Never thought of Noah. Why did the Green remind me of something else? I thought the Orichalcos was the virus...
I’ve actually thought a lot about DOMA and Noah’s Arc in my AU. I know DSOD takes place in the manga (meaning the anime filler arcs didn’t happen), and I thought it could be fun to add that when I’m done with [Artificial Doll]. Like a sequel of sorts.
Here’s one of the things I’ve thought of!
Kaiba enters the palace with a loud bang.
That is not a strange thing to see, his rival is not known for silent and simple entrances. Or silent and simple anything. Considering he found a way to the afterlife without achieving the first requirement (being dead), almost everyone expects the man to do something outrageous.
But he usually arrives with his typical arrogant self, strutting inside with no care. Be it because he wanted to duel, or needed a break from his work, or needed inspiration, or was merely fascinated about this dimension. He always came here with confidence.
These were not the reasons why he came here, it was obvious for anyone who knew him.
When Atem sees him, he knows instantly something is wrong.
There is fear in those blue eyes, the desperate kind he thought he’d never see again after Duelist Kingdom. He does not approach Atem like he often does, the king does not even think he notices him, he instead dumps all the items he had brought with him and quickly assembles them around a laptop.
He begins to type rapidly, muttering to himself. He doesn’t spare anyone a second glance.
Atem orders the guards and servants present to leave, and asks one of them to look for Mahad. As he is one of the few people here who keeps tabs on the modern world, being connected to Dark Magician.
“This place has always given him some power,” Kaiba mumbles, not looking up from the screen. Atem has never seen anyone type so fast. Though to be fair, he has only seen Yuugi and the others use computers. “Faster in processing, in retrieving files, in learning, in fighting,” he says. “Being here should increase his—shit!”
He punches the floor hard.
Atem is taken aback at the violent reaction. “Kaiba, who are you-?”
“I know I built you stronger than this!” Kaiba snarls, typing with the desperation of a dying man. “You were based off of someone who’d never lose to this! Don’t you dare lose to a bunch of lowlife duelists we’ve never heard of!”
Based off…? Atem’s eyes widen. “Is that-”
A violet holo-screen materializes, its shade a lot paler than Atem remembers. Its corners have specks of green flickering.
Kaiba’s creation, one that he breathed life into without realizing. One that everyone assumed to be the Galatea to his Pygmalion. Even him. It did not help in endearing themselves to the A.I, especially when their assumptions were very, very wrong.
Kaiba had been furious as well, not happy with the implication that he had created the A.I out of some obsessed lust over him.
“Why aren’t your defense protocols working?” Kaiba asks himself, ignoring the flickering screens popping up and asking him to stop. “Why isn’t-they should be working!”
They had fought. It was nothing like in Battle City, where it was more similar to heated debates than furious lashing.
The screens glitch, fizzing in and out of existence. Green was slowly bleeding into them.
Output: Kaiba, let go. You know more than anyone the consequences of cheating, and this is definitely cheating.
They had ranted, anger and frustration pouring out of both of them. Atem angry at Kaiba creating risks just to meet him, and Kaiba hurt at Atem’s thoughtlessness of leaving him with no time to even process it, and angry at his dismissal of all his efforts on coming here.
Then the A.I had asked them to stop, giving an explanation on how their prototype couldn’t handle that much emotional instability, and Atem had snapped at him too. Had used words meant to hurt and sting as much as possible, words that would have disappointed Yuugi.
When Kaiba saw the A.I flinch, he quieted down, looked at him coldly, and left the palace. He stopped visiting for three months.
The A.I stopped appearing altogether, though Atem had seen glimpses of him around Kisara. It seems the woman is the only one the A.I trusts fully.
It took a year before the A.I would appear in front of everyone else again, and even now, their conversations are formal and stinted.
“Like hell I do! A weak virus like-”
Output: thISs I’smt A virus, aND yoU knOe itt.
The violet screens flicker and altogether disappear, a few seconds later, a holographic figure materializes.
Atem does not find it odd anymore to see a paler self of him. The A.I, Y.A.A.M.I as Kaiba has officially called him, acts a lot more like Kaiba than he knows. His gestures, his expressions, his sharp tongue and wit. It makes it easier to see that he’s not a complete digital copy of him.
Not a digital copy, no. More like a digital child, a Pinocchio to his Gepetto. One Kaiba made out of grief and… something else, something both him and Atem still couldn’t admit.
Not lust, never lust. There was nothing sexual between them, and Atem has a feeling Kaiba would vomit at the thought of doing that to the A.I.
“I’m so sorry,” the avatar whispers, voice filled with static. “I should have known better, the card was never in the database. And with recent news of people going under comas and having that card present on their bodies,” his form flickers violently. “I should have known better.”
There is a green emblem on Y.A.A.M.I’s forehead, and a sickly aura of magic surrounding him. Greedy and eager to consume him.
Atem realizes what’s wrong. It’s different from the ones he’s played, the ones he’s started, but he knows a shadow game when he sees one. He doesn’t know how, but Kaiba’s A.I had gotten into one.
This wasn’t a virus. “It’s a penalty game,” he whispers, horrified. Y.A.A.M.I looks at him briefly and nods, then looks away.
What happened? What’s been happening these past weeks?
“It’s not a penalty game!” Kaiba snaps. “That would imply that he has a soul,” he punctuates each word with a hard tap on the keys. “And he doesn’t!”
“Kaiba!” Atem exclaims, shocked. He’s about to say that this isn’t the time for his skepticism until he hears Y.A.A.M.I laugh.
“I’m so sorry, I just… I just wanted to win so badly,” another laugh, one filled with static and bitterness. He looks at Atem. “It will take time before Kaiba can come back here, without me around,” he says. “Whatever happens, do not come back to the living world. Not like you did with Yuugi, there are people who want you,” he gestures at Kaiba. “And unlike Kaiba, I suspect they’re not good people.”
A magic circle forms around the laptop, Kaiba pays no attention to it.
“Don’t come back, don’t even try. It’s too risky,” the A.I says before his avatar shatters.
The circles shrinks around the laptop.
Kaiba types faster. A screen pops up.
Output: Thank you for crea
