DD: Hey guys! So, yeah! Here's another update this month! You're welcome. *trying to act confident so I don't feel bad about this next part* I'm going back to school. Yeah. It's my second last year. And there's a college course that I really want to do in Galway and it's the only creative writing course I can find, but it's four hundred and sixty points to get in, so I need to be aiming for about five hundred-five fifty. So guess who's going to be fading away for the next two years? *arrows pointing* Yeah, it's me. Don't worry; I'm not going to disappear until around March-April 2018, but I'm just not going to be updating as much. It's pretty much the same story as TBITA when I went offline for a month or two so I could study. I'll do my best to finish Glass Coffins by summer 2017 so you guys won't need to endure it, but I'll probably end up starting another story so whoever goes to read that will probably have to endure it. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story. It's literally fifty pages long and has over nine thousand words.
Plus, I bring in another ship in this chapter! Ooooh *waves arms like a bad ghost* which will it be? Puzzle or Tender? OOOOH. I'm sorry. I'll stop now. Enjoy the chapter!
UPDATE: I'm so so sorry, I thought I posted this half a month ago!
TRIGGER WARNING: Rape/Sexual Assault.
"Yugi?"
Yugi looked up from his building blocks as his long-skirted teacher knelt down beside him. He smiled and held up a block with a star on it. "I'm building a house."
His teacher smiled and observed the four three-block pillars. "It looks very good."
Yugi set the star block on one of the pillars. "Will you help me before story-time?"
His teacher gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I can't; you're going home early today." She stood up.
Yugi cast a glance at his house before standing up too. "Really? Is my Grandpa here?"
His teacher shook her head. "No, Yugi; he's still working. A friend of his is picking you up today."
Yugi smiled. "Okay." He followed his teacher to the cubby holes to collect his bag and coat. "Is it Sakura or Kenji?"
His teacher shook her head again. "Neither; he's foreign. I believe his name was Zachary or something along those lines."
Yugi followed her out of the classroom, though he didn't remember a man called Zachary.
Standing at the main door was 'Zachary'.
Black hair, pale skin and cool, red eyes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," his teacher apologised. "Zachary, was it?"
"Zircon," he corrected. "You can call me Zorc, Takasaki-san."
Yugi nudged Zorc's leg and he looked down with a smirk. "Yes, little one?"
"You're meant to call her sensei," Yugi whispered loudly.
Both Zorc and his teacher chuckled. "It's okay, Yugi; he can call me Takasaki-san," his teacher assured him.
Yugi frowned but nodded. "Okay."
Zorc looked at him, still smirking. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yep." Yugi grinned.
Zorc nodded and began walking outside. Before following him, Yugi turned and waved to his teacher. "Bye, sensei!" He called. "See you tomorrow!"
His teacher returned the wave. "Goodbye, Yugi." Once they reached the car, she turned around and walked back inside.
Zorc held the back door of the black sedan open for Yugi. Yugi hopped inside, giggling as he slid on the leather seats.
Zorc closed the door and climbed into the front. "Don't forget to put on your seatbelt."
Yugi was already sliding the buckle into place. "I won't."
The car pulled away from the school in silence.
Yugi watched outside as the trees and bushes blurred by. When his parents died, his grandfather had decided that he should go to school away from the city. 'A healthier atmosphere'.
"Why am I being picked up early?" He asked after a few minutes. He didn't want to sit in silence for the whole of the forty minute ride home.
Zorc didn't reply, but he shifted gears and turned down a side road.
Yugi looked outside again. "Where are we going?" Zorc didn't reply. "Where are we going?" Zorc took one more turn and the car stopped. Yugi looked out the other window as though a new perspective would give him insight as to where they were. "Where are we?"
Zorc slipped out from behind the driver's seat and climbed into the back with Yugi. "You like games, right?" Yugi nodded. "Take off your seatbelt and come closer." Yugi did so. Zorc smirked and pushed him down on the seat. "Let's play a game, little one." Zorc's face grew closer. "You have to be very quiet. Okay? If you can stay quiet, then you win. Okay?" Yugi nodded. "Good."
Zorc pinned Yugi's hands above his head with one hand and unzipped his jeans with the other.
Yugi's eyes widened and he began struggling, but Zorc ripped down his jeans and underwear.
"Stop!" He yelped.
Zorc paused and tutted. "You lost, little one. You didn't stay quiet." He unzipped his own jeans. "And losers always have a penalty to pay. Now be a big boy, Yugi, and take your penalty."
"It wasn't a dream... It wasn't a dream," Yugi repeated.
Marik's arms tightened around him. "Calico, relax. It's okay. You're okay."
Yugi shook his head. Everything in his body was shaking. "N-No, it wasn't a dream," he whispered.
"Cal, look at me." Marik gently lifted Yugi's head. "Talk to me. What's wrong?"
Yugi shook his head again. "It wasn't a dream." He pulled away from Marik.
"Calico." Marik tried to catch Yugi's arm, but Yugi stepped back. "Calico-"
"It wasn't a dream."
Marik tried to catch his arm, but Yugi bolted.
"Calico!"
Yugi shook his head as he ran. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream.
His grandpa had lied to him. He lied.
It wasn't a dream!
Someone caught his wrist, wrenching him to a halt. He stumbled back and looked up to see Crowler leering down at him. "Calico, why aren't you in the cafeteria?"
Yugi tried to swallow. He opened his mouth. The words bubbled up on his tongue but he couldn't force them out.
I had to go to the office. I lost a book.
He tried again. Nothing happened. The lump in his throat hardened and he keeled over.
Crowler screeched and leapt back as orange puke splattered over the floor.
Yugi coughed. The smell of it reached his nose, and he vomited again. Shaking and breathing hard, he forced himself upright and wiped his mouth. "S-S-"
The words just wouldn't come out. Was this how Ryou had felt? When he had stopped talking?
