Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'd be rich if I did. :) Oh, and no Hellsing, either. And no Metropolis. ):
Ok, so, I've been inactive on here since, like, last year (Except for my story "Schutzstaffel"- go read it if you like WWII stories and yaoi and tell me how I did!), so I'm updating "Fake-OUT since… I really like that story. :P
Sorry for my uber-late updativeness.
Fake- OUT!
Chapter 3: Sonata- News Monster
"…veryone is uneasy and the feeling is only rising as the Domino City Police Department make no comment and have released no information as to the gruesome crime scene discovered early this morning, choosing to enact a media black-out policy. Here, in the city's red-light district, a young couple has been found, cruelly and gruesomely slaughtered…."
Kaiba turned the volume on the TV up, turning all his attention to the news program.
"The young woman who discovered the crime scene described it as 'A horrible thing to see- like pictures of the holocaust, but real.' It is speculated that this murder is connected to a string of homicides that have been committed over the past ten years or so. The prime suspects in these murders? A mysterious, ruthless gang of thugs whom many say call themselves 'Fakes'. Whether this is fact or pure speculation remains to be seen, as the DCPD refuse to release any information to the press, or to comment on such a matter…"
The green bars went down, down, to the "U" on "VOLUME." Kaiba was secretly fuming to himself. How could he have missed that! He should have delayed the business meeting until next week! He should have waited to feed, but he didn't… He felt like fool for it. A young, inexperienced fool.
But he had to set aside his self-loathing for another time. It was a Saturday, and a rare free one at that. A teacher work day. He had forgotten about it. Good thing, to. Nothing scheduled, nothing planned, other than a quick little trip down, and then it was back up to hunt down the killer.
[Below Kaiba-Corp Tower]
The elevator dipped below the main lobby, all the way down into the granite bedrock. Kaiba frowned. He would have to get some new elevator music. The doors 'dinged' open, showing a long hallway, lit with bright fluorescents. He would have to change those, too. They were getting a bit too bright. Maybe some of those dimmer energy-savers…
The hallway lead to a large set of steal double-doors, locked with a state-of-the-art pneumatic security system and electrified lightning-tube cores that shocked anyone who tried to access this area without proper authorization. For official employees, there was a small tub full of liqui-metal, reading his (ever so nonexistent) pulse, checking his fingerprints. There was also a retinal-scan, and voice recognition. For those special visiting out-of-towners, there was a card slot and a keypad. Less hassle.
The doors crackled with the sound of discharging electricity and the door slid apart with a hisssss, revealing a state-of-the-art lab inside, and two figures hunched over a work table at the end of the room. C.A. Rotwang and Franz Alder. An insane inventor and a top medical scientist. The best of the best, of course. He walked up to the table, attracting the attention of both scientists as the sound of his footsteps echoed across the epoxy-gloss floor.
"Anything new you need today, sir? A rocket? A Maschine-Mensch?" asked Rotwang, cold sarcasm and biting cynicism in every word.
"Not unless you developed anything new," Seto replied "No, what i need for now is just-"
"The meds, got it." Franz cut in, reading his mind, walking over to a place in the corner and pressing the button on a small remote. A tube, metal on both ends and glass all around the middle, full of tiny vial of anti-freeze colored liquid. The scientist pulled a bottle out, handing it to the CEO.
"One half of a bottle, and you're good to go for 24 hours, herr Kaiba."
Seto took the vial and downed half of it, screwing the cap back on. He turned to leave, but stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Remember to take a break in-between doses, okay." Not a doctor's suggestion, a doctor's order.
"I'll be okay, Herr Alder. It's worked so far."
"But the formula isn't perfect; you keep taking this and it could kill you."
"Without it, acting normal could kill me. Sunlight can kill me. Wooden stakes through my heart can kill me. This can't."
"Yes, it can. If you keep taking unrestrained doses of it, it could trigger a regression. The reaction would kill you."
Kaiba looked at the scientist with uncaring eyes.
"I'll be fine; I don't recall you ever being this concerned about my well-being, and I certainly don't remember paying you for it. When have you gained such interest, Herr Alder?"
The german shot back an almost identical look, maybe with a bit more ire. A lighter, almost colder shade of ice-blue.
"If you died, sir, then who would write my paychecks?"
There was a cold silence, before Kaiba laughed a little.
