Hello. Well here is an update after three plus years. It's been a huge pain in my ass for a lot of reasons but I finally got it done. I didn't orginally plan to post it until I had finished the story, but while writing the next chapter I realized that I had forgotten to cast someone as Agent Colson. Probably because when I started this I didn't know what an important character he would become. So I need some ideas. If I remain in the fandom I'm looking at Duke Devlin or perhaps one of the minor duelists like Rex or Weevil. I suppose I could even go with Marik or Bakura but I want to save them in case I do sequels and need villains. So What do you think? If anyone recommends a character from a different fandom please include the anime they appear in so I can check them out if I haven't seen it. Thank you.
On with the story. A special thanks to K5Rakitan for showing the interest in this story that prompted me to really get back into it.
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Iron Man.
Arthur Hawkins couldn't believe his eyes. Kaiba had folded so easily after all he had endured and was now flying around the cave like a mad man, grabbing bits and pieces from the various crates of parts that had been brought in for his use. "Have you lost your mind? Do you know what these butchers are likely to do with your weapon?"
"Of course." Seto replied. "Its why we we need to escape as quickly as possible."
"Escape?" Arthur asked. "And how do you plan on doing that?"
"I have a few ideas," said the CEO as he fished out still more parts with a smirk, "but first I need to lose this battery, lugging it around is getting tiresome, and I don't want to have to haul it with me when I leave."
With that he took his collection of odds and ends over to the work bench that had been provided him and got to work. Arthur didn't do much over the next several hours except watch Seto. It was truly an amazing thing to watch. The young man worked tirelessly, late into the night. In fact, when Arthur awoke the next day Kaiba asked if he had steady hands. "What?" he said, confused.
"I asked about your hands." Kaiba said irritably. "I've been working all night and I need to pour this palladium mixture into a mold. My hands are a bit shaky from fatigue and I don't want to spill it, since I don't have enough for another try."
Arthur nodded and got to his feet. He held out his hands, which were steady as a rock. Kaiba nodded approvingly and handed Arthur a pair of tongs. He then led him over to a furnace in the corner. Arthur grabbed the small cup of molten metal and began to walk slowly but steadily toward the work bench. He could see the various things that Seto had stacked under the bench to make it level, and the small mold sitting on top. Once he arrived, he poured the material in without spilling a drop.
"I have very steady hands," Arthur said proudly, "its why you are still alive."
Seto scowled slightly, but couldn't deny the fact. A few minutes later the metal had cooled and Arthur watched as Kaiba fitted the small circle into the device he had built. "Time to power it up." Seto said as he plugged it into the cavern's power supply and switched it on. The lights in the room dimmed to almost nothing, in fact the entire cavern had experienced the power drain.
"Quick," Seto said, "help me get this in." He knew that it wouldn't be long before Dartz or one of his cronies came to see what the power loss was all about.
"What is it?" Arthur asked, staring at the small device with wonder.
"It's a miniature arc-reactor. I have a big one powering one of the factories back home. It should provide all the power we'll need."
It didn't take long to install the device. Arthur removed the battery, and connected the magnet to it's new power source. He was impressed with how well it fit into the port that had already been placed in Seto's chest. As it turned out, they finished not a minute too soon as the door opened and several armed men entered. Dartz and Raphael were with them.
Dartz looked around the room with an appraising glance before walking up to Seto. He glanced at the glowing device implanted in his chest with curiosity before stating the obvious. "That doesn't look like my missile."
Seto didn't flinch, he simply regarded Dartz with a cool look. "That's because its not. I couldn't work effectively with THAT", he kicked the battery, "getting in the way."
"You worked effectively enough to waste time and resources on your little trinket. I trust my missile can be built just as quickly." It wasn't a question it was a statement and Seto knew that he would need to move very quickly if the plans he had been working on were going to work. Dartz turned and began to make his way out the door. "You have one week. Take any longer and we kill him", he pointed toward Aurthur, "and after that, well I can't guarantee how long little Mokuba will remain safe."
