^^ All the REVIEWS!! Wai!
Sailor Comet, you know what? You keep hitting the nail on the head! I DID read Planet Ladder, and I LOVE Gold! ^^ But this story came from the fact that I love robot boys, and my annoyance at the fact that there aren't enough stories with them as main characters. I mean, look at Chobits. It's always the girls that are the robots. Why?
Yami Krystal, I never read Soul Survivor.... I guess I'll have to put that on my list of books to read. Is it good?
WOOHHOOO!! I'm going to Anime North! Sure it's a 5 hour drive from Montreal, but hey, it's a Gundam theme this year! (Dances around in circles) Midorikawa Hikaru, here I come! ^.^ I'll probably be going dressed up as Selphie from FF8. Hm... I wonder who else I could go as?
Yugi's stomach was hurt because that's where Yami punched him... I guess I forgot to specify where he was hit. Sorry about that!
Does anyone know how to do italics? It would have been really useful for this chapter... (sighs) And those page breaks? Grr. Whenever I put mover then 1 space in between lines, they get squished together when I upload. I don't get it.
Chapter 10 - Scutum*
Yugi faced the ceiling, clutching a pillow to his chest.
"I can't believe it. Not Yami. Not Yami." He murmured. The tears had dried out long ago.
'I was so afraid that Yami would be alone in H.E.L.L. or be thrown out like scrap like Bakura was. But this is worse. So much worse.'
Yugi muffled a little sob.
'Yami will never forgive himself if he gets his memory back.'
Yugi's ceiling started to blur as tears threatened to fall.
He felt so numb. Yami's eyes had been so frightening. Their beautiful crimson light had been extinguished and steel glint had taken its place. He was no longer the Yami who had smiled for him, who had confessed his feelings tenderly while holding him gently.
The punch had hurt, but it didn't compare to the emotional pain Yugi was now feeling.
'My Yami would never do that. He would never hurt anyone.'
But how could he be so sure? Yugi was suddenly filled with doubt. He had only known Yami for a short time, and its true that he had always been kind to him, but was that his true personality?
What if the Yami that he had seen the night before was the true Yami?
'No.'
It was impossible.
Yami's tenderness was what was real. No human being could fake that kind of emotion.
'But...'
Yami wasn't human.
'So...'
His personality could easily have been programmed into him.
'And...'
Yami's feelings could have been artificial.
'Like his heart.'
Yugi couldn't hold the tears back anymore and he was sobbing into the pillow as Sugoroku Mutou lead Ryou and Bakura into the room.
"Yugi." Ryou's sad eyes glanced at Bakura who stared ahead unblinkingly.
Yugi's grandfather sighed. "He's been like that since I came home this afternoon. I was hoping that you could cheer him up, or at least get him to talk about his problem."
Grandpa felt his heart stir up as his grandson sobbed. He had been gone a week for a dig with a branch from Kaiba Corp. that funded his archaeological discoveries, and was shaken to see his grandson so heartbroken on his return.
At first he had thought it might be bullies, but he had pushed the thought away when he realised that this kind of pain only came from a broken heart.
'And I wasn't around to mend it.' Sugoroku berated himself. He then let out another sigh.
'After your parent's death I thought I could protect you my little Yugi. I never realised that the time in which I would be unable to do so would come so fast.'
Sugoroku let Ryou and his strange look-alike into the room and closed the door. As he walked down the stairs he made up his mind.
'I was thinking of waiting before giving Yugi that little pyramid, but I think I should give it to him now. It might cheer him up.' He thought.
"Now where did I put that darn Millennium item?" He grumbled, going through the entire mountain of luggage and souvenirs he brought back.
* * * * * *
Ryou walked over to Yugi's bed and sat beside him.
With as sob, Yugi sat up and gave his friend a shaky smile.
"You don't need to pretend Yugi." Ryou said quietly.
Yugi's smile fell and he stared at his hands.
"I forgot Ryou." Yugi murmured so softly that Ryou almost missed it.
"Forgot what Yugi?" Ryou asked gently, not wanting to upset his friend but also wanting answers.
"I forgot that he wasn't human."
That made Ryou start. He was talking about Yami, that much was certain. But of course Yami and Bakura aren't human. But they had feelings too, right? (well, not at the moment, but that's besides the point) Did it make such a big difference to Yugi?
"Yami looked and acted so real that I forgot that he was part robot. What if the way he felt about me wasn't real Ryou? What if it was only programmed into him, like he was programmed to be an assassin?"
Ryou's eyes softened.
"I never really thought about that. When I first met Bakura he had metal sticking out of his cheek and his arm was artificial. He never looked human, so I never actually considered him human. But he acted it. He acted like someone who had been hurt too often and hated everyone. But that wasn't true. He had a gentle side too, I know it."
