The elevator went up far too slow to his taste, and Kaiba Gozaburo had to violently suppress his urge to hit the button over and over again. Calm, he had to stay calm. There was probably a very reasonable and logical explanation for the… earthquake, or whatever it was, that had shaken the building. At least the tower was still standing, and the energy was rerouted according to the emergency plans he installed himself years ago; he’d never expected to need back-up generators, but now he was grateful that he had agreed to install them. This ‘earthquake’ was bothering him; why had Karim looked up, immediately after it happened? Why had the General looked up at the ceiling, at the top floor, where the Pharaoh had his quarters?
“Come on, come on,” he muttered under his breath. Had it been an attack of the Resistance? Had it been Noa, making another move in the game, robbing him of his trump card? Gozaburo’s mind was trying to find more explanations, sorting and rearranging the options and possibilities, crossing them off or discarding them one by one. The Resistance had never used violence, they had always kept themselves hidden somewhere around town, in Domino City. Gozaburo had always favored the search for the Items over the search for and apprehension of members of this so-called Resistance - if they somehow isposed over explosive powers and attacked the KaibaCorp. building, he had severely underestimated them.
However, it was more plausible that the ‘earthquake’ was either Noa’s, or the Pharaoh’s, doing. Noa’s less-than-favorable attitude towards the Generals was widely known, and he would do anything to get rid of him. Gozaburo frowned. He was catching on to his son’s plan; Noa wanted to cripple him by removing his Generals one by one. Mahaado had been captured, and the Pharaoh wouldn’t stand for his friend to remain in the hands of the enemy, the Resistance. His reaction was predictable, and all that Noa had to do, was to anticipate it. Gozaburo tapped with his cane on the floor of the elevator. The energy provided by the back-up generator didn’t make this thing any faster. KaibaCorp. had always disposed over the best of the best technology. It couldn’t be that the building was operating on half its usual power. There should be more than enough back-up energy!
Gozaburo made a mental note to look into it later, refusing to acknowledge the possibility that even the generators could’ve been damaged by the ‘earthquake’. He released the breath he had been holding when the doors finally gave their familiar ‘ding’-sound and opened. If Noa prove to be difficult, he could always deal with him… in a more accidental matter. No one survived a fall from this building, not even a Kaiba, and Noa certainly didn’t need to think he was invincible or untouchable.
His thoughts died away when he saw the floor… or rather, what was left of the floor and the Pharaoh’s quarters. Gozaburo’s eyes widened drastically when seeing the ravage. More than half of the floor, the Pharaoh’s quarters, was just… missing. Intense heat had scorched the concrete walls into a grey, melted mass, dripping all over the remains of the supporting beams of the ceiling, bend and crooked due to intense pressure. The furniture was gone, burnt beyond recognition except for the frame of the bed and the foot of the small fountain Gozaburo had custom ordered for the Pharaoh. The elder man walked through the rubble, swiping his cane at everything that was in his path. A golden bowl, melted into a formless lump, a vase, reduced to splinters and shards. Nothing was intact anymore, and if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought a bomb had detonated.
He grimaced. He stood in front of where a pristine, beautifully made bed was supposed to be, but there was only the iron frame left, about to collapse. The large window panes were all broken; the glass splinters had melted into the floor. Goddamnit. He wasn’t quick to curse - Gozaburo regarded the use of foul language as a sign of weakness, and he took his entire life great pride into being able to maintain his composure in any situation. Always. Calm. There were no bodies, and the Pharaoh’s armor was gone. If the General had destroyed his own quarters out of rage, there would’ve been the bodies of the other two… Marik and Bakura. He rejected the thought that the Pharaoh might’ve spared them; in his rage, not even Mahaado was safe. It was strange that he had donned his armor, but then again, Gozaburo had all but drilled him into it - it was a little ray of hope, ironically, that the Pharaoh had survived this by putting on the armor he loathed himself. Gozaburo was prepared to latch onto the small bit of hope. He couldn’t afford to lose the Pharaoh. Marik and Bakura were expendable, but if these two were gone, he was going to need his other Generals and his Elite Troops to get a hold of the Pharaoh’s sanity again. He had to get everyone together and…
“Father?”
Gozaburo turned around, quickly schooling his face into a neutral expression. Noa had followed him to the top floor and walked, dressed in his pristine white suit, through the rubble - carefully, and avoiding the huge, scorched remains - towards him. His face was too shocked and surprised to be untrue; Noa had always been a bad actor.
“What happened here?”