Seto started forward but Raphael pushed him back hard and he crashed to the floor. Weeks of torture, little food and working through the night had left him weak and he simply couldn't keep his balance. By the time he had gotten back to his feet the men had gone, leaving he and Aurthur alone.
"I do hope whatever you're planing will take less than a week." Aurthur said with a nervous chuckle.
Seto said nothing. He didn't know if he could finish this in a month, let alone a week but he supposed he had to try. He wouldn't call Aurthur a friend, but he did owe him his life. He couldn't stand by and let him die. Besides Mokuba was in danger and he would not let these thugs harm him. But first he needed some rest. He Hated to admit it, but he was drained and he couldn't afford any mistakes now. He looked at Aurthur. "I need some rest, but I don't want to waste time. Take the tools and start taking apart those missiles, just like we did before, I'll need the parts. When I wake up we'll go into the plan in detail."
"So let me get this straight, you want to build a suit of armor and use it to escape from here?" Arthur looked at Seto like he had lost his mind, even as he helped him work. It seemed ridiculous, and sorely out of date. He had been expecting something less hands on, like a transmitter so they could call for rescue or something. Seto looked annoyed that Arthur was even questioning him.
"Well the original plan called for an airplane shaped like a dragon so we could fly out of here, but that seemed impractical given the time constraints." Kaiba replied sarcastically. It was only half a joke, one of his early plans HAD been for a robot dragon, but he had discarded it given what he had to work with. Besides with no idea where they were he couldn't very well rely on somebody finding them, even if he managed to get a signal out of the cave. The only choice was to self rescue and the only way to that without getting shot was to be bullet proof, hence the armor. The arc reactor would provide the power he needed, and if he made the suit right he wouldn't need to worry about all the terrorists with guns. If they weren't under such a time crunch he would have built a second suit for Arthur, but, as it was, they would be lucky to finish this one in time.
The old man just snorted. He was becoming used to Kaiba's barbs and sarcasm and, he had to admit, that for all his personality shortcomings the young man was probably the most brilliant person he had ever met. Despite his griping, this suit was very impressive. The hydraulics and pneumatics gave it incredible strength while allowing for easy operation, and the thick armor would make him impervious to all but the heaviest weapons. It would take at least an anti tank round to get through it. Still it was a risky plan, made all the more so by the fact that they were watched constantly. The camera had a near perfect view of the room and if they attempted to conceal their work, the guards would come down to check. So they did most of the work behind an open missile. The guards weren't the sharpest and just assumed that since they were by a missile, they were working on the missile. He only hoped the ruse would hold.
Seto had already finished the left leg and had Artur copying his work on the right, meanwhile he was putting some work into the missile. He wasn't going to make it functional, just make it look good in case anybody stopped by for an inspection. Arthur was competent enough since all he was doing was copying the one he had already built in reverse. Kaiba had to admit the old man was growing on him. He was reliable and Kaiba didn't think he'd be able to pull this off without him. If they made it through this he would have to find a way to reward him.
It was during one of their infrequent breaks that he discovered that Arthur played duel monsters, even better he was pretty good. They had played a few times and Seto kept winning with his Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Every time Arthur would smirk and say that if he could get his trump card he would surprise Seto. The CEO was intrigued but didn't take him seriously till their fourth game, when Arthur finally got his card.
Seto had been in the lead, 1500 life points to Arthur's 1200, but had lost his Blue-Eyes to a trap. All he had on the field was his Vorse Raider. He didn't even have a trap. Arthur had Cannon Soldier and had been using it to whittle down his life points. His rush to destroy it ad cost him his Blue-Eyes. Arthur smiled and played his card, Pot of Greed, then proceeded to play a series of cards that won him the game. First was Book of Moon, flipping Vorse Raider into face down defense mode. Then he used Ancient Rule To Summon HIS Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the field before using Fairy Meteor Crush to trample over his Vorse Raider for the win.
Seto was speechless for several seconds, the he stated laughing. "I spent almost a year and a half looking for the last Blue-Eyes card. I can't believe that I would finally find it HERE of all places!"
