Note: Now that was the longest time I had to take in doing this! But now this chapter is all done! Sorry it took so long to get this up, life has been so busy for me! Bt now I can't delay this moment any longer! The Hephaestus adventure begins! And as our heroes approach the office of Ryu Mutou, they find a clue to undoing the lock that bars their entry. But soon after an impossible battle ensues-leading to a tragedy that will strike Kaiba hard. And do our heroes really have the legendary Ace in the Hole in their possession? Read and find out!
Chapter 38: Hephaestus
"Impossible!" Mutou gasped, turning off the screen after his banter with Cohen. "T-that's impossible!"
"Oh boy…" a splicer soldier muttered, "You know what that means, Boss? If what Cohen says is true, then you don't stand a chance! People say the Ace in the Hole is-"
"YES, I KNOW!" Mutou barked, slamming his fists on the desk, "I know what they said about that weapon! That it's 'Indestructible'! But that boy and his merry band of misfits can't possibly have it in their possession! No one even knows what kind of weapon it is!"
"So… what do you say we do?" another splicer soldier asked dumbly.
Mutou rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Continue with the current order. It's likely that they don't have that… Ace in the Hole. But in case they do, I want them dead before they use it!"
"What about Yugi?" the first splicer queried, "You still want him alive?"
"Yes, of course!" Mutou snapped, "And if possible, bring him to my office in handcuffs! Make sure he remains unharmed when you do so!"
"Yes sir!" The splicers replied in military fashion before making their hasty departure. The King of Kyoki slumped down, elbows on his desk, his head swimming with thoughts of the events that occurred these past five days.
"Orchid… As you can see, I'm trying my hardest to keep my promise to you." He lifted up his shaky hands. "Especially after the horrible thing I did to you… with these hands!"
"SAY IT ISN'T SO!" And with a mighty swing, he slashed her hard across the chest. The room was filled with her reverberating scream.
"Orchid?! Oh no! Orchid! I didn't mean to…" The tears of sorrow and regret flowed down his cheek as he lifted his wife in his arms.
"NOOOOOO! ORCHID! What have I done?! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
"After that day, I swore to you by my own life… that I would not let the rest of our family fall victim to that very same tragedy. And I made that promise out of love for all of you! That's why I intend to keep it, no matter what happens, no matter how Yugi feels about me now." Mutou let out a sigh, leaning back on his chair. "And then… there's the matter with that boy—the one who looks like Yugi. What should I do? On one hand, he is a major threat to Kyoki and its people! A servant of Raiden! But on the other hand… there's something about him that… I don't know what to make of it! What is it that makes me love him? Those feelings haven't abated since yesterday! I just don't understand it!" It was then that he thought back to what Cohen had said to him.
"I'm going to write something for you, Ryu Mutou… It's a requiem! And the best part about it? Well, let's just say that it's not without a sense of irony!"
His eyes widened as the pieces were beginning to fall into place. Yet the number of pieces were still very few. "What kind of irony was he speaking of? Is it about the Ace in the Hole… or is it about the boy…? I need to look further into this!"
"C'mon Nathaniel, hurry up!" Jonouchi stated as he and his friends watched the vocalist set up his hacking device on the treasure box they got from Sander Cohen. "The suspense is killing me!"
"Hold on!" Nathaniel reminded him, placing one of his hacker tools on the lock. He pressed a few buttons, but after a few moments of noise, the machine discharged a small bit of electricity. "Ow! Damn it!" the vocalist hissed, clutching his hand. "Okay, let's try this again." Again, he pressed the buttons, using a different sequence. Again, to his frustration, the machine injured him with an electrical discharge. "OW! DAMN IT!" He put his singed fingers into his mouth to ease the pain. "Coral-Chan! I think I need a little bit of some Eve before this next attempt!"
"Pretty tough lock to pick, huh Boo?" Coral mused. While the cute chef was getting out the Nami serum to help her boyfriend, Atem, Yugi and Anzu were staring out at the city through the window of the bathysphere.
"You know," Yugi noted, "every time I look out at this city, I can't help but feel a sense of wonder… The outside always seem so serene compared to the inside."
"Yeah, I get what you mean." Anzu replied. "This is just one of the few things I'm going to miss about this place when we leave." She turned toward Atem. "What do you think, Atem?"
The Bolt wielder did not answer. He just continued to stare at the scene before him, lost in contemplation. "Atem?" Yugi asked, "Hello? Something on your mind?"
"Hm?" Snapping out of his trance, Atem turned toward his doppelganger. "Did you say something?"
Yugi glared in annoyance. "All right, spill it! What's wrong?"
"It's nothing!" Atem replied hastily.
"Bullshit! You've been acting really strange since this morning at the Benzaiten Safehouse!"
"L-let's just concentrate on the task at hand, okay?" As much as it annoys him that Atem was trying to avoid the subject, Yugi decided to drop the conversation for the moment. By then, Nathaniel's fingers were healed of their self-inflicted injuries.
"All right, let's do this!" he declared, pressing the buttons of his hacking tool in a different pattern. "Third try's a charm… I hope." Again, there was a few moments of noise. This time, however, there was a click that followed. "YES! I got it!"
"About time!" Otogi stated in excitement. Quickly, everyone gathered around the vocalist as he prepared to open the box.
"I can't wait to see what's inside!" Mai stated.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Honda noted, "It has to be the Ace in the Hole!" With that, Nathaniel threw open the lid—and frowned when he peeked inside.
"Not likely…"
"Huh? What do you mean, Nathaniel Boy?" Pegasus asked.
"Whatever the Ace in the Hole happens to be, it's definitely not this!" It was then that the Mermaid Agents took a closer look at the contents.
