As the teens puzzled over how Bakura would wind up in the captain's quarters using his speaker, a grim-faced man approached them. "Your friend has changed much," he commented.
Yugi looked up, blinking. "Shadi!" he exclaimed.
The Egyptian man nodded slowly.
"What can we do to help Bakura?" Tea blurted.
Shadi looked grave. "Before I can answer that, I must inform you more about this staff that was stolen." He glanced around. "But this is not the place to converse."
"Well, why don't we go somewhere we can?" Yugi said.
Before Shadi could answer, the ship gave another, more powerful jolt, causing tables to overturn, glass pitchers to break, and the passengers to go sprawling everywhere.
"I don't like this!" Mai cried.
"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed, pitching forward. Instantly Seto reached out and caught him, pulling the younger boy close.
"What the heck's goin' on?!" Joey cried as he began slipping back to the other side of the dining room.
"Someone, perhaps your friend Bakura, has taken over the ship," Shadi replied, looking extraordinarily calm considering the circumstances. "And it is quite probable that they have no knowledge on how to steer it."
All around them the passengers screamed and toppled over each other, sending the eating utensils flying. Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, plunging everything into darkness.
It wasn't long before everyone became separated in the melee.
"Yugi? Joey? Where are you?" Tea screamed, abruptly crashing into Seto and causing him to grunt in irritation. "Kaiba?" Tea said softly, just as the ship jerked again. She let out a shriek as she started to fly backwards.
Seto sighed loudly. "Stay with me," he muttered, grabbing her and pulling her against a wall along with Mokuba.
"What are we going to do, big brother?" the little boy wailed.
Seto held him close. "It'll be alright," he said soothingly. He actually wanted to go find Bakura and try to stop all this nonsense, but at the moment he didn't see how he could possibly leave Mokuba.
****
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, wanted the same thing—to stop Bakura. He stumbled through the crowds—bothersome mortals, he thought—and over to the door, using his Millennium Ring to guide him. He would get Bakura back, he vowed, telling himself that he needed the boy in order to take over the world.
Yugi, who was nearby, stumbled over a table. Shadi extended a hand to help the boy stand again.
"Events are moving too fast," the Egyptian man declared. "We must move quickly to keep up with them."
**He is right,** Yami Yugi said grimly from inside the Millennium Puzzle, **but I sense much danger here. Things will not be as simple as just finding Bakura.**
~I was afraid of that,~ Yugi said sadly.
****
As Joey wandered blindly through the darkness, he suddenly fell across the same trapdoor that Marik had found earlier. "Hey, help!" he cried, frantically trying to grab on to something, anything to keep him from descending through the hole.
"Hang on, buddy!" Tristan yelled, running over to pull his friend up.
The ship gave a tremendous lurch without warning, sending both Joey and Tristan into the trapdoor.
"Oh man," Tristan moaned as they tumbled over and over down the slide, "why didn't we ask the Captain why he has this weird entrance to his cabin?!"
"Don't ask me!" Joey yelped in reply. "But this is worse than a roller coaster!"
****
Rishid felt frantically around, moving fallen tables and chairs out of his way as he searched for his brother. He knew Marik was not nearby, unless he wasn't capable of answering. "Master? Where are you?" he called.
As he passed by a porthole, Rishid happened to glance out and notice the angry waves crashing against the hull of the ship. Apparently the weather truly was becoming bad, and if the person currently in control of the steering didn't even know how to man a ship, they could only be in for more trouble.
Sure enough, the ship rocked again, sending everyone flying. There would definitely be a lot of injured people once this was over.
Suddenly Rishid cried out in pain as he was thrown to the floor by a heavy cabinet and held fast.
"Rishid?" The voice came from far away.
The older man looked up, trying to see through the darkness. "Master?"
"No. Your brother," Marik replied gently as he approached.
Rishid struggled to get free. "Are you alright, Master?" he asked.
Marik knelt down next to him, his gold jewelry clinking gently. "I am fine," he replied. "But you seem to be trapped, brother." He spoke calmly, but his eyes revealed his deep concern for the elder brother he loved so much.
Rishid winced as he tried in vain to lift the cabinet. "I . . . I can get up, Master," he protested weakly.
Marik shook his head. "You are hurt," he proclaimed. "I will help you, Rishid."
****
Bakura struggled frantically to keep the ship on a steady course, but he was beginning to panic as the waves became more wild and intense. He had no idea how to steer the massive ocean liner and was beginning to regret this plan.
"Bakura," his master's voice said in his mind, "this is foolhardy. I never told you to do this!"
Now Bakura smiled nastily. "I told myself to."
"What!!" The boy's master was fuming. "You are under my control! You do whatever I tell you to!"
"I'm afraid I don't anymore," Bakura replied, preparing to block out the connection.
