As the Time Wizard was towed by the rescue unit, the rescue workers attached a device to replace the dying air support unit. Both Jounouchi and Honda took deep breaths, the fresh air a godsend. He felt a lot lighter as his lungs stopped burning, his mind cleared and his senses sharpened again. Jounouchi wished soon enough that it hadn't happened. The sharp, metallic scent of blood penetrated his nose and the pain came rushing back to him. At least he felt pain, which was reassuring in a twisted way: it meant that he wasn't paralyzed. He was caught however, between his pilot seat and the control panels, unable to free himself. The collision with the October had reduced his precious ship to a piece of rubble, and he was never going to forgive Marik or the Pharaoh for it. Hissing in pain and discomfort, Jounouchi had no other choice but to patiently wait until the ship was docked at the nearest spaceport. He had no idea in which part of the galaxy they were; none of the instruments worked and who knew how far they had drifted off; powerless, helpless, in the vastness of space. It took hours, an eternity in his mind, before they reached a spaceport and the Time Wizard was towed into a quarantine bay.
Honda grunted as the ship shook, adding to his own pain. He cradled his broken arm to his chest and hoped that the rescue unit would finish up securing the Time Wizard. The ship's stabilisators didn't work anymore, so it was held in place by a massive electro-magnetic force field to keep it in balance. The familiar humming of the generated power reminded him of the EMETS and the ease Marik had broken its control with. Honda had a severe headache and the adrenaline had barely worn off; he longed for a bed. Anxious, he craned his neck when he heard a shrill sound he couldn't identify.
"They're cutting the ship open," Jounouchi said, tiredly. The Time Wizard was nothing but scrap metal, but it still hurt him to hear how the outer hull was mauled by the high velocity welding machine, cutting the material open like a hot knife going through butter.
"Over here!" Honda hollered.
"Status?" a male voice asked.
"Two injured and two dead," Honda answered. "Get us out of here!"
"Stay calm," the rescue worker said, "we're working as fast as we can! Cover your ears, if possible." The hull was ripped apart further, a screeching sound as the metal sheeting gave way. Jounouchi cringed in his seat. Light flooded into the cockpit and he blinked a few times; now he was able to see the mess with his own eyes. He sure had the luck of the devil; if the control panel had budged one inch further, both his legs would've been perforated. Jounouchi shivered in his seat. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he allowed himself to be lifted up from his chair and put down on a gurney. A paramedic inserted an IV into his arm and put an oxygen mask over his face. Jounouchi breathed deeply once more and his eyes started to close slowly, as he sank into unconsciousness. His body relaxed and he turned his head to the left. Honda was wheeled past him, also with an IV and an oxygen mask, but behind him were two gurneys with black body bags. The guards from team E. Who would tell their families? The others who had perished on the planet, was KaibaCorp. going to compensate the next of kin? He made a mental note to ask later, as his eyes slid close. He had survived. Honda had survived. He would assess the damage later. All he wanted was peace and quiet.
When he opened his eyes, Jounouchi recognized the surroundings of a hospital. Fortunately he was in a private room; he hated hospital wards. Grunting, he tried to get up. Both his arms were bandaged, but nothing was broken. Pain shot through him and he almost cried out. His entire body felt like it was put through a spin cycle, at full speed. Jounouchi found the call button and hit it. 'Nurse to 10-77, nurse to 10-77', a mechanical voice rang out, which startled him. A tall nurse appeared in the door opening of his room, closed the distance to his bed and called up a vidscreen to check and study his stats.
"Patient 763408, Katsuya Jounouchi," she said.
"Jounouchi will do just fine," he said. She glared at him coolly and he shrunk in his bed.
"You've been extremely lucky, Jounouchi. No broken bones or ruptured organs. You're going to be in pain for a while, though. Your muscles caught the brunt of the impact. You'll have muscle ache all over."
"Better than to be dead," he said, softly. "What about Honda? Hiroto Honda?"