"That is true. I'm paying you to experiment on me, aren't I? I would be glad to have such a willing guinea pig while it lasts, Alder, other than the emaciated concentration-camp denizens you had before. They barely lasted a month, correct?"
"Well then maybe you shouldn't trust me with this," Franz challenged back.
"And yet I am. I am putting my life- or lack thereof- into your hands, Alder. You would have been incarcerated and executed by American forces if I had not pulled strings for you and kept you alive. Or would you rather go and visit your significant other in the netherworld? That can be easily arranged. Your preserved flesh bones would turn to dust in an instant," His eyes narrowed "Stay back, Alder, and don't give me advice I don't need. I pay you to work, not to care." With that, he turned and left, cold doors hissing shut behind him and electricity humming back to life.
Franz walked back to the table, rubbing his head.
"He'll kill himself."
Rotwang looked at him, oddly amused.
"Is it that you have feelings for our employer," he asked, his mouth forming something between a grin and a grimace.
"No, I have feelings for my paycheck and our budget to make all this stuff. I have feeling for my prolonged life," Franz turned to the diagram on the table and resumed some calculations.
Beside him, Rotwang chuckled darkly.
"As do I, my friend, as do I…"
[Domino City Streets]
He was just heading out the door. Just heading out the door. And the secretary at the desk called him back, telling him that business partner had rescheduled a meeting. Not even eleven o'clock, and his patience was wearing extremely thin. Kaiba simply snapped at the secretary to tell the master of Metropolis that he was indisposed at the moment before angrily marching out the doors, squinting into the harsh mid-morning sunlight. There would be no cars today. No, today he felt he should walk.
He turned out onto the main street, hoping that his everyday attire of a long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans would be enough to help him blend in and stay away from fangirls and such.
The casual walk almost instantly turned into a quick and purposeful stride. Down, down, down to the redlight district. Maybe he should catch a train, after all, it would make things faster. Only one or two stops. No, he decided, too many people, and it's been to long since I've stretched my legs. The district was only a few blocks away, anyhow. He ducked into an alleyway a block or two before his destination, weaving through the dirty, dank, hidden veins of Domino. He quickly found a fire escape wit ha lowered ladder, and climbed up. On a rooftop, to too far from the streets but far enough away to where nobody would see him without hard observation. Quickly, he slithered across the buildings, rooftop to rooftop; run-jump-run-jump, until he finally spotted the crime scene. Surrounded by police. Of course. But what was life without a challenge? A distraction, he needed a- his thoughts were stopped by the sound of yelling. Looking to his left, he saw to men, probably in rival gangs, starting to fight. Perfect. Who said divine providence didn't exist? (Well, it did for Seto Kaiba) This was distraction enough. The police ran over to control the crowd, leaving only one cop guarding each end. No problem. He dropped down into the alleyway, quiet as can be. Now for a paralytic. A small needle, with diluted venom from a sydney tunnel-spider. One quick prick in the neck and… One down, now two. perfect. The needles were really quite the ingenious tool. He'd have to thank Rotwang later. Now, onto the crime scene.
The two victims, a woman and a man, arms still tangled together and hands clasped, both their necks torn open at the side, creating gaping, ugly gashes- windows to see into the tangled human throat, all complete with a red, dripping background. Blood. The girl on the TV was right, it really was gruesome. And the blood… lots of blood… Kaiba put a hand over his nose and mouth, blocking the thoughts best he could. He was here on business, and he only had two minutes or so to complete it. But all the blood… all the blood…
He leaned down next to the corpses to get a better look. The flesh was grey and cold-looking, not what someone would expect from what looked like slashed throats. A fake, or a vampire could make a wound look this way… a fake, probably… no other vampire in their right minds would hunt here- drugs, alcohol, invading people's systems and curdling the blood… blood…. And the gashes alone told everything… a newborn. Not a vampire newborn, controlled and trained, but a newborn fake. Out alone, killing people; Messily, at that, leaving behind all the blood…
That was it. He had to leave. Now. His self-control was slipping, and his resolve crumbling, no matter how much he tried to stifle it. He hadn't fed in days… and here, here there was blood; cold, yes, but in the open, in a place where nobody would, could, miss it…
He was distracted by a vibration in his pocket and a polyphonic ringing. Oh, god… The venom had worn off a bit. The two officers were moving their heads side to side. Conscious of the noise behind them, not able to turn their heads or move their bodies to address it. He darted out from behind the guard at the end of the alley, running as fast as he could to get away from them, trying not to be seen. As soon as he rounded a corner, he whipped out his cellphone, still ringing, and snapped it open.
