Chapter Two: Cryptic Coding
Rise and shine, Alice…
Lengthy onyx lashes fluttered, still engrossed in their deep REM snooze.
Don't you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes?
"Uhnn…" moaned the brown-haired adolescent, completely unaware of his current location. "Baku-chan, I swear I won't be late for work again today…I set my alarm an hour in advance this time."
Time to meet the Queen of Hearts, Chosen One….
Vexed by the toneless voice speaking to him, the wealthy executive gritted his teeth. Sleep was such a precious commodity to him these days, for he barely ever got to remain in a relaxed position for long. There were so many places to go, numerous people to see, trips to take, and meetings to attend. After enduring the daily grind of nine to five shifts (seven days a week, of course), he gave the remainder of his time to his one and only. Sweet, supportive Ryou stopped pursuing his profession years ago just so that he could watch his boyfriend succeed. Being a permanent domestic engineer (otherwise known as housewife) for his husband, the white-haired male proved to be a priceless addition to the estate. The compassionate nature he possessed was the secret to his lover's triumphs in the office, but no one else besides them knew that. In all honesty, the dark-haired boy probably would have been fired by now for perpetual tardiness. Faithfully, his light-skinned boyfriend rose every morning before daybreak to drag the weary CEO out of their bedroom. Finally making good on his promise to be more responsible, the technology master vowed to get himself up and ready the following day. But this wasn't any ordinary 24-hour segment where he would commence throwing on a wrinkled suit while shoving a microwave entrée into his mouth. If it was time to get up already, then why didn't the alarm go off? Did he accidentally hit the snooze button? If that was true, then why didn't Ryou prod him into a movable state?
Follow the white rabbit, Neo…
A strange shockwave streaked through the adolescent's body, forcing his eyes to snap open. Tempestuous sapphire orbs stared straight ahead, jolted awake by the name uttered.
/That name…/ thought Seto, struggling to understand the significance behind the identity. /Why? Why do I all of a sudden feel so attached to it…? There's something about it that makes me feel close to it, so completely drawn to it…/
There's something about him, isn't there?
Probing even the darkest corners of his mind, the blue-eyed boy couldn't bring himself to understand the uneasy feeling he had. That agonizing sensation tore at his nerves, clawing at all the pressure points on his thin frame. He had the most awkward notion that the name was meaningful, since it was a title that should have done more than strike a chord in him.
/Where does it come from? / he asked himself, rubbing the sleep from his visage. Opening his mouth wide, an exhausted yawn escaped his throat. /It's like I know it, it's right on the tip of my tongue, and then it's gone…/
You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain, but you feel it…
Taking a weary limb, the cobalt-eyed male pressed down on his shoulder. Idly massaging the knotted flesh, he let his head droop down. Yesterday, one of his co-workers didn't show up for their shift, so he ended up filing papers and programming software until four in the morning. Sure, he could have just gone home when his own scheduled time was over, but that would have been at the cost of his job. One more mistake, just one single wrong move, and his manager would have him thrown out of his cubicle. Of course, the boss man was waiting for the brown-haired worker to screw up, so Seto's days as a staff member was numbered. If it weren't for Ryou's sake of trying to give him everything he always dreamed of, then the blue-eyed boy would have told his supervisor to take every goddamned PC in the building and cram it up his ass. That's all he wanted to see: his administrator be so backed up with hardware that he'd be shitting computer chips from now until the hour he drew his last god forsaken breath.
You have a problem with authority, Mr. Anderson…you believe that you are special.
/Ah, well…we can't have everything we want in life now, can we? / mused Kaiba, working the kinks out of his neck. Turning his head side to side, he heard the fine structure of his frame crack. A wonderful sensation of pain and pleasure coursed through his veins, giving him a temporary feeling of relief. /Damn, I hope my koi knows how much I put my ass on the line for him. I mean, I love him like no other, but the stress is killing me…downright fucking murdering me…/ Remaining perpendicular to the ground, he arched his back. Literally throbbing against his bones, the muscles on his back felt as if they had been dragged through a meat grinder once or twice. An expression of terrible pain weighed his features down, making the young man look years older than he really was. /Damn, sometimes I just think the whole world is out to get me…/
Wake up…
The Matrix has you…
Halting his self-pitying thoughts, the cobalt-eyed male bunched his brow together. /That voice…I've heard it before…but from where? Where? Where did I hear it last? / As a storm cloud of endless questions swirled around him, he cocked his head to the side. /I thought it stopped haunting me years ago, but here it is, tormenting me again…/ Glancing down at his hand, he noticed a bit of dry skin hanging from a cuticle. He uprooted the dead flesh by pinching it with a thumb and forefinger, breaking it away from his handsomely built limb.
