Marik glared as the hijacker got to his feet, pointing the gun threateningly. "Do not make any sudden moves," the boy hissed. "I am armed and I will shoot if you try anything."
The man, surprisingly, didn't look worried. "Oh, you won't lay a finger on me," he growled, suddenly grabbing Mokuba viciously and drawing a knife to his throat. The younger boy cried out and struggled, but in vain.
Marik's anger boiled over. "You animal! He is only a child!" He himself had only been ten when his father had taken a knife and forced him to have those wretched tattoos carved into his back. He could not allow this evil man to torture Mokuba now.
"And what are you planning to do to me?" the man sneered. "If you try to do anything, I promise you that this boy will suffer."
Marik clenched his hands around the gun's handle tightly. "Take me instead," he said at last. "Torment me any way you choose, but leave Mokuba alone!"
Mokuba's heart pounded as he studied the man's unfeeling expression. "If he kills us both, then nothing will stop him from hurting my brother and the others!" the younger boy cried.
"Very perceptive," the man observed. He smirked at Marik. "Even if you wanted to use that gun on me, there's no way you could—not as long as this boy is my prisoner."
Marik's eyes narrowed and he prayed frantically to know what to do. It seems so hopeless! he wailed silently.
****
Yami Bakura slowly stood up, cradling Bakura's limp body gently. He knew the boy was still alive, but he wouldn't be hurt at all if the thief had only allowed him to stay in the pool hall, he was certain.
"Please forgive me, Bakura," he said quietly. "I never wanted harm to come to you."
Carefully the tomb raider carried Bakura down the hall and into the stateroom, where he gently laid him on the bed and began tending to the wound the boy had sustained after falling off the catwalk.
"I was supposed to protect you, idiot," Yami Bakura said now, feeling immensely distressed, "but instead I've only succeeded in harming you." Of course he was relieved that Bakura was free of the dark spell, but as far as the thief was concerned, he was responsible for Bakura being put under it in the first place.
****
Rishid started and sprang awake, his golden eyes filled with worry. "Brother," he said softly. He had just experienced a vision of Marik—and the boy's young friend Mokuba—being in grave danger and he knew he had to save them.
Quickly he stumbled out of bed and to the door, leaning against it to regain his strength. He was still weak from the whole incident with the cabinet, but he couldn't think about that now. His brother needed help!
****
Mokuba grabbed the evil man's wrist, trying desperately to wrench the knife away from him. "Let me go!" he cried.
"If I put the gun down, will you release him?" Marik pleaded, hoping against hope that the man would agree to that much. He knew, however, that the man might pretend to go along with that but really be lying.
"Oh, I don't know," the man sneered. "Should I?"
Marik was fuming. "You vile beast," he growled, racking his mind for any ideas on how to distract him. He took a deep breath and finally asked, "Why is it you want to hijack this ship?"
The man shrugged. He was free from the mind control, but since he had wanted to hijack the ship in the first place, nothing had really changed. "I needed a ship," he said at last. "We're planning a big heist once we dock, but you'll find out more about that later."
While he was saying this, Mokuba was again trying to break free, but the man wasn't letting himself be distracted. He continued to hold the knife to the boy's throat while clutching him tightly all the while.
Marik felt like screaming. All he could do was stand by helplessly, knowing that any movement would result in this evil man hurting Mokuba. He lowered the gun slowly—not that so doing would help the situation.
Suddenly the door flew open without warning and Rishid ran in fiercely, his golden eyes flashing in outrage at the scene before him.
"Rishid!" Marik cried in disbelief.
The hijacker was completely caught off guard by this and he just stared at the Egyptian man, not noticing that he had lowered the knife slightly.
Mokuba noticed, however, and he took the opportunity to kick out and strike his captor hard on the shin. With a cry of pain, the man released his grip and Mokuba ran free, dashing into his friend's arms.
Marik held him close with one arm while raising the gun at the hijacker once more. "Now you have no hostage," he observed. "The advantage is mine."
The evil man was angry. "Punk. I can just take all of you hostage . . . or better yet, just dispose of you."
"I don't think so." Rishid stood firmly at his younger brother's side, ready to fight in a given instant. "Not as long as you have me to contend with."
