Yu-Gi-Oh!, October, part 21
Title: October
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pairings: implied YnMarik & YnBakura, YnMarik & Ryou, YnYuugi & YnBakura, established Jounouchi & Mai, Yuugi & Anzu, forthcoming YnMarik & YnBakura & YnYuugi
Warnings: foul language, violence, shounen ai
Genre: AU, sci-fi
Summary: They’re not from this world, and have lived through time, space and universes to fulfill their goals- the ones called Shadow Born, Thief King, and Pharaoh. With their own reasons and motives, what happens to the ones they inevitable drag into their lives?
Author’s notes: Everybody is around 18-20 of age, except YnMarik, YnBakura and YnYuugi. Gratuitous use of artistic license and a whole lot of made up crap. Feedback greatly appreciated. This chapter contains graphic violence!
Key: --------- = scene change
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“Fire!” Marik repeated as a glowing eye appeared on his forehead. He brought up his guns and pulled the triggers; the barrels both released bullets and laser rays, effectively killing the guards within seconds; their bodies dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Marik, no!” Ryou flailed his arms wildly, shocked and appalled. He tried to grab Marik’s arm, but he was pushed back, shoved aside as if he weighed nothing.
“Get back, Other Bakura!” Marik snarled at him, raising his guns again as Team B entered the room, finding themselves no match against his superior firepower.
“What the hell’s going on?” Kaiba yelled through the headset, almost piercing Honda’s ear drums.
“Team A and B are down!” Honda yelled in return. “I’m going in!”
“No! Stay where you are!” Otogi’s eyes rapidly scanned the camera feeds. “I can’t find Jounouchi! I lost sight of him! Come in, Jounouchi!”
“Amateurs!” Kaiba slammed his hand on the control panel. “Launch the EMETS, Honda! Now!” He shook Otogi’s shoulder. “Seal everything off! No one is going to leave here alive unless I say so!”
“Launching EMETS!” Honda’s thumb brushed the launch button and after another second, he pressed it. A powerful electrical surge activated the system and a hissing sound was the only warning before the electromagnetically trap was sprung. Piercing the sound barrier, the weapon disengaged and three rings of pure energy were flung through the air, missing Ryou and Malik by a hair’s breadth. The two fell to the floor, tumbling over one another. The EMETS was a sophisticated defense and control weapon that effortlessly sought out the biggest threat, its artificial intelligence targeting Marik due to him holding the guns. He didn’t have a single second to react, the absurd amount of electromagnetic energy traveling faster than the speed of light and attaching itself to his body. Due to its velocity and volume, the EMETS slammed him against the wall, trapping him in an electromagnetic field, a large ring around his neck, one around his torso and one around his right wrist.
“Marik!” Ryou called out, seeing how he was pinned to the wall. He tried to get up to help him, but Malik pulled him back down. Marik clawed at the ring around his neck, howling as the energetic heat burned his hand.
“One down,” Honda said, reading the results of the display. “I’m going in! Team C, follow me!”
“Be careful, for the love of every deity!” Otogi growled in frustration. Why wasn’t Jounouchi responding?
Honda led Team C into the large room and ordered the men to circle around Malik and Ryou. He didn’t expect them to provide any more nasty surprises, but it was better to secure them. Honda’s eyes immediately went to the growling, grunting other, pressed against the wall. He was amazed that he tried to break himself free; the EMETS was impossible to escape from, unless Honda gave the command. Team leader C raced at him, before Honda could hold him back.
“You killed my friends, motherfucker!”
“Get back!” Honda tried to grab the team leader, but Marik was faster. With his free hand, he batted the gun out of the inexperienced guard’s grasp and before the weapon hit the floor, he grabbed the man at the throat. Marik unleashed an inhuman roar as he brought up his other hand, the electromagnetic energy crackling from the sheer intensity. The guard started to scream as it burned his neck and face. Marik’s fingers sunk deeper into his skin, cutting off his air.
“Let him go!” Honda tugged at the man, but it was too late. A sickening crack, and Marik had snapped the man’s neck. Aghast, Honda let out a scream when the man’s head lolled to the side, his dead eyes staring at him. He let go of the man at the same moment Marik did, and the team leader sank to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Honda gaped at Marik. He had thought that he had been howling in pain, but now he understood differently: he was laughing in ecstasy and enjoying the pain. Honda aimed his gun straight at him, disturbed by the deranged smile of pure joy on Marik’s face and the obvious insanity in his eyes.
“You’re under arrest,” he said, as calm as he could muster himself to be. “Stop resisting and surrender!”
“Marik!” Ryou yelled. One of the guards reminded him to be silent.
“Is that your name?” Honda hissed. “Your name’s Marik? Well, Marik, surrender right now, or else..!” He was laughed at, and Honda realized to his horror that this man was totally, completely insane. He had to be in excruciating pain yet he was laughing, and still struggling against his restraints. Honda didn’t tremble and kept his gun pointed at Marik, but the other was fast. A vice-like grip was exerted on his right arm and Honda wavered just lightly. He swallowed as he understood that Marik had grabbed him, not even perturbed in the least that a powerful weapon was holding him down and a gun was aimed at him, straight between the eyes.
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Yuugi stared in front of him, eyes wide, totally oblivious as to what was going on. He wasn’t fazed by the darkness, slowly retreating now that all of the team members were dead. Atemu stepped forward and leaned into him, putting his hands on Yuugi’s shoulders.