"Yes? Who is this? What is it?" He barked sharply into the phone.
"Seto Kaiba?"
"Yes. How did you get this number, its is a secure line-"
"I'm from the organization, you twit! The Paladins!"
Wonderful…
"Yes, yes, okay… What is it?"
"We have a meeting scheduled as soon as you decide to attend them and not blow off your business partners when they re-schedule a meeting!"
That's who it was, this morning… Crud. Why didn't he just go to the meeting?
"I apologize. I had some… important things to take care of."
"So do we, Kaiba. Like the crime scene you blew us off for. Twit! Do you think that was smart! We know you haven't fed in days, do you really think that you should have gone to that place?"
"My deepest apologies. I was not aware I had to wait for permission from the organization to try and observe."
"Observe my ass! Just get back to your business tower, Kaiba, and get to the conference room, as fast as your supernatural legs can carry you, understand?"
"I'll do my best to make it," Kaiba ground out, rubbing his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut in annoyance. "Who is this?
"…This is the Imperator Romanorum, you twit."
Godammit.
"Okay. Okay, I'll get there as fast as I can."
He snapped the phone shut and buried it back in his pocket, moving his hand up to his mouth and feeling his teeth shift and grow into fangs.
"And Franz said the medicine would stop that… better hurry up and fix it…." he muttered, getting on his way.
[KaibaCorp Tower - Conference Room]
The Imperator Romanorum… god dammit. That was great. Probably brought all the other higher-ups along…Great. Peachy. Awesome. He could deal with that… fora few minutes, at least.
The conference room chosen was the best- the one on the 54th floor. One wall all glass, looking out on the eastern skyline of the city. Usually the view was beautiful; looking down on the city, with a blue sky overhead, and it almost seemed like you were the sun…
Over the course of the last ten or so minutes, the sky had gone cloudy. Thunder rumbles in the distance. It sounded a thousand times louder to Seto's ears. There was oak paneling on the walls, pine hardwood floors, and twenty or so leather chairs situated around a large, oval-shaped glass table.
The Imperator Romanorum, with her short, pink hair and sweatshirt and jeans was there, and Seto was right- the Rex Francorum, with her long brown hair and sundress and the Rex Langobardorum, with her medium-long red hair and army uniform were there as well, standing by the window. Illustrious titles they all held- The three women who ran the Paladin organization, who bore the title of kings, with no real names here, and not much older than he himself should be- sixteen, maybe seventeen. There were others as well-
A woman sitting in one of the chairs, long, wavy blonde hair and classical navy jacket, and two people behind her- A boy, pale skin, dark eyes and hair, and a man in a pastors outfit. They had a laptop set out on the glass before them, the static-filled window of a video-conference screen taking up the entire screen of it. Six others in the room, all waiting, some patiently, some not, for his arrival. Well, here he was.
He quickly walked up to the table, taking the seat at the head of it.
"Well? What is this all about?" He asked, tapping his fingers on the table impatiently.
"The recent activity in the mausoleum. They're creating them again, and this time it's something big." The Imperator Romanorum spoke up, her eyes never leaving the skyline.
"Really? Do enlighten me- how big is it? Two homicides big, or just another rumor?"
"You wouldn't give a rat's ass over those two if it didn't disturb you in some way, and I doubt it was the gore!" The blonde girl sitting at the table spoke up. For a foreigner, she spoke japanese well.
"I don't believe I've had knowledge of your activity here. Who are you?" Seto asked impatiently.
"Vatican Special Forces- Black ops agent, Leda." She answered.
"And your companions?"
"Hiram and Father Jobe, the second father this month."
"What happened to the first?"
"I killed him."
There was a rather pressing silence for a little while afterwards.
"You… killed him? And still remained in the Vatican?"
"He was possessed by a Pride demon. It was nasty business."
"We have more pressing matters to attend to!" Father Jobe spoke up "The Pope could not attend himself, but if we can get a signal through on the computer… Of course, the Vatican isn't officially a part of the Paladin organization- but we are united in just cause."