“My guess is as good as yours, son,” Gozaburo said, voice surprisingly soothing. Noa looked around like a kid in a candystore; with his eyes wide and in awe, taking everything in. But this wasn’t candy, this was pure destruction. Gozaburo doubted that Noa had anything to do with it. The other even went as far as to touch the blackened bedframe, hissing as he withdrew his finger. It was still hot.
“An explosion,” Noa said. “It had to be an explosion. The whole building was shaking.”
He refrained from sucking on his burned finger, even though it really hurt. He wasn’t faking his shock, just as Gozaburo assumed. Just five minutes ago, Noa had been in his own quarters with Mokuba playing video games, meanwhile trying to persuade the younger boy into telling him the access codes of Seto’s laptop. Any information Mokuba could provide about the work of his brother was welcome, and Noa was eager to learn; too bad Mokuba talked about Seto personally, not about his work - he needed more time to win the kid’s trust, time he wasn’t sure he had. Noa had hoped that the Pharaoh would leave, but apparently he felt the need to take out his own quarters with a bang. Failing to refrain from smirking, his plan to cripple his father by removing his two most powerful Generals had worked so far. Everything was going perfect! Now he only had to crack Seto’s codes and continue his plans to build the virtual world, making him the undisputable lord and leader - everyone would bow at his feet!
“I do not know exactly what you are doing, son,” Gozaburo said and the soothing tone disappeared from his voice, “but keep in mind that you are far, very far from achieving any of your goals. You will need a whole lot of work before you can even start to approach what I have build with my own hands.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, father.” Noa’s answer was almost light-hearted, but he took a step to the side, out of Gozaburo’s reach with his cane. He knew he lacked Seto’s extremely high intelligence and his father’s strategic abilities, but he wasn’t stupid, no matter how many people thought he was. One day, sooner or later, people would bow for him and acknowledge his power! His fingers clenched into fists, and he forced himself to relax again.
“Whatever you think, this wasn’t my work.”
“No, I do not think this was your work, indeed,” Gozaburo sneered and turned away from him. He came to stand face to face with his two Generals, Karim and Shaadah. He hadn’t even heard them stepping into the room.
“Osiris,” was all that Karim said, and the usual stern face of the General expressed both fear and displeasure. His dark brown eyes narrowed as he took in the devastation, the wind caressing his face; there was no more ceiling. Shaadah looked as neutral as ever, but the man’s fingers were visible, and they clenched at his robes, all but equaling panic.
“Osiris? You mean he summoned a God in his quarters?”
“These are the signs of the God,” Karim said but he didn’t elaborate. “Our Pharaoh must have felt a great need to summon him and leave here. I wonder what that need could be.”
Mahaado. Gozaburo straightened himself, but his grip on his cane was so tight that it all but hurt his hand. He didn’t need to justify or to explain himself, and he wasn’t going to be the subject of any of the Generals’ interrogations. The sheer audacity!
“You will wait in your quarters until I have investigated the matter,” he snapped. “As soon as I have more information, I will let you know. I will send out my Elite Troops to find-”
“We will accompany these Elite Troops,” Karim cut him off. Gozaburo’s face was turning red from anger. The General had even dared to interrupt him! “We will find our Pharaoh and you will let us know what has happened.”
Both Generals turned around and stalked out of the demolished room, avoiding to step on the rubble and debris, robbing Gozaburo of any opportunity to answer them. He was seething. Out of line, the both of them! He had to correct this and find out exactly what happened…and punish the ones responsible for this mess. The Pharaoh had summoned a God in his own quarters, and it had destroyed the entire upper floor. Even if he was a Pharaoh, he was going to pay for this mess - but Gozaburo’s only hope at the moment was, that if the Pharaoh had left with his God to find Mahaado and the Resistance, he would flatten every single person of the Resistance with every ounce of power he had. That would be his only advantage at this moment. His only one.
--------------------------------------
The KaibaCorp. tower had been built by megalomaniac nutjobs, or so Otogi thought. He had wondered about it since the first day of his arrival, after he had managed to land a job in the kitchen. Gozaburo always seemed to be in need of new servants and kitchen personnel, and Otogi had used it to his advantage, working himself all the way up to become the man’s assistant.
Every Kaiba generation had added new floors to the building so it literally towered into the sky, and they had also made each floor more luxurious and decadent than the previous one. Except for the lower floors, who had been redesigned as cells for prisoners. There were no plush carpets here, no fancy decorated walls, no chandeliers or brass lamps… but whatever generation, they all seemed to be fond of elevators. Eight elevators were neatly aligned in front of Otogi, and he knew that the two utmost right ones were personnel only elevators. Gozaburo wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, and if they stumbled upon a servant… we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Otogi thought as he pushed the button.