Inside the box was what appeared to be a pile of human hearts, but they each seemed rather… unnatural. Several of them had strange growths on them, and at least two of them were still beating. Not a single onlooker was without an expression of utter shock and disgust.
"AW, YUCK!" Stephen gasped, "What ARE those things?!"
"Splicer hearts." Nathaniel answered, plain and simple. One of the hearts in question seemed to start crawling.
"Ugh…" Jonouchi muttered, his face turning green with sickness. "I think I'm gonna barf! Anybody got a paper bag?"
"GROSS!" Emily gagged. "Why would anyone in their right minds keep splicer hearts in a treasure chest?!"
"From what I've heard," Kaiba noted nonchalantly, "some splicers use other splicer's organs for food and medicine. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the hearts of Cohen's so-called disciples."
"Dude! Now that's sick!" Oscar stated, "Just when you think a splicer couldn't sink any lower, it turns out they resort to cannibalism!"
Honda happened to take a glimpse at a heart with tentacles attempting to crawl out of the box, and he jumped backward in terror, clutching his chest. "MY HEART'S NOT GONNA CRAWL OUT OF MY CHEST, IS IT?!"
"You're a Plasmund!" Yugi shouted, "Plasmids don't affect you the way it does with splicers!"
"I'M STILL GONNA GET AN X-RAY AS SOON AS I LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Honda yelled. In response, The Prince of Kyoki sighed in exasperation.
"Well, I guess it's too late to go back and get the Ace in the Hole." Anzu noted. "We'll be in Hephaestus any minute now."
"Since you mentioned it, Raiden wanted us to quit the search and hurry over that place anyway." Mai stated, "Maybe he's trying to say that we won't need the Ace in the Hole."
"That may be possible." Atem noted, "But the chances of succeeding are slim at best, so it may not be the case. When we told him that we were going to find the Ace in the Hole, he said that the weapon of legend would come to us."
"Come to us?" Otogi asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
"It's a theory," Atem explained, "But I believe that what Raiden is telling us is that the Ace in the Hole is not in Fort Frolic, but somewhere in Hephaestus! He must be implying that we'll run across it by chance!"
"Yeah, that makes plenty of sense!" Yugi agreed. "Where else can it be hidden but under the very nose of the enemy!"
"And with such power, whoever hidden such a weapon must have hidden it very well!" Pegasus added.
"Then let's get to it!" Jonouchi declared, "As soon as we reach Hephaestus, let's gather all the clues we can find so we can get the Ace in the Hole and kick Ryu Mutou's butt!"
It didn't take long before the bathysphere finally reached the entrance, bobbing up and down in the water after surfacing before it finally came to a stop. The hatch slowly opened, and one by one the Mermaid Agents and the Ex-Reaper dice man stepped out. Compared to the other places they've visited so far, the atmosphere was rather hot. Through glass windows they could see small rows of undersea volcanoes, glowing red-orange with molten lava. They could also see metal pipes here and there, hinting the industrial scene they would soon approach. Blossom woke up from sleep mode, blinking a few times and wobbling a bit on Pegasus' shoulder. "Oh wowww!" she slurred in her groggy state, "Hot…hot… lava…" She yawned a bit before perking up. "Pretty!"
Right then Atem's video phone emitted its calling signal, to which the Bolt wielder answered immediately. Sure enough, Raiden was one the screen. "You guys better watch yourselves." Raiden warned, "Mutou's watching, so it's best to keep to your own business."
"Right. No need to remind us on this one." Atem replied as his friends all listened in, "After all, we're in his turf."
"Good." Raiden stated, adjusting his straw hat. "Everyone, it's time to go all in! Mutou's got the genetic keys to Kyoki; we get that from him, and we'll finally be out of this infernal pit!"
"What if we don't?" Jonouchi asked.
"Let's not dwell on the consequences of failure." Raiden stated, "It's not pretty." He then faced in the Bolt wielder's direction, a serious look on his lips. "Now, Atem… would you kindly head over to Ryu Mutou's office and kill that son of a bitch?" No sooner than he finished speaking than Atem grew stiff… and once again, that turquoise circle-star symbol appeared on his forehead. "It's time to end this." Raiden simply stated.
"Y-ye… Yes Raiden." Atem replied, and Raiden ended his call. The symbol continued to linger, however—and this time, Yugi took notice.
"Atem?" the League leader asked, "What's that on your forehead?"
"Wha?" Atem asked in shock, "What do you mean?"
"Yeah, lemme see!" Jonouchi piped up. The others joined him, but before anyone had the chance to have a closer study at the symbol… it finally vanished.
"Hey," Honda gasped, "It's gone!"
"Did you guys see that?!" Yugi stated.
"I saw it!" Stephen replied, "But I didn't get a good enough look!"
"Me neither." Emily added.
"…Must have been our imagination." Nathaniel mused.
Atem looked at his reflection on the glass. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. "I sure hope you're right."
Kaiba's cell phone began to ring then. His eyes widened when he looked at the screen. "My friend's calling. Looks like she needs to feed her slug again."
"You mean Kisara?" Anzu stated.
"Yeah, and since there's no Safehouse close to Hephaestus, it looks like I have no choice." Kaiba muttered in annoyance, "I'll have to have her tag along with you dweebs."
Suddenly Atem clutched his forehead in pain. "Atem!" Otogi shouted in concern, "What's wrong?!" Slowly the Bolt wielder lifted up his head, crimson eyes staring straight down the Metro. A vision of certain parts of Hephaestus appeared in his mind, it metal walls gleaming like new. That vision was gone in a flash, along with the memory of what he had seen. But one certain thing he did remember.