Crowler snatched his wrist and pulled him down the hall. Yugi stumbled after him. "Let's see what Principal Sheppard has to say. I'm sure you'll be sent on a field trip before the night is out," he muttered under his breath.
All Yugi could hear was field trip. Field trip.
The zoo.
He couldn't pull against Crowler; he was too strong. He tried but his body just wouldn't work. It wouldn't listen.
"Calico!"
Crowler paused and looked behind them. Yugi followed his gaze. Yami was jogging up to them. "What are you doing out of the cafeteria, Griffin?" Crowler snapped.
Yami gave a sheepish smile. "Calico wasn't feeling well so I said I'd bring him to the nurse. He started feeling worse so he ran for the bathroom." He pointed behind them to the bathroom; a few metres away from the puddle of vomit.
Crowler scowled and roughly released Yugi's wrist. "Get him to the nurse. Now," he called as he stalked off.
Yugi couldn't tear his stare away from the bathroom.
"Calico?" Yami placed his hands on Yugi's shoulders. Yugi could feel the lump forming again. The sides of his neck pinched together and he barely stopped himself from gagging. "Can you talk?"
Yugi sniffed and shook his head. The lump was still there, but it was rising to his eyes instead of his mouth.
His temples pounded; blood rushed through his ears.
"It's okay." Yami wrapped his arms around him.
Yugi shook his head again and tried to push away from Yami.
No, it wasn't okay. It wasn't. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream.
Just as he began to regain control enough to push Yami away, a new set of arms wrapped around him. Two sets.
"It's okay," Marik murmured. "We've got you."
Yugi tried to look sideways, but was blocked by an avalanche of white on his shoulder. Ryou.
Ryou, Marik, Yami. They were there for him. He had worried them.
But it wasn't a dream.
Yugi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In, two, three. Out, two, three, four, five, six, seven. In, two, three. Out, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
"I'm okay," he whispered, opening his eyes again. "I'm okay now. I'm sorry."
Marik shook his head. "Don't be," he mumbled. His arms tightened around Yugi for a moment before he slowly released him. Yami reluctantly mimicked his movements.
Ryou's arms stayed wound around him.
Yugi forced a small smile. "I'm okay, Ryou." Ryou nodded, but didn't let go.
Yugi shifted so he could return the hug. After a minute, Ryou pulled away.
Yugi smiled at them sheepishly. "Sorry about that."
Marik watched him. "What happened?"
Yugi knew that he was purposely trying not to be manipulative. Which he also knew was actually quite hard for Marik.
"I had a bit of a flashback." He shrugged. "I was awake for a bit while they were taking me. Plus Zorc always freaks me out a bit."
"You were saying 'it wasn't a dream'." Marik didn't blink.
Again, Yugi shrugged. "Not sure what that was about. You know how I get."
Marik's shoulders rose and lowered as he let out a slow breath. "Maybe you should go back to your cube for the rest of the day. We'll sort something out with the teachers. We only have Banner and Napoleon next so we can take care of it."
Ryou nodded in agreement. Yugi smiled feebly. "Yeah, I might do that. Thanks, Giraffe."
Marik grinned at him. "No problem." The bell chimed and he adjusted his bag. "See you later. I'll pop in to see you after school."
Yugi nodded and waved as Ryou and Marik walked away.
Yami just watched him for another minute. The warning bell chimed and he turned away. "We're talking about this later."
The Artist slipped out from behind the crate and hopped over the motion sensor.
It flashed orange for a moment.
He hit the ground and stilled. His chest froze and his face slowly began turning red.
After a minute, the sensor turned green again.
He let out a long breath and gulped in a mouthful of air.
He righted himself and began walking again.
What was that? What was that?
He had been doing this for a few months, and he had never gotten that close to tripping a motion sensor before.
He had every camera, microphone and sensor in the ICU mapped out.
So how did he get that close?
He shook his head. It wasn't worth it.
It wasn't worth mulling over. It wasn't worth it.
It would only make him trip up again. And the next time, he mightn't be so lucky.
The next time, it might go red.
Then the ICUPD would be on him in seconds.
He took a deep breath and stared up at the building in front of him. It was a good thing he had found his notebook.
He had all of his quotes mapped out in there; each quote had a series of arrows pointing to where it would go best.
Each page held one quote and each page held one map.
Except from when he vandalised- no. From when he artfully altered the zoo.
That one page had held over two dozen quotes, each pointing to a different cage.
He looked up at the building again. Completely made of glass and marble, the icuMall was the largest and most noticeable building in the ICU.
And he had big plans for it.
Giraffe had helped him with it, actually. To cheer him up after school, he had brought over a 'totally-legal-I-definitely-paid-for-it' copy of the Life of Brian.
Sixty feet high, all over the castle walls.
He pulled out his notebook and double-checked the quote.
He never had to double-check a quote before, but he wasn't going to beat himself up over it. It would only make him mess up again.
He couldn't afford to mess up again.
He looked up at the icuMall and smirked.
He couldn't quite manage sixty feet; the mall wasn't that tall. But he could definitely make it big.
His smirk grew and he slipped a can of red paint out of his pocket.
Time to shine.
"Calico... Cal, wake up."
Yugi groaned and blinked open his eyes. Marik was leaning over him, shaking his shoulder. "Giraffe... What do you want?" He grumbled. "It's Saturday. Wait... Yeah, Saturday. What time is it?"
"Seven," Marik replied.
Yugi groaned again and pulled his blanket over his head. "I don't need to get up for two more hours, and neither do you. Go back to bed."
A moment later, Marik yanked the blanket away from him.
Yugi yelped and sat up, frowning at him. "What was that for?" He quickly took in Marik's appearance. Loose tank top, shorts, messy hair and no make-up. Odd.
"You need to get up." Marik threw the blanket to the side. "Zorc wants everyone outside. It's about the Artist."