“Aibou, it is over,” he said. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving,” Yuugi repeated, not even wondering about his temporary blackout. He rubbed his arm, whimpering lightly as he didn’t understand why it was painful to the touch. Bakura had finished dressing himself and the black trench coat swirled around him as he turned.
“Is it just you, Pharaoh?” he asked.
“No, the Ishtars are here as well.” Atemu showed a smirk as he helped Yuugi to his feet. “I know what you stole from them. Marik is not amused.”
“Aw, fuck.” Bakura clenched his fists, interrupted by twitches. “And when’s this going to stop?”
“When you get adjusted to your new synthfuser, moron,” Atemu said crudely. “How did you lose the one you got in the first place?”
“Mou hitori no boku,” Yuugi whispered, dazed and confused. Atemu wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer, making sure that his right hand touched Yuugi’s cheek, caressing his skin.
“Shh, aibou, it is all right. We are leaving.”
“Leaving, yes,” Yuugi repeated again. Ignoring the corpses, he leaned heavily on Atemu as he started to walk. Bakura traipsed after them.
Jounouchi was rooted to the spot. He just stood there, arm outstretched, gun in his hand… but not moving. He noticed everything around him, watching the darkness dissipate as if someone pulled a heavy blanket off of him. His body refused to obey him. His throat ran dry. The ‘twins’ were approaching him; the slightly taller one had to be the Pharaoh, with all the jewelry he was wearing and a glowing eye on his forehead. He had his arms around the smaller twin, who looked like he had been drugged. His eyes were so different, large and innocent, and his whole body language screamed insecurity and confusion. The only reason he was walking upright was because of his tight grip on the Pharaoh. Behind them, Bakura… fully dressed and back to his old self, as if he hadn’t been in a coma at all. He looked at Jounouchi, showing him a devilish grin. He stood still and flicked Jounouchi’s nose.
“Do I know you?” he asked, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“We have no time to play around, Bakura,” the Pharaoh said. He had walked past Jounouchi without one glance at the gun in his hand. “We are going to get the others and leave this place.”
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Honda grimaced. Marik’s grip was incredibly tight and he couldn’t break himself free.
“Let me go!” He commanded, voice loud. He considered shooting him; Marik wasn’t on the bounty list, just a common criminal as far as he knew. It was disturbing enough as it was; Marik grinned through the pain and looked like he was having the time of his life, instead of cringing in pain. The EMETS had been charged to maximum level. “I arrest you…”
“No, you don’t.” The glowing eye on Marik’s forehead radiated, distracting Honda for just a second, which was all that he needed. He twisted his grip and broke Honda’s arm. Crying out in shock and pain, Honda dropped his gun from his cramped hand. He squirmed. The EMETS was so close that he could feel the heat and Marik brought up his other wrist, with the full intention to burn him. Honda cringed in pain. He had to do something, fast! He quickly put the EMETS controller into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out his other gun.
“Too bad for you, I’m ambidextrous!” Without any hesitation, Honda shot him in the leg. He got a short moment of satisfaction of Marik yelling, but it was overruled by his own pain, his arm twisted and broken.
“Motherfucker!” He let him go so unexpectedly that Honda tumbled backwards, barely able to keep his balance.
“Keep them guarded!” Honda barked at the remaining members of team C. Just as he gave the orders for team D and E to come in, the doors went open. How was that possible? His jaw went slack. Team C looked from Malik and Ryou to Honda to the intruders and back again. Ryou’s eyes went wide when he saw the last person to enter. Undoubtedly, this was Bakura, his namesake… and he got scared by those harsh, dark brown eyes scanning the room, and immediately singling him out.
“You’re all under arrest!” Honda bellowed, but Malik dove forward and grabbed one of Marik’s guns. Team D and E entered the room from the other side and it all erupted in a cacophony of wild screams and people fighting, along with guns being fired. Honda yelled for everyone to stop, but he found himself smacked to the floor, landing exactly on top of his broken arm. He cried out in pain once more. He wanted to shoot, but due to the brawl, he couldn’t fire without hurting one of the guards. Honda couldn’t keep track of what was going on. Bakura moved around so fast, despite twitching every now and then, that he was hard to follow. He struck from the shadows, almost as if teleporting. The tallest one with the absurd hair stood there, not paying attention to the ruckus and mayhem around him. The similar glowing eye on his forehead shone brightly and two men fell down without another sound while he held the smaller one into a protective embrace.
“Get out of here!” Malik yelled. “Move, move, move!”
They all ran towards the door, even Marik, albeit limping. Honda’s mind was blown. How had Marik been able to remove the EMETS? Wincing, he rolled over on his side and saw the device lying disconnected on the floor. During the brawl, he had lost oversight and hadn’t noticed if someone had helped Marik or not. He slammed his fist on the floor.
“They’re going back to the dock!” He yelled into his headset. “Where the fuck is Jounouchi?”
“Here, here! I’ll be there right away!” Jounouchi’s voice sounded a bit off, but Honda was very relieved to hear him. “Status?”
“Man down,” he said, “I’ll live. You can’t say that of the others.”
“Fuck! Otogi?”
“I can confirm that they’re going back to the docks,” Otogi said. “I have them all nice on camera.” Kaiba growled in the background.
“Do tell me that their ship can’t leave!”
“I moved the tower cranes into position,” Otogi said.
“But..?”
“The October is so large, I doubt that the cranes can keep it ship from leaving. It’ll probably be nothing but a bump in the road for them.”
