Ashe

 Standing on top of the base, Yugi watched the helicopter glide towards them. He could hear the whirl of its engines spinning the blade, slicing through the air with ease. When it reached a few metres away from them, the wind picking up, tossing his hair around and obscuring his vision at moments. He tried to blow his bangs out of his face, but succeeded in only getting dirt stuck to his lips.

The helicopter landed, touching down on the pad gently at first, before its full weight sunk down. It didn’t even bother to turn off its engines, the driver’s gaze turning to Yugi’s, but not able to speak over the roar of the blades.

Yugi just shrugged, gesturing for Atem to follow him inside.

Boarding the aircraft, Yugi sunk down into the plush leather of the seat, groaning. It would be at least five hours before they saw the runways of the head base, and probably longer before he would be able to take a breather again.

Once they were airborne, Atem turned to look at him, a question tumbling from his lips. “Why a helicopter, sir?”

“They’re faster, and we’re heading deep into the Empire’s territory. The chances of being attacked are pretty low, and we’re on time restraints. It’s worth what little risk it poses.”

“Understood.”

Yugi reclined back against the seat, arms sliding up to the head rests. He regarded the stoic, rigid form of Atem, and how the other refused to relax from his upright position.

“Atem? Why do you always sit and stand so stoically?”

“My programming demands me to always be prepared for battle.” Atem answered, fingers curling under his palms. “I cannot disobey it.”

“Even if I ordered you to relax?”

Atem pause, his gaze turning thoughtful. “…My programming recognises your orders to override the base commands of my system. I believe, in that circumstance, your orders would take preference, sir.”

“Then relax, Atem. There’s no need to be so tense, you’ll knot up your muscles.”

“Yes sir.” Atem’s shoulders slowly slumped, and he spread his fingers over his knees.

Yugi turned back to the window, watching the land speed by in sparks of dull colours, his mind far away.

It was another few hours before they saw the mass of metal and concrete that marked the headquarters of the Domino Empire’s military. They touched down on an offshoot of the runway, away from the main section of the base.

Stepping outside into the swirling dust and baking heat, Yugi grimaced. He could taste the bitter particles in the air and spit rapidly to keep them off his lips.

I hate HQ, Yugi inwardly groaned. He glanced over his shoulder to where Atem was stepping off the helicopter.

“Welcome to Domino’s military headquarters, Atem.” Yugi gave a sweeping gesture, sarcasm thick in his voice.

Atem just nodded, eyes trailing over all he could see, which wasn’t much given their location away from the main buildings of the base. The barren landscape and heat caused ripples to wave over the surface, reducing the base to a series of hazy shapes.

“Aren’t you glad we don’t work here?” Yugi chuckled, sauntering over to a Jeep waiting to transport them to the base.

Atem diligently followed, saying, “The location of your workplace has no bearings on me. Where you go, I follow, sir.”

“You’re allowed to have opinions, though.”

“With all due respect, sir, despite the chip you had implanted in me, I am an android built for war. I do not have any use for opinions in my system.”

Yugi frowned, but didn’t say anything. Speaking with Atem about matters not involving war was a one-sided conversation, and Yugi was tired of his words falling on unresponsive ears.

There has to be some way to get through to him, though, Yugi thought, climbing into the car. He watched Atem slide in beside him, the driver taking off once they were both seated.

Atem was rigid and straight again, hair waving in the wind, eyes squinted against the elements. It was the kind of pose that would make Yugi laugh if it had been Anzu or Jou, but on Atem, knowing that the android didn’t even realised why his body demanded him to shield his eyes like that… Yugi felt a little sick.

He wondered what it was like, where that part that had been human in Atem had gone. Was it still there, buried deep inside? Or was it gone, completely wiped from his mind somehow, through some sick means? Yugi could picture it; a man like Dartz, laughing over the shoulder of a scientist, picking apart Atem’s brain while he helplessly slept, oblivious to the damage being forced upon him, soon to change his life.

The car rolled to a stop, and Yugi was forced out of his thoughts at the jolt. Right, the here and now is more important. Get your head out of your imagination, Mutou, Yugi chided himself.