"The road to Mutou's office… is this way!" he muttered, before breaking into a run, "FOLLOW ME! It isn't very far from here!"
"Atem!" Oscar blurted out, "What the hell is wrong with you, Dude?!"
Blossom gasped as she looked at her map. "Mister Atem Boy is right! The gate to Ryu Mutou's office is a short trip away!"
"I don't understand!" Mai gasped, "It's happened at least twice before! It's like he knows the directions to certain areas like the back of his hand!"
"If what you say is true Mai-Chan," Nathaniel noted, "Then perhaps there must be something more going on here! We don't have time to think about it, though! Let's follow him!"
Mutou looked at the team upon his monitor, trying to hide his fear even as he gathered certain photographs. "Hm, whatever happened at Fort Frolic, one thing's for sure: Cohen's definitely lost his touch. Ah, Boy… if only you knew him when he used to believe in his work… in his talents… in his inner struggle. Now he rots in his gothic fairy-tale land, waiting for someone to come along and say that he still got it. Maybe that's why he let you and your traitor friends live." Suddenly his eyes widened in worry. "Or could it be… that he spared you for a completely different reason altogether?"
The Agents continued to follow Atem down the path he was taking, which matched the exact directions on Blossom's Map. "Watch out Mutou!" Jonouchi declared confidently, "We're so close to you, we can almost taste it!"
"Wait!" Kaiba suddenly shouted, "Hold on a minute. I've got another ally to pick up." The others looked to see the Reaper's hiding hole not so far away from where they were now.
"Whoa! Look at the size of that thing!" Stephen gasped.
"I know." Otogi replied, "I've been coming and going through a hole like that back in Fort Frolic." They watched as the Splicer Killer looked around for immediate danger. Then he knocked.
"I'm here, Kisara!" he called out, "You can come out now!" It wasn't long before his Reaper sweetheart crawled out of the vent.
"Hey Seto." Kisara greeted, "I didn't know you brought some friends along."
"Friends?" Kaiba quipped, "These dweebs aren't exactly friends per se, but they help me out." With that, he caught the pale Reaper in his arms as she jumped out of the hiding hole. Once on the ground, she quickly took notice of three familiar faces.
"Hey! Aren't those the ones we had a mock battle with back in Dragon King's Bounty?"
"Don't remind me." Jonouchi murmured, still fuming at the defeat he suffered days ago.
"Still, it is fancy seeing you here after our little bout." Mai stated, "We've gotten much stronger since then."
"Anyway," Kaiba interrupted, stepping aside to introduce his Reaper girlfriend. "For those of you who don't already know, this is Kisara."
"Nice to meet you." Kisara greeted politely with a bow.
"Same to you." Atem stated, "I'm sure you might be a big help for us all."
"All right," Yugi stated, "let's continue on to my father's office, shall we?"
"Oh, right!" Atem gasped in surprise, "Onward, everyone!" And the whole team continued their trek down the path. Along the way, Oscar's stomach started rumbling very loudly.
"Aw man, I'm getting real hungry!" the drummer complained clutching his stomach. "What I wouldn't give for a nice quarter-pound cheeseburger!"
"Yoo-hoo!" a soft disembodied voice echoed in the hall, grabbing his attention. "Over heeeere!"
"Huh?" When Oscar turned toward the source of the voice, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Ahh, a present! Just for you!"
At the sight of the present in question, he was all drooling smiles. Sitting neatly on top of a platter was… "A QUARTER-POUND CHEESEBURGER! WITH FRIES!"
"You likey?"
"YEAH, ME LIKE!" And with that, Oscar zoomed toward the mouthwatering burger and started gobbling it up. The other heroes turned with shock.
"Oscar, watch out!" Stephen warned frantically, "IT'S A TRAP!"
True to the guitarist's warning, there was suddenly a loud peal of mocking laugher overhead. Oscar stopped eating and looked up—just in time to see this big mass of flesh falling toward him! He let out a scream of terror and rushed out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by this—thing's belly flop. It did manage to crush the leftover food and the table though. "Aw shit, I missed!" the ugly figure spat, rising up to reveal himself as a massive male splicer in a mechanic's uniform. He was a hulking beast, made up of huge muscles and melted flesh that gave him a deceptively overweight appearance. Soon another splicer, a female, appeared close beside him. A pair of large fleshy tank barrels stuck out of her shoulders like disgusting tumors
"GODDAMMIT, LARRY!" the female splicer snapped "Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?"
"I can't help it Betty!" the splicer, 'Larry' bellowed in a deep voice, "You know how excited I get about squashing parasites like these!"
"Ah shaddup and let's get blasting!" the female splicer, 'Betty" turned toward the Agents, her flesh barrels aiming right toward them. "THIS IS AS FAR AS YA GO, TRAITORS!" And she unleashed a blast from those barrels. Our heroes quickly sped out of the way as the ammo seemed to explode on contact.
"I got to take a picture of those guys!" Mai gasped, lifting her digital research camera.
"You better watch out parasite!" the larger male spat, bull rushing toward Oscar, "I'm-a gonna getcha!" And before the drummer could react, the enemy slammed his fist right into him—hard! So hard that it sent him flying right into a wall.
"…Ouch." Oscar could only mutter.
"Oscar Boy!" Pegasus shouted, "Are you all right?"
"What are those creeps?!" Jonouchi shouted.