Kaiba hovered over Otogi’s shoulder again, his eyes glued to the screens. “Seal off the docking platform,” he said. “Engage all barricades and close every exit! They are NOT allowed to leave!”
Otogi’s fingers danced over the keyboard. “I’m closing everything down,” he said.
“Good! I’m in pursuit! Honda?”
“I’ll be there!” He tried to ignore the pain and forced himself to get up, gun still in his good hand. He wasn’t going to let this… band of criminals get away with it, and especially not Marik.
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The docking platform wasn’t supposed to be this far away, with every step agonizing and so confusing. Ryou wanted to scream ‘stop’, he wanted to ask what had happened and he wanted to just not exist anymore, the events overwhelming him. He felt like he was flung into a downwards spiral and he couldn’t make heads or tails out of it as he was spun upside down, tossed from left to right. The only thing he could do right now, was to support Marik, who managed to keep up a firm pace despite his injured leg. Blood soaked through the fabric of his pants and Ryou wanted to vomit from the sickening smell of burnt skin and flesh. He couldn’t imagine how painful it had to be, yet Marik was laughing and panting and grinning at the same time. Finally, they reached the docking platform and Malik entered quickly the code for the October to lower the ramp. The group made its way up, but as soon as they boarded the ship, Marik and Malik took a turn to the left, whereas Atemu and Bakura went to the right. Yuugi, regaining consciousness, noticed.
“Where are we going, mou hitori no boku?” he asked.
“To a safe place,” Atemu said and Bakura didn’t even offer an answer to Ryou, who he simply plucked away from Marik.
“What are you doing?” Ryou recognized the cargo area of the ship. He had no clue why Bakura was taking him here, of all places. Marik and Malik had gone straight to the cockpit, which seemed to be a more logical and safe place for all of them. Atemu unlocked a large, dark room and went inside with Yuugi. Bakura all but pushed Ryou to follow.
“What are you doing? Why are we here?” he asked.
“We have to keep you somewhere safe,” Bakura grunted in response. “They’re not going to allow us to leave without a fight.” He dragged Ryou with him, uncaring if he was hurting him or not.
Malik sat down in his pilot chair and buckled up. His hands flew rapidly over the massive control panel, years of experience and routine at work. Marik took his own seat next to him, smearing blood on everything he touched. Malik refrained from commenting; he needed all his concentration and focus for the launching procedure anyway. The cockpit came alive, lights flickered on, monitors showing data and galaxy maps, the silence overtaken by the familiar, increasing hum of the charging battery packs. Marik flipped switches and pressed buttons, preparing the ship for immediate launch. Malik checked the outer cameras. To his surprise, the docking platform was devoid of people - no one had come after them, which was weird. He had expected a whole army chasing them by now, especially after what had happened. He was punched on the shoulder and startled, he stared at Marik.
“What?”
“Pay attention, idiot!” Marik yelled at him. “They’re closing all exits and sealing off the docking platform! Open it!”
Malik muttered something extremely vulgar in his native language. He switched keyboards and abandoned the launching procedure, leaving that to Marik. To open the exits, he had to hack into the main computer of the research facility and reverse the commands… just as he started to type, Marik yelled again.
“What the fucking fuck!” Marik slammed the control panel. “What is this shit?”
“What are you talking about?” Malik didn’t see any warning lights flashing, but the ship didn’t move. Frantically, Marik checked the outer camera feed, but Malik was the first to notice.
“Six tower cranes are around us,” he said. “Their working arms are blocking us! We can’t move!”
“Fuck no!” Marik stabbed every button in sight. “Do you really think a few tons of steel is going to keep my ship from leaving?”
“What are you doing?”
“Rerouting the energy,” Marik said. “Ignite engines 3, 4, and 5 !”
“Jesus Marik, that’s overkill!” Malik exclaimed, a gut-wrenching fear almost paralyzing him. In all his years traveling with the other, not even Malik had seen the October at full capacity.
“Shut the fuck up! Get those exits open!”
Malik cowered a little in his chair, but Marik’s anger wasn’t directed at him, for once. The thought that someone was trying to keep his beloved October down infuriated Marik beyond control; combined with the crippling pain and the severe loss of blood, he was more insane than ever.
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“What the hell is he doing?” Kaiba couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I guess he’s trying to get away,” Otogi said, dumbfounded. “He’s firing up his engines as if there are no cranes around the ship, preventing him to leave the docking platform.”
“You’ve send for reinforcements?”
“Yes,” Otogi answered. “I expect them to arrive within…” A screeching noise interrupted him.
“What’s that?”
“Intruder alert,” Otogi said and rolled with his chair to a computer on another desk. He quickly assessed the situation.
“How? We saw no other ship arriving…”
“No, in the system.” He tapped the screen. “Here! Someone’s trying to hack the mainframe, and the signal’s coming from the October.”
“Of course they’ll try to open the exits! Stop them!” Kaiba snarled.
“I only got two hands!” Otogi pointed out.
“Fine. I’ll take over!” Kaiba pulled the seat next to him close and sat down. “Jounouchi, Honda, get your asses over to the docking platform!”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Jounouchi’s voice came through the headset, panting. “Honda! You’re injured, you stay back!”
“Are you crazy? It’s just a broken arm,” Honda said. “I’m taking the rest of team E with me!”
“How many?”
“Three of us,” Honda answered. “I’m moving out now!”
