[In Progress] -Open-

[note_atem]

Who: Atem and OPEN to anyone who would like a chaperon or who just wants HEY HELP HIM.
What: Welcome to Domino!
When: February 1st, in the afternoon after all the characters get there.
Where: Wandering the streets, parks, wherever you'd like to run into him because he just needs to keep moving.
Warnings: CARD GAMES? ANNOYING CHILDREN? COPIOUS AMOUNTS

Comments

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba scowled at the sight of the L337POD in Cissnei's hand, reminded once again of another problem that needed solving. Why was he stil tethered to these people. Everything he had seen so far had certainly indicated that this was the Domino City he remembered. Everything except, of course, the presence of the two people sitting next to him. Perhaps more, but he hadn't checked the NETWORK since the first time. He thought it would be better that way, at least until he got to the office and could take care of...annoyances.

"Oddly enough, it seems I wasn't awake at the time," the brunet admitted, not adding on that he had drifted off from exhaustion at his desk, part of his usual three night cycle. It wasn't so different than what he would be doing here, really. "But it would seem the Island would be involved. There is no other reason the LPs would still work," he added with a frown.

Atem's idea had him scowling. "Everyone...is everyone actually here, then? Are you sure?" he asked, not really liking the idea of getting so many insane people in one place in his city.

[crimsonguarddog]

Cissnei didn't press further as to ask why with either of them - She'd lived with Kaiba in house one long enough to come to some understanding of when to press and when not too. Flicking through The Network absently to see when the last post were made. Jing, mostly some kids, Ken she noted to reply to when she had a moment. "It was strange, it felt like..." A pause as she searched for the words. "Like the whole island shifted under my feet. Then we ended up here."

Setting the LP down the woman shook her head. "There seem to be a few. I'd be able to check the signals when I have a computer and hook it up. Getting them together will be the hard part, but if there are some of the more...Unsavory people from the island here, it would be in best interest to keep an eye on them." The woman glanced over at Kaiba briefly when she spoke. Being here for him is one thing, but everyone else... It was a step to finding a way home for everyone if they could figure out just how it happened.

[note_atem]

"If there are a few already, then they all must be here." He was trying to draw a logical conclusion. "It's a cause for mass chaos. People have been taken from an unsavory condition and placed in a completely new territory with no knowledge- save for the ones who are from here." The Island wins again, he supposed. But that always seemed to ring true. There was not much they could do.

"And so, more than anything, the more dangerous people we've harbored on Salkia; I fear more for the kids of Domino than I do for them." Of course he would care about them, and there were a lot. It was midday and a lot of them were out playing Duel Monsters. They were in danger and they didn't even know it.

"And when you cause chaos and panic betwixt a group of people that were previously detained on an island, the first reaction will be to spread out and run. And for those who maintain violence as a method for anything, they're going to hurt other people." If this was the real world, death would be permanent here. At least for the people of the city. And mortals were capable of rioting and panicking too.

This was a terrible situation to be in, and he was trying his hardest to work out what the next step was. Leading a nation had gotten him this far, but this wasn't his nation anymore. More than anything, it was Kaiba's. So for a long moment in his pause and thinking, he looked right at the brunet.

[shutupandduelme]

Out of the three of them, Kaiba was probably the most relaxed. In a space that was familiar, in a situation that wasn't too out of the ordinary for him, and in a position of control or something resembling it, the brunet was practically in his element. He sat in concentration for a while, noting when they got on the main road into the downtown area. It wouldn't be too much longer.

"Whether this is something of the Island or not...at least as far as I am aware, my people are acting as they should. Therefore, I will be directing some of them to find information on the Island and our captors, as well as any possible ways to get people home as quickly as possible," he described, plans knitting together in his head. "And to do that....everyone is going to have a track put on them. At least until we have decided what to do in the long run, or whether there even is a long run."

Kaiba's long fingers tented. "But there is still law here, a government, structures in place. I will not be bending over backwards to save them if anyone gets arrested for their actions. If it occurs to KaibaCorp property...well, it is an excuse to hold them. Other than that, I will not be playing babysitter. The bigger questions are the more important ones," he insisted. The brunet then turned to Cissnei and smirked. "You'll have ten computers, if you want them. Unless you have any objections, as soon as my lawyer signs off on the contract you will be a full employee. I will put you overseeing the teams working on this. I still have ongoing projects I have to catch up on, and they will need a bit of guidance that I won't have time for."

Out the window, the Limo was slowing and turning off the main highway. KaibaCorp tower was now full in view, the first full sight of it Kaiba had had in close to a year. He exhaled slowly, almost surprised at how much he had missed the place. Waking up at the mansion just didn't seem to have the same affect.

[crimsonguarddog]

Cissnei was almost surprised that Kaiba mentioned the contract so casually in front of another person...though then again they were in Domino and there really was no point to keep hiding the agreement, considering it would only be a few hours at most until it was official.