Ryou paused to look at Bakura who was still standing in the doorway, staring ahead blankly.
"But Yugi, Bakura had his memory cleaned out. He wasn't programmed to protect me. But he did. More then once last night."
Ryou enveloped Yugi in a gentle hug.
"And your Yami... he was holding a sword last night. Instead of punching you away, he could have killed you."
"I know. I don't understand. It looked as though he recognized me for a moment, but then it was gone before I could be certain that it was ever there." Yugi murmured agains Ryou's shoulder.
Neither Yugi nor Ryou had a chance to see the frown that formed on Bakura's face.
"I think," Ryou smiled, "that no matter what those people from H.E.L.L. do to their heads, Yami and Bakura will always be the same people. Their personality might still be there, only that it is repressed. Do you understand what I mean?"
Yugi nodded, a real smile forming on his lips for the first time since Yami left.
"That means that there might still be hope. Yami might still be in there!" Yugi said.
Ryou nodded, letting go on his small friend and reaching out for Bakura's hand.
Bakura stepped close to the bed. His face was expressionless once more and he gently took Ryou's hand. Ryou was about to get up off the bed but Bakura sat down on the floor next to the bed and leaned his head against Ryou's knee. Startled, Ryou almost let go of his hand, but the gentle grip was firm.
Ryou looked down at the mop of white hair questioningly. Then a smile formed on his lips.
'He keeps on surprising me. I think I was wrong before... or maybe partially. Bakura isn't a doll. He's a puppet that's slowly beginning to regain control of the strings.'
Ryou began to run his free hand through Bakura's snow white hair. For this, he was rewarded with a small sigh of pleasure.
'Your will is too strong. The puppet master will soon see that all the strings will slip away from his grasp.'
Ryou squeezed Bakura's hand affectionately.
"You shouldn't worry Yugi. I'm sure that they are both still there, trapped inside their own minds."
Yugi leaned over to see the small smile that danced on Bakura's lips. He would have missed it if he had only looked at Bakura's still dead-looking eyes.
"I think you're right. Yami will always be Yami. I don't care what happens. I just want to be with him. But... is that normal Ryou? Don't you think it's strange to love someone who isn't human so much?" Yugi murmured.
Ryou smiled as he looked at Bakura. "I think it's perfectly normal to love someone who we feel is stronger then ourselves. I wouldn't care if they aren't human."
Yugi looked at Bakura and Ryou with a quizzical look then realization hit him. 'Ryou loves Bakura.' That much was painfully obvious. And yet...
'He wants the old Bakura back... the one that scared the hell out of me when I went to see Yami the second time.' Yugi raised a mental eyebrow at this thought. But it made sense.
'Ryou is exactly like me. He wants them to have their own personality, not one programmed into them.'
Yugi smiled gently. "Thank you Ryou. I wont give up on Yami."
A knock was heard at the door and Sugoroku entered the room.
Yugi's grandfather raised an eyebrow at the Ryou and Bakura's position, but said nothing. Instead, he turned his attention to Yugi and held out a bundle.
Yugi's eyes immediately brightened. "You brought me something back from Egypt grandpa?"
Sugoroku laughed and handed Yugi the bundle. "You know I never go anywhere without bringing something back for you!"
Yugi opened the cloth eagerly, surprised at what was hidden between its folds. The golden brightness of the pyramid was almost blinding, but it was unmistakable. It looked exactly like what he had seen in his dreams. The object that he was certain belonged to Yami.
"It's a Millennium Item that we found in the tomb of the Unknown Pharaoh that Kaiba Corp has been working on for the past few years. Kaiba Seto himself insisted that I should take it."
Ryou looked at it and gasped. "It looks exactly like my ring!"
As he pulled the aforementioned ring out from underneath his shirt, Bakura let out a strangled cry.
Everyone's attention turned to the former proud tomb raider as he screamed again and clutched his head. His slender body strained and became tense.
He looked at the two items as his face contorted in pain. He let out another bone chilling cry and Ryou watched in horror, as his eyes lit up with a bright light and flickered off like a television set.
Bakura fell face forward and lay sprawled on the carpet.
The occupants of the room stared in shock.
Sugoroku regained his senses first.
"He's one of the test subjects for the Lacuna project, isn't he?"
The other two boys stared at him in surprise.
"That's what I thought. I'm phoning Malik."
* * * * * * *
*shield
Evil, evil, evil. (laughs) I really want to write up the next chapter, so get me at least ten reviews today, and I'll try to get it done this weekend. ^_^
Hm... I need to write up what's going on in H.E.L.L. now too. No, I didn't forget about our resident assassin and puppet master. And his dog. (winks)
Anyone else going to AN?