“Preposterous,” Kaiba said, but he wasn’t commenting on Honda. With morbid fascination, he watched the events unfold on the monitors. The October had fired up multiple engines and the huge ship trembled with the rapidly build-up power as it buckled against its restraints.
Otogi checked the data output from the facility’s mainframe computer. “He’s generating enough heat to melt the research labs!”
Kaiba didn’t hesitate and entered the verification code for a launching procedure. Otogi arched an eyebrow. The Blue Eyes was Kaiba’s personal vessel and held two people at the moment: his secretary, Rebecca Hopkins, and his younger brother, Mokuba.
“What about you?” Otogi asked, calmly. It was no secret that Kaiba would do anything to protect Mokuba, and for him to launch his ship, meant that he wanted him to be in safety… far away from Yllsen Volta V. Otogi wasn’t stupid. “If the October’s doing what I think it’s doing, you should get out of here as well.”
“Mokuba knows what to do in case of an emergency.” Kaiba seemed unfazed. He didn’t take his eyes off of the screens. The image feed was overexposed due to the gigantic energetic output of the ship. The cranes shook and rattled, but didn’t give way. Preposterous indeed. Kaiba laced his fingers and his lips curled up in a knowing smile. Reinforcements were on their way. They couldn’t escape. This was just the last ditch effort of someone who knew he was dying, and his despair was showing.
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“Sit down here, aibou,” Atemu said. His movements were far from gentle and he all but shoved Yuugi into a small cage-like contraption, with nothing but a hard, uncomfortable plastic seat. Yuugi, fully consciousness by now, started to panic.
“Mou hitori no boku! What’s going on?”
Atemu buckled Yuugi down, crossing the straps over his chest and clicking both ends together in his lap, fastening Yuugi tightly to his chair. He didn’t respond. “Stay with me!” Yuugi lifted up his arms. “Don’t leave me!”
“I will never leave you,” Atemu said and he kissed Yuugi on his forehead. “Forgive me, aibou.”
With wide eyes, Yuugi watched as Atemu stepped back and activated a force field, enveloping the cage. Yuugi screamed. “No! No!” He banged with his hands against the force field, but it didn’t budge.
“This will keep you safe.” Atemu looked slightly shaken and shuddered at the noises of the roaring engines of the October, blazing with violent fire. He didn’t know if he could make it back to the cockpit in time.
“Five engines,” Bakura said. He had just ‘secured’ Ryou in a similar fashion, stoically ignoring his screams.
“We better get back,” Atemu said and turned around to leave. The thief grabbed him by the arm.
“And surrender myself to the whims of that madman?”
Atemu looked at him, narrowing his red eyes. “If you give to me what you took from them, I will be your protector.”
“I can’t,” Bakura said in return. “It’s my trump card, and I will not give away the only advantage I have!”
“That is not my problem, Thief King,” Atemu said harshly. “You gambled, and you lost!”
“And you know all about that, now don’t you?”
With a rough shock, the ship pushed forward. The pull was so heavy that Atemu and Bakura tumbled in each other’s arms awkwardly and consequently fell to the floor.
“What’s going on? Why aren’t we leaving?” Bakura turned his head. Another pull made them slide over the floor and crashing into the wall.
“Bakura!” Ryou called out, even though it was the strangest thing in the world to yell his own surname.
“Mou hitori no boku!” Yuugi cried out. “Come back!”
Bakura grinned at Atemu, lying on top of him. “So you’ve got your little toy all hooked on you,” he said.
“Do not talk about him like that,” Atemu said. “Besides, your Other seems to care about you already too.”
“The fool.” Bakura snorted. He lowered his voice. “I was serious.”
“I am, too.” Atemu locked eyes with him. “If you give me what you took from them, Bakura, I will protect you. You have my word, as Pharaoh and Ruler of my new Kingdom.”
A screeching sound deafened everything around them. Yuugi and Ryou screamed and the ship groaned, pulling and bucking.
“Fuck!” Bakura cried out. “Take it! Take what you want!”
One of the tower cranes on the right buckled from the heat and sheer pressure from the engines. Jerking, the October jumped forward, only to be held back by the other five.
“I knew it!” Marik roared triumphantly. “Fucking steel! See, Malik?”
“There are still five more cranes,” Malik pointed out, “and I haven’t been able to open the exits! You can’t ram those!”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Marik threw back at him. “Kill all auxiliary power and systems not necessary for support!”
“Jesus Christ Marik, you’re going to kill the others!” Malik saw the meters jump into the red, the entire ship screeching. Another crane crumbled under the pressure and the October jolted again, but it still wasn’t free. “You’re overloading the systems!”
“Engage engine six!” Marik operated a control panel with nothing but red buttons. Malik wanted to cry. He was afraid and he didn’t even dare to think of the others, mostly Yuugi and Ryou. The October hurled, cried and screamed, wrestling against the restraints. The sheer pressure and output made the air pregnant with the increasing heat. Malik attempted again to reverse the commands for the facility’s exits. A lot of the October’s systems were down as Marik had rerouted almost all the energy to ignite the engines. The battery packs were overloading and the pressure on the ship itself had to inflict damage. Malik shivered. We’re going to blow ourselves up! An ominous glow called for his attention. He didn’t need the outer camera feed to realize what was going on.
“Marik! You’ve set the ship on fire!” He hollered as he saw huge flames dancing around the ship.
Marik snapped his head to the right.
“What?”
“The engines are on fire! We’re all going to die!”
