Chapter Three

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Serenity looked up at Joey with worried hazel eyes, "What is it, big brother?"

Joey frowned as he glanced away from Serenity. "Ninety percent of the people died on the table. The remaining ten percent slowly died off over the next few days. Only one of them survived for longer than a week, but then he died from malnutrition and overall inability to fully adjust to the attributes of the creature he'd been assigned."

"What was he given?" Ryou asked out of curiosity.

Silence was the immediate response, until, "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it an animal."

The British youth blinked, "Then what was it?"

"Well, unless I heard wrong, Ryou, this person was an attempt at recreating an angel. He was a 'special' experiment."

"What?!" Malik suddenly shouted, clutching a wide-eyed Ryou to his chest. "That's what Pegasus said to Ryou!" The boy in question let out a sigh and shudderd in Malik's arms.

Joey's sigh of anger was audible, even from Mokuba's lone cell. "Look, Ry. He starts freakin' you out or somethin', jus' come and tell me, 'kay? Anythin' he says or does that makes you even slightly uncomfortable, you tell me and I'll give him a piece of all of our minds!" He made a motion to punch his open palm with his fist.

"Joey, don't get yourself in any more trouble. You're already in enough to last us all a lifetime or two." Tristan warned.

"So what?" Joey countered, "I already told ya this years ago, Tristan! I could care less what happens to me! I told you that when we first met!"

"Well, what about your sister, Joey?!" Duke broke in, "What about the person who means everything to you?" The raven-haired boy let a moment pass so his words would sink in. "She would be lost without you."

Serenity nodded in agreement with Duke. She looked up at Joey sadly, "I know you want to protect me and the others, Joey, but please be careful."

The brown-eyed blonde seemed to calm down at his sister's words. "This just ain't right, Sis... This just ain't right..."

/

Malik set his hands on Ryou's shoulders, looking straight into the boy's chocolate eyes of shattered hope. He exhaled deeply, trying to raise Ryou's dead optimism back from its grave of hopelessness. "C'mon, Ry... Don't worry about it, okay? You're safe here with me and the others. I won't let them hurt you, I swear it."

Ryou hardly dared to look away from Malik's eyes, even though he wanted to. "But what if, my the time Bakura and Marik get here, we're already Changed?" He finally dropped his gaze and looked to the side, "I'll be a freak. I'll embarrass Bakura."

"Don't think like that! Please, Ryou. Don't ever think like that. The second you start to give up hope like that, then you've already lost."

"But it's true, Malik! Why would Bakura want to date a freak?!"

Malik sighed. "He loves you, Ryou. He loves you more than anything, and nothing or no one can chance that. It's what's in here that matters," He gently placed his hand over Ryou's heart.

"I... suppose."

"I know."

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Ishizu sighed and lifted herself up from the corner of her cell. Gazing out of the 2-foot by 2-foot window with darkened azure eyes, she gently lifted her mocha-coloured hand to the bars of the window, grasping onto the iron. The wind blowing in from outside fluttered around her dress. She let out a sigh and leaned back against the stone wall, releasing her grip on the bars. Her eyes slowly slid shut as she lowered herself back down to the stone floor, resting her body on her long, slender legs. "How anyone can be so cruel... So inhuman..."

Yugi looked up at the tall girl who shared his cell. "This man... this Pegasus. He's crazy."

"Crazy doesn't begin to explain it." Mokuba chirped up, "He's just so... mean." The boy frowned and curled up into a ball, wishing desperately that he had someone to share the cell with. Things just got so lonely when the only face he had to look at was that of cold, hard, stone wall. "I wanna go home."

From a couple cells away, Ryou sighed and burried his face into the curve of Malik's neck. The Egyptian sighed and rubbed Ryou's back. "Shh..." He knew Ryou was hurting, because he was too.

"I hate him." Joey muttered from his cell, "I fucking hate him!"

"Don't we all?" Yugi said more than asked.

There was a silence in which the only audible sound was that of Malik's soft 'shh's, Joey's occasional curses, the drumming of Tristan's fingers against the ground, and Yugi's grunts of annoyance as he racked his brain for any possible ways to beat Pegasus at this sick, twisted game called Life. Ishizu's face formed a frown as she resumed her least favourite pasttime of staring blankly out the window, while Serenity curled up by her brother's side; Mokuba heaved a sigh. Ryou had since fallen into an uneasy sleep. Duke amused himself by watching the rythmic motions of Tristan's fingers as they created a tune that everyone knew by heart, yet, at the same time, was completely foriegn to them all. Téa stared boredly at the wall with her chin rested atop the palms of her hands.

Mai looked up from her nails with exasperation, having become far too preoccupied with her current settings to have the patience to paint each nail with lavender percision. "This is pathetic."

Téa let out a sigh and, for a moment, wished that she had taken the cell with Mokuba instead. "Mai, please. That's not going to get us out of here any faster."