His body hurt all over, and he couldn’t imagine what Kaiba was feeling. He hung over him like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He had tried to walk on his own, but he simply lacked strength. His ribs were visible, and his eyes were dark pools in his hollow face. He wore a grim, determined expression, and struggled to find strength, but he was running on his last reserves. Otogi waited for the doors to open and dragged Kaiba inside, relieved to find the elevator empty.
“Mokuba first,” Kaiba said. “Noa is on the 75th floor…”
“We go to my room first,” Otogi said and pressed the button for his floor. “We can change there, get something to eat…”
“This isn’t a date,” Kaiba snarled. “I need to see my brother right now, and I need my laptop!”
Otogi pulled his arm away, depriving Kaiba of his support, and he fell into a heap on the elevator floor.
“Look, friend,” Otogi snarled in return, mimicking Kaiba’s tone, “I can always leave you here to rot, just like your father and brother had in mind. But I’ve been very nice and kind, and I decided to take you with me, so can you at least show me some gratitude? You can ride this elevator up to whatever floor you like, but without me, you aren’t even able to get through the door, let alone help your brother. We’re going to my room first, and then we get your brother!”
Kaiba looked at him with murderous hate. For some reason, with him lying on the floor, it didn’t impress Otogi as much. He had his hand on the control panel, and his fingers were nowhere near the button for Noa’s floor.
“All right,” the man caved in. “All right. But if something happens to Mokuba in the meantime, I’ll kill you personally!”
“Yes master,” Otogi said and stared at the blinking lights of the control panel. He shivered. He felt cold and tired. Hunger pains were trying to munch their way through his ribs, and his mouth felt like someone had force-fed him nothing but sawdust for three weeks. He wasn’t sure how much strength he had left - but compared to Kaiba, he had it easy. The taller man was emaciated, but his eyes shone with strength and willpower.
Both held in their breath when the elevator announced their arrival with a loud ‘ding’. Fortunately, the hallway was empty and Otogi quickly helped Kaiba out of the elevator. His room was just down the hall, and was one of the few to have its own bathroom. Servants were notorious for swapping rooms all around, and he hoped that no one had claimed his in his absence. How long had he been away, anyway? He had lost all notion of time. After opening the door, Otogi heaved a sigh of relief as he noticed that nothing had changed. Someone had gone through his belongings; his room was a mess, but it were his clothes in on the bed, his books on the table, nothing seemed to be missing. Dragging Kaiba over the floor, he stumbled and fell on the carpet, panting from the exertion.
“I’ll get us something to eat and to drink,” Otogi said. “The kitchen is just around the corner, okay? You pick out some new clothes.”
“You’re not my size,” Kaiba muttered but started digging through the pile anyway, pulling the clothes from the bed. Otogi slipped into the bathroom and opened the faucet. He stuck his hands into the cold water, shivered again and splashed it all over his face. There was no time for a shower, and he doubted Kaiba could muster up the strength to stand upright and take one. Otogi wanted nothing but to leave and inform the Resistance, and he was dying to see Shizuka again - hell, he would even be glad to see Jounouchi, of all people. He grabbed a towel from the rack and held it into the lukewarm water.
He brought the wet towel to Kaiba, and handed it to him. The other already had selected a pair of pants and a shirt from the pile, as well as a large, warm vest. Despite their considerable height differences, Otogi didn’t think Kaiba would have any trouble wearing his clothes - anything was better than what he was wearing now.
“I’ll help you in a moment,” he offered. “Here’s something to freshen you up.”
Kaiba muttered something that looked suspiciously like a ‘thank you’, and Otogi showed him a weak grin. He left Kaiba alone and went quickly to the kitchen, checking the hall for unwanted visitors. As he raided the fridge, he wondered where the rest of the personnel was - had everyone left the building after the earthquake, or whatever it was? Usually the building was crowded by servants. Otogi decided not to spend too much thoughts on it, and grabbed a bag. He filled it with bread, cheese, sausage, and plastic containers with leftover pasta, salad and chicken. He put everything edible he could find into the bag and took out two large bottles of soda, adding them to the bag as well. Otogi also grabbed a bottle of water as he thought that carbonated liquids wouldn’t be the best for their sensitive stomachs right now. Adding some plain bread and a roll of biscuits at the last moment, he hoisted the bag - pretty heavy - over his shoulder and made his way back to the room.
