Yu-Gi-Oh!, October, part 22
Title: October
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pairings: implied Yami no Marik & Yami no Bakura, Yami no Marik & Ryou, Yami no Yuugi & Yami no Bakura, established Jounouchi & Mai, Yuugi & Anzu, forthcoming Yami no Marik & Yami no Bakura & Yami no Yuugi
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 Yami no Marik, Yami no Bakura and Yami no Yuugi. Gratuitous use of artistic license and a whole lot of made up crap. Feedback greatly appreciated.
Key: --------- = scene change
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“Honda!” Jounouchi wanted to grab him at the shoulder, but decided against it as he saw his dangling arm. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“It’s nothing,” Honda dismissed the question. “How about you?”
“I nearly avoided my death.” Jounouchi took a deep breath. “Innocent people are involved in this, Honda.”
“Not all of them,” his teammate growled. “He snapped my arm like a twig!” Jounouchi didn’t need to ask who he was talking about.
“Jounouchi, Honda, don’t enter the docking platform,” Kaiba’s voice came through the headset, “There’s a fire!”
“What?” Jounouchi was more concerned about his Time Wizard being close to the fire than the October actually being on fire. “What happened?”
“Ishtar’s trying to break free from the tower cranes and has build up enough heat and power to destroy a couple of them,” Kaiba answered. “I guess he has overloaded his systems; from here, it looks like the engines are on fire!”
“What about the fire extinguishing system? Kaiba?” Jounouchi tapped his headset. Every spaceport was obliged to have at least a sprinkler system. “Otogi?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Otogi said.
“Activate the fire extinguishing system!”
“I can’t, Jounouchi! We rerouted the electricity to launch the EMETS and I can’t get the system back online,” Otogi said. “I… what the hell?”
“What? What’s happening? Otogi? Otogi!” Jounouchi couldn’t hear Otogi’s reply, if he was replying at all, and he broke out in a jog to reach the docks. Honda was behind him, followed by the rest of team E, only to halt and bump into each other as Jounouchi came to a standstill. “Fucking son of a bitch…” It was out of his mouth before he realized it. He stared at the October, the large cargo ship enveloped with searing, roaring flames, the air thick and unbreathable… but it wasn’t the fire and the flames themselves he was looking at. In a grotesque display of overwhelming power and force, the inferno had taken a bizarre shape, leaving everybody gawking and gaping.
“What the hell is this…?” Jounouchi’s eyes were as wide as saucers. The shape enveloping the October resembled some kind of bird-monster, a gryphon with huge wings, ablaze and… angry. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time and it tilted its head back, opening its beak. Fascinated, Jounouchi watched as a sphere started to form, while the ground shook and rumbled and debris from the crumbling research facility started to fall.
Otogi couldn’t believe his eyes. Monitor after monitor broke down, only showing static, and he knew it would be futile to try to restore the feed. He looked to his right, to Kaiba who stared at the remaining monitor, paling even further. “Kaiba, are you all right?”
The CEO’s voice was nothing but a whisper. “Pharaoh has called for God,” he said, his eyes on the sphere between the burning jaws of the gryphon-bird-beast. “It’s the Sun of God Dragon… Ra!”
“What are you talking about?” Otogi was stupefied. Dragon? He couldn’t exactly describe what he was seeing, but to call it a dragon… Otogi didn’t have time to think about it. His entire environment shook and equipment clattered on the floor.
“Otogi! Otogi!”
He scrambled to put his headset back into position. “Y-yeah, Jounouchi?”
“There’s still an escape pod, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, at the back of the facility…”
“Take Kaiba and get out,” Jounouchi said. “Get the fuck out of here!”
“But…”
“I’m not leaving!” Kaiba snarled.
“Do it!” Jounouchi ordered him. “Abandon your post! Take Kaiba with you, Otogi. Now goddamnit, now!” He winced as his vision was blurred by the smoldering air, and he coughed. He couldn’t see the Time Wizard as his view was blocked by the burning October.
“What are we supposed to do?” Honda yelled in his ear.
“We have to try to get to the Time Wizard!” Jounouchi yelled back.
“Are you nuts? We’ll get fried!”
“We have to try, or we’ll go down with the planet!”
The two survivors of Team E tugged at Jounouchi’s elbow. “Help us! There are no more ships left! We can’t leave!”
Jounouchi didn’t need to debate with Honda about the fate of the other two men. The Time Wizard was equipped for three people only, but neither Jounouchi nor Honda would consider leaving someone behind, not even for a second. Besides, they had broken all the rules and regulations earlier by transporting Bakura as a fourth person.
“On three,” Jounouchi said. Honda nodded, grimacing. “One… two… three!” They sprinted towards the Time Wizard, holding their breath. The intense heat was so overwhelming that Jounouchi feared that the lesser experienced guards would buckle under the sheer pressure. They had to run along the side of the crumbling building, as the huge engines of the October would burn them to a crisp if they passed too close. Jounouchi lost his footing and would’ve fallen if Honda hadn’t grabbed him at the scruff of his neck, keeping him upright. A loud screech pierced the air; shivers went down Jounouchi’s spine. The right… wing of the strange monster-bird-gryphon was large enough to cover the Time Wizard; its hull was glowing red.
“Move, move!” Jounouchi opened the entrance hatch to allow everyone to get in. He heard Honda yelling an unfamiliar, loud expletive; the ship was turning into a pressure cooker due to the heat generated by the October. Jounouchi closed the hatch and ran towards the cockpit, throwing himself into his seat.
“Buckle up and hold on to your hats!”
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Malik’s hands rested on the keyboard. He had stopped typing; it didn’t matter any more. Even Marik was quiet, as if they both had to fully realize what was going on. The flames surrounding the ship turned a strange, golden color. Malik looked at his golden bracers; it was the same color. He wasn’t afraid at all. This wasn’t a ‘normal’ fire. What the outer cameras showed him was an image of something that he knew and recognized, even though he had never seen it before.
