Hello, hello! I'm back from the land of the dead and come bearing gifts.
I had an interesting six months in which I was completely unproductive. I blame it on sheer laziness, though I can assure you that its not my only excuse. I worked at a Girl Guide camp up north where I slept in tents and was with the kids 24/7. Needless to say, by the end of it, I was drained.
Elementary school teachers deserve much more credit then they receive for not killing the kids in their care. Many of them deserve to die. Especially the ones that threaten to sue you. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING I SAY!
All this to say, I've had a great time writing this story. Thank you so much for all the reviews. Unless you're an author, you don't understand how much of an ego boost they are. Though many may claim that my ego need not increase, I beg to differ. I'm not arrogant, merely cocky. There's a difference. ^.^ I don't need a Big Head Girl badge yet, Weasley twins!
Many of you have successfully guessed what the Lacuna Project is, and for that, you deserve a pat on the back. I'd personally like to give you one, especially if you live in Europe of down South. ^.^ Its starting to get cold up here.
Lacuna 14 - Explicat
*develop the meaning of an idea, explain (especially in a literary text)
Malik smirked as he surveyed the faces gazing up at him.
Bakura's expression promised a gruesome death if his questions weren't explained to his liking. He had that all familiar scowl on his face . 'Flawless face.' Malik amended.
Flawless thanks to his genius of course. None of the other scientist working at HELL could possibly upgraded 3223 in not only a minute amount of time, but in their own private lab. 'Yes', Malik thought, 'I really am brilliant. Screw the other scientists. I'm NOT expendable, and Kaiba knows it.'
Malik turned his gaze to Ishtar, who also looked ready to kill. 'Probably pissed off that I was staring at 3223.' He guessed.
Malik shot a smile at Ishtar, and the blond Egyptian's icy countenance melted.
Of course Ishtar was a thousand times more perfect then the tomb raider. After all, it was only his own hands that had made him. It was his hands that had given that mummified head another chance at life. His heart that had been put on the line during those endless nights, working with metal and wires, his faith tried when those ice blue eyes had opened again for the first time on over 3 000 years. How could Ishtar be anything less then the white-haired tomb raider?
But then again, Bakura WAS hot.
Malik smirked to himself as he looked at Ryou, who was sitting next to Bakura. Bakura had eyes for no one other then Ryou, and that was a certainty. Malik remembered the way Bakura was at the beginning... violent, resentful and full of hate. Bakura was ready to kill or be killed. But now, though the exterior was still gruff, beneath the surface there was an unmistakable tenderness.
Though Malik wasn't about to test that theory. Bakura was completely capable of kicking a friend's ass.
When his eyes met with the Pharaoh's a crimson glare greeted him. So, the pharaoh was still pissed off about things he couldn't remember?
'People really don't change.' Malik decided. 'They only adapt to different circumstances.'
It was a rather 'Lord of the Flies' approach to human nature, and could probably be debated, but he had other faces to look at. Besides, he wasn't a scholar, or a philosopher. He was a slightly deranged individual who loved a clone and money.
Malik gave the pharaoh a light grin, at which the frown only deepened.
'I guess he doesn't know that I promised Yugi I'd fix him. Ah well, no harm in keeping the pharaoh on his toes.'
Speaking of Yugi...
The tiny boy had Yami looming over him like a shadow. Malik had to admit that the kid was cute, but really, what was so great about him that the pharaoh would refuse to do what he was programmed to do?
'I'm not complaining about the cyborgs keeping their personality, that's what I was trying to prove to Kaiba would happen. But what makes us, their reincarnations, so special? Why do we have such strong feelings for us and vice-versa?'
So many deep and philosophical questions. Additions to these questions are:
'Why aren't I getting paid more? Why is Kaiba such a bastard?'
Life's little mysteries.
Malik didn't even look at Jou. He wanted to see the sweet expression a loser sports after losing a bet on that boy's face. Ah yes, success would be sweet.