Upon entering, he noticed the dirty towel on the floor. Kaiba stood upright and held onto the bed frame for support. He had managed to dress himself, wearing two shirts over one another, and the garments reached just a little past his navel. The pants were too short as well and in any other situation it would’ve been funny. Kaiba finished the buttons on the large vest and wiggled his toes a little.
“Did you find something to eat?”
“Yes,” Otogi answered and put the bag down. “Don’t eat too much, though - your stomach is extremely sensitive.”
“I know,” Kaiba said but he didn’t sound too grumpy. His hair was still matted and tangled, but he looked and smelled a lot better with the clean clothes on. Otogi decided to be not too hard on him. After all, he wasn’t very clean and smelling nicely either, and he had spend less time in the cells than Kaiba. He withdrew into the bathroom to get himself clean, changing into new clothes and combing his hair.
When he returned, he brought a comb with him for Kaiba and handed it to him. The other had a dirty face from eating with his fingers, like a small kid that didn’t know how to use his utensils. Some of the plastic containers were empty, strewn all over the floor. Otogi decided not to mention again that Kaiba had to be careful with the state his body was in, but as Kaiba all but ignored him, he simply left it at that. He grabbed a container for himself and started eating, also with his fingers; he had forgotten to bring knives or forks with him.
“Where’s your laptop?”
“I don’t have one. Gozaburo wanted me to write his orders down with pen and paper.” Otogi answered.
Kaiba snorted. “The man wants to create a virtual world to gain immortality and he doesn’t use a computer!”
Otogi almost choked on the sandwich he was now holding and he stared at Kaiba in disbelief, hearing Gozaburo’s ultimate goal.
“He wants what?”
“You didn’t think I was thrown in those dungeons of his just because we disagreed on something small, did you?” Kaiba snorted again and opened the water bottle, be it with a little difficulty. His bony fingers finally managed to unscrew the cap and he took a few sips.
Otogi shook his head, sending raven black strands of hair flying. “I don’t want to know. I worked my way up to be his assistant so I could tell the Resistance about every move he made, but I never gained full insight on what he ultimately wanted. He was busy gaining power over the United States…”
“Let me guess, he send Set to do the work there.”
“Well…yeah. How do you know?”
“You would have to know Gozaburo’s… unique sense of humor for that,” Kaiba said disdainfully, but didn’t elaborate. “My brother,” was all that he said.
“Let me get you some shoes.”
“No, yours would never fit. I’ll put on an extra pair of socks. We can’t waste time looking for the right size of shoes.”
“If you say so,” Otogi nodded and tied his hair back with a simple scrunchie. Not his usual hairstyle, but he had no time to putter around and spend precious minutes on getting his hair right. Taking up the bag with provisions, he was amazed to see Kaiba walking on his own strength towards the door - if he wasn’t mistaken, it almost looked like he was marching. Incredible. His desire to see and rescue his brother is all that keeps him going.
After checking the hallway again and making sure that no one was around, Kaiba and Otogi made their way back to the elevators, albeit slow. Kaiba couldn’t run and used the walls for support, forcing himself to walk no matter how much effort it took. Otogi’s clothes should have been too tight considering his physique, but instead they hung like burlap sacks around his hollow ribcage. He paused often to wrap his hand in front of his mouth and gag from the amount of food he had consumed while his stomach was still too sensitive from the deprivation. With the same impressive determination, Kaiba forced the food to stay down and continued his way, his eyes focused and his mind sharp. Mokuba was all that mattered, and he wanted to get him out of Noa’s quarters.
“What if Noa is there?” Otogi whispered when he called for the elevator. The answer wasn’t surprising.
“I’ll kill him.”
“We don’t have any guns.” He shook his head. “I don’t have to tell you that you can barely stand upright, let alone kill someone.”
Noa didn’t like to work out and would hardly put up a fight; still, with the state Kaiba was in, he would be overpowered easily. It didn’t take much for Kaiba to keel over; his ‘family’ had left him to rot and die, for God only knows how long. Kaiba pursed his lips in a stubborn grimace, and Otogi didn’t pursue the topic. Out of the two of them, he was in the best shape, but he knew very well that with one scream of Noa’s, a myriad of guards would show up and drag them back to their cells faster than he could say his own name. Then what? Kaiba however, seemed to be convinced that he could kill Noa, and the obsessive way he was looking at the control panel of the elevator, as if he could glare the thing into going faster, was just… eerie.
“We’re there,” Otogi announced superfluously when the elevator halted. The doors opened to the familiar plush carpet and the oceanic colors on the walls. The closer they came to the doors, the darker the colors, as if they were descending into an abyss. Kaiba used the wall for support again, his breathing erratic as if he ran a marathon. Otogi hoped he didn’t collapse; they needed each other too much to fail now. He used all his strength to open the door, and hesitated in the small antechamber. How long… no, how little time had it been since he stood here, meeting Kaiba Mokuba for the first time?