"Bakura!! Stop it!! You can't do this to me!!" the man screamed angrily, but to no avail. His plans had backfired; his mind slave had just turned against him.
Bakura chuckled softly and smirked. He would still collect all the Millennium Items, but he certainly wouldn't do it for his "master"—he wanted them for himself.
As the ship lurched again, the boy was thrown back against the wall and grumbled to himself. His "master" had been right about one thing; this hadn't been a very brilliant idea. It would definitely create the distraction Bakura was hoping for, but it wouldn't do him much good if he wound up injured.
Bakura stood up and grabbed the Captain, who was sitting tied to a chair and under the powers of the Millennium Rod. Quickly he undid the ropes and shoved him toward the controls. "Steer the ship!" he ordered. "I have much to do."
Captain Hardy nodded obediently and began adjusting the switches and levers. Bakura watched him for a moment, then released him from the Rod's powers and disappeared out the door. He did, indeed, have much to do, he thought to himself.
****
Yami Bakura approached the control room, Yugi, Yami Yugi, and Shadi following him closely. I'll deal with them later, the thief thought as he shoved the door open.
Captain Hardy looked up. "Oh, hello," he said, looking a bit puzzled.
Yami Bakura growled, looking around the room suspiciously. "Where's Bakura?" he demanded.
"Bakura?" the Captain repeated, just as the others ran up.
"The boy who looks like him," Shadi said, his eyes narrowing as he indicated Yami Bakura.
Captain Hardy blinked. "I know who you mean, but I haven't seen him at all."
Yami Bakura wasn't buying it. "I heard Bakura speaking on your PA system not fifteen minutes ago," he growled. "Now where are you hiding him?!"
"I don't think he knows where Bakura is," Yugi spoke up.
"Bakura was probably controlling the Captain with the Millennium Rod," Yami Yugi added grimly, "and now he doesn't remember it."
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed in frustration. "How long have you been here?" he asked of the Captain.
"Why, ever since I left my cabin," Captain Hardy replied.
"Idiot," Yami Bakura muttered, turning to head out the door.
Captain Hardy was confused. "Was Bakura really in here?" he wanted to know.
"He was," Yugi said gravely.
"The question," Yami Yugi spoke up quietly, "is Where has he gone now?"
****
Seto was still up against the wall with Tea and Mokuba as the ship gave one final, dangerous lurch. Without warning, a panel in the wall opened up and all three of them fell through.
Tea let out a scream as they began falling through what appeared to be a bottomless pit and grabbed onto Seto—who was holding Mokuba—tightly, not wanting to let go.
After a few seconds—which seemed more like hours—the three young people crashed down on something surprisingly soft and fluffy.
"That was different," Tea remarked, sitting up slowly.
Seto sat up as well and loosened his grip on his little brother. "Are you okay, Mokuba?" he asked.
Mokuba nodded. "I'm fine, Seto." He shivered a bit, blinking in the darkness. "It's cold down here!" he exclaimed.
"Maybe we're in the basement," Tea suggested, looking through her purse for a flashlight.
Seto found one in his briefcase first and clicked it on. "What the . . ." he muttered. He and the others had seemed to have crashed on a mattress in what appeared to be the cargo hold.
"Someone must be sleeping down here," Mokuba exclaimed.
"Maybe it's Shadi," Tea suggested as she climbed off the mattress. Seto and Mokuba followed suit.
"Or it could be the guard down here," Seto mused. "Let's look around and see what we find." He began poking around the mattress, searching for any clues to the owner's identity.
"This looks odd," Tea remarked, reaching down to pick up a piece of parchment that had fallen out from a slit inside the mattress.
"What is it?" Mokuba asked, wide-eyed.
Tea unrolled it and held it up to the glow of Seto's flashlight. "I think it's written in Egyptian hieroglyphics," she said after a moment.
Seto looked frustrated. "Give it to me," he directed. "We can show it to Shadi later and see if he can translate it." Tea handed it to him and he put it in his briefcase.
As the three wandered through the cargo hold, the ship rocked again and sent loose luggage flying down from that same shelf as before.
"Look out!!" Mokuba cried, and Seto pulled them all out of the way just in time.
"That's the same thing that happened to Bakura and his Yami," Tea cried. "Why hasn't the luggage been secured yet?!"
"There's only one reason I can think of," Seto replied grimly. "Someone—the guard, most likely—doesn't want anyone coming down here for some reason, so he's fixed it so that anyone coming in is at a risk of being seriously hurt."
A low growl echoed through the room.
Tea tensed. "What was that?!" she asked shakily.
Seto pushed both her and Mokuba back against the wall protectively. "Whatever it was, I don't like the sound of it," he muttered.