Malik cleared his throat.
"Just get on with it damn it, you've been staring at us for the past ten minutes!" Bakura snarled.
Malik cleared his throat again.
"Fuck it Blondie, GET ON WITH IT!" Bakura yelled, teeth bared.
"SHUT UP!" Yami and Ishtar yelled at the former tomb raider who just turned to snarl at them instead.
Malik massaged his temples. 'Forget philosophy. They're all idiots about as deep as a puddle.'
Malik successfully ignored them.
"Well, as you all know, HELL has been making clones--" He began.
"No shit." Bakura grumbled.
"-in order to create the Lacuna project. The ringleader of this little operation is Seto Kaiba, head of the multinational Kaiba Corp, as well as the shady HELL. For years now he has been trying to clone a human being."
Malik paused.
"I'll be blunt. Kaiba put all this together, not for the mere sake of advancing technology. Seven or so years ago now, his younger brother was killed."
"Mokuba." Yugi breathed.
Malik nodded. "Mokuba was 10 at the time. He was hit in broad daylight by a drunk driver. It wasn't a clean death like you normally see in the movies. Both his legs were broken, and he died six hours after the accident due to internal haemorrhaging. He died a slow, excruciating death. The driver committed suicide after sobering up. Kaiba never got his revenge.
"I personally think that this whole little operation is revenge against fate, meant to rewrite destiny, but that would probably be giving Kaiba too much credit.
"He wanted his brother back. Badly. Its traumatizing enough to lose the last member of your family at the age of 13, but to lose them in such a gruesome way must have really made a mark on our resident evil-genius' psyche.
Kaiba had inherited millions, as well as Kaiba Corp from his deceased parents, and he immediately created HELL. As you people realise, after having seen Mokuba alive and well in that room, that Kaiba was right to believe in this technology. Sure, he hired a few crazies, and there were quite a few bumps in the road, but to Kaiba, the end justifies the means. He's a regular Machiavelli."
Malik glanced up at his transfixed audience. Ryou shifted a bit.
"That doesn't explain why Egyptian mummies were used." Ryou murmured.
"Right you are." Malik replied.
Silence.
"Well, are you gonna fucking explain why they pillaged the Pharaoh's tomb or not?!" Bakura roared, white locks following his angry movements.
Malik rolled his eyes.
Ishtar, on the other hand smirked. "'Pillage'? Such a strong word Bakura, I didn't know you knew it."
Bakura shot a glance at his former partner. "I could say the same."
Yami's crimson eyes locked with Malik's. "I don't really care under what circumstances my tomb was plundered. I want to know why I'M here, and not some other mummified king. Actually, why not use someone who died recently?"
"Good question. It one of those little details Kaiba edits out, but I've got a pretty good idea why. It's probably because your name doesn't appear in history, so no one would go looking for you. Also, Sugoroku hinted that the Egyptian authorities were not even aware that Kaiba Corp's archaeological branch had found your tomb. Doing things illegally avoids a lot of embarrassing questions like "Uh, what are you going to do with those mummies?"
"The reason a more recent body was not used was simply because scientists wanted to make sure the body was old enough to have no traces of nuclear DNA. They just went a little overboard with the 3 000 year old mummy thing."
"But I'm the 852501st specimen. There must have been countless others before me." Yami stated, regal instinct and the restrain of an assassin having held him back from disrupting Malik's speech.
"Oh, there were. The carcasses are horrendous." Jou added, wincing.
Malik nodded. "The scientists took up part time grave-robbing. Specimens of humans dating from 3 000 to 20 years ago were used."
"But for some strange reason, we were the only successful cases." Ishtar murmured, deep in thought.
"Yup. I have a whole religious explanation for that, care to hear it?" Malik grinned.
Ishtar groaned, having heard some of Malik's theories. The rest of the group said nothing (though Yami arched an eyebrow, and Bakura's eye twitched, annoyed.).
