Complex (NHS)

First topic message reminder :

This high-tech building serves as not only a shelter for those who need it, but also a control center for the Master of the Hunt. It is multi-storied, with a helipad on top.

-I think you'll find that he did, you just might not have connected the dots.-

*There is a pause, and then...*

-My name is Erebus. The one who you saw fight alongside Ezekeil in our battle against Kaio. The one you watched on the hologram. Now, as to your deck... I can help you. But I need to know your fighting style first. Would you happen to be able to tell me a bit about yourself?-

Fighting style? I noticed a flaw in my fighting style it's predictability. I use the same strategy down to the same cards. I focus on finding a single solution to win. My deck is built so that every hand is just a stepping stone towards that single victory. I depended too much on Leo now that he is gone... I have a deck with no end game. I have a path that leads nowhere but failure.

How do I answer this question? The man in the duster recognized immediately that I relied on only a single card to win. What do I say? Maybe I need to tell him what I want my fighting style to be. If I tell him that I usually duel for failure. He will give me a deck that is certain to lose. What do I want?

"Erebus. My dueling style is to swarm the field with a variety of monsters allowing me to Xyz summon powerful monsters fast. Combining the skills of synchro monsters (such as Stardust Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon) with Xyz monsters is also a favored fighting style of mine. Simply put, I like playing with a versatile deck with cards that can adapt to different situations. I favor no attributes. I have learned to admire dragons but diversity in a deck is never a bad thing."

Ancient Fairy Dragon? Stardust? What are they? What is swarming? Where did this come from? It was like I was inside someone's mind staring through their mind as they spoke. Maybe someone was deep in my mind watching and waiting until this very moment to speak.

"Erebus, sorry for sounding ignorant."

*A camera rotates to face the man, zooming in and out like a strange robotic eye.*

-Swarming... Xyz... Synchros... Dragons? I can only think of a handful of decks that accomplish this. Ezekeil would never forgive me for suggesting a certain one, but I do know of another.-

*The walls light up with holographic displays, showing various cards and monsters.*

-These are Hieratics. Ezekeil uses them from time to time as well. They share many of the characteristics you are searching for. What do you think?-

"Sounds like fun."

Leon's heart beat was loud. He felt exhilarated.

My cards they are all different.

"Thank you, Erebus. I must go."

Leon exited the complex and headed toward the forest.
Rain poured hard and the intercom sounded calling the duelist to head to the complex.

It's probably better that I stay and wait for the others while I get to know my new cards.

Harth flies back over to the complex in dragon form. He lets out another roar; noone seems to have paid him any attention since he lost his number card. While he would be perfectly able to adapt to a storm, he knows full well that most people won't, and will come shelter here. He came to duel.

*The noise of the helicopter's rotors is muffled by the sound of the wind, although it is still audible. Crown attempts to land it gently on the helipad, but ends up making more of an emergency landing, making a loud bang as the feet of the helicopter make contact with the helipad.*

+"We here at Air Insanity would like to thank you for choosing us for your flight today, and we do hope you'll choose to fly with us again in the future."

*Ezekeil quickly leaps out of the helicopter, running quickly through the doors into the dry foyer of the building. He waits for Crown and Dante to make their way over.*

+"Impatient, aren't we?" Says Crown as he enters the building as well.

Dante bounced in his seat lightly as the helicopter landed a bit roughly and said to Crown, "Geez. You almost as good as me at flying these things." Not expecting anymore than a leering look(Not character control. I don't know how Crown would react to this), Dante stepped out of the helicopter and followed behind Crown toward Zeke. Once they made it to him he added to Crown's statement, "Nah, he's not impatient. He's just training to win the Daytona 500."

"Dante, I have a question for you: Are you ready for the fight of your life?"

-You're going to go through with that plan?-

"Of course. We're running out of time, and I've got to find some way to declare a winner."

*Ezekeil pauses.*

"Also, I'll be needing something from you."