Arthur smiled. "Why would you want it so badly when you already have the other three?"
For a long moment Kaiba thought about the lie he told everyone else, then he decided that the truth wouldn't hurt him here. "I tell most people that I wanted it so it couldn't be used against me, the truth is I've always felt a special attachment to these cards, almost like a part of my soul is missing that only these cards can fill. It might be silly, but I've felt more…complete since acquiring the three I have. If I'm grateful to my bastard step-father for one thing its giving me the means to acquire these cards. I never would have been able to without Kaibacorp's money and resources.
"Hmm, maybe somehow it was meant to be. It is quite a coincidence that you and this card should end up in the same place at the same time, a place that neither of us ever intended to be." Arthur said. He thought for a moment before pulling out his Blue-Eyes and handing it to Seto. "Now you have the whole set, I hope it completes your soul."
Seto didn't know what to say. "I can't take this Arthur, not that I don't appreciate it, but its too valuable to just be given away."
Arthur shook his head. "You have given something far more valuable in return, hope. I actually think I may see my granddaughter again and you can't put a price on that. Just think of it as a gift, From one friend to another."
The denial was on his lips but somehow he simply couldn't do it. If this man, who had saved his life, was helping him with his plans even though they were crazy, and now had given him his most prized possession as a gift, was not worthy of the title friend he likely would never find one. Without this man he would have already given up. "Thank you". was all he said. Arthur smiled.
The week had flown by and Kaiba was exhausted. He had gotten very little sleep lately, especially with Alistair breathing down his neck. That guy had been a real pain in his ass with his random inspections, and while the fake missile had fooled him he had come dangerously close to finding the armor several times. As it was though, Kaiba had finished with it several hours earlier and was now resting. He was going the need all the energy he could get very soon. Arthur was unconscious across the room, having fallen asleep at the table when they had been fitting the last parts together. Soon they would both be out of there and Kaiba could go to Mokuba, and Arthur to his granddaughter that he spoke so fondly of. It couldn't be soon enough for Seto.
Suddenly the door flew open and a group of men entered with Dartz. Kaiba had a moment of panic until he remembered that he had hidden the suit just in case another inspection happened. He was not happy to see Dartz was with them. The guy was much smarter and more perceptive than his underlings. Seto would just need to hope that he didn't let anything slip.
Dartz looked at the missile, then at Kaiba. "Doesn't look much like the picture does it?"
Seto shrugged. "I didn't have the right casing. I needed to improvise. All I need is the ordinance for the warheads. It won't be perfect, but it will work just fine."
Dartz looked at the missile again and Seto had to stamp down the panic. The look on his face told him that Dartz knew something was off, he just didn't know what. Damn the perceptive bastard. Fortunately, Dartz's technical knowledge wasn't as great as intuition. He may know something was wrong, but he didn't know what. He looked at Raphael. Raphael nodded and grabbed Arthur. Kaiba immediately started forward but two of the men shoved guns in his face and he backed up.
Dartz smiled at Arthur and, to his credit, the old man stared straight back, not looking at all afraid. "So," Dartz said, "is what he says true, is my missile ready?"
"Almost." Arthur replied. "A day, two at most and it will be ready. I assure you, he has been working very hard, we both have."
"Yes, but not always on my missile." Dartz pulled back Kaiba's shirt so he could look at the arc reactor. "You think I'm a fool? The great Seto Kaiba, the great genius, wouldn't need a week to assemble a simple missile if he was working as hard as you say." He nodded to Raphael and the big man forced Arthur to his knees as Dartz retrieved a burning coal from the forge. "What have you been doing all this time?"
"Building the Jericho." Arthur said a bit of fear in his voice. Dartz repeated the question several times but Arthur stuck to his answer. Finally just as Dartz was about to burn him with coal, Seto spoke up.
"If you injure him, it will take longer. Yes, if I had the proper facilities I could make this missile in days but I don't. He's a good assistant and I'll need him to finish on time."
