Author's Note: Woot! Chapter 10, and we are on ze island! Who else is excited?... Anyways, just as a warning, I know nothing of boats, so the statistics for the boat in the beginning are completely made up. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 10 : Welcome to ReGEN05

She had been surprisingly quiet during the journey to ReGEN05, and they only had a good ten to fifteen minutes left before their arrival. At first, he worried over her constant talking and questioning, as he knew that sooner or later she would remark on his position as captain of their small vessel. It was a white, medium-sized cruiser, big enough to hold maybe ten or so people, with a small deck above the main room, where Anzu sat in a chair and stared out at the water the entire ride. But now that they were almost to their destination, he thought he may have given her too little credit. "She has been quiet this whole time, and she offered to come with me to a deserted island," he thought to himself. "I guess 'offer' isn't exactly the correct term, but she could have said no to Mokuba's forced cooperation, yet she didn't. Does she honestly care about me so much as to want to come along? I can think of no other reason for her to get involved in this, but I have never met someone who thinks in such a way. All businessmen do is care about themselves, and while I protect Mokuba, I admit I am not much better. But she… She seems to genuinely care for my safety."

Sighing in contemplation, he squint his eyes and leaned forward to see the traces of the island in the distance. He smirked and set the boat to automatic, setting the course straight and speed at nearly 30 mph, before turning and climbing the steel ladder leading up to the deck. He reached the top and straightened himself out before turning to see Anzu sitting in a white chair, staring off towards the direction of the island. "We are almost there," he stated, smirking when she jumped and spun around to look at him. "Just thought you should know."

She smiled and nodded her head before returning her attention to the sea. Seto frowned. He knew he should be kind to her, but… Swallowing the lump in his throat, he took a seat in the white chair next to her and leaned forward, placing his arms on the steel railing that surrounded the deck. "Do you have any questions before we arrive?" he asked slowly, turning to stare at her.

"What…do you think you will find here?" she asked, returning her attention to him.

"I don't know," he answered. "But Mokuba made a very good point. There was no way Gozaburo could have designed an entire virtual reality and created a biological weapon on his own, and there is a very slim chance of everything it took to create such things happening in the virtual reality. I hope that I can find a clue as to how he got his hands on virtual reality technology and maybe determine what this biological testing included. I don't think I will find a cure on this island, but any clue as to where I can find one will be appreciated."

She nodded her head once more. "What is the island called?"

"I don't know the island's name, but I do know the facility is marked as being 'ReGEN05.'"

"What kind of a name is that?" she asked, chuckling slightly.

"Not sure." He glimpsed over to see that they were swiftly approaching the island. He could now make out the port, which luckily appeared to have empty spaces where they could keep the boat.

"What kind of testing was occurring here?"

"I don't know the specifics. Most of the records kept on this place had more than a few blotches of black marker. Whatever it was, they were determined to erase it from existence."

"Hmmm…"

Glancing down at his watch, he said, "I suppose I should call Mokuba now. It's been almost an hour." He stood from his seat and said, "Once we land, we will head straight for the mansion. I want to be in and out of there, okay?"

She smiled and nodded enthusiastically, and he couldn't help but smirk at her before dropping down to the room below. "For someone who has nothing to gain from this, she sure seems happy to help. I suppose I should be grateful for her company. After all, I have no idea what to expect from this place. Knowing Gozaburo, there may be a few traps in the facility to keep outsiders away." Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Seto clicked the speed dial for Mokuba's number and set the phone to his ear, watching as the port became clearer and clearer. He guessed they would land in another five or so minutes.

"Hello, this is Mokuba Kaiba," Mokuba greeted in his usual, cheery voice. Seto allowed a smile to cross his lips at hearing his younger brother's voice.

"Mokuba, it's me," he replied.

"Seto! How is everything going?"

"It's fine. We will be landing soon."

"You have any problems on the ride over?"

"No, surprisingly not."

"That's good."

"How are Yugi and the dog doing? They haven't trashed the house yet, have they?"

Mokuba chuckled. "No, no Seto, we're just sitting and playing video games. Nothing to worry about."

"Good. We are going to get off soon and head to the mansion. I'll call you in another hour or so to let you know how we are doing."

"Okay. Be careful, Big Bro!"

"I will." Hanging up the phone, he sighed and placed it back into his pocket before steering the ship slightly to the left. They were quickly approaching the port now, and Seto began picking out where he wanted to land the ship when he heard footsteps descending the ladder. He turned to see Anzu jump down the ladder and smile towards him.