“This way Atem.” He said, stepping out of the car. Atem followed close behind, and Yugi began the trip to the Generals’ meeting room.

It led them up several levels of the building, and across multiple hallways, the floor springing up carpet part way through, and Yugi knew they were close to Gozaburo’s lurking grounds.

He stopped in front of a double set of doors, cracking his neck to the side to work out the nerves stacking there. “This is the place.”

He pushed one of the doors open, strutting inside.

The only thing in the room was a large rectangle table, a chair on either side. One was occupied by a man with teal hair, while the other was empty. At the head of the table sat Gozaburo, his massive frame swallowing the chair behind him.

“Mutou, you’re late, hurry up and get in here.” He grunted.

“Yes sir.” Yugi said, despite Gozaburo never actually giving him a time frame to be late to.

“Keep the android waiting for you outside, Mutou. I don’t want it in here.” Gozaburo waved at him. Yugi raised a questioning eyebrow, but he didn’t argue. He turned to Atem, giving a quick smile. “Wait outside for further orders, soldier.”

“Understood, sir.” Atem bowed, sweeping out of the room quietly.

“All right let’s start.” Gozaburo gave a grunt, waving his hand widely before turning to the other man, as Yugi sat down opposite. “Dartz, I want to know…”

Yugi leaned back in his chair, zoning out mostly while Gozaburo and Dartz chatted away, hardly giving any notice that Yugi was in the room as well.

Eventually Gozaburo moved on to other matters, leaving Dartz alone, whose mismatched eyes then fluttered to Yugi. Instinctively Yugi straightened, coolly meeting Dartz’s gaze.

He idly nodded along to pretend he was interested, letting the Commander prattle on about something that seemed irrelevant to his General status. Gozaburo did like the sound of his own voice, if the way he compulsively spoke loudly over others was anything to go by.

Yugi patiently waited until he was addressed, leaning forward, eager to finally get the details on why he was forced to come here.

“There’s been some Armes soldiers nosing around in our borders recently and I’m sick of pathetic reports coming back showing a lack of action,” Gozaburo said, slamming down a folder. “If they’re trying to test the waters for something bigger I don’t want to let them do as they please. Mutou you’re the closest to all this; get on it.”

Yugi jumped, back straightening as Gozaburo’s eyes descended on him. “Yes sir.”

“Right, you have your orders. Dismissed.” Gozaburo said. He didn’t even wait for Dartz or Yugi to move, shifting out of his chair and leaving the room before either of them could even stand.

Thank god that’s over, Yugi sighed in relief, pushing out of his chair. The sooner he could leave the headquarters behind, the better off he would be. He didn’t like being here, there were too many risks, too many chances for something to go wrong.

Before Yugi had even made it two steps, a lofty voice called him back. Like that, he grimaced, expression morphing into bored curiosity as he turned.

“Yes, General Ironheart?”

“I’d like to meet the android, if you could spare a moment, Mutou.” Dartz said, inspecting a finger, not even looking at Yugi.

Yugi paused, gritting his teeth together. He so badly wanted to roll his eyes at the statement, but settled for beaming a polite smile at Dartz instead. “Of course, General Ironheart. I’m sure I could give you a few moments with your… creation.”

“Excellent.”

“I’ll bring hi- it in, no need to move.”

“How generous of you.” Dartz smiled, an expression that meant anything but cheerfulness.

Atem was waiting where Yugi had left him outside, back straight and arms clasped behind him. He gave a small salute when he noticed Yugi.

“Sir.”

“You’re needed in here.” Yugi said, gesturing for the android to lean closer. He lowered his voice, eyes glancing around nervously. “General Dartz Ironheart wants to see you.”

“Who is General Dartz?” Atem frowned, looking apprehensive. He must have picked up on my unease, clever.

“You’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Yugi said quickly. “He’s the one in charge of the… side business, that created… you. He probably just wants to examine you like Gozaburo did.”

“Shall I revert to my original programming, sir?”

