Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ YGO Blade Runner ❯ Chapter 2
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Lsama-no-miko 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Cyberpunk / Drama / Post-apocalyptic / Sci-fi | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 168 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Cyberpunk / Drama / Post-apocalyptic / Sci-fi | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.17.2008 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.5K | Visits: 168 | Status: Work In Progress
YGO Blade Runner
by Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)
Sakura: Sigh.
Yugi: What’s wrong Sakura-san?
Sakura: Nobody was able to guess who I cast as Rachael. T_T
Yugi: Well, she is kinda hard to cast.
Sakura: I know, but I was sure SOMEONE would. Oh well. I’ve decided to give this chappie to my dearest sister Sherabo since she came closest to guessing and I wanted to repay her for giving me a whole chapter of one of her awesome fics!! You go girl!!
Chapter 2
The tall brunet lay on his back in the glass coffin like breathing apparatus, eyes focused on the glowing screen above his face as the illuminated text paused so he could read.
“What are you reading?” said a voice from the shadows. Honda paused and rolled his eyes to see who had bothered to visit. He really didn’t have to, since he’d know that voice anywhere, but he had to make sure – no one ever came to visit him, not even his family.
“Hey Atem old buddy!” he rasped, “Just an old fave of mine, Treasure Island. Good ta see you though.” The spiky haired man frowned. “I look like crap don’t I?”
“You?” Atem replied, “Nah, you’ve never looked better. Best I’ve ever seen you,” he joked, though there was bitterness laced in the mocking tone.
“Quit the comedy Atem!” Honda spat angrily, “Look at me for crying out loud! That skin job wrecked me up dammed good!” The incapacitated man let out a low hiss as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Blew it big time, huh?”
“Well, duh! We’re in real shit here, Atem. These new replicants aren’t like the old ones you ‘n’ I used to go after. They’re no different than any of us!”
“Mind telling me about it?” the shorter man asked, leaning slightly on the coffin.
Honda was silent for a few moments before complying with his former colleague’s request. “A few days ago, Kaiba Corp. found three perps in the records room. They killed one of ‘em but the others got away.” Atem nodded, giving his friend a chance to rest before continuing. “They do the usual autopsy on the one that they did get, and bingo! It was one of ‘em skin jobs that ‘jacked that shuttle. It was a really fancy model too, Nexus 6 combat type.”
“I hear those Nexus 6 are pretty hot.”
The brunet gave out a bitter laugh, causing him to cough uncontrollably. “Thing is, they didn’t know until three hours into the autopsy,” he said once he was able to talk again. “It was just like cutting up one of us, no ID marks, nothing. So Ishtar had me go down there to check on all the new employees.” Atem nodded, letting him know that the blond captain had told him.
“Well, it got pretty boring after doing twenty six normies. Then in walks this big guy, Jou something. Looked not that smart, but typical looking kid. Tall though…”
“So you VK’d him?”
Honda was silent for a few more moments, not sure on how to tell him. “Hate ta tell you this pal, but I really don’t think the machine works on these new sixes. For a bit I thought I was onto something but…” The taller man started coughing again, wincing as pain laced through his body. “We’re in some serious trouble Atem. Those things are practically us! They’re as bad as a disease I tell ya!”
“Easy, Honda, easy” Atem said, trying to calm his coughing friend, noticing the increased beeping of the machinery surrounding him. “I’m going over to Kaiba’s tomorrow. They’ve got a six and I’m going to VK it.”
Honda nodded, panting heavily. “Do me a favor pal, push that button over there,” he rasped after his breathing calmed down a bit, pointing to a small reddish button on the side of the coffin with his eyes.
“Sure,” the shorter replied, pressing it. “What’s it do?”
“It’s… for… pain,” he gasped, tears streaming down his face.
************************************************
The next day found the former Blade Runner standing in the combination office/bedroom of one Dr. Seto Kaiba. Atem looked around boredly at the crispy clean of the white and blue room, which practically took half the top floor of the Kaiba Corp. tower. Suddenly a bluish white owl flew past him, startling him slightly. Entranced, he watched as it stopped and perched itself on an ornate silver perch off to the side of the CEO’s desk. For the briefest of moments, the bird’s eyes glowed red in the fleeting shadows caused by the early morning light.