Yugi's frown vanished. "What about them?"
"Something happened." Marik turned towards the door and began walking.
Yugi grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on so he wouldn't have to go outside bare-chested before following him out.
Zorc watched him, the ever-present smirk on his face again. "So good of you to join us, Calico."
Yugi looked down and mumbled an apology.
As usual, Zorc ignored it and turned to the whole of the section. His smirk only grew. "Last night, the Artist struck again."
He pressed a button on the lectern in front of him and a projector slide lowered from the ceiling. He pressed another button and images flashed by.
The first was hard to see; it was too dark. They could all see a crouched figure, covered head-to-toe in black.
The hairs on the back of Yugi's neck crawled. A new feature. They must have added a new feature. The monitors took a picture when they turned orange.
The next image was just below the icuMall. Yugi must have tripped another sensor without realising it; they must have added in more since the zoo incident. It only took a shot of his lower body.
The next image was easy to see; it had been taken when the lights and faux-sunshine were on.
Sprayed all across the glass and marble structure of the icuMall.
It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
It had originally been different. 'It's better to live on your feet than die on your knees'.
But very few people in the ICU were dying. They were surviving.
And fighting back and dying for a cause that could end in people living was so much better than surviving.
The quote had been sprayed once in giant letters, and then multiple times framing it in smaller fonts and different languages. Japanese, Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German and Mandarin.
Yugi had learned another two languages while there. His grandfather would have been proud.
Yugi's eyes widened as he stared at it, just like everyone else. He had perfected the act. That was meant to be the last slide, but Zorc pressed another button.
The image of a thin, black line on white tile came up. Either a hair or a string.
Yugi swallowed; hard. He had fucked up.
"Forensics of the ICUPD found this at the icuMall," Zorc called out. "A hair from the Artist."
He was so dead.
"Testing is being done now," Zorc continued. "I'm going to give the Artist this moment to step forwards. If he, or she, does, their punishment will be less severe."
Bull shit. Bull shit.
They all knew that it was.
Yugi's gaze flickered to Marik, Ryou and Yami. No one moved.
Zorc's upper lip curled into a sneer. "Fine then." He pressed one more button and the projection sheet was lifted. "Once the Artist is identified, their execution will be held immediately."
Atem crept, even though he didn't need to.
He was one of the senior officers, and he had a key into the evidence locker. But none of them were meant to be there without express permission, or without evidence from one of their cases.
He could easily come up with an excuse if he was caught, but he would probably be stuck on traffic duty for a while.
He didn't want to go back to that. Seven months of it had been enough; he had done it longer than anyone else. He knew that it was because he was in section seventeen.
Yami was right. He was a lastard.
He let out a slow breath and opened the door. No one inside. Good.
The door clicked closed behind him and he began checking the shelves.
DNA. DNA. DNA.
Weapons went in shelf one, ordinary items went in shelf two, clothing went in shelf three, recovered items went in shelf four, jewellery in shelf five, there.
Shelf six; DNA.
He quickly opened the locker door that held the smaller pieces of evidence.
Sure enough, in a zip-lock bag near the front, lay a black hair.
Atem didn't pick it up. He took out a pen and nudged the bag closer to himself.
ICUPD, Acquired 03:32 a.m., icuMall, tracking code: A0179H.
A0179H. A0179H.
Okay.
A0179H.
Atem closed the locker door again. The door clicked open and he froze.
Another figure slipped into the room, pressing themselves against the wall.
Their eyes locked.
"Diabound," Atem hissed, "this is an ICUPD personnel only area. What are you doing here?"
"I know what it is," Akefia snapped, striding over to him. "Now move."
Atem glared at him. "Taking it won't make a difference. It's already in the system."
Akefia's jaw tightened and he halted in front of Atem. "Move. If it's gone, it'll be harder to track." Atem didn't blink. "It could be your brother, Strix. It could be anyone in our section. Do you really want to risk watching your friends – your family – die?"
"This isn't the way to do it." Atem's eyes narrowed. "There's a code. If I can mix the system up, I can send them down the wrong path; at least for now." Akefia watched him for a moment. "I'm not letting you take it."
Akefia glanced at the door. "What was the code?"
"A0179H," Atem rattled off.
"And there's a computer in here?" Atem nodded. "Good. Do it; now."
Atem huffed but turned and walked down the aisle to the computer at the end.
It was easy to get into. The computers all had the same password basis.
Even if they forgot one, they could generally remember what it was based off another.
Atem typed in the code and stared.
"What?" Akefia tried to look over his shoulder but Atem had already begun mixing up the data.
"Nothing."
The door clicked open. "Hello?"
They both froze. Atem allowed the computer screen to dim.
"Hello?" The voice called again.
Aster. Grey hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Unforgiving. Section one.
Akefia glanced at the computer. "I need two minutes," Atem mumbled, slowly inching below the desk.
"I know you're in there," Aster called. "This is your last chance."
Akefia bit his lip. "Get it done," he muttered and he pushed Atem under the table.
Atem caught himself and peeked up as Akefia stepped into the aisle again.
The gleam of metal glinted in the lighting. "Hands above your head." Akefia obliged. "Name and section."
"Diabound, section seventeen."
Aster snorted. "Of course." Atem heard a click and Aster pulled Akefia's hands behind his back. "Lastards like you are always the root of trouble."
Atem ground his teeth together.
"You're going straight to the zoo," Aster growled as he led Akefia out of the room. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will-"
The door snapped shut behind them.
Slowly, Atem climbed out from under the desk and checked the computer. The mixing was done.
He quickly erased the history and logged out.
He checked outside through a small window before darting out of the room and into the adjacent bathroom.
Zane was just coming out of a stall as he walked in.
"Strix." Zane nodded to him. Atem returned the nod. "Did you hear that commotion?" Again, Atem nodded. "Any idea what it was?"
