Ryou needed all his willpower to not show how upset he was. When he woke up, he had noticed just like Yuugi that the ship was moving and he hadn't been too happy about it. Malik had merely shrugged when he had demanded an explanation. Ryou had relented; it wasn't like he could turn the situation around or simply get off of the October. When he learned of their destination, he had barely been able to hide his shock. He knew that Kaiba Seto was on Yllsen Volta V; he hadn't shared that information with anyone yet. Not knowing what to do, he had looked for Yuugi and questioned his and Atemu's whereabouts, as they were missing from the cockpit. Marik had answered that 'the Pharaoh was taking care of business' and showed him an accompanying lewd grin. The ominous feeling in his stomach grew so exponentially that he wanted to throw up. When Yuugi finally returned to the cockpit, Ryou could see how the Pharaoh's influence on his friend had become even greater, almost beyond unbreakable. It infuriated and scared him. Not wanting to give Atemu the satisfaction of seeing him upset, Ryou turned away, knowing it would hurt Yuugi - but right now, he had too much trouble fighting off his own emotions.
Malik stared at a screen on the control panel as he worked a couple of buttons. "What's this? They're not responding. Do they even have a tower? How am I supposed to request docking permission?"
Marik snorted. "Who the fuck wants to dock at a research facility on a backwater planet? Just plot the trajectory course."
Atemu turned around in his seat. "Aibou, please buckle up," he addressed Yuugi. "There's not much difference in pressure, but I want you to be safe in your seat."
"Yes, mou hitori no boku," Yuugi said and closed the buckle. The October descended and made a slight turn to approach the docking platform, eliciting a queasy feeling in his stomach.
"I have a visual on two other vessels," Malik said. "Up front is the Time Wizard at the central platform, and there's one at the back of the facility. No name and no tags."
"No identified pilots, huh?" Marik adjusted the trajectory. "There's room for us next to the Time Wizard."
He initiated the docking procedure and the October descended into lower orbit. Yuugi's stomach turned itself inside out and his knuckles turned white as he held on to his seatbelt. As he had more experience with space travel, Ryou wasn't really bothered but he wondered if the weird feeling in his stomach came from the changed course of the ship or his fear of the inevitable moment when he'd meet the man who looked like him…and who apparently played an important part in the Pharaoh's life. What was going to happen? He waited patiently until the October had docked and reached complete standstill. He released his belt buckle when he saw the others do the same. Faster than Ryou could imagine, Atemu was over at Yuugi's side, pushing him back into his seat.
"You will stay here, aibou," he said.
"No," Marik said. "No unsupervised people on board of my ship."
Atemu protested. "He cannot come with us!"
"Are you afraid your darling Other is going to expire?" Marik asked. "Aren't you there to protect him, always and forever?"
"I do not appreciate the way you talk about him," Atemu snapped. "Remember who you owe your allegiance to, Shadow Born!"
Marik seemed to chew on something extremely bitter. His voice was strained yet composed when he answered: "Pharaoh, not even you can force me to leave unattended people behind on my ship."
"I can come along, mou hitori no boku," Yuugi said and mustered up his biggest smile. He had no idea what exactly was going on, but he was aware of the tension, thick enough to be cut with a heavy knife. "I can take care of myself." He jumped out of his seat before Atemu could protest again. He searched out the Pharaoh's side and hooked his arm through his. "I'm ready!"
"We shouldn't be wasting time." Marik met Atemu's gaze head-on. "What's it going to be, oh exalted leader?"
"Fine," Atemu finally said. "We are leaving now. As soon as we have found Bakura, we will return to the ship."
"Fine." Marik repeated. He powered down the systems of the October and locked the control panels of the ship. Atemu, Yuugi and Ryou went ahead and walked down the ramp, the latter two slightly stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. Ryou stretched. The docking platform was deserted. Due to the surprisingly bad lighting, Ryou couldn't see all the ways to the back. He had learned from Marik that Yllsen Volta V was a research facility and he figured it had to do with new technology, judging from the impressive tower cranes he saw. Straight ahead was a tall building, showing the only signs of life on this planet: Ryou noticed tiny black dots moving behind the windows on the top floors. Yuugi joined him and zippered up his coat, a black one with grey outlines. Ryou was sure he hadn't worn it when they had left.
