Chapter 4: Broken Puppet
(based on no episode in particular. Honestly, it just popped up randomly when I was halfway through the third installment. I'm trying to explore more about the other Arclight brothers, so it kinda provide a backstory as to why they followed Tron's order without question)
Disclaimer: Of course I don't own YGO Zexal, otherwise, IV would be an anti-hero protagonist along with Rio as the heroine, and the anime would be full of dramas instead of card games!
They found him one stormy night, when they were bringing clean bandages and his night medication to his room, standing before the sink counter in the adjoining bathroom, head hung in between his hunched shoulders. Blood splattered all over the counter and floor beneath his feet, dripping slowly from the hand covering his right eye. The bandages that were supposed to cover the wound on his face scattered on the floor, almost unrecognizable among pools of blood.
III was too shell shocked to do anything but stood still in front of bathroom's door, while V—having recovered quickly from his initial shock—walked towards his younger brother. He winced slightly when the pad of his shoes squelched against fresh blood.
How could a few inches of gash wound spray that much blood? It could only happen if the muscles around said wound strained considerably. What had his brother seen to make him that tense?
As he got closer, he could see that his brother gripped the end of the counter with one hand until his knuckles whitened. His body shook uncontrollably, while his other hand that covered his right eye had its bandages soaked completely with blood.
"IV—"
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" IV bellowed, lashing out his free arm and backed away. His unobscured eye was wide open, slightly glazed, its pupil dilated to the point it turned almost black as if he was afraid of something.
As far as V concerned, that was probably the case.
The silver haired man still wasn't sure what had gone wrong with the procedure his brother had undergone a few days back. He had made sure that his brother had been fully sedated, and while the execution had utilized robotic hand, it had been under supervision of their doctor. IV wasn't supposed to feel anything—or even move—for, at least, twelve hours.
But IV had abruptly awakened in the seventh hour since the procedure had started, dazed and confused at first, then started to scream bloody murder, thrashing and trying to wrench his limbs free from the restrain holding his body in place. To avoid further risk, they stopped the half-done procedure and bandaged him after a few more doses of tranquilizer.
Then again, it hadn't stopped there. He would occasionally murmur something incoherent in his sleep and every time the young man woke up, he was always looking at his surrounding with horror as if afraid something would jump out of the shadow and pounced on him. Due to the unstable condition, they were unable to proceed with the surgery.
That was the least of their worry, though. The wound would heal eventually, with or without surgery. What worried V the most was his brother's emotional state. IV was famous for his mood-swings in daily basis, but he was acting like a mental patient since the incident. It was pretty obvious that he was the one who undid the bandage on his face—for some unknown reason. If he kept that up, he might not be able to recover in due time, and would be a liability to their plan.
"I can rig his memory, if needed," Tron had offered when V told him about the incident.
"That's not what I'm concerned about, father," V replied, looking concerned. "IV was supposed to be fully sedated for half a day, but he woke up anyway, and that was when he started acting weird. He's always the stubborn one, who knows what'll happen if we play around with his memories?"
Tron glanced at his son, who stood by the side of his chair, looking slightly vexed that his watching time was interrupted. "That boy's only good at causing trouble," he murmured. "But he's a pretty important pawn in this plan. Broken strings can be reattached, but broken puppet is useless, huh."
Silence hung in the air, only the sound of the TV cartoon could be heard. V had reached his dead end, so he didn't say anything (otherwise, he wouldn't have asked his father), while Tron looked pensive, his gloved hands tapping the armrest of the chair.
"I give up!" Tron exclaimed after a few minutes contemplating, flailing his arms and legs like a frustrated child. "Do whatever you think necessary. I give you time until next week. If he's still uncontrollable, I'll take care of it. I can't take any more risk just because a broken puppet went out of control."
If V felt uncomfortable with the way Tron addressed IV with terms like 'pawn' and 'puppet', he didn't show it. But his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly when he said, "I understand, father."
The conversation had happened two days ago, and IV's condition had only worsened every day. Trying to talk some sense into him proved to be quite futile with his current condition, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Maybe, just maybe, if he kept persisting, he would get somewhere.
"Let us help—" V was just about to explain—for heaven knew how many times he had tried it before—when his brother cut him again.
"Stop talking! I don't want to hear any of it!" IV cried, voice cracking. "How long are you going to keep me awake?!"
The older male's ears perked up at the new development. It was the first time his brother ever said anything other than "Shut up!" and such. He might be able to take advantage of this situation.