Suddenly a huge, wolflike dog came charging around some fallen crates and stood in front of them, baring its teeth viciously!
Yugi looked up, blinking. "Shadi!" he exclaimed.
The Egyptian man nodded slowly.
"What can we do to help Bakura?" Tea blurted.
Shadi looked grave. "Before I can answer that, I must inform you more about this staff that was stolen." He glanced around. "But this is not the place to converse."
"Well, why don't we go somewhere we can?" Yugi said.
Before Shadi could answer, the ship gave another, more powerful jolt, causing tables to overturn, glass pitchers to break, and the passengers to go sprawling everywhere.
"I don't like this!" Mai cried.
"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed, pitching forward. Instantly Seto reached out and caught him, pulling the younger boy close.
"What the heck's goin' on?!" Joey cried as he began slipping back to the other side of the dining room.
"Someone, perhaps your friend Bakura, has taken over the ship," Shadi replied, looking extraordinarily calm considering the circumstances. "And it is quite probable that they have no knowledge on how to steer it."
All around them the passengers screamed and toppled over each other, sending the eating utensils flying. Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, plunging everything into darkness.
It wasn't long before everyone became separated in the melee.
"Yugi? Joey? Where are you?" Tea screamed, abruptly crashing into Seto and causing him to grunt in irritation. "Kaiba?" Tea said softly, just as the ship jerked again. She let out a shriek as she started to fly backwards.
Seto sighed loudly. "Stay with me," he muttered, grabbing her and pulling her against a wall along with Mokuba.
"What are we going to do, big brother?" the little boy wailed.
Seto held him close. "It'll be alright," he said soothingly. He actually wanted to go find Bakura and try to stop all this nonsense, but at the moment he didn't see how he could possibly leave Mokuba.
****
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, wanted the same thing—to stop Bakura. He stumbled through the crowds—bothersome mortals, he thought—and over to the door, using his Millennium Ring to guide him. He would get Bakura back, he vowed, telling himself that he needed the boy in order to take over the world.
Yugi, who was nearby, stumbled over a table. Shadi extended a hand to help the boy stand again.
"Events are moving too fast," the Egyptian man declared. "We must move quickly to keep up with them."
**He is right,** Yami Yugi said grimly from inside the Millennium Puzzle, **but I sense much danger here. Things will not be as simple as just finding Bakura.**
~I was afraid of that,~ Yugi said sadly.
****
As Joey wandered blindly through the darkness, he suddenly fell across the same trapdoor that Marik had found earlier. "Hey, help!" he cried, frantically trying to grab on to something, anything to keep him from descending through the hole.
"Hang on, buddy!" Tristan yelled, running over to pull his friend up.
The ship gave a tremendous lurch without warning, sending both Joey and Tristan into the trapdoor.
"Oh man," Tristan moaned as they tumbled over and over down the slide, "why didn't we ask the Captain why he has this weird entrance to his cabin?!"
"Don't ask me!" Joey yelped in reply. "But this is worse than a roller coaster!"
****
Rishid felt frantically around, moving fallen tables and chairs out of his way as he searched for his brother. He knew Marik was not nearby, unless he wasn't capable of answering. "Master? Where are you?" he called.
As he passed by a porthole, Rishid happened to glance out and notice the angry waves crashing against the hull of the ship. Apparently the weather truly was becoming bad, and if the person currently in control of the steering didn't even know how to man a ship, they could only be in for more trouble.
Sure enough, the ship rocked again, sending everyone flying. There would definitely be a lot of injured people once this was over.
Suddenly Rishid cried out in pain as he was thrown to the floor by a heavy cabinet and held fast.
"Rishid?" The voice came from far away.
The older man looked up, trying to see through the darkness. "Master?"
"No. Your brother," Marik replied gently as he approached.
Rishid struggled to get free. "Are you alright, Master?" he asked.
Marik knelt down next to him, his gold jewelry clinking gently. "I am fine," he replied. "But you seem to be trapped, brother." He spoke calmly, but his eyes revealed his deep concern for the elder brother he loved so much.
Rishid winced as he tried in vain to lift the cabinet. "I . . . I can get up, Master," he protested weakly.
Marik shook his head. "You are hurt," he proclaimed. "I will help you, Rishid."
****
Bakura struggled frantically to keep the ship on a steady course, but he was beginning to panic as the waves became more wild and intense. He had no idea how to steer the massive ocean liner and was beginning to regret this plan.
"Bakura," his master's voice said in his mind, "this is foolhardy. I never told you to do this!"
Now Bakura smiled nastily. "I told myself to."
"What!!" The boy's master was fuming. "You are under my control! You do whatever I tell you to!"
"I'm afraid I don't anymore," Bakura replied, preparing to block out the connection.