"Did you change clothes?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Y-yeah," Yuugi said and his furious blush was confusing to Ryou. He wanted to ask more, but Atemu beckoned the both of them. Malik and Marik brought up the rear. To his dismay, Ryou saw that Marik was wearing weapons. He wanted to run back to the ship and hide.
"You…" he started.
"Let's go," Marik cut him off. The group followed him without another word. Ryou wanted to hold onto someone, just like Yuugi did with Atemu. He had the feeling he was going to need all the support he could get. One thing was very clear to him: there was no way back.
"The October has docked." Otogi tapped on one of the screens in front of him. Kaiba stood behind him and glared over his left shoulder while Jounouchi looked on over his right, both breathing down poor Otogi's neck.
"All right. Initiate the remote control program of the tower cranes and move them into position." Kaiba shot a glance at Jounouchi, but he refrained from commenting. "Kill the lights to save energy and reroute it to the tower cranes. Honda?"
"I'm in position." Honda's voice rang loud and clear through the headset. "EMETS charged and ready to launch."
"Stay where you are." Jounouchi's eyes were glued to the screens, specifically on the ones showing the docking area. He quickly counted the group: five people. The relay of the cameras wasn't as bad as he thought. The image was slightly grainy, but he recognized Malik Ishtar immediately. Now he could also get a good look at his 'friend', the one Malik traveled with.
"Weapons on display." Kaiba took the words out of his mouth.
"Describe them to me," Honda said.
"Double headed laser barrels with adjusted and modified bullet output, as far as I can see," Jounouchi said. "Four of them."
"Four? Jesus Christ," Honda muttered.
"Stay where you are. We don't have proof of Ishtar's friend killing someone," Kaiba intervened. "Malik Ishtar is not to be harmed. I don't care about his friend. Launch the EMETS only when necessary."
Honda sounded irritated, because he knew that already. "I got it. Jounouchi?"
"Everything is under control," Jounouchi answered, giving Kaiba a stink-eye. The CEO wasn't impressed. Otogi shifted in his seat as he continued to watch the screens.
"Positive identification for Ryou Bakura," he said.
"What? What is he doing…" Kaiba fell silent. Jounouchi didn't know what to make of his reaction. It had to be strange for Kaiba to see one of his own advisors in the company of a known criminal. Jounouchi opened his mouth to ask what to do with this new development, when Otogi suddenly asked out loud: "What's this? Some kind of `good twin', 'evil twin'?"
Jounouchi blinked. Up front, Malik Ishtar with his 'friend' who shared very similar physical features with him, Ryou Bakura in the middle, and behind him was a young man with the most ridiculous hair Jounouchi had ever seen. Bringing up the rear, just slightly taller, was someone with a similar hair style, if that was even possible. Jounouchi heard a noise to his left and looked up at Kaiba.
"Kaiba? Everything all right?" he asked. The CEO had turned visibly pale.
"I…" Kaiba said, fixated on the screen. The last man stood still for just a second and stared straight into the camera. Otogi shivered visibly.
"Kaiba?"
"I…"
The CEO made a sickly impression. Jounouchi had never seen him so disturbed before.
"I know him," Kaiba blurted out. From all the things to be said, that wasn't the thing Jounouchi had ever expected.
"Him? Who is he?" he asked.
"I don't know," Kaiba said, his voice shaky. "Otogi, this footage is looped to KaibaCorp. HQ, right?"
"Yes," Otogi confirmed. He shared a look with Jounouchi, both taken aback by Kaiba's behavior. A moment of awkward silence. Kaiba just stood there, as if nailed to the ground, his eyes directed at the screen. The group was heading to the dining area or mess hall.
"Time for me to go," Jounouchi said. "Keep me up to date, Otogi." He left the office space and as he hurried through the hallway, he took out his gun and shifted it into shooting position.
Marik halted. "This feels wrong," he said. "It gives me the same vibe as Altana. Something's off."
