Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'd be rich if I did. :) Oh, and no Hellsing, either. And no Metropolis. ):
There'll be some Franz/Erich action in this chapter. :P
And then some more evolving puppyshipping. : 3 (Which is what know you all came for)
Chapter Four- Reanimation and Manipulation
[-_-_-_-_-]
Bertrand quickly made his way to the cold storage rooms. As silly as it may have sounded to some people, that's literally what these rooms were- cold storage. Replacing the blood in someone's body with preservatives and then cryogenically preserving them. This couldn't be used for fakes, however- the corpses had to be fresh.
Usually, reanimation was for mass armies. Usually, the corpse was brain-dead. Easy to resurrect physically, but there might not have been a brain in that skull. This was slightly more difficult. Brains couldn't be preserved; the neuro-tissue was to delicate. But maybe it was something simple microchip could fix… By a happy mistake, Sadie had transferred the Totenkopfverbände's memories to a hard drive some time ago. D-532, he thought it was… He would go dig it up after he got the body.
It wasn't to hard to find. Time period, last name… 1945, Alder, Erich. Supposedly executed during Nuremburg in an Allied gas chamber. There he was, looking as young as he had fifty-five years ago. But his complexion was sickly, pale.
"We'll have to take care of that, my friend…" Bertrand said as he opened the cryogenic chamber, loading the body, in it's plastic bag, onto a cart and off to the lab. He would flush the preservatives from his system and pub blood back into his veins. He then just had to insert a chip in the brain, after it thawed but before the blood got there, sync it with the information on the computer, and return his clothes (They kept the SS uniform). Tell him what to do, and he was off. After they tweaked a few things in the Kaibacorp database. Sadie was only to happy to volunteer. She should be off getting it done right now, in fact.
Whistling to himself, the scientist wheeled the cart into a lab, moved the body to an operating table, and cut open the plastic bag. From there he wheeled over a machine with two tubes in it; one with a needle on the end, to be inserted into an arm, and one to be connected to a recycling tank. They were both connected to a box with a turbine in it, which would dislodge any chunks of glucose or preservative. He quickly found a vein and inserted the needle. He connected the second tube to the tank, and switched on the machine. Soon enough, clear liquid started to ooze out and spin, before being spat out and stored. In the meantime, he looked for the hard drive, making a mental note to get a tank of blood also.
When he came back, the process was complete. He checked a small readout screen on the cart- cold enough for the tissue to be wonderfully preserved, but soft enough to still be worked with. Maybe he should put on some Beethoven, it always make him feel like the scientific artist he was. He disconnected the machine from the recycling tank and hooked up the one filled with blood. He set the turbine on reverse, and presto! Sit back and watch the show. He would have to reactivate his brain soon, and jump-start the corpse's heart. He quickly hooked up the hard drive to the computer in the corner of the room, inserting a microchip in a slide-out tray in a small computer tower. A window opened up- file after file of memories, information, and data. He typed in the corpse's name in the search bar. One file popped up. He selected it, then right-clicked and selected 'burn to chip' on the scroll-down menu. Looking back to the operating table, he could see the blood was nearly half gone. It was time then. He took the chip from the tray and put it in a small dish on an operating cart. Putting on a surgical cap, mask, and gloves, he pulled the cart over to the table with him. Carefully, so as not to disturb the needle, he turned the corpse over, moving the machine and the take as needed. He marked an area on the neck, just below where the skull ended. A small horizontal line, just to the right of the spine. Aiming a surgical light towards the spot, he picked up a scalpel and gently, slowly, cut into the spot. The flesh split, blossoming outwards so readily. It was beautiful- a pale flower. That was about deep enough there; he picked up the microchip with a pair of tweezers and slowly, slowly, so as to not damage it, slid it into the muscle. He then sutured it up, going along the natural cleavage line in the skin. Nobody would notice those stitches. He smiled to himself. The microchip would have more than enough time to put out roots to the brain, re-activating it. He would just need to send a few pulses of electricity- nothing that could't be done with an electro-therapy machine, now, as it happened, before the roots extended into the brain, and then a defibrillator for his heart. The machine was right in the corner, ready to go. He hooked it up. Time to turn that dial all the way to eleven…
[KaibaCorp Tower- Terminal Room]
Sadie was very pleased with herself right now. Having snuck into the building, she was now in the main computer room. Hard drives, state-of-the-art computers, testing systems… probably the most technologically advanced room outside of NASA.