****
With Ishizu's assistance, Tea and Yugi were finally able to open the door.
"This way!" Yugi called to the frightened people, gesturing to the door. Quickly he, Ishizu, and Tea began ushering them out into the hall while the hijackers flew over their heads and slammed into the walls as they were defeated by the others.
At one point, Tea heard a terrible scream and she gasped in alarm, but there was no way she could leave her post. Fervently she prayed that Seto, Yami Yugi, and Shadi were safe.
Suddenly the door burst open and a stern voice cried, "This is the Coast Guard! Put your hands in the air!"
Everyone froze.
Slowly Yami Yugi stepped out of the melee, his hands raised. "The hijackers have been stopped," he said. "But thank goodness you have arrived."
"Who are you, sir?" the officer demanded.
Yami Yugi gave him a funny smile, not entirely sure how to answer. "I am a friend," he said at last.
Now Seto also walked out, looking bruised and dazed. "Who made the distress call?" he asked, worried about Mokuba's safety.
"Actually," the officer replied as he wrestled one of the criminals to the floor and hand-cuffed him, "we wanted to ask you about that. The conversation was broken off abruptly. We had to trace the call to find the location of this ship."
"That does not bode well," Shadi remarked, his eyes narrowed.
Now Yugi and the others hurried over. "Some of our friends are missing," Tea exclaimed, relieved to see that Seto, Yami Yugi, and Shadi were alright.
"I have more officers searching the ship for any others who might be being held against their will," the lead officer assured her. "Who all is missing?"
Yugi looked around. "Well, Joey and Tristan," he said slowly. "And . . . is Mai here?"
"Yes," Mai said wearily as she made her way over to them, "she's here."
"And I am too," Rex groaned, looking completely frazzled. He had apparently come out on the wrong end of a fight.
Ishizu's eyes narrowed. "My brothers may be in trouble," she said gravely. "There is no telling what dangers they may be in."
Seto pushed past them all. "I have to find my brother," he said in a dangerous tone, letting everyone know that if Mokuba was hurt, someone would pay.
"You shouldn't go alone, sir," the officer cautioned.
"Alone or not, I'm going to find him," Seto replied firmly.
"We'll all go," Yugi decided.
Just then another Coast Guard officer approached them with Joey, Tristan, and a strange boy in tow. "We found these kids stuck in the elevator," he declared.
Yugi stared. "Guys! What happened?" he exclaimed.
"Oh man, we've had an adventure and a half!" Joey cried.
"But explanations will havta wait!" Jamie interrupted. "We've gotta find my uncle!"
Quickly the group headed out.
****
Rishid grabbed the hijacker and wrenched the criminal's arms behind him fiercely. "I will not allow you to harm my master or his friend," the Egyptian man vowed.
The hijacker growled angrily. "I have friends who might harm them even if I don't," he sneered.
"Your friends will not be harming us either," Marik shot back, moving forward to the control panel. During all this excitement, no one had remembered to steer the ship—and now it was about to be tossed viciously on the waves.
Mokuba looked at his friend with wide eyes. "Do you know how this things works?" he exclaimed.
Marik shrugged. "I own a small ship. How much harder to steer could this be?" He pressed a few buttons and pulled on the lever. The ocean liner gave a violent jolt and pitched everyone forward.
"I don't know," Mokuba replied from his new position on the floor, "but this sure isn't any small ship!!"
Rishid continued to struggle with the hijacker as they rolled across the shifting floor. "Master!" he exclaimed. "This isn't working!!"
Marik's eyes narrowed. "It will," he replied. After applying the headset and concentrating hard, he again he pulled a lever. The ship rocked to the left, but less viciously this time. The Egyptian boy pressed another button, determined to get them back on course.
Mokuba climbed into the seat next to him, watching Rishid and the hijacker fighting violently.
Marik had to keep his concentration on steering the ship, but he could hear the cries of pain even with the headset on. "Rishid, you're in no condition to fight!" he protested.
"Do not worry, Master," Rishid replied, pushing the hijacker to the floor and pinning him down.
