Alliance: Where have you BEEN?

I first had Uni exams and since then have not had a minute to myself. I haven't seen you helping with my worries much.

Alliance: I've been busy too, you know!

Yeah, busy reading fanfiction.

Alliance: Reading fanfiction is time-consuming, you know that!

Yes, but on top of that I write as well! Gah…I've had enough of arguing with you, why don't you just get back to reading this and I will take care of business?

Alliance: Fine…(storms off in a mood)

(sigh) I don't know what to do with her…anyway, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters (sadly), I am just hijacking them for fun. I only own my OC's, plot and my various screwings of time/physics.

Apologies for the lengthy update time, but here we go!


Chapter 11: Lockdown

Shit.

Kai froze as he realised the seriousness of the situation: he was now trapped on the fourth floor of Kaiba Corp. and was vulnerable to contagion. Years of fighting for survival kicked in and he quickly quashed the panic building within; concentrating instead on how to gauge what was going on. He took in a deep breath and ran down the corridor to see if any door would open. The first two he tried remained shut but luck finally came through for him when the third opened. Sealing the portal behind him Kai examined his surroundings: he had locked himself in one of the bio-labs and noticed a purple haze present. I'm guessing that is some sort of gas to counteract the contaminant, otherwise it makes no sense that this room is the only one accessible. What on earth happened here? This floor must have been the origin of the gas if it was already evacuated but why did the alert take so long to be raised? Looks like Kaiba needs to update his system-

Kai's stomach hit the floor. Kaiba! Where the hell is he? Could he possibly have been on his way up when everything shut down? If he was… He shook his head to dispel any thoughts of Kaiba having met his demise and looked around for a computer, sighing in relief when he found it. Quickly bringing it online he was surprised to see it was showing the blueprints of Kaiba Corp., or more specifically, life signatures within the building. Eyes focused in on the minute amount of red dots on the screen, in particular the one trapped in the east elevator. Kaiba…at least he's alive…for now.


Kaiba sighed as the elevator doors shut behind him and paced the length as it sped upwards toward his office at the very top of Kaiba Corp. it would take just over a minute for him to get up there, but he would not reach his destination. The CEO had no warning as the elevator jolted to a stop, sending him crashing to the floor. He hissed in pain as his wound was aggravated, and he could feel the tape holding the wound closed had come loose. Placing a hand over the area confirmed his suspicions when it came away with blood on it. "Fucking hell…looks like I'm going to be sacking some more people today. Just what I need!"

Kaiba swiftly stopped his rant when he heard the alarm go off.

Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Evacuate immediately.

Kaiba's eyebrows knotted together. "Strange…if the elevator stopped then it means the contagion is already in here…yet I feel fine." He struggled back up to his feet and accessed the computer. "Access override code 7576. Authorisation: Seto Kaiba."

Override confirmed. State request.

"Confirm presence of contagion in Kaiba Corp. premises."

Confirmed. Contagion origin, Lab 4, fourth floor.

Kai was headed to the fourth floor…I hope he's all right. "State contagion."

Contagion not identifiable.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Not identifiable? Display molecular composition." He watched carefully as the diagram appeared and the raised eyebrow shifted up another inch or so. "So…the big bad gas going around Kaiba Corp. is actually just carbon dioxide. That means someone tripped the system deliberately. Someone else better be in the building or I'm going to find it difficult to break the lockdown." Kaiba brought up the building schematics and took note of the small pockets of life throughout, paying close attention to the designated safe zones in case of bio-contaminant. "The security control rooms, Lab 74, Lab 18 and Lab 6 are the safe zones. Seems as if all of them are empty expect for Lab 6…I hope someone useful is in there: I don't want to have to explain the intricacies of the override commands to an ape."


Kai sighed as he tried for the umpteenth time to unseal any doors nearby using the computer but once again received the same message: Access Denied. The dual-haired teen almost felt like smashing the technology but instead settled for punching the metal desk; and proceeding to leave a noticeable dent in the structure. He smiled in satisfaction but soon grimaced as the pain sunk in. "Argh…note to self: punching hard objects usually hurts. Next time, pick something softer. Maybe Tyson's face if he's around…?"