"I'll have it done." She said, speaking about everything he had just mentioned. Multitasking was not that big of a deal, especially if it was just working with computers. Field work on the other hand...Well, it was something she had hope that would not be happening anymore. "If what you have is basically the same as what I've been using I'll have a lock on who's here and where they are in less than an hour."

Her gaze followed Kaiba's to the Tower, tracking slowly up toward the building for the first time. For a moment she's reminded of home, of how ShinRa stood obvious and above all the rest...

But they had worked this out. She had tested Kaiba as much as he had tested her before agreeing to this, and the contract made it quite clear what she was and wasn't going to do for him.

[note_atem]

No, that wasn't good enough. And he wasn't sure why he expected anything different from Seto. He didn't care about anyone but himself; but Atem knew what the island inhabitants were capable of. Cops with guns couldn't stop the lot of them. If they wanted to tear apart the entire city they could, and only when they came close to scratching Seto's building would the brunet even think of doing anything.

He shifted uncomfortably as the two talked, he obviously wasn't part of this conversation. He wasn't part of this at all. The two didn't care about anyone else but themselves. It made him uneasy.

Recon and looking where everyone was was nice but what about the other people of the city. The ones not of the island, and the ones on the island- they were all probably spreading out and trying to leave. This was no good. But what could he do? He just bit his lip and kept silent. He needed to think. And he was all on his own for it. These two weren't going to help him.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba had made a living off of being aware of people around him and knowing how to play off of it, and his time on Salkia had not changed that. He noticed Atem's shifting which in turn drew his attention to the biting of his lip. Hm. There was something to be discussed there...and likely not going to come out until they were alone. Fine. Kaiba knew he could wait.

"I'd like to say it's better, as I had a hand in designing it, but I have no idea what your capabilities used to be," he commented absently, no longer expressly paying attention to either of them. They were too close to the office by now. The Limo finally came to the stop, and it was only the fact that Atem was sitting closer to the door than he was that stopped Kaiba from popping out himself and retreating back to his office immediately. It was a very strong urge.

"I suppose you'll be able to tell me once you see what you have, won't you? Welcome to Kaiba Corporation," he said to both of them. He couldn't recall Atem ever having seen it up close either.

[crimsonguarddog]

The driver finally pulled the door open, and Atem got out followed by the other two. Cissnei stepped out and looked up for a moment. It's what she expected...but at the same time not, with Salkia still having a obvious hand in all of this. She shouldn't expect anything less really, considering all the times she had gone back to the damn island.

The woman sipped the last of her coffee before throwing it in a nearby trashcan, striding toward the building with the others. "Let's move quickly then, no need to waste time." After all, who knows what they hell the people who got onto the island would do outside of it.

Combining what she did in Salkia and here- What a way to start.

Atem's skipping this tag.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba strode out, dismissing the car with a wave and tossing out his own empty coffee cup in the same trash can with perfect aim. "Considering we have no idea how much time we have," he murmured half to himself, heading towards the front door without looking back if the other two were keeping up with him or not. He didn't mind Cissnei's company, really, but he couldn't afford to appear to give her special treatment. He certainly didn't wait for anyone else. Atem...he would retrieve later, if necessary.

Absently, his hand went to his locket, and he popped out his KaibaCorp key card to slide it in a hidden recess in the wall. The door to the executive elevator opened, and he inclined his head, hitting the button for the top floor. Another long hallway and a nod towards the secretary later, and he was shutting the large mahogany doors to his office.

"I'm going to let Isono take you around, since I have preliminary stuff to do here," Kaiba said absently, going over to his desk and making a note. "And then in an hour or so, I think I can have Legal in here to sign off on the contract. Is that acceptable?" he asked Cissnei. Then the question would be what exactly Atem was tagging around for.

[crimsonguarddog]

She wasn't that far behind, and would of been beside the man if there was space to allow it. It's becoming a rapid realization to her that even though she had renounced her position as a Turk some time ago, there's an anxiousness about actually going though with it.

But she was ready. Along with that mix of feelings is determination, Cissnei is ready to start this new part of her life. Exiting from the elevator and down the hall to the office of the top floor, Cissnei's not so surprised how lavish everything is, but at the same time she's impressed. Which of course, was the purpose of such an office. She had been in enough of them to know. The woman's eyes lingered over the windows for a moment as the man Moved to his desk, then she cast her gaze to Atem once more.

"That's fine with me." She affirmed. The contract had been written up to her liking back on Salkia, and as she had said many a time before, her word was much better than paper.

[note_atem]

Atem had not said a word, had not wanted to, and had nothing to say really. This was fake. It all was and he couldn't for the life of him understand why Seto was letting himself fall so far and to the wayside with this. When he was so skeptical of everything in his entire life, especially the goings on with the island..

