In response to some of the reviews:
AkaVertigo: ACK! That was horrible of me. I had originally written five "winged ones", one of which was Mai. when I edited her out, I forgot to change that part. --;
Kopy_kat14: Oo;; Er, 49% of my email account is empty. if it really can't fit, I'm very scared. Try again, please?
Chibizoo: SQUEE! It's YOU! (Lol) Yup, I've been finished with the contest fic for. half a month, I think? Just trying to edit as much as possible (*shines fic*). Oh, and it's me, Lily. --; Of course you've warped my brain! ^-^
Kaitourei: And this is why we read the author's notes! ^_^ Then again, I wasn't very clear. Well, the prologue was (supposedly) Jou's point of view.
Anyways, thanks to everybody who's reviewed!
This is probably the last quick update. Sorry 'bout that.
~~
Chapter 2: Homesickness
'My name's Ryou,' he smiled briefly, shuffling his dove wings in what might have been an agitated motion.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yuugi." Yuugi felt exceedingly stupid, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Ryou left, looking hopeful, and motioned the next in, receiving a glare for his effort.
Instead, the stepped in. 'That's Seto.' She tilted her head towards the eagle-winged, the one who'd refused to enter the cage. 'Ignore him, and all will be well. I'm Anzu.'
"Nice to meet you."
The last "Winged One" stepped in, and introduced himself as Yami. About to leave, he paused, and muttered, 'little one, you look just like me.'
"Yup. Our eyes are different, though." Yuugi motioned to Yami's ruby eyes, then back to his own.
'Well, he seems responsive. I think he's pointing out the difference in our eye color. We could try an emotion test.' Yami shrugged back at the others.
'Why not?' Mai handed Yami a strange cylindrical thing that reminded Yuugi of a syringe, or a needle, for injection, and...
Yami smiled as he exited the cage, closing the door behind him. 'He's waking again.'
Clang.
"I'm... I'm locked up..." Yuugi whispered. It had never occurred to him before, but now that he noticed, he wished that he hadn't. "I can't escape, even if I wanted to..." His breathing quickened, and sweat glistened on his forehead. "Depending on what I do, depending on what they think... I'm completely at their mercy... I don't know... Who knows what they'll do to me? Caged... trapped..."
"Yuugi! Shh... calm down..." His earpiece spoke.
He blinked once, twice, then, "calm? Calm. Calm?? I'm locked up! Somebody help, please, get me out of here!" He was sobbing, sobbing, his face buried in his hands. "Please..."
"You were fine before, Yuugi, what happened?" "I... don't know... but I'm so scared... please..."
"Yuugi!" He jerked his head out of his hands, stray teardrops flying.
"...Jou?"
"Yuugi, you hafta calm down! You're already this far, don't spoil it."
"...Sorry, Jou... I don't know what the problem is... I'm just..." He took in a ragged gasp of air, and released it.
"I have to go, Yuugi, just calm down. Everything'll be fine, you'll see."
"Jou? No, don't leave me..." His eyes darted around frantically.
"Yuugi?" A different voice. Honda. Not Jou.
"Bring Jou back!"
"We've already violated rules just by letting Jou up to the lab."
"Please, Honda! Please!!" Voice cracking and nearing desperation, Yuugi grasped around for something solid to hang on to, but finding nothing, clenched his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palm.
"I can't, Yuugi. I'm sorry."
"But Honda..."
"Yuugi, give me your observations."
"Obser...? Oh. Umm... they look like us, this one person, well, not person, but this one, one, this one, named Yami, he looks awfully like me, this guy, Ryou, he looks familiar, not sure, they're all watching me, as if observing an animal in a zoo. Perhaps they've caught other animals. They seemed to have a hierarchy," Yuugi whispered quietly, trusting in the sensitivity of the mouthpiece to pick up his voice. "Or maybe it's religion. They worship these 'Winged Ones', who're basically the same as they are, only with wings. They've also mastered the use of iron. That's what the bars are made up. The floor is covered with, maybe is, straw. They also have clothes, made up some sort of plant fiber, though I'm not close enough to see. Not many have animalistic adaptations, actually. I see one with fox-like ears, and another with a beak. I think I also see the tip of a horn, more like elephant tusks, but my view is partially obstructed..." Yuugi's report gradually got more formal and less emotional. Finally, he let out a long breath, shuddering slightly. "I feel... calmer. I have no further observations."
"Good, thanks Yuugi, we've taken note of this, and we'll inform you if we come up with any further questions."
"And Jou?" The hope in his voice was obvious.
"Sorry."
Yuugi chewed quietly on his lower lip. Dimly, he was aware of conversation around him.
'Did you see that? He does have emotion! He does!'
'So what? Many advanced animals also have emotion.'
'But his were so strong, surely he could communicate, if only he knew how...'
'Yeah, keep dreaming.'
'Is the emotion test wearing off?'
'Yes. We could try communicating again?'
Seto snorted.
'Excuse me...' Yuugi tried tentatively, thinking the words over and over in his mind. 'Hello?'