“It’s beautiful,” he said out of nowhere.
“It’s ours,” Marik said. He sunk his fingers harshly into Malik’s shoulders, forcing him to look to the right, to the outer camera feed. “This is what belongs to our tribe, this is what we live for!”
Malik shivered violently. Despite the heat, the blood in his body turned cold. “He’s saving us,” he said.
“The Pharaoh has no right to control him,” Marik hissed. He let go of Malik and slumped into his chair. “Ra is ours… it has always belonged to us!”
“It’s a God,” Malik said. He didn’t know whether to be impressed with the Pharaoh summoning the God or to be extremely pissed off. Judging from Marik’s facial expression, he didn’t have the same predicament. Utter hatred and anger flashed in his eyes, narrowed and squinted, his lips drawn up in a snarling growl, veins visible all over his forehead. He moved his hand to the right to call up another control panel, with just one, red button.
“What are you doing? What’s that?” Malik asked, not liking the ominous single button. His words were drowned out by Ra, unleashing its attack; a massive beam of pure, concentrated energy that obliterated everything in its path. The exit of the spaceport was disintegrated, unable to withstand Ra’s destructive power. Marik balled his fist and smashed the button. “Fuck you, Pharaoh!” All eight engines engaged to full capacity and burned out the remaining tower cranes. Metal melted, metal screeched, it cried and screamed, but it was simply overkill. The emitted power of the engines created a row of explosions as the October finally was freed from its restraints and the ship jumped forward. As Ra disappeared, the ship looked like it was really on fire; the overheating engines used up so much power that they turned a dangerously glowing red. The full force of the blazing engines fed the continuous explosions and the research facility went down, the building collapsing. Glass shattered, debris flew around, the docking platforms broke off; a cataclysm of annihilation and destruction in a scorching climax as Yllsen Volta V started to fall apart.
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Jounouchi barely had enough time to buckle himself up as the explosions rattled and shook the Time Wizard.
“We’re never going to make it!” Honda wrestled with the buckle as he could only use one arm. Jounouchi swallowed heavily to avoid throwing up. One of the two surviving members of Team E had taken Otogi’s seat, the other was using his own belt as a makeshift restraint.
“Fucking shit,” Jounouchi said as the Time Wizard started to roll. “We’re in its fucking slipstream!”
“Jounouchi! Watch out!”
He was just in time to see the October leap forward and with its build-up momentum, it dragged everything along with it in its path. With excessive force, the Time Wizard was broken free from the docking platform that collapsed soon after; the debris hit the ship, denting it like a paper cup. The Time Wizard refused to respond properly, its system overloaded by the heat generated from the October and no matter what he tried, Jounouchi couldn’t stabilize the ship. They got sucked into the traction of the much larger October.
“Fuck!”
“Let it go!” Honda screamed. The two guards were screaming as well, fearing for their lives. There was nothing they could do, nothing that anyone could do. They were totally mauled by forces much greater than their own; Jounouchi stared in front of him until someone grabbed his hand. It was Honda and he returned the gesture, squeezing firmly. At least he wasn’t going to die alone, he thought. Calmness claimed him. This was it. Too bad he wasn’t able to say goodbye to Mai or Shizuka. He would’ve loved to see the both of them one more time. Fortunately, he had taken care of things a long time ago; after his death, both women would be notified and receive a substantial amount of money, so they would be well off. That was the least he could do. A faint smile tugged at his lips. So be it. Every warning signal was flashing, blinking or screeching “Impact, impact!” all over, and he didn’t even hear it. The Time Wizard was hit by the massive cargo freighter and the impact sent the smaller ship spiraling, completely out of control. Tremendous pain seared through his body. Perhaps he was yelling, or Honda, or the two guards, but did it really matter anymore? He wasn’t panicking, the strange calmness allowing him to somehow leave his body and stand outside of it all, outside of space, time and reality as Yllsen Volta V collapsed and pulverized by another, final explosion. Jounouchi wondered if Kaiba and Otogi had made it out okay. It was his last thought as the entire world went black.
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“Mou hitori no boku! Mou hitori no boku!” Yuugi slammed his fists against the force field, frustrated. He was as safe as he could be, but Atemu had been shoved from left to right like a lifeless doll, the ship rocking and unable to find a stable course. Bakura held a firm grip on the Pharaoh, who had his hand in the other’s black coat. Yuugi didn’t understand what was going on and he was afraid Atemu was hurt. He continued banging against the force field and he could hear Ryou doing the same. All of the sudden, the force field flickered. Yuugi was so frantic and upset that he couldn’t think of anything else but to keep banging his fists. Bakura tilted his head a little, showing Yuugi a smirk. Atemu lied on top of him and Bakura made an infuriating gesture of trailing through the other’s hair.
“Don’t touch him! Stay away from him!” Yuugi yelled. The October rolled again and the force field short-circuited. Yuugi unbuckled himself and got up, immediately falling forward due to the ship’s instability. He scrambled to get back up on his feet and veered to the left in an attempt to keep his balance. Wobbling and flailing, he made his way over towards Bakura and Atemu, wedged between two large, metal crates. Yuugi ignored Bakura and grabbed the Pharaoh at the shoulders to turn him over. He was unresponsive. “Mou hitori no boku!”
Atemu’s hand slipped from Bakura’s coat, holding something between his fingers. Yuugi recognized it immediately, but his concern for Atemu’s well-being was greater than paying attention to the object. Bakura supported himself on his elbow and used his other hand to pull the card from between Atemu’s fingers. He didn’t put it back in his own coat; he moved to the holster attached to Atemu’s belt and opened it. He stuck the card inside. Yuugi didn’t know why, but he was eaten alive by jealousy as he watched how Bakura obviously was familiar with doing this and confronted with his smug smirk, he all but batted Bakura’s arm away.