Dartz looked at Seto for a moment before dropping the coal on the anvil near Arthur's face. "You have till tomorrow. If it is still not ready I kill him and your brother." He then left the room and the one who Seto didn't see much, Valon, got the list of things Seto would need to build his warhead. Then they were gone.
"That was close." Arthur said while rubbing his wrist and shoulder where Raphael had held hm.
"Yes it was. After they drop off the explosives I think it will be time to make our escape." Seto said. His mind was already working, going over the route he would take and how to take out as many of his stolen weapons as possible. He sat down at the small computer and set up the activation sequence for the suit. It was now or never.
The explosives were delivered, along with a picture of Mokuba. It was a reminder, in case Seto tried to use the explosives for anything other than their intended purpose. The picture gave him pause, as he was putting Mokuba at risk with this escape attempt, but he knew he needed to take his chance. The alternatives were either death, which would leave his brother at their step-father's mercy, or Mokuba being used to force him to make more weapons. Valon had dropped off the supplies and left and Seto had very quickly devised a crude explosive charge to blow the door. It was set as a booby trap that would go off it someone attempted to open the door. They couldn't afford to be seen while he was putting the armor on and he figured someone would come to have a look after they were out of sight for awhile. As it turned out, his assumption was dead on.
Arthur had almost finished bolting the armor plates together when the shouts of the guards ordering them to step out where they could be seen could be heard from the door. The explosion told Seto they had tried to come in and Arthur's look confirmed it.
"Did it work?" Seto asked.
"Oh it worked alright, every guard in the cave will coming here in minutes." Arthur replied.
"Then we better hurry. Hit shift, then F10 to start the boot sequence, then come here and finish tightening these bolts."
Arthur did as instructed but the yells of approaching guards told him they were almost out of time. He glanced at the screen, which showed the sequence only twenty percent complete and knew they would need more time. He grabbed a rifle from one of the downed guards. "We're going to need more time, I'm going to get it for you." He then ran into the tunnel firing the rifle.
Seto yelled for Arthur to come back. The old fool had never handled a gun before in his life, he was just going to get himself killed. He could hear the gunfire as well as men yelling as they approached. Seconds seemed like hours before the sequence completed and the whole room went black.
Raphael, Alistair, and Valon ran into the room and looked around. The door had blown outward and they weren't sure if Kaiba was still in the room or not. Alistair moved into the room scanning carefully. The only hiding place he could see was an upright work table on the left side of the room. He made his way toward it and very surprised to see a suit of armor, larger than man sized, standing there. He didn't know where it had come from, or why it would have been in the workshop. He moved closer for a better look.
Raphael and Valon were not expecting to see Alistair flying across the room and were even less prepared for the metal monstrosity that had so causally batted him aside. They opened fire but quickly realized their bullets weren't even slowing the construct down. They ran, other men joining them in their panicked flight as they headed for one of the reinforced doors that closed off sections of the cave. As they ran they could hear the heavy footfalls of their pursuer. They reached the door and rushed through, securing the door behind them and locking one of their people in.
'Look at them run.' Seto thought. 'Not so fun when your on the receiving end is it?' He had been making his way through the cave looking for any sign of Arthur, smashing everyone he came across, and was pleased that the group he was chasing was basically leading him out. He saw them close the door ahead of him, and for a moment felt a twinge of sympathy for the obviously terrified man who was locked in with him. But that was gone as soon as it started. There was no point in sympathy, they had shown him none, nor Arthur, nor any of the probably hundreds, if not thousands they had killed. He hit the man so hard that he dented the door with his impact, then proceeded to pound the door till it fell. It didn't take much. Steel or not, it wasn't anchored very well in the wall and a few solid hits knocked it inward causing the men on the other side to run away in blind panic. Seto swung at one but missed and his arm got caught in the rock. As he was attempting to pull it free, Valon took the opportunity to aim his pistol at Seto's head and fired. The bullet bounced off of the steel helmet and hit Valon in the head. He crumpled to the ground as Seto freed his arm. He would have loved to continue his pursuit, but the men were running further into the tunnels, and he was going out. He rounded the last corner and saw Arthur, laying on the ground, bleeding from various bullet wounds and barely breathing. He started to go toward him.