"We will find Bakura and leave as soon as possible," Atemu said.
"Where is everyone?" Ryou pointed out. "Shouldn't there be… you know, researchers on a research facility?"
"They are not expecting visitors." Atemu had the same irritation in his voice as Marik, but he managed to cover it up better.
"But we are visitors," Malik said. "They should be crawling all over us, asking what we're doing here!"
"Even for a research facility there should be guards," Ryou added.
"He's got a point there," Malik said.
"This is a backwater planet," Atemu shrugged it off. "There is nothing of value here."
The empty dining hall had something eerie. All those large, empty tables and empty chairs, neatly arranged like a bunch of soldiers. Ryou felt uncomfortable. He scooted a little closer to Marik, despite all his obvious weapons. Malik tilted his head.
"What are we going to do now?"
"We find Bakura." Atemu took Yuugi by the hand. "We will meet back at the ship. This way, aibou."
"How do you know where we're going?" Yuugi asked as Atemu dragged him into the opposite direction. Ryou couldn't hear Atemu's answer and he turned towards the others.
"Do you really want to wait here?" he asked. Marik shook his head.
"We came here for Bakura, so we'll wait until the Pharaoh returns. He knows exactly where to find him."
"How come?"
Marik grinned. "We'll always find one another. That's just who we are."
"And who are you, exactly?" Ryou pursed his lips. He didn't notice Malik straying off, his footsteps echoing hollowly in the dining area.
"Bakura's going to have his hands full with you," Marik said. "You're pretty feisty for an Other."
"A what?"
Marik grabbed Ryou's chin and jerked his head towards him. It wasn't a tender touch; his grip was so tight that he bruised the other's skin. "Such a waste. I should shut up, if I were you."
"Marik," Malik said.
"What?"
"Come take a look at this!"
Marik didn't obey immediately; he stared at Ryou, who breathed heavily. "Your eyes," Ryou gasped. "Why don't they have any pupils?"
Leaning into him, Marik narrowed his eyes as he studied Ryou's face. "You should be afraid," he said. "Most people die in my presence."
Ryou swallowed. "Are you going to kill me?"
"Maybe," Marik said.
"Marik!" Malik raised his voice. "Get over here!"
He grunted something intelligible and released his grip on Ryou, pushing him away. "What's the fucking matter?" he yelled.
"Take a look at this," Malik repeated. "Don't you think all this electric wiring is a little too much for a mess hall?"
Marik craned his neck and looked at the ceiling, at the lights. Confused, Ryou looked in the same direction.
"What does that mean? What's going on?"
Brusquely, Marik pulled out the guns from the upper holsters. "That we walked straight into a trap," he said. "Other Bakura, behind me, now!" He had barely finished his sentence or the doors slammed shut. "Fuck!"
"Jounouchi," Otogi's voice came hurried through the headpiece, "the group just split up!"
"Shit! Close the doors!" Jounouchi said. He had wanted the entire group in the same location. "Doors closed," Otogi reported. "Malik Ishtar, his friend and Ryou are now locked in the mess hall."
"Where are the others?"
"The twins are wandering around corridor E-7."
"E-7?" Jounouchi pulled out a copy of the paper map Rebecca provided him and checked it. "That's towards the sickbay. How do they know?"
"They are unarmed," Kaiba interfered. "I'm sending a team after them."
"Just fucking wait, Kaiba!" He didn't get a response. Jounouchi let out a row of expletives and broke out in a jog. He caught his breath at a junction. "Honda, send in team A. Instruct them to not shoot at first sight. We want as little violence as possible."
"Understood. Do you want me to go in with team A?"
"Negative, you stay back for now." He was aware that the most dangerous person was in the group that had been locked in. It was a difficult decision to send in the inexperienced and untrained guards first, but Jounouchi took full responsibility. He didn't want to run the risk of Honda getting shot.
"What are you doing? Where are you?"
"The group has split up. I'm going after the twins to the sickbay," Jounouchi said.
"All right."
"Otogi, keep me updated!"
"Team A is going in," Otogi said. "No shots fired yet. Ishtar's friend has pulled out his weapons."