"In the next room," the nurse answered. "He's also bruised and battered all over, but nothing broken, except for his arm."
"That's good to hear."
"He can't wait to visit you," she said with a smile. "You must be very good friends."
It was the truth. "We've known each other for a long time. We work together for KaibaCorp.."
"Ah, I see. Well, you're awake just in time for dinner." The nurse all but stalked out of the room. Not a second after she had left, Honda came in, carrying a laptop under his good arm.
"Man, am I glad to see you awake," he said. "You lost consciousness just before we got into the hospital and I was afraid you'd fallen into a coma."
"Good to see you too," Jounouchi greeted him. Honda panted as he pulled the chair closer to his bed. He sat down.
"I feel like an old man," he said. "It's going to be awkward for the next couple of weeks."
"Where are we?"
"You'd never guess, so I won't make you. Welcome to Ibistapola."
"Ibistapola?" The nurse's cool reaction now made sense. As one of the three last tag-free planets in the known universe, Ibistapola wasn't very fond of KaibaCorp.. He was on the central planet of counterfeit trade and countless illegal activities, and he had just made himself known as an employee of the galaxy's most controlling mega-conglomerate! He could slap himself silly. Honda turned the laptop around.
"I've got more news," he said. "The line is secure." He opened the laptop, to reveal Otogi on the screen.
"Jounouchi, good to see you," Otogi put his hand up as a greeting. "Sorry to contact you the old school way, but I can't get a secure vidscreen line on Ibistapola. This way we can still talk without being tracked. Expect some relay in the transmission, though."
"That's all right, I'm glad you made it out alive."
"Only by a hair's breadth," Otogi said, huffing. "I had to practically knock Kaiba out before I was able to take him with me. He was completely mesmerized by that weird bird thing."
Otogi split the screen to show an image of the golden, burning creature with wings that Jounouchi recognized from the inferno at Yllsen Volta V. "What is it?"
"Jounouchi, Honda, meet the Sun of God Dragon, Ra," Otogi said gravely. "A Divine Beast from a game called Duel Monsters, one of the three most sought after and generally regarded as the most powerful one. One of the three original so-called 'God Cards', that is."
"A card game," Honda said, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as I can be," Otogi answered. "Now that my ass is safe on Altana again, I have access to every intergalactic database I need. What a relief."
"Continue," Jounouchi said.
"Duel Monsters is an illegal game, outlawed since Earth ceased to exist. I'm not sure how Ra was… brought to life," Otogi said. "I'm still looking into it."
"You've got all the footage?"
"I looped it to KaibaCorp." Otogi snorted. "I'm not stupid. It took some delay for it to arrive and the last bit never made it…" as the planet exploded, "…but I've got quite some material to work with."
"Good. Continue your research." Jounouchi thought for a bit. "That is, if we're still hired for the bounty of Ishtar…?"
"Are you nuts? Kaiba is frantic! He wants to talk to you as soon as I'm done." Otogi looked over his shoulder, then turned back to the screen and lowered his voice. "I used the footage to try to identify the 'twins'."
"Tell me, tell me!"
"I could only find information on one of them," Otogi said. "I'll send it to you."
"Yuugi Mutou," Honda pronounced the name when he read the data. "Citizen of Vertregg 12. Owns a Game Shop."
"Guess what, Duel Monsters tournaments are held illegally on Vertregg 12," Otogi said. "For whatever reason, there's a huge black market for Duel Monsters cards on that planet. They'd kill over an eight-star card, and to get their hands on an original God Card?"
"They would blow up an entire planet," Jounouchi said as realization settled in. He couldn't believe that this innocent looking young man might be the axis of illegal gaming tournaments. The one called Pharaoh on the other hand, though… Otogi had created a still from the footage, prominently showing the other, his red eyes clearly visible. Even Honda shuddered.