"Bakura!! Stop it!! You can't do this to me!!" the man screamed angrily, but to no avail. His plans had backfired; his mind slave had just turned against him.
Bakura chuckled softly and smirked. He would still collect all the Millennium Items, but he certainly wouldn't do it for his "master"—he wanted them for himself.
As the ship lurched again, the boy was thrown back against the wall and grumbled to himself. His "master" had been right about one thing; this hadn't been a very brilliant idea. It would definitely create the distraction Bakura was hoping for, but it wouldn't do him much good if he wound up injured.
Bakura stood up and grabbed the Captain, who was sitting tied to a chair and under the powers of the Millennium Rod. Quickly he undid the ropes and shoved him toward the controls. "Steer the ship!" he ordered. "I have much to do."
Captain Hardy nodded obediently and began adjusting the switches and levers. Bakura watched him for a moment, then released him from the Rod's powers and disappeared out the door. He did, indeed, have much to do, he thought to himself.
****
Yami Bakura approached the control room, Yugi, Yami Yugi, and Shadi following him closely. I'll deal with them later, the thief thought as he shoved the door open.
Captain Hardy looked up. "Oh, hello," he said, looking a bit puzzled.
Yami Bakura growled, looking around the room suspiciously. "Where's Bakura?" he demanded.
"Bakura?" the Captain repeated, just as the others ran up.
"The boy who looks like him," Shadi said, his eyes narrowing as he indicated Yami Bakura.
Captain Hardy blinked. "I know who you mean, but I haven't seen him at all."
Yami Bakura wasn't buying it. "I heard Bakura speaking on your PA system not fifteen minutes ago," he growled. "Now where are you hiding him?!"
"I don't think he knows where Bakura is," Yugi spoke up.
"Bakura was probably controlling the Captain with the Millennium Rod," Yami Yugi added grimly, "and now he doesn't remember it."
Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed in frustration. "How long have you been here?" he asked of the Captain.
"Why, ever since I left my cabin," Captain Hardy replied.
"Idiot," Yami Bakura muttered, turning to head out the door.
Captain Hardy was confused. "Was Bakura really in here?" he wanted to know.
"He was," Yugi said gravely.
"The question," Yami Yugi spoke up quietly, "is Where has he gone now?"
****
Seto was still up against the wall with Tea and Mokuba as the ship gave one final, dangerous lurch. Without warning, a panel in the wall opened up and all three of them fell through.
Tea let out a scream as they began falling through what appeared to be a bottomless pit and grabbed onto Seto—who was holding Mokuba—tightly, not wanting to let go.
After a few seconds—which seemed more like hours—the three young people crashed down on something surprisingly soft and fluffy.
"That was different," Tea remarked, sitting up slowly.
Seto sat up as well and loosened his grip on his little brother. "Are you okay, Mokuba?" he asked.
Mokuba nodded. "I'm fine, Seto." He shivered a bit, blinking in the darkness. "It's cold down here!" he exclaimed.
"Maybe we're in the basement," Tea suggested, looking through her purse for a flashlight.
Seto found one in his briefcase first and clicked it on. "What the . . ." he muttered. He and the others had seemed to have crashed on a mattress in what appeared to be the cargo hold.
"Someone must be sleeping down here," Mokuba exclaimed.
"Maybe it's Shadi," Tea suggested as she climbed off the mattress. Seto and Mokuba followed suit.
"Or it could be the guard down here," Seto mused. "Let's look around and see what we find." He began poking around the mattress, searching for any clues to the owner's identity.
"This looks odd," Tea remarked, reaching down to pick up a piece of parchment that had fallen out from a slit inside the mattress.
"What is it?" Mokuba asked, wide-eyed.
Tea unrolled it and held it up to the glow of Seto's flashlight. "I think it's written in Egyptian hieroglyphics," she said after a moment.
Seto looked frustrated. "Give it to me," he directed. "We can show it to Shadi later and see if he can translate it." Tea handed it to him and he put it in his briefcase.
As the three wandered through the cargo hold, the ship rocked again and sent loose luggage flying down from that same shelf as before.
"Look out!!" Mokuba cried, and Seto pulled them all out of the way just in time.
"That's the same thing that happened to Bakura and his Yami," Tea cried. "Why hasn't the luggage been secured yet?!"
"There's only one reason I can think of," Seto replied grimly. "Someone—the guard, most likely—doesn't want anyone coming down here for some reason, so he's fixed it so that anyone coming in is at a risk of being seriously hurt."
A low growl echoed through the room.
Tea tensed. "What was that?!" she asked shakily.
Seto pushed both her and Mokuba back against the wall protectively. "Whatever it was, I don't like the sound of it," he muttered.
Suddenly a huge, wolflike dog came charging around some fallen crates and stood in front of them, baring its teeth viciously!