Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Solaris ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

I started writing this fic a long time ago… I’m not sure how long, but I think it’s been at least a couple of years. It’s also been quite long since I finished the first chapter, but as I wasn’t quite sure what would happen in the second, I didn’t post it yet. Now I think I’ve figured everything out, so I decided to take the risk and post this… I hope it won’t take me too long to finish the second (and last) chapter.

So… this is kind of a crossover between Yugioh and a Russian movie called Solaris. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of the latter one, you don’t have to know anything about it to read this. Though the fic does contain some spoilers for the movie if you’re going to watch it… The main idea behind the fic is the same, but the story’s quite different from the movie in other ways. After all, Seto and Kris (the character from the movie whose role Seto’s “playing”) are worlds apart in nature, so they wouldn’t react in the same way to everything.

Name note: I think it comes clear in the fic, but just to avoid confusion… Bakura refers to Yami no Bakura, both Ishtar and Malik are used for Malik, and both Mutou and Yami for Yami no Yuugi, depending on who’s talking. This is AU, so there is not this ‘yami/hikari’ thing in this fic.

Oh yes, and everyone’s a few years older here than in the manga. About 18-20, that is.

As for the movie… I have seen the original Russian Solaris, but not the American version. If you have seen the latter one and there are things that seem weird/wrong in this fic, that’s probably the reason. (Another possibility is that I’ve seen it only once, and that wasn’t enough for me to figure everything out..…)

Warnings: Well... some violence, i guess. And some disturbing-ness also... Non-yaoi (actually, non-romance-of-any-kind).

Disclaimer: No, I do not own either Yugioh nor Solaris. This is just a fanfic. What did you expect anyway?

SOLARIS

A dull bang echoed in the empty corridor, telling him that the airlock’s door had closed behind him. Shooting a sharp glance around he noted with distaste the mess that prevailed in the corridor he had entered. The feeling grew even stronger as he realized that there really was no one to receive him.

With an angry shrug he started to walk down the corridor, all the time making mental notes of the burnout lamps, the broken junk lying all around on the floor, and the dust that covered everything.

He shook his head in disgust. This is what they have used my money for? I hope for their sake that they’ve been doing better job with their research than taking care of the station.

Of course, there were currently only three people inhabiting this station, but the place was rather small and it shouldn’t have been too difficult to keep it in order.

As he walked on a small window caught his attention, and he stopped to take a peek out. For the most part the view was that of dark space, a few stars glistening here and there, but if he looked from as far left as he could, he managed to see a little piece of a huge, bluish disk with a few white, cloudlike things hovering on its surface.

Solaris. The uninhabited alien world orbiting a small star far away from his own solar system. Its entire surface was covered by some liquid – something else than water, that was all that was known about it. No life had been detected there, although some nutcases were suggesting that the sea itself was some kind of an alien life form. He didn’t believe that. How would it be possible for a life form like that to be born in the first place?

The planet had guarded its secrets annoyingly well. When it had been discovered, he had been the first to finance its research, the first to donate for the space station that was built on its orbit… besides of his well-hidden fascination of this far-away world, his instincts had also clearly said that this would pay off in the end. By now, the Project Solaris was as good as his own.

The only problem being that as time flew by, absolutely no news came from the space station. At first he had tried to be patient, but by now things were getting ridiculous. If he was going to continue spending his money on this project, he would also have to get some results.

Mokuba would have loved coming here, an uninvited whisper penetrated his angry thoughts as he eyed the planet through the window. For a moment he thought he saw his brother’s mirror image on the window, as the boy pushed his face into the glass, eyes shining with excitement. Shoulders tightening he turned away from the view and continued his way.

After countless empty rooms and long dusty corridors he finally found a door that had a nametag on it. ‘M. Ishtar’, he read. Finally. He knocked sharply on the door. These people really owed him some explanations.