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Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
This entry was originally posted at http://the-goldenpath.dreamwidth.org/60470.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pairings: implied YnMarik & YnBakura, YnMarik & Ryou, YnYuugi & YnBakura, established Jounouchi & Mai, Yuugi & Anzu, forthcoming YnMarik & YnBakura & YnYuugi
Warnings: foul language, violence, shounen ai
Genre: AU, sci-fi
Summary: They’re not from this world, and have lived through time, space and universes to fulfill their goals- the ones called Shadow Born, Thief King, and Pharaoh. With their own reasons and motives, what happens to the ones they inevitable drag into their lives?
Author’s notes: Everybody is around 18-20 of age, except YnMarik, YnBakura and YnYuugi. Gratuitous use of artistic license and a whole lot of made up crap. Feedback greatly appreciated. This chapter contains graphic violence!
Key: --------- = scene change
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“Fire!” Marik repeated as a glowing eye appeared on his forehead. He brought up his guns and pulled the triggers; the barrels both released bullets and laser rays, effectively killing the guards within seconds; their bodies dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Marik, no!” Ryou flailed his arms wildly, shocked and appalled. He tried to grab Marik’s arm, but he was pushed back, shoved aside as if he weighed nothing.
“Get back, Other Bakura!” Marik snarled at him, raising his guns again as Team B entered the room, finding themselves no match against his superior firepower.
“What the hell’s going on?” Kaiba yelled through the headset, almost piercing Honda’s ear drums.
“Team A and B are down!” Honda yelled in return. “I’m going in!”
“No! Stay where you are!” Otogi’s eyes rapidly scanned the camera feeds. “I can’t find Jounouchi! I lost sight of him! Come in, Jounouchi!”
“Amateurs!” Kaiba slammed his hand on the control panel. “Launch the EMETS, Honda! Now!” He shook Otogi’s shoulder. “Seal everything off! No one is going to leave here alive unless I say so!”
“Launching EMETS!” Honda’s thumb brushed the launch button and after another second, he pressed it. A powerful electrical surge activated the system and a hissing sound was the only warning before the electromagnetically trap was sprung. Piercing the sound barrier, the weapon disengaged and three rings of pure energy were flung through the air, missing Ryou and Malik by a hair’s breadth. The two fell to the floor, tumbling over one another. The EMETS was a sophisticated defense and control weapon that effortlessly sought out the biggest threat, its artificial intelligence targeting Marik due to him holding the guns. He didn’t have a single second to react, the absurd amount of electromagnetic energy traveling faster than the speed of light and attaching itself to his body. Due to its velocity and volume, the EMETS slammed him against the wall, trapping him in an electromagnetic field, a large ring around his neck, one around his torso and one around his right wrist.
“Marik!” Ryou called out, seeing how he was pinned to the wall. He tried to get up to help him, but Malik pulled him back down. Marik clawed at the ring around his neck, howling as the energetic heat burned his hand.
“One down,” Honda said, reading the results of the display. “I’m going in! Team C, follow me!”
“Be careful, for the love of every deity!” Otogi growled in frustration. Why wasn’t Jounouchi responding?
Honda led Team C into the large room and ordered the men to circle around Malik and Ryou. He didn’t expect them to provide any more nasty surprises, but it was better to secure them. Honda’s eyes immediately went to the growling, grunting other, pressed against the wall. He was amazed that he tried to break himself free; the EMETS was impossible to escape from, unless Honda gave the command. Team leader C raced at him, before Honda could hold him back.
“You killed my friends, motherfucker!”
“Get back!” Honda tried to grab the team leader, but Marik was faster. With his free hand, he batted the gun out of the inexperienced guard’s grasp and before the weapon hit the floor, he grabbed the man at the throat. Marik unleashed an inhuman roar as he brought up his other hand, the electromagnetic energy crackling from the sheer intensity. The guard started to scream as it burned his neck and face. Marik’s fingers sunk deeper into his skin, cutting off his air.
“Let him go!” Honda tugged at the man, but it was too late. A sickening crack, and Marik had snapped the man’s neck. Aghast, Honda let out a scream when the man’s head lolled to the side, his dead eyes staring at him. He let go of the man at the same moment Marik did, and the team leader sank to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Honda gaped at Marik. He had thought that he had been howling in pain, but now he understood differently: he was laughing in ecstasy and enjoying the pain. Honda aimed his gun straight at him, disturbed by the deranged smile of pure joy on Marik’s face and the obvious insanity in his eyes.
“You’re under arrest,” he said, as calm as he could muster himself to be. “Stop resisting and surrender!”
“Marik!” Ryou yelled. One of the guards reminded him to be silent.
“Is that your name?” Honda hissed. “Your name’s Marik? Well, Marik, surrender right now, or else..!” He was laughed at, and Honda realized to his horror that this man was totally, completely insane. He had to be in excruciating pain yet he was laughing, and still struggling against his restraints. Honda didn’t tremble and kept his gun pointed at Marik, but the other was fast. A vice-like grip was exerted on his right arm and Honda wavered just lightly. He swallowed as he understood that Marik had grabbed him, not even perturbed in the least that a powerful weapon was holding him down and a gun was aimed at him, straight between the eyes.
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Yuugi stared in front of him, eyes wide, totally oblivious as to what was going on. He wasn’t fazed by the darkness, slowly retreating now that all of the team members were dead. Atemu stepped forward and leaned into him, putting his hands on Yuugi’s shoulders.
