Main parings: Yami no Bakura/Malik. Other pairings, although not as centered, will also be included as the storyline progresses. Alternate universe.

A/N: Hello, fellow fanfiction writers and readers! glomp After my half-year hiatus of writing fanfics, coughhack at livejournal, I have once again returned! triumphant laughter

This fanfic is first off, yaoi. Thus meaning. So, if you don't like it, then kindly hit the back button, and find a more suitable fanfic. (Like my InuYasha fanfic is so not pimping ;) I got the idea from this story when my language arts teacher had us sit and write about anything we wanted for ten minutes or so. I guess that somehow brought out this story. I'm weird. Ja.

So, sit back, and enjoy the story, eh? 3 And don't forget to review… Review are the life source of us writers… That and ideas, urges, fangirl/fanboying, and… Whatever. DD Questions, comments, and constructive criticism are all welcome.

The story may start off as rather confusing… Bear with me ; It'll make more sense once the story settles in, and the characters interact more. For now, enjoy

-Operation M.A.R.S-

::Transmission Prologue: Landing::

For as long as the ancient scriptures had existed, there was always an uneasy relationship between the vampire community, and that of the humans. No one knew how exactly it had begun, or even when. All they knew were that vampires were bloodthirsty savages, undead creatures of the night, and attacked with even more stealth than that of the most deadly assassin. Humans lived in constant fear, refusing to venture out at night. The economy and any trust dropped drastically, with one neighbor accusing the other of being a vampire. So it went on, and the government decided to rid the world of the scum…

The vampires themselves were not doing so well, either. Despite rumor and inference, they did not, if fact, kill their victims upon feasting. Merely, they drank a small portion, and then left their victim, still alive, and unconscious. Upon awakening, the victim would feel and remember nothing. When the humans came to accuse the vampires, the creatures of the night only chortled. Such imbeciles, the humans were. Half of them had been deprived of their blood, and here they were, stating that if the vampires were not gone, they would come and attack them. 'Been there, done that,' an aged vampire had laughed. However, their numbers were decreasing drastically, however small the ambushes were. Vampires could live on other blood; it was just that human blood tasted better than others. One drink from one human, one month, they had pledged. Nothing more. However, when humans began barricading themselves in their homes, vampires had no source of the nutrients, and had slowly dropped off.

War ravaged the land, leaving behind a destitute land intoxicated by fear, hatred, and sorrow. Each war led to another, in a never-ending cycle of revenge and beliefs. Many on both sides had lost hope ever establishing peace. The human government had recently completed the transportation of their population to a new, safe haven, and declared the war-torn land a quarantine. The safe areas of land would be called Earth. The land filled with vampires – Mars. The actual planet, Earth, had seven continents on it. Six of them were filled with the fleeing human, and the last continent was home of the vampires.

The move, however large, had been carried out in such a way that none of the vampires had learned of this feat, until it was too late. In despair, the vampires had angrily attacked an empty, nearby village… Or so they thought. The government had left behind a group of the most vengeful humans, who had vowed to hunt and destroy all vampires. The Vampire Hunters were an elite force of humans, skilled in everything they tried.

Centuries passed, and at last, The Dragon, Seto Kaiba, became the leaders of the Purifiers. His cold eyes and ruthless stare immobilized any that stood in his path, be it his enemy, or his own men. Only the Blood Prince had any control over him.

The Blood Prince, Yami 'Motou', was the Lord of the vampires. He had a special relationship with the Dragon, which seemed to luckily have constructed a bridge over the gap of the vampires and the humans. Although it was far from sturdy, that connection had stopped all full-fledged wars. Scuffles and small battles, and on occasions, killings, still occurred, but compared to the slaughter a few years ago, this was nothing.

Strained peace stretched over the land, as the silent, mutual agreement reached the two sides. Of course, there still was the population of Earth to consider. The main ruler of Earth had contacted the Purifiers every so often, to check upon their progress. Only the ruler and his closest circle of members knew about Mars: the regular population had forgotten about it, after all the years. Both the Dragon and the Blood Prince had agreed to keep the peace quiet.

After all, why should they? The two divisions had finally reached the point where everyone at least knew each other, vampire or not. Adding more humans, those that were strangers, would only created more chaos. The vampires may even forget their place, and attack the newcomers.

Thus, it was settled. The humans back at Earth would just live in ignorance, while the two groups over at this continent worked out the kinks in their society. At least, that was the plan, until the line of ambassadors arrived.