As no one answered him, he knocked again, harder. “Ishtar-san? Are you there? I…”

A loud crash from inside cut him off and made him wince a little. I wonder if there is anything not broken in this station anymore…

He was just about to bang the door again, when it finally was opened. A blond, messy head took a peek outside, eyes a little confused as they stopped on him. For a moment they stood in silence.

“Ishtar-san?” he finally said, annoyed. “I’m Seto Kaiba. Didn’t you get my message?”

The other blinked. “Oh… umm, yes, sure, we did… I…” he threw a nervous glance over his shoulder into the room, and quickly stepped into the corridor, closing the door behind himself. “We just didn’t except you yet.”

Kaiba snorted. “For your information, if I send someone a message saying ‘I am coming there’, that means that I indeed am coming there – immediately, not next year. What is going on here?”

“Many a thing,” the other replied with a small shrug. “You wouldn’t believe even half of them, I’m sure.”

“Really? Tell me something I can believe then. Where are Mutou and Bakura?”

The nervousness returned to Ishtar’s expression. “Bakura’s in his lab, I think. He’s always there these days… and as for Mutou… I take it you haven’t heard, then…”

Kaiba sighed with exasperation. “Heard what?”

“He… killed himself last week.”

Silence. Kaiba blinked once, slowly. Ishtar shrugged, a gesture clearly saying ‘don’t ask me why, but that’s what happened’.

“Why?” Kaiba asked, not getting the message. “He’s not the kind of man to commit suicide. What are you…”

Ishtar raised his hands, cutting him off. “I’m not lying. Just a moment…” he went back to his room, closing the door behind him before Kaiba could follow him. A series of loud crashes came from the inside, accompanied by mumbled cursing. After a moment he stepped out of the room, closing the door again. “He left this for you,” he said, throwing a videotape to Kaiba. “Maybe it explains something. Maybe not.”

Kaiba glanced at the tape in his hand and looked then suspiciously at the closed door. Ishtar stood in the front of it, solidly, and after a while he shrugged. “Where can I watch this?”

“Just pick a room,” Ishtar said with a careless wave. “They all have video players.” He turned to enter the room again, but Kaiba stopped him.

“I think we need to talk more after I have watched this,” he said quietly. “And I want to meet Bakura too.”

“Sure… let’s do that in the morning, okay? I’m sure that you’re tired after the travel.”

Kaiba nodded in agreement and started to walk toward the direction Ishtar had waved.

“One more thing…” he heard Ishtar’s quiet voice from behind, and stopped.

“What?”

“If you hear something… or… see something… someone else than me or Bakura… don’t do anything. Don’t attack them.”

Kaiba frowned. “What do you mean? Who else is here?” he asked, but Ishtar had already withdrawn into his room.

For a moment Kaiba stood in the corridor staring at the shut door with a frown, but continued then his way. He wanted to watch the tape.

-

It hadn’t taken him long to find a suitable room. A bed, a desk for his laptop, a chair by it, and, most importantly, a television and a video player. The first thing he did was to put the tape into the recorder and sit on the chair to watch it.

A familiar figure appeared on the screen, sitting by a desk in a room that was quite similar to his.

“Hello, old friend,” came the voice, making him bite his lip. ”Or… should I say ‘old rival’ to make you feel more comfortable?” the man on screen continued with a small smirk. “As it is, it seems that you are the one who won our race… that should make you happy, right?”

There was a moment’s silence. “Or maybe not,” the man muttered then quietly. “Damn… I’ve been thinking about this long, and I still don’t know what to say…” His expression had suddenly lost all the smugness. “I’m sure that others have already told you what happened, so I won’t get into that.”

He fell silent again, staring thoughtfully somewhere past the camera. “Things are… quite weird here, and I’m afraid you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you about them,” he finally continued, and Kaiba snorted in annoyance. I wish everyone would stop telling me that…

“I know you want answers,” Yami continued, “as you always do, but I can’t give you them. There are no answers, only choices… All I can do is to give you a warning, though I’m afraid you’re too stubborn to listen.” He was smirking again. “As always. After all, when have you ever listened to me?”