It was Mai that provided the answer, even as she dodged another blast from the splicer female. "A brute splicer and a tank splicer! Have a look!" And Jonouchi looked. The first set of data displayed that monstrous hulk:
Brute Splicer
This splicer is easily as strong as an ordinary model of Hunter, but very little intelligence to back it up. With massive power second only to the heavyweight class of Tyrant splicer, the Brute prefers a more hands-on approach—forgoing projectile weapons in favor of attacks with its meaty fists. Yet it spite of its large size, it lacks the strength to lift heavy objects. Still, the Brute is a formidable opponent, resistant to bullets and most melee attacks.
The second set of data provided information about the other splicer:
Tank Splicer
The Tank Splicer, the highest ranking bullet splicer, has twice as much power as the Bazooka splicer from which it evolved. These creatures are the first steps in becoming the elite Leadhead, with tank barrels being the first gun-like weapon they can grow from their own skin. Few such splicers actually reach elite status, but nevertheless remain deadly. Resistant to antipersonnel rounds.
"Whoa!" Jonouchi gasped, "Two high-ranking splicers in one encounter!"
"I'll handle this!" Kisara suddenly announced, surprising all of her allies.
"Kisara?!" Yugi gasped.
"Don't worry," Kaiba stated bluntly, "She knows what she's doing!" Of course, the Prince of Kyoki wasn't so sure, because when the two splicers laid eyes on the pale Reaper, the brute splicer started salivating.
"Oh Betty!" the brute shouted in excitement, "You see that?!"
"Yeah, Larry, it's a walking Nagi buffet!" answered the tank splicer and in her eagerness, she opened fire. Kisara simply jumped out of the way with an otherworldly grace. Once she landed, she gave a confident smirk that would make her boyfriend proud. And then the blue glow in her eyes glowed brighter.
"Eat this." She simply stated, to which the two elite splicers gave a look of horror. "SHINING NEUTRON BLAST!" The power of her Overdrive Ability was great indeed. The lightning bolt struck the two splicers and they screamed loudly—before exploding in a mass of electrified pieces. Blood, gore and all.
"Yipe!" Blossom squeaked, ducking behind her master's shoulder to avoid being covered by the gooey remains. A few others were not so lucky. Oscar, for one, was covered by what was left of the brute splicer's face.
"YUCK!" he exclaimed, "I think I just lost my appetite…" The Agents soon recovered from the shock to see what was left of their enemy: the lower half of the brute splicer, and the corpse of the tank, a quarter of which was a gaping hole. The bodies flickered more with electricity before finally falling to the ground. The blue-eyed Reaper quickly proceeded to gather the Nagi to feed her slug.
"Such power!" Pegasus mused. "It never ceases to impress me!"
"The energy of raw Nagi is so mighty, only Plasmunds and supernova splicers are able to withstand it." Otogi explained.
"Supernova splicers?" Atem queried in confusion.
"I've told this to your friend Atem, " Mai answered, "but there are six types of elite splicers. Five of them are super-powered versions of the five splicer varieties. The sixth one, however, is unique and can come from any splicer variety. You see, if a splicer manages to reach its highest rank of power, it transforms into the rarest and most powerful elite splicer of all: the supernova splicer. Many people refer to these splicers as the King or Queen of Splicers, because they have the one thing that all the other splicers can never possess: Overdrive Abilities."
Atem and Jonouchi stared at the violet-eyed shutterbug in shock. Jonouchi gasped, "What?! So you're saying these supernova freaks are a match to Plasmunds like us?!"
"I'm afraid so." Mai replied, "Which is why I'm glad that such splicers appear in less than three in number. The chances of a splicer reaching supernova status these days are one in a billion."
"Let's hurry on to where Mutou is before some more of those high ranking splicers show up." Coral suggested. The team all nodded in agreement.
A few moments later, the team stepped into a large metal room. "Looks like this is it, right?" Jonouchi asked.
"It is." Yugi answered. Ahead was a large metal door with a strange device in front. The door itself was sealed tight. But it was the walls to the left and right of that door that stood out: several corpses were on display, all impaled with a single spike to the heart, and set neatly in a row.
"Oh Mother of Ra…" Atem gasped.
"Don't tell me… Is that…?" Stephen asked, hesitantly.
"Yup." Yugi answered grimly. "My father's trophy room."
Soon Atem's Video Phone signaled its incoming call, and Mutou's face appeared onscreen. "Ah Boy, you're just in time for the lecture. A one-inch worm looks up and sees the faces of the gods. But look around you! There's a whole convention of worms here!"
"Worms… WORMS?" Atem barked, "I don't know about you, Mutou, but even one-inch worms have a half-inch soul! These people you've put on display—they had mothers, fathers, people who loved them! They graduated from school, got jobs, got married, had children-"
"And what makes you think you're any different?!" Mutou snapped, before letting out a huff. "Perhaps I should plan another room just to display the likes of you and your swarm."
"Oh, really?" Yugi growled, "Well, let me tell you something, you bastard! I'm planning to reserve a spot on these walls just for you! And since you're going to be the last 'trophy' on display, perhaps you can help me choose; let me know if you have a preference!" And he pressed a button on his friend's Video Phone to end the call.
"Wow… way to hang up on your father for once!" Honda mused, with a look that says that he's nothing less than impressed. After a tense moment, the Prince of Kyoki let out a sigh to calm himself down.
"Pegasus, shoot down that camera."
The plasmid merchant stared in confusion before he glanced at the security camera at the left-hand corner. "Oh, right!" Since his machine gun had been improved, he was able to complete the task in record time. Another pause followed. The Yugi lifted his head.
