Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy 7 - Yu-Gi-Oh Style ❯ Searching For Answers ( Chapter 23 )

Final Fantasy 7 - Yu-Gi-Oh style Chapter 23: Searching for Answers                   “Is it me or do you get the feeling that we’re forgetting something?” Atem asked as they rode down the elevator to Junon’s underwater reactor.                 “Nah,” replied Honda, “You probably just nervous.”            ;     “I hope you’re right.”           & nbsp;    Several fights and another elevator ride later, they reached the submarine docks only to watch as a sub being loaded with the Huge Materia and shortly sail off. “*Bleep*!” cursed Honda.            &n bsp;   “We just missed it,” Atem said, angry that they had to be tied up with fighting Kaiba’s goons along the way there.            &n bsp;   “Hey!” Ryuuzaki called from the next dock over, “We can still get it if we hurry!”           & nbsp;    They rushed onto the sub and knocked out the crew. After a few minutes of fooling with the controls, Ryuuzaki started it up and they were soon on the trail of the first sub. When they finally caught up to it, they were forced into a brutal battle, however, their sub had more torpedoes loaded and wasn’t weighed down by any extra crew or cargo. They were able to win against Kaiba with only a minimal bit of damage while Kaiba’s sub wasn’t so lucky.            &n bsp;   “We did it,” the spiky haired man said as they watched the enemy sub sink slowly to the sea floor.            &n bsp;   “Let’s go get that Materia!” Mokuba said, eager to help himself to the treasure before the others could.            &n bsp;   “Attention all Kaiba Corp. subs,” Atem-tachi jumped, startled as the intercom system suddenly sparked into life. “Come in all subs, do you read?”           &n bsp;    “They must have radioed for help,” said Ryou.            &nb sp;   “Number two, report!” called the radio again.            &n bsp;   “Are they alking’ to us?” Honda wondered.             ;    “Let me handle this,” Atem said shoving Ryuuzaki aside, “I may not have been in SOLDIER, but I was still in the military. Nothing to report,” he said, coolly into the receiver, “Everything’s fine here.”           &n bsp;    “Ryoukai (Acknowledged),” came the reply. “Return to Junon. We’re transporting the cargo from the airport. That is all.”           &nb sp;    “Roger,” Atem replied, “Over and out.” He quickly shut the radio off, lest they got wind of what had happened. “They must have known we were coming and pulled a switch on us.”           &nbs p;    “Hmm, I wouldn’t put it past them,” agreed Ryou.            &nb sp;   “So it’s back to town, huh?” Ryuuzaki queried. “All right then, here we go!”            &nb sp;     Once again, they were too late. They glowered at the rapidly disappearing plane.            &n bsp;   “Not again,” Honda muttered. “Can’t we get a break for once?!”           & nbsp;    “Where do you think they’re goin’ wid it?” Jou asked.            &n bsp;   “Looks like they’re headin’ ta my place,” Ryuuzaki said.            &nb sp;   “Guess we’re going to Rocket Town then,” Atem said, starting to go back to the Tyranno.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \       &n bsp;        “The terrorists are here!” a Kaiba Corp. flunky cried as they made their way up the scaffolding on the rocket.            & nbsp;   “Don’t let them get near the –“ The commander never got to finish that order because Ryou had snuck up behind him and snapped the man’s neck. Atem cringed at the slightly demonic look lying just below the surface of the usually quiet and shy teen’s eyes. All the other soldiers ran away screaming something about a demon.            &n bsp;   “Well that takes care of that,” Honda said, keeping a safe distance from the white haired teen.            &nb sp;   “*Bleep*!” spat Ryuuzaki, “Lemme at ‘em! No one’s gonna mess with my Two Headed King Rex!” The two toned brunet dashed up the scaffolding before any of them could stop him. He was a few steps away from entering the rocket when he ran into something hard.            &nb sp;   “You will not pass,” said a rather tall bald man blocking their way.    “Out of the way,” warned Atem, not wanting to hurt anyone unnecessarily.                 “No,” was Rishid’s reply.            &n bsp;   Sighing, he reluctantly drew his sword.            &n bsp;   It was only a matter of seconds before the man was on his back unconscious. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said, stepping over him, the others following suit.            &nb sp;   “What the *bleep*’s goin’ on?!” Ryuuzaki demanded, grabbing hold of a crew man.            &nbs p;   “Captain!” he said, “You came back!”           &n bsp;    “Hey Captain!” called another crew member, “Isn’t great?! We’re gonna launch the rocket for real this time!”           &n bsp;    “What do you mean?! The Rex’s a fossil!”                 “They say it’s gonna help bust up Meteor,” a third man explained, “They’re gonna use it as a bomb. I helped load the materia myself!”                 “Our rocket’s gonna save us all!” the first man beamed.            & nbsp;   “Ain’t it awesome, Captain?!” said the second.            & nbsp;   “Just a second,” Atem said, butting into the conversation.           & nbsp;    “Stay outta this spiky boy!” Ryuuzaki spat, not too pleased to see one of his ‘babies’ about to be blown to bits. “How’s ol’ Rex? Is he up to it?”           &nbs p;    “The rocket’s fine, Captain…”         &nbs p;      “But…”         & nbsp;      “C’mon! Spit it out ya trilobites!”          &n bsp;     “We were supposed to have it run on auto, but the auto-pilot’s busted.”                 “Ya fix it yet?”           &nb sp;    “Actually…”        &n bsp;       “Shizuka’s working on it now.”           &nb sp;    “Aww, just wonderful!” he muttered, “That fool girl’s gonna take to the next ice age to fix it! Listen up! I’m takin’ over this here mess. Screw the auto-pilot!”          &n bsp;     “But Captain!”            ;     “Are ya deaf or what?! Get lost!”           &n bsp;    The crew members hesitated for a few more seconds, then dashed out at the grim looking Ryou.            &nb sp;   “Ryuuzaki are you nuts?!” Atem asked, dumb-founded, “There’s a whole lot of wisdom and knowledge in that materia! We can use that to find a way to stop Bakura! If you let them blow it up, we may never find a way to stop him!”           &nb sp;    “I know that bub. I kinda get what you’re tryin’ ta say, but I really don’t believe in all that mystic hocus pocus crap. I’ve always trusted science and there ain’t no way I’m gonna stop now. Besides, this may be my last chance ta get into space!”           & nbsp;    “Ryuuzaki, please reconsider,” pleaded Ryou.            &nb sp;   “Shut your holes! I ain’t gonna listen! If ya ain’t gonna help, then get the *bleep* out!” Just then the door shut closed and was locked from the outside. None of them could leave even if they wanted to. “What the *bleep*?!”          &nbs p;     “Hyo-hyo-hyo!” came a familiar voice from over the rocket’s intercom.             ;    “Haga!” Ryuuzaki spat into the receiver “What the *bleep are you playin’ at?!”           &nb sp;    “Weeeeeeellllllll,” drawled the annoying head of the space department, “The auto-pilot’s fixed now, so we’re gonna launch.”                 “Damn that Shizuka!” he cursed, “She would have to pick today to finally learn to speed it up!”           &nbs p;    “Hyo-hyo-hyo!” came Haga’s laugh, “Better get buckled in Ryuu-kun, it’s lift off time!”           &n bsp;    “Hey! What about the countdown?! It just ain’t right without it!”           &nbs p;    “Hyo-hyo-hyo! Blast… Off!!!!!!!”          &nb sp;     The rocket then roared awake and jostled them to and fro as it shook and quaked before bursting free of the metal restraints that had kept it earthbound for so long.            &nb sp;   When they came to, Ryuuzaki staggered to his feet and looked out of one of the portholes. Their home was a brilliant blue and green marble surrounded by an endless sea of diamonds set upon a blanket of black velvet. “I finally made it,” he murmured, wishing it had been under different circumstances. “Better check the course.” He then floated over to the controls and fiddled with a few buttons. “Just as they said, we’re headed straight for Meteor.”                 “Just great,” Honda griped, “Can’t you stop it?”           &nbs p;    “Nope,” the dino loving pilot said, apologetically, “That *bleep*in’ Haga made sure that the auto-pilot can’t be shut off. I don’t think we can change directions.”          &n bsp;     “This can’t be it,” Atem said, refusing to believe he’d die like this.            &nb sp;   “Damn right it ain’t! There’s no way I’m gonna let Rex baby crash with me on it! That’s why I made sure to put in an escape pod.” He started pushing a few more buttons. “Alright! I overrode the lock on the pod! We’re gonna bail just before this ol’ heap hits!”   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~        & nbsp;         “That’s swell and all,” grumbled Honda, “but what about the materia?”            ;     “Who cares,” he grumbled back, “Ya want it, you’re welcome to it. It should be down that ladder over there. That’s where all the dangerous stuff is.”           &nbs p;    “Thanks Ryuuzaki,” said Atem.            &nb sp;   “Forget get about it! All I really cared about was making Kaiba put me into space.”           & nbsp;    Ryuuzaki showed them the way to where the materia was and instructed them how to open the case without causing too much trouble. On the way to the escape pod, one of the on board oxygen tanks that they had been passing by exploded and toppled onto the two toned brunet. “*Bleep*!” he cursed, “My leg’s stuck!”           & nbsp;    “Ruuzaki!” Atem cried, rushing over.            &nb sp;   “*Bleep*! It won’t budge!” spat Honda.            &n bsp;   “You trilobites forget about me! Just get to that escape pod before it’s too late!”           &n bsp;    “I’m not going to lose another friend!” shouted Atem.            &nb sp;   “There’s no time, Atem!” Jou said, tugging on his pants leg only to be brutally shoved away.            &nb sp;   “I’m not leaving him!”           &nb sp;    “What an idiot!” Ryuuzaki spat. He then struggled a bit more. As he kept trying to free himself, he counted the tanks, curious as to which one had blown. “Damn Shizuka, you were right. Number eight was no damned good after all. Too bad you’ll never get to hear me say it tho’.”          &n bsp;     “Don’t talk like that Ryuuzaki-san,” said an auburn haired girl coming into the hallway.                 “SHIZUKA?!!!!!!!!!” he asked, totally blown over.            &nb sp;   “Don’t move, I’m going to help you!”           &nb sp;    “You stupid *bleep*!” he scolded. She winced, looking down. “Gomen (Sorry).”            ;     She immediately tried to lift the tank, but found that she was like Honda, unable to lift it. Not being one to let a girl strain herself, Honda rushed to her aid along with Atem. With all three of them lifting, they were finally able to get Ryuuzaki’s leg free.            &nb sp;   “Captain,” Shizuka said, “Hurry and get on that pod, I’ll make sure it gets away safely.            & nbsp;   “It had better be working, Shizuka,” he warned.            & nbsp;   “I’ve been double checking on it till now. It’s just fine.”           &n bsp;    “That’s a relief,” he muttered under his breath, “Thanks babe.”           &n bsp;    “No thank you captain. If it weren’t for you, I’d never be given another chance.”                 “Shut up, girl! Now get in here!” Ryuuzaki grabbed her arm and pulled her along with them into the escape pod. She and Ryuuzaki then quickly shut the door and began pushing buttons like mad. Within moments, there was a faint hiss and slight shaking as the pod ejected itself from the rocket, which was not a moment too soon. Just as the pod had finally cleared the distance needed to be safe, the rocket crashed into Meteor with a rather spectacular explosion.”          &nb sp;     “Sayonara, Kaiba Corp. number twenty-six… so long my Two-Headed King Rex,” the two toned pilot said, sniffling.           &nbs p;    “Um… Ryuuzaki,” Jou said, tapping his shoulder with his tail, “I don’t think dat rocket o’yours worked.”                 They looked out the view ports and saw that it indeed hadn’t worked. The blast only seemed to make the large hunk of space rock to speed up toward the planet.            & nbsp;   “So much for science,” mocked Honda.            &n bsp;   “Shut up!” Ryuuzaki spat, before going over to a corner to sulk.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~         &nbs p;        A few days later, Atem-tachi were back on the Tyranno safe and sound. “Kaiba’s plan was a failure,” Atem reiterated as they were having a brainstorming session in the conference room.            &nb sp;   “Yeah, I was kinda hopin’ it’d work,” said Honda.            &n bsp;   “We’ve been messing with Kaiba as much as we can so far,” Ryuuji started, “I wonder if we’ve been doing this the wrong way.”           &nb sp;    “It’s enough to make ya freak don’t it,” Jou added.            &n bsp;   “Well, stop freaking and start thinking!” snapped Mai.            &nbs p;   “Ya Mai’s right,” agreed Ryuuzaki, “Freakin’ out ain’t gonna help anything! It’s only gonna make it worse than it already is.”           &nbs p;    “You’re pretty chipper,” Honda said, eyeing the two toned brunet warily, “You got an idea or something?”          &nb sp;     “I’ve been thinkin’, while we were stuck up there.”           & nbsp;    “I’ve been thinking too,” Atem added, “About everything. How small we really are in the scheme of this.”           &n bsp;    “Well, we may be small, but I think this planet’s small too. I mean it looked so small from that escape pod. It kinda makes ya feel like ya can’t do anything. That’s why I think the planet’s like a poor lil’ sick kid. A kid that’s all alone and needs protectin’. It looks like no one’s gonna do that so it’s up to us.”           &nbs p;    “Wow! Who know you’d be the philosophical type,” Mai said, impressed.           &nbs p;    “Yeah, you even got to me,” Honda added, “So how are we gonna protect this ‘kid’?”         & nbsp;      Ryuuzaki blushed profusely, not expecting to be praised. “Well… I’m still kinda thinkin’ about it.” The others sweatdropped.           & nbsp;    “’Ey, what was that?” Jou asked, cocking his head, and perking up his ears.            &nb sp;   There was an eerie wind blowing loudly from outside the airship. “It sounds like a scream,” Mai said shuddering, “Is the planet screaming?”          &nb sp;     “Mai,” Atem saied jokingly, “A planet can’t scream.”                 “Did you forget what Jounouchi’s grandfather told us?”           &nbs p;    “Sogoroku…” he said, finding himself missing the jovial old man.            &nbs p;   “I’ve gotta idea!” Jou piped up, “How ‘bout we go see Gramps. I bet he’ll know what to do!”           &nbs p;    “Good idea, but what about the materia we left in that sub we sank,” reminded Mokuba.            & nbsp;   “Yeah, I think we’d better go back and get it,” suggested Honda.            &n bsp;   There was no way around it, besides, they would have to eventually go back to retrieve it.   They had gotten the materia from the sub, but now found themselves lost. After sailing through the many subterranean caves and canyons, they came across two unusual caves. One deep below the ice of the northern continent where they found a strange looking key like object and one on the shore of a hollowed out volcano or mountain. They never did find out what it was exactly.    As they started exploring the second cave, Ryou stopped short when he heard something.    “What is it?” Atem asked, wondering if it was an enemy.    “It can’t be,” the white haired teen said, “Cecilia?! Is that you?”    A ghostly figure of a beautiful blonde woman appeared before them. “Ryou?” she queried, staring at the winged teen.    “Cecilia!!” he cried as he went to embrace her. He frowned when his arms went right through her.            &nbs p;   “No! Stay away!” she cried, frightened by his somewhat monstrous appearance.           &nb sp;    He winced, but obeyed and stood where he was. He silently cursed Pegasus for making  him into the monster he was now.            &nbs p;   “I’m sorry Cecilia,” he said, hanging his head in shame. “What you see is my punishment for not being able to stop you and the others from going on with that project. All I did was sit by and watch. This is why I am the way I am.”           &nbs p;    “It’s not your fault, dear,” she said laying a transparent hand on his cheek. “After Pegasus found out about us and Bakura went misisng, I wished and wished to disappear, but the Zorc cells injected in me wouldn’t let me. I was forced to stay alive until the cells couldn’t produce any more fuel. Now all I do is remain here and think about my poor Bakura. Not even once did I ever get to hold him. Even though I gave birth to him, I have no right being called his mother. This is my punishment for letting my husband treating our son like some experiment.”          &n bsp;     “Cecilia…”        &nb sp;       “Tell me Ryou, is my son still alive? I’ve heard stories that he died five years ago. But I see him in my mind so often… I know that even if he did die, he wouldn’t be allowed to pass on. So tell me, please.”                 “He’s dead, Cecilia,” lied the winged teen, not wishing to burden her with the truth. It was obvious she had suffered enough. “He joined those in the Lifestream.”          &n bsp;     “I’m glad,” she said forlornly, “Now he can finally be at peace. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to hold him and tell him how sorry I truly am.” The ghost then faded, but he got the feeling that she hadn’t passed on, just chose to leave since she had nothing else to say.            &nbs p;   “Cecilia…. Gomen,” Ryou said, hanging his head in shame, the guilt of lying to her eating away at his conscience and heart.            &n bsp;   “You had to do it,” Atem said, placing a sympathetic hand on the slightly taller teen’s shoulder. “How can you tell a mother her son was trying to destroy an entire planet?”                 “Yet another sin…” he sighed.            & nbsp;   “That had to be done to ease a grieving mother’s heart,” interrupted Atem. “Let’s go see the old man. The sooner we stop all this, the sooner you can apologize to her.”           &nb sp;    Nodding, he offered the spiky haired teen a small smile. “Arigatou (thank you), Atem.”           &n bsp;    They then followed the others back to the waiting sub.   Later at Sogoroku’s…         &n bsp;      “How nice of you to come visit an old man,” the old scientist said, making sure they were made comfortable, laughing all the while.            &n bsp;   “That’s not why we came,” Atem said with a serious tone.            &nb sp;   “Ho ho hooooo,” Sugoroku replied, “I thought as much. “Lost your way did you? It happens to all of us son. All you have to do is look into the deepest part of your hearts. Whatever is buried there, must be what you’re all searching for.”           &nb sp;    “What the *bleep*, is that supposed ta mean?!” Honda said, irritated by the old man’s cryptic words.            &n bsp;   “Mai and I have tried, but I still can’t remember what it is I was supposed to,” said Atem.            &nb sp;   “You just haven’t looked hard enough m’boy.”          & nbsp;     “You gettin’ any of this?” Mokuba asked the others totally perplexed.           &nbs p;    “I’m as clueless as you kid,” answered Ryuuji.            & nbsp;   “I don’t believe it!” Atem said suddenly, startling the others out of their own reveries. “She was here all along. Isis was with us all this time. She was so close that we never saw! We all forgot about what she did, what she left behind.”                 “She said she was the only one who could stop Meteor,” Jou said grimly.            & nbsp;   “And she’s gone,” added Honda.            &n bsp;   “Why’d she go off by herself like that,” bemoaned Ryuuzaki. “Why’d she go to that *bleep*in’ place?!”                 “Ryuuzaki you’re a genius!” the spiky haired man cried, grinning broadly.                 “I-I am?!”           &nb sp;    “The answer’s got to be back at that city she ran off to.”           &nbs p;    “Hmm,” Sogoroku pondered, “You may be right, son. I think you’d better take me there.”           & nbsp;    “Ya comin’ with us, Gramps?” the dog like creature asked, amazed that his normally reclusive grandfather had insisted on going with them.            &nb sp;   “I do on occasion want to leave the house, Jounouchi,” he scolded, “Besides, I haven’t been this excited in ages. What are you all waiting for?! Let’s get going!”           & nbsp;    “Um… I have a favor to ask sir,” Atem said, catching his attention. “We’ve been carrying around this huge materia and I was wondering if we could keep it here, where it’d be safe.”           &n bsp;    “You don’t say. Well then just put it upstairs and now let’s go,” he said, anxious to see the ruined City of Ancients for himself.                 On the Tyranno…            ;     The old man was darting around the airship like a kid in a candy store. “Ah… the smell of machines!” he crowed, taking a deep breath, “But the smell of nature’s nice too. Oh is that the deck up there?” he asked a crew member heading for the lift. However, the rather hyper old man didn’t wait for a reply. Instead he followed him onto the lift. “Tell the others I’ll be on the deck for a bit.” The crewman just shook his head and mutter to himself about crazy old men.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Once they had landed near the ruined city, Sogoroku dashed off the airship as fast as his aging legs would let him. Never before had he seen such an intact relic as the city. They later found him puttering around some kind of strange mechanism in the central part of the city they had passed by on their first trip there. He was happily muttering to himself, most of which none of them could fully understand.           &nb sp;    “So do you know what this is?” Atem asked curiously.           &nbs p;    “Just a minute, m’boy,” he replied poring over the carved hieroglyphs.           &n bsp;    “This place is unbelievable!” he beamed. “A complete and intact reservoir of Ancient knowledge! According to what I’ve been able to understand, we have to find ‘Holy’.”                 “Holy?” asked Mai.            &nbs p;   “It’s the ultimate white magic spell. It just might be able to stand up to that nasty old rock up there. According to some of this writing, if someone is able to search and ask for Holy, it will appear and whatever is threatening the planet will disappear.”          &nb sp;     “Um… does that mean…” inquired Mokuba.            & nbsp;   “Well, it’s up to the planet to choose what it wants to get rid of. If it deems us to be bad for its health, then it will get rid of us. I wonder what it thinks of us.” He then let out another of his trademark chortles.             ;    “So how do we look for Holy?” Atem asked, not wanting to dwell on the possibility that doing so could spell doom for the human race.            &nb sp;   “Well… according to this,” he pointed to a rather ornate fresco like painting on one of the walls, “We’ll need to have some white materia and then ‘speak to the planet.’ If the planet hears us it’ll grant our wish and the materia will start to glow a faint green color.”           & nbsp;    “Then it’s no use,” the spiky haired teen said, frowning, “Isis had the only piece of white materia I’ve seen so far and now she’s…”                 Sogoroku began to laugh loudly. “I think you’d better see this then.” He pointed to another set of hieroglyphs carved into a circle. Atem stared at them, but they were too faded and worn to read. “Oh not that,” he said, “I mean over here.” Atem then moved over to where the old man was standing and stared amazed at a message written in very faint chalk.            &n bsp;   “Key,” Atem said after trying to decipher the faded handwriting “In the music box?”           &nb sp;    “It appears that you weren’t the first to come upon this place,” the old man said. “Whoever wrote that must have spent all his remaining life force trying to learn about this place.”           & nbsp;    “But what does it mean?” Atem wondered.             ;    “Sorry, son. I don’t know either. But I think it may have something to do with all this.”           &n bsp;    “With Isis-san you mean?” Mokuba asked, interested now that materia was involved.             ;    “It would seem so,” he replied, “Our ‘music box’ is over there.” They looked to see a rather fat and shortish column off on the far side of the chamber. I’m guessing that you have to put the ‘key’ in there somehow. Say what’s that you’ve got there?” He noticed Mokuba playing with a strange stick made of rock similar to the surrounding ‘stairs’. Several smaller branches stuck out at varying intervals. “Why I do believe that may be our key. Let me see it, Mokuba.”                 The raven haired boy was reluctant to let it go, seeing that it now had value. But after receiving several warning glares from Honda, Jou, and Mai, he begrudgingly handed it over.            &nb sp;   “I was right! This very well may be the key.” Before any of them could stop him, he quickly dashed out the chamber and reappeared a few moments later at the column. They could see that he was happily muttering to himself as he began to circle around the column, searching for any clues. After finally noticing a faint impression in front of the column, he bent and gingerly began to brush away the dust. Once cleared, he could see that it looked like a hole for placing something into it, a pole perhaps?                 He then carefully placed the ‘key’ into said hole and was amazed to see it suddenly glow and faint music played. The column groaned into life and sank into the ground. There was a soft rumbling sound and a few short seconds later, an enormous cascade of water came falling down the center of the chamber, the central platform they had been standing at was completely surrounded by the strange glowing water.            &n bsp;   “Go ahead in!” he called indicating the drenched platform. “I think this is some kind of viewing device. Ho ho hooo, maybe your answer’s in there.”           & nbsp;    Atem bravely strode into the cascading water, shocked to find that not only was the platform dry as a bone, but he hadn’t gotten went either! He watched as the water in front of him began to glow brighter and a faint image began to form and play out before him.            &nbs p;   He gasped as he watched Isis was once again murdered by Bakura. The white stone that had been set in her necklace fell and bounced its merry way down the columns and into the water below.            &n bsp;   “I-It was glowing,” the spiky haired man said in awe.            &nbs p;   “Was it a pale green?” the old man asked, startling him slightly at his sudden appearance.           &nb sp;    “Hai,” replied Atem, “So she was able to do it after all. She was praying for Holy. When Yugi – or was it me? – gave the black materia to Bakura, I had a dream about her. She told me she was the only one who could stop him. She said she had to come here because there was a secret here. Somehow she knew about this place and knew what to do. Damn it Isis! You left without telling us. If only I’d been able to figure this out sooner!”                 “What’s done is done. Besides there’s still hope, m’boy,” the old man said, giving him a sympathetic look.            &nb sp;   “I know. I understand now. Gomen nasai, Isis. I’m such an idiot for taking so long to get it. Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of the rest.”           &n bsp;    “Nothin’ doin’!” Honda said, having overheard their conversation. “We’ll take care of this mess!”           &n bsp;    “Yeah. She did that for all of us!” emphasized Ryuuzaki. “She’d be real mad if we didn’t do anything.”          &nbs p;     “Minna, Arigatou (Thank you everyone),” Atem said, giving his friends a grateful smile. “And thank you Isis. The planet heard you after all.”           &nb sp;    “’ey wait a sec!” Jou called. “If da planet heard her, then how come nothin’s happenin’? Isn’t Holy supposed to stop Meteor?”                 “Hmm…” pondered Sogoroku, “Something must be interfering.”          & nbsp;     “Bakura,” the spiky haired man said grimly, “It’s got to be. He’s the only one strong enough.” Just then Atem’s cell rang. “Hai?” he said, answering.           &nbs p;    “Have I got news for you,” came Ryuuji’s voice. The cat and moogle had stayed behind, since his real body was busy at Kaiba HQ.              ;   “Something happened?”          &nbs p;     “Well… do you remember the Junon cannon? It’s not in Junon any more.”           &n bsp;    “So that’s what I forgot back there when we were heading for the reactor.”            ;     “Yep. Look’s like Seto had it moved.”           & nbsp;    “Where to?”           &nbs p;    “Well… you see he wants to use it to kill Bakura. It appears that it runs on not just any old materia, but huge materia!”            ;     “So that’s why they wanted it.”           &nbs p;    “Right, but since we’ve screwed up his brilliant rocket plan, it was pretty much useless sitting in Junon. So he had it moved to where there’s plenty of mako.”           &n bsp;    “Domino,” Ryuuji replied, solemnly. He cringed as he looked out the office window, Meteor looming over the mako dependent city and getting bigger by the moment.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~        &nbs p;         “Otogi,” Kaiba said, causing him to suddenly hang up and turn to face his boss, secretly pocketing his cell. “I want you to be in charge of adjusting the reactor output.”                 “Yes, sir,” he said, keeping on his best poker face.            &nb sp;   “Aw, just open it all the way!” Anzu grumbled, “That way we’ll get the best results.” She then began laughing, making all who heard it cringe. (Think Naga from Slayers folks)            &n bsp;   “You can’t fail this time boss,” Marik said, joining his brunette coworker in a good laugh. “Once we beat the crap outta Bakura, Meteor will go bye-bye.”            ;     “Just remember it was my idea to use the reactors as power for the canon sir,” Anzu said, batting her eyes at the rather disgusted CEO.            &nbs p;   “You’re sure the shells well reach the northern continent?” he said, none to gently brushing Anzu aside.            &n bsp;   She huffed, but quickly calmed down, since she didn’t want to lose her job. “Oh of course they will sir! But can’t we drop that silly name of Mako Cannon and call it the ‘Sister Ray’?”          &n bsp;     “Whatever,” he said fully annoyed, by the girl’s and Marik’s laughing. “Just make sure you don’t screw up like all the other times.”           & nbsp;    “Yes sir!” they all said, breathing sighs of relief as the young CEO strode out of the conference office.   ~TBC~     Sakura: Phew! Thought I’d never get this chappie done!!!   Yami: Took you long enough.   Sakura: Hey! I had to spend the whole week with Haseo ‘cause of a glitchy code. I was darned lucky I didn’t have to start over from the beginning!   Atoli: You really shouldn’t have been cheating anyway.   Sakura: Hey! Who let her in?!!! Besides, it’s only bad if you cheat on online, Al said so!   Ed: Al?! Since when did you start playing video games?!   Al: I don’t nii-san.   Sakura: Not that Al o’chibi! (grabs Albireo) I meant this ‘Al’. You should read more .hack Eddo.   Albireo: Just how did I get roped into this? Why is it always me?   Gojyo: Just be grateful she doesn’t stick you into one of her sicko fics.   Sakura: Gojyo dear, I’d better start running now if I were you. (veg)   Bakura: That’s enough, onna. Don’t you have another fic to work on?   Sakura: Oh yeah! Almost forgot about that! Well I’m off to work some more on Yugivania 2 minna. So don’t forget to leave me loads of feedback. I liiiiiiiiiiiiive for the stuff! Jya ne!