Silence took over again, and this time it felt awkward. Yami dropped his gaze to his hands and stared at them for a moment. As he raised his eyes again, his expression was for the first time completely serious.

“Try to listen to me this time, would you? Even though I know that your first reaction will be a scornful snort… I know what happened last spring, and I know you don’t want to talk about it. Even to think about it. But… if I am not mistaken, you will soon have to. At that time, listen to your heart.” Grave eyes met Kaiba’s stiff expression from the screen. “I know you have one, even if you try to hide it. When things start to proceed, trust your feelings, not your reason. Don’t go for the… ‘scientific solution’.”

”Are you soon finished?” a quiet voice came from the background, making both Yami and Kaiba start. Yami glanced nervously over his shoulder, making a hushing sound. As he turned to look back to the camera, his expression was hard to read, but there was something pained in his eyes.

Leaning back on his chair Kaiba forced his tensed body to relax, and rewound the tape a little. ”Are you soon finished?” came the voice again, and it wasn’t Ishtar’s. He had never met Bakura, but he was sure this couldn’t be his voice either, it was too young. This time he let the tape play forward, and met Yami’s pained gaze thoughtfully.

“I don’t think there is anything else to be said,” Yami said quietly. “I’m not sure if this entire recording has any point, but… good luck to you, my friend.” He stood up suddenly, stepped out of the picture, and the screen turned to black.

Kaiba stared at the television thoughtfully, trying to figure out what was going on. Nothing made sense… he had watched the tape in the hopes of finding some reasons behind Yami’s… act, but it had left him even more confused. There had been no answers, only questions…

With an irritated move he clicked the remote control and rewound the tape to watch it again. “Hello, old friend…” Staring at the screen through slit eyes he tried to see or hear something he had missed last time, but there was nothing. Only the same nonsense about ‘listening to his heart’ as before…

There was a quiet click behind him, and with a start he turned around. The door to his room was open and a small boy stood in the doorway. For a brief moment he stared into sad violet eyes, then the boy turned on his heels and ran quickly away.

It took him a moment to get over his shock, but as he did, he jumped up and ran to the corridor. There was no one there, and as he listened carefully he heard nothing, just the quiet humming of the air conditioners.

A little shaken – more so than he cared to admit – he withdrew back into the room and closed the door behind him. That boy… he had looked just like Yami, but he had been smaller. Younger. As the voice on the tape… His eyes darted to the television, and he made a move towards it as if to go to watch the tape again, but stopped suddenly.

I am tired, he thought closing his eyes. Tired and not thinking clearly. And probably hallucinating, as well. Maybe it’s the space…? Better to go to sleep…

He shut the television, took a quick shower, and changed into his pajamas. He was just about to go to sleep, but turned then to look suspiciously at the door. Ishtar’s words echoed in his mind, ‘if you see something… someone else than me or Bakura…’ Something was going on here. There probably was someone else on the station than the three of them. And who knows, maybe that someone was responsible of Yami’s death…

He locked the door and just in case pushed the desk in the front of it. Before going to bed he took his pistol from his bags and placed it beside his pillow. You could never be too careful.

-

He woke up with a start, and stared at the ceiling in confusion for a moment before recalling where he was. His heart was still beating fast, probably because of an already forgotten dream, or – whatever it was that had woken him up. Yawning, he glanced at the alarm clock, and turned over closing his eyes. He could still sleep an hour or so…

“Niisama?”

The quiet voice made his eyes snap back open and heart skip one beat.

“Niisama? Are you awake?”

Grasping for his gun he bolted up in the bed. His eyes searched frantically the dim room before stopping at a small figure that was sitting in the chair opposite to the bed. For a brief moment his gaze darted to the door – the table was still in the front of it – before returning to the boy and his unnervingly familiar black mob of hair.