She sat down at one of the terminals, moving the mouse so the screen would light up. No need for a password- who could possibly get in here, after all? She searched 'floor plans'- had to know where to send their reanimated little officer, after all. The first file was a decoy. Pah. There was an encrypted one, though, with the mundane label- "Finances." Only the supposed 'trusted few', she guessed.
The code was tricky, she had to give Kaiba that. Only a paranoid nut like him would have a partial eternity code! Not even the best computer geeks could hack this, or even conceive of it. It took hours, but she finally did it, and left herself a quick back door.
Inside were building plans. All she expected- the large number of floors, the basements, and then a little level below the basement- down in the foundations. A lab. A whole complex. She smiled wickedly. This is where he would go.
She printed off a copy, and then spotted another file at the bottom- 'access and security.' Click.
Visitors needed a code and a key card. For permanent residents, there was the whole nine yards. Amazing. There had to be a way to print it off and program the pad from here… Ah-ha."Program Application." She typed in a nine digit number. At the bottom right-hand corner, there was a button. "Print Card." One click away. The machine hummed to life afterwards, printing our a credit card-sized piece of yardstick with a magnetized strip running along one of the longer sides. Writing down the number in sharpie on the other side, she closed out of the application and snuck back out. All during the lunch break. She was too good.
[The Day After- Domino High School]
Jonouchi yawned at his desk, slipping down into his seat. He had avoided all contact with Kaiba after what had happened yesterday. Kaiba seemed less agitated than yesterday, though. More controlled. What had happened to him? Maybe being a CEO really did drive some people insane… He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the teacher calling his name.
"Mr Jonouchi!"
"Yes Ma'am!" He snapped to attention, earning a few indiscreet snickers.
"Do you mind joining us all in the world of the living? Maybe answer this question?"
"Yes, ma'am, I apologize… what was the question?"
"What was the highest level of knight in Charlamagne's court?"
"Uhm…" He scrambled for an explanation, finally settling on "A Paladin?"
That was probably the worst guessing attempt in the history of guessing attempts-
"Correct. Good job, Mr Jonouchi. I'm glad to see you're up to speed, despite being in a dream world most of the time."
He muttered a 'sorry' before sliding back down in his seat. He decided to shoot a furtive look out at Kaiba, who was reading, as per usual, and not paying a bit of attention. He was such a know-it-all… Now, if only he made friends with him, maybe he could copy his homework…
There was a shrill bell sound, making him jump in his seat. Lunch. Oh god, lunch. Thank god. His stomach felt like ti was practically eating itself! There's blood! So much of it, all for the taking! Maybe a walk, taking a meal with you… He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Batchi, going to tackle him from behind.
"You lug! What's up with you today," She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck, rocking back on her heals.
He turned his head to look at her. Her red hair cascaded down her shoulders towards him. Looks like blood.
"Nothing… just tired, is all…"
"Couldn't sleep? Maybe Jou-chan had a lady friend over last night?" She laughed.
"No, that's wasn't it,"Jou half-scowled. Same old Batchi. Brazen to a fault.
"Was it the news, then? Man, that stuff was gruesome. I hardly slept because of it!"
That woke his brain up.
"News?" He was frozen, his mind working furiously.
"Yeah. About the two gangsters that were found. Some guy managed to get some pictures to the news station, even! Their throats- ugh!" Batchi shivered behind him. "To gory."