“Open the second door,” Kaiba hissed.
“What if.. Noa..” Otogi protested.
“Open the goddamn door!”
“It’s your funeral,” Otogi muttered under his breath, not realizing how absurd his comment was. He opened the second door. Kaiba wanted to stride past him, but he needed the support from the wall too much. He almost threw himself upon the first chair in sight; a monstrous leather seat with huge wooden armrests, and Otogi thought for a moment that he was going to pass out from the exertion.
The room was empty. It was spacious and luxuruous - Noa favored an aquatic theme, and it showed in the colors and the details. The carpets were sandy brown, and with the exception of the black leather chair Kaiba was sitting in, the furniture was light oak wood, the couches sporting a soft orange color like starfish. Dark-blue and black colors were featured in the accessories: cushions, the lamps, a few poster frames on the wall.
Where was the kid? Kaiba’s eyes darted through the room, searching for his brother, but there was nobody here. Otogi was nothing but grateful that Noa wasn’t present.
“Mokuba…”
Now that he couldn’t find his brother, all of his strength seemed to leave Kaiba. He looked exactly how his body was feeling: sickly, tired, exhausted. If they didn’t find Mokuba fast, he was about to give up and die, Otogi feared.
“Wait a minute… what would you if you were a young kid and afraid?”
“Face my fears, of course,” Kaiba answered.
“A kid not as badass as you.”
“I don’t know… hide under the bed?”
“I guess so.” Otogi nodded, and looked around. He wasn’t familiar with Noa’s quarters, and didn’t know the layout. Where was the bedroom? He noticed a door in the northwest corner; he walkted towards it and grabbed the handle. Pushing the door open, he was met by darkness; he searched for the switch, and flipped the lights on. Otogi was rather taken aback by Noa’s modest bedroom - modest in comparison to the luscious living room. The king size bed was covered with colorful striped cushions, the bedspread displaying an oceanic motif. It made Otogi wonder where Noa ever had gotten his obsession with the sea from. Maybe he was just as nuts as the Pharaoh.
“Mokuba?” His voice was low, and he tried to sound as friendly and calm as possible. “It’s me, Otogi - do you remember me? Your brother is here with me…”
Where could the kid be? Under the bed, like Kaiba had suggested? Otogi moved towards it, the silence unnerving him. He really didn’t want to scare the kid.
“We met before, remember?” he continued. “Everything’s okay. Your brother is here with me.”
“Y-you lie,” a weak voice answered. Otogi couldn’t help but smile, relieved that Mokuba was around. He had to be under the bed, as that was the most obvious place.
“Mokuba,” he tried again, “I wouldn’t lie about something important like that. You can come out now, please. Your brother is in the living room. He’s there, trust me.”
“You work for Noa,” the shaky voice accused him, “why should I trust you?”
“I don’t work for him, not any more,” Otogi said. “Listen, it’s too complicated to explain right now, and we have to hurry before Noa gets back, all right? I’m going to stand in the corner, just like that, all the way over here-” he went into the farthest corner of the room as he spoke, “and you can come out from under the bed and run into the living room, all right?”
No answer. Otogi was just debating whether to drag Kaiba over here or pull the young boy from under the bed, when he heard some rustling noises and the bedcover shifted. He saw nothing but wild strands of black hair, and a glimpse of the kid’s face before he hurried to the door. Mokuba stood still for a second, looking in fear at him - what had Noa done to the kid? - and then slipped through the door opening, into the living room. Not a second later, a loud, enthusiastic screech followed.
“Nii-sama!”
“Mokuba!”
Otogi was surprised that Mokuba used a honorific in respect to his brother. It was an old tradition, in the same vein as Yuugi and Shizuka spoke. He quickly left Noa’s bedroom, feeling a bit of nausea coming up. His body was on the verge of exhaustion, and his stomach was giving off some weird cramps. He wished he had Kaiba’s determination to keep himself going; Otogi felt like going to bed and sleep for a week. He found Mokuba sitting in Kaiba’s lap, his arms firmly wrapped around his brother’s waist, talking at a hundred miles an hour. Kaiba raked his hand through Mokuba’s untamed hair, and he looked years younger than Otogi had ever seen him before. It was a touching scene, really - these two had suffered tremendously from being separated.
“I haven’t told them anything, nii-sama,” Mokuba kept repeating, ignoring Kaiba’s bad health and protruding ribcage. “Anything at all!”
