Green voran had never tasted so bitter before, or so Atemu thought. It wasn't in his nature to drink, and when he did, he preferred a Chardonnay or a Moët & Chandon, not an artificial flavored drink like this. It was his only choice though; blue voran was for girls, and pink voran for little kids. The green kind was the sourest and the bitterest; no wonder it was served to adults only. After another sip, he put the glass back on the nightstand next to his bed.
His Light Air Vessel, the Datura, disposed over one small bedroom and an even smaller bathroom. The LAV didn't have a cargo bay; Atemu preferred to travel light, and it wasn't like he had use for many things. For now though, he wished he had saved himself a nice bottle of wine.
This was always the hard part. For what he had done, he had to atone - but he always dragged another person with him: his Other, his aibou, the other half of his soul. Yuugi Mutou of Vertregg 12, who lived an average, not so particular exciting life. It shouldn't have been difficult to pry him away from his family, but this Yuugi was exceptionally loyal to his grandfather and that girlfriend of his, Anzu. He didn't care that the elderly man and the girl had taken quite a hostile stance to him. The only one he needed was Yuugi, and he was going to get him, no matter what. His hand went to his ear before he realized it. It was a common gesture, a habit, as if touching the large, golden earring reminded him of who and what he used to be. A Pharaoh who looked after his people, one who defended his nation and brought light into the world, instead of darkness.
Heaving a sigh, Atemu looked outside the porthole. After arriving on Vertregg 12, he had thrown a few extra genz around to make sure no one would report him for spending the night on his ship. It was illegal to do so, and this planet came in a close second to Altana, home of KaibaCorp., when bureaucracy was involved. How ironic that such a law-abiding, strictly governed planet was submerged in illegal Duel Monsters tournaments, ensnaring people to gamble away their money and using the card game as if their lives were at stake, as if the end of the world was at stake.
Little did they know, that it was. Atemu's hand went to the small holster tightened to his belt and his slender fingers touched the deck, safely tucked away. He didn't need to look at the cards to find the one he wanted. The card all but made itself known, giving off a strange magical aura, and without batting an eye, Atemu pulled it out. Holding the card in front of his face, he heaved another sigh, longing. Saint Dragon - the God of Osiris. How much longer long was it going to take before he could see his God again? And once more, the irony of a God Card being present on a planet brimmed with illegal Duel Monsters tournaments. If people knew he had this card, they would gladly kill him for it. But even so, no one would be able to summon the God; it would only listen to its Master - a true Pharaoh. But he didn't really deserve that title anymore, did he? Wasn't it his arrogance and overconfidence that caused the end? The good and righteous Pharaoh, having plunged the world into darkness? His reflection in the porthole stared back at him. He had lost so much, even his original body. Who… or what was looking back at him, wasn't himself anymore. That pale face wasn't his. It was a very minor consolation that the Thief King didn't have his original body either. He had ended up with a similar pale, scrawny body. The irony of his own situation didn't escape him - the only one, the only One who still showed the roots of his past, was Marik, the Tomb Keeper who had forsaken all of his vows. Now a Shadow Born, fate had bestowed upon him the same appearance, over and over again, reminding Atemu what he had lost.
Carefully, Atemu put the card back into the protective holster. As he closed the lid, his fingertips touched the synthfuser attached to his belt. An annoyed grunt escaped him. To think that he, once a great Pharaoh, was dependent on technology! He who had commanded armies, he who had been favored by the Gods, reduced to something as… brittle and weak as this. What cruel fate the Gods had decided for him, to make him suffer for his mistakes, to depend and survive on the technology created by his nemesis. It was only a matter of time before he would cross paths with Marik and Bakura again. It was inevitable before they would find him - no matter what, they were pulled to each other across worlds, universes and galaxies. But this time, he was going to summon the Gods who belonged to him, not to anyone else. A small, thin and calculated smile tugged at the corners of his lips, while his crimson eyes narrowed. He needed Yuugi, and he would destroy everything and everyone if that necessary to get his Other.
The laundry machine ran a second cycle and the shower was damp. A tall cup of insta-coffee was sitting on his kitchen counter, hot air circling around the rim, while a vidscreen was displaying the daily news. Jounouchi walked through his apartment, whistling and naked except for a towel around his waist. His internal home system was rattling off all the calls he had missed, all the chores he needed to do, and everything else the system thought he needed to be informed of, including current KaibaCorp. stock. He combed his unruly blond hair and listened with only half an ear. Before he left on his current mission for Kaiba, he had turned off the home system, but apparently he had forgotten it. Home… he could hardly call this apartment home. It didn't feel like 'home', without hardly anything personal around: no pictures on a dresser, no magazines on the coffee table, no wall decoration. KaibaCorp. had assigned him this apartment, and he had moved in like this, not bothering to change the standard white and grey furniture, or to add some color to it.
