Reset Reality
Chapter dedication to Dreammistress Jade. Now, I'll spill the beans. What happened to Domino? Ho boy…
Chapter 3
A Little Explanation
The person holding Yami at gunpoint was a young woman. The arm holding the shotgun was semi-muscular, and covered with small bruises and cuts that were still heaving. Her face was smudged with dirt and soot. She wore a loose brown trenchcoat that was severely tattered and ripped, over a pair of black jeans and a blue T-shirt. She had ear-length brown hair that was matted to her head with dirt and sweat. Ice-blue eyes stared at Yami with a mixture of recognition and hatred. Yami blinked. He did know her?
"You…" He whispered. The woman scowled and pushed him aside to fire at something behind him. Yami skidded on the road, his elbows getting bloodied, as he turned to watch as another Kaa dove out of the dust. The woman spun and clubbed the creature in the head before reaching into the pocket of her trenchcoat with her free hand and withdrawing a Desert Eagle, killing the Kaa at point blank range. She looked up at the dust cleared and cursed. She spun around and ran down the street. Yami looked up at several flying Kaas before climbing to his feet.
"Wait!" He shouted, running after the woman. She ran a few blocks before turning into an abandoned theatre. She kicked down the door and charged inside. Yami looked up as the Kaas flew down, and ran in after her. On the street, two of the Kaas landed, 2 Hitotsu-Me-Giants jumping off each of them and running inside as Yami.
The woman was halfway down the aisle when Yami found his way into the large cinema room.
"Hold on!" Yami called. The woman spun and fired. Yami dove to the ground as 3 bullets raced through the air. He wasn't sure if that was a warning shot, or if her aim had just been off, but he didn't care. He climbed up and looked around. The woman had vanished. Yami spun as the Giants charged into the large room, they glared at Yami. One of them, wearing a large red band over its biceps, nodded, and the other 3 Giants clomped down the aisle past Yami. The Giant wearing the red bands walked up to him.
"J'ou should not be here." He rasped in barely understandable English. The Giant grabbed Yami's arm and pulled Yami up to examine it. "Muto. J'ou are on the Project. Why are you here?" He snarled, pulling Yami up to eye level. Shots came from the stage, and the head Giant whirled his head to stare as one of his men fell off the stage, a pair of messy holes in his chest. The Giant tossed Yami to the ground and stomped to the stage as the mysterious woman fired down at them from the catwalk. One of the Giants was trying to climb the stairs after her, but was too big to fit. The head Giant roared something Yami didn't understand, and the others stomped to the other side of the catwalk.
Yami looked up. The woman was fumbling with the shotgun in her hands, trying to reload it. She gasped as the gun slipped from her grasp, falling to the stage below. The head Giant roared, and his men slammed their fists into the stars leading to the catwalk. The woman stumbled to the railing as their fists caused the steel walkway to shake. They grabbed the stairs and pulled. The steel groaned as the Giants ripped it apart, tossing it to the ground. With the stairs gone, the catwalk leaned towards the two Giants as it bent under its own weight. The head Giant pulled a lethal-looking boomerang from a satchel around his shoulder and threw it. It sliced the air and snapped the thick cables holding the catwalk. The woman screamed as the steel bent and snapped, and collapsed to hang from the suspended part of the catwalk.
Yami ran forward and jumped onto the stage, grabbing the fallen shotgun and cartridge, He hastily reload and spun as one of the two lackey Giants marched towards him. Yami aimed and fired, falling back at the surprise recoil. The Giant roared as the shot penetrated his gut. Yami fired again, and this time the Giant fell. The second Giant received a shot to the head, collapsing in a heap. Yami grasped as the head Giant slammed a monstrous fist into his back, sending him flying along the stage. He stepped forward, and the woman above him dropped onto his shoulder. The Giant fell, and the woman pulled her handgun out, pressing it to the Giant's head. She fired 4 times, the mighty Kaa fell silent. Yami climbed to his feet and stepped forward as the woman raided the leader's satchel. She noticed Yami and quickly got to her feet, pointing her hand gun at his head. Yami just calmly walked up to her and reached up. He slowly wrapped a hand around the gun and pushed it down. The woman glared at him, and Yami smiled in relief.
"Téa." He whispered. Téa Gardner snorted.
"So…you aren't dead. Damn." She replied. She picked up a small blue box from the Giant's satchel and marched past Yami.
"Téa…what's going on here?" Yami called, following her. "I fell asleep in Yugi's room, and I wake up, and…I wake up to this place? What's happening?" He demanded. Téa ignored him and retrieved the shotgun Yami had dropped before reaching under a certain and picking up a black briefcase. She kneeled and opened it, pulling out more cartridges and stowing them in her pocket. Yami looked over her shoulder and gasped. Plastic explosives, detonators, timing devices, wiring, first aid supplies, and 3 silver bracelets lay in the case, among other things.