“I know, Mokuba.” His voice was soft even, soft and with undeniable affection. It was such a change, and Otogi wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t witnessed it himself. It wasn’t wise however, to hang around in Noa’s quarters and he urged them to leave.
“My laptop,” Kaiba said to Mokuba. “Have you seen it?”
“Noa has it,” the young kid scrunched up his face in disgust, “and he was pretty mad he couldn’t crack the codes. I didn’t tell him anything!”
“Where is it, Mokuba?” Otogi asked. Mokuba pointed to the large desk in the other corner, littered with computer equipment; he recognized two server stations, another desktop model and three laptops. He couldn’t help but growl in frustration; all this electricity wasted while whole parts of town had to do without!
“Get my laptop,” Kaiba said, nodding with his head towards the desk.
“Yes lord and master,” Otogi replied and had the satisfaction to see Kaiba slightly scowl and lower his eyes. He went to the large desk, picking out the most expensive and fancy looking laptop before holding it up. Kaiba nodded again and Otogi brought it over to him.
“We really have to go.”
“Nii-sama,” Mokuba looked up, “I never told anyone, and Noa didn’t care for it…” He stuck his hand under his own shirt and shifted around, until he withdrew his hand and showed something to Kaiba. It looked like a necklace, with something the size of a playing card dangling from it. Kaiba’s expression turned serious, and… grateful.
“You did a good job protecting it,” he said with that same affection and ruffled Mokuba’s hair. He took the necklace from him and put it on, his fingers caressing the fine chain.
“We really, really have to go,” Otogi urged them. He held the laptop, its weight was extremely light. “Every second we linger here, we bring ourselves into more danger.”
“You’re right.” Kaiba pushed lightly at Mokuba to get him off of his lap. The boy jumped off of him, quickly grabbing his brother at the leg.
“Noa went to the upper floor to see what all the ruckus was about,” he said. “He told me to hide in the bedroom. He didn’t know what was going on.”
“Neither did we,” Kaiba said and tried to get up. Otogi didn’t hesitate to reach him a hand, and he took it, his face frowned in annoyance. He didn’t like to be this dependant, but he had no choice. “Whatever it was, we should be thankful - it helped us to get out of our cells.”
He was standing upright and looked irritable. “We better…” Something caught his attention, and his expression changed. “We better find a place where we can’t get caught. I need to use my laptop in this building.”
“Forget about the stupid laptop,” Otogi interrupted him. “I’ve got it here with me, and you can use it all you want when we get outside, away from here.”
“If nii-sama wants to use the laptop inside the building, he gets to use the laptop inside the building,” Mokuba was quick to add.
Otogi rolled his eyes. Every Kaiba is a carbon copy. I should have known. “Listen, it’s too dangerous…”
“We get back to your room, no one will look there,” Kaiba cut him off. “We can bring your precious Resistance some gifts when we meet up with them.”
“G-gifts?”
Kaiba suddenly started to grin. It wasn’t a very pleasant sight. “I know of the Items. Gozaburo has stored some of them here, and I can locate them with my laptop. We can swipe the Items and take them with us.”
“Nii-sama..?”
“Hush, Mokuba. I don’t give jack shit about the Items, but I know the old man would die from a heart attack to find them gone. Anything that is precious to him, I will take from him, and I start with those stupid Items! All I know is that they’re in some kind of vault, and I can find them within a snap - but to do that, I need to be inside the building, with my laptop.”
“Fine, we’ll go back to my room again,” Otogi snapped. “It’s a miracle that no one has busted us yet, so we’ll defy Fate some more, and hope and pray we can make it. Let’s get the hell out of here..!”
It took them some time to arrive back at Otogi’s room again, while Mokuba clung to his brother like a last lifeline, and Kaiba with his hand in Mokuba’s hair to console him, all the time his eyes glaring at the laptop Otogi was carrying. He didn’t waste any second when they were in the room, flopping down on the bed after shoving some of the clothes off, and holding out his hands. Mokuba crawled up on the bed with him, propping himself up under his arm.
Otogi handed him the laptop and Kaiba booted it up, mumbling something incoherently.
“The battery is still working… operation system loading correctly… programs also loading…”
He suddenly barked a short laugh, taking Otogi by surprise. “Ha! He couldn’t even get past the introduction screen, the moron.”
“See? I didn’t tell them,” Mokuba repeated, very pleased with himself. Otogi guessed that the younger Kaiba brother knew the very coveted passwords, but had been able to withstand all the methods used to get this information out of him. Remarkable. Kaiba snorted, a disdainful scowl on his face. His fingers clicked at the keys faster than Otogi could follow with his eyes, fascinated.