The Time Wizard was being re-supplied at the very moment, courtesy of the efficient crew at Altana's spaceport. Jounouchi hated to admit anything positive about Kaiba, but he had to give him credit for the well-oiled machine of personnel that took care of his ship. Recharching the proton cell packs and checking the engines was going to take some hours, which left him and his crew, more than enough time to go home and enjoy some time off. Otogi and Honda... he didn't know why he deserved their loyalty. Their team was put together at the very last moment, when Kaiba had an exceptionally bounty to collect, but they had worked together smoothly and professionally from the start. They even considered each other friends - not very common in this kind of business.
His thoughts brought him back to Malik Ishtar. Five million genz was a truckload of money, and Kaiba's highest bounty to date. Jounouchi had never questioned Kaiba's motives, but he wondered every now and then why the CEO of KaibaCorp. would busy himself with retrieving criminals; not just any pick pocketing criminal, but the worst of what the entire galaxy had to offer: murderers, serial killers, kidnappers… he shouldn't wonder about it, though. It was his job, and a well-paying job. His apartment was quite large and considered luxurious, compared to the cramped shoebox-sized dwellings of KaibaCorp.'s drones. Shizuka lived in one of those miniature houses, a box in a box, but she had added color and even a cat (pets weren't illegal, yet frowned upon) to her household, and she was very happy and satisfied. He had seen the pictures and the vidfeed; she was safe and comfortable. That was the only thing that mattered.
Jounouchi grabbed his cup of insta-coffee and took a big gulp. He could afford real coffee beans, but he wasn't home enough to actually stock up. Why would he? He had work to do. Honda and Otogi knew the perks of their job, but also the downside: no social life, no family life. For Jounouchi, that didn't matter either. He owed Kaiba, and he was going to do everything in his power to get the score settled. Which brought him once more back to Malik Ishtar, and his weird brother, co-pilot, friend or whatever the other person was. Mai had been scared, terrified even, of him. No record existed of him, he wore weapons on display and piloted that big-ass ship of his, the October. Oh yes, all the warning bells went off, loudly, with this character. So far, their research and investigation hadn't brought the team very far; their best chance was to go to Ibistapola and...
His vidphone screeched. Jounouchi shook himself out of his thoughts, emptied the insta-coffee with a long, big gulp and pressed the button, recognizing the number on the display.
"Hey Honda, what..."
"Get your ass to KaibaCorp, right now!" Honda all but barked at him.
"What's going on? Kaiba on fire?"
"If only! You have to go to HQ, now!"
"Calm down, man! What's going on?"
"You're never going to believe this," Honda spoke, his breathing erratic. "We got an intruder at HQ. He almost made it to Kaiba's office!"
Jounouchi wished he hadn't downed all that insta-coffee. The artificial taste and drink almost came up the way it had gone down, and his stomach protested loudly. "How's that even possible? Kaiba's security system is the best in the whole known universe!"
"Well, check it out when you get here," Honda insisted. "You're never going to believe who the intruder is."
"Stop bullshitting me," Jounouchi growled. A shiver went down his spine.
"He's the one we saw on the vidfeed, being kidnapped," Honda said. "He got quite aggressive when we caught him. He calls himself Bakura Ryou."
Rebecca Hopkins' desk was empty, even though it wasn't the end of the working day yet. Jounouchi didn't know where the woman had gone to, and frankly, he couldn't care less. His curiosity was killing him! His hair all tousled and his clothes rumpled from getting dressed so quickly and hurrying to reach KaibaCorp., Jounouchi finally arrived at the top floor, just outside Kaiba's private offices.
"In here," Honda said, motioning for Jounouchi to go into another office. He tried with all his might to keep his breathing under control. In the office, the large desk and all the chairs but one had been shoved against the wall, and the single chair left was occupied by the intruder, his body twitching and spasming.
"How in the hell is this even possible?" Jounouchi asked, baffled. Otogi was standing next to the intruder, holding an old-fashioned taser gun, the conductive wires still connected to the other man's upper body. Honda always mocked electroshock weapons; as the weapons specialist, he preferred the modern electromagnetic pulse or guided laser guns, depending on the situation. Apparently, this situation had called for brusque, shocking action.