Kai almost jumped out of his skin when a voice crackled through the computer speakers, but soon froze as it became clearer. "East Elevator to Lab 6. Lab 6, do you copy?"

He scanned the keyboard for some way to answer and found the button to reply. "Kaiba?"

"Kai? Nice to hear you are there and not some damned fool."

"Trapped in the elevator, huh?"

"No, I'm in here because I have an elevator fetish. Course I'm trapped in here you idiot!"

"Just had to check," chuckled Kai, amused by Kaiba's answer. "Any idea what is going on?"

"The alarm was tripped deliberately."

"How are you so sure?"

"Let me give you a hint: the molecules of gas comprise of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Carbon dioxide?"

"Agree with me now?"

"Completely. Next question: who would want to set off the system, and why?"

"The building is automatically evacuated in the presence of contagion and then locked down. The only way the lockdown can be broken is an internal override or the air composition returning to normal."

"So no-one can get in or out upon lockdown?"

"Yes. Rooms are prematurely sealed if infected to reduce exposure to the main building: hence why I am stuck in here and why the fourth floor is cut off."

"Can anyone move about the building during the event?"

"Only into areas unaffected. Currently the first, fourth, sixteenth, nineteenth and thirty-third floors are sealed, as well as the basement."

Kai could almost hear the gears ticking in Kaiba's head as the pair headed toward the same conclusion. "That is an odd collection of floors to be sealed considering this is a gas we are dealing with."

"I think more appropriately those are the floors which contain all of the safe zones which allow people to remain in the building without risking exposure."

"In other words, left no margin for interference."

"Precisely. Clearly, whoever did this did not want anyone left inside while they moved about."

"Which means they must be here already. Wait a minute…Kaiba, which are the floors with safe zones?"

"First and thirty-third floors are the security control rooms, while the fourth, sixteenth and nineteenth are labs: all of which are modified to produce specially designed gases to combat contagions."

"Clever, but did you not say earlier that the basement is sealed as well? Correct me if I am wrong but does a gas not travel upwards rather than downwards?"

Kaiba paused on the other end. "Then why the hell-"

"The Vortex Generator," interrupted Kai. "I get the feeling the Crusaders are behind this."

"…You might be right, nothing else of interest is down there. If that is the case, we need to break the lockdown and re-establish communication to the outside."

"What do you need me to do?"

"The two security rooms are where we need to get to. I will head to the one on the thirty-third floor. You need to reach the first floor and once you are there I will explain to you what is needed; firstly though, you need to download and delete the data on the computer relating to the isolation program."

"I have been trying to use this damn machine to unlock the doors but I can't gain access to the base code. I'm loathe to admit it, but your security system has me beat."

Kai knew Kaiba was smirking and wished he could smack it off him, but there were bigger issues needing attention. "I designed the system myself, as I am sure you guessed. It will clearly need updating again however since it did not recognise something as simple as carbon dioxide."

Kai scoffed. "Either that or you simply forgot to tell it that a component of normal air is harmless. What's next? Excess oxygen setting it off?"

The dual-haired teen smirked at the low growl. "Do you think me to be that stupid?"

"You have your moments." Kai decided that maybe this was not the moment to be antagonising Kaiba and got back to the matter at hand. "How are we to move about? None of the elevators are working and I can't access the stairwells."

"I should be able to confuse the sensors for a few minutes. That will allow you to get off your floor, down to the first and get into the control room. If I'm lucky you will leave me enough time to get up to the thirty-third floor before the system reboots."

"How long will you need?"

"About ten minutes. I'll give you access to the computer so you complete the download while I set up."

"Thanks. Hang on a minute, are you seeing what I am?"

"What?" Kaiba watched the screen carefully and soon caught on to what Kai was meaning. "Shit: someone is moving in the basement."

"I think that confirms our theory; we need to hurry."


