I still don't own Yugioh.
Chapter 35
Yugi protested again, but they knew it was impossible as they sat at the airport, waiting for their flight.
"I know you don't like to fly on airplanes," Seto rubbed his temples, "But…"
"It's not that," Yugi shook his head, "There are other people, and…"
"It's alright, Yugi," Sugoroku assured his grandson.
"But, jiichan, what if they get hurt in all of this?" Yugi blinked.
Sugoroku frowned, not understanding.
"Say what, Yug?" Jou blinked.
"What if something happens on the plane?" Yugi asked, "These guys are after me. What if these innocent people get caught in the fight?"
"I'm sure nothing will happen," Anzu stated.
"I wish I had your confidence," Honda muttered, looking around.
They were waiting at gate 52 for the airplane to come in for their flight to Egypt. A boat ride would take too long, and Curse of Dragon didn't have enough room for eight of them on its back. Also, there was no private plane that seated so many in an affordable price range if they wanted money for anything else or in case of an emergency. So, they were stuck flying on a normal airplane, flight 452 bound for Cairo, Egypt. They figured they'd just easily travel from there to the destination. It was at least a four hour trip, but they still didn't have much with them to do. The more they took, the more they'd have to lug around when they walked. So, each of them just had a simple carry on. Of course, it took some dark powers on Yami and Honda's behalf to hide the weapons that Honda was carrying. They figured that they'd need some security, and Honda had created a few more throwing knives made of stone.
Yugi's protesting on the entire thing of flying in public where others were in danger should anything happened did convince the others enough to buy coach tickets instead of first class, much to the disappointment of Jou, Seto, and Anzu. Seto, who was used to first class…and Jou and Anzu who just wanted to see it.
"Airports are crazy," Ryou finally observed as he watched people run around to catch their planes, or scuttle by in groups or individually lugging all sorts of bags or strange foods.
"They're insane," Seto sighed, "We're insane for using them."
"You sound a bit uncomfortable 'bout it, Seto," Jou blinked, looking up at the taller boy.
Seto ran a hand through his hair, "In all honesty…I've never flown in anything aside from a private jet or helicopter."
"Rich bastard," Honda whispered in awe, "Damn…I wish I had that…"
Seto chuckled, "You tire of it quickly. If it weren't for Mokuba…I would have gone insane. My house is huge, but since nobody lives there aside from myself, Mokuba, and a few servants my dad left to take care of us, it gets very empty."
"Sounds like it," Sugoroku nodded, "The high life isn't everything it's cracked up to be."
"You've hit the nail on the head," Seto sighed.
"I grew up in a backwater town," Ryou blinked, "They didn't even have an airport. Didn't even have cars. It was a real experience getting in one…"
"Yea," Anzu giggled, "Your eyes bugged out of your head and you gripped the seat for dear life."
Ryou turned red, "Can we…not speak about that?"
Seto and Jou chuckled at the memory and Ryou's red face.
"I've been flying," Honda stated, "Though, these days, I've learned how to travel a bit through the Shado…"
Yami clamped a hand over Honda's mouth, glaring at him. "For the love of Ra, Honda! Are you trying to call attention to ourselves!? Do not use that word in public, ever. Got it?" He drew his hand back.
"I don't see what the big secret is," Honda muttered, "Isis-sama said that the world should be exposed to our powers. Or else they'll never understand."
"Well, calling out words of it right now when they definitely don't even know of its existence, save a few souls I've banished, is not a good way to desensitize them," Yami hissed.
"Break it up, boys," Sugoroku interrupted, "Although I agree with the fact that people should be made aware of what others can do, I also agree that now is not the time to show them. Especially with a mystery under our noses."
"Mystery?" Yugi quipped.
Sugoroku nodded, "Yes. There are a lot of unanswered questions."
They nodded.
Just then, a voice called out. "ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS. THOSE TRAVELING ON FLIGHT 452 TO CAIRO, EGYPT SHOULD NOW GO TO THE BOARDING RAMP AT GATE 52. I REPEAT, THOSE TRAVELING ON FLIGHT 452 TO CAIRO, EGYPT SHOULD NOW GO TO THE BOARDING RAMP AT GATE 52."
"Well, that's us," Sugoroku stood up, picking up his bag, "You all ready?"
They nodded.
Yugi took his grandfather's hand uneasily.
"It's alright, Yugi," Sugoroku smiled at him.
"Let's get this damned trip over with," Seto walked in front of them and they followed him to the gate.
Sugoroku sat down by the window in the three seater, with Yugi sitting next to him and Yami sitting next to Yugi. Across from them, in the two seater, Honda and Ryou sat down. Behind them, Jou, Anzu, and Seto took their seats in that order from the window to the isle seat.