"Well, we're trying to help you rest…" V said carefully.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" the redhead shouted again, this time with both hands covering his ears, eyes clenched shut. "You're already dead! You're not real!"
"What do you see?"
IV bared his teeth, growled and stepped back slowly. "Enough…" when his back collided with the wall, his body sagged and slid down to the floor.
V used the opportunity to get closer. The younger male didn't react, probably had exhausted himself with the blood loss, his arms were now lying limply by his sides. He touched his brother's shoulder, and when he got no outward reaction, he said, "III, help me move him back to the bed."
III, who had overcome his shock, readily complied with his brother's request. When they had managed putting IV back on his bed, he was given the job to change the bandages and clothes, while V cleaned the bloody mess in the bathroom.
The oldest Arclight brother finally came into a few conclusions based on recent event. He couldn't even believe how stupid he had been. He felt like he should've seen it coming. His brother's refusal to take any sleeping pills, noticeable bag under his uninjured eye, and his constant bad temper were some details that he chose to overlook as common discomfort in someone who was recuperating from a rather serious injury, while, in fact, there might be some other reasons behind all that.
His brother didn't want to be forced to sleep. The red haired young man knew he would be assaulted by nightmares the second his consciousness failed him. He did sleep, just enough to regain his energy back, but not enough for the nightmare to wreck his sanity. The heavy sedative might have triggered his subconscious mind to reject the unusual sleeping pattern.
IV was, indeed, too importunate for his own good, and he always had to be the one keeping everything in place. He had failed them once, when they were forcefully taken away from him. He wouldn't have any of that again.
Now, he needed to find a way to put his brother's mind at peace; finding out what had become of Kamishiro Rio might help. At the time of the incident, there were reports of big fire where IV had dueled with the girl, but there was no report of casualty—not the dead one, at least. It was highly possible that the girl survived—even if she was heavily injured. He had to find out exactly what had happened to her, and her current condition.
While V embarked on his quest to find more information, III finally finished changing his brother's bandages. After the whole ordeal, his brother seemed uncharacteristically quiet. He was still awake, III could see that, but barely showed any sign of it. It was strange, III marveled, seeing his usually irate brother becoming this subdued.
He still had no idea what kind of task given to IV by his father and brother that he ended up like that. After tonight, however, he wasn't sure he would like to know more about it. He would be better off pretending to be—or even completely—oblivious about the whole thing. If he could distract himself, he was pretty sure he could do as his father told him to without any doubt.
Even as he determined to do so, curiosity always got the better of him. After all, he was always by his brother's side, attending to his needs and injuries, and it was kind of hard for him to ignore it if the object of his doubt were right before him.
How long did they have to do this? Until all of them became 'broken' like his brother?
III shivered at the thought. Of course Tron wouldn't treat them like pawns, would he? No matter what form he took, he was still their father, and he would do anything to make sure his brother recovered properly, wouldn't he?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was just convincing himself. He was old enough to understand that their family was already broken since their father's disappearance. There might be some things that could still be put together, but even if they succeeded with their revenge, there was no guarantee that everything would come back to the way it was. Memories of these nightmare-filled days would always be a grim reminder that they had to go through many things just to get their revenge.
What if his brother would never be fully recovered? What if he was already too far gone?
The pink haired boy could feel tears started to leak from his verdure orbs and immediately wiped it with his sleeve. He was already part of this plan, whether he liked it or not. There was no use weeping over the lost days. If they didn't change their own situation, who would?
Now wasn't the time to doubt their motives and objectives. He needed—no, had—to be strong mentally, if not physically, so that he would be trusted to play more important role in their plan. His brother had done his part, and he was still waiting for his.
Word count: 1,777
Shout out to KaibaGirl17 for being my first reviewer! I'm blushing, you know, since I feel ashamed for always being your silent reader (kinda bad habit of mine, sorry!). I absolutely love Your Arclight's family fluffs (especially when Thomas got sick), they're nice and heartwarming! Made me feel warm and fuzzy inside (this line is an excerpt from Vocaloid song 'Like & Dislike' lol :p). Once again, thank you very much!
a/n: may not be updated regularly after this chapter, since my drawing muse just awakened (again, thanks to IV and Rio :3), and trying to cram writing, drawing, reading, and household chores along with works is proved to be hectic. So, I'll just do what comes first, since I'm also moody most of the time :p Reviews are always welcome!