Fifty years ago, the previous ruler of Earth decided to send a representative over to the other planet, to check up on the events between the two factions. This would have troubled the population greatly, if they had not known of the time difference. A skilled scientist of the humans had finally invented an ingenious mechanism, which could create an invisible barrier. Any object that even grazed it would find itself in an intricate illusion. It would believe it was still traveling to its destination, but in reality, it was caught in a circle, traveling around and around Mars. To travel from Earth to Mars now, it would take an average of two years, which proved plenty if the population of Mars needed to cover their tracks.

That is, until the unexpected arrival of the ambassador's son, Malik Ishtar…

Seto Kaiba was making his way through the barren desert, his cool stare sweeping over the red sand. The days had grown shorter, and the nights windier. Red clouds loomed to the south, and Seto could sense a sandstorm approaching. They should not have traveled out his far, but Seto had his reasons. The next meeting between him and Yami was to take place soon. The Dragon had no intention of missing it… Or Yami.

He inhaled slowly, reaching up to tangle a hand in his chestnut hair. Two days now, it had been. He and a chosen few had been camping for two days now, awaiting Yami's appearance. The other had never been this late… Usually, it was he who was being punished for his lack of punctuality, which always seemed to flux to Yami's will. Sighing, his gaze swept across the area again. Halfway through, he caught sight of a bright, yellow object, hurtling closer each passing second.

"Sir!" Ryuuji Otogi, one of Seto's elite Purifiers, called. "Are you seeing that?"

Seto merely grunted, answering yes. "Have our computers identified the object yet?"

Otogi shook his head. "Not yet, sir. We've classified it as an U.F.O, currently." He grinned. "Hey, did I ever tell you-"

"Not now," Seto cut him off, eyes still fixed on the approaching object. "I want you to check again with Honda. Come back and report to me if anything changes."

Merely nodding, Otogi turned and left. "Will do, sir. Will do."

Seto sighed again, as he squinted slightly. What he wouldn't give for a vampire's enhanced senses. "Holy... Where's Yami when I need him?" He scowled.

"Sir!" Seto turned slightly, as this time, Hiroto Honda appeared. "We have managed to identify it," the brunette reported, skidding to a halt in front of Seto.

"Well?"

"It seems to match the descriptions of the ambassadors' shuttle," Honda said. "It even emits the same wave lengths and all of that. But the strange thing is that whoever is steering this shuttle isn't responding to us. And to top that off, it seems to be completely off course."

Seto blinked slowly. "Have you estimated where it may land, at this rate?"

Honda nodded. "A few kilometers north of this place, sir. We may be able to reach it in half an hour."

Seto nodded. "Then I shall meet it." He motioned for Honda to stay. "Remain here and watch the progress. I shall ride out myself," he said.

"But-"

"MYSELF, Mr. Honda." Seto's tone of finality made the other back down.

"Of course, sir."

Seto nodded again, as he made his way to where his horse was saddled. "Keep watch, Mr. Honda. You remember what happened last time…"

Honda nodded, solemnly. "Yessir."

The sandy-haired teen clutched the shelf, pushing it back even as the books toppled off. Wincing as the items cascaded over him, Malik managed to force the bookshelf flat against the wall, grabbing the rope hanging next to him. Quickly tying the bookshelf to the wall, he turned around, breathing hard. The shuttle jerked from under him, causing Malik to lose his balance and topple over onto the ground. He heard a dull thump from behind him, wincing again. His father… The vehicle emitted and eerie groan, and Malik scrambled over to the panel and pilot's area. Flashing and beeping up at him where an infinite number of buttons and levers were assembled. Biting his lip, Malik cursed his father for not teaching him how to steer this thing… The teenager glanced out the window, eyes widening considerably. They were close to the ground… Far too close.

His hand moved to clutch the brakes, tight. "Please…" Malik's plea was lost when the shuttle jerked harder than ever, sending Malik flying past the controls, slamming against the sides. Vision quickly blurring, Malik crawled back over to the brakes, as more screeches and clashes sounded behind him. Grip tightening on the brake, he pulled it back. As the shuttle came into contact with the land, Malik slipped into unconsciousness, his hand still grasping the brake. The brake that saved his life.

A few miles away, Seto suddenly jerked his horse back as the shuttle appeared, close enough that the colors and the emblem of the king were visible. Gaining momentum, it skidded onto the surface, before slamming down, hard.