*Ezekeil reaches out his hand, holding his palm facing Dante, as a card flies from Dante's duel disk to his hand.*

"I realize you may have been under the influence of Kaio, but that doesn't mean you can steal my things. I'll let it slide this time, but next time don't expect such forgiving treatment." Says Ezekeil with a grin.

"Don't worry, man. It's fine. I'm messing with you. I'd like to know though; Why did Kaio want this card so badly?"

Dante watched the card fly out of his duel disk and figured it was Number 92. He then looked to Ezekiel and said, "Honestly, I dunno. I think it could've had something to do with the fact that Heart is kinda useless without it."

Heart appeared behind him with that statement and said, "Hey! That's mean, Dante! How dare you say such a horrible thing about your cards!"

Drago appeared next to him and said, "Unfortunately, I have to agree with him, sir. You are kinda useless without your dragon."

While the two began to argue, Dante looked to Zeke and said, "Well, about that fighting. I don't have a problem with it. Let's do this sh*t."

Leon ran through the hall where he had been waiting for the other duelists. He saw Ezekiel talking to Dante- a familiar face.

"Ezekiel! I think I'm going to die. I don't know how this happened but look..."

Leon held up a single blue hair.

"If you can diagnose what's killing me, than maybe you can use that information to kill Kaio. I don't have a Number anymore but in my death you may seek a permanent solution to destroy him."

Leon collapsed. He felt his insides fight to stay alive.

"Take it. Take the hair. It'll turn to dust soon along with the rest of me."

Leon panted.

Why? Why do I care? Before if these people died I would feel jealousy. No remorse. I now realize everyone here has a will to live as strong as I have a will to die. If I just hold myself together and endure the pain I've envied for so long just a little while longer... maybe I can help.

Leon breathed heavily and crumple to his side. His hand was outstretched towards Ezekiel, firmly grasping his blue hair. His head however was turned towards Dante.

"You. You're the Lightsworn duelist. You still have Number 88. Can I talk to him?"

Dante had stopped walking when he reached Ezekiel when the man with the blue hair collapsed. He then heard the man's question and shrugged. "Go ahead and talk," Dante said, "It's not like I control him. I may have the card but I don't have a collar on his neck."

At that point, Leon appeared in front of Dante and knelt beside Leon as he said, "I see you finally found a way to die, my friend."

*Ezekeil silently takes the hair and deposits it into a small jar, careful to not interrupt the conversation.*

I don't know if I can use this... But I may as well take it.

*He walks down the hallway and into another room, leaving them alone.*

(Note: Dante, I was just avoiding any possible character control. Better safe than sorry.)

"I'd like to say I have found a way to die... but that would imply I know how this all started. More people have the will to live than I have to die. I know that. I need to live for them, Leo. I don't know if I can live long enough for Ezekiel to do a thorough analysis."

Leo's eyes expressed his joy and respect for Leon's personal growth while the remainder of his face was somber knowing a new friend would soon pass.

-Leon, I think you've grown up in the past day more than you have in the past 10 thousand years.-

Leon let out a weak laugh.

"You think so?"

-I really do, but you won't be able to help anyone if you aren't confident that you can.-

"You're right."

-Why don't you start by standing up.-

Leon struggled to move. He convulsed and the world began to turn white.

"It's so painful, Leo."

Each word was uttered out one at a time.

-Isn't that what you've always wanted?

There was a slight pause.

-Stay with me. Here. Take my hand.-

Leo outstretched a hand. Leon didn't second guess Leo's intangibility. Leon wasn't skeptical of anything anymore. If a duel spirit was able to carry his weight, why should that amaze him? That's far less amazing than the existence of a duel spirit itself. Furthermore, Leon was in far too much pain to care about logic. Leon reached for Leo's hand and against all odds Leo pulled him up.

-You need to find a place to keep your mind off the pain. If you lay down you may never wake up. I suggest walking. This Complex is huge and safe. Talk to Ezekiel or Erberus for permission to walk around this place.-

"Permission?"

Leon slouched against a wall.