“Mou hitori no boku,” Yuugi said, brushing a few golden bangs away from the Pharaoh’s face. “Say something!”
Ryou had taken more time to reach the others, relieved that at least the worse shaking and rolling had worn off. He reached out his hand. Bakura snorted but took it and he allowed himself to be pulled up from the floor.
“We better get him to his room, so he can rest,” he said.
“What just happened? Why is he unconscious?” Ryou asked.
“You didn’t see it,” Bakura said. “You didn’t feel it. Once you’ll learn, you’ll know what happened. Come.”
He took Atemu’s arm and put it around his shoulder. Ryou was quick on the uptake and took Atemu’s other arm. Together, they held the Pharaoh up. Mockingly, Bakura said to Yuugi: “You can take care of him soon enough, little one. But you’re too small to carry him.”
If Ryou didn’t know any better, he thought he could hear the other growl.
--------------------------------------------
“We’re losing power fast,” Malik said. Half of the control panel had died, the majority of the systems short-circuited, overloaded or broken down. He wondered how Marik was holding up. Blood had soaked through his clothes and was dripping from his chair, pooling on the floor. “Marik?”
“What’s the closest planet?” he asked.
Malik called up the galaxy map. He was looking for a tag-free planet; they had to lay low after everything that had happened. “Ibistapola. That is, if we can make it.”
“Good. Plot the course,” Marik said. “Engines 1-4 are burned out. We’re running on pure reserve right now.”
“We wouldn’t have survived without the Pharaoh,” Malik said and he could taste the bitterness in his own words.
“We are not defeated!” Marik got up from his chair, balling his fist. “The Pharaoh is neither immortal nor invincible. We’ll get back what belongs to us.” He pursed his lips. “Get us to Ibistapola. I have some… maintenance to do.”
“Sit your ass down, Marik,” Malik said and to his own surprise, Marik obeyed him for once. He sunk back into his chair, obviously weakened. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was hard to ignore the pooling blood under his chair. Malik wasn’t sure what to do. The ship had to be manually controlled as the autopilot system was down, and he couldn’t leave his own seat. Malik figured that the others would find their way to the cockpit sooner or later. He took a deep breath. They were going to make it. They had to make it, or everything was lost.
Yuugi didn’t show how disturbed he was with the way Bakura knew his way around on the October. Without fail, he guided them to the Ancient Egyptian-themed room and he gently laid Atemu down on the bed. When he moved to take off the Pharaoh’s shoes, Yuugi stopped him.
“I’ll take care of him,” he said. Bakura put his hands up in defense, obviously amused.
“I’ll leave our exalted Pharaoh into your care, then.”
“Is everything some kind of sick joke to you?” Yuugi asked.
Bakura shook his head. “I lost my upper hand and my safety to him,” he said. “I just paid a price that’s probably going to cost me my life. So no, not everything is some kind of sick joke to me.”
Yuugi blushed furiously and bowed his head in embarrassment. Bakura turned around to leave.
“I don’t blame you though, Other Yuugi. I’m a mere thief, born in poverty and struggling to survive from the very day I was born. I don’t have fine manners or a pleasant disposition to manipulate you with. I’d say that you should be careful, but I have the feeling that you’re too far gone already. You’ll come with me.”
The last words were meant for Ryou and dumbfounded, he followed Bakura, after one last look on Yuugi. He didn’t notice it as he was busying himself with taking off Atemu’s shoes. The door slid open and close and Yuugi was alone. He moved his hand up to Atemu’s holster and opened it. Sneakily peeking if Atemu hadn’t opened his eyes yet, very carefully, Yuugi pulled out a deck of cards. As owner of a Game Shop, he knew exactly what it was: a complete deck of Duel Monsters cards. He shuffled through them, infallibly picking out the he picked out Osiris, the Sky of God Dragon, and Ra, the Sun of God Dragon. His fingers caressed the cards, knowing the value of the divine beasts. He put the cards back where he found them and continued to undress Atemu, so he could tuck him in. Yuugi worked diligently and in no time, he had the Pharaoh under the covers. He gently brushed his hair and marveled about his youthful appearance, now that his piercing red eyes were closed and all his features relaxed.
“I don’t know what happened or who you are,” Yuugi whispered, “but I’ll find out, mou hitori no boku. That’s my promise to you.”
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“Jounouchi. Jounouchi!”
He opened his eyes and grunted; consciousness rushed back to him, as well as intense pain. His left leg… the entire left side of his body, it hurt so badly. “Honda?”
“Yeah, I’m right here.”
Jounouchi took in a deep breath. His head hadn’t exploded, so there was still pressure. It was very dark, though. “What…”
“We made it, somehow,” Honda said. His disembodied voice sounded raspy. “I’m not sure… how are you feeling? Are you all right?”
“Can’t feel my leg,” Jounouchi said. “Left side… my back… I think I broke every bone in my body.”
“I activated the distress signal.” A rustle of fabric. “Hopefully they’ll pick us up soon.”
“I love your optimism,” Jounouchi said, without sarcasm. Yllsen Volta V had been located in a backwater system, far away from any commercial or logistic route. Nobody would be in a hurry to respond to the signal. Honda moved.
“You feel this?”
“Yeah.” Jounouchi grinned. “Are you telling me we’re still holding hands?”
Honda wasn’t embarrassed at all. They both thought they were going to die. “The ship’s in a seriously bad condition.”
“Scrap metal.” Jounouchi heaved a sigh. His Time Wizard! If he ever got his hands on Malik Ishtar and his ‘friend’… Silence. Jounouchi had no idea how much or how little time passed. The air support system was working and he patted himself mentally on the back for not attaching it to the main system, which now had been crushed. Pressure and air control were the only things keeping them alive right now… but they were both injured and he wasn’t looking forward to dying slowly. In the background, he heard a mechanic, gurgling sound; if the air support system was on its last legs, they would suffocate. He licked his lips.