"Use extreme caution," Jounouchi said, taking a turn to the right. He was close to E corridor. He wished he had an army with him.
Marik, Malik and Ryou turned as one man towards the door that slid open, slowly. Ryou swallowed at the sight of three men with guns out, all pointing at the group.
"Halt," the tallest man standing in front, said. "You're trespassing. Put down your weapons!"
"No," Marik answered.
"Put down your weapons! You're all under arrest!"
"I said 'no'," Marik snarled. "Shut the fuck up! Your weapons are nothing compared to mine, and I'm doing you a favor. I'm letting you live."
"My my, aren't we friendly today," Malik said.
"Put down the weapons," the front man repeated. "Kick them over here!"
Honda listened in and spoke into his headset. "Team leader, secure Ryou Bakura," he said.
"Which one of you is Ryou Bakura?" the man asked.
"I am," Ryou said, flabbergasted. He realized he was holding up his hands in the air.
The team leader pointed at him. "Get over here."
Malik put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't leave now," he said. "There's too much at stake."
"We could get into serious trouble of we don't obey them," Ryou whispered.
"We're already in a shit ton of trouble," Malik reminded him. "Put your hands down. You're one of us now."
"Get out of our way," Marik said. "I don't care if I have to kill you for it." He took a step closer and tightened his fingers around the trigger.
Yuugi followed Atemu through the empty corridors, hanging onto his arm as he had a bit trouble to keep up with Atemu's firm stride.
"Mou hitori no boku, where are we going?"
"Bakura must be around somewhere," Atemu said, feverish. "I cannot pinpoint him."
"Do you mean you can find Bakura…" he hesitated before affixing a honorific to a person he hadn't heard good stories about, "..-san out of nowhere?"
"We do have a strong bond," Atemu said and he halted to take Yuugi by the hand. "Just like we have. No, that is not true. Not as strong as we have, aibou. What we have, is beyond and above everything. Marik, Bakura and I are connected and that connection is something we use to find each other. We should go this way, aibou."
Yuugi nodded, more so because of Atemu's beautiful words. He didn't really understand that 'connection' and decided to ask about it later. He obediently followed the other, holding his hand, unaware of the running cameras. Every now and then Atemu would try a door, but all of them were locked.
"We are getting closer," he said nonetheless. At the end of the corridor was a door with a red cross on it.
"Here?" Yuugi asked, insecure.
"Here." Atemu stepped forward and the door opened. They entered a pristine clean room, offering enough space for at least a dozen beds. The temperature was quite chilly and there was no sign of life. Yuugi gawked at the medical equipment, but not one machine was turned on. The beds were separated from each other with curtains; Atemu pulled one away to check the bed. He tsk-ed and moved on to the next bed. It was silent, safe for his footsteps and the sound of the curtain being pulled. Wait… Yuugi heard something else. A beep. Did he hear correctly?
"It has to be the last bed, of course." Atemu shoved the curtain out of the way and Yuugi wanted to scream like a little girl. It was something out of a bad horror movie: someone was lying in the bed, hooked up to a heart rate monitor that was too slow for anyone with some life left in him. Atemu blocked his vision and Yuugi didn't dare to come closer.
"Aibou, please look for his clothes?" Atemu reached for the IV and pulled it out. He also removed the electrodes on Bakura's body and the monitors went silent.
Yuugi opened one of the lockers, searching for clothes. He was lucky with the third locker; he found a pile of neatly folded clothes and he took them out.
"Here," he said and carried them over to the bed. Curiously, he looked past Atemu and promptly dropped the clothes. He should've known better of course, but it still came as a shock to him to see… Ryou… in the bed, his facial features virtually the same, along with the conspicuous bone-white hair.
"Thank you, aibou." Atemu said. "Ah, shoes, perhaps?"
"I-I'll look for them." Yuugi was happy to leave the bedside while Atemu started dressing Bakura. After he had managed to put on his jeans and a scrappy belt, Atemu took something out of his own pocket: a synthfuser Marik had given him. He attached it to the belt and as soon as the device was in place and connected to Bakura's skin, it made a soft whirring noise. Not a second later, Bakura jerked and twitched.
