Notes: Just the usual, friendly, "this-is-not-yaoi" reminder ^_^
Yugi stood still in disbelief and then Yami Yugi came out to look around as well. "Where could he have gone?" Yugi exclaimed.
"I don't know," Yami Yugi said, shaking his head.
"Hey Yug!!" Joey yelled as he and the others finally caught up.
Yugi turned to look at them, blinking. "Oh hey," he said finally, lost in thought.
"Earth to Yugi," Joey remarked, waving a hand in front of Yugi's eyes.
Yugi snapped back to the present. "Oh. Sorry," he apologized, smiling embarrassedly. "I saw that Egyptian man a few minutes ago."
"Was he . . . who you thought he was?" Tea asked.
"Yes," Yugi nodded firmly. "He turned and looked at me and we recognized each other." He paused. "But then he . . ."
"He vanished," Yami Yugi finished.
Joey blinked. "'Vanished'?" he repeated in disbelief. "Yug, are you sure you're okay?"
"We're both fine," Yami Yugi replied.
"Maybe he's some kind of ghost, like you are," Tristan suggested to the Pharaoh.
Yugi shook his head. "No, he's not a ghost. . . . But he has some kind of magical powers."
Joey paused, considering this. "Eh, he's a good guy . . . right?" he asked nervously.
"He is," Yugi assured him. "His name is Shadi. I don't know much about him, but I know he's working to overcome the forces of evil."
"Does that mean that there are forces of evil on this ship?" Tristan wondered.
"Of course there are!" Joey cried. "Just look at all the weird things that're happening!"
"But Shadi can't be everywhere at once," Tea pointed out. "There must something extra dangerous going on here for him to make an appearance."
"That is what I fear," Yami Yugi admitted. "I must find Shadi and speak with him."
"Well, he doesn't seem to want to talk to you or to Yug," Joey commented, "judging by the way he pulled the disappearing act on you."
Yugi sighed. "I know, but I have to find him!" he said in determination.
"Could he have gone through a trapdoor?" Marik suggested suddenly.
"I guess so," Yugi said slowly, "but when I met Shadi before, he was able to suddenly vanish in front of me, so I'm sure that's what he did again now."
****
As Bakura walked down the long corridors, looking worriedly for his missing Yami, he suddenly heard the sounds of pool balls clanking into each other and he paused to look in the nearby room. He was completely bowled over to see Yami Bakura leaning over the pool table, a concentrated smirk on his face as he examined it.
"Yami?!" Bakura exclaimed in disbelief. "What on earth . . ."
Yami Bakura looked up. "I'm playing pool," he interrupted. "What does it look like I'm doing?!"
Bakura came in, still looking confused. "Have you been doing that all this time, Yami?" he asked.
"Of course not, you idiot," Yami Bakura snapped. The truth of the matter was that he was watching for a strange person he had observed earlier, and he was only playing pool while he waited.
Bakura was used to his Yami's insults by now, but he still felt a bit sad since he had only been worried about the thief's safety. "Are . . . are you alright?" he said hesitantly.
"Perfectly alright," Yami Bakura growled. "Now go away before you get into trouble."
"But Yami . . ." Bakura started to protest.
"GO!" Yami Bakura snapped.
With a sad sigh, Bakura turned and left.
Yami Bakura watched him shuffle out, muttering to himself in Egyptian. He could see that the boy was sad that he'd been treated so harshly, but he didn't want the person he was tailing to wind up seeing Bakura. It was for the boy's own good that Yami Bakura had routed him out. He would get over it. He always did. "Stupid mortal," the thief grunted.
****
Seto and Mokuba, meanwhile, were still in the dining room talking about the mysteries—the real one and the made-up one as well.
"Won't you play the game, Seto?" Mokuba pleaded. "It sounds really fun!"
Seto smiled tenderly at him. "I really don't have the time for games, kid," he said softly, ruffling the younger boy's hair.
Mokuba looked up at him sadly. "But we hardly ever get to spend time together just for fun anymore," he sighed. "You're always so busy and everything! . . ."
Now Seto sighed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry about that, Mokuba." He paused. "Tell you what—I'll make time to play the game with you."
Mokuba brightened. "Really, big brother?"