"Huh, I never realized how closely related to snakes humans truly are." commented the adolescent with dark tresses, analyzing the tissue he just shed. "People get rid of old skin much like the serpents do. A cobra will give up his outer layer due to physical matters, but a person engages in the same act in a more metaphoric sense. Our minds resemble this on-going process, where they discard past emotions and philosophies to make room for more new and improved principles. We go throughout this whole procedure over and over again, hoping that the experiences we've encountered has made us a little more intelligent as we stumble from one obstacle course to another. And what is everyone trying to obtain when they feel themselves slipping away from this world?" Looking at the piece of torn flesh with a jaded grin, he tossed it aside. "Some sort of personal enlightenment to see them through to the next stage of their existence? What if there is no god? What if there's nothing left after this? What happens when the final door of your life shuts, and there's no one there to open it again?"
Knock, knock, Neo…
Listening to the whispers in the wind, Seto narrowed his eyes. Raising his head for the first time since he entered this enigmatic realm, he squinted in the darkness. Black night clouds spun eerily around him, the masses of gray mists sheltering him in dreary wrath. He knew this place, this world between worlds, this seemingly barren landscape that unearthed deceptions of what was thought to be well-known certainties. And still this location was much like Area 51 to him, somewhere so mysterious that it would take aliens themselves to decipher his true purpose here.
I know why you're here, Neo…
Pulling in a long, shallow breath, the slender adolescent called out, "Whose there?"
I've spent my whole life looking for you…
"Hello?" he persisted to yell into the star-studded blackness, his voice echoing off of unseen barriers. "Is anyone there?"
You've been living in a dream world…
Confused and frustrated with the tone without a body, the dark-haired teen shouted, "Answer me, damnit! Who the hell are you?!"
Remember, all I'm offering you is the truth…
"Show yourself!" demanded Kaiba, literally on his last nerve. He gritted his teeth in anxiety, clenching his hands in balled up fists. "Only a complete coward would keep hiding themselves from me! You either give me a legitimate reason to keep listening to you or you can just leave me the fuck alone!"
It's all around you…when you pay your taxes…when you turn on your T.V…
"What is? What the hell are you talking about?"
The Matrix…it has you…
Angered to an awful extreme, the executive felt rage consuming him. He gripped the insides of his palm so hard that bright crimson fluid dripped from the corners of his hands. Glaring defiantly into the gloom, Seto nearly screamed his next phrases.
"You know, I don't have time for this!" he ranted, his canine teeth bared and ready to attack whatever decided to emerge from the shadows. "I have co-workers that don't respect me, some dumb ass of a supervisor who probably hates me enough to want me dead, and some over-priced mansion that I'm going to be paying mortgage on until the day I die! To top it all off, I have someone I love and care for very much that's depending on me to help him survive, and I'm about to get fired from my job! So, if you don't mind," he growled, daring the speaker of the shade to show themselves, "I'd like out of this fucked up Nine Inch Nails dream sequence pronto!"
Once you're in, there's no turning back…
"Yeah, well we'll just see about that!" the blue-eyed male roared back, positioning his hands on his legs to give him a boost up. Grasping the satin attire he had on, the teen with brown tresses began to hoist himself from his present spot. "I'm sick and tired of idiots telling me what I can and can't be doing! All day long, some tight-assed loser is continuously coming up with reasons why I'm less of an individual than they are! Well, I won't have it anymore! If I say I want out, I want out, and that's--"
A green light flashed before his eyes, cutting his destructive raving short. He tried to focus on the faint emerald glow, but it vanished just as quickly as he caught sight of it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head soundly, a desperate attempt to keep his own sanity in check. Something was calling him, watching him, listening to his every move and hanging on his every word. Whatever it was, it wasn't very far away. Wherever it was, it was all around him, in every direction, and viewing him from every possible angle. Seto didn't know what was waiting for him, strangely alternating between talking to him and breathing on him, but he knew this much was true: whatever was out there wouldn't be going away any time soon. He was the one it was after, the coveted hero that would give all of humanity their lives back. Most importantly, he would not only disprove all theories of predestination, but, in the same shot, would provide evidence of genuine and eternal romance.
We don't have time, Neo…
"Time? Time for what?" asked the office worker, his expression incredulous. "The only thing I have time for right now is finding my way out of this demented hell! Let me out! Let me out of here! Now!"
Please, Neo…you have to trust me.