"From miss 'I love horror flicks'? That's a good one," Bakura said from behind her.
Jou glanced over to Kaiba again, who, he noticed, was watching all of them from the corner of his eye. His eyes connected with the others fora moment, before quickly swiveling back.
Batchi noticed, looking back and forth between Jou and Kaiba before standing up.
"Hey, Kaiba," She leaned down until she was eye level with him, pulling down his book.
"Yes?"
"Put the book down for a moment, walk with me."
"And if I don't?"
"I drag your ass out of this seat. You know I can, and I will."
With an annoyed sigh, Kaiba closed his book. Setting it down on the desk, he stood up and followed the girl out. Batchi shut the door behind her and went to lean up against the windows on the opposite wall.
"What's wrong with Jonouchi," She asked. Well, she certainly was efficient.
"I have no idea."
"No, you do have an idea, but you won't tell anyone," She stepped closer, getting up in his face. "What secrets are you hiding from everyone? There's something there; it's affecting Jou. Either tell me or eliminate it, or I'll do my best to find out what it is."
Seto paused for a moment, working out all the information.
"What I know or don't know is none of your business. I am hiding nothing. But what about you," He narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding? What do people not know about you, Batchi?"
The girl smirked below him.
"There's a lot you people don't know about me, Seto Kaiba."
She walked around him to get back into the classroom, but paused and turned at the door.
"I will find out what you're hiding. You can be sure of that." And with that, she disappeared back into the classroom, back with her friends.
Seto ran a hand through his hair. Long day… another long day. He had gotten blood yesterday, he was satiated enough to get through today. He hoped.
[-_-_-_-]
Green eyes blinked open. A harsh light was shining down from somewhere above… a hand moved to block it. Ears heard a noise. Dim at first, but steadily growing louder. A head turned to the left. A hunched figure in a lab coat… a white lab coat. The hand blocking the light fell back to the surface beneath the body; a sharp metallic sound reverberating around the room. The figure in the lab coast turned around. A smile broke out on it's face. It came closer, holding something folded in it's hands… An outfit of some sort, with a hat.
"I see you are awake, Offizier," It said, setting the outfit down and helping the body sit up. Stiffly, at first. The arms and legs were hard to move.
"Ah, that is to be expected. Well, not to worry! As soon as we get you up and about, you'll be fine in no time! Here," The man (For now the eyes could see that it was definitely a man, and the ears could hear) helped him off the surface and onto a pair of feet. The uniform was handed over. "Go and get yourself dressed. I'll be back n a moment with food." And with that, the man was gone.
It was difficult, sliding on the pants. A belt, the shirt, the jacket (With many metals and adornments), another belt (This time across the chest), and a pair of black, shiny boots. Lastly came a hat. Black, like the rest of the clothes, with white trim along the top and brim. There was a silver skull, and an eagle carrying an insignia in it's claws with a Hakenkreuz at the center. The hands brought it up from the eyes, fitting it over the top of the head.
Waiting for a moment… the brain tried to figure out where the body was. There were bright lights overhead, with a metal surgical table below. An operating theater? Maybe so. But the eyes couldn't see an seats for students…
The door opened just then, sending a sword stroke of light across the floor. The head moved so the eyes could get a better look. The man was back, this time with a tray of food. The smell was incredible. On the tray there was some vegetable soup, bread, and cheese- not much, but substantial. A glass of water, too. The hands went after that first- reaching for it so the mouth could open and gulp it down.
The water was gulped down thankfully, greedily. It ran in rivulets down from the mouth.
"Not too much, not so quickly," The man said after half the water was gone.
"Don't drink so much at one time, you'll make yourself ill."
The hands lowered it back down to the tray, and from there proceeded to attack the rest of the meal, eating with gusto. The flavors were amazing on the tongue. The mouth watered.
