Chapter One
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The sky was dark and dreary as the military tank holding the newest batch of detainees rolled into the Crawford Animangenics Research Lab. A rustle of life sparked into the car of desolate people that were inside as they finally snapped out of their trances. One of the passengers, a pale boy with soft white hair and deep brown eyes, clung tightly to the person beside him, a dark-skinned, amethyst-eyed Egyptian boy with light blonde hair that cascaded down his shoulders. As soon as the doors in the back of the tank were opened, the silver-haired whimpered and turned away from the light. The boy he was sitting next to quietly wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Out! All of you. You're to meet Mr. Pegasus Crawford and then you'll be put in your cells, two per cell." The speaker was a tall, shadowed man in a uniform. In his muscular tan arms, a large air rifle was pointed into the tank.
With a low growl, one of the boys towards the back stood and walked slowly towards the front of the car, uncaring, as he became the new target of the rifle. The boy, seventeen-year-old Tristan Taylor, glared harshly at the uniformed soldier. "Look, you goddamn freak! You can't keep us here like we're a bunch of animals! We're human beings! Just like you used to be! We're humans! Not your freak science experiments!"
The man shot a bullet whizzing just past Tristan's right ear. "Sit down, Project! Our creations don't disrespect their gods!"
"Gods?!" A second voice called out from the back, somewhere behind Tristan. "You are not our gods! You're nothing but a bunch of little boys, upset 'cause your momma took away your toys!"
"QUIET!" The gun fired again, and this time, the bullet lodged itself in the boy's shoulder. Duke Devlin's eyes closed and pinched close together in pain as he gripped onto his shoulder. The blood trickled through his fingers, but he glared and pulled himself back to his feet.
His harsh jade eyes met those of the uniformed officer, Nigiru Nikumareru, and he spat at him through his teeth. "Come on, don't tell me that's your best shot. You barely even touched me." Duke reluctantly let go of his injured shoulder and stood with his feet spread apart and his arms up to the sky. "Here. Go right ahead and shoot me. I'd rather die than be part of your motherfucking experiments!"
Nigiru scoffed and lowered his weapon. "As much as I'd love to shoot that smirk right off your face, pretty boy, I wouldn't want to bang you up too badly. I'm sure Mr. Pegasus has something special in mind for you."
Duke humphed as he brushed past Nigiru. "Yeah, bullshit. You're just afraid to shoot me."
"Out. All of you."
Ryou, the silver-haired, glanced worriedly at Malik.
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Tristan stood close by to Duke, hazel eyes sharp and wary, as he and the other new 'shipments' were escorted to the main lobby of C.A.R.L, as Pegasus had dubbed the Center. Extravagent decorations in the colors of pink, white, pale green, and sky blue lined the ceilings of the hallways. Duke noticed with an arched eyebrow that this Pegasus man, whoever he was, had asphyxiation with Funny Bunny and other cartoons. Honorary statues of cartoon greats such as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, and Foghorn Leghorn decorated the columns. At the very end of the hallway was a large, circular room. A portrait of a man with straight, platinum silver hair hanging down to his shoulders greeted the new arrivals. Cunning honey eyes peered at the group as if they knew each person's greatest weakness."Welcome, people of Chiisai! When I read your name from the list, please step forward to receive your nametag and ID number. Before your surgery to turn you into an Animan, we will monitor your behavior to see which animal suits you best. During your transformation, you will retain your same mind and personality. You'll just be getting a... permanent makeover. What do you say? Doesn't that sound fun?"
A voice boomed from unseen speakers in a rich, drawling tone. Everyone looked around as the person, obviously Pegasus, spoke. No one even resembling the portrait was spotted.
Tristan humphed and whispered in Duke's ear, "Yeah, it's a barrel of monkeys."
"I'd be careful what you say, T-boy. I can hear everything you say." Smirked Pegasus.
Tristan glared up at the ceiling. Duke watched Tristan's face and sighed through pursed lips.
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"Ryou Bakura."