“Aibou, it is over,” he said. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving,” Yuugi repeated, not even wondering about his temporary blackout. He rubbed his arm, whimpering lightly as he didn’t understand why it was painful to the touch. Bakura had finished dressing himself and the black trench coat swirled around him as he turned.
“Is it just you, Pharaoh?” he asked.
“No, the Ishtars are here as well.” Atemu showed a smirk as he helped Yuugi to his feet. “I know what you stole from them. Marik is not amused.”
“Aw, fuck.” Bakura clenched his fists, interrupted by twitches. “And when’s this going to stop?”
“When you get adjusted to your new synthfuser, moron,” Atemu said crudely. “How did you lose the one you got in the first place?”
“Mou hitori no boku,” Yuugi whispered, dazed and confused. Atemu wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer, making sure that his right hand touched Yuugi’s cheek, caressing his skin.
“Shh, aibou, it is all right. We are leaving.”
“Leaving, yes,” Yuugi repeated again. Ignoring the corpses, he leaned heavily on Atemu as he started to walk. Bakura traipsed after them.
Jounouchi was rooted to the spot. He just stood there, arm outstretched, gun in his hand… but not moving. He noticed everything around him, watching the darkness dissipate as if someone pulled a heavy blanket off of him. His body refused to obey him. His throat ran dry. The ‘twins’ were approaching him; the slightly taller one had to be the Pharaoh, with all the jewelry he was wearing and a glowing eye on his forehead. He had his arms around the smaller twin, who looked like he had been drugged. His eyes were so different, large and innocent, and his whole body language screamed insecurity and confusion. The only reason he was walking upright was because of his tight grip on the Pharaoh. Behind them, Bakura… fully dressed and back to his old self, as if he hadn’t been in a coma at all. He looked at Jounouchi, showing him a devilish grin. He stood still and flicked Jounouchi’s nose.
“Do I know you?” he asked, not bothering to hide his sarcasm.
“We have no time to play around, Bakura,” the Pharaoh said. He had walked past Jounouchi without one glance at the gun in his hand. “We are going to get the others and leave this place.”
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Honda grimaced. Marik’s grip was incredibly tight and he couldn’t break himself free.
“Let me go!” He commanded, voice loud. He considered shooting him; Marik wasn’t on the bounty list, just a common criminal as far as he knew. It was disturbing enough as it was; Marik grinned through the pain and looked like he was having the time of his life, instead of cringing in pain. The EMETS had been charged to maximum level. “I arrest you…”
“No, you don’t.” The glowing eye on Marik’s forehead radiated, distracting Honda for just a second, which was all that he needed. He twisted his grip and broke Honda’s arm. Crying out in shock and pain, Honda dropped his gun from his cramped hand. He squirmed. The EMETS was so close that he could feel the heat and Marik brought up his other wrist, with the full intention to burn him. Honda cringed in pain. He had to do something, fast! He quickly put the EMETS controller into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out his other gun.
“Too bad for you, I’m ambidextrous!” Without any hesitation, Honda shot him in the leg. He got a short moment of satisfaction of Marik yelling, but it was overruled by his own pain, his arm twisted and broken.
“Motherfucker!” He let him go so unexpectedly that Honda tumbled backwards, barely able to keep his balance.
“Keep them guarded!” Honda barked at the remaining members of team C. Just as he gave the orders for team D and E to come in, the doors went open. How was that possible? His jaw went slack. Team C looked from Malik and Ryou to Honda to the intruders and back again. Ryou’s eyes went wide when he saw the last person to enter. Undoubtedly, this was Bakura, his namesake… and he got scared by those harsh, dark brown eyes scanning the room, and immediately singling him out.
“You’re all under arrest!” Honda bellowed, but Malik dove forward and grabbed one of Marik’s guns. Team D and E entered the room from the other side and it all erupted in a cacophony of wild screams and people fighting, along with guns being fired. Honda yelled for everyone to stop, but he found himself smacked to the floor, landing exactly on top of his broken arm. He cried out in pain once more. He wanted to shoot, but due to the brawl, he couldn’t fire without hurting one of the guards. Honda couldn’t keep track of what was going on. Bakura moved around so fast, despite twitching every now and then, that he was hard to follow. He struck from the shadows, almost as if teleporting. The tallest one with the absurd hair stood there, not paying attention to the ruckus and mayhem around him. The similar glowing eye on his forehead shone brightly and two men fell down without another sound while he held the smaller one into a protective embrace.
“Get out of here!” Malik yelled. “Move, move, move!”
They all ran towards the door, even Marik, albeit limping. Honda’s mind was blown. How had Marik been able to remove the EMETS? Wincing, he rolled over on his side and saw the device lying disconnected on the floor. During the brawl, he had lost oversight and hadn’t noticed if someone had helped Marik or not. He slammed his fist on the floor.
“They’re going back to the dock!” He yelled into his headset. “Where the fuck is Jounouchi?”
“Here, here! I’ll be there right away!” Jounouchi’s voice sounded a bit off, but Honda was very relieved to hear him. “Status?”
“Man down,” he said, “I’ll live. You can’t say that of the others.”
“Fuck! Otogi?”
“I can confirm that they’re going back to the docks,” Otogi said. “I have them all nice on camera.” Kaiba growled in the background.
“Do tell me that their ship can’t leave!”
“I moved the tower cranes into position,” Otogi said.
“But..?”
“The October is so large, I doubt that the cranes can keep it ship from leaving. It’ll probably be nothing but a bump in the road for them.”