“You like our owl?” said a voice from behind.
The spiky haired man whirled around to see a boy about fifteen or sixteen with light green hair and blue eyes wearing a forties style tailored white suit. “It’s artificial?” he asked, clearly taken by the boy’s good looks.
“Of course it is,” the boy said, approaching him, the barest hint of pride in his voice.
“Must be expensive.”
“Very,” he replied, the smirk on his face almost imperceptible. “I’m Noa.”
He nodded, acknowledging the boy. “Atem,” he said, returning the introduction.
“It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public,” Noa said.
“Replicants are like any other machine,” the spiky haired man said, slightly annoyed at the boy’s someone snotty attitude. “They’re either a benefit or a hazard. They’re a benefit, then it’s not my problem.”
“May I ask you a personal question?” the boy asked with equal annoyance.
“Sure,” he said sitting down in one of the chairs provided to visiting business associates.
“Have you ever retired a human by mistake?”
Taken back by the unexpected question, Atem stared at the boy for a few moments. “No,” he replied.
“But in your position that is a risk,” Noa retorted, coldly.
“Is this supposed to be an empathy test?” a new voice asked entering from a door hidden slightly behind one of the marble columns that framed the room. “Capillary dilation of the so-called blush response.. fluctuation of the pupil involuntary dilation of the iris......” The speaker was a man about Atem’s age. He had short chestnut brown hair and icy blue eyes, that pierced right through a person. A permanent glare was plastered on his rather handsome face. The Blade Runner noted appreciatively at the black shirt and pants he wore under the strangely sleeveless white trench coat and black leather straps adorning his arms.
“It’s called Voight-Kampff for short,” Atem replied, standing up.
“Mr. Atem,” Noa said, coming to attention, “Dr. Seto Kaiba.”
The shorter man nodded in acknowledgement.
“I want you to demonstrate it,” the brunet demanded. “I want to see it work.”
“On what subject?”
“I want to see it on work on a human. I want to see a positive before I give you a negative.”
“It won’t prove anything,” he protested.
“Hmph. Just do it.”
“On you?”
“Try him,” the CEO replied motioning Noa to sit down at the other side of the desk. The boy smiled, obviously amused by the exchange as he went to obey.
“It’s too bright in here,” Atem said, before setting up the VK machine.
Without saying another word, Dr. Kaiba clapped his hands and the enormous wall sized shade slowly began to cover the window, blocking out the glaring sunlight. Within a few minutes, the spiky haired man had the lighting to his liking and the machine had been checked and properly adjusted.
“You mind if I have some tea?” Noa asked, reaching for an exquisite tea setting that had been laid out earlier.
“It won’t affect the test,” he replied, sitting down. Nodding gratefully, the boy poured himself a cup and took a dainty sip.
“I’m going to ask a few questions,” Atem began, “Just try to be relaxed as possible, alright?” Noa nodded, taking another sip.
After checking the adjustments again, the spiky haired man began. “It’s your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet.”
“I’d turn him in,” the boy replied coolly, “Things made from animal skin and fur is illegal.”
“You have a son. He shows you his butterfly collection along with the killing jar.”
“I’d take him to see a psychiatrist.”
He glanced at the screen, nothing. “You’re watching TV. Suddenly, you see a wasp crawling on your arm.”
“I’d kill it,” was another cold response as the boy sipped his tea.
The machine still didn’t register anything. After pausing to take a sip of the tea himself, Atem went on with the test. “You’re reading a magazine. You come across a full page photo of a nude man.”
“Is this to see if I am a replicant or a homosexual, Mr. Atem?” the boy shot back, obviously bored and slightly amused.
Ignoring the boy’s impudence, he asked the next part of the question. “You show it to your wife. She likes it so much that she hangs it on the wall. The man is lying on a bearskin rug.”
“I’d never let her.”
“Oh? Why?
“I should be enough.”
Atem raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further. The boy was indeed rather good looking.
“One last question,” he said after had spent the last two hours on the test. “You’re watching an old movie. There’s a party going on. The guests are dining on raw oysters.” The boy made a face of disgust, but said nothing. “The main course is boiled dog stuffed with rice. You find the main course to be more appealing to you than the oysters.”
The boy refused to answer, but after glancing at the screen one last time, the taller man shut off the machine.