"I've been to this place a few times since the start of the Kyoki Wars." He stated, "And I still couldn't believe that Father would build something like this! It's where he put the most notable of 'traitors', especially those who attempted to assassinate him." The League Leader glanced over to the right hand side, and his fellow Agents could see what appeared to be the charred remains of a man. "Bill McDonagh… He was like family to me."—the tears started streaming down his eyes then—"Even after he fell from grace, Father still considers him one of his dearest friends. He used to be a part-time plumber before he got recruited as one of Father's top engineers; he played a major role in building Kyoki. Come to think of it, McDonagh was a bit of a prodigy like my father was. I called him my uncle, and he was there to support me during the seven years I had to endure in this city's downward spiral. He happened to have a family of his own, as a matter of fact: a wife called Elaine and a daughter called Sophie, who is presently ten years old in this day and age. They also supported me in my times of hardship. I used to play with Sophie a lot, teaching her so many things about the world we live in. She and her mother were lucky to escape Kyoki before the start of the third Kyoki War. But anyway… as you know, McDonagh was a member of the Kyoki Council, but when he heard that I had established the Mermaid League, he secretly became a Mermaid Agent to further support my cause. In fact, it was he who inspired the Mermaid League to take part in its most important mission…"
Bill McDonagh was loading a huge revolver when Yugi stepped into his quarters. "Hello Bill." The League Leader greeted.
"Oh Yugi!" McDonagh stated cheerfully, "Fancy seeing you up here in the Mercury Suites! You come to send me on a new assignment?"
"Nope, I just wanted to see how you're doing." Yugi replied. At that, the former General Contractor frowned.
"Oy, it's times like this when I'm glad I have someone like you to talk to! Once again, I begged Mr. Mutou to hand Orichalcos Futuristics to Raiden's boys as a peace offering, but as usual the stupid sod won't listen to reason! Instead, he's continuing to splice up his mob with tougher plasmids—and more of them I might add! 'Course, you know about a part of this one American song by the band, Fall Out Boy: 'This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race!' But here in Kyoki, it's not about who can build the finest swords, the best guns and the biggest bombs. It's about who can become less of a man… and more of a monster!"
"Tch! Tell me about it!"
"But you know what, Yugi? The real breaking point for me… was when those children are getting kidnapped by Mutou's men, and converted into… those poor things! Those Scavengers! And one of these little ones just so happens to be a friend of me daughter's. Sophie was lucky enough to escape the same fate, but still, that's the last straw that broke the camel's back for me. So I've come to a very big decision on my part. I'm getting me family out of Kyoki. But not before I…"
Yugi blinked in surprise. "Before you what? What are you going to do?" At that, McDonagh lifted his revolver. And it was then that the Prince of Kyoki understood.
"I never killed a man, let alone a mate. But I guess this is what things are coming to. I don't know if killing Mr. Mutou will stop the war, but I know it won't stop while that man still breathes." He stared long and hard at the League Leader. "Don't get me wrong Yugi. I love your father. But I love Kyoki. In fact, you're the only reason why I'm hesitating. Because I love you most of all; you're like a real nephew to me. And as far as I know, you're the only thing that stands between me and your father."
At first, Yugi gave no reply. But then his expression became reassuring. "Bill… I love the man that my father used to be, not the monster that he is now." A smile curled upon his lips. "If you have to kill one evil man to save thousands of good people… then you have my blessing to do so. In fact, should you fail, I'm going to make your mission the top assignment of the Mermaid League in your honor. No doubt, it will be the League's biggest mission yet!"
Encouraged by his young leader, McDonagh enthusiastically rose up from his chair. "Thanks Mate! I won't let you down! Either I take down your father or die tryin'!" He stepped toward the door and stared into Yugi's eyes with a resigned smile. "Of course, if the latter part be the case, promise you'll remember me. Because who knows: this may be the last time we'll be seeing each other."
Yugi's smile grew sad at that note. "I promise." And with that, the former General Contractor made his departure.
"… Needless to say, he failed to slay the monster that was once my father, as you can obviously see. But at least he succeeded in helping his family escape before he was executed. That was long before we heard about the Ace in the Hole, and even after that there were several who have since made the attempt to take Father's life." Yugi directed his friends toward the fresh corpse of a woman, a woman of African American descent. "This woman right here? That's the latest Agent to make the assassination attempt, just three days before Atem and Jonouchi arrived. Her name was Anya Andersdotter."
"Andersdotter?" Atem repeated, "Anzu and I rescued two children with that last name!"
"It's a good thing on her part." Anzu explained, "Those two kids we saved just so happen to be her kids! She's Amanda and T. J.'s mom!"
Atem only let out a small gasp in amazement even as Yugi nodded. "I made a promise to her that one way or another I will have those two siblings rescued. Likewise, she made a promise to me to help take down my father. I still remember the day she stepped forward with that intent in mind; I had just left the Great Forge to Dragon King's Bounty when that happened…"
"Yugi?" Anya called out as the League leader stepped out of the bathysphere, "Yugi? May I have a word with you?"
"Uh, of course Anya." Yugi replied, "Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" The Agent took out her gun and shot a nearby camera before she started talking.
"I have a… request to ask of you. It's very personal on my part."
"What kind of request?"
"Oh, how should I say this? I… I know we still don't know the whereabouts of the Ace in the Hole, let alone if it exists or not, but… I want to see if I can have a try at spilling Mutou's blood."
Yugi's eyes widened. "…You, of all people? You want to try and assassinate my father?"
Anya huffed at the question. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking: Me… an assassin… Now that's rich. But I could have gone along, I suppose. With being spliced up and forgotten, that is."
"But why, Anya?" Yugi asked.
At this, the shoe designer gave a serious frown. "Because I'm just like you Yugi: I believed in this place. I believed in your father! But when times got hard and push came to shove, Mutou stopped believing in Kyoki. He stopped believing in the Great Chain! Now, all he believes in is power! And because of this, this place is busto, and my babies are…" She broke down into tears.