"Well, I think that, possibly, all religions are true. That means that I think that whatever YOU believe will happen to your soul happens. Now, Egyptians believed that that the Ka and Ba, body and soul, was judged and sent to the land of the dead or whatever."
Ishtar let out a frustrated whine at Malik's brash explanation of his religion.
"Anyways, the Egyptian concept of the afterlife was pretty nice for the time, you just kept going on as you did when alive. Sumerians thought your soul turned into a bird and you had to sit on a perch and eat dust. So yeah, the Egyptian afterlife is pretty sweet.
"The Egyptian body and soul were probably the most connected. In most other religions the soul is something altogether separate from the body..."
Ishtar rolled his eyes. "Could you PLEASE get to the point?"
"Yes, yes." Malik waved off the comment. "Well, anyways, Egyptians believed that the body had to be preserved because one day the soul would return. THIS is very important. In other religions that don't deal with reincarnation, when you're dead, its over. But the Egyptian soul is ready to return to the body, thus, Bakura, Yami and Ishtar worked out the first time they were cloned. They have their souls. The other robots in HELL don't."
"That's some pretty elaborate shit coming from a psycho like you." Bakura shot at Malik, who took this as a compliment and beamed.
"But what about Mokuba then?" Yugi asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think, that maybe, until his last breath, Mokuba was certain he'd see his older brother again." Malik murmured.
The others were silent.
"And he did." Jou murmured.
"Yeah." Malik smiled.
And no one had the heart to say anything else.
* * * * * * *
Another chapter of plot-hole fillers is coming up. If this chapter bored you to death, I'm so sorry. If there's any improvements you can think of, tell me and I'll try to add them to the next chapter.
About Latin, I haven't studied it, but I hope to. I want to go into the classics, so I'll probably be forced to translate Greek and Latin texts when I get there. Until then I'm afraid you learned individuals will have to be patient with my attempt at Latin.
(Sniffles) Ah, the common cold, how I abhor thee. Review so that I can continue soon. This cold is bound to debilitate me soon... and to think, all those projects that I need to do...
I had an interesting six months in which I was completely unproductive. I blame it on sheer laziness, though I can assure you that its not my only excuse. I worked at a Girl Guide camp up north where I slept in tents and was with the kids 24/7. Needless to say, by the end of it, I was drained.
Elementary school teachers deserve much more credit then they receive for not killing the kids in their care. Many of them deserve to die. Especially the ones that threaten to sue you. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING I SAY!
All this to say, I've had a great time writing this story. Thank you so much for all the reviews. Unless you're an author, you don't understand how much of an ego boost they are. Though many may claim that my ego need not increase, I beg to differ. I'm not arrogant, merely cocky. There's a difference. ^.^ I don't need a Big Head Girl badge yet, Weasley twins!
Many of you have successfully guessed what the Lacuna Project is, and for that, you deserve a pat on the back. I'd personally like to give you one, especially if you live in Europe of down South. ^.^ Its starting to get cold up here.
Lacuna 14 - Explicat
*develop the meaning of an idea, explain (especially in a literary text)
Malik smirked as he surveyed the faces gazing up at him.
Bakura's expression promised a gruesome death if his questions weren't explained to his liking. He had that all familiar scowl on his face . 'Flawless face.' Malik amended.
Flawless thanks to his genius of course. None of the other scientist working at HELL could possibly upgraded 3223 in not only a minute amount of time, but in their own private lab. 'Yes', Malik thought, 'I really am brilliant. Screw the other scientists. I'm NOT expendable, and Kaiba knows it.'
Malik turned his gaze to Ishtar, who also looked ready to kill. 'Probably pissed off that I was staring at 3223.' He guessed.
Malik shot a smile at Ishtar, and the blond Egyptian's icy countenance melted.
Of course Ishtar was a thousand times more perfect then the tomb raider. After all, it was only his own hands that had made him. It was his hands that had given that mummified head another chance at life. His heart that had been put on the line during those endless nights, working with metal and wires, his faith tried when those ice blue eyes had opened again for the first time on over 3 000 years. How could Ishtar be anything less then the white-haired tomb raider?
