12 The Sacrifice Of Winning
This chapter is LOUSY.
I suck at writing this stuff...
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//Skin against skin, blood and bone//
//You're all by yourself, but you're not alone//
//You wanted in//
//Now you're here//
//Driven by hate, consumed by fear//
//Let the bodies hit the floor//
Drowning Pool—"Bodies"
Nemuriko Midian was ready. Ready to fight. Ready to get even. Ready to—in his own words—"kick some serious butt."
So were the others...
Ready for revenge.
****
Midian slowed his run to a careful jog. "Where to now, Seto?" he called quietly over his shoulder.
"Left." Seto indicated. "There's a side entrance that's hard to access. Noah probably—probably—left it unguarded."
"Wait!" Campbell gasped. Rounding the corner, she quickly ducked behind some bushes with a convenient view. Without a word, the two teens followed.
"What is it? Why'd you stop?" Midian asked his sister. Campbell pointed at the side door, in full view of where they hid.
The black-haired boy looked and scowled. "Dammit! The door's guarded, all right! How the hell are we gonna get in?"
Campbell scanned the three men standing before their only possible entrance. "We'll need a distraction..."
Midian sweatdropped. "Why is it that whenever you say that, I get the feeling that you're talking about me?!"
His twin sister smirked. "Unless you'd rather let KC ruin the world..."
The black haired teenager gulped. "Never mind. I'm going."
Ten minutes later, the last guard collapsed unconscious. Midian motioned the others to follow him.
Once inside, the three slipped noiselessly down a deserted hallway. Seto stopped before an open ventilation duct.
"We can travel faster here," he noted. "Not to mention the fact that we'll be unseen..."
In the air ducts, Midian glanced down at the hall they had just left. A few men were walking by.
A chill went down his spine as he realized how close they had come to getting caught.
Campbell's hushed voice interrupted his thoughts. "Midian! You coming?"
Nodding, he slid along after the other two.
About fifteen minutes of crawling had passed, when suddenly Seto froze.
"What is it?" muttered Midian.
The brown-haired teenager didn't reply. Instead, he opened the grating at his left. *This is it...*
Midian was the last to slither from the duct. He closed their exit.
"Where are-" he began, stopping as he recognized the place. "Father's office!"
Campbell gave him a weird look. "It's mine now, remember."
"Not anymore." Seto pointed at the name on the desk. "This belongs to a Meikai Ryumi."
"Ryumi?!" Midian stared. "Could that be the same kid I beat up five years ago?!"
"Meikai's not a popular family name, niisan," Campbell reminded him. "It probably is."
A new voice joined in. "Yes. It is."
The three whirled towards the dark corner. "Huh?!"
Meikai Ryumi emerged from the darkness. He was slightly shorter than Midian, and had blond hair and brown eyes.
Midian steeled himself for a fight. "So you work for the bastard now."
Ryumi shook his head. "Don't touch me," he warned. "Because I never wanted to work for Noah." He turned away. "Norio made me."
"Your brother."
Ryumi nodded. "Let me help you," he pleaded. "I know what's going on in Kaiba Corp now that Noah's here. Just get me away from that psycho, Noah!"
"What do you mean?" Seto asked steadily.
"He knew I wanted to quit helping. He knows everything, even if I tell no one. He said that if I quit, he'd kill me!" His brown eyes went wide with fear.
Campbell glanced at Midian, who reluctantly nodded. "Okay," she said finally. "Where is he now?"
Ryumi hurried to the door and quietly opened it. "Probably in the testing room. He's been testing every single bit if splicing he can get his hands on."
"Domo." Seto nodded to the boy. "Let's go."
Midian paused. "Ryumi?"
"Huh?"
"Thanks."
****
The testing room was very quiet—too quiet—when the teenagers reached it.
"Before we go in..." Seto turned. "Splicing sound off."
The twins sighed. They had gone through this check so many times during experiments...
"I have amakaze," Midian spoke up. "The wind."
"Erekiteru." Campbell almost grinned. "Electricity."
"And I have aisu. The ice." The brown-haired teenager leaned against the door. "I don't usually fight this way—I duel—but...let's move."
Midian scowled. *I, on the other hand, always fight this way.*
On the count of three, the door was forced, and they burst in.
"So...we finally meet." The voice's owner was unmistakable. "I've been waiting for you."
Midian's fists tightened so hard that his nails dug into his palms. "And, before this meeting is over, you will have died...Noah." He could feel his anger rising.
The light-haired boy smirked. "You wish. I heard you talking outside. You have fire, ice and electricity? I have those three...and fire...and quantum within me."
Seto's eyes widened. "But the human body can only hold one element...and a small dose at that!"
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm completely human? Guess you should have listened to Campbell when she told you to shut the program down."
Campbell shot Seto a helpless glance. He didn't respond.
Nemuriko Midian stepped forward. "You said you've been waiting for us. How did you know we were coming? And why the hell did you...kill my father...of all things?" His chest heaved. "You would have killed Mokuba if Seto hadn't been there!"
"Your father was weak. And he was too close to discovering the truth before it was time. And why shouldn't I?!" Noah shot back. "When one wounds his enemy's loved ones, he ultimately wounds the enemy himself! The advantage to having the power is using it to prolong your enemy's suffering as long as is humanly possible!"
"In that case...!" Midian clenched his hands. "Release the power. Amakaze!"
Noah blocked the gust before sending back a fiery one of his own.
The black-haired teenager dropped to the ground and fired the wind again. His target deflected the power right back to him...!
Rolling to avoid it, Midian sprinted for Noah, locking him in a vise grip.
"How the hell could you do something like that?! How'd you deflect my attack?!" he demanded. "Answer me, you weak one."
In spite of the pain Midian was putting him through, Noah smirked. "The quantum splicing has many...many powers."
Before the teenager could react, Noah attacked. Swinging Midian off-balance, he tossed him to the ground, pinning him still.
"Who's the weak one now?" he hissed. "Huh?"
A blast of ice threw the boy to the ground. Seto quickly moved forward. "That's for almost killing my brother...and repossessing my company."
Noah struggled to his feet. "It was my father's, so it is mine by right! You repossessed it from me! This corporation...i-is mine," he repeated, breathing heavily.
"If you wanted it so bad, why didn't you get it when you heard that Gozaburo was dead?" Seto demanded.
Noah was weakening. Campbell knew it. Positioning herself just behind him, she let loose all of the electrical splicing she had gotten.
He was screaming. *Take that.* A twinge of guilt entered her mind as she saw him collapse. Noah was just a boy...about Mokuba's size, if not his age.
*But he killed my father, so no mercy for him.*
Midian literally saw red. He stood over Noah, raising a fist. "I hope you burn in hell," he hissed. "Burn like the shit you are."
"No! Please!" Noah shouted. He might as well have tried to stop a volcano with a hose. Midian swung down...
His fist struck the ground. Midian sprang back, holding his stinging hand. Noah was on his feet. "I told you the quantum splicing has unlimited powers!" His eyes caught sight of the testing pod. "And now I can finish you all..." The light-haired boy ran into the pod, flicked the controls, and focused its energy.
"One blast of my kaki firepower, and everyone will die!" he exclaimed as the pod came to full power.
"Are you insane?!" demanded Campbell. "That will kill all of us, including you!"
The boy smiled a sick little smile. "Your point?"
Set scowled. *None of us are going to die. Not if I can help it.*
He aimed.
He fired.
Seto moved.
Neither of the twins could believe what they were seeing. They saw Seto use the aisu power.
Saw Noah easily burn through his defense.
Saw Seto give way as the wall of flames closed in around him...
They both felt and heard the following explosion.