Kaiba hovered over Otogi’s shoulder again, his eyes glued to the screens. “Seal off the docking platform,” he said. “Engage all barricades and close every exit! They are NOT allowed to leave!”
Otogi’s fingers danced over the keyboard. “I’m closing everything down,” he said.
“Good! I’m in pursuit! Honda?”
“I’ll be there!” He tried to ignore the pain and forced himself to get up, gun still in his good hand. He wasn’t going to let this… band of criminals get away with it, and especially not Marik.
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The docking platform wasn’t supposed to be this far away, with every step agonizing and so confusing. Ryou wanted to scream ‘stop’, he wanted to ask what had happened and he wanted to just not exist anymore, the events overwhelming him. He felt like he was flung into a downwards spiral and he couldn’t make heads or tails out of it as he was spun upside down, tossed from left to right. The only thing he could do right now, was to support Marik, who managed to keep up a firm pace despite his injured leg. Blood soaked through the fabric of his pants and Ryou wanted to vomit from the sickening smell of burnt skin and flesh. He couldn’t imagine how painful it had to be, yet Marik was laughing and panting and grinning at the same time. Finally, they reached the docking platform and Malik entered quickly the code for the October to lower the ramp. The group made its way up, but as soon as they boarded the ship, Marik and Malik took a turn to the left, whereas Atemu and Bakura went to the right. Yuugi, regaining consciousness, noticed.
“Where are we going, mou hitori no boku?” he asked.
“To a safe place,” Atemu said and Bakura didn’t even offer an answer to Ryou, who he simply plucked away from Marik.
“What are you doing?” Ryou recognized the cargo area of the ship. He had no clue why Bakura was taking him here, of all places. Marik and Malik had gone straight to the cockpit, which seemed to be a more logical and safe place for all of them. Atemu unlocked a large, dark room and went inside with Yuugi. Bakura all but pushed Ryou to follow.
“What are you doing? Why are we here?” he asked.
“We have to keep you somewhere safe,” Bakura grunted in response. “They’re not going to allow us to leave without a fight.” He dragged Ryou with him, uncaring if he was hurting him or not.
Malik sat down in his pilot chair and buckled up. His hands flew rapidly over the massive control panel, years of experience and routine at work. Marik took his own seat next to him, smearing blood on everything he touched. Malik refrained from commenting; he needed all his concentration and focus for the launching procedure anyway. The cockpit came alive, lights flickered on, monitors showing data and galaxy maps, the silence overtaken by the familiar, increasing hum of the charging battery packs. Marik flipped switches and pressed buttons, preparing the ship for immediate launch. Malik checked the outer cameras. To his surprise, the docking platform was devoid of people - no one had come after them, which was weird. He had expected a whole army chasing them by now, especially after what had happened. He was punched on the shoulder and startled, he stared at Marik.
“What?”
“Pay attention, idiot!” Marik yelled at him. “They’re closing all exits and sealing off the docking platform! Open it!”
Malik muttered something extremely vulgar in his native language. He switched keyboards and abandoned the launching procedure, leaving that to Marik. To open the exits, he had to hack into the main computer of the research facility and reverse the commands… just as he started to type, Marik yelled again.
“What the fucking fuck!” Marik slammed the control panel. “What is this shit?”
“What are you talking about?” Malik didn’t see any warning lights flashing, but the ship didn’t move. Frantically, Marik checked the outer camera feed, but Malik was the first to notice.
“Six tower cranes are around us,” he said. “Their working arms are blocking us! We can’t move!”
“Fuck no!” Marik stabbed every button in sight. “Do you really think a few tons of steel is going to keep my ship from leaving?”
“What are you doing?”
“Rerouting the energy,” Marik said. “Ignite engines 3, 4, and 5 !”
“Jesus Marik, that’s overkill!” Malik exclaimed, a gut-wrenching fear almost paralyzing him. In all his years traveling with the other, not even Malik had seen the October at full capacity.
“Shut the fuck up! Get those exits open!”
Malik cowered a little in his chair, but Marik’s anger wasn’t directed at him, for once. The thought that someone was trying to keep his beloved October down infuriated Marik beyond control; combined with the crippling pain and the severe loss of blood, he was more insane than ever.
------------------------------------------
“What the hell is he doing?” Kaiba couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“I guess he’s trying to get away,” Otogi said, dumbfounded. “He’s firing up his engines as if there are no cranes around the ship, preventing him to leave the docking platform.”
“You’ve send for reinforcements?”
“Yes,” Otogi answered. “I expect them to arrive within…” A screeching noise interrupted him.
“What’s that?”
“Intruder alert,” Otogi said and rolled with his chair to a computer on another desk. He quickly assessed the situation.
“How? We saw no other ship arriving…”
“No, in the system.” He tapped the screen. “Here! Someone’s trying to hack the mainframe, and the signal’s coming from the October.”
“Of course they’ll try to open the exits! Stop them!” Kaiba snarled.
“I only got two hands!” Otogi pointed out.
“Fine. I’ll take over!” Kaiba pulled the seat next to him close and sat down. “Jounouchi, Honda, get your asses over to the docking platform!”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Jounouchi’s voice came through the headset, panting. “Honda! You’re injured, you stay back!”
“Are you crazy? It’s just a broken arm,” Honda said. “I’m taking the rest of team E with me!”
“How many?”
“Three of us,” Honda answered. “I’m moving out now!”