“It’s for the best.”

“Understood.” Atem closed his eyes, reopening them a moment later, the ring of his pupil resizing itself rapidly. Yugi looked away, uneasy at the inhuman expression. He could practically see the emotions evaporating from Atem’s eyes, his face losing all evidence, leaving the signature blank look of an android in its wake.

Yugi led Atem into the meeting room, where Dartz was still perched elegantly in his seat. His face lifted when he saw them however, and he rose slowly to his feet.

“My my, look at how you turned out.” He practically purred, completely ignoring Yugi in order to examine Atem. He strode up to Atem, stalking around him as if assessing his next piece of prey. Yugi shifted impatiently on his feet, itching to leave already.

“Do you know who I am, Atem?”

“General Dartz Ironheart of the Domino Empire, sir.”

“Indeed,” Dartz said smoothly, eyes flickering back to Yugi. “I trust it performs to the best expectations?”

“Well and beyond, Ironheart.” Yugi nodded.

“Good, good. I would hope our little weapon operates smoothly. He’s quite the killing machine, isn’t he?”

“It fights quite well, yes.” Yugi felt his lips twitch downwards, but he caught himself. Dartz was watching him carefully, and he couldn’t afford to falter now, under the gaze of such a hungry predator. Dartz’s wouldn’t hesitate to cram a sword into a weak point once discovered.

“I can’t wait to see the results of the battlefield, the carnage he’ll leave in his wake.”

Why the change in pronouns? Yugi questioned silently. Dartz didn’t seem to act any different, his gaze wandering between Yugi and Atem. He hummed appreciatively when he touched one of Atem’s arms, feeling the muscles clench under his grip.

“Fascinating, isn’t he?” Dartz marvelled, his slimy hands working their way all around Atem’s arms and shoulders. Yugi felt sorry for him, the way Atem had to remain so stoic while Dartz practically felt him up. Disgusting.

“It’s just an android, Ironheart.” Yugi shrugged, acting indifferently. Dartz shot him a curious look, something wild sparkling in his eyes.

“Oh he’s so much more than that, Mutou,” Dartz practically purred, stroking Atem’s arm. “He’s an innovation of my own design. A feat never before achieved in our history.”

“If you say so.” Yugi grunted. Yeah he is, you sick bastard, but not for good reasons. He crossed his arms, signalling his impatience. “Are you done here, Ironheart? I hate to push you away from your creation, but the android and I have an appointment with General Pegasus.”

“Ah, ever the busy one aren’t you Mutou?” Dartz said. “Surely you could stick around, have a drink with me perhaps?”

“I don’t drink, but thanks for the offer,” Yugi lied. “Best not to keep Pegasus waiting.”

“Understandable,” Dartz sighed, the fakest sound Yugi had ever heard. “Do come back once my little android wins us the war, won’t you? We’ll have much to celebrate.”

“I’m sure we will.” Yugi gave the man a smile, enjoying the grimace Dartz gave him in return.

He started walking in the opposite direction, leaving Dartz far behind them. Once he was certain the other General was nowhere near them, he stopped, Atem slowing just behind him.

“You can turn your emotions back on now.” Yugi instructed. Atem nodded, eyes closing momentarily before reopening.

“Have I… met that man before?” Atem asked, the emotion flowing back into his voice.

“Why, do you think you have?”

“He seems… familiar.”

“He was probably overseeing your… creation.”

“Ah… Perhaps that was it.” Atem nodded slowly, although a frown still danced on his lips.

“Let’s go, Pegasus is waiting, and we still have to take care of your mecha test before we leave.”

“Aye, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Pegasus’s office was five levels above the ground floor, a lavish array of decade old furniture and dated carpet. Nothing ever changed in here, it was like walking into a time capsule, something professors would chatter about in lectures for years to come.

Yugi had asked him why he never redecorated into the current century once. Pegasus has said it was because the furniture and carpet were his wife’s favourites. Yugi never brought it up again.

Pegasus was behind his desk, long silver strands of hair covering most of his face, head tilted in concentration at the paperwork littering the desk. His eyes lit up when he spotted Yugi, and he waved ecstatically at him.