****
Yami Bakura sat back and watched Bakura's soft breathing, his brown eyes full of pain and regret. He had only wanted to protect Bakura when he had made him leave the pool hall, but instead the stupid boy had met the very person Yami Bakura had wanted him to avoid. "It is my fault you had a brush with the dark forces," the old thief said sadly. "I was trying so hard to protect you, but I . . . I couldn't." He clenched his fists, cursing in his native tongue and feeling worthless. For most of his life no one had cared for him at all, and finally he had become so embittered that he had decided he wanted to rule the world and set his sights on that. He had closed his heart to all of humanity and chose to be indifferent to their plights—but that was before he had met Bakura.
Oh, the boy's sweet innocence had disgusted him at first—and still did, occasionally—but over time he had slowly realized how much Bakura meant to him. The boy was the true friend and brother Yami Bakura had never had, and though the thief still didn't care really for the human race, he was deeply protective of Bakura.
Actually, Yami Bakura had had one true friend in the past . . .
The thief shook his head angrily. He had vowed ages ago not to remember what had happened to that friend. A tragic fate had befallen him back in ancient Egypt, and it was one of the things Yami Bakura was most bitter about.
****
In the meantime, Yugi and the others had found their way to the control room, where Rishid had finally subdued the hijacker and Marik was successfully steering the ship.
"Big brother!!" Mokuba cried happily when the door opened. He ran into Seto's arms and the older boy hugged him tightly.
"Marik!" Ishizu exclaimed, immensely relieved to find her brother unharmed. Marik was equally overjoyed that his sister was alright.
"Where's my uncle?!" Jamie demanded of the hijacker once the reunions were over. The man only stared back stone-faced and wouldn't answer.
"We'll find him," Yugi assured the younger boy.
Jamie barely heard him. "I said, WHERE'S MY UNCLE??!!" With that he stomped on the criminal's foot fiercely and the man cried in pain.
"He's . . . he's downstairs," he choked out. "He's unhurt—just bein' guarded by some more of my men."
"Man, how many goons you got?!" Joey cried in disbelief.
It was then that Yugi noticed something odd on the floor and picked it up. "What's this?" he wondered.
Marik leaned over. "It appears to be something to do with that mystery game," the Egyptian boy replied.
The others stared. "You're right, Marik," Yugi said at last, "it is. And get this—it talks about a hijacking!"
The man, surprisingly, didn't look worried. "Oh, you won't lay a finger on me," he growled, suddenly grabbing Mokuba viciously and drawing a knife to his throat. The younger boy cried out and struggled, but in vain.
Marik's anger boiled over. "You animal! He is only a child!" He himself had only been ten when his father had taken a knife and forced him to have those wretched tattoos carved into his back. He could not allow this evil man to torture Mokuba now.
"And what are you planning to do to me?" the man sneered. "If you try to do anything, I promise you that this boy will suffer."
Marik clenched his hands around the gun's handle tightly. "Take me instead," he said at last. "Torment me any way you choose, but leave Mokuba alone!"
Mokuba's heart pounded as he studied the man's unfeeling expression. "If he kills us both, then nothing will stop him from hurting my brother and the others!" the younger boy cried.
"Very perceptive," the man observed. He smirked at Marik. "Even if you wanted to use that gun on me, there's no way you could—not as long as this boy is my prisoner."
Marik's eyes narrowed and he prayed frantically to know what to do. It seems so hopeless! he wailed silently.
****
Yami Bakura slowly stood up, cradling Bakura's limp body gently. He knew the boy was still alive, but he wouldn't be hurt at all if the thief had only allowed him to stay in the pool hall, he was certain.
"Please forgive me, Bakura," he said quietly. "I never wanted harm to come to you."
Carefully the tomb raider carried Bakura down the hall and into the stateroom, where he gently laid him on the bed and began tending to the wound the boy had sustained after falling off the catwalk.
"I was supposed to protect you, idiot," Yami Bakura said now, feeling immensely distressed, "but instead I've only succeeded in harming you." Of course he was relieved that Bakura was free of the dark spell, but as far as the thief was concerned, he was responsible for Bakura being put under it in the first place.
****
Rishid started and sprang awake, his golden eyes filled with worry. "Brother," he said softly. He had just experienced a vision of Marik—and the boy's young friend Mokuba—being in grave danger and he knew he had to save them.