Review, ne?
Sailor Comet, you know what? You keep hitting the nail on the head! I DID read Planet Ladder, and I LOVE Gold! ^^ But this story came from the fact that I love robot boys, and my annoyance at the fact that there aren't enough stories with them as main characters. I mean, look at Chobits. It's always the girls that are the robots. Why?
Yami Krystal, I never read Soul Survivor.... I guess I'll have to put that on my list of books to read. Is it good?
WOOHHOOO!! I'm going to Anime North! Sure it's a 5 hour drive from Montreal, but hey, it's a Gundam theme this year! (Dances around in circles) Midorikawa Hikaru, here I come! ^.^ I'll probably be going dressed up as Selphie from FF8. Hm... I wonder who else I could go as?
Yugi's stomach was hurt because that's where Yami punched him... I guess I forgot to specify where he was hit. Sorry about that!
Does anyone know how to do italics? It would have been really useful for this chapter... (sighs) And those page breaks? Grr. Whenever I put mover then 1 space in between lines, they get squished together when I upload. I don't get it.
Chapter 10 - Scutum*
Yugi faced the ceiling, clutching a pillow to his chest.
"I can't believe it. Not Yami. Not Yami." He murmured. The tears had dried out long ago.
'I was so afraid that Yami would be alone in H.E.L.L. or be thrown out like scrap like Bakura was. But this is worse. So much worse.'
Yugi muffled a little sob.
'Yami will never forgive himself if he gets his memory back.'
Yugi's ceiling started to blur as tears threatened to fall.
He felt so numb. Yami's eyes had been so frightening. Their beautiful crimson light had been extinguished and steel glint had taken its place. He was no longer the Yami who had smiled for him, who had confessed his feelings tenderly while holding him gently.
The punch had hurt, but it didn't compare to the emotional pain Yugi was now feeling.
'My Yami would never do that. He would never hurt anyone.'
But how could he be so sure? Yugi was suddenly filled with doubt. He had only known Yami for a short time, and its true that he had always been kind to him, but was that his true personality?
What if the Yami that he had seen the night before was the true Yami?
'No.'
It was impossible.
Yami's tenderness was what was real. No human being could fake that kind of emotion.
'But...'
Yami wasn't human.
'So...'
His personality could easily have been programmed into him.
'And...'
Yami's feelings could have been artificial.
'Like his heart.'
Yugi couldn't hold the tears back anymore and he was sobbing into the pillow as Sugoroku Mutou lead Ryou and Bakura into the room.
"Yugi." Ryou's sad eyes glanced at Bakura who stared ahead unblinkingly.
Yugi's grandfather sighed. "He's been like that since I came home this afternoon. I was hoping that you could cheer him up, or at least get him to talk about his problem."
Grandpa felt his heart stir up as his grandson sobbed. He had been gone a week for a dig with a branch from Kaiba Corp. that funded his archaeological discoveries, and was shaken to see his grandson so heartbroken on his return.
At first he had thought it might be bullies, but he had pushed the thought away when he realised that this kind of pain only came from a broken heart.
'And I wasn't around to mend it.' Sugoroku berated himself. He then let out another sigh.
'After your parent's death I thought I could protect you my little Yugi. I never realised that the time in which I would be unable to do so would come so fast.'
Sugoroku let Ryou and his strange look-alike into the room and closed the door. As he walked down the stairs he made up his mind.
'I was thinking of waiting before giving Yugi that little pyramid, but I think I should give it to him now. It might cheer him up.' He thought.
"Now where did I put that darn Millennium item?" He grumbled, going through the entire mountain of luggage and souvenirs he brought back.
* * * * * *
Ryou walked over to Yugi's bed and sat beside him.
With as sob, Yugi sat up and gave his friend a shaky smile.
"You don't need to pretend Yugi." Ryou said quietly.
Yugi's smile fell and he stared at his hands.
"I forgot Ryou." Yugi murmured so softly that Ryou almost missed it.
"Forgot what Yugi?" Ryou asked gently, not wanting to upset his friend but also wanting answers.
"I forgot that he wasn't human."
That made Ryou start. He was talking about Yami, that much was certain. But of course Yami and Bakura aren't human. But they had feelings too, right? (well, not at the moment, but that's besides the point) Did it make such a big difference to Yugi?
"Yami looked and acted so real that I forgot that he was part robot. What if the way he felt about me wasn't real Ryou? What if it was only programmed into him, like he was programmed to be an assassin?"
Ryou's eyes softened.
"I never really thought about that. When I first met Bakura he had metal sticking out of his cheek and his arm was artificial. He never looked human, so I never actually considered him human. But he acted it. He acted like someone who had been hurt too often and hated everyone. But that wasn't true. He had a gentle side too, I know it."