The silver-haired boy looked up from the ground, fear shining in his soulful brown eyes. Timidly, he let go of Malik's arm and stepped forward from the group of five people. He stood at almost 5'7", thin, and very pale. He was shaking slightly as he approached a table with a middle-aged woman wearing a sickeningly false smile.
"Hello, Ryou Bakura. My name is Cecelia; I'm Pegasus' wife. Aren't you excited to be part of my darling husband's dreams?" She handed Ryou Bakura a package of clothing and a chain with an ID number that read '00006.' Above his ID number was his name in big, bolded black letters. Ryou gave her a look of suspicion mixed with terror before he took his package and moved back into the line.
"Duke Devlin."
With a glare and humph, Duke pushed past Tristan and a brunette girl, anger present in his dark green eyes. As he walked over to Cecelia, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a die. He bounced the die up and down in his hand as he approached the blonde woman, a confident smirk on his thin lips. He laughed softly, extended his hand and grabbed his package numbered '00007.' He smiled slyly at her from behind thick black bangs. "Darling husband, eh? If he's darling, what are you? Deranged?" Duke winked malevolently at her as he turned around and went back to the others, still bouncing the die, ignoring the searing pain in his injured shoulder.
"Téa Gardener."
This time, a girl around fifteen made her way to the front. Her rich chocolate hair fell apprehensively to her shoulders, her usually bright sapphire eyes darkened with unease. Téa's walk was one of false confidence, as she snagged her '00008' package out from underneath Cecelia's nose. She frowned genuinely as her gait carried her to stand next to Duke; she missed her family and friends dearly. The other people that she had been taken with didn't seem to be too bad, but Téa just wanted to go back to her house with her warm bed and dream.
"Malik Ishtar."
There was a rustle of clothing, and Malik took a step forward. He kept his cautious amethyst eyes on Cecelia as he took each step, his golden arm bands glistening under the sunlight that filtered in through the roof. As he took his package, he sneered dissapprovingly at the picture of Pegasus J. Crawford, giving the man a mental slap across the face. Malik had already put himself on a higher level than that of this sick minded freak, as he stared down the painting as if it were slave number '00009' about to be killed, and he was the master holding the knife.
"Mai Valentine."
"I can't believe how sick some people are! Can't you see you're destroying beauty in an attempt to create your own twisted perception of it?" Everyone turned to cast a mild glare at the tall blonde girl who had her perfectly manicured hands on her thin hips. Her curly locks of hair fell down to her knees, just past her lavender mini-skirt, which matched her lavender jacket and white tank-top. Mai Valentine stormed over to Cecelia and gave her a dissatisfied glare, "How dare you try to say I'm not beautiful enough when you married a man like Pegasus J-fucking Crawford?" She scoffed and picked up her package, numbered '00010' and retreated to where the rest were standing.
"Tristan Taylor," Pegasus' voice said, announcing the last of the names.
Tristan eyed the painting with a cold eye, "What the hell ever." He walked coolly and calmly up to the table, but once he saw the fake smile plastered on to Cecelia's face, he almost lost the control he had, as he reached out slowly, forcedly, to grasp the plastic handle of package number '00011.' With another glare towards the painting, Tristan turned his back to Cecelia and started returning to his spot beside Duke. He reached the dice master, and, with a long, exhaled sigh, he fell silent.
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All seemed innocent and quiet for a few minutes, until a platform descended without warning from the ceiling. On it stood a living replica of the man in the painting; Pegasus. He held a glass goblet of salty red wine in his hand as a large, sinister grin appeared on his face. "Well, well! It seems like we've all been given our packages. Very good! Now, we'll be dispersing to our different cells. Two to a cell please, wouldn't want you taking up eachother's space too much once you're Changed."
Tristan and Duke sent eachother suspicious looks, as Téa walked closer to Mai and stood to the older girl's side. Malik glared at Pegasus, his amethyst eyes shining with malice and hardly restrained fury. The Egyptian opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted when the room flashed red and an alarm rang throughout the corridors. "Mr. Pegasus, 00001 is acting up again." The male voice that sounded slightly familiar to Malik echoed into the halls.