“Yugi boy! It’s been too long!” He stood, making his way around the desk to clasp Yugi’s hand between his own, shaking roughly.

“Almost a year, yeah.” Yugi grunted, moving his hand back to the safety of his other palm.

“You really should visit more. It gets lonely around here, dealing with grunts and grunters all day.” Pegasus snickered at his own joke, threading his hair behind his ears to free his face. “What brings you here, by the way?”

“The new weapon,” Yugi answered, turning to the side to give Pegasus a better view of Atem behind him. “This is Atem, and Atem, this is General Pegasus.”

Atem gave a half bow, while Pegasus’s eyes lit up.

“What a dashing young face! How strange, it’s of Dartz’s design, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘design’, more like ‘creation’.”

“Odd choice of words, but I’m sure you’re here to tell me all about it.”

“It’s quite the tale; I only wish I had the beginning to go with it.”

“General Ironheart keeping secrets as always, I see.”

“When is he not?” Yugi groaned, rolling his eyes. “You’re lucky you’re not required to sit in these meetings. They’re just plain awful.”

“That’s why I have you, Yugi boy. Your pretty face is more likely to melt the cold hearts of the others as opposed to myself.”

“More like my track record. You know Gozaburo doesn’t even see me when he speaks to me. He just sees a weapon sitting on a shelf, collecting dust.”

“Come now, Yugi don’t think of yourself that way. We both know you’re so much more than that.”

“But Gozaburo doesn’t, and that’s the problem.” Yugi grunted.

“Gozaburo may talk big, but he’ll get what’s coming to him, don’t you worry. You just keep up your title and reputation, and we’ll be good.”

“Easier said than done. I think Gozaburo is starting to consider putting me back on the field.”

“But you’re a general; generals don’t do grunt work.”

“Everyone is a grunt in the Commander’s eyes.”

“This is true, I suppose.” Pegasus admitted, his shoulders sagging. He moved around the room, trailing a hand over the armchairs. His eyes moved to Atem’s form, something curious and searching in his gaze.

“You know, you look familiar.” He said.

Yugi raised an eyebrow. “You think you’ve met him before?”

“How could I, if he’s an android?” Pegasus shrugged. “Ah well, I’m sure he just has one of those faces.”

Atem looked to Yugi for help, and Yugi just shook his head. Best to leave it alone for now, he’d stash away that bit of information to think about later.

“So, about this meeting, Pegasus?” He pressed.

“Of course!” Pegasus clapped his hands together. He reached into his desk, rummaging around in some draw. He exclaimed loudly, finding whatever it was he had been looking for.

“Records,” he explained, sliding them over the desk for Yugi to see. “Of activity between your base and the closest one of our rivals. I think you’ll find some interesting points in between.”

Yugi glanced at the paper, sifting through the maps and locations listed. One particular one jumped out at him as strange. “How long has there been an outpost between this Armesian base and the compound?”

“Ah, that’s the question, isn’t it? Quite the interesting location, too. Close to a General’s base, should an attack happen, and not too far from an Armesian base too. They could potentially play both sides here, depending what colours and emblems they splash on their uniforms.”

“A prime piece of real estate if I ever saw one.” Yugi agreed, frowning. There was something not right about this outpost. He was getting similar vibes to the compound where Atem had been, an eerie chill up his spine, and he wasn’t even at the place. Gozaburo also mentioned something about soldiers poking around our border. Maybe there’s something going on here…

“Might be worth your time to scout, no?”

“Believe me, I’ll be looking into this personally.” Yugi grumbled. Pegasus nodded solemnly before smiling.

“How goes your soldiers? Anzu keeping the boys in line?”

“As always, she’s exceptional. Really helps keep the heat off my back, Ryou too with his endless patience.”

“That’s good,” Pegasus said smoothly. “It might take a while, but we’ll get them out.”

“There’s nothing else worth doing in this godforsaken place. If I can get one person out, then it’ll be worth it.”