"Yuugi Mutou doesn't have any siblings or other relatives but his grandfather," Otogi said, keeping his voice low as if conspiring. "I have no idea who the other is or why they look so much alike. I couldn't pick up a name from the audio. I did get a few references though."
"He's called Pharaoh," Jounouchi said. Otogi looked sour. He didn't like his thunder being stolen.
"Yes, he was referred to as Pharaoh on several occasions," Otogi said. Pharaoh has called for God. He still could feel the shivers run down his spine. To think that one of the world's most calm and composed CEO would say that with reverence and perhaps some fear in his voice… "No other name or tag available. He doesn't exist. But…" He lowered his voice again to a mere whisper. "I dug around a little. Remember Ryou Bakura? Kaiba's assistant, who was with the Isthars? His studies… it mentions this thing in particular." On screen, a picture of the Ceremonial Tablet appeared.
Jounouchi frowned. "What's this?"
"Take a closer look." Otogi zoomed in.
Honda squinted. "What are we supposed to see?"
"This is a Ceremonial Tablet from millennia ago," Otogi explained, "It dates back to Ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh is on the right. He looks very familiar, don't you think?"
"That's impossible," Jounouchi and Honda said at the same time, as they recognized the striking features.
"Remember when we discussed the age of Malik Ishtar's friend? That we thought he was over two hundred years? Well, he's a baby compared to the Pharaoh. According to the data, he's at least over three millennia old!"
"Impossible!" They both said, again at the same time.
"To the left, we have Kaiba," Otogi continued. "I haven't had the time to study all of Ryou's notes, but he believes that Kaiba is a reincarnation of the depicted Priest. Either Yuugi Mutou is a reincarnation of the Pharaoh on the tablet, or the Pharaoh has the secret to immortality." He shot up straight in his chair when a harsh voice called out to him: "Otogi, are you done?"
"Yes," Otogi said and quickly erased the pictures. Kaiba appeared on screen.
"Jounouchi, are you alone?"
"Honda is here," Jounouchi answered. "We're doing fine, thank you."
"Get out, Honda," Kaiba growled. Honda scrunched up his nose, but he did as he was told. Jounouchi waited until he had left the room and irritated, he stared at Kaiba on the screen. "What is it?"
"Otogi told you about those two," the CEO said, not beating around the bush. "I want you to bring in the Pharaoh. I'll forgive you all your debts, I'll buy you a new ship, but you're going to get him for me. Five million genz for Malik Isthar. Seven and a half million for Marik Isthar. Six million genz for Bakura. Ryou Bakura and Yuugi Mutou are collateral damage." He took a deep breath. Jounouchi felt like he was punched in the stomach. The total of the bounties would make anyone's head spin, but right now, it made him feel queasy.
Kaiba dropped his bomb. "Fifteen million genz for the Pharaoh. You're going to be a very wealthy man, Jounouchi. I don't care what it takes, bring him to me - unharmed!" He severed the connection.
"I don't know what happened back there," Ryou said as he dragged Marik along with him through the wide corridor, "but you're in need of medical attention."
"Stop, stop," Marik said, almost out of breath. "Here."
"This is your room?"
"Sort of." He used his elbow to push the button. "Fuck, it hurts more than I thought." The door opened and they stumbled inside.
"Lights?" Ryou asked.
"I like the darkness," Marik answered and navigated effortlessly through the dark room.
"I can't treat your wounds if it's this dark," Ryou said.
"I'm a Shadow Born. The Darkness heals me."
"Don't be silly." Ryou sounded a little nervous. He hadn't forgotten how Marik had attacked him when they first met. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to leave him like this, injured and bleeding. Slowly, his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. Ryou looked around and to his surprise, he noticed a small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. He switched it on and squinted at the very modest influx of light. Ryou snatched a spare blanket from a chair and threw it on the bed before Marik could sit down with his bloodied pants.
"Take it off," he said. "I'll look for the first aid kit."