“What about the others?”
A moment of silence. “I don’t think they made it. I can’t hear them.”
Jounouchi shivered. Apart from the gurgling sound and his and Honda’s breathing, it was silent as a grave… he shivered once more. “Jesus Christ.”
More silence. Jounouchi didn’t move, hissing every now and then as the pain became too intense.
“Hey, Honda…”
“Yeah?”
“Back at the facility…” Jounouchi had to force himself to speak, having trouble to form the sentences correctly. Was the air support already giving out on them? “I went to the infirmary, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Good, rock-solid Honda.
“I saw those ‘twins’,” Jounouchi said. “And... I couldn’t move, man. I was frozen to the spot.”
“It happens,” Honda said. “I’ve been there before.”
“But I wasn’t,” Jounouchi said. “Frozen, I mean. I don’t know how to explain it. I know what it’s like to be frozen on the spot. I’m telling you man, something held me rooted to that spot.”
“If you say so,” Honda said, without sounding sarcastic or mocking him. They both had gone through quite the dire situations and they never judged each other.
“They had managed to break Bakura out of that stupor of his,” Jounouchi said.
“What?”
“Yeah, I know. He walked out of the sick bay and grinned at me, the son of a bitch. Like “Watch me leave, you asshole”. And I couldn’t move.”
“These… whatever these people are, they have powers of an otherworld kind,” Honda said, pensively. “That giant flame bird thing… the guy called Marik, who managed to take the EMETS off and laughing at me while I shot him right through the leg.”
“Marik, huh? I couldn’t catch any names of the others.” Jounouchi racked his brain. “Bakura called one of them Pharaoh, probably the one with the large earrings. The shorter one was completely innocent.”
“Innocent? How do you know?”
Jounouchi paused for a moment. “The way he behaved. Sedated, as if in shock. He certainly wasn’t reacting normal to everything around him.”
“It’s not of our concern,” Honda said. “And if we aren’t picked up by a rescue and salvaging unit, it doesn’t matter at all.”
“Yeah. Do you think Kaiba and Otogi made it?”
“I’m sure they have. Especially if he left immediately after you told him to.”
“The rest got killed,” Jounouchi said. “The guards… all dead, and the entire facility and planet blown.”
“They destroyed everything to just get away,” Honda said. “Who are they? I doubt it’s about Malik Ishtar anymore.”
“I agree. We-” A loud bump rocked the ship. Jounouchi shot up straight in his chair, ignoring his injuries. “What’s this?”
Another loud bump and Honda yelled out: “Look! Lights! Over there!”
“Holy shit! We’ve been found!” Jounouchi had never been so relieved before. For good measure, he tried to contact the rescue and salvaging unit, but the entire communication system was dead… and judging from the gurgling sounds, the air support would probably break down any second. The third bump shook the Time Wizard again as the tether lines were attached.
“Thank every deity,” Honda heaved a sigh of relief. He let go of Jounouchi’s hand.
“Hey! Did I tell you to let go?”
“No,” Honda’s grin wasn’t visible but Jounouchi could just hear it in his voice, “before we get too comfortable and other people would get any weird ideas…”
“Party pooper,” Jounouchi said, but he shared Honda’s grin. He was very grateful to his friend, and if it had truly been their last hour, he would’ve felt privileged to spend it with Honda. He could forget about the pain. He could try to forget this horrible experience. He was still alive.
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The door to the cockpit slid open. Malik turned around, narrowing his eyes as he saw who entered. “Bakura,” he said disdainfully, only to react more pleased when he saw Ryou. “You made it!”
“A bit shaken,” Ryou answered. His eyes went to Marik, slumped over the control panel. He had expected him to immediately go for Bakura, just like he had done on Vertregg 12. It didn’t take long for him to smell and see the blood. “Marik!”
Bakura stepped to the side as Ryou rushed over to Marik. “Looks like we’re all in pretty good shape, except for him,” he said tonelessly.
“The Pharaoh and his Other?”
“You don’t need to worry about them. Where are we going to?”
“Ibistapola,” Malik answered and noticed how he was clenching his fists.
“We should go to Wremmoor instead. My ship’s still there.”
“You have nothing to say in all of this, Bakura.” Malik snarled at him. “Give it back!”
“All in due time,” Bakura said, baring a tired grin. “Would you believe me if I said I don’t have it anymore?”
“You…”
“Leave him,” Marik said.
“What? You’re the one who couldn’t wait to kill him!”
“He’ll be dead at my hands, yes,” Marik showed a scary grimace, “but not now. Keep the ship on its course.”
“Stop talking,” Ryou said. “You need medical attention, right now. Can you get up? We have to get you to the sick bay. Where is it?”
“All the systems are down,” Malik said. “There’s not much you can do for him.”
“You have a first aid kit, remember? All I need is gauze, bandages and something to clean the wound with.”
“Suit yourself.” Bakura took the empty seat next to Malik. “I’m going to keep you company.”
“Great,” Malik said. Ryou didn’t pay attention to them and helped Marik to his feet. They stumbled out of the cockpit; Bakura watched their retreating backs.
“Why do I always get a weak-hearted Other?” he grunted. “For once, I wished my Other had balls and a spine.”
“All of your Others are stronger than you are,” Malik spat at him. “You’re a thief and nothing more!”
“A thief who outsmarted you,” Bakura reminded him.
“I don’t care. You’re dead.”
“I know, I know.” Bakura crossed his arms in front of his chest and twitched once more. “Fuck! I thought it was over by now.”
“It’ll take at least a day to get used to your new synthfuser,” Malik said. “Be glad you got a new one.”
“Yeah yeah, my eternal gratitude and all that shit,” Bakura huffed. Malik didn’t answer and focused on the large control panel. It was going to take them at least four more hours to reach Ibistapola, as the damaged ship continued its way on its last reserves.