Atem had to swallow before he could speak. "I saw Firebird pulling Diabound from section seventeen to the zoo depository," he replied. His voice sounded dry. "Not sure what happened."
Zane nodded. "I see." He washed his hands. "We get an hour off for our break today." He met Atem's gaze. "Do you think you'll stay here or go back to your unit?" Atem knew Zane didn't believe him. Atem knew he was lucky it was Zane. He knew exactly what had happened.
Atem swallowed again. "I think I'll go back to my unit," he decided. "I need to talk things over with someone."
Zane gave him a small smile. "Wise choice."
Yugi sighed. "Yami, I'm not hungry."
Yami almost started when he heard his name. He wasn't used to hearing it so often, especially during casual conversations.
He set the small bowl of soup on Yugi's bedside table. "You need to eat, Calico."
"Yugi."
Yami blinked. "Yugi. You still need to eat."
Yugi looked away. "I'm not hungry. I'm still feeling queasy."
Yami sighed and sat on the edge of Yugi's bed. "I know you are, but you need to eat something."
"No I don't." Yugi wouldn't look at him. "I'm fine, Yami."
"No, you're not."
"I'm fine," Yugi repeated. "Is it weird not to want to eat after throwing up?"
Yami sighed again. "Yugi, please."
Yugi shook his head and began picking at a loose thread on the blanket. "I'm not hungry. I'll eat something later."
Yami watched him for a moment. He twisted the thread around his index finger and pulled.
There was a thin line of white that led to red on his finger as he cut off the blood circulation, but the thread gave way quickly and the colour of his finger returned to normal.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Yami asked.
Yugi shook his head. "No."
"Later?"
Yugi examined the thread. "Maybe," he mumbled. He flicked the thread onto the floor. "But not soon."
Yami nodded and took Yugi's hand. "That's okay."
Yugi blinked at the sudden contact and his eyes flickered back to Yami. "Yami?"
Yami gave him a small smile. "It'll be fine." Before Yugi could reply, there was a knock at the door. Yami stood up. "I'll get it."
Yugi nodded, his eyes following Yami up to the door.
Yami opened the door and glared at the person outside. "What do you want?"
"Let me in," Atem replied, looking over Yami's shoulder. Yami had blacked out the cube for Yugi.
"No." Yami stepped to the side, blocking him. "Calico's sick; you're not getting in."
"Griffin, move," Atem snapped.
"He's sick." Yami's glare darkened. "You're not getting in."
"Let him in," Yugi called.
Yami glanced over at him, a 'no' already spilling from his lips, but Atem used the opportunity to slip past him.
"Strix," Yami growled, but Atem cut him off.
"I know."
Yugi nodded, as though he had figured as much. "DNA?"
"Yes." Atem folded his arms. "I've mixed the data. Unless they've already checked it – which they haven't – you're safe."
Yami stared at his older brother. Yugi nodded again. "I owe you one."
This was a new side; one Yami hadn't seen before in Yugi. A sort of business side.
Atem shook his head. "No, you don't." His gaze flickered to Yami, and back to Yugi. "They'll get past it sooner or later. I've only bought you a little bit of time." Again, his gaze flickered to Yami, and it lingered. "Get out. Get everyone out. I don't care how. Get everyone out of here."
Again, Yugi nodded. "That's what I've been planning."
"Well stop planning." Atem turned to him. "The time for planning ended when you got careless last night. You need to start putting your plans into action. Now. Diabound was sent to the zoo to help you. Giraffe was nearly beheaded. Grizzly was shot dead." He shook his head. "Planning is done. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Yugi looked over at Yami. Yami gave him a small, encouraging smile. "I'll work it out by tonight," Yugi mumbled. "Thanks for the help, Atem."
Atem started at the sound of his name, but he got over it. "Don't thank me," he repeated, turning away. "And if you don't..." He couldn't find a way to finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
"Don't worry. I will."
"Diabound." Malik knocked on the bars. "You've got a visitor."
Akefia sighed and opened his eyes. "Who is it?"
"Your boyfriend," Heru called.
Akefia pushed himself up into a sitting position. The zoo wasn't too bad a place. He got to nap on a large rock, and the temperature was warm.
He still didn't want to be in there any longer than he had to be though.
His costume was ridiculous; one of the defects of being named Diabound. What even was a Diabound?
Whatever it was, because of it, Akefia had to dress dark. They didn't make him wear the mask – all of the time, anyway – but he had to wear the tight, grey hoodie, the grey jeans, the grey face-paint, the grey running shoes, fake wings, and when he was asleep, the grey tail.
Yeah. They gave him a tail.
If he was going to be staying any longer, they probably would have made him wear it constantly, and he knew Malik wouldn't have been able to get him out of wearing it.
Malik had helped a lot. It might have been to do with the fact that they were from the same section – or that Akefia managed to sneak him a ruby on a chain for Marik's birthday.
If Atem didn't get the DNA mixed up, Marik probably wouldn't celebrate it. It was too close; two, maybe three weeks. Akefia couldn't quite remember the date.
Whatever the date or the reason, Malik had slipped extra and better food into Akefia and turned a blind eye when he had 'smudged' most of the face-paint off.
Sighing, he stood up and made his way over to the bars. Malik gave him a small grin before walking away.
Akefia leaned on the wooden pole that marked the distance he was allowed to go. "Hey."
Heru's arms were folded, his eyes narrowed. "Don't you 'hey' me," he hissed. "What the fuck were you thinking?"
Akefia held up his hands. "Relax. You know I never get caught unless I want to."
"So you let Firebird – of all people – catch you?" Heru glared at him. "You're an idiot."
Akefia rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have done it if I had another option."
"So what happened?" Heru's eyebrow quirked in a way that Akefia just knew read this should be good.
Akefia frowned and folded his own arms. "I don't feel like telling you now."