"Hey! There he is!" yelled Tea as Yami came back into the Game Shop. Everyone had been worried sick when Yami had not returned in the hour that he said he would be gone for and had failed to answer any of their calls. Mokuba had even been roped into the search: checking CCTV across the city for the elusive former pharaoh. It seemed even that had been unable to track him down, so for him to just wander back into the shop after being gone for three hours, he was setting himself up for a big fight. "Where the hell have you been?" demanded Tea.

"Wandering about the city, nothing more," answered Yami calmly, displaying his wisdom from his past life.

"Did you not think to call us and let us know?" added Joey.

"Honestly, I simply lost track of time. I have been cooped inside for days so appreciated the freedom."

"We thought you might have been attacked by the Crusaders," whispered Max, refusing to make eye contact with the tri-haired teen.

Yami scowled internally at Max's reluctance to look at him and sighed. "I'm sorry for worrying you all. Has anything happened while I have been gone?"

"Nah, I've just been kicking Joey and Tristan's asses at various games," smirked Tyson.

"Oi! You cheated every time!" protested Joey.

"Oh yeah? How did I cheat?"

"You distracted me with food!"

"I did not! If I had known there was food I would have eaten it too!"

Joey pulled back. "Hang on, you would have eaten the food? The who did it?"

Tristan smiled sheepishly behind the pair as they turned towards him. "Okay so it was me! I just couldn't resist all of it! I may be like a trash can for the amount of food I can put away, but Joey is like a goddamn garbage disposer! And according to Ray so are you Tyson so I thought you two would be distracted long enough for me to win, I just didn't anticipate Tyson being too dim to notice all the cakes, chicken wings, pizza, burgers, hot dogs-"

"You both ate all of that food and didn't tell me?" roared Tyson.

"I don't know how you didn't notice," giggled Tea.

"Tyson is just that stupid," teased Ray.

"Take that back!"

"No, because it's true."

"Here we go again," muttered Max with an eye-roll and left the room subtly, only catching the attention of Yami. He frowned and followed as Yugi watched him leave. Before he had a chance to ponder following himself, he had to duck as a console controller was thrown in his direction, having missed its original target of Ray.

"I. am. not. DUMB!" shouted Tyson, oblivious to the fact he had nearly hit Yugi.

Ray however, had not missed it. "Clearly you are that, or you are simply blind for you cannot see consequences of your actions," he hissed at his younger friend, while turning to make sure Yugi was unharmed. "Are you okay, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded while smiling. "I'm fine, thanks Ray. Although, I think I'm going to need to banish a few people from the house for a few hours so that I can clean up the mess from their video game spree, as well as the spray from these two," he gestured to Joey and Tristan, "decimating our food resources."

Ray smirked. "Oh really? And who might that be?"

"Oh, you know: Tyson, Joey and Tristan. I hate to ask, but-"

"Don't worry, I'll keep them out of your way for a while."

"Thank you. All right you three. Out!"

"Come on, Yuge!" whined Joey.

"Yeah Yugi, you know us! We'll help you tidy up!" suggested Tristan.

"And have you lot start another fight? I don't think so. OUT!"

Mokuba sat chuckling in the corner until his phone went off. His face quickly paled when he read the message.


Yami wandered through to Max's room and was surprised to find it empty. "Max? Maxie, are you in here?" The former pharaoh quickly scanned the surroundings and soon caught sight of the open window. He ambled over to it and cast his eyes upwards. "Max?"

The blonde jumped at hearing the voice but refused to look down at Yami. "Why are you here?"

"Something was troubling you: I was just checking you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't the one who was missing for three hours."

Yami sighed. "Max, I'm sorry for worrying you. I just lost track of time."

Max laughed to himself. "I keep forgetting I've only known you a week. Seems rather surreal."

The former pharaoh smiled. "Only a week? It feels like I've known you a lifetime."

Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way. "Where were you that you were gone for so long?"

"Will you not come back inside?" Max did not answer, nor did he look down towards the other. "I went to see Kaiba."

Max frowned. "Why did you go and see him?"

Yami shrugged even though Max would not have seen it. "To try and help clear the air between he and Kai; as well as to confirm a theory of mine."

"What theory?"