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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 | 21 |
This entry was originally posted at http://the-goldenpath.dreamwidth.org/61652.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pairings: implied Yami no Marik & Yami no Bakura, Yami no Marik & Ryou, Yami no Yuugi & Yami no Bakura, established Jounouchi & Mai, Yuugi & Anzu, forthcoming Yami no Marik & Yami no Bakura & Yami no Yuugi
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 Yami no Marik, Yami no Bakura and Yami no Yuugi. Gratuitous use of artistic license and a whole lot of made up crap. Feedback greatly appreciated.
Key: --------- = scene change
----------------------------
“Honda!” Jounouchi wanted to grab him at the shoulder, but decided against it as he saw his dangling arm. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“It’s nothing,” Honda dismissed the question. “How about you?”
“I nearly avoided my death.” Jounouchi took a deep breath. “Innocent people are involved in this, Honda.”
“Not all of them,” his teammate growled. “He snapped my arm like a twig!” Jounouchi didn’t need to ask who he was talking about.
“Jounouchi, Honda, don’t enter the docking platform,” Kaiba’s voice came through the headset, “There’s a fire!”
“What?” Jounouchi was more concerned about his Time Wizard being close to the fire than the October actually being on fire. “What happened?”
“Ishtar’s trying to break free from the tower cranes and has build up enough heat and power to destroy a couple of them,” Kaiba answered. “I guess he has overloaded his systems; from here, it looks like the engines are on fire!”
“What about the fire extinguishing system? Kaiba?” Jounouchi tapped his headset. Every spaceport was obliged to have at least a sprinkler system. “Otogi?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” Otogi said.
“Activate the fire extinguishing system!”
“I can’t, Jounouchi! We rerouted the electricity to launch the EMETS and I can’t get the system back online,” Otogi said. “I… what the hell?”
“What? What’s happening? Otogi? Otogi!” Jounouchi couldn’t hear Otogi’s reply, if he was replying at all, and he broke out in a jog to reach the docks. Honda was behind him, followed by the rest of team E, only to halt and bump into each other as Jounouchi came to a standstill. “Fucking son of a bitch…” It was out of his mouth before he realized it. He stared at the October, the large cargo ship enveloped with searing, roaring flames, the air thick and unbreathable… but it wasn’t the fire and the flames themselves he was looking at. In a grotesque display of overwhelming power and force, the inferno had taken a bizarre shape, leaving everybody gawking and gaping.
“What the hell is this…?” Jounouchi’s eyes were as wide as saucers. The shape enveloping the October resembled some kind of bird-monster, a gryphon with huge wings, ablaze and… angry. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time and it tilted its head back, opening its beak. Fascinated, Jounouchi watched as a sphere started to form, while the ground shook and rumbled and debris from the crumbling research facility started to fall.
Otogi couldn’t believe his eyes. Monitor after monitor broke down, only showing static, and he knew it would be futile to try to restore the feed. He looked to his right, to Kaiba who stared at the remaining monitor, paling even further. “Kaiba, are you all right?”
The CEO’s voice was nothing but a whisper. “Pharaoh has called for God,” he said, his eyes on the sphere between the burning jaws of the gryphon-bird-beast. “It’s the Sun of God Dragon… Ra!”
“What are you talking about?” Otogi was stupefied. Dragon? He couldn’t exactly describe what he was seeing, but to call it a dragon… Otogi didn’t have time to think about it. His entire environment shook and equipment clattered on the floor.
“Otogi! Otogi!”
He scrambled to put his headset back into position. “Y-yeah, Jounouchi?”
“There’s still an escape pod, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, at the back of the facility…”
“Take Kaiba and get out,” Jounouchi said. “Get the fuck out of here!”
“But…”
“I’m not leaving!” Kaiba snarled.
“Do it!” Jounouchi ordered him. “Abandon your post! Take Kaiba with you, Otogi. Now goddamnit, now!” He winced as his vision was blurred by the smoldering air, and he coughed. He couldn’t see the Time Wizard as his view was blocked by the burning October.
“What are we supposed to do?” Honda yelled in his ear.
“We have to try to get to the Time Wizard!” Jounouchi yelled back.
“Are you nuts? We’ll get fried!”
“We have to try, or we’ll go down with the planet!”
The two survivors of Team E tugged at Jounouchi’s elbow. “Help us! There are no more ships left! We can’t leave!”
Jounouchi didn’t need to debate with Honda about the fate of the other two men. The Time Wizard was equipped for three people only, but neither Jounouchi nor Honda would consider leaving someone behind, not even for a second. Besides, they had broken all the rules and regulations earlier by transporting Bakura as a fourth person.
“On three,” Jounouchi said. Honda nodded, grimacing. “One… two… three!” They sprinted towards the Time Wizard, holding their breath. The intense heat was so overwhelming that Jounouchi feared that the lesser experienced guards would buckle under the sheer pressure. They had to run along the side of the crumbling building, as the huge engines of the October would burn them to a crisp if they passed too close. Jounouchi lost his footing and would’ve fallen if Honda hadn’t grabbed him at the scruff of his neck, keeping him upright. A loud screech pierced the air; shivers went down Jounouchi’s spine. The right… wing of the strange monster-bird-gryphon was large enough to cover the Time Wizard; its hull was glowing red.
“Move, move!” Jounouchi opened the entrance hatch to allow everyone to get in. He heard Honda yelling an unfamiliar, loud expletive; the ship was turning into a pressure cooker due to the heat generated by the October. Jounouchi closed the hatch and ran towards the cockpit, throwing himself into his seat.
“Buckle up and hold on to your hats!”
-------------------------------------------------
Malik’s hands rested on the keyboard. He had stopped typing; it didn’t matter any more. Even Marik was quiet, as if they both had to fully realize what was going on. The flames surrounding the ship turned a strange, golden color. Malik looked at his golden bracers; it was the same color. He wasn’t afraid at all. This wasn’t a ‘normal’ fire. What the outer cameras showed him was an image of something that he knew and recognized, even though he had never seen it before.
