Two men climbed out of a red car, the taller of the two looked around, "Are you sure that Dad wanted me here too?"

"Josh, you're here because you might be needed to explain things to these people," the smaller man stated.

"Alright, bro. Let's go see why we were called here."

The two entered the Center of Advanced Technology building, unaware of the real reason why they were called.

LINE

They were led to a lab where two women were working. One of them was at a bedside, tending to a patient. "Doctors Ishtar? I'm Dr. Roberto Martinez. N-Tech sent us," the smaller man stated. "This is Josh McGrath."

The woman at the computer looked up, "Forgive us our appearances. My sister and I have had little sleep. We called you to see if there's anything that you can do to help Yugi."

"We really only specialize in nanotech," Josh stated. "The sporting goods thing is a cover."

The woman sighed, "That is why we called you. Nearly a week ago, two of our best scientists drugged and kidnapped our director's youngest son. By the time we were able to get him back, they had injected him with untested nanotech. He was fine up until yesterday afternoon, when he suddenly collapsed."

She pulled the curtain hiding the patient away, revealing a small boy. "Yugi's entire body has been taken over by the nanites that were injected into him," the second woman stated. "Isis and I have been trying to keep him as stable as possible, but we are at a loss as to how to help him."

Josh was shocked to see the small boy, pale and still in the bed, "How old is the kid?"

"Five," Ishizu stated. "He just barely had his birthday a couple of weeks ago."

"Poor kid," Josh stated, feeling sympathy for the ailing boy.

Isis wiped Yugi's forehead with a cool cloth, "Is there anything you can do to help him?"

"There is one way. It was used to save Josh's life a few years back," Roberto Martinez stated. "Transphasic energy."

Isis paled, "That would kill him!"

"I've developed a special device that would supply him with enough energy to power the nanites. Josh has been using it for a while now," Roberto stated. "It supplies a low-dose pulse to sustain the nanites in Josh and really only needs to be changed once a month. I designed it to look like a wristband." He held up a simple black band embellished with a piece of metal, "Unfortunately, he would have to undergo an initial treatment with a full dose to adapt his body to the transphasic energy."

A pained groan alerted them to Yugi's discomfort. The small boy was unaware of his visitors as he fell back into an uneasy sleep. A faint knock alerted them to another's presence, "Aknamkanon," Isis greeted the man as he entered the room.

"How's Yugi," he asked her.

Ishizu sighed, "Still the same as yesterday."

LINE
After they discussed treatments that the sisters had been doing, Roberto told them of his plan to help the sick boy.

"So you mean to tell me that you want to use transphasic energy to kick-start the nanites that are killing my youngest to keep him alive," he questioned. "What proof do you have that it won't kill Yugi?"

Josh raised his hand, "Me. A few years back I was in an accident that left nanites fused with my body and Berto used the same thing to keep me alive. Trust me, it hurt like crazy, but I'm still here."

"So what was his condition after he was injected with the nanites," Roberto asked.

"He was unresponsive and struggling to breathe when he was brought into our lab. Isis and I had to place Yugi in a drug-induced coma while the nanites were replicating in order to keep his heart rate down," Ishizu began. "When he woke up, Yugi had complications as the nanites were building connections to his nervous systems. He had severe muscle spasms, his motor skills were greatly affected and his speech is limited. Yesterday, he took a turn for the worse."

Roberto thought for a moment, "What was Yugi like before all of this?"

"My son was very intelligent, he was able to read with a little help at the age of three. I encouraged this and with some tutoring, he was able to skip ahead to the fourth grade. The school said that he could have been placed in a higher level, but he refused the offer on his own. He was able to match his grandfather at strategy games by the age of four," Aknamkanon stated. "He is currently the test-master for the gaming department, helping them to develop newer games for preteens to young adults. He's even designed a few of the games himself, with some help from the head of the Game Development Team."

Josh whistled, "Wow, that's one smart kid you have there."

"I just hope that he returns to the way he was before all of this started," he sighed. "I worry for him if he does recover."

"Why," Roberto questioned.

"Because his brothers have a thing against anything robotic and if Yugi survives this, he would fall into that category with the nanites inside of him. If they find out, they'll likely hate him for it," Aknamkanon replied.

"Don't worry, we won't tell them a thing," Roberto said. "We need to discuss how we'll do the initial treatment of the Transphasic energy. I have a facility nearby if you think that Yugi will be stable enough for transport."

"Isis," Aknamkanon began, "you know more about Yugi's condition than I do. I'll leave the decision up to you."

Isis thought for a moment, "I can get Yugi ready to move, but it would have to be soon. I'm going to go with him. Where is this facility that you have nearby?"

"Domino East. N-Tech has a lab there that uses transphasic energy and they can recharge the bracelet when need be."

Aknamkanon brightened a bit, "If this helps, I want you to drop Yugi off at the Kame Game Shop."

"He's not going to be able to play games," Josh pointed out. "He'll still be adjusting to what's happened to him."

"I understand, but his grandfather is the owner of this particular shop. My father's been after me to have Yugi move in with him and to be a normal kid. This will help both of them as Yugi adores his grandfather and has been begging to stay there more often," he stated. "I'll send Mana and Kuriboh there to help take care of Yugi until he can function on his own."

Isis was concerned, "What of Atem and Yami? Won't they notice that Yugi is no longer home?"

"Not really. But if they ask, I'll just tell them that he is visiting family and leave it at that," he answered. "I'll visit Yugi regularly to see how he's doing."


Edited: 1-30-2014

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