Seto chuckled. "Sure, kid," he said softly, pulling him close.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba," a voice said suddenly.
Both boys looked up to see Captain Hardy coming towards them. "Yes?" Seto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Pardon me, but have you seen Yugi Muto?" the Captain wanted to know, looking nervous.
Seto shrugged. "He went chasing after someone a few minutes ago," he reported.
Captain Hardy sighed. "I see. Well, thank you for your help, sir," he said, turning to go.
"That was kinda odd," Mokuba commented when he and Seto were alone again.
"Everything seems to be odd around here, kid," Seto replied, glancing around and suddenly noticing two of his wayward employees coming in through the door. Quickly he grabbed Mokuba's hand and hid around a corner. He couldn't let them know he had followed them here, especially with Mokuba around. He wasn't going to endanger his precious brother's life.
"What is it, Seto?" Mokuba asked, looking confused.
Seto sighed. "It's the snakes I'm chasing," he explained. "They can't see us." Cautiously he led Mokuba out a back way and down the hall.
"What are you gonna do, Seto?" Mokuba exclaimed.
Seto turned a corner and unlocked the door to their room. "I'm leaving you here, kid," he said firmly. "I'm not going to expose you to any possible dangers."
Mokuba looked up at him. "Are you gonna go kick them into next week, Seto?"
Seto chuckled. "I just might have to," he said.
****
In the meantime, Yugi and the others had searched everywhere for Shadi—but to no avail. The Egyptian man had seemingly vanished from existence.
"We must've searched the entire ship!" Joey cried in frustration several hours later.
"He has to be here somewhere," Yugi replied, but he was getting discouraged himself.
That's when Bakura came over to them from around a corner. "Who are you looking for?" he asked. "I'd be happy to help if I could."
"Oh Bakura," Tea said, "Yugi saw one of the Egyptian men you encountered yesterday. He was chasing him down the hall when the man suddenly disappeared!"
Bakura blinked. "Another disappearing act? Oh my."
"Did you find your Yami?" Tristan wanted to know.
Now the silver-haired boy nodded. "Yes, I found him," he said, but didn't elaborate.
"Is he okay?" Tea asked, knowing how worried Bakura had been about him.
"Yes," Bakura said again. "He's fine."
"Are *you* okay, Bakura?" Yugi asked now. "You seem kind of sad."
Bakura smiled weakly. "Oh no . . . I'm alright. I'm just rather . . . tired," he finished at last.
"Did that creep snap at you again?" Joey demanded.
Bakura blinked. His friends knew him all too well. "Oh, he . . . he was just quite preoccupied," he said softly, never liking to speak ill of anyone.
"Hey, we all know how cruel he is," Tristan said.
Before anyone could say more on the subject, a voice called out angrily nearby.
"No, Rex Raptor! I've told you—I'm not going to duel you!!"
With that, Mai Valentine stormed out from a recreation room looking furious.
"What happened?" Joey asked.
Mai whirled to face him. "Oh, that Rex is so annoying!" she declared. "He still can't accept the fact that I beat him and had the nerve to challenge me to a re-match!"
Joey shrugged. "Actually, you probably weren't playin' fair when you defeated him, were you?" he asked teasingly, knowing that that would've been around the time when Mai still played using her perfume tricks.
Mai tossed her head. "I could defeat him even without my tricks!" she said hotly. "But it would just be a waste of my time." With that she walked away.
The teens looked at each other and sighed.
Yugi gasped suddenly. "I forgot all about the Captain!" he exclaimed.
"Oh man, that's right!" Tristan realized.
"We were supposed to meet him after breakfast," Marik chimed in. "Good Heavens, it must be almost lunch time by now!"
****
They found the Captain in his quarters, and Yugi immediately apologized for the delay.
"Oh no, it's quite alright," Captain Hardy assured him after explanations were made. "There wasn't anything you could have done under the circumstances."
Yugi went on to briefly tell again how he and his Yami had come across the strange items in the wrecked library and then slowly pulled the satchel out of his pocket. "This is what we found," he said, opening it slowly.
Everyone gathered around to stare at the multi-colored golf balls inside.
"What in the heck?!" Joey cried, taking several of them out to stare at.
Yugi chuckled. "That's what we thought, too," he admitted. "But I figured they had to be important somehow."