By now, the boy had stood up and was watching him with a grin.

“Morning, niisama. Sleepyhead… how late did you work if I’m awake before you?”

The boy took a step toward him, and everything happened very fast. He panicked and pulled the trigger, the bullet hit the boy in the forehead and the impact made the little body fly backwards. It hit the chair and fell down leaning against it in a half-sitting position.

Shaking – what did I do?! – Kaiba lowered the gun and stared at the body with wide eyes. It didn’t disappear… it just kept on lying there, blood flowing slowly from the wound. He closed his eyes, tightly, and reached for the light. It would have to disappear… it couldn’t be real. A hallucination. That’s all. A hal…

He looked toward the chair again, and the body was still there. Except that – now it was moving. Eyes blinking, it was trying to rise up, wiping blood from its face with another hand, but always it fell back down.

Something snapped in his mind. Jumping to his knees on the bed he pulled the trigger again and again and again and again, until the empty gun only clicked in his hand.

Lying on the floor, the body was again unmoving. He stared at it, panting heavily, when a knock from the door made him to start violently.

“Kaiba-san?” Ishtar’s voice. “Kaiba-san, is everything okay? I… think I heard shooting…”

For a moment he sat quietly on his knees on the bed, trying to regain his composure, before he slowly got up and walked to the door, avoiding looking toward the chair. He pushed the table aside and opened the door, facing Ishtar’s questioning look.

A short while they stared at each other in silence, but then Ishtar lowered his eyes to the gun that was still in his hand. Raising his eyebrows a little, he said, “I think I told you not to attack them.”

Kaiba didn’t answer anything, and after a moment he continued, “Who is it?”

Kaiba stared at him quietly for a moment, and stated then flatly, “My brother.”

Ishtar nodded. “Come here,” he said, pulling Kaiba into the corridor and closing the door behind him. “Now, listen. Shooting at it won’t help. You…”

“What is it?” Kaiba interrupted him sharply, still trying to get over the shock. “What the hell is that thing in my room?”

“It…” Ishtar looked a little uncomfortable. “It is a bit complicated…”

“Niisama…” came a quiet voice from the other side of the door.

“I’m sure it is.” Grasping his collar Kaiba pushed him against the opposite wall. “Now,” he continued, glaring straight at the other’s eyes. “My brother is dead. What is that thing?”

“Hey, take it easy! It’s not like this were my fault.” He wrenched himself free of Kaiba’s grip and took a step aside, with an expression that was too close to smug to Kaiba’s liking. “Blame your precious Solaris. I don’t know how it does this, but somehow, as we sleep, it produces exact copies of people extracted from our memories. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why – I just know that it happens, and you can’t do anything about it. They can’t be killed – their bodies heal in a moment – and you can’t get rid of them either. They just reappear during the night…”

“Niisama!” Someone was banging the door from the other side.

“Copies.” The word was very flat. “Copies.”

“Yeah.” Ishtar shrugged. “I think you’d better open the door before he breaks it.” The banging and screams were echoing in the corridor.

Kaiba stood still for a moment and pulled then the door open with angry movement. The boy inside dashed forward and collapsed at his feet, crying senselessly and trying to hug his knees. Full of rage at the alien planet that dared to play with his mind, he shook the boy easily off and marched into the room. “Shut up, I’m going to sleep,” he muttered angrily, and slammed the door shut with a shaking hand, missing Ishtar’s quiet voice.

“I think it might have something to do with conscience…”

A/N: So… that was the first chapter. Weird? Well, that’s the keyword with Solaris… I definitely have to watch it again some day, maybe I’ll this time understand something.

“There are no answers, only choices.” A quote from the movie…and someone has said that it may “ironically be the answer to the film and all of its many questions.” Maybe. All I know that Solaris is one of the most confusing movies I’ve seen… “Something to do with conscience” is also from the movie.

And yes, all comments are always appreciated.