A/N: Technically I'd done a version of this chapter before, but with all the plot changes it's almost completely redone. Reading over my previous version I realized that all the action seemed much too well-planned by the characters, which is not how life actually goes. Strange things happen and the plan has to change, and I thought it would be more realistic to reflect that by making it seem as though the characters are improvising all their actions. And with that observation, please enjoy.

Beneath the Surface

Chapter 10

Yami stood staring unflinchingly at the thin morning light hesitantly streaming through the trees. He was in a secluded corner of a park near the lake, not daring to be out in the open too close to Yugi's hiding spot. He was carefully constructing what he was going to say to Anzu and Otogi. They had both been surprised, and in Otogi's case rather irritated, that Jou had called them so early, but he had managed to convince them that it was urgent. Yami felt in his pocket for the tape recorder he had used only hours earlier; it was the only proof of his claim. It was the only way to convince them to aide him in a difficult and possibly dangerous endeavor.

Jou stood beside him, hands jammed in his pockets, looking down the neatly-kept park trail that led towards the lake. Hiroto stood beside him, looking equally anxious; Jou had called him, as well, figuring they needed all the help they could get. He had taken the news relatively well, considering its nature and how early it was. Yami had taken the time to explain more thoroughly what had transpired and had let Jou and Hiroto listen to the tape. They didn't know any better than Yami what the "source" Bakura had spoken of could be; frankly, Yami was still wrapping his mind around the fact that other merpeople had already been found.

"Hey, Yami!" Anzu called out, waving to him as she and Otogi walked over. Yami winced visibly; he wished that she would have approached less conspicuously. How could anyone be that cheerful this early in the morning? He closed his hand around the tape recorder in his pocket.

"This better be important to get me up this early," Otogi grumbled. Anzu slapped him on the arm.

"Hush up! Yami said this was important." Otogi rolled his eyes.

"It's about our subject," Yami said, deciding to go right to the point. Anzu looked at Yami, then at Jou and Hiroto, then back at Yami.

"Uh… Yami…"

"It's all right. They know."

"They what? You told them?!"

"Would you keep your voice down?" Yami growled. Anzu just stared at him. Yami himself was surprised at his harsh tone, evidence of how taut his nerves were.

"Yami, what…?"

"Just listen to this." Yami pulled out the tape recorder and pressed play. The entire conversation from that night played out to Anzu and Otogi's unbelieving ears. The conversation finished and Yami stopped the tape.

"Damn…" was Otogi's only comment.

"That was Bakura…" Anzu said softly. "Who was he talking with?"

"Somebody named Mariku. He's been visiting the lab with Bakura late at night," Yami answered. Anzu frowned in disbelief and Yami shook his head. "This is the second time I've overheard the two of them talking to each other."

"Yami…" Otogi interjected. "What was all that commotion at the end of the tape?"

Yami was silent for a moment. "They found me listening to them last night," he said quietly. "I ran but they caught me. As soon as they got what they wanted they were going to kill me."

Anzu's hands flew to her mouth. "Yami!"

Yami shook his head. "We have to stop them. If they get that device they'll ruin an entire civilization."

Anzu, though pale, nodded assent. "And we have to get the merman out, too."

"And just how are we going to do that?" Otogi interjected. "There's tight security on the whole place, guards at all the loading docks and cameras everywhere! Hell, we can't even communicate with it."

"His name," Yami said forcefully, "is Yugi."

There was another stunned silence. "… How do you know that?" Anzu said in a disbelieving whisper.

"I've been sneaking in every night and teaching him sign language, Anzu. He's extremely intelligent and we can communicate very well."

Anzu took a moment to let this new information sink in then shook her head. "But Yami, the odds of us being able to…"

"We don't have to. I took him with me when I escaped last night. He's hiding in the small lake down the street."

Anzu just stared. There was silence for several moments until Jou finally said, "Okay, so… what now?"

"We have to get Yugi back to the sea to get him out of Bakura's reach," Yami said quietly. "Then we need to find out what all this "source" business is about and get those other merpeople away from Bakura."

Otogi snorted. "Is that all?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Jou snapped.

"Everyone relax," Anzu said, her mind going into planning mode. "Let's focus on the first part. Obviously we need a water-tight tank big enough to hold the mer… I mean, Yugi, and a vehicle big enough to carry it. Once Yugi's safe, we can ask him what he knows about this source, and we'll figure out the rest from there."

At the end of the conversation Otogi and Hiroto drove off to procure Hiroto's truck and an old fish tank that Otogi had taken home for repairs but never returned. Yami, Jou and Anzu walked down to the wooded spot where Yami had woken up just an hour earlier. Yami walked to the edge of the water and waited. Slowly he saw a pale form rising out of the water's depths, and then Yugi's head broke the surface. Yugi smiled brightly at Yami, then his eyes moved to the familiar scientist and the stranger next to him and his smile faded.

"It's okay," Yami signed. "They're going to help." Yugi nodded rather hesitantly, then half-swam, half-crawled into the shallows. Jou's jaw dropped open slightly as Yugi's tail became visible. Yami knelt down.