"How are Mokuba and the gang doing?"

"Fine," he answered.

"I know you don't like Yugi and Jounouchi, but don't worry. He is in good hands."

Ignoring her comment, Seto focused on the matter at hand. Slowing the ship down considerably, he turned off the automatic steering and began to carefully steer the boat toward the dock. The dock itself was a small yet wide cement pathway, and as he began driving it along the edge of the port, he brought the ship almost to a halt before sharply turning the wheel. The boat turned sideways, and Seto drove the boat forward, acting as though he was parallel parking the boat next to the dock. He waited until he could see the small port directly beside the boat before stopping and turning off the ignition, placing the keys into his pocket.

"You sure seem to know how to ride this thing," Anzu noted, going outside to hop onto the cement port.

"Mokuba and I sometimes take boat rides when we are having a rough week," he stated, though he was unsure as to why when it was none of her business. "It helps us get away from reality, at least for a little bit."

"I'm surprised the media hasn't caught you doing it yet."

"Oh please, we aren't that foolish. We always make sure to go someplace that no one would think to find us."

"That makes sense."

Walking outside, he carefully stepped over the small break between the boat and the port before taking in his surroundings. Unlike Pegasus's island, which had been covered in trees and forests, this island seemed to be all grass with a few large boulders sprouting up here and there. The island rose as the land approached the center, and near the top of the hill could be seen the mansion. Seto noticed the dirt pathway leading towards it and nodded to Anzu, asking, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"You think or you know?"

Smirking, she stated, "I'm ready when you are."

He began following the trail, his sneakers crunching against the stones that constituted the pathway. "When was this facility built?" Anzu suddenly asked as they began walking towards their destination.

"I believe it was built a year before I took over," he answered.

"So that would be…?"

"Several years now."

"You think the mansion will be in good condition?"

"Hard to say. It depends on whether or not people have been using it under the radar."

"You think there are still people working here?"

"The last report filed was recorded two months after I took over. I don't know what that means, but there may be one or two people left taking care of the place."

"And if we run into them?"

"I will state who I am. After all, this island is technically under my control now. I plan on officially shutting this place down once we are done with this investigation, so they will have to find another place to stay whether they like it or not."

"I see…"

The two slowly made their way towards the mansion, the path becoming steeper and steeper as they approached. As they became closer, Seto began to take note of the mansion itself. The picture had made it appear much larger than it really was. It was only one-story, just as he suspected, but there seemed to be only a few rooms constituting the length of the building. A total of five windows lined the wall facing them, two to the right of the double doors that served as the entrance and three on the left. The building was made of brick, and the roof was low and made of brown shingles. It looked like a deserted home, not a testing facility. "How could they have tested something in such a small place?" Seto wondered as they reached the entrance doors.

"Should we knock?" Anzu asked, staring curiously through the windows.

Seto chuckled. "I don't think there is a need for that." Opening the door on the right, he ignored the creaking noise as well as his surprise to find that the mansion was indeed unlocked and took a few steps forward, frowning in disgust at what he saw. The brown carpet was stained and worn away, as was the yellowed wallpaper. Dusty pieces of wooden furniture were scattered along the walls, and several portraits of Gozaburo and other scientists were becoming old and gray. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling, meant to illuminate the small foyer, was on its last chain and looked as though it was ready to collapse. There was a musky smell in the air, and as Seto began taking steps forward, he could see dust particles hovering in the light coming through one of the windows.

"This place looks ancient," Anzu noted as she closed the door behind them. "You sure it's only a few years old?"

"Gozaburo must not have taken care of this place when he was in charge," he remarked, slowly moving in a circle to take in his surroundings. There were two hallways; the one on the left continued past several doorways before making a sharp right-hand turn, while the hallway to his right led past a small room, perhaps a bathroom or large closet, into a den. Anzu slowly approached the entrance to the den and peeked inside.

"Not much in here, I suppose," she answered.

"What do you see?" he asked as he began walking down the hallway. Another portrait of Gozaburo hung by a loose nail, and he instinctively growled at it before passing it.

"Just some empty bookshelves and two couches. God, whoever designed this place had bad taste."

"A military genius doesn't have time for—" A sudden flash cut off his thoughts, and he groaned in pain as a swift shock seemed to go through his head.

"Kaiba?"