"Gone?" Yugi asked.
"…Worse than gone, Yugi!" She turned toward a Hunter Rosie model lifting a pair of Scavengers, a boy and a girl, and helping them into their hiding places. "They're one of those… things! Those poor things!" She turned back toward the Prince of Kyoki. "So tell me: do you think I have what it takes to be an assassin in your cause? If I fail, I will provide the League with some vital information that may give you an edge over your father."
After a moment of thoughtful silence, Yugi answered, "All right. If you're so determined to attempt this takedown, then I won't stop you. And I promise that the Mermaid League will track down your children and rescue them no matter what."
The tears in Anya's eyes soon misted up with gratitude. "Thank you Yugi!"
"…Thanks to you, Atem, I was able to keep my promise to her. My only regret was that it happened long after she failed in her mission."
"Well, then let's just hope that your little friend didn't die in vain." Kaiba remarked.
As the team scanned the body, Otogi happened to lay eyes on one particular lump on her hip. "Huh? Hey guys! There's something sticking out from her pocket!" Nathaniel quickly retrieved the item in question and found it to be a video diary.
"Whoa!" Oscar gasped, "That must be the info that Anya promised to leave us!"
"You do the honors, Yugi-Mon." Nathaniel suggested, handing the video diary to the Prince of Kyoki. Yugi pushed play, and the others gathered around to listen. Anya's face appeared on the screen.
"Hi there!" Stated Anya in the video, "If you're watching this, that means they've got me and hung me in that trophy room. But don't worry! As promised, I have some vital keys that could help you out in your quest to slay the monster that is Ryu Mutou! I had to take the lusty femme fatale route and go jungle style with one of those filthy apes for three weeks, but it was well worth it: he spilled the beans on how to unlock the gates leading to that beast. He said to 'Generate a sympathetic overload in Harmonic Core number 3.' Simple as that! Now all I had to do is figure out what the hell a sympathetic overload is and for that matter, a Harmonic Core number 3! Easy as pie for an electrical engineer, I thought. Too bad I design women's shoes. Hopefully, someone among you has better luck in this riddle, but in the meantime, I'm gonna see the grease monkeys left alive in Heat Loss Monitoring and see what I can shake out of their trees. Whatever the case, I hope this helps you out. Good luck out there!" And with that, they entry was over.
"Harmonic Core number three?" Coral queried.
"Generate a sympathetic overload?" Mai wondered likewise, "What exactly does that mean?"
"I have no idea." Yugi admitted, "But if Anya's correct, it may be the key to shutting down that locking device at the entrance to Father's office."
"I believe it is best to take your fellow Agent's advice and travel to Heat Loss Monitoring." Atem suggested, "The answer to that riddle might be found there."
"I concur fully!" Pegasus agreed, "Surely Mrs. Andersdotter has left some more clues while she was down there."
"EEEEEEK!" Blossom suddenly screamed "Warning! Warning! INCOMING SPLICERS!" No sooner than the robotic doll finished than sparks began to fly and travel down one of the sealed doors, much to the shock of our heroes. Once more Ryu Mutou appeared on the screen of Atem's Video Phone.
"How like all parasites to walk in stolen shoes." Mutou stated, "I would explain the science that would render what you're trying to do impossible, but that would be like preaching a Zen Buddhist sutra into a horse's ear." The call quickly ended, just as the door burst open and a wave of splicers came rushing in like water through a shattered dam.
"Kill 'em!" one splicer exclaimed, "And stick 'em to the wall!"
"Crucify them!" roared another.
"Just don't hurt the Prince!" cried a third.
"GODDAMNIT!" Kaiba shouted, bringing forth his gauntlet blades to block and incoming attack from a spider splicer's sickle.
"Just great! Another splicer horde!" snapped Honda as he and Pegasus started shooting at a group of thug splicers. Mai also got busy, firing her crossbow at some spider splicers on the ceiling. Meanwhile, Jonouchi sent Blaze fireballs toward another group of thugs, and Stephen hacked into them with his greataxe, decapitating at least twelve of them at once. Nathaniel proceeded to slash the throat of a Brown Recluse before thrusting his trident into the stomach. As usual, Kaiba was darting across the room, freezing his enemies with his Blizzard, and using his gauntlet drills to finish them off.
"Only three hundred more to go." Jonouchi complained.
"Tough luck!" Oscar barked, "These creeps are multiplying like rabbits!" Unfortunately, he was right. In fact, the splicer mob was much like a hydra's heads; if one got cut down, three more would arrive to the scene. Not even the strikes of the drummer's two maces or Atem's electrically-charged staff were enough to discourage the incoming swell. Nor did Mai's cyclone traps slow down the enemy traffic. The Agents were vastly outnumbered.
"Let's get out of here!" Yugi announced.
"Good call!" Otogi agreed, throwing a die in the midst. It landed on a 2, bringing a blast of ice that froze the splicers surrounding it. Soon the ex-Reaper and all his friends attempted to flee the trophy room. But then things got worse. Out of nowhere, several grenades flew in front of them, and the explosion forced them all back. Emily looked up in shock. Several tough looking splicers stood at the balcony. Some carried boxes full of grenades, and others were putting grenades into hand cannons.
"You ain't goin' NOWHERE, TRAITORS!" one of them called out, and tossed another grenade. Emily caught the explosive with her Telekinesis,
"Back at you, bitch!" she exclaimed, but just as she tossed it back to the one who threw the bomb, another splicer shot out a grenade of his own from his hand cannon to nullify the attack. "What?!" she gasped.