Pegasus turned away from the group momentarily and spoke into an unseen microphone in response to the man who had just spoken. He stood with his back towards his experiments, until he finally turned around and faced the group, grinning widely.
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Ryou moved behind Malik as Pegasus' eyes landed and remained on him, and he fumbled around for Malik's hand before he finally found it. "M-Malik... He's still looking at me..." Ryou whispered into the bronze ear of his best friend. Malik turned to face Pegasus with a protective glare set in his fiery purple orbs.
"You got a staring problem or something, Pega-fuck?" He snarled, wrapping a comforting arm around Ryou's shoulders. He tightened his grip around his friend as the slightly shorter boy shivered under Pegasus' gaze.
"Such a shame you're so rebellious, Mr. Ishtar. You'll be especially fun to Change." Pegasus sent Malik a smile of victory as he lowered the platform until he could step off of it. He approached Malik and Ryou slowly, wearing the same confident smirk that Duke Devlin had sported just moments before. Once he reached Malik, he extended his hand as if to shake Malik's, but the younger sneered and turned his nose up at the offered hand.
"So defiant. Breaking your spirit will be hard to do... But have no doubt about it, Mr. Ishtar- you will be nothing but a shred in ruins, a pathetic fraction of your former self." Pegasus cupped his hand around Malik's chin and stroked the younger's cheek, grinning all the while.
Anger rose within Malik like a wildfire, and he growled. The low timbre of his voice bubbled up inside his throat. 'You motherfucker.' He let his anger go free as he suddenly grabbed one of Pegasus' fingers between his teeth and bit down hard, cutting at the skin with his canines. Pegasus yelped and pulled back his hand.
"You're a savage little thing... Like a snake, you are."
"Touch me again or look at Ryou another time like that, and you're a dead man, you lousy fuck." Malik spat.
Pegasus took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around his bleeding finger, "So protective and blunt... You should see what happens to those such as yourself."
A shot of fear peirced Malik's heart, but he quickly masked it and arched his eyebrow skeptically. "Oh yeah? What happens to us?"
Pegasus' smile turned dark, and he stepped away from the two. "Cecelia! Bring out number 00001. The blonde boy."
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Tristan's ears perked up, and he tapped Duke on the shoulder. "Hey, you don't think Joey's the one they're talking about, do you?"
Jade eyes narrowed towards Pegasus' turned back. "It probably is. He and his sister Serenity went missing from their home a few days before we were taken."
The hazel-eyed nodded slightly and watched the door on the opposite side of the room. As he watched, he saw three figures approaching them; two were holding on to a third boy by the shoulders and wrists. The boy struggled against his binds.
"Goddamn you pricks! Let me go!" The accent in the voice was clear, as Tristan and Duke's eyes widened.
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Joey growled dangerously and tugged at his arms, trying desperately to free himself from the two men who held him in place. He grit his teeth and snarled lowly, as he let his strong arms relax for a moment. He waited until the men had loosened their grips, as he took a breath. "BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Joey shouted suddenly, as he rejuvinated his muscles, wrestling himself free from the hands that held him still.
Quickly, before the men could react, Joey stumbled his way over to Tristan and Duke. He fell to his hands and knees infront of them, panting, his normally collected amber eyes wild and tense.
"Joey!" Tristan exclaimed, kneeling down beside his friend. He slung Joey's arm around his shoulders and helped the other boy stand. "Joey! What in the hell did they do to you?!"
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YuGiOh is © Kazuki Takahashi and other people. I do not claim to own anything or anyone except the plot. If you have used or have seen a plot like this used before, I apologize. I do not intend to copy other people's ideas. I don't check the YuGiOh section that much anymore so I don't know all of what's in there.
Notice The forum I roleplay on is in deserpate need of an Espa Roba who is willing to yaoi with Rex Raptor. If you would like to join the forum as Espa Roba, please IM me at SurfrLovinOtaku or send me an email (in my bio page). This is on a first come first serve basis, so act fast if you want the part!