"Offizier," The man started, getting the brain's attention. "My friends and I have a proposition for you- a collaboration, of sorts. With you. You are not in any position to refuse, so I suggest you don't."
The head nodded. The brain understood.
The man relayed instructions. To KaibaCorp Tower with a woman, Sadie. When the clerk was distracted, go to the elevator. the one on the right side. That was imperative. From there, down. Press the "lobby" button twice. When the elevator stops, go down the hallway. There will be a door. To the right, a keypad. Slide the card, punch in the code (The man held out a car. The hand took it, placing it in a breast pocket), swipe the card, and walk on through. Find a man called "Franz."
Pale blond hair, falling nicely about the face; creme colored skin, pale lips, and bright, bright blue eyes. A far cry from the emerald green that the eyes possessed. The blue was framed by a pair of glasses. A corona of light shone from behind the head, creating a halo, almost. The perfect picture of the perfect Aryan, and- by extension- the perfect German.
From there, talk to this man. Know him as you did.
Love him again.
The head nodded, the lips smiling slightly.
Officer Erich C. Alder of the SS-Totenkopfverbände was alive once again.
[KaibaCorp Tower- Lobby]
Erich and Sadie walked into the lobby. Enough distance between them to make them look like strangers. On the way there, people had stared, seeing the Hakenkreuz, the swastika, on his arm and the cap on his head. They all whispered. He didn't much care, pressing on through the sea of speculating words. Sadie proceeded to walk up to the front dest and distract the clerk while he pretended to wander around, discreetly pressing the button on the right elevator as he did so. In a moment, it was there. Empty. He stepped inside, pressing the Level 1 button twice as the doors man was right, the elevator went down. The doors opened up into a hallway. Steel double-doors were at the end. He walked along the hallway towards them, purpose in every stride. Pulling the card out of his pocket, he slid it through the reader on the keypad, typing in the nine digit code. The doors hissed open, allowing him to enter. At the end of a very advanced-looking lab, there was a table. Hunched over the table, working on a chemical experiment, was who Erich knew to be Franz. He walked inside.
Franz was working. Working very hard, mind you, to find a balance in the medicine between the chemical SPF inducer and the energy and protein enzymes. He was alone; Rotwang was off somewhere in the huge underground labyrinth. He was almost done balancing a certain anti-oxidizing live culture when the door hissed open and footsteps echoed inside.
"Ah, Mr. Kaiba! I wasn't expecting you down here for another two hours or so; did you decide to take the day off," He asked, turning around and holding beaker filled with blue liquid to show off, "I've just finished balancing a lice culture for a new formula that I think will help with the-"
He froze in mid sentence, looking at the person before him. Taking off his hat and tucking it under his arm, smiling, like in all the pictures of soldiers come home, and every bit as alive and tangible as before- standing before him was Erich.
Franz nearly dropped the beaker. His heart probably very nearly stopped as well. He hurriedly put it down on the table, sloshing some of the contents over the edge. He couldn't believe it. It just was not possible. There was Erich. All six or so feet of him, blonde hair and pale skin and green eyes, smiling and in his uniform. Just like in 1945. Just before Nuremburg.
"Mein Gott… Erich…!"
"Hallo, Franz. Did you miss me?"
His voice. That was his voice. That smile. The scientist tried taking a step forward, and instead almost stumbled.
"This isn't possible," He said, his voice trembling. "You… you're dead! You were executed, by the allies! I was there! I was-"
He stumbled over his words a moment, not wanting to say anything more.
Erich walked towards him, stopping just in front of him, setting his hat down on the table, placing his hands on Franz's shoulders.
"I'm here now, aren't I? And you! You're still here as well, just the same as all those years ago!"
The scientist was at a loss. He reached a hand out, making sure he could touch the body. Making sure it was real… The shoulders, the neck, the face and hair… Real, all real.
"You were dead. I swear to god, you were dead… I remember," He moved his hand down to Erich's neck, "I checked your pulse. I said it! I said you were dead!"