After the flight attendant went over some safety instructions, and about ten minutes after that and another five minutes of waiting on the runway, the plane sprung into action and took off.
Yugi made a startled noise.
Sugoroku laughed, "It's just your ears popping from the pressure. Yawn."
Yugi did so, and then blinked when it cleared up.
The ride went quietly for a while, and most of them were bored. Honda and Ryou played Duel Monsters sometimes, but now they were both equally silent as it progressed. Jou was snoring softly leaning against the window, and Anzu was reading a book while Seto wrote something. Sugoroku was also reading, while Yami and Yugi talked quietly.
Suddenly, it was Ryou who spoke to them.
"I have a bad feeling."
They glanced at him.
"What do you mean?" Anzu frowned.
"I don't know," Ryou shook his head, "All I know is that I would get this feeling right before my father changed into his evil self. I also got it before Pegasus came down to us at the prison."
"Don't remind me of that place," Jou shivered, now very much awake.
"I'm sure it's nothing," Yami shrugged.
"But it's been right…"
"Well, maybe this time, you're wrong," Yami responded.
It went quiet, then Jou spoke.
"Hey…guys? I was think'n…"
"Uh-oh," Seto breathed.
Jou whacked him with one of the small flight pillows and then continued, "If Yami was able to track Isis or whoever through the powers of darkness, and everyone uses it, wouldn't they be able to track us?"
It went silent for a while.
"Guys…?" Jou blinked.
"Shit," Yami swore, "No wonder why they were always three steps ahead of us!"
"Then that means that…"
"They have another Millennium Item," Yami gritted his teeth, "Or, they're using whatever Isis has to track us."
Honda blinked, "When I was working under Isis-sama, we weren't concerned with tracking you guys."
"I believe," Sugoroku spoke, "That there are two divisions within darkness itself."
Before anyone could answer him, the seatbelt light went on and some screaming ensued.
"What's going on?!" Seto shouted.
"Monster!" One passenger shouted, "There's a monster out there!"
The group were looking out the windows while everyone fastened their seatbelts.
The com from the pilot's area flicked on, and his voice came onto the area, "Everybody, remain calm! We are experiencing some very unusual turbulence! Stay in your seats with your belts securely fastened, and don't panic."
The words were lost on the people as they saw what was out there.
"Skull Red Bird!" Yugi pointed to the Duel Monster.
"Impossible!" Anzu was searching.
"Damn!" Yami gritted his teeth.
Just then, the plane buckled, and jarred, and suddenly, the right wing was cut off. And torn off. The seats there were sucked out, along with the people there, and everyone else struggled to stay in their seats while the three people unfastened their belts and screamed as they plunged to the waters below. A fall from that altitude would kill them on impact. The plane was losing altitude, and dropping as it started to spiral a bit from the loss of its wing.
Yugi's eyes went wide when he saw that, and then determination crossed his features. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, then staggered over to the area where the wing had been torn off by the bird that was still trying to attack them.
"Yugi!? Where are you going?!" Yami shouted.
"I can't let them die!" Yugi shouted back.
"But they'll know…!" Anzu gasped, "It's too soon…!"
"Let them think what they want!" Yugi shook his head, tears running down his face, "It is my fault! I've got to fix it! And, if I don't do anything, then they'll die! I can't leave them!" He staggered over to the area, and held onto one of the seats, looking at the long drop. He felt a bit nauseous, and dizzy looking down at the water below. But he saw the specks that were the three people. A family, he supposed. A man, woman, and child. All plunging towards the Atlantic.
"Yugi! Stop!" Jou shouted.
Yugi took one last deep breath, finalizing his strategy, and let go.
"Yugi!?" Sugoroku shouted.
Yugi was spiraling through the air, falling at a dizzying speed. He could barely keep his eyes open. When he finally got his eyes open, they watered from the air whipping at him. He saw the three people, and heard their cries as they fell. Except the child, who was unconscious.
Yugi reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, "Winged Dragon! Help those people! Save them from falling and hitting the water!" He threw the card out, and the dragon appeared, diving at the people and catching them on its back.
Yugi had no time to celebrate when he saw the bird coming at him. He barely dodged, and ended up getting sliced across his left side. He winced as blood oozed out, but pulled out his next card as he continued to fall towards the ocean. Though, the bird's attack had somehow lessened his fall as he neared it. He didn't have much time. He saw the plane going down, and the bird going back to the plane, figuring he was all but dead.
"Curse of Dragon!" Yugi shouted as he fell, "Stop that bird and save the plane!"
The Dragon roared into action, blowing the bird to dust and then it lunged forward and caught the falling plane on its back, securing it with its tail and slowly coming down to hover over the water.