Leda tapped few keys on the computer, when she turned the screen to face them, the Pope's face smiled out at them.
"Good day to you all," He nodded.
"All right, enough chatter. What did you come here for?" Seto said. "Cut to the point. I do not have all day."
"Like I said, the Mausoleum is up to something big. They're still manufacturing fakes, but they have something new," The Rex Francorum spoke up. "I'm sure you know there's a new fake, a new… species, if you want. I'm sure you've seen the result of it."
"The murders…" still remember all the blood, the blood…
"Yes, but also the physical look. We planted an organic bug in a place we suspected was a mausoleum laboratory, and We managed to get these photos-" The Francorum paused and pulled an envelope out of her bag and placed them on the table. "We believe that they also have a new scientist to head their projects."
The picture looked like it was from a CCTV camera, but with amazing quality. A person in a lab coat was standing in the upper- right hand corner, his head cut out of the picture. A woman in the middle, with a black ponytail loosely held up in a surgeon's cap, holding a menacing-looking syringe. They were around what looked like a CT scanner, a pale, naked body laying on the tray, upper torso obscured by the a loose plastic cocoon. This was a Fake being born. For some reason, this seemed to… simple to Kaiba. He imagined the process to have more test tubes and needles and wires.
"It looks like any other fake," Leda said, leaning back in her chair, unimpressed. "But we still have to assume it's worse. We don't know what these mausoleum bastards are doing or what they want. The only chance we have of beating them is over-estimating them. Do you have any more bugs?"
The Langobardorum shook her head.
"No. One picture only. Then, after sending the picture to one of our people, it disintegrates. It's a big risk; and there's a low success rate."
Leda studied the picture more,squinting, trying to make out obscure details.
"Hey, the woman in the middle here, didn't she used to work for us? Wasn't she the last maglightum?"
"Yes," The Romanorum said, nodding. "She went turncoat about three years ago, the ignorant little twit."
"Is this all we're going to do here?" Kaiba asked, standing "Because if so, I have more important things to attend to."
"No! You will shut up and sit down, you twit! This could determine the outcome of a conflict that has been going on since before were all born!" The Romanorum shouted at him, pounding her fist on the table. She locked eyes with Kaiba, staring him down and wielding all the power her title commanded. "You are to find out who this fake is, and what it is. Once you do that, incarcerate it. Make it talk. If it knows anything, we want every last bit of information there is. You are going to be our main contact here in Japan. This entire operation, his war, does not move forward without you. I trust that you will do this, and do it well. You are the key to all of this. If you fail, not only will the world be lost to demons and these self-righteous bastards, but everything you have worked for and everything you value; your brother, your company, your life, will be stripped down to threads and burned." She stood back up, her eyes never leaving his.
Seto sat there, pensive.
"And what makes you think that I can be coerced into this? I have worked along with this organization since before any of you were even thought of, If you want me to work with you, I should be setting the terms."
"You will do what we say," The Romanum said, walking around the table to tower over him "Because we set you up with this life. Memory implants are wonderful things, but fickle in the hands of the right person. Your scientist Rotwang is a wonderful example of a man who can control the mind through this. You don't follow through, and we strip you of everything. You little brother will be gone, your company will fall into ruin, and you will be left with nothing. No name, no records, and no memories yourself."
"Threatening someone to do your dirty work? Good job. Glad to know that you're so persuasive."
The Romanum smiled.
"Anything to win a war."
And with that, she walked out of the room, the Langobardorum and Francourum following. The Vatican agents left as well, Leda handing him a card.
"Keep in touch."
The door shut behind him, leaving him alone in the room. Outside, it had started to rain heavily. Thunder boomed, making Seto wince and feel as though his eardrums would burst. He watched as infinite drops of rain pelted the glass like so many bullets, the entire time seeing red.
[-_-_-_-]
Jou stumbled around the clean white hallways, still trying to wipe the already-cleaned blood off his mouth. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep. He was hungry, but he couldn't eat. He was thirsty, but he refused to drink.
The woman had said what a spectacle he was when he returned, and the man in the lab coat praised him. He didn't feel like he deserved praise. The lab-coat man said she should feel proud, that he was a success! He wondered why he wasn't feeling so.