“Well?” Kaiba asked, motioning for Noa to leave. The boy nodded before giving the Blade Runner a smile.
“He’s a replcant, isn’t he?” Atem asked once the boy had left the room.
“I am impressed,” Kaiba said, genuinely amazed. “How many does it usually take to spot one?”
“About twenty, thirty cross-referenced.”
“It took over a hundred with Noa,” the CEO said, rather smugly, obviously proud of his handiwork.
“He doesn’t know does he?”
There was a slight frown on Kaiba’s face. “I believe he’s beginning to suspect it though.”
“That’s impossible!” spat the shorter of the two. “How can it not know what it is?!”
“Commerce,” lectured Kaiba, “Is my business Mr. Atem. Our motto here is, ‘more human, than human.’ Noa’s an experimental model. However, my employees and I have begun to notice a strange obsession in our latest commercial types.” The spiky haired man glanced up at him expectantly as he began to pace a bit.
“It was to be expected actually, since they are emotionally inexperienced and only have a few short years to store the experiences you and I take for granted every day. We found that we could control them better if we gave them a past of sorts.”
“You’re talking about memories!” Kaiba just continued to look smug over his triumph. “So where’d you get these memories?”
“In Noa’s case, I simply cloned what few viable brain cells my younger brother had and implanted them. What Noa remembers, is he remembers.”
Atem shuddered. “Reminds me of this old movie I saw. Guy had bolts in his neck.” Kaiba refused to say anymore, just continued to smirk that smug smirk of his.
*****************************************************
Later that evening, the spiky haired Blade Runner and the tall raven haired cop from the previous day, dashed between the falling acidic rain drops over to the hotel they’d driven to. Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, Atem doubled checked the address before going in. Above them, the half lit neon sign read, ‘Yukon’.
After his taller companion showed the proprietor his police badge and he explained the situation, the rather annoyed and grumpy old man led them down a dingy, refuse filled hall to one of the rooms. “He was in here,” he grumbled as he unlocked the door.
Inside, wasn’t much better. It was dark and it smelled like, well it wasn’t one of those plug in air-fresheners. After a cursorily sweep of the room, he went to check the bathroom. He found the constant hum and flickering of the faulty florescent light attached to the wall to be annoying, so he hit the switch and turned it off. Grumbling inwardly, he soon realized that he needed that light to see. Flipping the switch back on, he found that the schizophrenic light had decided to stop flickering and humming to itself.
Upon inspection, he came to dislike the management of this place more and more. The tub was just disgusting. In it was what appeared to be blood, rust, grime and only God knew what else. He was about to leave, when something shiny caught his eye. Steeling himself, Atem reached into the tub and picked up what appeared to be some kind of scale. Pulling out a small plastic evidence bag, he carefully placed the scale inside.
The raven haired man glanced up at him as he came from the bathroom. Once again he said nothing, for nothing needed to be said. It was obvious that their target wasn’t around and probably wouldn’t be back at all. He finished the tiny origami figure of a man he’d busied himself with and placed on the dresser, watching and waiting as the shorter man went about the rest of the room, conducting a more thorough inspection.
Stuffed in between neatly folded shirts in one of the dresser drawers was a stack of photos. Most of which were of a little blond boy and a strawberry blond, or perhaps, auburn haired girl. After going over them, he noticed one had a rather odd reflection in the mirror of the hotel room they were in. Deciding to take it, he stuffed it into his jacket pocket and indicated to his silent partner it was time to leave.
*************************************************************
Outside the Yukon Hotel, a young man in a long black trench coat and long white haired stood waiting patiently for his companion to return. He glanced at his hand briefly as he flexed it into a fist, the knuckle joints cracking. “Time enough,” he whispered.
He relaxed his hand and glanced up at the approaching footsteps. A slightly taller blond boy had come over to him. “Did you get your precious photos?” he asked.
The boy frowned, clearly upset. “Somebody was there,” he said, fuming.
“Who?” the albino asked, not liking where this was headed, “Men?” The blond nodded. “Policemen?” he asked again. The boy said nothing, just stood there feeling guilty. Sighing, the albino turned and started walking, the blond quickly following behind.