"Diabound."
"Shrew."
Heru's glare deepened. "Tell me what happened."
Akefia smirked. "I don't think I will. Not until you start acting nicer to me."
Heru snorted. "You're an idiot."
"So you already mentioned."
Heru frowned. Akefia smiled.
After a minute of silence, Heru gave in. Akefia just didn't give a shit, and he really did want to know what had happened.
"Fine. Can you tell me what happened?"
Akefia's smile grew. "Yes, I can."
Silence followed. Heru rolled his eyes. "Would you tell me?"
"Given the right circumstances, yes. Yes I would."
Heru groaned. "Will you please tell me what happened?"
"Of course?" Akefia fought a chuckle, shaking his head. "It's like you make these things complicated on purpose."
Heru rolled his eyes. "You're such a fucking English major."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"In your case, it is." Heru fixed him with another glare. "Now tell me what happened."
Akefia's smile faltered. His eyes flickered from side to side, though his head didn't move. "Act like you're pacing back and forth. Move to the corner on your right," he mumbled, careful not to move his lips much.
Heru didn't question it. "You're an idiot," he snapped as he paced, his strides growing longer with each lap. "An idiot."
"You keep saying that but it's not changing anything."
Heru stopped and turned to glare at him, right at the corner Akefia had directed him towards.
Akefia walked over.
"Cameras?" Heru guessed, keeping his voice down and not moving his lips much.
Akefia nodded. "They're facing your side. Try to speak out of the left side of your mouth. They're facing my back from here. Also, there's nothing but empty cages here."
His eyes flickered to Noah's cage, across from where they had been. He was already back.
The zoo was like a larger cube for him. He lived there more than he did in his own section.
"I snuck in to try and grab the hair," he mumbled. "I don't want them killing anyone else. Strix was already there. He said the info was already in a computer and that taking it would do nothing except slow them down for maybe an hour. He was able to mix up the results and skew them. Or, he said he was anyway. He was in the middle of it when Firebird came in." Akefia shook his head. "I couldn't let him get caught. You know I couldn't. They wouldn't have even sent him here. He would have gone straight to prison."
Heru slowly nodded. "You're still an idiot," he muttered. "Less of an idiot. But still an idiot."
"You really overuse that insult," Akefia chuckled. "You need to think of a new one."
Heru rolled his eyes and slipped his hand through the bars.
Akefia gently took it.
"You know I love you," Heru mumbled as he pressed a small, round, metal object into Akefia's hand.
"Yeah. I know." Akefia smiled slightly. "I love you too. And don't worry; I'll be out by tomorrow. First offence; remember?"
Heru snorted. "Yeah. First offence." He pulled his hand back and turned away. "See you tomorrow."
"Bye," Akefia called as Heru walked away. He glanced at the coin; careful not to let the cameras catch it.
It looked like a loose ten Zira, but there was no dragon or ten engraved on it. Instead, on one side lay 00:07 and on the other side lay 17/03/2017. The day after tomorrow.
Just under the date lay the words, Underground tunnel.
Akefia and Heru had been the first to find that tunnel; six years ago.
Zorc didn't know about it. The tunnel began just behind Heru's cube and came out under the school.
Once they figured out how to sneak out, they had done it. When the update came in – the cubes wouldn't go dark without having someone living inside – they hadn't noticed until Zorc had come out.
Heru had instantly faked bursting into tears and Akefia had made up some cock-and-bull story about how Heru's parents had died on that night a few years ago.
Zorc had sent them back to their cubes, but hadn't sanctioned them. First offence was never sanctioned, unless it was huge. Second was always sanctioned.
Akefia let out a slow breath. Third just made the second look like cotton candy.
He slipped the coin under the band of his watch. Hopefully this wouldn't end the way he expected it to.
Bakura glanced outside, squinting through the darkness. The light still hadn't been fixed.
He could see outlines, but none were moving towards him.
"You sure you don't want to leave yet?" Yami asked as he shrugged on his coat. "I don't mind walking back with you."
Bakura shook his head. "No. I'll wait a bit longer." He glanced at his watch. One. Curfew for him was in half an hour. It was a twenty minute walk.
Ryou could still come. He could still appear – a phantom in the dark – and walk Bakura home. He could.
Bakura sighed and leaned against the doorframe.
Yami watched him for a moment before slipping the key to his dressing room into his coat pocket. "If you're sure." He pulled up his hood. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Bakura muttered.
Yami's colourful head was swallowed by the darkness in seconds.
"Ne'ro?"
Bakura glanced behind him as Miho walked up. "Hey, Crystal. Are you going home too?" Miho nodded. "Is Polar going to pick you up?"
Miho smiled and nodded again. "Ye'. She coming soon." She glanced around. Do'e not here yet?"
Bakura sighed and glanced outside. "I don't think he's coming tonight." He hadn't come the night before, but he had sent Bakura a text to let him know that he couldn't; Yugi had been sick and Ryou had been taking care of him while Yami was working.
Miho smiled. "Wan' walk home wi'h us?"
Bakura glanced outside again. "Sure." He glanced back at her. "Are you ready to go?"
"Two minute." She smiled. "Need to get make-up and hair."
Bakura only nodded. "Okay. I'll meet you at the bench."
The bench was the regular meeting place for any of the dancers or strippers to meet if they were from the same section. It was just a minute or two away; in the light of sidelamps and away from the club.
Mai met Miho there every night; she knew it gave Miho a bit of pride to be able to go even that distance without needing any help.
Losing her finger had really upset her.
Miho nodded and turned away. "'Kay. See you t'ere."
Her speech was slowly getting worse and she was growing less confident in small actions. Bakura had to fix Yami's make-up most evenings now; it was too shaky and uneven.
Bakura sighed and walked outside. The door slipped closed behind him.