“It’s beautiful,” he said out of nowhere.
“It’s ours,” Marik said. He sunk his fingers harshly into Malik’s shoulders, forcing him to look to the right, to the outer camera feed. “This is what belongs to our tribe, this is what we live for!”
Malik shivered violently. Despite the heat, the blood in his body turned cold. “He’s saving us,” he said.
“The Pharaoh has no right to control him,” Marik hissed. He let go of Malik and slumped into his chair. “Ra is ours… it has always belonged to us!”
“It’s a God,” Malik said. He didn’t know whether to be impressed with the Pharaoh summoning the God or to be extremely pissed off. Judging from Marik’s facial expression, he didn’t have the same predicament. Utter hatred and anger flashed in his eyes, narrowed and squinted, his lips drawn up in a snarling growl, veins visible all over his forehead. He moved his hand to the right to call up another control panel, with just one, red button.
“What are you doing? What’s that?” Malik asked, not liking the ominous single button. His words were drowned out by Ra, unleashing its attack; a massive beam of pure, concentrated energy that obliterated everything in its path. The exit of the spaceport was disintegrated, unable to withstand Ra’s destructive power. Marik balled his fist and smashed the button. “Fuck you, Pharaoh!” All eight engines engaged to full capacity and burned out the remaining tower cranes. Metal melted, metal screeched, it cried and screamed, but it was simply overkill. The emitted power of the engines created a row of explosions as the October finally was freed from its restraints and the ship jumped forward. As Ra disappeared, the ship looked like it was really on fire; the overheating engines used up so much power that they turned a dangerously glowing red. The full force of the blazing engines fed the continuous explosions and the research facility went down, the building collapsing. Glass shattered, debris flew around, the docking platforms broke off; a cataclysm of annihilation and destruction in a scorching climax as Yllsen Volta V started to fall apart.
--------------------------------------------
Jounouchi barely had enough time to buckle himself up as the explosions rattled and shook the Time Wizard.
“We’re never going to make it!” Honda wrestled with the buckle as he could only use one arm. Jounouchi swallowed heavily to avoid throwing up. One of the two surviving members of Team E had taken Otogi’s seat, the other was using his own belt as a makeshift restraint.
“Fucking shit,” Jounouchi said as the Time Wizard started to roll. “We’re in its fucking slipstream!”
“Jounouchi! Watch out!”
He was just in time to see the October leap forward and with its build-up momentum, it dragged everything along with it in its path. With excessive force, the Time Wizard was broken free from the docking platform that collapsed soon after; the debris hit the ship, denting it like a paper cup. The Time Wizard refused to respond properly, its system overloaded by the heat generated from the October and no matter what he tried, Jounouchi couldn’t stabilize the ship. They got sucked into the traction of the much larger October.
“Fuck!”
“Let it go!” Honda screamed. The two guards were screaming as well, fearing for their lives. There was nothing they could do, nothing that anyone could do. They were totally mauled by forces much greater than their own; Jounouchi stared in front of him until someone grabbed his hand. It was Honda and he returned the gesture, squeezing firmly. At least he wasn’t going to die alone, he thought. Calmness claimed him. This was it. Too bad he wasn’t able to say goodbye to Mai or Shizuka. He would’ve loved to see the both of them one more time. Fortunately, he had taken care of things a long time ago; after his death, both women would be notified and receive a substantial amount of money, so they would be well off. That was the least he could do. A faint smile tugged at his lips. So be it. Every warning signal was flashing, blinking or screeching “Impact, impact!” all over, and he didn’t even hear it. The Time Wizard was hit by the massive cargo freighter and the impact sent the smaller ship spiraling, completely out of control. Tremendous pain seared through his body. Perhaps he was yelling, or Honda, or the two guards, but did it really matter anymore? He wasn’t panicking, the strange calmness allowing him to somehow leave his body and stand outside of it all, outside of space, time and reality as Yllsen Volta V collapsed and pulverized by another, final explosion. Jounouchi wondered if Kaiba and Otogi had made it out okay. It was his last thought as the entire world went black.
------------------------------------
“Mou hitori no boku! Mou hitori no boku!” Yuugi slammed his fists against the force field, frustrated. He was as safe as he could be, but Atemu had been shoved from left to right like a lifeless doll, the ship rocking and unable to find a stable course. Bakura held a firm grip on the Pharaoh, who had his hand in the other’s black coat. Yuugi didn’t understand what was going on and he was afraid Atemu was hurt. He continued banging against the force field and he could hear Ryou doing the same. All of the sudden, the force field flickered. Yuugi was so frantic and upset that he couldn’t think of anything else but to keep banging his fists. Bakura tilted his head a little, showing Yuugi a smirk. Atemu lied on top of him and Bakura made an infuriating gesture of trailing through the other’s hair.
“Don’t touch him! Stay away from him!” Yuugi yelled. The October rolled again and the force field short-circuited. Yuugi unbuckled himself and got up, immediately falling forward due to the ship’s instability. He scrambled to get back up on his feet and veered to the left in an attempt to keep his balance. Wobbling and flailing, he made his way over towards Bakura and Atemu, wedged between two large, metal crates. Yuugi ignored Bakura and grabbed the Pharaoh at the shoulders to turn him over. He was unresponsive. “Mou hitori no boku!”
Atemu’s hand slipped from Bakura’s coat, holding something between his fingers. Yuugi recognized it immediately, but his concern for Atemu’s well-being was greater than paying attention to the object. Bakura supported himself on his elbow and used his other hand to pull the card from between Atemu’s fingers. He didn’t put it back in his own coat; he moved to the holster attached to Atemu’s belt and opened it. He stuck the card inside. Yuugi didn’t know why, but he was eaten alive by jealousy as he watched how Bakura obviously was familiar with doing this and confronted with his smug smirk, he all but batted Bakura’s arm away.