Then another grenade was thrown and this time Honda caught it with his Telekinesis. When it came to the attempt on a counterattack, his luck wasn't any better. "What the hell are those goons?!" Honda shouted.
"I wish you didn't ask that!" Mai stated, "Because I just got the answer!" And she lifted her camera to show the data she had taken.
Grenade Splicer
Stronger than the dynamite splicer and twice as cautious in their approach in battle, grenade splicers are known to use more powerful explosives, like the grenades that give them their name. They handle these powerful explosives in different ways; while some still throw them like dynamite, others launch them through cannon-like launchers. They are especially dangerous in groups.
"That must be how Mutou kept all those would-be assassins from escaping!" Honda gasped. And with no way to escape, our heroes were quickly overwhelmed by the growing number of splicer guards. Yugi tossed dozens of shurikens, and Pegasus even re-equipped his Rage plasmid and turned some splicers against one another. But it was hopeless: the splicers just kept on coming. Soon, the horde took up the whole trophy room, and the Mermaid Agents couldn't keep up the fight. Least of all, Kaiba, who was prevented from jumping to the ceiling.
"Aw man, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place!" Jonouchi shouted, even as he sliced a splicer in two.
"Yeah, there's too many of them!" Anzu cried as she shot her dart guns to the ceiling.
"Pegasus!" Coral shouted from behind the protection of her boyfriend, stabbing a splicer in the face, "You have the Rage plasmid, make use of your Frenzy!"
"I wish I could!" the plasmid merchant answered, "But with these splicers crowding around us in such overwhelming numbers, I can't risk harming any of you in the act of an enemy takedown!"
Seeing the odds against them, Atem's eyes filled with despair. "Then I guess this is it. It's all over…" And though they didn't say it our loud, all his friends agreed with him. All, that is, except one blue-eyed Reaper.
Kisara, who by now was behind Kaiba for his protection, saw the discouragement in her friends' expressions… and grew determined. She knew right then and there that, like it or not, the time had arrived. "Not if I can help it!" To the Splicer Killer's shock, she strode out from behind him. Using the force of the raw Nagi from within her, she sent several of the mutants flying back. Kaiba's shock turned into horror when, to everyone else's amazement, she started floating, her body giving out a shining white aura.
"Kisara…? KISARA, WAIT!" Kaiba exclaimed, "STOP! DON'T DO IT!"
But the blue-eyed Reaper paid him no heed. "I'm sorry Seto, but I have to do this! It's the only way!" The glow in her eyes became a dazzling white color, and she allowed a white ball of pure energy to gather and expand between her hands. Otogi recognized that attack immediately.
"No way! She's gonna go through with it!" he shouted.
"Go through with what?!" Atem queried, and the others looked on to see Kisara fueling what would bound to be the most powerful attack of all.
"Isn't it obvious?!" Otogi answered, "She's gonna do the Rapture Rupture! That Overdrive Ability can obliterate any and all chosen enemies to the point in which very little remains. Even supernova splicers don't stand a chance against it!"
"Whoa!" Jonouchi gasped in amazement, "It's really that powerful?! Then if that's the case, why don't Reapers use it more often?"
The dice player frowned as he gave his answer. "Because it's their last resort—literally!"
Right at that moment, the ball of energy was at its full size, and Kaiba was really in a state of panic. "KISARA, NO! PLEASE DON'T!"
But there was no turning back. She lifted her arms so that the ball of energy was over her head. All the splicers in the trophy room could only stare in horror.
"RAPTURE RUPTURE!"
She threw down her arms, her hands balled up into fists and her face toward the ceiling. The ball of energy discharged with great intensity, and before long, it engulfed every terrified splicer in the room, their bodies seeming to blast away into tiny bits! In fact, the whole room shook as if by a tremendous quake. Then it was all over. The whole team was amazed that they are all still alive and standing after such a powerful move. The splicers were, obviously, not so lucky. There were bits and pieces here and there, but there was basically nothing else left but pools of spattered blood. And Kisara was standing in the midst of it all. "Dude!" Oscar exclaimed, "She just wiped out the entire horde in one blow! She saved us!"
"That's true," Coral noted, "but now the countdown's about to begin!" no sooner than she finished speaking, than the blue eyed Reaper felt a harsh jerking in her stomach. It was enough to bring her to her knees.
"It's coming…" she stuttered.
"KISARA!" Kaiba shouted, rushing toward the woman he loves. Blood was already beginning to flow from her nose and mouth.
"What's going on here?!" Jonouchi asked in confused shock.
"The Rapture Rupture is the one Overdrive Ability the rapture slug can't handle!" Anzu explained, "And if you're sixteen, that makes it a deadly move: The symbiotic relationship is practically severed after that! Only the Restoration plasmid can save a Reaper at this point, but it must be done within exactly 1 minute!"
"Oh Mother of Ra!" Atem gasped, watching as the Slicer Killer cradled the dying Kisara in his arms.
"Kisara, you didn't have to use that ability!" Kaiba stated, "You can't die on me now! I won't let you! I have the Restoration plasmid! It works on Reapers just as well as Scavengers! I'll save you!" Kaiba lifted a hand toward her and allowed the Restoration plasmid to take over—but in an instant Kisara grabbed hold of his wrist, using all her strength to keep it away from her. And her grip was very strong indeed, even in spite of the increasing spasms in her stomach.
"No Seto!" she stated, "Save it for Mokuba… He needs you… more than he needs me… and I know when my time is up."
"But Kisara-" He couldn't finish his protest before the Reaper locked lips with him with a passionate kiss. After a few seconds she parted from the kiss and gave a sad smile.