"Téa…what is all this stuff?" Yami asked. Téa snorted.
"Standard issue for the DRF." She muttered. She thought for a moment, then pulled a second gun from the briefcase and held it out to Yami. "Here. If you plan to wander the streets alone, carry a weapon." She advised. "That blast a little while ago was us, as you probably guessed. We managed to hit a few prominent researchers and a few powerful Kaa, but there wasn't really a lot of damage. Told them we had to wait until the morning shifts started, but they wanted to go sooner…" Yami snatched the gun and tossed it away.
"Damn it Téa, what happened?" Yami snarled. "Where is everyone, why is everyone terrified of Darek? Where are the Millennium Items, what is Project Shadow Beam…god damn Téa, what happened?" Téa closed her briefcase.
"You don't remember?" she muttered, looking up at him. "Fine. Not here though, they'll hear us." Téa opened a door backstage and jerked her head for Yami to follow. Téa led Yami down a flight of stairs into the basement of the theatre. "You might want to sit down, this will take a while." Téa said, sitting on the steps. Yami picked up an old folding chair and opened it to sit before her. "So, you want to know what happened? Darek happened." Yami narrowed his eyes. "When Yugi lost to him 5 years ago, Darek more or less got his wish. He opened the gates…"
"Yugi won." Yami said suddenly. Téa shook her head.
"Wishful thinking, but he lost." Yami clenched his eyes shut.
"No…I was there! Yugi summoned all our monsters, he had United We Stand…"
"Magic Cylinder." Téa interrupted. Yami looked up.
"What?"
"Darek, he had Magic Cylinder set as a Trap. Yugi attacked, Darek redirected it back to him. Took him out." Téa explained. Yami slowly shook his head.
"Impossible…I remember him winning…"
"And I remember him losing!" Téa snapped angrily. "You don't even remember this shit, I do! So don't try and tell me what I know happened!" Yami was taken back. The Téa he knew never talked like that. "Anyway, we managed to rescue you and Drake anyway, and we got one of the Millennium Items. But, Darek had his soul, the souls of the 4 Horsemen, and 6 Millennium Items. He decided if he couldn't envelop the world in the Shadow Realm all at once, he'd do it little by little. He started with Japan. Every day, some poor loser out there is picked at random. They lose their soul, Darek's power grows, and the Shadow Realm grows bigger. Right now, it covers the Pacific Ocean and most of Asia. Europe, Africa and North and South America are safe from it for now, but Darek took over those places by force using the Kaa he captured here. As it stands, either by using the Shadow Realm to steal the souls of those who oppose him, or by using Kaa to enforce his laws, Darek controls the world." Yami snorted.
"You're lying." He muttered. "You said Darek uses the Shadow Realm to steal the soul of anyone who opposed him. If that were true, how does the DRF function?" Téa smirked
"I told you, we managed to smuggle out one of the Millennium Items." She explained, pulling down the collar of her shirt. He grabbed a thread around her neck and pulled it up for Yami to see. Hanging on the thread, enclosed in a small glass bauble, was a glowing piece of gold. Yami gasped.
"That's…"
"A piece of the Millennium Puzzle." Téa confirmed, dropping it back under her shirt. "Darek's power is spread thin as the Shadow Realm glows, so he can't maintain full power here. All DRF members have one. It's enough to keep us safe, or as safe as we can be." Yami sighed.
"Téa…what happened to the others? What happened to Yugi?" He asked. Téa bit her lip and looked down.
"Tristan and Joey…Tristan was killed in an early patrol by Darek's men. Joey lived for a few years. We joined the DRF together. He got killed about 2 years ago." Yami noticed Téa pointedly avoiding answering his question about Yugi. "Drake escaped. He joined the DRF too. I don't see him that much though, so he may have died, and I may have just missed the news. Anthony got killed a while back, roasted by a fiery dragon of some kind. Dax and Carol were DRF members for a while. Carol got left behind in an attack and was lost. Dax is still alive, and still a member of the DRF. I'm not sure what happened to Pegasus and Kazuki." Téa's expression grew hateful.
"As for…Kaiba." She spat. "He's Darek's second in command, in charge of Domino while Darek heads out the world from somewhere in the US. We had thought maybe he'd been brainwashed, but no. He's himself. He just turned himself in to live. I have no clue what happened to Mokuba, and I honestly don't give a shit. That entire back-stabbing family can go to hell." Yami leaned forward.
