| KAIBA MANSION |
" Where's my brother?" Alumniera glanced at Yugi, mouthing, " What should we tell him?" " I..." Alumniera faltered. " I don't know. Look, Mokuba, he...wasn't at his office. And...we have eviden-reason to believe he was kidnapped." Mokuba jumped up. " Who? How? Wh-" " Mokuba!" Yugi interrupted, " Your brother...was he designing any new prototypes?" The boy looked puzzled. " Yeah, Utopia, Thalia's in one of them right now..." " Thalia?" " She's my partner for a school project," mumbled Mokuba, " Upstairs." As they scrambled up the long staircase, Mokuba asked, " Who would take my brother?" Yugi shrugged. " He has all those business executives after him..." " Seto completely wrecked them for what they did!" Alumniera shifted uneasily. " But he didn't destroy them."
Thalia stared in disbelief as the surroundings blended into a warp of colors, and then began to change completely. No wonder. That Kaiba had some weird faulty thing that changed this. Now how was she supposed to get out? She studied the surroundings closer. A courtyard...flowers...a huge mansion...at least she wasn't stuck somewhere like Jupiter. Her delicate ears perked up in interest as she heard something...like a groan, almost. Thalia frowned. What did Kaiba input in this? Walking closer to the sound, she bumped right into...Seto Kaiba.
Kaiba opened his eyes, and they widened as he looked around at the surroundings. No...it couldn't be...how had they done this? Could they REALLY make a nightmare come true? He stood up with a grunt. Cautiously making his way through the neatly trimmed path, he was lost in thought until he crashed into someone. His heartbeat quickened considerably, was this... It came to a pit stop when he saw Thalia. Thalia? Part of his worst nightmare? The girl stared at him, and then asked, " What are you doing here?" Kaiba quickly regained his composure. " Exactly what I wanted to ask you," he replied coolly. Thalia sweat dropped. " Do you have to be so cynical? I was the one in the most beautiful island in the world, and then they changed holograms. Your systems are incompetent," she answered sarcastically. Kaiba nearly shot back at her, but he regained control. People who direct their own multi-billion businesses and have perfectly balanced hormones don't snap back at people. " Look, kid, we have to get out of here. Now touch anything you think could transport us out of here." He hoped Thant hadn't changed that part-if he did...
Thalia absentmindedly stuck out a hand to an evergreen tree. Nothing. There was a sudden sound-a clanging sound, metal against metal. What was that? She stepped forward curiously, but was pulled back by Kaiba. Thalia scowled, and flipped around. " What was that for-" She cut off, and furrowed an eyebrow. The older boy's color was completely drained from his face. " Stay...in back," he croaked. Thalia frowned harder, but stayed behind him as he strode forward. Kaiba stopped abruptly, on the edge of the garden path that Thalia nearly crashed into him again. " Why in the world did you-" She nearly jumped back in surprise as Kaiba's hand slammed against her mouth, muffling it. She peered around his supple body. There were two people fighting-with swords, anyway. " Yes, that's right!" she heard a feminine voice shout over the clanging, " Like this." Thalia's mouth dropped as she saw the girl's opponent...the thing was, it was Kaiba.
" I think they might have trapped him in a video game again." Mokuba glanced at Yugi. " They've tried that before, though." " Yeah, but that was when we could go in and get him. If he just started this prototype, he'll only have a few, or maybe just one. Anyway, they was an outlet in the wall connected to a bunch of stuff that disappeared, probably Kaiba's new prototype." " Trap him in Utopia? That isn't a very bright idea of torture and revenge, is it?" Alumniera inquired. " They changed the settings last time, I bet they could do it again," Yugi answered. " But...if he only made one of every prototype...how is he going to get out of there? And if they changed the whole setting, that's just going to be hard..." Yugi nodded. Meanwhile, Mokuba was pawing for anything of significance in Kaiba's private office. He pulled out a file labeled 'UTOPIA' in huge stencil print letters. Rummaging through it, his cobalt eyes sparkled as he discovered something. " Look! My brother wrote something here..." Reading the neat scrawl, he alleged,
" October seventeenth-Project Utopia programming finished yesterday. Currently undergoing tests, so far so good. Brought one prototype to Kaiba Corporation office, label: 5B341. Left three in personal testing room in mansion.
October eighteenth-Figured out how to attach prototypes to one virtual reality land through advanced routers (need same label). Planning to test soon. If two people, the second person in will command the vision of Utopia. "
Mokuba looked worried. " If Thalia..." He raced off to the steel room where Thalia was in the game, and Yugi and Alumniera hurriedly followed. Crouching down, Mokuba peered at a couple of symbols etched into the side of Thalia's VirtualPod. "5B341..." he turned the color of week-old porridge. " She's in with my brother."