He stepped slowly, blinked slowly and looked around slowly. Each movement was used to make sure that there was nothing in front of him to trip over.
He was so focused on the ground that he didn't notice the arm until it was around his neck.
Bakura cursed and kicked, trying to push his attacker back into a wall.
A silver bracelet pressed against his throat.
"Shut up," a voice snarled – female, "or I'll kill you!"
Bakura's eyes narrowed and he tried to bite her arm, but it only tightened around his neck.
He switched tactics, trying to buck her over his head. "Let... go!" He ground out.
She pressed her knee into his back and kicked his legs out from underneath him.
Bakura fell to his knees and she hit him over the head. He groaned, struggling not to just go limp.
He felt her raise her arm for another hit, but she collapsed. Bakura fell forward, barely catching himself.
The light of a phone lit up the area and he saw Ryou's pale face. You okay?
Slowly, he nodded. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
The door swung open, bathing the porch in light. Bakura glanced back at his attacker.
Vivian, section twenty two.
"Wha' happen?" Miho asked.
"She attacked me," Bakura muttered, rubbing his throat. "Crystal, will you call the ICUPD?"
Miho quickly nodded. "Ye', cour'e."
Ryou gave her a small smile and took out his notebook. I'll walk Necro home; Polar's waiting for you at the bench, he wrote. Once the ICUPD get here, you go over to her. Okay?
Miho nodded and took out her phone. "'Kay. I call them." She quickly dialled the number.
Vivian groaned. Ryou looked at her sharply, but she stayed down. After a moment, he turned to Bakura. Let's go, he signed.
Bakura glanced back at Miho. "Are you going to be okay?"
Miho smiled and nodded. "Ye'; I fine. You go ba'k."
Bakura nodded and followed Ryou away from the club. After walking in silence for a few minutes, Bakura spoke, "Thanks. For helping me. Again. You didn't have to."
Ryou shook his head. It shouldn't have happened, he signed. I should have been there earlier.
"Don't worry about it." Bakura shrugged. "You were busy."
Ryou shook his head. I should have been there. For another few minutes, neither of them spoke. I'm... I'm sorry for kissing you the other night. Ryou wouldn't meet his gaze.
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Was that what this was about?" Ryou slowly nodded and Bakura snorted. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't even a kiss, and it's not like I've never been kissed before." Ryou's cheeks heated up. Bakura paused. "You haven't been kissed before?"
Ryou slowly shook his head. Not really. Or at all.
Bakura chuckled. "You're such a child."
I literally saved your ass twice, Ryou pointed out, frowning at him. You're the child.
"Whatever." Bakura shrugged. "Point is, I don't mind. It was a kiss on the cheek and..." He shrugged again. It was the only thing he could think of doing. "I didn't dislike it."
Ryou glanced up at him. They had stopped walking completely; a few feet from Bakura's cube. The curfew bell would sound in less than five minutes. Really?
Bakura nodded, heat creeping up the back of his neck. "Well... Yeah. For someone who's never been kissed, you're not bad."
If Ryou saw Bakura's skin darken, he didn't mention it. If Bakura saw Ryou's skin darken, he didn't mention it.
Can I... Ryou's hands stalled in mid-air. Can I kiss you again?
Bakura rolled his eyes. "That's a bit of a mood-ruiner," he mumbled, joking.
Ryou frowned, his hands poised to argue some bullshit about consent that Bakura knew he would end up agreeing to.
Instead of letting Ryou rant, Bakura leaned in and pressed a small kiss to Ryou's lips.
Ryou's hands shook for a moment before he leaned up and caught Bakura's shoulders, returning the kiss.
The curfew bell sounded, and Bakura pulled away with a reluctant but pleased smile. "There. Now we're even. Agreed?"
Ryou returned the smile and nodded. Agreed. Now get into your cube before we get in trouble.
Bakura rolled his eyes again, still smiling. "Whatever you say, mom." He still didn't move.
Ryou swallowed. So... are we...?
"I don't know." Bakura shrugged again. It seemed to be his default action. "Do you want to...?"
Ryou nodded, then paused. Well, if you want to.
"I do if you do."
If you do, then I do.
Bakura paused and grinned. "We're such dorks." He pecked Ryou's cheek. "See you tomorrow."
Ryou's eyes lit up, and he waved as Bakura disappeared into his cube.
Yeah. They wanted to.
Malik turned around before Marik even had time to open his mouth. "How did I know you'd be here?"
Marik offered him a small grin. "Because I visit you three times a week."
Malik rolled his eyes, but he returned the grin. "Yeah." He picked up the sack of food. "At least you didn't come at feeding time again."
"I purposely tried to avoid it," Marik replied as he began following Malik. "It's kind of awkward to watch."
Malik hummed. "Told you." He glanced back at his boyfriend as they walked. "Do you even have a job? You're always visiting me at work, I leave before you and I get back after you."
Marik hesitated. "Yeah, I work at the stationary shop across the road. The old guy in there just lets me work when I want to. I work for about two or three hours a day. Generally I do the night shift instead. I get paid double rate, but there's less work to do."
Malik rolled his eyes, still grinning. "Of course you would do that." When they reached the shack, he dropped the sack into a metal barrel and closed the lid. "So did you come here for any particular reason, or just to chat?"
Marik dug the heel of his stiletto into the ground. "To talk about something."
Malik frowned. "No. No, I'm not talking about that."
"Phoenix-" Marik began, but he was cut off.
"No, don't you Phoenix me." Malik's eyes narrowed. "I'm not talking about that. With anyone. Got it? Not you, not Griffin, not Necro. No one."
"But why not?" Marik protested. "You have to talk to someone, Phoenix."
"No I don't," Malik hissed. "I'm fine. I haven't had to talk to anyone before, and I'm not going to start now."