Kaiba moved his head back and forth rebelliously; a look of cold determination began to dominate his features. "No, I don't have to do anything you say! I don't have to listen to this or even be here! Leave me alone, you bastard! Leave me alone! "
You've been down there, Neo…
Turning himself around, he peered into the gray mists that twined itself with the night filled sky. There were no streets, no vehicles, no dimly lit houses or even any stray animals to see for miles. All that lingered about him was a silver fog accompanied by an infinite blanket of black. No matter where he moved or where he stepped, he found himself totally engulfed in an isolated vortex. Staring into the vastness of space, he stood frozen in his tracks. Save for some periodic flickers of emerald beams, he saw nothing, not even a slight sight of life.
You know that road…
Licking his lips uneasily, the thin teen said in a shaky tone, "I don't know what you're talking about. I have no idea what you're getting at, so take that as a cue to stop bothering me."
You know exactly where it ends…
Disregarding the statements spoken to him, the blue-eyed boy held his head in his hands. /It's just a dream…/ he told himself, heaving in another mouthful of air. /I know it's just a dream. When I wake up, everything will be fine. Ryou will be with me and I'll be just fine. /
He didn't know how to exit this nightmare successfully, but that didn't matter to him. He'd find a path out, shake this crazy imagery from his head, and retrieve security and protection from his koi. Walking out into the shadows, the fair-skinned adolescent attempted to navigate the heavy fog.
/I've gotta get outta here. / he muttered quietly to himself, the darkness hanging over his frame like an empty hell. /There's no way I'm staying here--/
While struggling through the icy blackness, his hand brushed past something material. Biting on his lower lip, the brown-haired male paused in mid-stride. Sapphire orbs strained themselves to see what the object was, but they were unable to view a thing. He was smack in the middle of an illusion, some sort of wild void that had unknown dimensions to it. Frowning, Seto slowly lowered his hands from his temples. If there wasn't an object to be seen for days, then what was it that he touched?
I know that's not where you want to be…
Swallowing a large lump down his throat, Kaiba kept his eyes plastered in front of himself. Without thinking twice, he lifted a hand, calmly bringing it to eye level. Curiously unafraid, he extended his arm, the palm facing away from himself. Fingertips stroked the curves of something hidden, warm, and oddly tangible. Drawing his eyebrows down, the cobalt-eyed teen observed as the distance he touched evolved into a shiny green background.
"What--" he stuttered as millions of jade-colored graphics began to spread out beneath his fingers. "What is all of this?"
It seems as if you have been living two lives…
All around him now, brilliant streams of lime tinted numerals flooded his vision while illuminating the gloom that had surrounded him before. The ocean of cryptic coding poured across the darkness, fluttering into the atmosphere like feathers in the wind. Gaping wide-eyed at the shiny spectacle, the executive tried to make sense of what was occurring.
"The columns…" he whispered, amazed and dubious at the same time, "this is all a bunch of codes and passwords. Why am I seeing this? Why should I look at it?"
One of these lives has a future, and one does not…
Suddenly, the torrents of characters and numbers began to change, molding themselves into shapes that were at least the same height as Seto. Numerical figures warped themselves into bodies, frames of living, breathing creatures. Taking a step back, Kaiba viewed a scene concerning the horrors of cloning. Little by little, the choppy letters and symbols disappeared, leaving full-length bodies in their place.
"They--they're all--humans." the dark-haired adolescent breathed, backing up another pace or two. "Humans with all the same features, with identical clothes--"
They all stood in front of him now, an army of neatly dressed men in dark shades and lawyer style suits. Every single one of them stood with their arms to their sides, watching the executive with intense interest. No matter how docile they appeared to be, the dark-haired boy found that they gave his flesh goose bumps. Perhaps the most frightening aspect about these professional-looking men was their features, the blank, emotionless faces they wore. Without smiling, they stared at Seto, their nearly black orbs evaluating his every mark, attribute, accent and characteristic. Even with their sunglasses on, their penetrating gazes made Kaiba feel as if he were stripped nude and thrown onto a foreign operating table.
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all."
The time has come for you to make a choice, Mr. Anderson…
In one smooth movement, the cloned males reached inside their jacket pockets and withdrew their firearms. The cobalt-eyed teen's heart rate increased as he saw the indistinguishable men elevate their weapons to eye level. Gazing into the barrels of the guns, the boy with dark tresses silently dragged oxygen into his lungs.
/I might be forced to breathe my last breath here…/ Seto realized, looking at the hordes of agents coolly. /I could die here tonight. /
They're coming for you, Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do…
Without warning, they opened fire on the executive, spraying a numerous amount of bullets at him. Instinctively, he raised an open palm towards the sea of ammunition, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of himself. Within moments, he would be a bloody carcass, lying face first on the ground in defeat, and all he had to protect himself with was the length of his arm.