“But what about yourself, Yugi boy? Surely you don’t plane to be Gozaburo’s puppet forever?”

“I’m fighting for those with something still left to fight for. There’s nothing left for me, you know this.”

“We’ve both done things we’re not proud of, Yugi boy. But what makes us different is we’re trying to fix the messes we’ve made. You shouldn’t berate yourself ”

“You might be, but I’ll never be able to take back what I’ve done on the battlefield.” Yugi sighed.

“Don’t stress on the past, Yugi boy.”

“I know, I know. I’m trying.”

“Focus on the now, and what we’re fighting to accomplish.” Pegasus gave him a pat on the shoulder, moving back to his desk. “I’ll keep you informed should any more information pop back up about our mystery place.”

“Thanks Pegasus,” Yugi nodded, slipping the report into his coat pocket. “I’ll hit the road when I get back. For once, Gozaburo’s orders actually don’t mess with our plans.”

“Small steps, small steps.” Pegasus hummed, slouching back into his chair gracefully. “I’ll be hearing from you soon, Yugi Mutou.”

“I’m sure you will.” Yugi said, turning away. “Come on Atem, let’s go.”

“Yes sir.”

Yugi began to backtrack down to the ground level floors, taking the elevator four storeys below.

Inside the elevator, Atem spoke up by his side. “What is our current mission now, sir?”

“Mutou.”

“What is our mission now, Mutou, sir?”

“Better,” Yugi hummed. “Now Atem, we have to test your mecha skills, to keep the boss man happy and off my back.”

“Understood, si- Mutou sir.”

“I must admit, given all your results so far, I’m curious to see how well you do in a mech.”

“I am programmed to respond to the best capabilities in all military based situations.”

“Actions speak louder than words, Atem.”

“Then allow me to show you, Mutou, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~

Yugi stood in a glass box stretched out over the stadium field. From here, he had a clear view of the entire track snaking around the field, and the interchangeable obstacles in the middle section. For the exercise, Yugi had chosen a rocky terrain, something to better replicate the area around his base of work, and the paths that led out into the neighbouring country’s territory.

“All right Atem look sharp, I have to record your results for the Commander.” Yugi spoke into a microphone, his voice broadcasting over the stadium. The screen in front of him sparked an image to life, a close up of the cockpit of Atem’s mech. Yugi could clearly see the android in the pilot seat, his hands gripping the twin handles that acted as the steering mechanism. He didn’t move, even as Yugi’s voice was transmitted directly into his ear piece.

“I’ll be controlling the field and projectiles that will be sent at you for the length of the test. The ground may shift, so be prepared for anything.”

“Aye, sir.”

“Good. Let’s begin.” Yugi slammed his fist down on one of the buttons, and the system in front of him flared to life.

He immediately began to press inputs, arranging the tools down below on the field to his advantage.

The ground lurched in response, the metal plates holding the textured lumps of rock shifting underneath the terrain, booming across the stadium.

Atem’s mech began to activate its suspension, legs spread wide to keep the bulky of heavy metal standing. He looked apprehensive on the screen, eyes flickering over the field, waiting for any kind of movement to act on.

With the ball now rolling, Yugi began to up the difficulty slowly. He began with increasing the speed of the plates, the rock moving faster now, making it harder for Atem to remain in one place, the ground jerking roughly underneath him.

With the balance disrupted, Yugi then activated the weapons set up along the outer ring of the field, where the track hugged the edges. Various types of canons and gun-like launchers rose from the ground, aiming their noses upwards.

With a flick of his wrist, Yugi sent a spray of projectiles towards Atem. Bullets of all kinds rained down on him, and Atem was forced to dance the mech across the field to keep the bullets form piercing the hide.

One of the heavier bullets, a type of canon ball, was heading directly for Atem’s new course of direction, and Atem twisted his mech sharply in response, narrowly dodging it, but sending his vehicle spiralling in the opposite direction.

The mech rolled, arms flinging out to the sides to keep itself steady. Yugi paused in his assault, waiting to see what Atem would do in response.