"Why not?" Marik pressed. Malik huffed and strode into the shack. Marik followed him. "Is it that you were in the tombs with me and you don't want me to know?" Malik froze and turned to him, his eyes wide. Marik folded his arms. "Yeah, I remembered that. You were the one who got me the pink robes."
Malik looked away. "Yeah. I did."
Marik's arms dropped. "Why would you get me a present when we never even talked?"
Malik shrugged. "I wanted to." He refused to look at Marik. "I wouldn't do it again."
Marik's eyes hardened. "Your father," he muttered. "It was him, right?" Malik didn't reply. "I thought you had already gone through initiation before me, and I was right. He put you into a second one."
Malik swallowed. "It's none of your business."
"Phoenix, please." Marik reached out and took his hand. "I just want to help."
"I don't need help." Malik didn't pull his hand away. "Am I pissed at him? Yes. Did I get him back? Yes." His eyes stung. "Do I regret it? Yes, I fucking regret killing the bastard."
Though the information had to have been new to Marik, he took it in his stride and squeezed Malik's hand.
Malik ground his teeth together. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "I want to go back and stop myself. I just wanted to get out; I didn't want to kill him or the other two." A tear dripped down his cheek, followed by a few more. "I just wanted to get out... He-He promised me that he wouldn't- that he wouldn't put me through it again. He-He promised that I wouldn't have to do the cleansing. He said that- that the ritual would be enough. He-He said he'd f-forgive me for-for wanting to be friends with you if I did..."
Marik's eyes widened but he said nothing for a few moments. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Malik. "He was a horrible person," he whispered, "who hurt you and a lot of other people. If he didn't die, he would have hurt a lot of other people too."
Malik's teeth dug into his lip. "But I-I shouldn't have-" A sob choked him. "I shouldn't ha-have k-killed him like that," he whispered. He buried his head in Marik's shoulder.
"He was stuck in a dark time, even for a tomb keeper," Marik whispered, running his fingers through Malik's hair. "It wasn't your fault, Phoenix."
"Yes it was..." Malik squeezed his eyes closed. "I should have l-listened. I-I should have just accepted the fact that I-I'm never going to end up in A-Aaru like he said."
Marik shook his head. "You're a wonderful and amazing person, Phoenix. Ma'at – if the gods even exist – isn't going to care that you dated a boy." He smiled slightly. "And if she does, maybe the way I dress will fool her."
A feeble chuckle escaped Malik's lips. "I-I don't think that's how it works."
Marik pulled back a bit and reached up, drying Malik's tears. "Well, if it's not, then we're going to spend eternity wandering around down here." He smiled. "And I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend eternity with."
Malik snorted and wiped his own eyes as well. "You're a cheesy prick, you know that?"
Marik smiled. "Yeah, I know," he agreed, "but you know you love it."
Malik paused. "I love you," he decided.
Marik hesitated. No he didn't. He couldn't love him. They hadn't been dating for that long. It was just a thing people told one another.
Despite all of the logic running through Marik's head, he couldn't help but smile at the words. "I love you too."
Yugi and Yami were the last to reach the underground tunnel.
There was a small, cavern like area that had been set up with just enough chairs to accommodate everyone from section seventeen comfortably.
For a minute after the duo sat down, no one spoke. Then Bakura huffed. "Will whoever arranged this meeting start it so we can get back before we get caught?"
Yami gave Yugi's hand a small, reassuring squeeze. "We won't get caught. I rigged the cubes to stay dark, even without us in them."
Zygor scowled. "How?"
Yami shrugged. "I have my ways." All he had to do was let a small animal into each cube; and the pet store had been selling mice at two for the price of one.
Bakura frowned but sat back into his chair. "Whatever. Can we get started?"
Yami gave Yugi's hand another squeeze before releasing it. Yugi took a slow breath and stood up. "Yeah. We can start."
Sid snorted. "You're the one who called it? I expected it to be the Artist." His gaze flickered between Bakura and Yami. Bakura stuck out his tongue at him.
"I did. Well, they did. I-I mean-" Yugi swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment.
Breathe. Breathe.
He opened his eyes again. "The Artist did organise the meeting. I'm the Artist."
No one spoke. Slowly, Bonz stood up. He stood maybe an inch taller than Yugi – possibly less. "You set Grizzly up," he hissed. "You killed him."
Yugi forced himself not to flinch. "He knew what he was getting into," he replied, struggling to keep his voice level.
"Bullshit!" This time, Yugi flinched. Most people did. Bonz glared at him. "Grizzly wouldn't have done it! He valued his life! He hated you!"
"I'm well aware of that."
"Then how can you stand there and tell us that he did that willingly?"
"How would I have forced him into it?" Yugi snapped, finally returning Bonz's glare. "He was in plain sight! He was far away from me! If he wanted to, he could have run and let Marik die!"
Bonz's glare flickered to Marik. Marik held his gaze evenly until he turned back to Yugi. "His name is Giraffe. How is that choker not burning you?"
"I've gotten used to it, Bonz."
Bonz's jaw set. Yugi could see that he was trying not to act surprised.
"Let him talk."
Surprisingly, it was Keith that had spoken. Bonz whipped around to stare at him, but Keith was watching Yugi. His two weeks in the zoo had changed him; everyone knew it.
Reluctantly, Bonz sat down. Yugi sighed. "Thank you, Keith."
Keith nodded, showing no surprise at being called by name.
Yugi turned back to Bonz. "Yes, I approached Ushio. I told him everything. And he agreed to help. He had no delusions; he knew that he was going to die." Yugi's gaze flickered to Mai and Miho. "He wanted to protect us. He wanted to get us out of here."
"We can't get out, smart ass," Sid hollered. "Global warming-"
"Can't have taken the planet that quickly!" Yugi insisted. "How are we getting new movies with famous actors that supposedly died in them? How do we keep getting new technology, and books, and CDs, and games that weren't created by the sections if the world is dead?"