Closing his eyes, he pressed a hand against the wall to his left, fortunately missing the window, and tried his best to control the sudden aching in his head. A brief blur of the scientist from his dreams crossed his mental vision, and he could clearly see several syringes lined against the wall, syringes he hadn't noticed before. The vision, despite its vividness, disappeared almost as quickly as it came, and in a few seconds Seto was staring at the brown carpet.

"Kaiba, are you okay?"

Taking in an unsteady breath of air, he slowly released it and waited for the headache to subside. He listened as Anzu came rushing towards him and shuddered as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kaiba, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice low and shaky.

"N-Nothing," he answered. "Nothing, just…just a headache."

"Are you seeing something?"

"No, not really. I mean, I saw something, but it…" Removing his hand from the wall, he shook his head and said, "I'll be fine. It's gone now."

"Kaiba…" He turned to see her worried expression and frowned.

"Look, I will be fine," he answered. "This is why we are here, to fix this. Don't worry about me. Let's just look around and see if we can—"

"Who is out there?"

The voice caused his eyes to widen in surprise, and the two turned to see a woman walking towards the entrance doorway. She was wearing a white labcoat with gray pants and a white shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and, to Seto, she looked American. She turned and gasped at the sight of the two before putting her hand in one of her lab pockets.

"What are you two doing here?" she demanded, glaring maliciously at them.

"I should ask the same of you," Seto answered, taking a step forward and ignoring the dull pain in his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked first."

Seto scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you are aware of me, but I am Seto Kaiba. This is my island, so I suggest you tell me—"

"Seto?" The woman looked at him with an incredulous look before slowly taking her hand out of her pocket. He growled as Anzu gasped in terror, for she pulled out what appeared to be a small handgun and aimed it towards them.

"What do you think you are doing?" Seto questioned, his body instinctively moving in front of Anzu. "I don't know if you heard me, but this is my island now, and I demand to know what is going on here."

"I have orders that, should you come here to investigate us, you are to be taken into custody," she answered in a low voice. "But I can't have you dying. Not yet." Placing her hand inside another one of the coat pockets, she pulled out a small cell phone and pressed a button. To their surprise, the shutters to the windows closed, and the chandelier turned a bright red color. She then fired her weapon towards the two, barely missing Seto in the shoulder.

"Shit, let's go!" he yelled, turning and pushing Anzu forward, who was already running a few paces in front of him. The two rounded the sharp corner and continued running down a long, narrow hallway, ignoring the gunshots behind them.

"Who the hell is that woman?" Anzu shouted back to him.

"How should I know?" he answered, doing his best to see in the sudden darkness for any exits. All he could see was a doorway at the end, and he figured it was their best bet at losing the crazed worker. They rushed forward, slamming on the doors in an attempt to open it, when Anzu pointed towards a button nearby. Seto frowned at noticing the direction of the button. "Down? Is this an elevator, and if so, does that mean this facility is…underground?"

Pressing the button, the doors to the elevator quickly opened, and as the two entered the compartment, Seto could see the woman jogging towards them, the handgun swinging in her hand. He slammed one of the buttons, watching as the doors slowly closed shut on the woman. The two backed into the metallic walls, and he watched as Anzu released a long sigh. The only sound they could hear was their own panting, which was labored and heavy. She glanced over at him and asked, "Were…were you hit?"

"No, I'm fine," he answered. "How about you?"

"I-I'm good. Just…just freaked out."

He nodded in agreement and turned to examine the board of buttons. There appeared to be at least ten levels, all of them beneath ground level. "I suppose there really is a facility here," he whispered, staring in wonder at the buttons. "It appears to go rather deep…"

"What are we going to do? I don't want to go back out there where that woman is."

He shook his head and went to speak when a sudden noise interrupted his thoughts. A red light began illuminating the compartment, and a woman's voice over the intercom began stating "Warning! Warning! Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

"Shit!" Kaiba shouted as Anzu swiftly backed into a corner, staring in horror at the intercom located in the ceiling of the elevator. He went to press one of the many buttons when a hissing noise caught his attention. He looked up in shock to see a green gas quickly entering the elevator.

"Kaiba! Kaiba!" Anzu began coughing violently, and he cursed as he himself felt the gas entering his system. He began slamming all of the buttons, hoping to open the doors of the elevator to release the gas, but he realized that the elevator was on emergency settings. He turned and saw Anzu falling down, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, and he rushed forward only to trip and stumble towards her. Grasping onto her arms, he pulled her close to him as he felt himself slipping in and out. Coughing harshly, he slowly slid to the ground, Anzu still in his arms, and he felt himself hit the cold, metallic floor before falling unconscious.