"One: Kaiba is gay, and two: he has fallen for Kai."

Max's eyes just about bulged out of their sockets. Only after this revelation did he turn his gaze down. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Will you please come down and let me explain everything?" Max once again sat in silence and Yami looked away dejectedly. As he turned away a thump on the window ledge shocked him, but he smiled warmly at the blonde as their eyes met; with Max too smiling earnestly. Yami held out his hand for the younger teen to use and he took it gratefully as he jumped to the floor. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, Kaiba likes Kai, does he?" smirked Max.

Yami chuckled. "He didn't deny it anyway. The only thing he admitted to was being gay, and even on that one he didn't give me a straight answer." Max looked at his strangely. "I called him up on it and he later asked me how long I had known for."

"Ah, now I see what you mean. That certainly is interesting: I think that affection may go both ways."

"I wondered. Have you asked him about it?"

"Yep, and he did the same as Kaiba: not a yes or no, but he gave me as good as that."

Yami laughed quietly. "Of all the people to fall for each other, I would never in a million years have guessed those two originally."

"Nor would I seeing as how explosive many of their interactions end up."

"Actually…that is what made me suspect something was there, on Kaiba's side at least."

"Really?"

"Kaiba never loses his temper with someone so quickly, and anger is his natural defence mechanism."

"He is exactly the same as Kai is that way. It is scary how similar those two are; even Mokuba has commented on it."

"Both of them even earned the nickname 'Ice Prince'."

The pair laughed together with broad smiles on their faces as their eyes kept locked together. They stared at each other for several seconds until Max felt something stroke the top of his hand and he swiftly looked down to his hand, which was still linked with Yami's own. Yami too turned his gaze to their joined hands and the two stood in stunned silence. They were actually holding hands and neither made to move away, nor wanted too. Max experimentally moved so that their fingers were aligned and barely intertwined. Soft blue eyes glanced up nervously towards crimson and were met with reassuring warmth, as well as a smile which made the blonde melt.

A sharp knock on the door broke the enchanting moment between the two and they pulled away from each other sharply. "Guys! Something has happened at Kaiba Corp.! Kai and Kaiba may be in trouble!" called Yugi urgently.

Max's face suddenly became contorted with worry. "What is it?"

"Mokuba said the alarm for bio-contaminants has gone off."

Both teens looked at each other in mild panic. "We need to go."


Crystelle took care to step over the bodies of those unfortunate scientists who had been trapped in the basement following the lockdown and had crossed paths with the Crusaders. She smiled cruelly as the body count reached twenty and passed beyond. Her eyes lit up further when her sight was met with what she was looking for: Lab 23. Crossing the threshold she quickly strode up to one of her men. "Well?" she asked.

"I've got the list of people Seto Kaiba has regular contact with; from that we should be able to establish the identity of the World Soul's host," he answered calmly.

"Excellent, so we can now destroy this Vortex Generator and build our own within our base at a later date, as to make sure the Rescuers are kept firmly out of the way."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why not?"

"Because I have just discovered your ex is smarter than we thought. He has written in a program which prevents any new vortexes to be established until a journey is completed."

"Are you saying that we cannot journey to any other worlds until we all return to our world?"

"Exactly. I've got to admit, I did not anticipate this."

"Neither did I, either Kai is paranoid or has incredible foresight."

"Most likely a combination of both. However, this does present us with an opportunity."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…if we can only conquer one world, why not seize our chance to bring through greater numbers, as well as some of our research?"

"This device is nowhere near completion, or are you blind?"

"I am well aware of that, my lady. What I am suggesting is that we stop them from using the Vortex Generator until we want them to."

Crystelle's eyes flickered in thought while her cruel smile returned to her lips. "What do you suggest?"


Kai tapped on the keys furiously while calibrating the small earpiece he had found in one of the drawers. He could not fathom why Kaiba had thought to place earpieces in the desks for emergencies, but at that moment he was praising the foresight. Even more surprising was the fact that there were some hidden in the elevators too. "What next? Inside the walls or beneath the floor?" he muttered while fixing the small device within his ear.