-I wouldn't doubt that there are unauthorized area's in here. It would be wise to ask for permission or at the very least advice on what to do to relieve your mind of the pain.-

Leon's eyelids were heavy.

-Wake up!-

Leo roared loudly; it echoed down the hall. Leon stood up straight with haste.

"Thanks, Leo. I needed that."

Kanato enters the room and watches silently over the dramatic scenery.
"A slaughterhouse without my presence? Geez, I missed the fun."

He raises his duel disk and begins announcing:
"Step right up! Number cards for the cheap price of winning a duel! I got two in stock so far! Easy pick ups!"

OOC: I have no idea what's gone down in the complex, as I just looked upon the page. Anyone mind keeping me up with news?

(Xrai, maybe someone else can give you a synopsis but I can't. Truth be told it's a good story and worth reading everything that has happened so far. But honestly you don't need to know. If your character hasn't been here the entire time so you only need to know as much as your character does. But if you really want to get your character into the storyline I suggest reading everything here and at the forest. It won't hurt to read in other places.)

"I'll be okay, Leo. Those cards are important."

-Dante, I'll be right here beside you.-

Leo dissipated into nothing.

"Dante. I am going to take a walk. You need to take care of that clown."

He grinded his teeth. The pain was unbearable. Leon could hear Leo's roar in his head.

-Focus.-

Does he know he's not just gambling Number cards? If Dante doesn't win this duel...

Leon rolled his shoulders back and clenched his fist. He filtered out the pain and focused on the severity of the situation at hand.

"Listen, Dante. Losing a Number card right now is not an option. I'm going to find Ezekiel and you will catch up. I know you will."

Leon walked down the hall leaving Dante with enough room to duel this stranger in the foyer.

The hallway; it looks different. I know this is where I came from but there are more doors and an elevator. Without a doubt this is a clever security measure Ezekiel created by Ezekiel.

Leon looked to the ceiling for a security camera. He looked at the walls and doors for hints or clues as to where to go. He heard a loud sound. It sounded like the door to the foyer shut behind him. The overhead lights turned off.

I don't have time for this...

A neon green light appeared beneath him and just like before it guided him to a secret door. Leon followed the neon green pathway and placed his hand gently on the doorknob. The door opened swiftly.

Is this really the lab? I thought I'd need to go through 3 more sets of escalators to get to something like this. If I had to guess Ezekiel has more than one lab in this place in the event that something goes terribly wrong or maybe different projects for different labs or maybe I am thinking too hard...

"Erberus? Ezekiel? Any good news?"

*Ezekeil sits in a chair at the opposite side of the room. A machine whirs softly about ten feet from him. However, he seems disinterested in the machine. Instead, he has his eyes set on a small, flat object in his hand. A picture frame. In the picture are five clearly visible figures. Going left to right, there was Klaus, Crown, Ezekeil, and the glowing EBS-1 -which would be Erebus-. However, there was a figure in between Crown and Ezekeil that was difficult to see. Who could that fifth figure be?*

Leon walked toward the screen and watched shapes, numbers, and letters flood the screen. He was about to ask Ezekiel about his DNA analysis again but he felt that if there were urgent news to tell, Ezekiel would have said something.

The photo he's holding seems sentimental. It's ironic how Ezekiel's past took place in the future. His present time is centered around preventing the future that could cause the end of time. He must feel a pain greater than my own. Every being that exists could easily be wiped out by Kaio. He must feel that the fate of the universe rests on his shoulders. So if Ezekiel wants to spend some time looking at a photo that means something to him. I'll wait.

Leon stared at the screen as if he knew what any of it meant.

"I've always wondered something." Says Ezekeil without looking up from the picture.

"Do people just blindly accept the inconsistency? Or do they question it?"

*He pauses.*

"I'm referring to the fact of my apparent age. Surely, you must have noticed the fact that given the way I currently look, I can't possibly be over eighteen. Yet, if you do the math and subtract the years between now and the first incident with Kaio, I couldn't have been over fourteen or fifteen when that happened. Would you like to know why?"