"Bastards! Motherfuckers!" the intruder snarled, but his speech was slow and slurred. He didn't look so good, body slumped when it wasn't twitching, and drops of sweat glistening on his skin. Jounouchi examined him. This wasn't Bakura Ryou, the young man he had met just a few hours ago, when he, Jounouchi, had searched out Shizuka at the Human Resources Department. Ryou had brought her tea, and had been extremely polite in his manners and speech.
Honda closed the door of the office. No other security personnel was around, and Jounouchi made a mental note to ask both Honda and Otogi for details later. Now it was just the three of them. Otogi looked ready to pump another round of the taser gun into Bakura, and Honda was packing enough to shoot anyone from any distance.
"Who are you?" Jounouchi asked.
"Don't bother, boss," Otogi said. "He'll only answer with 'Bakura'. This isn't the guy Kaiba hired for his personal reasons, is he?"
"No." A faint grin tugged as his lips. He should've known that his teammates had big ears. Of course they remembered what Kaiba had said. "Whoever this is, I saw Bakura Ryou at the HR department, and…"
Suddenly, Bakura jumped from his chair, all but longing for Jounouchi, despite having his hands on his back. "Where! Where is he!"
Otogi acted quickly and grabbed Bakura at the shoulder. He pulled him back, slamming him back on the chair again. Just as sudden as Bakura had reacted, all of his energy disappeared and he slumped again, breathing heavily. Jounouchi frowned. He had seen a small, yet bright bolt of light, coming from Bakura's back.
"What's that? Are you shocking him with the taser?" he asked.
"No," Otogi shook his head, sending the strands of his dark hair flying. "It reacted to the taser, whatever 'it' is."
"Some kind of electronic device," Honda added. "It's attached to his belt. We didn't do a strip search yet. We waited for you to arrive."
"All right." Jounouchi crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Where's Kaiba?"
"He left earlier this afternoon for a visit to one of his research facilities," Honda said. "He took his younger brother with him, and Rebecca as well."
That meant that he was going to be at least gone for three days. Jounouchi's mind raced a thousand miles a minute. It wasn't unusual for Kaiba to visit, or rather inspect, his research facilities. The biggest one was Yllsen Volta V, not far away from Altana. Would Kaiba appreciate being called back to his HQ? Jounouchi decided against it. He wanted to know first what was going on.
"You read out his tags?"
Honda snorted. "Of course. Why else do you think I called you?"
"Because I'm your boss," Jounouchi answered dryly.
"Because two people are registered on one and the same tag." Honda ignored Jounouchi's comment, but not out of spite. "The real Bakura Ryou and this guy."
"Impossible." Jounouchi looked at Bakura again, almost.. in awe. "It's impossible for two people to be registered on one tag. How did you do that?"
No answer, but a weak groan. Jounouchi went to retrieve one of the chairs and put it in front of Bakura, and he seated himself demonstratively. Bakura didn't even look at him, breathing erratic. Jounouchi motioned Honda over. "Keep yourself prepared to call for medical help."
Honda nodded and took a step to the side, giving Jounouchi the room he needed.
"Let's talk." His voice took on a deep, gravelly tone. "I want to know who you are and what you were doing here at KaibaCorp."
Bakura didn't answer. Jounouchi reclined into his seat. "You're making it quite difficult for yourself, Bakura, not for us. You see, we're not on KaibaCorp.'s payroll. We're not even an official team, we don't even exist. That means, that we can do whatever the hell we want. If we want to throw you out of this building, we'll do so. If we want to torture you for information, we'll do so, and there's no lawyer, no law, that'll stand on your side. When you decided to sneak into this building, and you're going to tell me how you evaded all the security systems, cameras and checkpoints, you decided to forfeit your life."
"Fucker," Bakura said.
"To top it off, you were seen in the company of Malik Ishtar," Otogi said, not wavering with the taser for a second. "I don't have to draw you a picture, do I? Were you kidnapped or not?"
"Fuck you!"
"My my, you do like to repeat yourself." Jounouchi made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Let's see... if Kaiba isn't going to wring your neck personally for breaking and entering his domain, you'll get lifelong on Ethgar-Lan for resisting arrest, uncooperative behavior, and let's not forget, illegal tagging."