“Preposterous,” Kaiba said, but he wasn’t commenting on Honda. With morbid fascination, he watched the events unfold on the monitors. The October had fired up multiple engines and the huge ship trembled with the rapidly build-up power as it buckled against its restraints.
Otogi checked the data output from the facility’s mainframe computer. “He’s generating enough heat to melt the research labs!”
Kaiba didn’t hesitate and entered the verification code for a launching procedure. Otogi arched an eyebrow. The Blue Eyes was Kaiba’s personal vessel and held two people at the moment: his secretary, Rebecca Hopkins, and his younger brother, Mokuba.
“What about you?” Otogi asked, calmly. It was no secret that Kaiba would do anything to protect Mokuba, and for him to launch his ship, meant that he wanted him to be in safety… far away from Yllsen Volta V. Otogi wasn’t stupid. “If the October’s doing what I think it’s doing, you should get out of here as well.”
“Mokuba knows what to do in case of an emergency.” Kaiba seemed unfazed. He didn’t take his eyes off of the screens. The image feed was overexposed due to the gigantic energetic output of the ship. The cranes shook and rattled, but didn’t give way. Preposterous indeed. Kaiba laced his fingers and his lips curled up in a knowing smile. Reinforcements were on their way. They couldn’t escape. This was just the last ditch effort of someone who knew he was dying, and his despair was showing.
-----------------------------------------
“Sit down here, aibou,” Atemu said. His movements were far from gentle and he all but shoved Yuugi into a small cage-like contraption, with nothing but a hard, uncomfortable plastic seat. Yuugi, fully consciousness by now, started to panic.
“Mou hitori no boku! What’s going on?”
Atemu buckled Yuugi down, crossing the straps over his chest and clicking both ends together in his lap, fastening Yuugi tightly to his chair. He didn’t respond. “Stay with me!” Yuugi lifted up his arms. “Don’t leave me!”
“I will never leave you,” Atemu said and he kissed Yuugi on his forehead. “Forgive me, aibou.”
With wide eyes, Yuugi watched as Atemu stepped back and activated a force field, enveloping the cage. Yuugi screamed. “No! No!” He banged with his hands against the force field, but it didn’t budge.
“This will keep you safe.” Atemu looked slightly shaken and shuddered at the noises of the roaring engines of the October, blazing with violent fire. He didn’t know if he could make it back to the cockpit in time.
“Five engines,” Bakura said. He had just ‘secured’ Ryou in a similar fashion, stoically ignoring his screams.
“We better get back,” Atemu said and turned around to leave. The thief grabbed him by the arm.
“And surrender myself to the whims of that madman?”
Atemu looked at him, narrowing his red eyes. “If you give to me what you took from them, I will be your protector.”
“I can’t,” Bakura said in return. “It’s my trump card, and I will not give away the only advantage I have!”
“That is not my problem, Thief King,” Atemu said harshly. “You gambled, and you lost!”
“And you know all about that, now don’t you?”
With a rough shock, the ship pushed forward. The pull was so heavy that Atemu and Bakura tumbled in each other’s arms awkwardly and consequently fell to the floor.
“What’s going on? Why aren’t we leaving?” Bakura turned his head. Another pull made them slide over the floor and crashing into the wall.
“Bakura!” Ryou called out, even though it was the strangest thing in the world to yell his own surname.
“Mou hitori no boku!” Yuugi cried out. “Come back!”
Bakura grinned at Atemu, lying on top of him. “So you’ve got your little toy all hooked on you,” he said.
“Do not talk about him like that,” Atemu said. “Besides, your Other seems to care about you already too.”
“The fool.” Bakura snorted. He lowered his voice. “I was serious.”
“I am, too.” Atemu locked eyes with him. “If you give me what you took from them, Bakura, I will protect you. You have my word, as Pharaoh and Ruler of my new Kingdom.”
A screeching sound deafened everything around them. Yuugi and Ryou screamed and the ship groaned, pulling and bucking.
“Fuck!” Bakura cried out. “Take it! Take what you want!”
One of the tower cranes on the right buckled from the heat and sheer pressure from the engines. Jerking, the October jumped forward, only to be held back by the other five.
“I knew it!” Marik roared triumphantly. “Fucking steel! See, Malik?”
“There are still five more cranes,” Malik pointed out, “and I haven’t been able to open the exits! You can’t ram those!”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Marik threw back at him. “Kill all auxiliary power and systems not necessary for support!”
“Jesus Christ Marik, you’re going to kill the others!” Malik saw the meters jump into the red, the entire ship screeching. Another crane crumbled under the pressure and the October jolted again, but it still wasn’t free. “You’re overloading the systems!”
“Engage engine six!” Marik operated a control panel with nothing but red buttons. Malik wanted to cry. He was afraid and he didn’t even dare to think of the others, mostly Yuugi and Ryou. The October hurled, cried and screamed, wrestling against the restraints. The sheer pressure and output made the air pregnant with the increasing heat. Malik attempted again to reverse the commands for the facility’s exits. A lot of the October’s systems were down as Marik had rerouted almost all the energy to ignite the engines. The battery packs were overloading and the pressure on the ship itself had to inflict damage. Malik shivered. We’re going to blow ourselves up! An ominous glow called for his attention. He didn’t need the outer camera feed to realize what was going on.
“Marik! You’ve set the ship on fire!” He hollered as he saw huge flames dancing around the ship.
Marik snapped his head to the right.
“What?”
“The engines are on fire! We’re all going to die!”
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