" Where's my brother?" Alumniera glanced at Yugi, mouthing, " What should we tell him?" " I..." Alumniera faltered. " I don't know. Look, Mokuba, he...wasn't at his office. And...we have eviden-reason to believe he was kidnapped." Mokuba jumped up. " Who? How? Wh-" " Mokuba!" Yugi interrupted, " Your brother...was he designing any new prototypes?" The boy looked puzzled. " Yeah, Utopia, Thalia's in one of them right now..." " Thalia?" " She's my partner for a school project," mumbled Mokuba, " Upstairs." As they scrambled up the long staircase, Mokuba asked, " Who would take my brother?" Yugi shrugged. " He has all those business executives after him..." " Seto completely wrecked them for what they did!" Alumniera shifted uneasily. " But he didn't destroy them."
Thalia stared in disbelief as the surroundings blended into a warp of colors, and then began to change completely. No wonder. That Kaiba had some weird faulty thing that changed this. Now how was she supposed to get out? She studied the surroundings closer. A courtyard...flowers...a huge mansion...at least she wasn't stuck somewhere like Jupiter. Her delicate ears perked up in interest as she heard something...like a groan, almost. Thalia frowned. What did Kaiba input in this? Walking closer to the sound, she bumped right into...Seto Kaiba.
Kaiba opened his eyes, and they widened as he looked around at the surroundings. No...it couldn't be...how had they done this? Could they REALLY make a nightmare come true? He stood up with a grunt. Cautiously making his way through the neatly trimmed path, he was lost in thought until he crashed into someone. His heartbeat quickened considerably, was this... It came to a pit stop when he saw Thalia. Thalia? Part of his worst nightmare? The girl stared at him, and then asked, " What are you doing here?" Kaiba quickly regained his composure. " Exactly what I wanted to ask you," he replied coolly. Thalia sweat dropped. " Do you have to be so cynical? I was the one in the most beautiful island in the world, and then they changed holograms. Your systems are incompetent," she answered sarcastically. Kaiba nearly shot back at her, but he regained control. People who direct their own multi-billion businesses and have perfectly balanced hormones don't snap back at people. " Look, kid, we have to get out of here. Now touch anything you think could transport us out of here." He hoped Thant hadn't changed that part-if he did...
Thalia absentmindedly stuck out a hand to an evergreen tree. Nothing. There was a sudden sound-a clanging sound, metal against metal. What was that? She stepped forward curiously, but was pulled back by Kaiba. Thalia scowled, and flipped around. " What was that for-" She cut off, and furrowed an eyebrow. The older boy's color was completely drained from his face. " Stay...in back," he croaked. Thalia frowned harder, but stayed behind him as he strode forward. Kaiba stopped abruptly, on the edge of the garden path that Thalia nearly crashed into him again. " Why in the world did you-" She nearly jumped back in surprise as Kaiba's hand slammed against her mouth, muffling it. She peered around his supple body. There were two people fighting-with swords, anyway. " Yes, that's right!" she heard a feminine voice shout over the clanging, " Like this." Thalia's mouth dropped as she saw the girl's opponent...the thing was, it was Kaiba.
" I think they might have trapped him in a video game again." Mokuba glanced at Yugi. " They've tried that before, though." " Yeah, but that was when we could go in and get him. If he just started this prototype, he'll only have a few, or maybe just one. Anyway, they was an outlet in the wall connected to a bunch of stuff that disappeared, probably Kaiba's new prototype." " Trap him in Utopia? That isn't a very bright idea of torture and revenge, is it?" Alumniera inquired. " They changed the settings last time, I bet they could do it again," Yugi answered. " But...if he only made one of every prototype...how is he going to get out of there? And if they changed the whole setting, that's just going to be hard..." Yugi nodded. Meanwhile, Mokuba was pawing for anything of significance in Kaiba's private office. He pulled out a file labeled 'UTOPIA' in huge stencil print letters. Rummaging through it, his cobalt eyes sparkled as he discovered something. " Look! My brother wrote something here..." Reading the neat scrawl, he alleged,
" October seventeenth-Project Utopia programming finished yesterday. Currently undergoing tests, so far so good. Brought one prototype to Kaiba Corporation office, label: 5B341. Left three in personal testing room in mansion.
October eighteenth-Figured out how to attach prototypes to one virtual reality land through advanced routers (need same label). Planning to test soon. If two people, the second person in will command the vision of Utopia. "
Mokuba looked worried. " If Thalia..." He raced off to the steel room where Thalia was in the game, and Yugi and Alumniera hurriedly followed. Crouching down, Mokuba peered at a couple of symbols etched into the side of Thalia's VirtualPod. "5B341..." he turned the color of week-old porridge. " She's in with my brother."