“It seems that the upper floor is… missing,” he said. “The security cameras don’t go any further than 123, and wasn’t the Pharaoh at 124? 125?”
“Dear Gods,” Otogi blurted out before he could help himself, “what has happened?”
“It looks like a bomb went off,” Kaiba said, sounding uncertain. “The radius of the explosion doesn’t seem right, though. A lot of scorching, as if a massive fire has burned the place down. I think he summoned a God inside.”
“What?”
“Judging from the destruction and that roaring sound we heard, I say he has summoned one of his Gods. I have seen him do it before, when I was still on… speaking terms with Gozaburo. He had the Pharaoh show it to me because I was a ‘skeptical numbskull’.” Kaiba shrugged. “I don’t believe in Gods, or in any God. I still don’t believe it, even when I saw him summon one - it has to be some kind of trick, and I thought for a moment that Gozaburo had managed to manipulate the world into a virtual reality already.”
“You have seen a God?”
“Or whatever it was.” Kaiba tapped on the keys, his cheeks showing an unnatural red flush. “It was a red dragon with two mouths, and it was nasty. Powerful, though. Yes, pretty powerful.”
Otogi slowly moved to the bed to sit next to Kaiba. He was so engrossed in looking at the screen that he didn’t say anything about his close proximity.
“Wow… that’s some kind of destruction.”
“Not all cameras are working, otherwise I would have seen Noa or Gozaburo… presuming that they’re still there, of course.” More clicking at the keys, and the images on the screen overlapped, flashing in front of Otogi’s eyes.
“I pick up massive movement in the elevators. Maybe the servants, to clean up the mess.”
“Then we’re just in time, nii-sama,” Mokuba said and beamed at him.
“Yes. It looks like the building is working on half its usual power though. I guess that summoning the God caused the electrical circuits to overloaded. The back-up generators are also working at half power, the damage is enormous. However, it would make it easier for me to get to that stupid vault.”
Kaiba was in his element, no matter how his body was demanding medical treatment. After being isolated for so long and deprived of food and drink, he was extra sensitive to infections. It was pure willpower that kept him going, but Otogi had noticed his feverish cheeks. If he didn’t get Kaiba to the Resistance soon, he would die after all. Anzu was a nurse, and Shizuka had some medical knowledge too.
“Here,” Kaiba pointed out. “On the 47th floor. Strange, I had thought Gozaburo would keep them in his own quarters.”
“What’s that? Another security camera?”
“Yes. This laptop is linked with every camera in the building. This one monitors the vault, but I’m sure I can shut it off from here, as long as I can hack into the mainframe. That gives you every opportunity you need to rob it empty.”
“Hey! What? Me?”
“You’re the one in the best condition,” Kaiba said dryly. “Besides, the 47th floor is only six stairs up up. Nobody uses the emergency stairs.”
“Kaiba…”
“I’ll unlock the vault for you and disable the camera feed. What more do you want? You do want those Items, right? Consider this as a favor… a token of gratitude for your earlier help.” Kaiba mangled the word ‘gratitude’ beyond recognition, and Otogi had to swallow a few times. If he could get those Items… Yuugi believed strongly in their effect, and what if it really was true? Who knew how many of those Items Gozaburo had, and combined with the ones in Yuugi’s possession…
“I’ll do it,” he said, determined. He was strong. He could do this - for himself, for the Resistance, for Yuugi, for Shizuka… for the whole world.
--------------------------------
A large shadow moved over the ruined buildings, tearing the silence with a thunderous roar. Large wings flapped, splitting the winds, and the immense Dragon of the Heavens snaked through the clouds, moving up and down, its large tail coiling in the air.
Marik looked up with a large grin on his face. “I like hunting!”
“Idiot,” Bakura muttered. He didn’t feel at ease and he wondered why. Something had shifted, changed in the total scheme of things… of power. Bakura feared that all his plans would be foiled, just because the Pharaoh couldn’t contain his anger. Why was Mahaado so special that he deserved to be rescued? He was a General, a magician-General to boot, he had to be able to save himself!
“I like blowing things up,” Marik informed him. He enjoyed walking outside in the weak sun, and he had waved at the large God before. Osiris had opened the lower one of its two mouths and greeted him in return - by blowing him away. The cuts and scrapes on his arms were tell-tale signs, and Marik had been terribly lucky not to break all of his bones as he bounced over the ground.