*He sets the picture down and spins his swiveling chair around to face Leon.*

"It's because, like you, I no longer age. Not conventionally, at least. I don't know why, other than that it, for once, has nothing to do with Kaio. Crown, Erebus, and I age at around one tenth of the speed of everybody else. Klaus would too, if he weren't... gone."

*He looks Leon in the eye.*

"So that machine there has just as much significance to you as it does to me. The only difference being that I'm looking forward to a long life. All I want right now is answers. And I'm hoping you'll be able to give me them." He says, gesturing at the machine.

Inside the cockpit of the helicopter lights and buzzers were flashing off and on as Masquerade began pointing to each one "104: What does that one mean?" "Cinq: I Don't know." "104: Why is that one flashing?" "Cinq: I Don't know." "104: Is there anything you do know?" "Cinq: Were gona crash!" The storm winds continue to rock the helicopter around as it is soaring through the sky with the complex now in view. Then lightning comes flying down from the sky striking the back ruttier causing the engine to come to a halt making the copter even harder to control. Seraph was back in the passenger area curled up in a ball shaking back and forth "102: I knew this was a bad idea!" Now closer to the complex lighting comes flying out of the sky hitting the main Rutter shutting it down "104: Its like this storm is out to get us!" Cinquième then pulled the key out of the ignition and grabbed a hold of Masquerade pulling him back to the passenger area "Cinq: Probably because it is." As the helicopter began to descend heading towards the landing platform Cinquième called for Seraph to come over and he quickly does. As he opens the side door and the drop in pressure began to force air out beginning to pull the three to the door. As Cinquième tried to slip on the parachute he took a glance up into the clouds where he saw lighting flash in a greenish light forming what looked like the seal. Suddanly his mind flashed back and a memory of the past flooded into his head, he then dropped the parachute and jumped strait out of the helicopter with Seraph and Masquerade in hand "102: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" called out Sereph "104: I THINK HE LOST HIS MIND AGAIN!!" screamed Masquerade. Suddenly Cinquièmes eyes flashed into a Crystie ice blue color and a path in the rain began to form, made out of frozen droplets. He landed on the path and began to surf down forming twists and turns as greenish lightning fired down out of the sky. The path finally ended with him landing on the walk way from the helicopter pad. "104: I didn't know you could do that." "Cinq: I Just remembered i could." "102: Why did you take the ignition key?" Just then the falling helicopter passed right over the Helipad ramming into Crown's Helicopter knocking it over and off towards the ground. The helicopters were still salvageable, just leaking floods of gas, just then lightning flew down heading towards the three on the walk way. Cinquième then tosses the key into the air acting as a lightning rod drawing the lighting to it, as the lightning struck it the key fell down to the two helicopters and landed in the pool of gas igniting it. The fire then flowed across the liquid riding it up into the gas tanks of each helicopter. Cinquième had already begun to walk down the path to the entrance and as he did the tanks of gas ignited and exploded out in a fiery outburst rumbling the ground beneath his feet, but he just kept walking into the building joining the others "Cinq: Does that answer your question?"

Deep in the sub-levels, a lone maroon eye opened lazily.

Surveying his surroundings, the eye closed as Jain pulled his head forth from the tile flooring.

"...Huh. I was supposed to nap through this damn storm. What woke me up?"

He blinked and lifted his gaze towards the ceiling. "Well, I suppose there's no better time to call in that rain check."

A predatory grin slowly spread across his expression.

"But first," The head retreated back into the ground. "... A little more shut-eye."

*Ezekeil looks up, as if acknowledging something.*

"Well, I may as well get the ball rolling."

*He reaches over and holds down a small button, which brings the intercom to life.*

"Welcome, competitors, to the complex! Now that you're all here, I can mention that only four of you managed to make it in time. Sounds like a small number, but it's rather convenient when you think about it. Do you know why? Because as of right now, you four are to battle it out for the ultimate prize."