Ryou paused to look at Bakura who was still standing in the doorway, staring ahead blankly.
"But Yugi, Bakura had his memory cleaned out. He wasn't programmed to protect me. But he did. More then once last night."
Ryou enveloped Yugi in a gentle hug.
"And your Yami... he was holding a sword last night. Instead of punching you away, he could have killed you."
"I know. I don't understand. It looked as though he recognized me for a moment, but then it was gone before I could be certain that it was ever there." Yugi murmured agains Ryou's shoulder.
Neither Yugi nor Ryou had a chance to see the frown that formed on Bakura's face.
"I think," Ryou smiled, "that no matter what those people from H.E.L.L. do to their heads, Yami and Bakura will always be the same people. Their personality might still be there, only that it is repressed. Do you understand what I mean?"
Yugi nodded, a real smile forming on his lips for the first time since Yami left.
"That means that there might still be hope. Yami might still be in there!" Yugi said.
Ryou nodded, letting go on his small friend and reaching out for Bakura's hand.
Bakura stepped close to the bed. His face was expressionless once more and he gently took Ryou's hand. Ryou was about to get up off the bed but Bakura sat down on the floor next to the bed and leaned his head against Ryou's knee. Startled, Ryou almost let go of his hand, but the gentle grip was firm.
Ryou looked down at the mop of white hair questioningly. Then a smile formed on his lips.
'He keeps on surprising me. I think I was wrong before... or maybe partially. Bakura isn't a doll. He's a puppet that's slowly beginning to regain control of the strings.'
Ryou began to run his free hand through Bakura's snow white hair. For this, he was rewarded with a small sigh of pleasure.
'Your will is too strong. The puppet master will soon see that all the strings will slip away from his grasp.'
Ryou squeezed Bakura's hand affectionately.
"You shouldn't worry Yugi. I'm sure that they are both still there, trapped inside their own minds."
Yugi leaned over to see the small smile that danced on Bakura's lips. He would have missed it if he had only looked at Bakura's still dead-looking eyes.
"I think you're right. Yami will always be Yami. I don't care what happens. I just want to be with him. But... is that normal Ryou? Don't you think it's strange to love someone who isn't human so much?" Yugi murmured.
Ryou smiled as he looked at Bakura. "I think it's perfectly normal to love someone who we feel is stronger then ourselves. I wouldn't care if they aren't human."
Yugi looked at Bakura and Ryou with a quizzical look then realization hit him. 'Ryou loves Bakura.' That much was painfully obvious. And yet...
'He wants the old Bakura back... the one that scared the hell out of me when I went to see Yami the second time.' Yugi raised a mental eyebrow at this thought. But it made sense.
'Ryou is exactly like me. He wants them to have their own personality, not one programmed into them.'
Yugi smiled gently. "Thank you Ryou. I wont give up on Yami."
A knock was heard at the door and Sugoroku entered the room.
Yugi's grandfather raised an eyebrow at the Ryou and Bakura's position, but said nothing. Instead, he turned his attention to Yugi and held out a bundle.
Yugi's eyes immediately brightened. "You brought me something back from Egypt grandpa?"
Sugoroku laughed and handed Yugi the bundle. "You know I never go anywhere without bringing something back for you!"
Yugi opened the cloth eagerly, surprised at what was hidden between its folds. The golden brightness of the pyramid was almost blinding, but it was unmistakable. It looked exactly like what he had seen in his dreams. The object that he was certain belonged to Yami.
"It's a Millennium Item that we found in the tomb of the Unknown Pharaoh that Kaiba Corp has been working on for the past few years. Kaiba Seto himself insisted that I should take it."
Ryou looked at it and gasped. "It looks exactly like my ring!"
As he pulled the aforementioned ring out from underneath his shirt, Bakura let out a strangled cry.
Everyone's attention turned to the former proud tomb raider as he screamed again and clutched his head. His slender body strained and became tense.
He looked at the two items as his face contorted in pain. He let out another bone chilling cry and Ryou watched in horror, as his eyes lit up with a bright light and flickered off like a television set.
Bakura fell face forward and lay sprawled on the carpet.
The occupants of the room stared in shock.
Sugoroku regained his senses first.
"He's one of the test subjects for the Lacuna project, isn't he?"
The other two boys stared at him in surprise.
"That's what I thought. I'm phoning Malik."
* * * * * * *
*shield
Evil, evil, evil. (laughs) I really want to write up the next chapter, so get me at least ten reviews today, and I'll try to get it done this weekend. ^_^
Hm... I need to write up what's going on in H.E.L.L. now too. No, I didn't forget about our resident assassin and puppet master. And his dog. (winks)
Anyone else going to AN?
Review, ne?