"Téa…I have to know…what happened to Yugi?" He asked. Téa looked away. "Téa…is he alive?" Yami asked.
"That depends on how you define living." She said quietly. "Darek forced him to bond with his Kaa, and he…I know this isn't the right term, but he mutated him into a monster. Then he used the Millennium Items to capture him. Kaiba keeps Yugi locked up in Kaiba Corp, as some sort of…I'm not even sure what to call it. Yugi is more or less Kaiba's pet Kaa." Téa wrung her hands. "I've heard that he does have his own mind, but, since Darek captured him…he controls him. Whenever Darek captured Tristan or any of us, he made a big show of forcing Yugi to kill them. I can't imagine what else he's made Yugi do." Yami growled. Damn Darek. "Kaiba operates out of Kaiba Corp, that's where Darek led before he moved his base across to the US. Between Kaiba, the Shadow Realm, and his army of Kaa, Darek reigns supreme."
"So, mankind is doomed." Yami growled. Téa glared.
"Don't say that! We fight!" She snarled. She looked down at Yami's bracelet. "And now that I think about it, you may be able to tip the scale." She looked up at Yami. "Yami, you're one the engineers on Project Shadow Beam. We need you. The DRF needs you."
"What is it? I'm not even sure what Project Shadow Beam is." Yami reminded her.
"Darek has found some way to link Kaiba Corp's technology to the Millennium Items. Those spires atop Kaiba Corp are the conduits for all the energy Darek has drained from the Kaa. There are matching spires all over Asia and in boats out in the Pacific, but the Kaiba Corp system is the joining point. Yami, Darek wants complete control over the Shadow Realm. Not to use it with the Millennium Items, but full and total control, ingrained onto him, like an inate knowledge. Project Shadow Beam takes the energy captured from the Kaa, along with the powers of the Millennium Items, and links it through a network of spires. That power is then focused into a generator in Kaiba Corp, to be absorbed by Darek."
"What does that mean?" Yami asked. Téa clenched her hands.
"It means Darek will have the powers of the Kaa and the Millennium Items directly ingrained onto him. He won't need the Items to rule us. He'll more or less be a God on Earth. But, if it fails…the process drains the Millennium Items of their strength, Yami. If the Kaiba Corp generator is destroyed, Darek won't get his power, he'll lose it entirely. Darek's army of Kaa will be weakened, the Millennium Items will lose their power, Darek's forces will be at their weakest, and Darek will lose control of the Shadow Realm. Yami, it will be opening the DRF, and all Mankind, if waiting for. If Darek's control wanes, humans can fight back. We'll be able to stop him."
"If it fails." Yami echoed. "So what's my part?"
"Yami, Darek has spent an entire year on the Project. Every calculation, every single data point, has to be exact. We need them to be off. You're an engineer on the Project, Yami. You can get close enough to disable it." Téa said hopefully. "Please. The DRF needs you."
"Téa…I want no part of this. This isn't the way things are supposed to be." Yami snapped. "Yugi won that duel, Darek was defeated, Kaiba never." He was cut off as Téa slapped him full across the face.
"Stop living in your damn fucking fantasy world!" Téa screamed, jumping to her feet. "You spent years preaching about how it was your destiny to save Mankind, so here's your chance Yami!" Téa calmed down slightly. "Yami…if Project Shadow Beam works, we'll never be able stop Darek. You're our only hope. Please…" Yami sighed and hung his head.
"What do I do?" He muttered bitterly. Téa bit her lip.
"I'll arrange a contact for you. I'll have to talk to the Commander of the DRF first. For now, go to work. Your bracelet is like your ID, it'll get you by. Just go about like a willing servant for now."
"How do I know who the DRF members are?" Yami cut in. Téa shrugged.
"I'll give your contact a password, that should do it." Yami smiled.
"How about 'Friendship'?" He asked, only half joking. Téa barely been blinked.
"Don't start. Friendship is a nice dream Yami, but it takes more than a few pep speeches to win a war. And that's what this is: a war. Us versus Darek, and we can't afford to lose it while we waste our time with hopeless dreams." Téa thought. "How about…Pharaoh?" Yami nodded, rather put off by Téa's harsh words. "Go to work, you have to be there within 2 hours. I'll arrange your contact." Téa turned and walked up the stairs to the theatre, leaving behind Yami, who was now wondering if he had willingly signed his death warrant.
And now...to advertise...
Life and Times: BCR 5
Barakhan, Spirit of the Millennium Ring returns to kill Yami. Dax and Joey face off with Mai's heart on the line. Drake begins to have dreams of Tea. The Millennium Items are scattered to new owners. Are these things signs of a darker presence arising?
Don't miss part 5/7 of the Battle City Revisited Saga!