But then again, Bakura WAS hot.
Malik smirked to himself as he looked at Ryou, who was sitting next to Bakura. Bakura had eyes for no one other then Ryou, and that was a certainty. Malik remembered the way Bakura was at the beginning... violent, resentful and full of hate. Bakura was ready to kill or be killed. But now, though the exterior was still gruff, beneath the surface there was an unmistakable tenderness.
Though Malik wasn't about to test that theory. Bakura was completely capable of kicking a friend's ass.
When his eyes met with the Pharaoh's a crimson glare greeted him. So, the pharaoh was still pissed off about things he couldn't remember?
'People really don't change.' Malik decided. 'They only adapt to different circumstances.'
It was a rather 'Lord of the Flies' approach to human nature, and could probably be debated, but he had other faces to look at. Besides, he wasn't a scholar, or a philosopher. He was a slightly deranged individual who loved a clone and money.
Malik gave the pharaoh a light grin, at which the frown only deepened.
'I guess he doesn't know that I promised Yugi I'd fix him. Ah well, no harm in keeping the pharaoh on his toes.'
Speaking of Yugi...
The tiny boy had Yami looming over him like a shadow. Malik had to admit that the kid was cute, but really, what was so great about him that the pharaoh would refuse to do what he was programmed to do?
'I'm not complaining about the cyborgs keeping their personality, that's what I was trying to prove to Kaiba would happen. But what makes us, their reincarnations, so special? Why do we have such strong feelings for us and vice-versa?'
So many deep and philosophical questions. Additions to these questions are:
'Why aren't I getting paid more? Why is Kaiba such a bastard?'
Life's little mysteries.
Malik didn't even look at Jou. He wanted to see the sweet expression a loser sports after losing a bet on that boy's face. Ah yes, success would be sweet.
Malik cleared his throat.
"Just get on with it damn it, you've been staring at us for the past ten minutes!" Bakura snarled.
Malik cleared his throat again.
"Fuck it Blondie, GET ON WITH IT!" Bakura yelled, teeth bared.
"SHUT UP!" Yami and Ishtar yelled at the former tomb raider who just turned to snarl at them instead.
Malik massaged his temples. 'Forget philosophy. They're all idiots about as deep as a puddle.'
Malik successfully ignored them.
"Well, as you all know, HELL has been making clones--" He began.
"No shit." Bakura grumbled.
"-in order to create the Lacuna project. The ringleader of this little operation is Seto Kaiba, head of the multinational Kaiba Corp, as well as the shady HELL. For years now he has been trying to clone a human being."
Malik paused.
"I'll be blunt. Kaiba put all this together, not for the mere sake of advancing technology. Seven or so years ago now, his younger brother was killed."
"Mokuba." Yugi breathed.
Malik nodded. "Mokuba was 10 at the time. He was hit in broad daylight by a drunk driver. It wasn't a clean death like you normally see in the movies. Both his legs were broken, and he died six hours after the accident due to internal haemorrhaging. He died a slow, excruciating death. The driver committed suicide after sobering up. Kaiba never got his revenge.
"I personally think that this whole little operation is revenge against fate, meant to rewrite destiny, but that would probably be giving Kaiba too much credit.
"He wanted his brother back. Badly. Its traumatizing enough to lose the last member of your family at the age of 13, but to lose them in such a gruesome way must have really made a mark on our resident evil-genius' psyche.
Kaiba had inherited millions, as well as Kaiba Corp from his deceased parents, and he immediately created HELL. As you people realise, after having seen Mokuba alive and well in that room, that Kaiba was right to believe in this technology. Sure, he hired a few crazies, and there were quite a few bumps in the road, but to Kaiba, the end justifies the means. He's a regular Machiavelli."
Malik glanced up at his transfixed audience. Ryou shifted a bit.