Mai rolled her magenta eyes slightly, but spoke no more on the subject for a few moments. The day's events had drained her of energy and stamina. "I don't think you understand."

A shake of the head, and Téa leaned back upon her pathetic excuse for a bed, her brown bangs falling infront of sea-blue eyes that seemed to have lost their sparkle. "I wanna go home just as badly as you do, Mai. But think about it; if he knows he's getting to you, then he's already won. Then he already gets the satisfaction of knowing that he bested you, whether or not he actually decides to carry out this crazy plan of his."

The blonde girl humphed indignantly, regretfully acknowledging the fact that Téa did, in fact, have a rather rational point. She folded her arms across her lavender-clad chest and glared at the bars which held her prisoner. "I suppose you're right."

The younger girl gave a small smile, "Well, if that's how you want to admit that I'm right, I guess you're entitled to your own opinion."

"Don't get so haughty," Mai said, her fiery orbs softening significantly. "Else I may have to come over there and do something to quiet you down."

"Like what?" Téa asked, suddenly going on the defensive, "What do you mean?"

Mai's smile turned almost predatory. "Well, I should think it's not too bad a... 'punishment.' I daresay I should hope it was actually... pleasurable."

Téa blinked curiously, not understanding where Mai was heading.

Mai winked and formed a kiss shape with her moist lips, and Téa understood. A faint blush crossed her face.

/

Things had gotten pretty quiet over the next few weeks; even the frequency of Joey's anger-filled outbursts had gone down some. Everyone had, for the most part, adapted to their new way of life. But even though things were quiet on the outside, they were nothing but the opposite once the click struck midnight, and everyone was sure that Pegasus and his good-for- nothing henchmen had retreated to their beds for the night, that's when the sleepy façades melted away and the intense planning began.

Each night, the people who stayed up past the regulated 'bedtime' rotated. Tonight, it was Joey, Serenity, Ryou, Tristan, and Malik who stayed up.

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"Look," said Joey, heaving a sigh, "They're of the idea that we ain't plannin' anything- that's what I'm trying to say."

An annoyed sigh, obviously belonging to Malik, was followed by a voice. "Are you sure about that? This whole plan of yours, Wheeler, could very well cost all of us our lives."

Serenity broke in, her attitude now drastically different from its normal pleasancy. "Would you rather we stay here as... as animals, or perhaps even less than that?"

No one responded.

"I would rather... die," Ryou said, finally cracking the uneasy silence. "Think about it. What's the point in living here -- anywhere -- once we're Changed? Anywhere we go, it'll be either Pegasus' snide remarks and demonic smile or scrutiny and disgust from our fellow humans!"

"I already get that for being bi." Joey muttered quietly; Tristan frowned in sympathy, for he, too, understood the pain of narrow-mindedness. "What's new about that?"

Malik sighed, "Who cares if you're bi? That's not going to be your downfall while here, because I don't think Pegasus cares about your orientation. And if he does, well, that's just low. But we're not talking about that right now..." He turned to face Joey's cell, alinging himself with Ryou. "Now... back to your plan."

Joey nodded slightly, though Malik couldn't see. "This is gonna take a lot more time than I first thought, but... Tristan, I'm gonna need you and Duke to cause as much commotion as you possibly can. Doesn't matter what you do- flood the toilets, break the sink, whatever."

"Gotcha." Tristan said determinedly.

"And, Ryou, I'm gonna need you and Malik to guard the entrance to this room- don't care what you do, just keep them out of here," said Joey, unconciously cracking his knuckles. A fairly loud crack resonated throughout the dungeon-like room as each knuckle cracked.

"Got it." Malik and Ryou said simultaneously, and the planning continued.

/

Meanwhile, in a room much more comfortable than all the cells but together, sat a man with silky and lengthly silver hair, and crazy honey eyes. Clad in a maroon buisness suit, he leaned back against a cushioned chair that matched his outfit. He held a cup of salty red wine in his hand, sipping it as he had so many times before. With a carefree wave of the hand, he drew a couple of his servants to his side.

"We will be starting the observation process tomorrow," said Pegasus, "I will need you to monitor the cells morning to night. Everything about these people must be recorded, every little detail. Even the way they lie down to slumber. Now that they're adjusted to life here at C.A.R.L., it's safe to go ahead and do as we please. Do you understand?"

The two men nodded curtly, their dark-coloured trenchcoats covering much of their face as they did.

"Good," said Pegasus, clapping his hands together. "Now, reguarding breakfast tomorrow morning..."

"...what?! Why only you two?"

Malik was on his feet, grasping the bars of his cell with cold fury that lined every inch of his face. His teeth were pressed harshly against eachother, his breath coming in as ragged pants of anger.

Joey growled slightly, and stuck his hand between the bars just enough for to motion to the Egyptian that he had to lower his tone of voice, lest they all get caught. "Look, Ishtar, I'm doin' what I can! They'll catch on way too quickly if all of us dissapear at the same time!"