They continued down the homeless ridden street of the slums, until they reached a building with an odd eyeball like sign over the door. Not bothering to knock, the white haired man opened the door and walked in. It took the blond a few seconds to realize that this was their next destination and rushed to follow his leader inside.
The blond began to look around the strange lab like room and immediately began to get the creeps. There were aquarium like containers all over, and inside of them was nothing but – eyes! Eyes of every shape, size and color gazed sightlessly out from the clear liquid they had been so carefully placed.
A boy with mint green hair and bug shaped glasses was wearing an old beat up fur type coat with several tubes and wires attached to it as he went about his work, the lab was way below freezing after all. He hadn’t noticed he had visitors until he felt a sharp yank on the tubes and wires of his coat.
The boy turned around and let out a scream of fright before yelling, “You can’t come in here! How dare you!” He then noticed that these two intruders weren’t properly insulated. “Are you insane?! It’s freezing in here! Do ya wanna die?!”
“We have questions Weevil,” the albino said, obviously unaffected by the sub-Antarctic temperatures.
“I don’t care!” spat the boy, annoyed at having his work interrupted. “Get out!” The albino just smiled as he reached into one of the aquariums. The boy’s eyes quickly began to resemble the bug glasses as he watched him pull the appendage back out of the liquid nitrogen, virtually unharmed except for a thin layer of ice on the skin.
Then it dawned on him. “Y-You’re a replicant!” Weevil stammered in recognition. The albino continued to smirk menacingly. “You’re not supposed to be here! I-It’s against the law! Get back up there where you belong!” he shouted, pointing to the sky.
“Questions,” the albino said again with that dangerous smile.
The blond strode around the boy and ripped out the wires and tubes from the coat, causing Weevil to scream. “N-No! D-Don’t I n-need that!” he protested. The blond ignored him and continued to rip the rest of the coat off of him.
Seeing that the boy was now properly ‘persuaded’, the albino got down to business. “Morphology…” he began, “Longevity, incept dates…”
“I-I d-don’t k-know that s-stuff!” the boy said, grasping onto his arms, trying desperately to warm up. “I-I j-just m-make e-eyes! O-Only eyes! P-Please g-give m-me n-nother c-coat!” he pleaded, barely able to point to the spare coat hanging nearby.
“Really?” the albino replicant asked mockingly. “I thought it was feet or perhaps noses?”
“P-Please m-my c-coat?” the eye designer pleaded in desperation. But neither of them moved. Weevil then tried another tactic, maybe if he appealed to their egos they would let him have the coat back. “Y-You’re a-a N-Nexus r-right?” The albino’s grin grew wider. “I-I k-knew it! I-I m-made y-your eyes!”
There was a loud crash. Apparently, the blond had had enough of the creepy eyes staring at him constantly and knocked the nearest case over. Smirking amusedly, the slightly shorter replicant went back to ‘discussing’ with the eye designer. “If only you could see what I’ve seen with your eyes, Weevil. Questions,” he pressed again.
“I-I… n-no a-answers,” the mint haired boy stammered.
“Then who?”
“K-Kaiba! H-He k-know… e-every… t-thing.”
“Kaiba Corp.?” The blond perked up at that, giving them a look that resembled a dog upon hearing a word he recognizes.
“B-Big b-boss… h-he m-made y-your b-b-b-brain.”
“Tough man to see, Weevil,” the albino complained, taking a seat on a nearby metal box. “Lots of security.”
“B-B-B-Bakura… h-he c-c-c-can… y-y-y-ou s-s-s-s-see b-b-b-boss!” The eye designer was clearly turning blue by now.
The albino replicant looked at him, confused. “And who is this… Bakura?” he asked.
“R-R-R-R-Ry-Ry-Ryou…”
“Bakura,” the albino finished. “Now, where do we find this… Ryou Bakura?”
~TBC~
Sakura: Betcha you weren’t expecting Noa were you minna?
Mokuba: I thought I was gonna do that part!
Sakura: Yeah, well L-sama and I thought it over a lot and decided that Noa’d be better. Now stop pouting.
Seto: You’re lucky I didn’t sue you woman.
Sakura: 8P I know that some of you die hard fans – if you chose to ignore my warning that is – are gonna say, ‘That wasn’t in the movie!’ for some of the stuff in this part. I know that, but I’m following a copy of an online script I found as well as the dvd. I’m going to be putting some more stuff in here that isn’t in the movie if I find it appropriate or if L-sama does. Anyhoo, hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Tell me what you thought, ‘kay?
by Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)
Sakura: Sigh.