"Maybe they're hollow," Tristan suggested, causing Joey to bang one of them on the wall.
"Doesn't look like it," the Brooklyn boy said in frustration.
"Very strange," Captain Hardy commented, shaking his head.
"And then I found a gold earring, which I'm certain belongs to one of the men Bakura saw yesterday," Yugi continued, holding it out.
Bakura stared at it. "Yes, the man I saw was wearing earrings like that," he said.
****
They stayed and talked with the Captain for a while, but no one was able to shed any light on the bizarre occurrences, so they left soon after.
"Maybe we should relax for a few hours and work on the fake mystery," Yugi suggested. "We could use a break from all this running around."
Tea, who was walking ahead of the others, was about to agree when she noticed Seto coming down the corridor determinedly. "What's going on, Kaiba?" she demanded, grabbing his arm.
Seto looked at her. "I have some business to take care of," he said coldly.
"It's dangerous, isn't it?" Tea asked softly.
Seto honestly had no idea whether it would wind up becoming dangerous or not, but he had the feeling that it definitely could. "I can handle it," was all he said aloud.
"You always say that!" Tea cried in frustration.
"It's the truth," Seto muttered, disappearing into another room.
"I wonder what he's up to," Yugi commented.
"And I wonder where Bakura just went," Tristan exclaimed.
"Bakura's gone?!" Tea cried in disbelief.
Sure enough, the silver-haired boy had vanished without a word.
****
Bakura, meanwhile, had been walking along behind the others when he had suddenly seen a strange golden glow and had found himself almost hypnotized by it. Slowly he moved toward it, unable to tear his gaze away.
"That's right," an eerie voice remarked as the boy got closer. "Come, my friend."
Bakura came right up to the light and stared at it, his brown eyes wide and vacant.
Now the eerie voice began whispering things to him, giving him commands and orders. Bakura listened intently, all the while still staring into the light.
Finally the light dimmed and Bakura snapped out of his trance, looking confused. "Where . . . where am I?" he gasped.
"On the ship," the voice hissed from the shadows. "You have your orders. Now go!"
Without a questioning word, Bakura turned and left.
Yugi stood still in disbelief and then Yami Yugi came out to look around as well. "Where could he have gone?" Yugi exclaimed.
"I don't know," Yami Yugi said, shaking his head.
"Hey Yug!!" Joey yelled as he and the others finally caught up.
Yugi turned to look at them, blinking. "Oh hey," he said finally, lost in thought.
"Earth to Yugi," Joey remarked, waving a hand in front of Yugi's eyes.
Yugi snapped back to the present. "Oh. Sorry," he apologized, smiling embarrassedly. "I saw that Egyptian man a few minutes ago."
"Was he . . . who you thought he was?" Tea asked.
"Yes," Yugi nodded firmly. "He turned and looked at me and we recognized each other." He paused. "But then he . . ."
"He vanished," Yami Yugi finished.
Joey blinked. "'Vanished'?" he repeated in disbelief. "Yug, are you sure you're okay?"
"We're both fine," Yami Yugi replied.
"Maybe he's some kind of ghost, like you are," Tristan suggested to the Pharaoh.
Yugi shook his head. "No, he's not a ghost. . . . But he has some kind of magical powers."
Joey paused, considering this. "Eh, he's a good guy . . . right?" he asked nervously.
"He is," Yugi assured him. "His name is Shadi. I don't know much about him, but I know he's working to overcome the forces of evil."
"Does that mean that there are forces of evil on this ship?" Tristan wondered.
"Of course there are!" Joey cried. "Just look at all the weird things that're happening!"
"But Shadi can't be everywhere at once," Tea pointed out. "There must something extra dangerous going on here for him to make an appearance."
"That is what I fear," Yami Yugi admitted. "I must find Shadi and speak with him."
"Well, he doesn't seem to want to talk to you or to Yug," Joey commented, "judging by the way he pulled the disappearing act on you."
Yugi sighed. "I know, but I have to find him!" he said in determination.
"Could he have gone through a trapdoor?" Marik suggested suddenly.
"I guess so," Yugi said slowly, "but when I met Shadi before, he was able to suddenly vanish in front of me, so I'm sure that's what he did again now."
