sekhmet came over again. She looked uncomfortable. "I spy, I spy in my little eye something white. Distance within 5 feet. Tell any God I played I Spy with you and I'll rip out your innards before you even finish explaining."
Whoah! "I won't tell!" he promised. Boy. "White. Five feet."
"I mean?" Anzu/Téa pointed to the sidewalk. "We are standing on a sidewalk."
"And it's white," Yuugi said.
Sekhmet came back. "That should have been even quicker. Your first test is done. Level. 1. Question asked on Pop Quiz to match you up. I don't care, do you? I'll only tell you if I need to, clearly you are done with this, let's move on."
Done with one already? This was great! At this rate, maybe it wouldn't take too long after all.
Atem looked at the sweeping cityscape in the dreamscape. As far as he could see from the penthouse he was at with Masika, it was huge.
He watched as Bastet approached them.
"So? Yours is trickier," Bastet said. "I think I'm starting to see what Zorc was going for now." She sighed. "I Spy, I spy with my little eye . . ." She winced. "Something white. Distance, within the entire dreamscape. It can't be a random white rat, it must have a little black Anck on it's rear leg."
"How are we supposed to . . .?" Masika didn't finish the statement at first.
"A single rat, in a whole city. White. Specific." He couldn't believe it. "Anything else?"
"This is considered level 20," Bastet said. "You can move onto other games if this one is too tough right now. There are also other memory options to take if you get stuck."
"What is the question that generated this absurd level of difficulty?" Atem asked. "I have that right to know."
"Yes." Bastet looked toward the papers. "If it was between saving your life, or the life of his friends, would Atem sacrifice you? Yes equaled 20. Side note room we offered said 'Already experienced the answer.'
"Sacrifice." Right. He remembered it two different ways. "I played a shadow game with her. Connect Four. Nothing happened. My goal was the power inside of her, I thought it was my afterlife power. I went for a date?" Right. "Oh." Right, yes. He looked down. "I asked her to sacrifice herself. When Kaiba stepped in, I could see it wasn't the way to go. So, I didn't. But?"
But? "Oh no." It was kicking in. "I tricked her into a shadow game. A real one. I did sacrifice her. It was a trick, she is a great actress, but I can be an even better actor."
"Is that really what you call it?" Masika said toward him. "I don't know whether I was the Masika who was dressed in a cape or trying to scream not to drown her and her unborn in the Shadow Game! The trauma I went through. Or she went through, and you just said you were the better actor?" She shook her head back and forth.
"I didn't mean it like that." It was just the way he'd always spoke. "I played rough. I played way too rough," Atem admitted. "I? Which one did I do? Am I the Atem that wanted this?"
"You might or might not be," Bastet said. "You could be the one who tried and failed, and this could be the Masika who experienced living with her infant in the Shadow Realm."
Placed like that, he sounded like a bastard either way. "I didn't know her as well."
"You knew her less than a week in the world where you let her go. You knew her for months by then."
"Well? We didn't . . . see eye to eye." There were problems. "She didn't even reveal herself to Anzu." No one could fully trust her.
"Can we do something to make the level come down?" Masika asked. "Another option?"
"If at the end you need it. For now, you can delay this game, and the others can play the next game."
Masika and Atem agreed to that.
When Atem arrived, he saw himself. All clothes, like him. One of us trapped her in with Silhouette. Was it him. Was it me? There were two Masika's there, each in the same clothes too.
Everyone stared at each other, uncertain of who not only they were, but who their counterpart friends were.
"Next up, you two." Bastet appeared and a part of Yugi/Yuugi and a part of Anzu/Téa was taken.
Anzu/Téa Dreamscape
"These three buildings." Sekhmet gestured to three buildings. "One hide. The other one says Marco and tries to hear Polo. When you find each other, it's over."
The game took less than five minutes.
When they returned, Yugi/Yuugi was grinning. "This game isn't going to take long at all. Two already down."
"Not that easy for me," each Atem said at the same time, looking toward each other.
Might as well. "Can we discuss games amongst ourselves?" Atem asked.
"Yes, it might be a good idea," the other Atem said. "Bastet?"
"That's fine," she agreed.
"I have to find a white rat in a whole city with an anck on it's hindleg," Atem told his other self.
"I have to find a blue ballpoint pen in the dreamscape of the Border Between the Afterlives. It's either in the cave a Masika was left in with Silhouette, or on the outside of it. Distance within 1,000 miles of that cave."
Ugh. "This game is endless. No time limit. No way to solve these puzzles!" Just great. "At least our Lights seem to be having an easier time."
As they said it, another Anzu/Téa appeared again with a Yugi/Yuugi. "No way, who could?" she complained. "That game is rigged. I can't balance an egg on a spoon, on a highwire, where I walk the distance of New York City!"
"Dreamscape. You can't actually fall," Bastet tried to help.
"It doesn't change the fact it is incredibly scary," Yugi/Yuugi agreed with her. "The sensation of falling is going to be bad, the body is going to think it'll die."
"Fine, we'll continue you to the next game soon. Your other selves are still gone, but their game is almost over.
"Why was the game so hard this time?" Anzu/Téa asked Bastet.
The pop quiz question was Does Yugi/Yuugi hide secrets from you? Yes equaled level 20. Also, additional note said 'yep, dead right, and I know he is hiding something still. So does Masika. Think they are gods, but think they can keep a secret for long? No way'."
"Oh, the Silhouette secret. Yeah, that would bite either parts of me," Yugi/Yuugi said to Anzu/Téa. "I'm sorry. I thought it was better if you didn't know."
Anzu/Téa shrugged. "Now what?"
The other pair of Yugi/Yuugi and Anzu/Téa returned just fine.
"Walked five feet," that Yugi/Yuugi insisted. "We are done." He smiled at his Anzu/Téa counterpart. Then he looked at everyone else. "Is everyone else done too? Everyone's here."
"We are frozen in our last game," the other Anzu/Téa answered.
"All of the Atem/Masika's haven't even finished one game," Sekhmet said bitterly as she arrived. "Let's continue to see what they can do."
They skipped around on the games to see what Atem/Masika could accomplish. The results were less than stellar.
The distance to stand for Marco Polo was so far, they couldn't hear each other.
Shadow Tag became finding a bird's shadow, while not crossing a single other shadow in the evening in New York City. The other Atem/Masika's was finding a bird's shadow on a cloudy and rainy day.
There was only one easy game for one of them, the three building simple Marco Polo game for one set of Atem/Masika.
The rest?
Bastet looked at the papers. "Demons are clever."
No one was giving her kind looks.
"Even if we attempt any of these, it's going to take years, if it ever gets done," Yugi/Yuugi complained. "There must be more options, or . . ." He hated to say it. "Zorc won."
Then the air pierced with laughter.
"There isn't even an option to quit!" Zorc's voice boomed from the sky. "So go ahead and give up. It doesn't matter. There is no hitting end and accepting your lives back, waiting for me to collect you into my realm. You will all be there, stuck, for eternity, trying to solve those nearly impossible games! And why? Because. Feelings. Secrets. You'll be brought down, simply by the answers of your own hearts!"
"Is he serious?!" Both Yugi/Yuugi's said.
"The game is limitless. Even when the dreamers die, it will simply continue with them as spirits. Just as it does for two of them now," Bastet said ashamed. "I did not see it. Thoth wrote it all out. I am afraid? If you can't solve the impossible games, this is your eternity."