“Mou hitori no boku,” Yuugi said, brushing a few golden bangs away from the Pharaoh’s face. “Say something!”
Ryou had taken more time to reach the others, relieved that at least the worse shaking and rolling had worn off. He reached out his hand. Bakura snorted but took it and he allowed himself to be pulled up from the floor.
“We better get him to his room, so he can rest,” he said.
“What just happened? Why is he unconscious?” Ryou asked.
“You didn’t see it,” Bakura said. “You didn’t feel it. Once you’ll learn, you’ll know what happened. Come.”
He took Atemu’s arm and put it around his shoulder. Ryou was quick on the uptake and took Atemu’s other arm. Together, they held the Pharaoh up. Mockingly, Bakura said to Yuugi: “You can take care of him soon enough, little one. But you’re too small to carry him.”
If Ryou didn’t know any better, he thought he could hear the other growl.
--------------------------------------------
“We’re losing power fast,” Malik said. Half of the control panel had died, the majority of the systems short-circuited, overloaded or broken down. He wondered how Marik was holding up. Blood had soaked through his clothes and was dripping from his chair, pooling on the floor. “Marik?”
“What’s the closest planet?” he asked.
Malik called up the galaxy map. He was looking for a tag-free planet; they had to lay low after everything that had happened. “Ibistapola. That is, if we can make it.”
“Good. Plot the course,” Marik said. “Engines 1-4 are burned out. We’re running on pure reserve right now.”
“We wouldn’t have survived without the Pharaoh,” Malik said and he could taste the bitterness in his own words.
“We are not defeated!” Marik got up from his chair, balling his fist. “The Pharaoh is neither immortal nor invincible. We’ll get back what belongs to us.” He pursed his lips. “Get us to Ibistapola. I have some… maintenance to do.”
“Sit your ass down, Marik,” Malik said and to his own surprise, Marik obeyed him for once. He sunk back into his chair, obviously weakened. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was hard to ignore the pooling blood under his chair. Malik wasn’t sure what to do. The ship had to be manually controlled as the autopilot system was down, and he couldn’t leave his own seat. Malik figured that the others would find their way to the cockpit sooner or later. He took a deep breath. They were going to make it. They had to make it, or everything was lost.
Yuugi didn’t show how disturbed he was with the way Bakura knew his way around on the October. Without fail, he guided them to the Ancient Egyptian-themed room and he gently laid Atemu down on the bed. When he moved to take off the Pharaoh’s shoes, Yuugi stopped him.
“I’ll take care of him,” he said. Bakura put his hands up in defense, obviously amused.
“I’ll leave our exalted Pharaoh into your care, then.”
“Is everything some kind of sick joke to you?” Yuugi asked.
Bakura shook his head. “I lost my upper hand and my safety to him,” he said. “I just paid a price that’s probably going to cost me my life. So no, not everything is some kind of sick joke to me.”
Yuugi blushed furiously and bowed his head in embarrassment. Bakura turned around to leave.
“I don’t blame you though, Other Yuugi. I’m a mere thief, born in poverty and struggling to survive from the very day I was born. I don’t have fine manners or a pleasant disposition to manipulate you with. I’d say that you should be careful, but I have the feeling that you’re too far gone already. You’ll come with me.”
The last words were meant for Ryou and dumbfounded, he followed Bakura, after one last look on Yuugi. He didn’t notice it as he was busying himself with taking off Atemu’s shoes. The door slid open and close and Yuugi was alone. He moved his hand up to Atemu’s holster and opened it. Sneakily peeking if Atemu hadn’t opened his eyes yet, very carefully, Yuugi pulled out a deck of cards. As owner of a Game Shop, he knew exactly what it was: a complete deck of Duel Monsters cards. He shuffled through them, infallibly picking out the he picked out Osiris, the Sky of God Dragon, and Ra, the Sun of God Dragon. His fingers caressed the cards, knowing the value of the divine beasts. He put the cards back where he found them and continued to undress Atemu, so he could tuck him in. Yuugi worked diligently and in no time, he had the Pharaoh under the covers. He gently brushed his hair and marveled about his youthful appearance, now that his piercing red eyes were closed and all his features relaxed.
“I don’t know what happened or who you are,” Yuugi whispered, “but I’ll find out, mou hitori no boku. That’s my promise to you.”
-------------------------------------------
“Jounouchi. Jounouchi!”
He opened his eyes and grunted; consciousness rushed back to him, as well as intense pain. His left leg… the entire left side of his body, it hurt so badly. “Honda?”
“Yeah, I’m right here.”
Jounouchi took in a deep breath. His head hadn’t exploded, so there was still pressure. It was very dark, though. “What…”
“We made it, somehow,” Honda said. His disembodied voice sounded raspy. “I’m not sure… how are you feeling? Are you all right?”
“Can’t feel my leg,” Jounouchi said. “Left side… my back… I think I broke every bone in my body.”
“I activated the distress signal.” A rustle of fabric. “Hopefully they’ll pick us up soon.”
“I love your optimism,” Jounouchi said, without sarcasm. Yllsen Volta V had been located in a backwater system, far away from any commercial or logistic route. Nobody would be in a hurry to respond to the signal. Honda moved.
“You feel this?”
“Yeah.” Jounouchi grinned. “Are you telling me we’re still holding hands?”
Honda wasn’t embarrassed at all. They both thought they were going to die. “The ship’s in a seriously bad condition.”
“Scrap metal.” Jounouchi heaved a sigh. His Time Wizard! If he ever got his hands on Malik Ishtar and his ‘friend’… Silence. Jounouchi had no idea how much or how little time passed. The air support system was working and he patted himself mentally on the back for not attaching it to the main system, which now had been crushed. Pressure and air control were the only things keeping them alive right now… but they were both injured and he wasn’t looking forward to dying slowly. In the background, he heard a mechanic, gurgling sound; if the air support system was on its last legs, they would suffocate. He licked his lips.