'Hello,' Anzu called, and Yuugi jumped in surprise. But Anzu went on, 'maybe you can understand us, maybe you can't. Could you try to communicate?'
'I am trying! I am trying! I am trying!' Yuugi thought.
'Maybe he doesn't know how,' Ryou suggested.
'Right. Uhh... How do we teach him how to talk?'
'We could... give him another injection?'
'He completely panicked from the first! We can't do that to him again.'
'Why is it a 'him' all of a sudden?'
'Excuse me!' Yuugi thought again. But he couldn't figure out how to make them hear what he was thinking.
'He is a 'him'! Can't you tell?'
Seto glowered, crossing his arms. 'As far as I'm concerned, he's an 'it'. It is a primitive creature, and therefore does not deserve to be acknowledged as a sentient being. I think it was a waste of time capturing it. That entire species is no different from any other.'
'How dare you?' Yuugi screamed mentally. 'Can't you tell that I'm trying to communicate with you? Maybe if you actually listened instead of dismissing the whole human race as nothing, you might hear me!' Though he knew he was being unfair, it still felt good to scream like that, to pour out all his frustration at this failed attempt at communication.
'Seto, be nice!'
'Yeah, Seto, don't dismiss him as nothing. Seto?' Anzu looked at him confusedly.
'D-did you hear that?' Seto asked, eyes bulging slightly.
'Hear what?'
'I...' Seto shot Yuugi a strange look, ruffling his wings slightly. 'Did you...?'
'You heard me?'
'I think so, unless I'm just losing it...'
'Seto, who're you talking to? Did. did he speak?'
Seto, being Seto, ignored them. 'What is your name?'
'Yuugi.'
'His name is Yuugi,' Seto announced.
'I thought I heard that, too.'
'I didn't hear anything.'
'This is ridiculous. Seto, are you making this up?'
Seto turned and fixed Yami with a very annoyed glare. 'Why the hell would I make something like this up? I'm the one who doesn't believe he's sentient, remember, though now I'm not so sure.'
'Oh, all right. It just seems fishy that the only person who can hear him is the person who doesn't want to hear him.'
'It make sense though,' Ryou said, drumming slender fingers on one of the bars. 'Seto probably hates... er, Yuugi, isn't that so?'
'What does that have to do with it?' Yuugi asked.
'Yuugi wants to know what that has to do with anything.' Seto announced.
'Oh. Well, communication is based on emotion, you know. Seto's emotion towards you is so strong that it has created a path for your words.'
'Wow. You hate me that much, huh?' Yuugi muttered. Seto did not grace that comment with a response.
AkaVertigo: ACK! That was horrible of me. I had originally written five "winged ones", one of which was Mai. when I edited her out, I forgot to change that part. --;
Kopy_kat14: Oo;; Er, 49% of my email account is empty. if it really can't fit, I'm very scared. Try again, please?
Chibizoo: SQUEE! It's YOU! (Lol) Yup, I've been finished with the contest fic for. half a month, I think? Just trying to edit as much as possible (*shines fic*). Oh, and it's me, Lily. --; Of course you've warped my brain! ^-^
Kaitourei: And this is why we read the author's notes! ^_^ Then again, I wasn't very clear. Well, the prologue was (supposedly) Jou's point of view.
Anyways, thanks to everybody who's reviewed!
This is probably the last quick update. Sorry 'bout that.
~~
Chapter 2: Homesickness
'My name's Ryou,' he smiled briefly, shuffling his dove wings in what might have been an agitated motion.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yuugi." Yuugi felt exceedingly stupid, but it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Ryou left, looking hopeful, and motioned the next in, receiving a glare for his effort.
Instead, the stepped in. 'That's Seto.' She tilted her head towards the eagle-winged, the one who'd refused to enter the cage. 'Ignore him, and all will be well. I'm Anzu.'
"Nice to meet you."
The last "Winged One" stepped in, and introduced himself as Yami. About to leave, he paused, and muttered, 'little one, you look just like me.'
"Yup. Our eyes are different, though." Yuugi motioned to Yami's ruby eyes, then back to his own.
'Well, he seems responsive. I think he's pointing out the difference in our eye color. We could try an emotion test.' Yami shrugged back at the others.
'Why not?' Mai handed Yami a strange cylindrical thing that reminded Yuugi of a syringe, or a needle, for injection, and...
Yami smiled as he exited the cage, closing the door behind him. 'He's waking again.'
Clang.
"I'm... I'm locked up..." Yuugi whispered. It had never occurred to him before, but now that he noticed, he wished that he hadn't. "I can't escape, even if I wanted to..." His breathing quickened, and sweat glistened on his forehead. "Depending on what I do, depending on what they think... I'm completely at their mercy... I don't know... Who knows what they'll do to me? Caged... trapped..."
"Yuugi! Shh... calm down..." His earpiece spoke.
He blinked once, twice, then, "calm? Calm. Calm?? I'm locked up! Somebody help, please, get me out of here!" He was sobbing, sobbing, his face buried in his hands. "Please..."
"You were fine before, Yuugi, what happened?" "I... don't know... but I'm so scared... please..."