"If you must know then yes there are some there," stated Kaiba flatly as he concentrated on his own task.

Kai laughed quietly. "Paranoia springs to mind."

"I call it preparation," shot back Kaiba defensively, leading Kai to think he was closer to the truth than the CEO would like to admit.

"Yeah, sure. I am almost done on this end, how's it coming for you?"

"I am ready. We will have 9 minutes 38 seconds before the seals are brought back up. Unfortunately I was only able to access the west elevator as the others are apparently down for maintenance; which is the one furthest from the control room."

"Are you sure it isn't just another trick in the system?"

"It doesn't matter if it is. Either way, I can't control them from here. I can get it to go down to the second floor and you will have to go down the north-east stairwell from there. I can open all of the doors from here, but you will only have a window of forty seconds to get through it, so will activate it once you are nearby."

"All right. I'll be able to tell you once I am on the first floor and from there you can head up towards the second control room." A beep from the computer signalled to Kai he was ready. "The download is complete and the data is wiped from this machine. I'm good to go."

"Head out of the lab and back to the west elevator. I'll trigger the program once you are in position." Kai shut down the computer and left the lab, taking a couple of seconds to adjust to the heavy air, feeling the effects of the excess carbon dioxide. He ran towards the elevator and skidded to a halt as he stood before it. "Ready?"

"I'm good. Just keep me updated on the time and I will do the same for you when I take up position."

"System trip in 4, 3, 2, 1. Engaged." Kai covered his ears as a high-pitched sound made its way through the loudspeakers, and barely noticed the doors opening. "Get moving Kai!"

The blue-haired teen growled and dived in, pressing the button for the second floor. "You could have warned me about the sound," he growled in anger.

"Yes, I could have," smirked Kaiba in response, although he did feel a slight pang of guilt. Only slight though. "Six seconds until the elevator stops."

Kai exhaled and prepared himself for a sprint out of the elevator. As soon as the doors opened he was off, dashing through the corridors with not a glance backwards. It was fortunate however that he was paying attention to what was going on ahead of him for as he rounded the third-last corner he caught sight of two armed figures at the end of the corridor. "Shit…" he muttered quietly while taking cover around the corner. "Kaiba, come in."

"What the hell is the hold-up?"

"I've got two guys armed and poised to shoot up ahead. Care to tell me why you didn't warn me?"

"There is no-one else on your level, Kai. Not a single life-sign the whole time."

Kai frowned. "Damn, looks like they have a hold on that system too. I will need time to get rid of these two."

"You've got 7 minutes 14 seconds. Make it fast as I will need at least 4 minutes."

"Right…" Kai noticed the steel beams above him and quickly formulated a plan. The teen leapt up to take a hold of the structure and kicked the wall hard to attract the attention of one of the guards. Sure enough, they both heard the sound and one moved forward gingerly to investigate with his gun raised. As he rounded the corner slowly a foot connected with his head sharply, leaving him disorientated. Kai seized his chance and rammed his body into that of the guard and spun back to shoot the other, utilizing the dazed form as an effective shield. One shot was fired towards Kai and he returned with a flurry of his own, bringing down the aggressor in a hail of bullets. His hostage screamed as one shot ripped through his stomach before Kai ended it by snapping his neck. The Rescuer ran over and picked up the other gun, then setting off for the stairs. "Clear for the stairwell."

"5 minutes 33 remaining. Let me know when you are in the control room."

"Copy that."


Kaiba paced the length of the elevator as he waited for the signal to set off. What is taking Kai so long? He should have reached the control room within 30 seconds and it has been over two minutes. I swear he is such high maintenance, it is unbelievable. He better be all right-

"Kaiba, come in."

"Took your time. Passing over controls to you."

"I've got it. Elevator starting up now. 3 minutes 19 left."

Kaiba growled. "I told you I would need four minutes! What was the damn hold-up?"

"I had to work on my bullet-dodging skills. Didn't quite work as planned."

The CEO involuntarily flinched at hearing the news. "Are you hurt?"