Both Otogi and Honda shivered when Jounouchi said the name of the 'Planet Prison', as Ethgar-Lan was called popularly. They had paid a visit to that particular planet, not as criminal, but as visitors, and they had left as fast as they could, gagging and hurling. Only one building existed: the main prison building. Depending on the crime committed, you were either put in an isolation cell driving you completely insane, or thrown into a medieval pit with rodents where you had to survive under horrible circumstances. No human guards, no warm blankets, no decent food and imminent death if you thought as much of an attempt to escape. Even when you did manage to escape the building, you still had the problem of how to escape the planet.
Bakura didn't show any reaction at all. His upper body twitched once more, and another spark of light was visible, coming from the small, black device attached to his belt. Jounouchi was dying of curiosity, he had more and more questions with every passing second.
"What are we going to do with him?" Otogi whispered. "We're not getting any answers out of him."
"Not like this, no."
"What do you mean?"
Jounouchi got up from his chair and turned towards Honda. "How come you were warned first?" he asked.
His question seemed to embarrass and confuse Honda. "I got a call from the head of security," he said. "About an intruder at maximum security level, and I was the highest ranking extracurricular security officer around. Otogi and I, we both got called in. So much for a free afternoon, huh?" He laughed a little sheepishly. Jounouchi couldn't fault him, Honda had followed procedures correctly, but his entire body tensed. Kaiba! He didn't even trust him enough to be on call when an emergency happened! Jounouchi was the team leader, and outranked Honda and Otogi - yet Kaiba didn't deem him fit to take on the extra responsibility.
Honda interpreted Jounouchi's silence as anger, and he quickly said: "Hey man, I called you as fast as I could, but not before we secured the intruder."
"You did the right thing," Jounouchi assured him. "No problem. I'm just thinking about our next step."
He was inclined to dump Bakura into Kaiba's lap, and let him figure it out on his own. Jounouchi had his specific orders concerning Malik Ishtar, not Bakura Ryou. This guy, whoever he was, was of no importance to his current mission. He wanted to ignore the alarm bells in his head, but he couldn't. This Bakura was looking for Bakura Ryou. This guy had been around Malik Ishtar, so he should know where the other was. Jounouchi simply couldn't let him go.
"Jounouchi?" Honda asked, still not sure.
"Boss?" Otogi clicked the taser gun, ready to respond at the slightest move.
"We'll take him to Kaiba," Jounouchi said. "Let him deal with it. He's not going to like it, but this fucker here isn't a part of our mission. You strapped him, right?"
Otogi nodded. "He's not going to use his hands anytime soon."
"All right. Remove those wires and strip him of anything but his clothes."
"You're all going to die, motherfuckers," Bakura said. Otogi, who was just reaching for the wires, froze on the spot. It wasn't the first death threat the team had received, especially not when hunting criminals down. It was the way he said it - so dark, so ominous, so… determined, that all three men felt shivers running down their spines... again. "The shadows will eat you alive for what you've done to me. They will fucking hunt you down and consume your soul! You'll sink into eternal nothingness, and drown into the shadows forever!"
"What.. what's he saying?" Honda gaped at him. Bakura tried to move, but his body wouldn't listen to him. The taser had short-circuited his synthfuser, and the thing was going haywire. It took care of his body, of his entire existence, and now that it had been shocked by the taser, it was giving off all the wrong signals. If Bakura could hear himself, he could hear his native tongue, Ancient Egyptian, in which he seethed and ranted and uttered the death threats. His body started convulsing as the synthfuser shocked and jerked, sending the electric signals through him. Bakura violently jerked with his head, unable to control his movements. He had come so far. He'd evaded the tight security by using the shadows, but not even his abilities could keep him undetected. He had almost found his Other, he was so close! Now the fucking Pharaoh would be the first again to find his Other, giving him the advantage again. No, not true - his mind refused to give up - he had the advantage still. Marik hadn't found out yet what he had done on board of the October… but he would find out, sooner or later. He laughed. Bakura opened his mouth and cackled maniacally. For the first time in centuries, since he set foot on the sandy steps leading him into the Pharaoh's pyramid, he'd been caught.
"He's insane!" Otogi said, aghast.
"Remove those wires!" Jounouchi yelled. "Call a medical unit! He's going into cardiac arrest!"
It was the last thing Bakura heard. The second Otogi pulled out the wires, the synthfuser short-circuited once more and shut all of his vitals down.
Chapter 10 | Chapter 12