Yugi: What’s wrong Sakura-san?
Sakura: Nobody was able to guess who I cast as Rachael. T_T
Yugi: Well, she is kinda hard to cast.
Sakura: I know, but I was sure SOMEONE would. Oh well. I’ve decided to give this chappie to my dearest sister Sherabo since she came closest to guessing and I wanted to repay her for giving me a whole chapter of one of her awesome fics!! You go girl!!
Chapter 2
The tall brunet lay on his back in the glass coffin like breathing apparatus, eyes focused on the glowing screen above his face as the illuminated text paused so he could read.
“What are you reading?” said a voice from the shadows. Honda paused and rolled his eyes to see who had bothered to visit. He really didn’t have to, since he’d know that voice anywhere, but he had to make sure – no one ever came to visit him, not even his family.
“Hey Atem old buddy!” he rasped, “Just an old fave of mine, Treasure Island. Good ta see you though.” The spiky haired man frowned. “I look like crap don’t I?”
“You?” Atem replied, “Nah, you’ve never looked better. Best I’ve ever seen you,” he joked, though there was bitterness laced in the mocking tone.
“Quit the comedy Atem!” Honda spat angrily, “Look at me for crying out loud! That skin job wrecked me up dammed good!” The incapacitated man let out a low hiss as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Blew it big time, huh?”
“Well, duh! We’re in real shit here, Atem. These new replicants aren’t like the old ones you ‘n’ I used to go after. They’re no different than any of us!”
“Mind telling me about it?” the shorter man asked, leaning slightly on the coffin.
Honda was silent for a few moments before complying with his former colleague’s request. “A few days ago, Kaiba Corp. found three perps in the records room. They killed one of ‘em but the others got away.” Atem nodded, giving his friend a chance to rest before continuing. “They do the usual autopsy on the one that they did get, and bingo! It was one of ‘em skin jobs that ‘jacked that shuttle. It was a really fancy model too, Nexus 6 combat type.”
“I hear those Nexus 6 are pretty hot.”
The brunet gave out a bitter laugh, causing him to cough uncontrollably. “Thing is, they didn’t know until three hours into the autopsy,” he said once he was able to talk again. “It was just like cutting up one of us, no ID marks, nothing. So Ishtar had me go down there to check on all the new employees.” Atem nodded, letting him know that the blond captain had told him.
“Well, it got pretty boring after doing twenty six normies. Then in walks this big guy, Jou something. Looked not that smart, but typical looking kid. Tall though…”
“So you VK’d him?”
Honda was silent for a few more moments, not sure on how to tell him. “Hate ta tell you this pal, but I really don’t think the machine works on these new sixes. For a bit I thought I was onto something but…” The taller man started coughing again, wincing as pain laced through his body. “We’re in some serious trouble Atem. Those things are practically us! They’re as bad as a disease I tell ya!”
“Easy, Honda, easy” Atem said, trying to calm his coughing friend, noticing the increased beeping of the machinery surrounding him. “I’m going over to Kaiba’s tomorrow. They’ve got a six and I’m going to VK it.”
Honda nodded, panting heavily. “Do me a favor pal, push that button over there,” he rasped after his breathing calmed down a bit, pointing to a small reddish button on the side of the coffin with his eyes.
“Sure,” the shorter replied, pressing it. “What’s it do?”
“It’s… for… pain,” he gasped, tears streaming down his face.
************************************************
The next day found the former Blade Runner standing in the combination office/bedroom of one Dr. Seto Kaiba. Atem looked around boredly at the crispy clean of the white and blue room, which practically took half the top floor of the Kaiba Corp. tower. Suddenly a bluish white owl flew past him, startling him slightly. Entranced, he watched as it stopped and perched itself on an ornate silver perch off to the side of the CEO’s desk. For the briefest of moments, the bird’s eyes glowed red in the fleeting shadows caused by the early morning light.
“You like our owl?” said a voice from behind.
The spiky haired man whirled around to see a boy about fifteen or sixteen with light green hair and blue eyes wearing a forties style tailored white suit. “It’s artificial?” he asked, clearly taken by the boy’s good looks.