"Others are going to come here with another tank," Yami explained, "and we'll take you to the sea." Yugi's eyes lit up and he had to suppress the urge to splash his tail around in excitement. Yami pointed to the other edge of the lake. "Go to where we jumped in earlier and wait for us." Yugi nodded happily.

"Does… he understand?" Anzu asked tentatively.

"Yes, he understands," Yami replied. "We need to go to the other side of the lake and wait for Hiroto and Otogi."

Yami stood and Anzu turned to go. Jou reluctantly followed her, his gaze still on the merman. Yami hesitated a moment.

"I'll… catch up with you," he eventually said. Anzu smiled in understanding and she and Jou picked their way through the woods back to the path.

Yami sat on a nearby rock. Yugi stayed floating in the shallow water, and for several moments they simply looked at each other. Yami wasn't sure what to say, and as they stared into each other's eyes it seemed as no other communication was needed between the two of them. In the end it was Yugi that signed first.

"You have done so much for me," he began. "I do not know how to thank you."

Yami shook his head. "You do not have to," he replied.

"After this…" Yugi hesitated. "… will I see you again?"

"I do not know," Yami finally signed. Yugi was about to reply, but suddenly a look of shock came over his face. Yami whirled around only to see the barrel of a gun, and then recognized the person holding it as Seto Kaiba. He was nearly a foot taller than Yami, his eyes icy blue and his demeanor much the same. He cocked his head slightly, looking from the merman to Yami.

"I see that I heard right; you do know how to speak to it," he said quietly, sending chills down Yami's spine. "This improves my situation considerably. I thought I was going to have to rely on the police to catch you." He gestured for Yami to sit back down. Yugi, unsure of what was happening and reluctant to leave Yami, stayed where he was.

"My information collection project has been stolen, which I believe you are aware of, considering the content of the laboratory's security tapes." It took Yami a moment to realize that he was talking about the supposed mind-reader that Bakura had mentioned. "But… no matter."

Kaiba nodded towards Yugi. "Ask him where the source is, and make clear to him that I'll kill you both if he doesn't tell."

Yami tried to protest. "How can I ask him about it if I don't even know what it is?"

"Ask him. Now." The volume of Kaiba's voice hadn't increased and yet the tone was harder and more menacing. Yami slowly turned to look at Yugi.

"That thing he's holding has the power to kill us instantly," he signed, his heart throbbing with pain at the sight of Yugi's terrified face. "He wants to know where something called the "source" is."

Yugi just stared back in fear and confusion. Eventually he signed, "I don't know what that is."

"He says he doesn't know," Yami told Kaiba, trying to keep his voice steady. Kaiba's expression did not change, but with his free hand he reached into his pocket.

"Perhaps this will jog his memory." Kaiba held up Yugi's triangular stone pendant. "Tell him that I want to know where the center of this triangle is."

A sarcastic voice in Yami's head said any idiot could show him that, but he relayed the message to Yugi. A spark of realization dawned in Yugi's eyes, and he glanced at Kaiba.

"Tell him… that I need the pendant. It has a way of showing how to get to the source."

Kaiba actually smiled slightly as Yami repeated what Yugi had signed. "Hmph… simple enough. I should have known what these were used for."

He tossed the pendant to Yugi, who caught it and clutched it close to his chest for a moment. Yami saw Yugi's lips moving, then saw Kaiba point his gun.

"I have no use for you anymore," he said, but before he could pull the trigger both of them were blinded by a brilliant light. Yugi's body was enveloped in white incandescence, the water around him rippling with the force of the energy. Kaiba forgot about Yami and stepped towards Yugi's now-invisible form.

"Show me!" he shouted at the light. "Show me the source!"

His answer was the abrupt exit of air from his lungs as Yami caught him in a flying tackle. The gun was knocked from his hands as they fell to the ground. Searching for the weapon in the exaggerated shadows from the unusual light, Kaiba socked Yami in the jaw with his elbow and rolled over. He didn't get far, though, as Yami grabbed a nearby stone and promptly hit Kaiba over the head. His tall body fell limp and Yami crawled away from him, wiping the blood away from his mouth. As the light began to fade, Yami spotted the gun and grabbed it, but his attention was soon diverted as an unfamiliar voice screamed in pain.

Yami dashed back to where Yugi was lying in the water, but suddenly he stopped and dropped to his knees in the sand. Yugi was still in the same spot, but the flesh at his waist no longer turned to scales. The flesh continued down his back to his human legs and he took ragged breaths of the cool morning air. After several moments of shock Yugi wearily raised his head to look at Yami and he found himself suddenly impelled to action. He dragged Yugi's naked body out of the water, pulled off his jacket and wrapped Yugi up as best he could. As soon as Yugi seemed to have gotten his breath, Yami signed to him asking what had happened.

"I asked the source… the spirit… to help us escape," Yugi slowly signed. "And this," he gestured to his legs, "is what it gave me."

A/N: Ooh, magic! Yes, I've decided to incorporate some fantasy rather than just questionable science. What exactly is the source? What will Yami do now that Yugi is human? Why did Hiroto finally get a somewhat meaningful part? I… don't remember. Please review.