With the ground slowing its advances, Atem was able to kick the mech back into a standing position, the legs slamming in to get a good hold while the arms held the suspension on a manageable level.

Once upright again, Atem slammed his hands forward, the handles flying down their runs. The cockpit lit up excitedly in response, and Yugi’s eyes flickered from the screen down to the field, watching as the mech shot across the terrain.

Has he lost it? Yugi’s mouth hung open. Not even Jou would make such a bold move, straight into the shifting mass of bullets and metal breaking rock. And that was saying something.

His hands flew across the inputs, commands beeping back at him, cheerily announcing an increase in movement. The field groaned under the effort, but Yugi held firm with his commands, and eventually it became more noticeable.

The plates whirled and moved, slamming up against each other only to bounce in opposite directions, creating a rocky field of icebergs, bobbing and deadly in the sea of chaos.

Atem barely reacted, his mech sailed over the sharper points, pressing against the sides of boulders only to leap off them mere seconds before they crushed up against another piece of stone.

He must have past experience from the compound, no one could make a move like that so easily, Yugi bit his lip, fingers twitching. God I just want to hit him once…

He jerked a thumb over the missile buttons. Almost immediately two shot up from canons on the sides of the arena, turning around slowly in the air to lock onto Atem’s position.

Yugi watched Atem whip his head up, the screen on his mecha shouting bright warnings at the homing attack. His hands moved quickly, pressing buttons and flicking dials, but his mech remained in place, crouched against the dirt.

Why isn’t he moving? Yugi frowned, leaning closer, as if it would help him see some hidden detail he was missing.

Just when Yugi thought Atem was going to let the missiles hit, the mech shot into the air, and the projectiles, unable to change projection quite that fast, crashed into the ground, exploding on impact.

Yugi realised what he had just done, firing homing missiles at the government’s most expensive asset. “Shit.” He let out a deep breath, closing down all of the projectile bays. By the time Atem’s mecha had spun around in the air and landed back onto the rocky terrain, the field was still, everything static.

“The test is over,” Yugi pressed down on the mic input, his voice coming out more shaky that he expected it to. He paused, muting it to cough for a second.

“Return the vehicle to its bay and meet me up here in the control room.” Yugi ordered, shutting down the window with the view of Atem’s cockpit.

While he waited for Atem to finish up, he reset the field, hearing the metal clunk and groan as it shifted around.

He brought up the results from the exercise, the computer already organising everything into statistics for him.

Let’s see now… Yugi went straight for the heart rate results, the collection of data he had secretly taken for his own use, and would cut out of the report Gozaburo would receive.

A normal android- at least, one built for war, without human limitations- would be able to maintain their heart rate in any situation, regardless of implanted emotions or human-like reactions. But, like Yugi had suspected, Atem’s spiked all over the chart, reaching higher when he was more pressed to make decisions. Like a normal human would, Yugi sighed. This only proved what he already knew, though.

He knew Atem had been human, and he already knew about the kinds of limitations the surgery had, and what parts of Atem couldn’t be changed with artificial pieces. Maybe part of him had been looking for an excuse to question Yusei’s tests, a small abnormally that would point Atem to be nothing more than advanced AI. But the glaring data results in front of him couldn’t be ignored, nor could the reality of it all.

Atem really was some kind of twisted experiment.

The woosh of the door sliding open behind him cut through his thoughts. He turned to see Atem stride into the room, offering Yugi a quick salute and inclined head.

“Was my performance satisfactory, sir?”

“Yes it was.” Yugi quickly separated the data, storing his secret notes away and breaking up the file to send in the report to Gozaburo. “You did good, Atem. As always, you’re exceptional.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Don’t thank me, I wasn’t the one who turned you into a chimera of inhuman biology. Yugi just nodded, shoving a flash drive with the data on it into his jacket pocket, hands resting in them to strut confidently up to Atem.

“In other new, we’re done here. It’s time to head back to the base, I have orders to give out, and missions to plan.” Yugi stretched his neck to the side, groaning at the crack his joints made. It’s going to get very busy these next few days…