Hurriedly, he pressed two fingers against a vein and waited. It was there, under his finger. The vein, pulsing gently.
"Oh my god…"
He felt Erich pull him closer, into a hug, running his hand up and down Franz's back as the scientist stood there, trembling in shock, hands resting on his shoulders. He heard it, to. The heartbeat. There was a heartbeat!
"Are you okay," The former officer asked, pulling back a bit to look him in the eye.
"Christ, I'm not okay! You were- you were dead! Fifty-five years ago, you are dead, and now… now you're here, you're alive! How! It's not… it's not possible! I would've known-"
He stopped there, breathing heavily. He felt tears leaking out from his eyes. He angrily went to wipe them away. He never cried.
"Franz."
"Ja?"
"I can't… stay here forever. I'm here because I need something. Something very valuable, very important. Can you help me get it?"
Franz clutched the front of the black uniform, feeling the medals below his hands.
"Will you… can you stay if you get it?"
"…Yes. Yes, I can stay if I do."
Franz thought it over.
"…What is… What is it that you need?"
[Outside Domino High School]
The final bell had rung. Students poured out of the school like sap from a maple tree- the building was practically oozing with people, just waiting to throw them out.
Seto walked behind Jonouchi and his band of friends. Watching the blond as he laughed and joked around, heading for the gates. He trailed a good bit behind them, choosing to lean on the fence and observe them from behind a book. Slowly, one by one, they all dispersed. Ryou and Bakura, then Anzu, then Tristan and Yuugi. Jonouchi was left leaning on the wall with Kaiba.
He looked over, noticing Kaiba and his book. Sliding over, he bent down to read the title.
"Man, You're reading "The Jungle" again? Do you ever get tired of reading?"
"No."
Jou looked at him with a put-out expression on his face.
"So… what're doing today?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because." He shrugged, looking up at the sky.
"There is no 'because,' you either have a reason or you don't."
There was a pause.
"I guess… I just wanna get ot know you better, y'know? I mean, you're my classmate, I sit next to you. I want to get to know you." He smiled to himself.
Kaiba was silent next to him. Not reading, but looking at him.
"What do you do?"
"I run a company. You decided to drop in, didn't you?"
Jou grimaced, remembering seeing a, infuriated-looking Kaiba.
"Okay, so I'm sorry about that. but it was… interesting. What made you act that way?"
"Why do you care?"
"Getting to know you, remember? So tell me."
"Work. It's very frustrating."
"… could I come visit some time? Like a 'bring your kit to work day'," Jou ventured.
"It would be exceedingly disturbing if yo were my child. If you want to come to my workplace, get a job there."
"Will you give me a job?"
"Put in an application, like everyone else if you want." He flipped out a phone, checking the time. 4:00.
"You need to go," Jou asked, watching curiously. "Busy ruling the world, huh?"
"Nothing so grand," Kaiba said, closing the book and walking off. A car was waiting on the curb. He climbed in, and it drove off.
Jou leaned on the fence longer, looking up at the sky and waiting for something. He He didn't know what, but he felt it. Anxiety. He wanted something to happen, waited for something to come. For another hour or so, at least. The sun was dipping below the horizon, the trees and buildings seeming to reach for it, dragging it down below into a tight hug. He got up off the fence and walked away.
Something big was coming. It was happening. He just didn't know what it was.
[End ch. 5]
Ok… so, the espionage angle has been set up, so has imminent doom for guess who? :P
Very little Seto/Jou exposure here, and I apologize for that. ):
I've also been watching House recently, and it gave me ideas for where I want this story to go. :3
Also, if anyone wants to see the uniform Erich was wearing, here's what it looks like:
http:/ ./_5rHHg1chFGo/ SFkpwerR-dI/AAAAAAAAA9M/ Guck-6fPiUs/s320/SS+UNIFORM. jpg
Copy, paste, eliminate all the spaces. :)