“Of course it is,” the boy said, approaching him, the barest hint of pride in his voice.
“Must be expensive.”
“Very,” he replied, the smirk on his face almost imperceptible. “I’m Noa.”
He nodded, acknowledging the boy. “Atem,” he said, returning the introduction.
“It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public,” Noa said.
“Replicants are like any other machine,” the spiky haired man said, slightly annoyed at the boy’s someone snotty attitude. “They’re either a benefit or a hazard. They’re a benefit, then it’s not my problem.”
“May I ask you a personal question?” the boy asked with equal annoyance.
“Sure,” he said sitting down in one of the chairs provided to visiting business associates.
“Have you ever retired a human by mistake?”
Taken back by the unexpected question, Atem stared at the boy for a few moments. “No,” he replied.
“But in your position that is a risk,” Noa retorted, coldly.
“Is this supposed to be an empathy test?” a new voice asked entering from a door hidden slightly behind one of the marble columns that framed the room. “Capillary dilation of the so-called blush response.. fluctuation of the pupil involuntary dilation of the iris......” The speaker was a man about Atem’s age. He had short chestnut brown hair and icy blue eyes, that pierced right through a person. A permanent glare was plastered on his rather handsome face. The Blade Runner noted appreciatively at the black shirt and pants he wore under the strangely sleeveless white trench coat and black leather straps adorning his arms.
“It’s called Voight-Kampff for short,” Atem replied, standing up.
“Mr. Atem,” Noa said, coming to attention, “Dr. Seto Kaiba.”
The shorter man nodded in acknowledgement.
“I want you to demonstrate it,” the brunet demanded. “I want to see it work.”
“On what subject?”
“I want to see it on work on a human. I want to see a positive before I give you a negative.”
“It won’t prove anything,” he protested.
“Hmph. Just do it.”
“On you?”
“Try him,” the CEO replied motioning Noa to sit down at the other side of the desk. The boy smiled, obviously amused by the exchange as he went to obey.
“It’s too bright in here,” Atem said, before setting up the VK machine.
Without saying another word, Dr. Kaiba clapped his hands and the enormous wall sized shade slowly began to cover the window, blocking out the glaring sunlight. Within a few minutes, the spiky haired man had the lighting to his liking and the machine had been checked and properly adjusted.
“You mind if I have some tea?” Noa asked, reaching for an exquisite tea setting that had been laid out earlier.
“It won’t affect the test,” he replied, sitting down. Nodding gratefully, the boy poured himself a cup and took a dainty sip.
“I’m going to ask a few questions,” Atem began, “Just try to be relaxed as possible, alright?” Noa nodded, taking another sip.
After checking the adjustments again, the spiky haired man began. “It’s your birthday. Someone gives you a calfskin wallet.”
“I’d turn him in,” the boy replied coolly, “Things made from animal skin and fur is illegal.”
“You have a son. He shows you his butterfly collection along with the killing jar.”
“I’d take him to see a psychiatrist.”
He glanced at the screen, nothing. “You’re watching TV. Suddenly, you see a wasp crawling on your arm.”
“I’d kill it,” was another cold response as the boy sipped his tea.
The machine still didn’t register anything. After pausing to take a sip of the tea himself, Atem went on with the test. “You’re reading a magazine. You come across a full page photo of a nude man.”
“Is this to see if I am a replicant or a homosexual, Mr. Atem?” the boy shot back, obviously bored and slightly amused.
Ignoring the boy’s impudence, he asked the next part of the question. “You show it to your wife. She likes it so much that she hangs it on the wall. The man is lying on a bearskin rug.”
“I’d never let her.”
“Oh? Why?
“I should be enough.”
Atem raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further. The boy was indeed rather good looking.
“One last question,” he said after had spent the last two hours on the test. “You’re watching an old movie. There’s a party going on. The guests are dining on raw oysters.” The boy made a face of disgust, but said nothing. “The main course is boiled dog stuffed with rice. You find the main course to be more appealing to you than the oysters.”
The boy refused to answer, but after glancing at the screen one last time, the taller man shut off the machine.
“Well?” Kaiba asked, motioning for Noa to leave. The boy nodded before giving the Blade Runner a smile.