Seto ducked his head, burying it against the horse's mane as the sand and debris flew past him.

After the cloud of dust had settled, Seto nudged his slightly unnerved horse closer, towards the shuttle. He approached it, watching silently as the hatch was slowly pushed open.

His eyes registered surprise as a mop of golden, unruly hair appeared, soon followed by the lithe frame of a sixteen-year old. Seto was barely a year older. He watched as the boy stumbled forward, wincing in apparent pain. His gaze traveled around the desolate wasteland before reaching back to pull out another man, older.

This one, Seto knew. He watched with narrowed eyes as the former ambassador was pulled out of the shuttle. Just one look proved that he had died.

Clicking his tongue, Seto maneuvered the horse even closer, until he was only a few feet from Malik. The teen seemed queasy, weak.

Malik stared gloomily around, before his eyes fixed on Seto. "…Excuse me?" he asked, mustering up his strength. "Are you… Seto Kaiba?"

Seto blinked slowly. "Perhaps. Who wants to know?"

The other blinked as well. "Forgive me," he said, bowing slightly, even under the weight of his father. "My name is Malik Ishtar… My father is the ambassador from Earth…" He gestured slightly. "Unfortunately, he was stricken with a disease halfway through the trip. He refused to turn back, so…" Malik bit his lip. "All our medical supplies had been depleted, and the disease was something I hadn't heard of before…"

Seto held up a hand for Malik to stop. He swung off the horse, and stood in front of him. "Does the government know of this?" he asked.

Malik shook his head. "I…I'm not sure," he said. "My father just told me to come along. Said it was all for training."

Seto shook his head. "That I doubt. Your father always knew what he was doing. There must have been a reason for him to bring you to us, at this early of age. Did he leave a note or letter of sorts?"

Malik shook his head again, his brain screaming in pain as the world moved around him. "Not that I know of."

Seto sighed. "One last question, Malik. How much of this land do you know of?"

"…I…" Malik trailed off, slowly looking around. "I've never heard of this place before… Father said it was Ma – " The world suddenly jerked around him as Malik fell to his knees, quaking. "Ah…"

Seto's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly scooped the shaking boy up.

"F-father," Malik mumbled, eyes barely able to open. "W-what?"

"I'll send some of my men to take care of things here," Seto said, mounting his horse and laying Malik in front of him. "Right now, you need medical attention."

"B…" Malik never finished his sentence, as the world finally blackened, settling him into a peaceful slumber.

Glancing at Malik, Seto couldn't help but feel his heart twinge. Malik brought back memories of a certain someone that Seto never wanted to think about again… Sending one last look back at the shuttle, and the lifeless body of the old ambassador, Seto nudged his horse, riding back to headquarters.

A pair of blood-red eyes, and dark brown ones, watched the Dragon ride back, with new cargo.

"That's the new ambassador, then?" The brown-eyed one smirked slightly. "Doesn't look like much."

The Blood Prince shook his head, glancing at the one who had just spoken. "Be thankful, Bakura. At least we're rid of that monstrosity of an ambassador." With that, Yami turned on his heel, walking away from the landing site.

"Hn." Bakura frowned, following Yami. "I could have killed him…"

Yami rolled his eyes slightly, turning to face Bakura. "Could you? I know you, Bakura. You wouldn't have killed him… You know what his death would mean…"

Twitching irritably, Bakura strode past Yami, his eyes flashing. "Let's just get back and tell the others. This proves… Serious complications."

Malik awoke with a start, quickly sitting up on the bed. What happened to me? He clutched his head, wincing horribly. The pain wasn't too unbearable now… It had subsided to a dull throb. Malik took the opportunity to look around the room, noting its bareness. Jeez… Even a hospital ward is more decorative…

Whispers and mutters were leaking in from the slightly open door. Malik strained his ears, attempting to catch the conversation. He didn't need to, however. The next few sentences were certainly loud enough that he probably would have heard them, even in a coma.

"Listen to reason! He doesn't know anything about this place, about the way of life here! He hasn't even gone through the Ambassadors' challenge! By keeping him here, the government will know something's going on… They'll send more people here, Dragon. Admit it. The only way to avoid the trouble the newcomer will stir up is to kill him. You know that."

Malik froze, eyes widening. What?!

::End transmission prolouge::

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