“What about the others?”
A moment of silence. “I don’t think they made it. I can’t hear them.”
Jounouchi shivered. Apart from the gurgling sound and his and Honda’s breathing, it was silent as a grave… he shivered once more. “Jesus Christ.”
More silence. Jounouchi didn’t move, hissing every now and then as the pain became too intense.
“Hey, Honda…”
“Yeah?”
“Back at the facility…” Jounouchi had to force himself to speak, having trouble to form the sentences correctly. Was the air support already giving out on them? “I went to the infirmary, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Good, rock-solid Honda.
“I saw those ‘twins’,” Jounouchi said. “And... I couldn’t move, man. I was frozen to the spot.”
“It happens,” Honda said. “I’ve been there before.”
“But I wasn’t,” Jounouchi said. “Frozen, I mean. I don’t know how to explain it. I know what it’s like to be frozen on the spot. I’m telling you man, something held me rooted to that spot.”
“If you say so,” Honda said, without sounding sarcastic or mocking him. They both had gone through quite the dire situations and they never judged each other.
“They had managed to break Bakura out of that stupor of his,” Jounouchi said.
“What?”
“Yeah, I know. He walked out of the sick bay and grinned at me, the son of a bitch. Like “Watch me leave, you asshole”. And I couldn’t move.”
“These… whatever these people are, they have powers of an otherworld kind,” Honda said, pensively. “That giant flame bird thing… the guy called Marik, who managed to take the EMETS off and laughing at me while I shot him right through the leg.”
“Marik, huh? I couldn’t catch any names of the others.” Jounouchi racked his brain. “Bakura called one of them Pharaoh, probably the one with the large earrings. The shorter one was completely innocent.”
“Innocent? How do you know?”
Jounouchi paused for a moment. “The way he behaved. Sedated, as if in shock. He certainly wasn’t reacting normal to everything around him.”
“It’s not of our concern,” Honda said. “And if we aren’t picked up by a rescue and salvaging unit, it doesn’t matter at all.”
“Yeah. Do you think Kaiba and Otogi made it?”
“I’m sure they have. Especially if he left immediately after you told him to.”
“The rest got killed,” Jounouchi said. “The guards… all dead, and the entire facility and planet blown.”
“They destroyed everything to just get away,” Honda said. “Who are they? I doubt it’s about Malik Ishtar anymore.”
“I agree. We-” A loud bump rocked the ship. Jounouchi shot up straight in his chair, ignoring his injuries. “What’s this?”
Another loud bump and Honda yelled out: “Look! Lights! Over there!”
“Holy shit! We’ve been found!” Jounouchi had never been so relieved before. For good measure, he tried to contact the rescue and salvaging unit, but the entire communication system was dead… and judging from the gurgling sounds, the air support would probably break down any second. The third bump shook the Time Wizard again as the tether lines were attached.
“Thank every deity,” Honda heaved a sigh of relief. He let go of Jounouchi’s hand.
“Hey! Did I tell you to let go?”
“No,” Honda’s grin wasn’t visible but Jounouchi could just hear it in his voice, “before we get too comfortable and other people would get any weird ideas…”
“Party pooper,” Jounouchi said, but he shared Honda’s grin. He was very grateful to his friend, and if it had truly been their last hour, he would’ve felt privileged to spend it with Honda. He could forget about the pain. He could try to forget this horrible experience. He was still alive.
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The door to the cockpit slid open. Malik turned around, narrowing his eyes as he saw who entered. “Bakura,” he said disdainfully, only to react more pleased when he saw Ryou. “You made it!”
“A bit shaken,” Ryou answered. His eyes went to Marik, slumped over the control panel. He had expected him to immediately go for Bakura, just like he had done on Vertregg 12. It didn’t take long for him to smell and see the blood. “Marik!”
Bakura stepped to the side as Ryou rushed over to Marik. “Looks like we’re all in pretty good shape, except for him,” he said tonelessly.
“The Pharaoh and his Other?”
“You don’t need to worry about them. Where are we going to?”
“Ibistapola,” Malik answered and noticed how he was clenching his fists.
“We should go to Wremmoor instead. My ship’s still there.”
“You have nothing to say in all of this, Bakura.” Malik snarled at him. “Give it back!”
“All in due time,” Bakura said, baring a tired grin. “Would you believe me if I said I don’t have it anymore?”
“You…”
“Leave him,” Marik said.
“What? You’re the one who couldn’t wait to kill him!”
“He’ll be dead at my hands, yes,” Marik showed a scary grimace, “but not now. Keep the ship on its course.”
“Stop talking,” Ryou said. “You need medical attention, right now. Can you get up? We have to get you to the sick bay. Where is it?”
“All the systems are down,” Malik said. “There’s not much you can do for him.”
“You have a first aid kit, remember? All I need is gauze, bandages and something to clean the wound with.”
“Suit yourself.” Bakura took the empty seat next to Malik. “I’m going to keep you company.”
“Great,” Malik said. Ryou didn’t pay attention to them and helped Marik to his feet. They stumbled out of the cockpit; Bakura watched their retreating backs.
“Why do I always get a weak-hearted Other?” he grunted. “For once, I wished my Other had balls and a spine.”
“All of your Others are stronger than you are,” Malik spat at him. “You’re a thief and nothing more!”
“A thief who outsmarted you,” Bakura reminded him.
“I don’t care. You’re dead.”
“I know, I know.” Bakura crossed his arms in front of his chest and twitched once more. “Fuck! I thought it was over by now.”
“It’ll take at least a day to get used to your new synthfuser,” Malik said. “Be glad you got a new one.”
“Yeah yeah, my eternal gratitude and all that shit,” Bakura huffed. Malik didn’t answer and focused on the large control panel. It was going to take them at least four more hours to reach Ibistapola, as the damaged ship continued its way on its last reserves.
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