“He’s a replcant, isn’t he?” Atem asked once the boy had left the room.
“I am impressed,” Kaiba said, genuinely amazed. “How many does it usually take to spot one?”
“About twenty, thirty cross-referenced.”
“It took over a hundred with Noa,” the CEO said, rather smugly, obviously proud of his handiwork.
“He doesn’t know does he?”
There was a slight frown on Kaiba’s face. “I believe he’s beginning to suspect it though.”
“That’s impossible!” spat the shorter of the two. “How can it not know what it is?!”
“Commerce,” lectured Kaiba, “Is my business Mr. Atem. Our motto here is, ‘more human, than human.’ Noa’s an experimental model. However, my employees and I have begun to notice a strange obsession in our latest commercial types.” The spiky haired man glanced up at him expectantly as he began to pace a bit.
“It was to be expected actually, since they are emotionally inexperienced and only have a few short years to store the experiences you and I take for granted every day. We found that we could control them better if we gave them a past of sorts.”
“You’re talking about memories!” Kaiba just continued to look smug over his triumph. “So where’d you get these memories?”
“In Noa’s case, I simply cloned what few viable brain cells my younger brother had and implanted them. What Noa remembers, is he remembers.”
Atem shuddered. “Reminds me of this old movie I saw. Guy had bolts in his neck.” Kaiba refused to say anymore, just continued to smirk that smug smirk of his.
*****************************************************
Later that evening, the spiky haired Blade Runner and the tall raven haired cop from the previous day, dashed between the falling acidic rain drops over to the hotel they’d driven to. Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, Atem doubled checked the address before going in. Above them, the half lit neon sign read, ‘Yukon’.
After his taller companion showed the proprietor his police badge and he explained the situation, the rather annoyed and grumpy old man led them down a dingy, refuse filled hall to one of the rooms. “He was in here,” he grumbled as he unlocked the door.
Inside, wasn’t much better. It was dark and it smelled like, well it wasn’t one of those plug in air-fresheners. After a cursorily sweep of the room, he went to check the bathroom. He found the constant hum and flickering of the faulty florescent light attached to the wall to be annoying, so he hit the switch and turned it off. Grumbling inwardly, he soon realized that he needed that light to see. Flipping the switch back on, he found that the schizophrenic light had decided to stop flickering and humming to itself.
Upon inspection, he came to dislike the management of this place more and more. The tub was just disgusting. In it was what appeared to be blood, rust, grime and only God knew what else. He was about to leave, when something shiny caught his eye. Steeling himself, Atem reached into the tub and picked up what appeared to be some kind of scale. Pulling out a small plastic evidence bag, he carefully placed the scale inside.
The raven haired man glanced up at him as he came from the bathroom. Once again he said nothing, for nothing needed to be said. It was obvious that their target wasn’t around and probably wouldn’t be back at all. He finished the tiny origami figure of a man he’d busied himself with and placed on the dresser, watching and waiting as the shorter man went about the rest of the room, conducting a more thorough inspection.
Stuffed in between neatly folded shirts in one of the dresser drawers was a stack of photos. Most of which were of a little blond boy and a strawberry blond, or perhaps, auburn haired girl. After going over them, he noticed one had a rather odd reflection in the mirror of the hotel room they were in. Deciding to take it, he stuffed it into his jacket pocket and indicated to his silent partner it was time to leave.
*************************************************************
Outside the Yukon Hotel, a young man in a long black trench coat and long white haired stood waiting patiently for his companion to return. He glanced at his hand briefly as he flexed it into a fist, the knuckle joints cracking. “Time enough,” he whispered.
He relaxed his hand and glanced up at the approaching footsteps. A slightly taller blond boy had come over to him. “Did you get your precious photos?” he asked.
The boy frowned, clearly upset. “Somebody was there,” he said, fuming.
“Who?” the albino asked, not liking where this was headed, “Men?” The blond nodded. “Policemen?” he asked again. The boy said nothing, just stood there feeling guilty. Sighing, the albino turned and started walking, the blond quickly following behind.
They continued down the homeless ridden street of the slums, until they reached a building with an odd eyeball like sign over the door. Not bothering to knock, the white haired man opened the door and walked in. It took the blond a few seconds to realize that this was their next destination and rushed to follow his leader inside.