"So you're only bringing us into this to save yourself and your sister?! What about all of us?!"

"I told you, once I get out and find a place to fit us all, I'll come back!"

"How do we know we can trust you?! We don't know anything about you except your name!"

Joey clenched his fists, now that both hands were back inside the cell, and glared at the wall separating himself from Malik. "None of us know jack shit about the other, Malik! I don't know a thing about you, or Ryou, or anyone except for my sister, Tristan, Duke, and Yugi!"

"That's still more than the rest of us," Malik snarled, "Fat lot of help it does for the rest of us, who get to sit here on our asses while you parade around town!"

"I NEVER SAID I WAS GOING TO PARADE AROUND TOWN!" Joey roared, rising to his feet with such a quick motion that Serenity fell backwards a bit, "In case you hadn't heard me the first twenty-hundred times, I ain't goin' through all this shit just for me and Serenity! I'm going through it so I can get all of us out here!"

Malik's body tensed up, as if to reply, but Ryou set his hand on the Egyptian's shoulder and held him back. "Look, you guys... We're all we have now. Just us. We can't afford to start hating eachother. Not now, not ever. The only chance we have to get out of here alive and as normal looking as possible is to stick together. We don't have any other choice..."

"He's right," Serenity said, "Ryou's completely right. Pegasus wants this to happen, you guys. He wants us to break apart, to start fighting with eachother, so that by the time he gets to us, we're already broken." She stood, her voice trembling with quiet power. "But we can't let him do that! We can't show him any weakness. Joey, Malik, if Pegasus sees you two arguing, even over the slightest thing, then he'll work that to his advantage. We can't let him break us."

As the group trudged into breakfast the next morning, each member of the 'Animan' group was greeted with the feeling that someone knew something they shouldn't. No one could quite put their finger on it, but each and every person had a dreadful sense of negative forboding.

The group sat in their usual spaces, with Ryou sitting between Malik and Joey. To Joey's left sat Serenity. On Malik's right was Ishizu, who sat next to Duke, who had made a point to always sit next to Tristan. Mokuba sat to Tristan's right, while Téa sat next to Mai, who was a seat away from the youngest Kaiba. And, finally, Yugi sat between Serenity and Mai, completing the circle.

Pegasus and his men sat on a stage of some kind, raised high enough to see all that went on at the circular table. Pegasus watched each uneasy face as it glanced at the one beside it. He knew what was going through their minds. A slight smirk crossed his face as he stood and extended his arms.

"Members of the C.A.R.L. experiment! It has come to my attention that you have been staying up past the regulation lights-out time. Perhaps you all suffer from insomnia? It is possible, seeing as how we are so often drained of the energy for everything- even sleep. However," Pegasus said with a somewhat nasty smile, "it has also been made known to me that you, as a group, have been planning to escape?"

He glanced over each face wrought with guilty surprise. He noted their expressions by arching his eyebrow ever so slightly. He kept his smile in place. "And I must say, I've heard all your plans from the beginning. Very good plans, indeed. Now, it wouldn't be fair to say you couldn't get your chance to escape after you've all been working so hard. So, hear me out."

Everyone stared at him in shock. Duke sent Tristan a curious glance.

"I will give you one chance- just one- to escape. If you succeed, you're free to go and do whatever you want, when and wherever you want... However," said Pegasus with a maniac glint in his eye that sent a shiver down everyone's spine, "if you fail to escape, you're stuck here at C.A.R.L. forever."

Ryou was the first to speak after a silence had settled in the breakfast room. "And by free you mean... you'll never bother us again? Never try to capture us again? And, if we chose to, we could report you to the government?"

"Yes. You may do whatever you want. It will be as if you never even came here in the first place."

"No catches? No anythings?"

Pegasus shook his dark silver head, "So untrusting, sweet little Ryou Bakura."

Malik sensed the slight anger that rose within Ryou's chest, and placed his hand on the boy's arm to calm him down. "And what proof do we have that you'll stick to your word, eh?"

Pegasus pointed to a small video camera sitting quietly on top of a stand in the upper left hand corner of the room. It whirred around in a circle; the red light blinked to show it was recording. He turned back to the group.

"Well, now that you have your proof, you may carry out your plan as you see fit, whenever you like. Just done thing- don't try the front door."

And with that, Pegasus returned to his meal, as did the others. What now? The risk was almost too great...

And, wondered Joey, how did Pegasus find out? Is someone sneaking information?

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And thus, the plot thickens! Just a few notes to clear up any confusion...

The cell order goes like this-

Joey, Serenity - Malik, Ryou - Mai, Téa - Duke, Tristan - Yugi, Ishizu - Mokuba

Seating order at the table is as follows-

Yugi - Serenity - Joey - Ryou - Malik - Ishizu - Duke - Tristan - Mokuba - Téa - Mai - Yugi

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.