Well. I still don't know what I'm doing with my life. I'm behind on both my fanfics and school work and then this thing happened! *sigh* I just ask for trouble, don't I?
However, this fic got a lot of positive responses. However, you can thank empressofthelight on AO3 and CuteNinja25 on FFN for this next one shot update. The two of them recently gave me a lot of positive feedback on this piece and therefore gave me inspiration for this next bit. Not to mention my beautiful FFN partner in crime, Akayuki Novak, for helping me talking through a lot of this when "Just A Little Crack" first was written. In fact, she's the one who came up with the title.
So, enjoy!
(I hope.)
(You'll see what I mean.)
There was a crash. Glass shattered, raining down on the streets below KaibaCorp. Passersby screamed as a red figure fell from the penthouse floor. They screamed even louder when a silver, animated dragon appeared out of nowhere, saving the man.
For this reason, the street was empty when Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon landed. Pity, Pegasus thought with a sigh, My dragon could have used a snack. He was preparing to take off, return to the top floor and finish Bakura, when a blast of shadow magic knocked him off his monster.
"And there was one other person you pissed off!" Bakura yelled as he stepped out from the shadows. Except, that wasn't exactly true, Pegasus noted. There were two voices coming from the boy in front of him. Eyes, both innocent and sharp, glared at him. Bakura and Ryou were both shouting at him now, melding together in a way Pegasus had only seen once before.
Ryou ran towards the detention center. If the helicarrier was losing power, if they were truly under attack… His feet pounded harder into the metal floor, pushing him forward. He whipped the door open, just in time to see Pegasus stepping out of the open cell. Instantly, the white-haired boy's appearance changed.
"No!" Bakura snarled, and lunged forward. Pegasus crouched and placed his hands in a ready position. Only, Bakura flew straight through him and clattered to the cell floor. "What the f-"
The mirage Pegasus smirked at him, and disappeared. Before Bakura could react further, the real Pegasus stepped out and hit the control panel, sealing Bakura in the inescapable prison. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Pegasus said with a laugh. The Millennium Ring lit up. Bakura's hands coated in Shadow Magic and pounded his fists against the glass. To his immense surprise, his prison only cracked. Pegasus smiled again, the cruel flash of teeth sending shivers through Bakura.
"The humans think Yamis to be immortal," Pegasus commented. He danced his fingers around the button that would send the cell hurtling towards the ground. "Should we test that?" He moved his fingers to the glowing red circle, smile growing as he saw more of Bakura's desperation.
BANG!
The hatch slammed open. With a jump, Pegasus whirled around. In the doorway stood Agent Wheeler, both hands locked on a giant rifle. He cocked an eyebrow at Pegasus. "Move away, bud." Grudgingly, Pegasus complied, raising his hands in surrender.
"Ya like dis?" Wheeler asked as he stepped forward. He began slowly backing Pegasus into a corner. "We started workin' on da prototype afta ya sent Toon Summon Skull. Even I dun know what it does." He placed the barrel against Pegasus's chest. "Wanna find out?"
Suddenly, Agent Wheeler let out a sharp gasp. He looked down, barely noticing the illusion of Pegasus fade from in front of him. Three inches of blade protruded from his chest.
"NO!" Two echoing voices shrieked. Pegasus yanked the blade from the agent's chest, before turning to his former pupil. Wheeler slumped against the wall, a stain of blood following his movements. His breath came in uneven pants.
Bakura wasn't faring much better. Something was happening to the Yami, something Pegasus had never seen before. Neither Ryou nor Bakura was standing in the cell, at least, not fully. It seemed as though the two had joined, forming one corporal entity on this plane. Chocolate eyes were now flecked with crimson. His hair was wilder, but not longer the full fledged storm Bakura's formed. Tears leaked from his eyes as his hands balled in rage. He shook with barely controlled emotion.
"We'll kill you!" The two screamed, "We hate you!" Pegasus ignored the jibe, and walked back up to the control panel. He paused, and looked up at the Hikari and Yami. They still glared, but the eyes were softened with hope. "Please, Teacher," the voices asked (though Pegasus had a feeling this plan was spurred on by Ryou alone), "Let us heal him." Their eyes met. RyouandBakura prayed that he would stop this, that the hours, days, years they spent together would not prove worthless. "Please."