"They probably created them while we were here and the leaders are slowly leaking them out so we don't get bored," Zygor pointed out. "They'll put them all out once someone becomes a good enough actor or singer or whatever to make a good section movie."
"That's bullshit that they've been feeding us," Yugi insisted. "None of that can be true! The movies themselves mention dates and jokes that are relevant! They're not from ten years ago; they can't be!"
"This sounds like a huge conspiracy theory to me." Sid folded his arms.
Seto glanced up from his computer. "I've been able to buy stock from companies that are supposedly dead," he commented.
Zygor shrugged. "The ICU probably took over them when the world went to shit."
Seto shook his head. "Unless there's ICUs all over the world, then they didn't. Different IPs."
Mokuba fidgeted in his chair. "I've been noticing it in TV shows too," he commented. "They have technology that we just didn't have eight years ago; not outside the ICU. They're not old films."
Otogi nodded in agreement. "The music too. The quality's too good, and we're getting music from people no one had heard of eight years ago like Ed Sheeran. There isn't even an Ed in the ICU."
Zygor shook his head. "They kept them up," he insisted. "The world is in flames. Lakes of lava and toppled land and all that."
"Mount Everest destroyed in two years?" Yugi shook his head.
Finally, Zygor fell silent.
"Well it's not like we can do anything about it, even if it's not true," Bonz muttered.
"I've been doing things," Yugi pointed out.
Bonz shot him a glare. "Yeah. And look how well that's turning out. You got yourself caught."
"Nearly," Atem cut in.
"What's he doing here?" Malik jabbed a thumb at Atem. "He'll probably run back to the ICUPD and tell them all about what's going on."
"Leave him alone," Heba spat.
"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Malik's eyes narrowed.
"Would you two shut up and let Yugi talk?" Mai snapped. The two fell silent. She was the first that had called someone by name aside from Yugi.
"Po- Mai's right," Heru agreed, leaning forward on his knees. "Let him talk."
Yugi let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thank you." He glanced at Malik. "Atem's the reason I'm not dead yet. Him and Akefia. They managed to mix up the results. That's why Akefia was sent to the zoo."
Akefia leaned back in his chair, keeping his gaze on the wall. He took back everything he said about the zoo on the first day.
At night, when the keepers went home. That was when the hell started.
Malik scowled at Atem but didn't protest again.
Yugi let out another breath. "Ushio wanted us to get out," he continued. "All of us. Not just section seventeen. Everyone, from every section."
"We're fucked." Bonz closed his eyes. "If we do that, we're fucked. There's no way in hell we can get everyone out. Some people like it here. The leaders have rats. Hell, the rats have rats."
"We'll find a way," Yami insisted. "It's been done before."
"Yeah, in a world war," Honda muttered. "Not here."
"We'll find a way," Yugi mimicked. "The last thing Ushio said to me was to tell his parents how he died. I'm not going to go down without telling them."
Anzu nodded. "Yugi's right," she agreed. "We need to get out of here."
Mana hummed. "We're not going to get everyone out," she commented. "Not all at once. Fifty sections."
"And about twenty people in every section," Heru added. "Fifty times twenty is over two thousand. And that's rounded down for the most part."
"Plus there are going to be the rats to deal with," Jounouchi added. "We won't be able to trust anyone."
"We'll work out how to tell the rats from the trustable people," Yugi assured him.
"How?"
"Seto and I can develop a tracker," Mokuba commented. "We could stick it on to everyone and track who goes where with who and at what time."
"Over two thousand of them?" Marik asked, raising an eyebrow.
Seto glanced at him. "It wouldn't be that hard. We could make them small, drop them on the ground and let people step on them. With the right durability, if we add small pins to it, it will stick to their shoe and be carried with them."
Yugi grinned. "That would be great." He glanced around. "Shizuka, Malik; you two are good with technology. Could you help them?"
Malik shrugged while Shizuka smiled. "Sure; I'd love to."
"Great." Yugi returned the smile.
"I'll help too," Jounouchi volunteered.
Yugi glanced at Seto, and when he nodded, Yugi grinned. "Great. Thanks, Jou."
"And if the rest of us join in on this crazy adventure plan you've got?" Sid raised an eyebrow. "Not all of us can make tracky things like them."
Keith met Yugi's gaze and gave him a small, reassuring grin.
Yugi nodded and glanced at Sid again. "How good are you with heights and languages?" Sid hesitated, and Yugi took the time to look around the room. "How many of you know a second or third language?"
Marik, Malik, Seto, Mokuba, Yami, Atem, Heru, Heba, Akefia, Miho, Mai, Ryou, Honda, Bonz and Mana raised their hands.
Including Yugi, that was sixteen. Perfect.
"How many of you know it fluently enough to translate most sentences into it?"
Only Mokuba lowered his hand. Fifteen.
"Everyone list out the language they know."
"Arabic, Ancient Egyptian." Marik.
"Same as Marik." Malik.
"Russian, English, Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese." Seto.
"Arabic." Yami.
"Arabic, English." Atem.
"Arabic, Hebrew." Heru.
"Just Arabic." Heba.
"Welsh." Akefia.
"F-F'ench." Miho.
"Spanish, English, German." Mai.
Irish, English, French, Spanish. Ryou.
"Spanish." Honda.
"German." Bonz.
"Spanish." Mana.
Eleven. Eleven languages, not including the ones Yugi knew.
Yugi smirked. "I've got a plan that will drive Zorc nuts."
DD: I really hope you enjoyed guys. The next chapter will probably be out... eventually. I'm sorry; I got a main part in a play and as I said, I'm going back to school so it'll probably be mid-late September when it comes out. On the plus side, if it comes out earlier, you can have a nice surprise waiting in your notifications box (hopefully nice anyway)! Thanks to fitzyfoop for editing this chapter! Please vote and review. See you next time, Killer Queens!