Marik didn't answer and Ryou went outside. He wondered briefly where Yuugi could be and got annoyed at the thought that he was with Atemu, of course. For now, he was too busy with Marik to concern himself with his friend. Ryou hurried to the kitchen to fill a large bowl with lukewarm water. He found a first aid kit and took it with him back to Marik's room. The October wasn't as stable as it used to be and miraculously, he managed to carry the bowl without spilling too much water. Marik sat slumped on the bed, his head resting against his chest. Ryou put the bowl on the floor and opened the first aid kit. He took out the pair of scissors and cut the pants leg apart. Marik didn't react but he was breathing evenly, his eyes half-lidded. Ryou had taken first aid classes for extra credit back in high school and he was glad he did. He wanted to throw up when he saw the scorched skin. The laser had gone through and through the flesh, missing the bone, amazingly. He knew how to treat a flesh wound and he set himself to work. Ryou washed, cleaned and dressed the wound carefully. Then he put his attention to Marik's hands, taking them into his and turning them over.
"You're going to need surgery for this," he said as he looked at the charred flesh.
"Don't worry about it," Marik said. "It'll heal."
Ryou tilted his head. "Is anyone of you going to tell me how it works?"
"What?"
"That strange… symbiosis," Ryou said. "You and Malik. Me and Bakura. Yuugi and Atemu. Our physical resemblance isn't all there is to it, isn't it?"
"You're smart," Marik said and then he pushed Ryou, toppling him over. "It's dangerous to be too smart. It'll cost you your life."
Ryou found his balance and straightened himself again. "You can't push me away," he said stubbornly. He grabbed the first aid kit and closed it. "You should rest until we reach whatever our destination is."
Marik barked a short laugh. "Rest? Who do you think you are? I…" He moved up his hand and Ryou grabbed it, twisting Marik's arm slightly and pushing him back on the bed. It was too dark in the room to see his expression, but Ryou liked to think it was a mixture of shock and anger. He wasn't nearly as strong as Marik, but he had the element of surprise and he made fully use of it.
"Stop treating me like a child," he said. "I'm not Malik and I'm not dependent on you. I'm a KaibaCorp. employee with his own research funds, you'd better be careful!" He expected to be hit or punched, but instead, Marik broke himself free with just a simple move.
"Go away," was all he said. Ryou picked up the used towels and bandages before he left the room without saying another word.
He found Malik in the cockpit and, of course, Bakura with his feet casually planted on one of the control panels. It annoyed him once more that there was no sign of Yuugi or Atemu. He let it slide.
"The October is only on a quart of its power," Malik said. "We're extremely lucky to have any power at all. The heating cells are damaged, so it's going to get cold. The water tank and the cryo-preservation made it out okay, wonderfully enough. You can take a shower if you keep it under three minutes."
"Thank you," Ryou said. Bakura tilted his head to look at him.
"So, you're done playing nurse?"
"I'm a human being with values and morals," Ryou shot back at him, not in the mood for a verbal sparring. "When someone's injured, I help out. Now, I'm tired and frazzled. As you know, we made a narrow escape from a planet."
"We'll be docking at Ibistapola soon," Malik said before Bakura could speak. "It's a tag-free planet, so we won't have anyone breathing down our necks while we recuperate and recover."
"Sounds good," Ryou said. His hands trembled.
"Hey, watch where you pilot this thing," Bakura suddenly snapped at Malik.
"Shut the fuck up," Malik answered crudely. "I can pilot the October just fine."
Bakura snorted. "I just hope we didn't survive a planet's explosion to crash into another planet."
"Huh?" Ryou looked up. "Explosion?"
"You didn't see it from your safe position," Bakura said, "but Yllsen Volta V is no more."
"We're branded criminals," Malik said. "I checked ICDR. The Pharaoh is wanted for murder."
"Excuse me?" Ryou's knees wobbled. Bakura grinned as if he had heard a terribly funny joke.