****
As Bakura walked down the long corridors, looking worriedly for his missing Yami, he suddenly heard the sounds of pool balls clanking into each other and he paused to look in the nearby room. He was completely bowled over to see Yami Bakura leaning over the pool table, a concentrated smirk on his face as he examined it.
"Yami?!" Bakura exclaimed in disbelief. "What on earth . . ."
Yami Bakura looked up. "I'm playing pool," he interrupted. "What does it look like I'm doing?!"
Bakura came in, still looking confused. "Have you been doing that all this time, Yami?" he asked.
"Of course not, you idiot," Yami Bakura snapped. The truth of the matter was that he was watching for a strange person he had observed earlier, and he was only playing pool while he waited.
Bakura was used to his Yami's insults by now, but he still felt a bit sad since he had only been worried about the thief's safety. "Are . . . are you alright?" he said hesitantly.
"Perfectly alright," Yami Bakura growled. "Now go away before you get into trouble."
"But Yami . . ." Bakura started to protest.
"GO!" Yami Bakura snapped.
With a sad sigh, Bakura turned and left.
Yami Bakura watched him shuffle out, muttering to himself in Egyptian. He could see that the boy was sad that he'd been treated so harshly, but he didn't want the person he was tailing to wind up seeing Bakura. It was for the boy's own good that Yami Bakura had routed him out. He would get over it. He always did. "Stupid mortal," the thief grunted.
****
Seto and Mokuba, meanwhile, were still in the dining room talking about the mysteries—the real one and the made-up one as well.
"Won't you play the game, Seto?" Mokuba pleaded. "It sounds really fun!"
Seto smiled tenderly at him. "I really don't have the time for games, kid," he said softly, ruffling the younger boy's hair.
Mokuba looked up at him sadly. "But we hardly ever get to spend time together just for fun anymore," he sighed. "You're always so busy and everything! . . ."
Now Seto sighed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry about that, Mokuba." He paused. "Tell you what—I'll make time to play the game with you."
Mokuba brightened. "Really, big brother?"
Seto chuckled. "Sure, kid," he said softly, pulling him close.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba," a voice said suddenly.
Both boys looked up to see Captain Hardy coming towards them. "Yes?" Seto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Pardon me, but have you seen Yugi Muto?" the Captain wanted to know, looking nervous.
Seto shrugged. "He went chasing after someone a few minutes ago," he reported.
Captain Hardy sighed. "I see. Well, thank you for your help, sir," he said, turning to go.
"That was kinda odd," Mokuba commented when he and Seto were alone again.
"Everything seems to be odd around here, kid," Seto replied, glancing around and suddenly noticing two of his wayward employees coming in through the door. Quickly he grabbed Mokuba's hand and hid around a corner. He couldn't let them know he had followed them here, especially with Mokuba around. He wasn't going to endanger his precious brother's life.
"What is it, Seto?" Mokuba asked, looking confused.
Seto sighed. "It's the snakes I'm chasing," he explained. "They can't see us." Cautiously he led Mokuba out a back way and down the hall.
"What are you gonna do, Seto?" Mokuba exclaimed.
Seto turned a corner and unlocked the door to their room. "I'm leaving you here, kid," he said firmly. "I'm not going to expose you to any possible dangers."
Mokuba looked up at him. "Are you gonna go kick them into next week, Seto?"
Seto chuckled. "I just might have to," he said.
****
In the meantime, Yugi and the others had searched everywhere for Shadi—but to no avail. The Egyptian man had seemingly vanished from existence.
"We must've searched the entire ship!" Joey cried in frustration several hours later.
"He has to be here somewhere," Yugi replied, but he was getting discouraged himself.
That's when Bakura came over to them from around a corner. "Who are you looking for?" he asked. "I'd be happy to help if I could."
"Oh Bakura," Tea said, "Yugi saw one of the Egyptian men you encountered yesterday. He was chasing him down the hall when the man suddenly disappeared!"
Bakura blinked. "Another disappearing act? Oh my."
"Did you find your Yami?" Tristan wanted to know.
Now the silver-haired boy nodded. "Yes, I found him," he said, but didn't elaborate.
"Is he okay?" Tea asked, knowing how worried Bakura had been about him.