The woman explained that it was a 'conscious…' something that was fickle and weak but nescicariy to maintaing the facade.
"What facade?"
"That your'e human, that your'e like them." She explained as she cleaned him up.
"Am I? Should I be?" He asked, uncertain.
"No! You're better, your advanced, you're new." She smiled up at him like a doting mother. "You're a wonderful boy."
"Is it good that I did what I did?"
"Yes."
He looked unconvinced. The woman crouched down below him, making an exaggerated puzzled face, as if one would with a child.
"…I don't know what he's doing," she said at last, standing up. "You have the physical maturity you need, but mentally you're no more than a child!"
She took his hand, leading him to the kitchen. "How about we have a treat?" She smiled.
"A treat..?"
"You know, like Ice cream."
"Yeah… ice cream…"
The word 'treat' brought on vague images. They filled up his mind and he tried to figure each one out, as he staggered down, down, down, along the maze of corridors.
There was a woman… and a little girl… both smiling and playing in a park, like a… like a… every time he got close to the words, they left him, flitting out beyond his reach.
He looked at the scoops of semi-solid, dense white cream in the bowl he held. The woman was sitting with him, happily eating spoonfuls of it.
"Go on," she said, putting another spoonful in her mouth.
It wasn't red, like the blood he drank all the time… maybe he would like his. The woman seemed to… she almost seemed like his _ _ _ _ _ _.
He took a bite, and discovered he did like it, but not more than the blood. He ate another spoonful, smiling a bit.
"Good?" The woman, his _ _ _ _ _ _ asked. He nodded, smiling at her.
He felt a bit dizzy, leaning up against the wall like that, closing his eyes and not bothering to balance on his feet… did he really consider the woman his… what was the word? It floated out of his grasp time and time again… and there was something holding onto it, fluttering behind it- his brain started to hurt just thinking about it.
Half way through the bowl of ice cream, his stomach seized. He felt sick.
Running over to the sink, he bent over it and wretched, a white, creamy licit coming up instead of the red stuff.
He felt a hand on his back, and looked over to the his _ _ _ _ _ _ there, looking at him worriedly,urging him to 'get it all out if he needed to.'
He quickly turned back to the sink and wretched again, and again, until there was no more of it in his stomach. He stood there, breathing heavily for what seemed like such a long time, trying to suck in air which he knew he did not really need, feeling the syrupy creme dribble down his chin. He felt terrible.
He quickly turned the tap on, splashing water into his face to get it off. Beside him, a torn-open plastic bad was being held.
He took it, greedily drinking, marveling at the relief it offered, the coolness and the warmth and that clean feeling, all at the same time.
Quickly finishing it, he set the plastic down and staggered out,feeling worse than ever.
There was a door at the end of the hallway. 11811. That was him. His number. He stumbled in, taking his clothes off until he stood in his boxers, and collapsed on the bed, berthing heavily and feeling cold, sticky sweat all over his skin. Closing his eyes, there was a projection of the man and woman, both dead, in the back of his mind. Over an over again, the words 'kill', 'conscious,' '_ _ _ _ _ _' and '_ _ _ _' fluttered in and out of his mind. And the fuzzy pictures and the image of the boy from school, Kaiba… He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head in the soft pillow. So tired, so tired. He was so tired, but he could not sleep.
[End ch. 3]
Well! I haven't updated this in… gosh, a year or so? I kind of lost touch with the core of it, so tell me if I had a triumphant return or not! That means you review. With all your heart.
This chapter piddles a bit, I think, but what it sets up is essential!
The Names of the three Paladin officials are from the names Charlamagne used to have (That idea stemmed from the fact that Paladins were apparently the highest rank of knight in Charlamagne's court. Clever, eh?)
Franz is my own creation. You can read his 'character profile' of sorts in my story "Schutzstaffel." How he got from the past to this time in Domino city is that, during the Nuremburg trials, Kaiba pulled many strings to keep him alive and in his custody, using a kind of 'human preservation system' to keep him perpetually ageless for all these years.
POINTS TO THOSE WHO KNOW WHAT ROTWANG IS FROM. x33
"Maschine-Mensch" is German for "Machine Man," a reference to the robot Futura (Or Maria), a direct reference to the creation Rotwang is known for. :P
…Man, I'm on such a mad-science kick now.
: |
Yay?