"That doesn't explain why Egyptian mummies were used." Ryou murmured.
"Right you are." Malik replied.
Silence.
"Well, are you gonna fucking explain why they pillaged the Pharaoh's tomb or not?!" Bakura roared, white locks following his angry movements.
Malik rolled his eyes.
Ishtar, on the other hand smirked. "'Pillage'? Such a strong word Bakura, I didn't know you knew it."
Bakura shot a glance at his former partner. "I could say the same."
Yami's crimson eyes locked with Malik's. "I don't really care under what circumstances my tomb was plundered. I want to know why I'M here, and not some other mummified king. Actually, why not use someone who died recently?"
"Good question. It one of those little details Kaiba edits out, but I've got a pretty good idea why. It's probably because your name doesn't appear in history, so no one would go looking for you. Also, Sugoroku hinted that the Egyptian authorities were not even aware that Kaiba Corp's archaeological branch had found your tomb. Doing things illegally avoids a lot of embarrassing questions like "Uh, what are you going to do with those mummies?"
"The reason a more recent body was not used was simply because scientists wanted to make sure the body was old enough to have no traces of nuclear DNA. They just went a little overboard with the 3 000 year old mummy thing."
"But I'm the 852501st specimen. There must have been countless others before me." Yami stated, regal instinct and the restrain of an assassin having held him back from disrupting Malik's speech.
"Oh, there were. The carcasses are horrendous." Jou added, wincing.
Malik nodded. "The scientists took up part time grave-robbing. Specimens of humans dating from 3 000 to 20 years ago were used."
"But for some strange reason, we were the only successful cases." Ishtar murmured, deep in thought.
"Yup. I have a whole religious explanation for that, care to hear it?" Malik grinned.
Ishtar groaned, having heard some of Malik's theories. The rest of the group said nothing (though Yami arched an eyebrow, and Bakura's eye twitched, annoyed.).
"Well, I think that, possibly, all religions are true. That means that I think that whatever YOU believe will happen to your soul happens. Now, Egyptians believed that that the Ka and Ba, body and soul, was judged and sent to the land of the dead or whatever."
Ishtar let out a frustrated whine at Malik's brash explanation of his religion.
"Anyways, the Egyptian concept of the afterlife was pretty nice for the time, you just kept going on as you did when alive. Sumerians thought your soul turned into a bird and you had to sit on a perch and eat dust. So yeah, the Egyptian afterlife is pretty sweet.
"The Egyptian body and soul were probably the most connected. In most other religions the soul is something altogether separate from the body..."
Ishtar rolled his eyes. "Could you PLEASE get to the point?"
"Yes, yes." Malik waved off the comment. "Well, anyways, Egyptians believed that the body had to be preserved because one day the soul would return. THIS is very important. In other religions that don't deal with reincarnation, when you're dead, its over. But the Egyptian soul is ready to return to the body, thus, Bakura, Yami and Ishtar worked out the first time they were cloned. They have their souls. The other robots in HELL don't."
"That's some pretty elaborate shit coming from a psycho like you." Bakura shot at Malik, who took this as a compliment and beamed.
"But what about Mokuba then?" Yugi asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think, that maybe, until his last breath, Mokuba was certain he'd see his older brother again." Malik murmured.
The others were silent.
"And he did." Jou murmured.
"Yeah." Malik smiled.
And no one had the heart to say anything else.
* * * * * * *
Another chapter of plot-hole fillers is coming up. If this chapter bored you to death, I'm so sorry. If there's any improvements you can think of, tell me and I'll try to add them to the next chapter.
About Latin, I haven't studied it, but I hope to. I want to go into the classics, so I'll probably be forced to translate Greek and Latin texts when I get there. Until then I'm afraid you learned individuals will have to be patient with my attempt at Latin.
(Sniffles) Ah, the common cold, how I abhor thee. Review so that I can continue soon. This cold is bound to debilitate me soon... and to think, all those projects that I need to do...