"Yuugi!" He jerked his head out of his hands, stray teardrops flying.
"...Jou?"
"Yuugi, you hafta calm down! You're already this far, don't spoil it."
"...Sorry, Jou... I don't know what the problem is... I'm just..." He took in a ragged gasp of air, and released it.
"I have to go, Yuugi, just calm down. Everything'll be fine, you'll see."
"Jou? No, don't leave me..." His eyes darted around frantically.
"Yuugi?" A different voice. Honda. Not Jou.
"Bring Jou back!"
"We've already violated rules just by letting Jou up to the lab."
"Please, Honda! Please!!" Voice cracking and nearing desperation, Yuugi grasped around for something solid to hang on to, but finding nothing, clenched his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palm.
"I can't, Yuugi. I'm sorry."
"But Honda..."
"Yuugi, give me your observations."
"Obser...? Oh. Umm... they look like us, this one person, well, not person, but this one, one, this one, named Yami, he looks awfully like me, this guy, Ryou, he looks familiar, not sure, they're all watching me, as if observing an animal in a zoo. Perhaps they've caught other animals. They seemed to have a hierarchy," Yuugi whispered quietly, trusting in the sensitivity of the mouthpiece to pick up his voice. "Or maybe it's religion. They worship these 'Winged Ones', who're basically the same as they are, only with wings. They've also mastered the use of iron. That's what the bars are made up. The floor is covered with, maybe is, straw. They also have clothes, made up some sort of plant fiber, though I'm not close enough to see. Not many have animalistic adaptations, actually. I see one with fox-like ears, and another with a beak. I think I also see the tip of a horn, more like elephant tusks, but my view is partially obstructed..." Yuugi's report gradually got more formal and less emotional. Finally, he let out a long breath, shuddering slightly. "I feel... calmer. I have no further observations."
"Good, thanks Yuugi, we've taken note of this, and we'll inform you if we come up with any further questions."
"And Jou?" The hope in his voice was obvious.
"Sorry."
Yuugi chewed quietly on his lower lip. Dimly, he was aware of conversation around him.
'Did you see that? He does have emotion! He does!'
'So what? Many advanced animals also have emotion.'
'But his were so strong, surely he could communicate, if only he knew how...'
'Yeah, keep dreaming.'
'Is the emotion test wearing off?'
'Yes. We could try communicating again?'
Seto snorted.
'Excuse me...' Yuugi tried tentatively, thinking the words over and over in his mind. 'Hello?'
'Hello,' Anzu called, and Yuugi jumped in surprise. But Anzu went on, 'maybe you can understand us, maybe you can't. Could you try to communicate?'
'I am trying! I am trying! I am trying!' Yuugi thought.
'Maybe he doesn't know how,' Ryou suggested.
'Right. Uhh... How do we teach him how to talk?'
'We could... give him another injection?'
'He completely panicked from the first! We can't do that to him again.'
'Why is it a 'him' all of a sudden?'
'Excuse me!' Yuugi thought again. But he couldn't figure out how to make them hear what he was thinking.
'He is a 'him'! Can't you tell?'
Seto glowered, crossing his arms. 'As far as I'm concerned, he's an 'it'. It is a primitive creature, and therefore does not deserve to be acknowledged as a sentient being. I think it was a waste of time capturing it. That entire species is no different from any other.'
'How dare you?' Yuugi screamed mentally. 'Can't you tell that I'm trying to communicate with you? Maybe if you actually listened instead of dismissing the whole human race as nothing, you might hear me!' Though he knew he was being unfair, it still felt good to scream like that, to pour out all his frustration at this failed attempt at communication.
'Seto, be nice!'
'Yeah, Seto, don't dismiss him as nothing. Seto?' Anzu looked at him confusedly.
'D-did you hear that?' Seto asked, eyes bulging slightly.
'Hear what?'
'I...' Seto shot Yuugi a strange look, ruffling his wings slightly. 'Did you...?'
'You heard me?'
'I think so, unless I'm just losing it...'
'Seto, who're you talking to? Did. did he speak?'
Seto, being Seto, ignored them. 'What is your name?'
'Yuugi.'
'His name is Yuugi,' Seto announced.
'I thought I heard that, too.'
'I didn't hear anything.'
'This is ridiculous. Seto, are you making this up?'
Seto turned and fixed Yami with a very annoyed glare. 'Why the hell would I make something like this up? I'm the one who doesn't believe he's sentient, remember, though now I'm not so sure.'
'Oh, all right. It just seems fishy that the only person who can hear him is the person who doesn't want to hear him.'
'It make sense though,' Ryou said, drumming slender fingers on one of the bars. 'Seto probably hates... er, Yuugi, isn't that so?'
'What does that have to do with it?' Yuugi asked.
'Yuugi wants to know what that has to do with anything.' Seto announced.
'Oh. Well, communication is based on emotion, you know. Seto's emotion towards you is so strong that it has created a path for your words.'
'Wow. You hate me that much, huh?' Yuugi muttered. Seto did not grace that comment with a response.