"Goodbye, Seto." She stated, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see your mission through to the end… but I just couldn't let you die here… I love you."
"Kisara… Kisara…!" Kaiba muttered desperately, trying to pry himself from his lover's firm grasp in order to use his Restoration. But it was already too late. The minute had passed. In a sudden flash, Kisara let out an unnatural shriek of agony. Twice, the bulge in her stomach thrust itself outward—and on the third thrust the stomach burst open! And out sprang her rapture slug, covered from head to tail with massive sores and the blood of its host, letting out a shriek of its own as it weaseled it way out onto the ground flapping about like a fish out of water. "NOOOOO!" the Splicer Killer cried, unable to believe what was happening, unable to take any action as the blue eyed Reaper drew her last breath and grew cold.
Kisara was dead.
The Mermaid Agents stared in horror at the tragic scene… especially Atem and Jonouchi. "The rapture slug just harvested itself!" Atem gasped.
"Get back!" Nathaniel shouted, and he wasted no time lifting his trident thrusting it into the slug's gullet, essentially harpooning the mutated animal. It slowly grew silent. Finally, after a few convulsions, it stopped moving. The vocalist stood in that position for some time, staring at Kaiba, as did the rest of the team. The Splicer Killer held the body of his beloved close to him, as a child would with a cherished stuffed animal. Hot tears flowed down his ice-covered cheeks, his mournful sobs echoing in the trophy room. Eventually Nathaniel sadly sighed, leaning against his weapon. "I've seen this scenario… far too many times at the start of the Third Kyoki war… And it still cuts me to the core!"
Pegasus nodded in agreement. "Even if a Reaper doesn't use the Rapture Rupture in a desperate battle, the slug will harvest itself and escape once the symbiotic relationship is severed… So many Reapers died this way."
"Just like Kisara." Emily added, her own tears threatening to flow down her cheeks. "It's just so sad!"
"Sad indeed." Mutou's voice remarked suddenly from Atem's Video Phone. "But at least her sacrifice won't be in vain."
"Father!" Yugi hissed.
"Kyoki is coming back to life, Yugi!" Mutou declared, "Even as I speak, can you not hear the breath returning to her lungs? The shops re-opening, the schools humming once more with the thoughts of young minds like your own? My city will live, my son, MY CITY WILL THRIVE!"
"Your city?!" Yugi snapped hatefully, "Oh, Kyoki's not going to be your city! Not for long, it wouldn't! I am your heir to the throne! And very soon I'm going to use your tombstone as pavement—just as you used my mother's blood to fuel your army of mutants!"
"What?!" Mutou barked in shock.
"I know what you did, you bastard! You lied to me about how Mother died that day eleven years ago! I met her ghost at Izanami's Underworld and she told me everything—you killed her! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!" The League leader's eyes brimmed with tears. "And for what reason?! Because she was tempted to sell me to Dartz?! For all I know, YOU NEVER EVEN CARED ABOUT HER AFTER THAT!"
"How… DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING!" Mutou bellowed, feeling hurt by his son's words, "You must have lost your senses completely if you thought I felt that way about your mother!" The King of Kyoki turned his attention toward Atem. "You've stained Kyoki and my son with your filthy presence for long enough, Boy! You couldn't imagine the will it took to create a place like this! And how could you?! You never built anything; you could only steal and shatter. You're not a man… you're a rat carrying the black plague into Constantinople. Mark my words: I will crush you before you infect this place any further!" Mutou ended his call right then and there. Yugi could no longer contain his fury. With a scream, he grabbed Atem's Video Phone and tossed it hard against the wall. It was a miracle that the machine only suffered cosmetic damage!
"I—HATE—YOU!" he roared, "When I get through that gate I swear I'll make you suffer for what you did to the people of this city! AND WHEN THAT'S DONE, YOU'RE GOING TO DIE THE SAME WAY MOTHER DID!"
Of course, Kaiba wasn't paying attention to what was going on. He was completely distracted by Kisara's death to even notice the exchange. But soon his cell phone started buzzing, snapping him out of his daze. Still clutching his beloved's body, he lifted up the cell phone. "…Yes?" He managed to mutter. A certain figure appeared on screen.
"Kaiba," Raiden stated, "It's me."
"Raiden?!" the Splicer Killer gasped in surprise.
"Get back to headquarters as soon as possible, would you courteously? Your task here is done. Atem and the others can take it from here."
Right then, the gold chain tattoo on Kaiba's right wrist glowed momentarily before his employer ended the called. For a second, he bowed his head, his breath ragged with quiet sobs. Then at last he rose up, lifting the dead Kisara to carry in his arms. The other Agents looked on in confusion as he began to walk away. "Kaiba Boy?" Pegasus stated, "Where are you going?"
"Raiden just called." Kaiba answered. "He's just summoned me, so like it or not, I'm going back to his headquarters!"
"But Kaiba-" Atem gasped.
"I'm in no position to continue this mission with you guys!" Kaiba snapped, "Especially now that Kisara is gone!" He paused to clutch the dead Reaper closer to his body. "From here on out… you're on your own!" And with that, he walked away. The rest of the team, once more a team of twelve, could only stare at the Splicer Killer as he disappeared from behind one of the doors. And it was then that this one simple fact sank in:
Like it or not, they're going to have to continue their mission without him.
Note: What a sad way to end this chapter... Let's just hope that Kisara's death is not a sign of things to come! In the next chapter, our heroes head over to Heat Loss Monitoring, where they meet up with a helpful ghost who was in need of assistance. Soon they're on the hunt for parts of a bomb that could unlock the gate leading to Mutou's office-or blow up half the city! Until next time!