Quickly he stumbled out of bed and to the door, leaning against it to regain his strength. He was still weak from the whole incident with the cabinet, but he couldn't think about that now. His brother needed help!
****
Mokuba grabbed the evil man's wrist, trying desperately to wrench the knife away from him. "Let me go!" he cried.
"If I put the gun down, will you release him?" Marik pleaded, hoping against hope that the man would agree to that much. He knew, however, that the man might pretend to go along with that but really be lying.
"Oh, I don't know," the man sneered. "Should I?"
Marik was fuming. "You vile beast," he growled, racking his mind for any ideas on how to distract him. He took a deep breath and finally asked, "Why is it you want to hijack this ship?"
The man shrugged. He was free from the mind control, but since he had wanted to hijack the ship in the first place, nothing had really changed. "I needed a ship," he said at last. "We're planning a big heist once we dock, but you'll find out more about that later."
While he was saying this, Mokuba was again trying to break free, but the man wasn't letting himself be distracted. He continued to hold the knife to the boy's throat while clutching him tightly all the while.
Marik felt like screaming. All he could do was stand by helplessly, knowing that any movement would result in this evil man hurting Mokuba. He lowered the gun slowly—not that so doing would help the situation.
Suddenly the door flew open without warning and Rishid ran in fiercely, his golden eyes flashing in outrage at the scene before him.
"Rishid!" Marik cried in disbelief.
The hijacker was completely caught off guard by this and he just stared at the Egyptian man, not noticing that he had lowered the knife slightly.
Mokuba noticed, however, and he took the opportunity to kick out and strike his captor hard on the shin. With a cry of pain, the man released his grip and Mokuba ran free, dashing into his friend's arms.
Marik held him close with one arm while raising the gun at the hijacker once more. "Now you have no hostage," he observed. "The advantage is mine."
The evil man was angry. "Punk. I can just take all of you hostage . . . or better yet, just dispose of you."
"I don't think so." Rishid stood firmly at his younger brother's side, ready to fight in a given instant. "Not as long as you have me to contend with."
****
With Ishizu's assistance, Tea and Yugi were finally able to open the door.
"This way!" Yugi called to the frightened people, gesturing to the door. Quickly he, Ishizu, and Tea began ushering them out into the hall while the hijackers flew over their heads and slammed into the walls as they were defeated by the others.
At one point, Tea heard a terrible scream and she gasped in alarm, but there was no way she could leave her post. Fervently she prayed that Seto, Yami Yugi, and Shadi were safe.
Suddenly the door burst open and a stern voice cried, "This is the Coast Guard! Put your hands in the air!"
Everyone froze.
Slowly Yami Yugi stepped out of the melee, his hands raised. "The hijackers have been stopped," he said. "But thank goodness you have arrived."
"Who are you, sir?" the officer demanded.
Yami Yugi gave him a funny smile, not entirely sure how to answer. "I am a friend," he said at last.
Now Seto also walked out, looking bruised and dazed. "Who made the distress call?" he asked, worried about Mokuba's safety.
"Actually," the officer replied as he wrestled one of the criminals to the floor and hand-cuffed him, "we wanted to ask you about that. The conversation was broken off abruptly. We had to trace the call to find the location of this ship."
"That does not bode well," Shadi remarked, his eyes narrowed.
Now Yugi and the others hurried over. "Some of our friends are missing," Tea exclaimed, relieved to see that Seto, Yami Yugi, and Shadi were alright.
"I have more officers searching the ship for any others who might be being held against their will," the lead officer assured her. "Who all is missing?"
Yugi looked around. "Well, Joey and Tristan," he said slowly. "And . . . is Mai here?"
"Yes," Mai said wearily as she made her way over to them, "she's here."
"And I am too," Rex groaned, looking completely frazzled. He had apparently come out on the wrong end of a fight.
Ishizu's eyes narrowed. "My brothers may be in trouble," she said gravely. "There is no telling what dangers they may be in."
Seto pushed past them all. "I have to find my brother," he said in a dangerous tone, letting everyone know that if Mokuba was hurt, someone would pay.
"You shouldn't go alone, sir," the officer cautioned.
"Alone or not, I'm going to find him," Seto replied firmly.
"We'll all go," Yugi decided.