Why when given one picture of home was he so ample to grab on and lead himself down the path. Atem would be no part of it, just as he was not a part of whatever this little negotiation was between the two of them. All he knew was that his friends were running off and trying to find their homes, and it would cause problems. He needed to find them, to keep them together until the island decided its next move. And if they truly were all stuck in Domino he would be very, very surprised.

Once they had gotten inside the office, his impassive look softened a little when he saw those big windows. A rather accidental smile crept over him when he remembered Seto speaking about them, and he moved over to them as the other two spoke some more. Just looking down at the whole city gave him a sick sense of euphoria. Almost like looking down from the palace balcony at night, just more modern, and no fresh air.

And there he was prone to stay, staring down as if he could see each of his friends and reach out, pull them close and tell them to stop in their trek. He needed to find them. Sooner the better, and yet here he still was in the office, even knowing Seto would not help him. He saw that argument and exasperation coming a mile away. And yet even then a part of him wanted to believe he could live here, with Seto, in Domino; make a new name. He wanted it so badly.

[shutupandduelme]

"Very well then," Kaiba replied, leaning over to hit a button on his phone to call his right hand man up. "This will not be everything, of course. I will be taking you down to the warehouses more relevant to your job myself. But you'll be getting your keycard ID, as well as the necessary paperwork. One of the perks of being CEO is that I don't have to bother with that." Another lean over the desk, and he pulled out a temporary ID badge. "Just in case anyone questions you," he added, tossing it to Cissnei.

A sharp knock on the door caught his attention briefly, before he glanced over at the time on his computer. "A minute late, Isono," Kaiba warned. The door opened, and an older man with dark hair, a small mustache, and the black KaibaCorp suit entered and stopped at the doorframe.

"Kaiba-saicho," the man said with a tilt of his head, before he turned to Cissnei. "Cissnei-san. It would be my honor to show you the labs and the workstations you'll have access to. If you'll come with me?"

The CEO, meanwhile, had moved back behind his desk, intending to sit, but got stuck instead watching Atem stare out the window out of the corner of his eye. "I'll see you in a bit," he said absently, "And I would hope you take the opportunity to think of things without the weight of past experience smothering it too much. It's different here." That should have been vague enough to keep her happy while addressing the point. This wasn't ShinRa, Cissnei. Hopefully she would figure that out with this.

WAFFLES SAID I COULD.

[note_atem]

Atem turned his head slightly to catch the last bit of that, watching the red head escorted from the room; turning his head back towards the window. He'd seen Seto staring at him too, but he really wasn't in a happy mood at this point. That morning had been a terrible toll on his nerves and he wasn't sure what being alone with Kaiba would prove to do.

He sighed, heavily at that. "So you're going to kick them all out, then?" If Kaiba was bent on ordering everyone out, ordering them to stay would only cause confusion, if not fighting. That's not the route he wanted to go down. Really he just wanted Seto to work with him.

Like that would ever happen.

WELL GEEZE, FINE. XD

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba waited until the door clicked closed before he turned his head to look fully at Atem. The shorter man's comment drew his mouth into a slight frown. He still hadn't quite puzzled out why Atem had come with him, instead of heading to the ratty Game Shop instead. And of course now he chooses to focus on this....he was always difficult.

"'Kick' them out?," Kaiba said coolly, his expression remaining impassive. "I'm letting them try to get home. I sincerely doubt it's going to be much of a push."

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT

[note_atem]

"They've got no homes to go to, Seto." His arms came up to cross as he turned to the other fully now, the scowl on his features evident, as well as they upset. "You can't really believe.." It started but the thought stopped, sad and unfinished. He just looked up at Seto, trying to read how this was all going to play out.

"This isn't real." He said it this morning and he would say it as many times as it took to remind himself. "No matter how bad any of us want this, it's not real. It can't possibly be. When the island sent people home before it was always to their respective places and a few at a time. Why now would it just all of a sudden sent the entirety of the island to our home world, with the NETWORK still in tact, no less?"

He didn't want to see Seto fall, he didn't want to see Seto believe this terrible illusion.

[shutupandduelme]

The brunet hissed and turned on Atem, his voice bitter. "You think I haven't thought of that?" he snapped. "I know. Damn it, I know. It was the first thing I called the office about this morning. I've got half the the server techs trying to track the source of the signal from the LP while I have the chance. I will find out as much as I can...and hopefully stop it."

Kaiba's hand clenched tightly at his side. "But...I cannot assume anything. This is still my company, fake one or no. I cannot assume that what I do not do here will not have some affect on what is off the Island. If this isn't off the Island already. These people don't need to be in this city. If there is a way out, they will find it. If not, they will get angry, and anger can be used to actually make some progress against our captors," he said firmly. His stare was still cool. "And if our captors want us back...they will have to expend the energy to gather every single one. "