"Watch out!" Arthur gasped and Seto barely pulled up in time to avoid a rocket attack from Dartz. Kaiba responded with his own improvised rocket which struck the wall near to Dartz and knocked him the ground. He didn't move and Seto went to Arthur.
"Time to go." He said, although even as he looked at Arthur he knew it was a lost cause. How the man wasn't dead already he didn't know.
Arthur smiled weakly before pulling something from his pocket. "I don't think I'm going to make it. I never really thought I would. I need you to do me a favor." He handed Kaiba the item, which Seto saw was a picture of a blonde haired little girl. "That's my granddaughter, Rebecca. If you could, I would like you to find her and take care of her. I was her only family. Will you do this for me?" He gasped.
"I will. " Seto said although he wasn't sure Arthur heard him. He had stopped breathing and Seto looked toward the exit. He didn't want to leave Arthur's body behind, but he couldn't carry him and still do what needed to be done. He reluctantly left Arthur and made his way into the sunlight. He had revenge on his mind.
As soon as Seto cleared the cave a dozen or so men outside opened fire on him. He stood there while the bullets pinged harmlessly off his suit and waited for the impacts to cease before taking a good look around. The men below seemed unsure about what they should do. After all, they had emptied their weapons at him and he hadn't even stumbled. Seto smiled behind his helmet. It wasn't a nice smile. "My turn."
Twin bursts of flame issued from the makeshift flamethrowers on Kaiba's wrists. He was pleased to see that they worked so well as he began to make his way through the valley burning every piece of equipment, every box, every thing he could see with the Kaibacorp logo on it. He wasn't going to let these bastards hurt anyone else with his weapons, not if he could help it.
All around him the men were yelling and running everywhere, some trying to put out the fires, some trying to save the weapons, others trying to shoot him. Most were just in a blind panic. One managed to get to a .50 cal machine gun on a ledge above him and opened fire. While the armor was holding up just fine, the larger impacts knocked Seto off balance and forced him to one knee. He redirected his flame toward the machine gun and it was quickly consumed, and so was the majority of the canyon. Seto realized that he needed to leave. There was a lot of explosive material in this camp and it was just a matter of time before the fire caused an explosion.
'I really hope these work' Seto thought as he activated the jets in his boots. It turned out to be not a moment to soon as the entire canyon was consumed in a giant fireball. Seto rocketed clear, but quickly realized he had no way of steering or controlling his descent. As he saw the dunes speeding toward him, he could only think about how bad this was going to hurt. He hit with more of a plop than a boom. He was never so glad for sand in his life. Had he hit rock or even dirt he likely would have died, or at the very least suffered some broken bones. As it was he appeared to be fine. Sore all over and stuck in a desert, but otherwise fine. He glanced back toward the canyon and could see thick black smoke pouring into the sky.
If a military patrol was anywhere nearby, and given that he was pretty sure he was till in the same country as he started it was likely, he wouldn't have to wait long before someone came to investigate. As it turned out he was right. Within ten minutes he could hear the choppers and a minute after that he could see them. He grabbed a piece of reflective metal from his shattered suit and reflected the sun as a signal. One of the choppers turned and came in for a landing while the other two continued to the canyon. Kaiba was exhausted and thought about just passing out right there. The sight of some very familiar hair running toward him changed that though. He would never show weakness in front of Atem. Instead he stood up straighter, plastered his patented smirk on his face and waited.
"Kaiba! Are you all right?" Atem asked. The worried look in his eyes almost made Seto think about being nice, almost.
"Took you long enough." Was all the CEO said before walking past Atem toward the waiting chopper. His smirk widened a bit at the frustrated growl that Atem made but he was in a bit of a hurry. He wanted to get to the chopper before he passed out. It was going to feel good to be home.