Just then another Coast Guard officer approached them with Joey, Tristan, and a strange boy in tow. "We found these kids stuck in the elevator," he declared.
Yugi stared. "Guys! What happened?" he exclaimed.
"Oh man, we've had an adventure and a half!" Joey cried.
"But explanations will havta wait!" Jamie interrupted. "We've gotta find my uncle!"
Quickly the group headed out.
****
Rishid grabbed the hijacker and wrenched the criminal's arms behind him fiercely. "I will not allow you to harm my master or his friend," the Egyptian man vowed.
The hijacker growled angrily. "I have friends who might harm them even if I don't," he sneered.
"Your friends will not be harming us either," Marik shot back, moving forward to the control panel. During all this excitement, no one had remembered to steer the ship—and now it was about to be tossed viciously on the waves.
Mokuba looked at his friend with wide eyes. "Do you know how this things works?" he exclaimed.
Marik shrugged. "I own a small ship. How much harder to steer could this be?" He pressed a few buttons and pulled on the lever. The ocean liner gave a violent jolt and pitched everyone forward.
"I don't know," Mokuba replied from his new position on the floor, "but this sure isn't any small ship!!"
Rishid continued to struggle with the hijacker as they rolled across the shifting floor. "Master!" he exclaimed. "This isn't working!!"
Marik's eyes narrowed. "It will," he replied. After applying the headset and concentrating hard, he again he pulled a lever. The ship rocked to the left, but less viciously this time. The Egyptian boy pressed another button, determined to get them back on course.
Mokuba climbed into the seat next to him, watching Rishid and the hijacker fighting violently.
Marik had to keep his concentration on steering the ship, but he could hear the cries of pain even with the headset on. "Rishid, you're in no condition to fight!" he protested.
"Do not worry, Master," Rishid replied, pushing the hijacker to the floor and pinning him down.
****
Yami Bakura sat back and watched Bakura's soft breathing, his brown eyes full of pain and regret. He had only wanted to protect Bakura when he had made him leave the pool hall, but instead the stupid boy had met the very person Yami Bakura had wanted him to avoid. "It is my fault you had a brush with the dark forces," the old thief said sadly. "I was trying so hard to protect you, but I . . . I couldn't." He clenched his fists, cursing in his native tongue and feeling worthless. For most of his life no one had cared for him at all, and finally he had become so embittered that he had decided he wanted to rule the world and set his sights on that. He had closed his heart to all of humanity and chose to be indifferent to their plights—but that was before he had met Bakura.
Oh, the boy's sweet innocence had disgusted him at first—and still did, occasionally—but over time he had slowly realized how much Bakura meant to him. The boy was the true friend and brother Yami Bakura had never had, and though the thief still didn't care really for the human race, he was deeply protective of Bakura.
Actually, Yami Bakura had had one true friend in the past . . .
The thief shook his head angrily. He had vowed ages ago not to remember what had happened to that friend. A tragic fate had befallen him back in ancient Egypt, and it was one of the things Yami Bakura was most bitter about.
****
In the meantime, Yugi and the others had found their way to the control room, where Rishid had finally subdued the hijacker and Marik was successfully steering the ship.
"Big brother!!" Mokuba cried happily when the door opened. He ran into Seto's arms and the older boy hugged him tightly.
"Marik!" Ishizu exclaimed, immensely relieved to find her brother unharmed. Marik was equally overjoyed that his sister was alright.
"Where's my uncle?!" Jamie demanded of the hijacker once the reunions were over. The man only stared back stone-faced and wouldn't answer.
"We'll find him," Yugi assured the younger boy.
Jamie barely heard him. "I said, WHERE'S MY UNCLE??!!" With that he stomped on the criminal's foot fiercely and the man cried in pain.
"He's . . . he's downstairs," he choked out. "He's unhurt—just bein' guarded by some more of my men."
"Man, how many goons you got?!" Joey cried in disbelief.
It was then that Yugi noticed something odd on the floor and picked it up. "What's this?" he wondered.
Marik leaned over. "It appears to be something to do with that mystery game," the Egyptian boy replied.
The others stared. "You're right, Marik," Yugi said at last, "it is. And get this—it talks about a hijacking!"