The blond began to look around the strange lab like room and immediately began to get the creeps. There were aquarium like containers all over, and inside of them was nothing but – eyes! Eyes of every shape, size and color gazed sightlessly out from the clear liquid they had been so carefully placed.
A boy with mint green hair and bug shaped glasses was wearing an old beat up fur type coat with several tubes and wires attached to it as he went about his work, the lab was way below freezing after all. He hadn’t noticed he had visitors until he felt a sharp yank on the tubes and wires of his coat.
The boy turned around and let out a scream of fright before yelling, “You can’t come in here! How dare you!” He then noticed that these two intruders weren’t properly insulated. “Are you insane?! It’s freezing in here! Do ya wanna die?!”
“We have questions Weevil,” the albino said, obviously unaffected by the sub-Antarctic temperatures.
“I don’t care!” spat the boy, annoyed at having his work interrupted. “Get out!” The albino just smiled as he reached into one of the aquariums. The boy’s eyes quickly began to resemble the bug glasses as he watched him pull the appendage back out of the liquid nitrogen, virtually unharmed except for a thin layer of ice on the skin.
Then it dawned on him. “Y-You’re a replicant!” Weevil stammered in recognition. The albino continued to smirk menacingly. “You’re not supposed to be here! I-It’s against the law! Get back up there where you belong!” he shouted, pointing to the sky.
“Questions,” the albino said again with that dangerous smile.
The blond strode around the boy and ripped out the wires and tubes from the coat, causing Weevil to scream. “N-No! D-Don’t I n-need that!” he protested. The blond ignored him and continued to rip the rest of the coat off of him.
Seeing that the boy was now properly ‘persuaded’, the albino got down to business. “Morphology…” he began, “Longevity, incept dates…”
“I-I d-don’t k-know that s-stuff!” the boy said, grasping onto his arms, trying desperately to warm up. “I-I j-just m-make e-eyes! O-Only eyes! P-Please g-give m-me n-nother c-coat!” he pleaded, barely able to point to the spare coat hanging nearby.
“Really?” the albino replicant asked mockingly. “I thought it was feet or perhaps noses?”
“P-Please m-my c-coat?” the eye designer pleaded in desperation. But neither of them moved. Weevil then tried another tactic, maybe if he appealed to their egos they would let him have the coat back. “Y-You’re a-a N-Nexus r-right?” The albino’s grin grew wider. “I-I k-knew it! I-I m-made y-your eyes!”
There was a loud crash. Apparently, the blond had had enough of the creepy eyes staring at him constantly and knocked the nearest case over. Smirking amusedly, the slightly shorter replicant went back to ‘discussing’ with the eye designer. “If only you could see what I’ve seen with your eyes, Weevil. Questions,” he pressed again.
“I-I… n-no a-answers,” the mint haired boy stammered.
“Then who?”
“K-Kaiba! H-He k-know… e-every… t-thing.”
“Kaiba Corp.?” The blond perked up at that, giving them a look that resembled a dog upon hearing a word he recognizes.
“B-Big b-boss… h-he m-made y-your b-b-b-brain.”
“Tough man to see, Weevil,” the albino complained, taking a seat on a nearby metal box. “Lots of security.”
“B-B-B-Bakura… h-he c-c-c-can… y-y-y-ou s-s-s-s-see b-b-b-boss!” The eye designer was clearly turning blue by now.
The albino replicant looked at him, confused. “And who is this… Bakura?” he asked.
“R-R-R-R-Ry-Ry-Ryou…”
“Bakura,” the albino finished. “Now, where do we find this… Ryou Bakura?”
~TBC~
Sakura: Betcha you weren’t expecting Noa were you minna?
Mokuba: I thought I was gonna do that part!
Sakura: Yeah, well L-sama and I thought it over a lot and decided that Noa’d be better. Now stop pouting.
Seto: You’re lucky I didn’t sue you woman.
Sakura: 8P I know that some of you die hard fans – if you chose to ignore my warning that is – are gonna say, ‘That wasn’t in the movie!’ for some of the stuff in this part. I know that, but I’m following a copy of an online script I found as well as the dvd. I’m going to be putting some more stuff in here that isn’t in the movie if I find it appropriate or if L-sama does. Anyhoo, hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Tell me what you thought, ‘kay?