"You goddamn son of a bitch!" He barked, unfocused, his mind still at the last moment in time he had been conscious. Flailing wildly, he almost hit Atemu, who quickly took a few steps back. Breathing rapidly, Bakura snorted and coughed at the same time, trembling and shivering. Yuugi, who had found shoes and was holding the pair up, was aghast and morbidly fascinated at the same time.
"Bakura," Atemu spoke, "we have to leave, now."
It took the other a precious minute to turn his head and notice Atemu, eyes still unfocused and disorientated. "Pharaoh," he said disdainfully, followed by another involuntary twitch. Atemu picked up the shirt from the bed and threw it at Bakura. "Get dressed, thief."
"Where's my fucking coat?" Bakura answered.
"Right there." Atemu pointed at the garment draped over the edge of the bed. "Aibou, the shoes..?"
"'Aibou'?" Bakura arched an eyebrow as he wrestled with his shirt. Yuugi was about to take a step forward when the door slid open and three men ran into the room. They were fast enough for the man on the right to reach for Yuugi and yank so hard on his arm that he yelped out in pain. Atemu turned around, his red eyes smoldering with anger.
"You are under arrest," the team leader said. His hand wavered, the laser gun rattled. He pointed at Bakura. "You, get back on the bed." Then, at Atemu. "You, hands in the air!"
Bakura snorted and put on his shirt, shrugging himself into the garment. Yuugi had dropped the shoes, his face contorted in pain. A whimper escaped him.
"Hands… in… the … air!" The team leader yelled, approaching Atemu. The room turned dark. The remaining lights dimmed even further… one by one, darkness enveloped them, swallowing them whole, turning out the last ray of light and hope.
"Jounouchi! Team D has entered the sickbay!"
"Who gave them the order to enter? Is it Kaiba's team?" Jounouchi barked as he ran along.
"No, he didn't give any order," Otogi responded. "The morons acted on their own and I just lost the camera feed!"
"What happened?"
"I didn't do it," Otogi said, hurriedly pressing every button to get his feed back online. "It just went dead!"
"It's the taller twin," Kaiba said, his voice still feverish. "Jounouchi, those men are dead!"
Jounouchi shivered from the absolute conviction in Kaiba's voice. He forced himself to run even faster.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" the man on the left asked.
"You have trespassed in the soul of my beloved," Atemu said, his voice low and menacing. Bakura put on his coat, a vast grin in place. The right man didn't loosen his grip on Yuugi, despite his confusion. Yuugi yelped once more. It was impossible to break free and he stopped trying. The sudden darkness scared him; he could still see Atemu, but he was… different. Yuugi was fascinated by the red color of his eyes, but right now there was such coldness to his gaze that it was chilling him to the bone. A sudden light pierced the darkness. Relieved, Yuugi looked up for just a second. All he could see was a strange, brightly glowing eye on Atemu's forehead. His own eyes slid close and before he could realize what was going on, Yuugi lost consciousness. The team leader brought up his weapon again, hand trembling.
"What… what's happening?" he yammered.
"After all those millennia, you still don't want your precious Other to see what kind of an asshole you are, do you?" Bakura snickered, not caring that a similar eye had appeared on his forehead.
"What's happening?" the team leader repeated and the next second he fired one time to the left and one time to the right, shooting his fellow guards. "Jesus fuck!"
"Fuck!" Otogi heard the shots through the headset, just like the others. "Shots fired!"
"Fuck, fuck!" Jounouchi arrived at the sickbay and without hesitation, ran into the room. He was too late. The team leader, flanked by the bodies of his fellow guards, raised his arm, gun pointing to his head. His voice trembled and was high-pitched as he begged for his life. Jounouchi's throat ran dry. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry out, he wanted to fire even though he could barely see. Fear crept through him. His hand trembled, his entire body trembled. The team leader cried as he put the gun to his own temple. "Please! Please!"
"You have trespassed in the soul of my beloved," Atemu repeated. "Fire!"
The team leader pulled the trigger and his body fell into a heap on the floor.
Chapter 19 | Chapter 21 |