"I don't know exactly what happened," Malik said, "but when retrieving Bakura from the sick bay… something went wrong."
"Wrong?" Ryou looked at Bakura, who didn't offer any comment. Malik needed all his concentration for the docking procedure and the silence in the cockpit was a strange one, a mixture of tension and annoyance. Malik calculated the October's trajectory and engaged the ship, maneuvering it into its assigned docking bay. The second to last engine gave out and the ship rocked precariously, almost hitting the platform it was supposed to land next to. Malik adjusted his course and brought the ship to a perfect standstill. He powered down the last engine and wiped away a few sweat drops.
"I'm proud of you, son," Bakura said sarcastically.
"Be an asshole, for as long as you still have life left in you," Malik said. "I'm tired as well. I'm going to lie down. I'm shaking all over."
"We could all use some rest," Ryou said.
"Fuck that," Bakura answered. "I've rested long enough."
"You are staring at me, aibou."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, mou hitori no boku."
"I like it when you call me like that."
"It came up in my mind." Yuugi blushed. He had his hand on Atemu's cheek, gently caressing his skin, fingers touching a wayward golden strand every now and then. Atemu leaned into his touch. Yuugi blushed some more. "Have you slept well?"
Atemu shifted a little and nodded. "I am fine, aibou." He showed him a smile. "Do you want to lay with me? You do not have to take your clothes off."
Yuugi leaned into him and kissed him on the forehead, his cheeks tomato red. "I… I'd love to, mou hitori no boku… but Malik-kun has docked the ship. We're not moving."
"I see." Atemu didn't take the rejection personally. Yuugi taking the initiative to touch him was a very good sign of his hold over his Other. It had taken some time and effort, but finally he had managed to break Yuugi free from the ties that held him back. Like he always would. The Pharaoh would always win the game. "Aibou, please, can you give me my clothes? I would like to get up."
"Sure." Yuugi reluctantly withdrew his hand and went to retrieve Atemu's clothes, which he had folded up neatly. On top of the pile was the small, rectangular black device he had taken from Atemu's belt when undressing him. "What's this anyway? Why do you wear this?"
"Oh, it is something that comes with the belt," Atemu said.
"Like an accessory?"
"Like an accessory."
"Bakura-san's wearing the same thing, isn't he?"
Atemu stepped out of the bed, unashamed about his naked body. He moved around Yuugi and kissed him on the neck. "He is? I will pay more attention to him, then."
"No, I don't want you to."
Atemu smiled and intensified the kiss, nipping at his skin, trailing down his neck. "Why do you not want me to pay attention to Bakura-san?"
"I want your eyes on me only," Yuugi said greedily. Atemu pressed a kiss close to his ear.
"I have eyes for you only, aibou," he said.
"Really?"
"Really." He plucked the synthfuser out of Yuugi's hands, along with his shirt and the belt. Yuugi waited until he had finished dressing. He took Atemu's hand as they left the Ancient Egyptian-themed room and on their way to the cockpit, they ran into Bakura.
"I see you're awake," he said, grumpily. "The rest has all gone to bed, pathetic wimps."
"Even Marik?" Atemu asked.
"The injury on his leg was more serious than we thought. My Other took care of him."
"You talk of him as a possession," Yuugi said. Bakura opened his mouth to retort, but after one look at Atemu's face, he decided against it.
"Anyway, we need a lot of new supplies," Bakura said. "For the Others, I mean."
"I could use a little walk," Atemu said. "Where have we landed?"
"Ibistapola."
"Excellent. They have a very lively black market. We can find everything we need there."
"A black market?" Yuugi fidgeted. "Isn't that illegal?"
"Yuugi is from Vertregg 12," Atemu explained as he saw the incredulous look on Bakura's face, "they file paperwork even for a fly landing on a wall."
"You poor thing," Bakura said. "Well, it's about time you got into something illegal. It helps you to shape up into a man!"
Chapter 22 | Chapter 24 |