*He pauses, then lists the names of each participant aloud, showing a live camera feed of them in turn.*

"Cinquième Isume."

*A pause.*

"Dante."

*Another pause.*

"Kanato Takahiri."

*Yet another pause.*

"Jain."

*One final pause.*

"You four are our finalists. Congratulations! Now, good luck, and have fun. Iku ze!"

A tired groan echoes in the lower reaches of the complex, an arm reaches out of the wall, phasing into focus as the rest of the body follows.

"Huh", Jain mumbles as he rubs his eyes tiredly. "Just us four now huh?"

Blinking away the crusts, his eyes narrow in thought.

"Wait... how did he know I was here?"

He looks up the a video camera, a blinking red light flickering beneath its lens. Jain fades into the ground to reappear several meters away. He turns to see the camera's vision still on him and vanishes once more.

'I should be hidden here, it can't possibly...'

Behind the foundations of the building, Jain's jaw dropped as he saw the camera with its attention on him.

With several tonnes of concrete and soil between the two.

'That is both impressive and disturbing...'

-Nothing's happening, Ezekeil.-

"I see this, Erebus. One moment. I have an idea."

*He slides his chair over to a small console in the corner of the room.*

"You might want to hang onto something, if you can."

*He grabs onto a few levers and starts pulling them in turn, methodically. There's about ten levers in all that he adjusts. As he does so, loud noises can be heard underfoot as machinery and mechanisms come to life. Outside of the room, doors start locking, limiting the available pathways to those that lead to the western tower. Then, something else shocking happens. The floors light up as before, and then seem to move. In fact, they aren't really moving, but are simply using electromagnetic induction to produce magnetic fields that vibrate the metal in the floor very rapidly yet subtly. This causes the illusion of movement and actually creates the sensation of being gently pushed in a direction. The West Tower.*

"That should bring them all together."

Dante was still waiting for something interesting to happen when the floor lit up again. Soon after, he felt a faint pull from his pistols. Those being metal, naturally the only thing that could be pulling them was a magnet. Dante then noticed the vibrations through his boots and noticed the floor looked like it was moving. Funny enough, he already knew this trick so it was of no difference to him. He decided to follow the lights like before, hoping to find someone or something. As he did, Drago popped up behind him to add in his usual banter.

"Why does Ezekiel insist on this light-up floor thing? I mean, it starts to mess with the eyes after a while."

"I know what you mean, Jiminy. I'm starting to see lines everywhere now."

Leon collapsed to the ground. He lied down on his side and looked at Ezekiel; his face was drenched in sweat and tears.

"Ezekiel, I'm sorr-"

Leon choked up bile and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He foamed from the mouth and he began to convulse. His hair lied in his a pool of vomit and sweat which slowly turned to a pile of dust.

So... This is the end.

His skin thinned and withered away. His muscles grayed and slipped off of his bones turning to dust before they hit the floor. His eyes melted into his skull. His bones cracked and crumbled to clumps of dust. His blue hair was nothing more than grey lines of dust intertwining and overlapping each other. One blue hair in particular was undergoing several analyses died along with the rest.

The most peculiar things left behind were the ankh which he wore around his neck and the messanger bag which seemed to open in Ezekiel's direction. Almost as if welcoming him to read the collection of parchment which rolled out of it and sat in the dust.

*Ezekeil watches these events unfold before him with a shocking level of tranquility.*

"Well, it looks like one of us found solitude. Good luck wherever you are now, Leon."

*He turns to look at the screen. The tests had completed about 80% before the hair had died.*

"Damn. If only I'd had a bit more time."

-Ezekeil, the bag.-

"Huh?"

*It is at this point that Ezekeil notices the open bag and the ankh. He gets up from his chair and gently lifts them from the dust. He looks at the parchment, noting its aged appearance.*

This must be hundreds of years old, at least.

*He sits down in his chair again, laying the objects on the table. He moves as if to read the papers, then pauses.*

Something's not right about this whole situation...

*He turns back to the screen, pouring over the numbers again and again, looking for the one thing that would confirm his hypothesis.*

No, maybe I was wrong...