Bakura hadn’t enjoyed his ride on the back of the large dragon. He didn’t know why the Pharaoh favored summoning Osiris so much. Well, the God provided easy transportation, but for the rest? Bakura knew that the two other Gods were far stronger and more impressive, so why the red dragon? He didn’t know, didn’t ask and didn’t care. Some things were just the way they were. He kicked a few pebbles to the side. They were just at a few meters away from the Pharaoh, not leaving him out of their sight as they had done with Mahaado.
“I like his pretty armor too,” Marik sighed dreamily. “Midnight blue looks so sexy on him.”
“Shut the fuck up, Marik,” Bakura snarled in return. “We don’t have any armor.”
“I like pain.”
“Shut. the. fuck. up.”
“Fine, you incessant grouch.”
That had to be the most difficult word he had heard Marik use to date, and Bakura widened his eyes in surprise, until he reminded himself that it was Marik who he was dealing with; nobody knew what was going on in his mind, let alone Marik himself.
“We’re going to get Mahaado back and tear that Resistance into pieces, so please pay attention.”
“I don’t like pretty magician-general,” Marik said and scratched at a large cut in his lower left arm. “He takes pretty Pharaoh away from us.”
“Pharaoh-sama has his reasons.” Bakura noticed the shadows moving and didn’t look up this time; Osiris was just moving in circles close to them, ready to attack whenever the Pharaoh wanted him to.
“Where would this Resistance be?”
“We’re going to the location we picked up the last of Mahaado’s thoughts,” Bakura explained to him for the umpteenth time. “Hopefully we can find something there, a clue, some tracks… they have captured him there, so maybe they aren’t far away.”
“Shouldn’t we be telling pretty Pharaoh where to go to, then?”
Bakura shrugged. “Maybe he has such a bond with Mahaado that he can find him by himself.”
That made Marik scowl, scrunching up his face in the process, and he was very close to a full-fledged pout when he stared at the debris on the street and continued walking, moping.
Marik disliking Mahaado wasn’t big news and barely useful information, so Bakura didn’t pay any attention to him. He looked at the Pharaoh again. He was wearing the midnight dark blue armor, the recent one Gozaburo had given him. He seemed extremely focused today. Usually, the Pharaoh felt a little slow and tired, but now his eyes were sharp and blood red, glaring menacingly. Bakura pondered if that was because of his supposedly bond with Mahaado. He would maybe inquire about it when they were back at the KaibaCorp. building. Gozaburo would be pretty pissed that the top floor was gone, but well, that was what you got when summoning a God inside.
He grinned. Osiris hadn’t liked being summoned in such a tight spot, and had busted out exactly as the Pharaoh had expected. Spreading its wings had already caused massive damage, and the God had breathed fire to fight itself out of its confinement. With just a single command of the Pharaoh it had taken all three of them on its back, flying out to this part of town. Bakura shivered at the memory. He wasn’t looking forward to another ride on Osiris; it was damned up high, and the dragon’s scales were so smooth that he had feared falling off.
“Was it here?”
“It was around here, Pharaoh-sama,” Bakura confirmed. The intersection was deserted, the roads showing potholes and general lack of maintenance; the remaining traffic lights, not in working order, were silent witness to a city that once knew daily life. A huge factory dominated the intersection, its huge walls the only thing standing upright.
“Here.” The Pharaoh looked around, and Osiris lowered itself so much that its tail hit the ground, its two-mouthed head right behind his master. Bakura shivered from the God being so close, while Marik looked disinterested.
“Then we begin our search here,” he said. “We stay close, as I do not want a repetition of what has happened.”
“What could happen to you with a God at your side, pretty Pharaoh?” Marik asked.
“I do not want anything to happen to you either, the both of you.”
“That’s so sweet of you!” Marik cheered, and started to look around with renewed vigor, as if he could spy Mahaado somewhere. Bakura just shook his head in exasparation. There was obviously no one in sight. If he were a member of the Resistance, he would have high-tailed it out of here a long time ago, with the General as a hostage. What the hell where they doing here? This was of no use.
Marik stared intensely at the huge factory wall but there was nothing in sight. The Pharaoh crossed the intersection, Osiris so close to him that it overshadowed both him and the crossroads. The God’s large wings were pliable but so strong that they knocked over anything they came into contact with, crumbling down more of the surrounding buildings.
“Where is pretty magician-general?” Marik asked out loud.
“We will find him,” the Pharaoh answered. “He has to be around somewhere. Can’t you concentrate on his heka and feel it?”
A voice answered him from a distance. “You
can, my Pharaoh. When you take off that armor.”
Chapter 6 | Chapter 8 |