There was a silence.
Pegasus slammed his hand down on the button and RyouandBakura were gone. The man chuckled as he watched the container shrink from view. He turned to leave.
"You're gonna lose."
The voice was weak. It no longer held any of the steady calm and confidence that it once possessed. But still, it echoed through Pegasus like the word of God. He flicked his head in the direction of the dying man.
"Am I?" Wheeler gave a pathetic nod.
"It's in your nature." Pegasus cackled at this, trying to shake the icy feeling the words gave him.
"Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky... Where is my disadvantage?" The blonde thought for a moment, wheezing breaths becoming the only noise in the room.
"You lack conviction." Confused, Pegasus squinted at him.
"I don't think I-" The sound of an explosion ripped through the room. With a white hot flash, Pegasus was blasted from the chamber. Wheeler chuckled as a stream of blood ran down his chin.
"So that's what it does."
In what could have been minutes or hours (Wheeler really wasn't sure. Everything was starting to get blurry, and that included time.), another figure entered the room. Joey recognized the click of high heels, even though he could barely make out Mai's face.
"Sorry, boss. Dey got rabbited." Mai took his hand, and brushed the sweat soaked bangs out of his face.
"Hon, you just stay awake. Eyes on me, Joey!" Her voice was the same as always, stern, commanding, as though giving her agent the order to stay alive would somehow make it possible. He gave a faint laugh, causing blood to speckle Mai's chin.
"No, I'm clocked outta here." His eyes were starting to glaze, the blazing amber becoming dull. Mai squeezed his hand, hard. She dug her nails into his palm, as though she could somehow manage to hold him here.
"Not. An. Option!" She growled. Wheeler laughed again, but it was fainter this time, barely able to be heard.
"It's okay boss." His head drooped, body sliding in on itself, as if concaving. "This was neva' goin' ta work…" His voice grew quieter as his breaths increased in volume. Each gasp racked through him as though it would be his last. "If dey didn' have somethin'… to…"
His head dropped to the side.
Unseeing eyes locked on the floor.
Mai heard the door open behind her. She knew it had to be the medic team she managed to call before dashing down here. After giving her friend's hand on last squeeze and placing a kiss on his forehead, she stood and moved out of the way, letting the doctors through. She raised her wrist to her mouth, and turned on the comm unit.
"Agent Wheeler is down."
Agent Taylor would never forget that moment. He was sitting on the bridge, rolling his eyes as the man in the white coat insisted on bandaging the cut on his forehead, when Mai's voice came over the comm.
"Agent Wheeler is down." Taylor froze. That isn't possible. He stood, pushing the medic away with a distracted hand. He reached for the desktop, and began searching through controls, trying to find a way to contact anyone on this damn ship.
"Paramedics are on their way." There was a pause that made the agent feel sick.
"They're already here."
Yami and Kaiba were exhausted. Turning on a giant propeller while fighting off trained assassins was enough to ruin anyone's day. Kaiba's armor was littered with scuffs and scratches. The CEO was afraid he wouldn't be able to get a few pieces off with the massive dents that now covered it. Yami's Duel Disk had scene better days as well. It too was scratched, and covered in the blood of the very people they had once worked along. Neither of them spoke, until the voice came over their comms.
"Agent Wheeler is down." Both of them stopped.
"What?" Yami shouted. Kaiba held up a hand to silence him. He kept his hand to his ear, focusing heavily on every word spoken.
"Paramedics are on their way." Agent Taylor spoke next. Mai paused.
"They're already here." Yami was tempted to sigh in relief. That had to mean there was still hope. Right? There was another pause, longer and more uncomfortable that before.
"They called it." Yami felt like someone punched him in the stomach. All air seemed to leave him as he sunk to his knees. He could here Yuugi sobbing from his soul room, and felt some of those same tears line his cheeks. Kaiba didn't move a muscle, not for a very long time. He only stood completely still as the blood drained from his face and formed a pit in his stomach.
For the first time since the two had met, they agreed on something.
RyouandBakura stormed over to Pegasus's stunned form. The pale boy, who Pegasus has once thought to be so weak, lifted him up by his collar. The anger radiating from his hands and face made the older man lean away.
"His name was Joey."