*Erebus, realizing what Ezekeil was trying to do, speaks up.*

-Check the parchment. Maybe there's residual DNA on it. I mean, Leon must have touched it at some point in his life.-

"Right."

*He gently lifts the paper and places it under a large device, then moves over to another screen with a pair of joysticks in front of it. On the screen are two claw-like apertures. He carefully moves the joysticks, the claws moving in response. After about five minutes, he finds what he was looking for.*

"Finally."

*He picks up the lone strand with the claws, and moves it onto a small glass plate. To the naked eye, the strand is so small it isn't even visible. After it is positioned on the plate, the small square piece of glass is automatically inserted into a large machine. The same machine that had been analyzing the hair.*

"Computer, run DNA scan."

Now, only time will tell...

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*After about half an hour, a small beeping noise chimes out from the console. Ezekeil quickly pulls up the results next to the results from the hair. He starts comparing the strings of numbers and letters. After several minutes, Ezekeil leans back in the chair, looking disappointed.*

"I can't find any differences."

-Ezekeil, look. Line 85,673.-

*The specified line highlights itself, and Ezekeil quickly looks to it. What he sees amazes him.*

"There's no way..."

*He keeps looking at the lines, comparing the two over and over again.*

"No freaking way! Ha ha!" He wheels back in the chair and spins around once with his arms thrown up into the air.

*What seemed like such an important discovery was in truth a difference of a mere few letters. In the string of DNA from the parchment, the line read out AAGTGACTATC. In the sequence from the hair, it read AAGTGACGTGC. A difference of a mere three letters, yet it had sent Ezekeil into an uproar of excitement.*

-There's something else, Ezekeil.-

*His excitement quickly fades at this comment as his face grows serious.*

"What is it?"

-Line 107,438.-

*As before, the line highlights itself. Ezekeil reads it over.*

"I don't see anything special, Erebus. What is it that you're so worried about?"

-Look closer.-

*Ezekeil looks over the letters again.*

"I don't see anything, Erebus. I'm getting tired of this little... game..." His sentence fades out as he finally sees what Erebus was talking about.

*He sits there in shocked silence, not sure what to say or how to begin to understand what he was seeing. DNA sequences always consist of four molecules: guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine. They are always represented by the letters G, A, T, and C. However, what he saw defied everything he knew about genetics.*

"That's... not possible."

-But it's there, Ezekeil.-

"There's no way. It can't be."

-What else could it be?-

*Ezekeil is silent for a long time. Then, he finally speaks again.*

"The odds of something like this are... astronomical."

-Unless somebody put it there intentionally.-

"... Who am I, Erebus? Or at least, who does somebody think I'm supposed to be?"

*On the screen, amidst a sea of random letters, is a single word. Like a message left there to transcend time itself. A single word, formed by letters unused by any of the four molecules. His name, in all capital letters. EZEKEIL.*

-----------------------------------------

*About an hour passes. Ezekeil continues to think on the matter, contemplating all the possible scenarios as to why his name would show up in a genetic sequence. Suddenly, he is hit with a burst of inspiration.*

"Erebus, I think I've got it."

-Hm?- Says Erebus, sounding like he had just woken up.

"Somebody deliberately left this message. The fact that these letters are in this order are simply to make them stand out to me. The order is something else entirely. And the compounds. I need to run tests on them all, but I have a feeling that a few of them have different names."

-Are you trying to say that this is a cryptogram?-

"Yes, Erebus. That's exactly what I'm saying. A cryptogram left in the DNA of an immortal being, the only thing capable of carrying a message indefinitely."

*A faint smile stretches across Ezekeil's face.*

"Thanks, Leon. You've done more for me than you will ever know."

*He wheels his chair over to a machine and rapidly presses buttons.*

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. Erebus, monitor this thing. Keep the levels stable."

-Got it.-

*Ezekeil then wheels back to the console and starts writing a program. A program to solve the oldest cryptogram in history.*