"Aww…is big bad Kaiba worried about me?" A growl was Kai's answer before he continued. "Just a shot to my left arm and one grazed my right-hand side. I've survived much worse than this. Twenty seconds till you reach the thirty-second floor."

"I'll need to move it. How many did you take down?"

"Three of them. Considering the number of Crusaders we came across before, you can expect possibly the same number."

"Number of them in the basement?"

"Only two are down there now. No telling how many you will meet. Eight seconds."

Kaiba wedged himself against the side of the elevator just in case he found some unpleasant company as the doors opened, but luck was with him. As the red light poured in from the corridors the CEO saw he was alone and sped along, heading to the south-east staircase. He encountered no trouble as the door appeared. "Clear for the stairs."

"You're good. 1 minute 16 left."

"Hold off on opening the next door until I get up there."

"Copy that."

Kaiba waited for the buzz before opening the door, but soon found he was in serious danger. Two Crusaders were ascending the stairs at that exact moment and one opened fire on the brunette. He threw himself onto the opposite set of stairs and set a wild kick out, hoping to catch one of them. The kick missed entirely, but forced the pair to jump back instinctively. He scrambled to his feet and took a firm hold of the railing; waiting for one of them to reappear. Sure enough, one did come into sight after about ten seconds and was caught unawares as Kaiba swung himself around in a fierce kick. He missed the first Crusader but made contact the other's neck, instantly killing him. The CEO sent an elbow backwards to strike the other one but his arm was caught and used to force him into a nearby wall. A sharp cry of pain escaped his lips as his back slammed hard against the metal and found himself at the wrong end of a strangle-hold. He sent out a couple of punched but they did no good. His eyes began dimming as his body was starved of much needed oxygen, but a timely transmission from Kai snapped Kaiba back with renewed determination.

"Kaiba you've only got 20 seconds left! The door is open, get out of there now!"

Kaiba swung a leg out and snatched away the ankle of the Crusaders before kicking him down the stairs. Without a backwards glance he raced up the stairs towards the door; all the while Kai was counting down the seconds. "8, 7, 6, 5, 4. GET OUT OF THERE!" Kaiba literally threw himself at the door and slammed it shut behind him with only a solitary couple of seconds left. He slumped against the structure and allowed himself a few seconds to regain his breath. "Kaiba, are you all right?"

The CEO chuckled. "Now who's worried about who?"

He was surprised to hear Kai laughing at the other end in response. "Crusaders?"

"Yes. They won't be bothering us again though."

"Nice to hear. You sound rather breathless."

"You would too after nearly being strangled and then having to get up a flight of stairs in record time."

Kaiba could hear Kai wince on the other end. "Are you badly hurt?"

"Not any more than I was before. Now, shall we break this lockdown?"

"Ready whenever you are."

Kaiba struggled back to his feet, acutely aware of how much his body was suffering from the combined effects of oxygen deprivation, excess carbon dioxide being absorbed and the gunshot wound from a few days ago re-opening. He stumbled along the corridor, just about propping himself up with the wall. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when the door to the control room came into sight and he made it inside. "Kai, the code you need to override is 64923HA80."

"Jesus, that's a hell of a combination."

"It's Mokuba's code. Input that while I enter my own." The CEO had to shake himself back to awareness several times as he succumbed to his failing body. "How's it…coming?"

"That's it. The lockdown is broken: we have regained communication with the outside world. Kaiba…are you all right? You do not sound good at all."

"I don't feel too great…I'll admit it…Urgh…Stupid…lack of…oxygen…" The CEO then collapsed to his knees gasping for breath. "Guess the…carbon dioxide…was not such a…foolish choice…after all…" He fell to his back and slowly lost his awareness, all the while listening to Kai's panicked calls.

"Kaiba? Kaiba! KAIBA, ANSWER ME!"


Alliance: What is it with you and cliffhangers?

Back again are you? I enjoy writing cliffhangers! Anyway, usual policy applies. Every review deducts one day from next update date.

By the way, the synopsis my next Iceshipping fic (independent universe from this fic) is up on my profile page for people to view! Please let me know what you think of it! (privately or within a review)

Next Update: 18th February 2011