"Yes," Bakura said again. "He's fine."
"Are *you* okay, Bakura?" Yugi asked now. "You seem kind of sad."
Bakura smiled weakly. "Oh no . . . I'm alright. I'm just rather . . . tired," he finished at last.
"Did that creep snap at you again?" Joey demanded.
Bakura blinked. His friends knew him all too well. "Oh, he . . . he was just quite preoccupied," he said softly, never liking to speak ill of anyone.
"Hey, we all know how cruel he is," Tristan said.
Before anyone could say more on the subject, a voice called out angrily nearby.
"No, Rex Raptor! I've told you—I'm not going to duel you!!"
With that, Mai Valentine stormed out from a recreation room looking furious.
"What happened?" Joey asked.
Mai whirled to face him. "Oh, that Rex is so annoying!" she declared. "He still can't accept the fact that I beat him and had the nerve to challenge me to a re-match!"
Joey shrugged. "Actually, you probably weren't playin' fair when you defeated him, were you?" he asked teasingly, knowing that that would've been around the time when Mai still played using her perfume tricks.
Mai tossed her head. "I could defeat him even without my tricks!" she said hotly. "But it would just be a waste of my time." With that she walked away.
The teens looked at each other and sighed.
Yugi gasped suddenly. "I forgot all about the Captain!" he exclaimed.
"Oh man, that's right!" Tristan realized.
"We were supposed to meet him after breakfast," Marik chimed in. "Good Heavens, it must be almost lunch time by now!"
****
They found the Captain in his quarters, and Yugi immediately apologized for the delay.
"Oh no, it's quite alright," Captain Hardy assured him after explanations were made. "There wasn't anything you could have done under the circumstances."
Yugi went on to briefly tell again how he and his Yami had come across the strange items in the wrecked library and then slowly pulled the satchel out of his pocket. "This is what we found," he said, opening it slowly.
Everyone gathered around to stare at the multi-colored golf balls inside.
"What in the heck?!" Joey cried, taking several of them out to stare at.
Yugi chuckled. "That's what we thought, too," he admitted. "But I figured they had to be important somehow."
"Maybe they're hollow," Tristan suggested, causing Joey to bang one of them on the wall.
"Doesn't look like it," the Brooklyn boy said in frustration.
"Very strange," Captain Hardy commented, shaking his head.
"And then I found a gold earring, which I'm certain belongs to one of the men Bakura saw yesterday," Yugi continued, holding it out.
Bakura stared at it. "Yes, the man I saw was wearing earrings like that," he said.
****
They stayed and talked with the Captain for a while, but no one was able to shed any light on the bizarre occurrences, so they left soon after.
"Maybe we should relax for a few hours and work on the fake mystery," Yugi suggested. "We could use a break from all this running around."
Tea, who was walking ahead of the others, was about to agree when she noticed Seto coming down the corridor determinedly. "What's going on, Kaiba?" she demanded, grabbing his arm.
Seto looked at her. "I have some business to take care of," he said coldly.
"It's dangerous, isn't it?" Tea asked softly.
Seto honestly had no idea whether it would wind up becoming dangerous or not, but he had the feeling that it definitely could. "I can handle it," was all he said aloud.
"You always say that!" Tea cried in frustration.
"It's the truth," Seto muttered, disappearing into another room.
"I wonder what he's up to," Yugi commented.
"And I wonder where Bakura just went," Tristan exclaimed.
"Bakura's gone?!" Tea cried in disbelief.
Sure enough, the silver-haired boy had vanished without a word.
****
Bakura, meanwhile, had been walking along behind the others when he had suddenly seen a strange golden glow and had found himself almost hypnotized by it. Slowly he moved toward it, unable to tear his gaze away.
"That's right," an eerie voice remarked as the boy got closer. "Come, my friend."
Bakura came right up to the light and stared at it, his brown eyes wide and vacant.
Now the eerie voice began whispering things to him, giving him commands and orders. Bakura listened intently, all the while still staring into the light.
Finally the light dimmed and Bakura snapped out of his trance, looking confused. "Where . . . where am I?" he gasped.
"On the ship," the voice hissed from the shadows. "You have your orders. Now go!"
Without a questioning word, Bakura turned and left.