Yugi realized that his last card wouldn't be played, and he hit the water. Slowed by the bird's attack down to a reasonable speed, he only winced a bit when he his the water, left arm first. It was immediately cracked almost to the point of breaking from the impact. The rest of his body followed, cracking two ribs in the front and breaking four in the back. The pain was so severe, that he nearly passed out.
But Yugi didn't want to just yet. He tried to swim, but with his new injuries and the constant pain in his side from the cut, he only sunk deeper. He was running out of oxygen, and things were growing black. In desperation, he gurgled and pulled out a card. Light surrounded it, and the Great White moved up to catch him on its back. Yugi fought for consciousness as he ran out of air, and gulped in water. The shark made its way up to the surface.
Yugi gasped and sputtered, the spots dancing in front of his eyes playing summersaults as air flooded into his lungs. He coughed up water and blood as the shark obediently sat in the water, but with its back exposed so Yugi wasn't in the water.
Yugi coughed again, shivering. The water was very cold, and he didn't feel like he had any energy left. He weakly noticed a card float back to him, and saw that it was the Winged Dragon. He blearily noted that the three people had returned to the plane, and that the plane was resting on the Curse of Dragon's back, pulling up next to them. He saw the concerned faces of his friends and managed a smile before coughing and choking for air. Blood spewed out of his mouth with water, and he doubled over, the pain of his injuries overwhelming him. He looked up weakly when he heard his name being called.
"Yugi!?"
"Yugi!"
Yugi coughed and clutched his throbbing left arm, his breathing hard and ragged as he shivered from the cold.
Curse of Dragon came to a rest just a few inches above the water, and flew on over to where he still sat on the Great White's back.
Yami secured a rope around himself and had the people of the plane hold it, then jumped out. He didn't hit the water because they were too high, and he slowly slid down the rope towards Yugi.
"Hey, bro," Yami whispered as he landed on the shark, "Grab on. I'll bring you up."
Yugi coughed, then slowly reached up, but pain in his ribs caused him to moan and sink back down, shivers wracking his body.
Yami scooped him up and held him in the fireman's carry. He looked up the rope at the people holding it.
"You're going to have to pull us up!" Yami shouted, "He's injured, and I can't climb back!"
With a lurch, all the people of the plane worked together to pull the two back up. As soon as they were off the back of the shark, it became a card again and went into Yugi's pocket with the rest of his cards.
Yami looked worriedly at the boy in his arms, who was coughing up blood and water and shivering, occasionally wincing in pain from an injury. He glanced up when his feet touched the Curse of Dragon, and he helped walk his way up, relieving some of the people of pulling. Finally, he was back up. He gently handed Yugi over to Sugoroku, who was waiting.
"Careful," Yami warned, "He's badly injured."
Sugoroku nodded and gently took the boy in his arms like Yami had, then backed away as Seto and another person on the plane helped Yami up and got him untied.
"Alright," Yami nodded. The floatation device on the plane had extended, and the Curse of Dragon vanished in a flash of light, giving them a slight drop onto the water's surface, then everything relaxed again as they floated harmlessly there.
"Yugi?!" Sugoroku held the boy to him.
Yugi coughed and shivered, blood trickling down his fingers from his mouth. He doubled over and coughed up more blood, convulsing on the floor.
Seto had a blanket ready and wrapped it around the small boy, then Yami pulled Yugi into a gently hug, holding him and rocking him back and forth.
Yugi made a small noise and coughed, then choked and turned his head to the side, throwing up blood. He winced as tears fell down his face.
"Shh," Yami whispered.
The other people backed off a bit to give them room, but were obviously concerned for the small boy.
Yugi finally got his breathing under control after coughing up some more blood. He closed his eyes and leaned weakly against Yami's chest.
"It's alright," Yami whispered, "You're safe."
/Did I…save…them?/
Yami winced. Even Yugi's mental link was weak. "Yes, aibou. You saved them. Everyone is alright."
Yugi smiled, then shuddered and coughed deeply again. He moaned and curled up tighter.
Seto placed a hand to Yugi's forehead, and shook his head, "Damn."
Yugi shivered again, whimpering slightly.
"Will he be alright?" a passenger asked.
Some of the passengers were a little unnerved over what just happened. But when they realized that they were saved because of the boy, they didn't care about the monsters anymore or what really did just happen. They were just thankful for him that they were alive. Especially the family that had fallen out and been rescued by Yugi and the Winged Dragon.
"He's running a fever," Seto searched through his bag, "Low grade. Probably from using so much energy." He gently felt around Yugi's ribs, very carefully finding the weak, soft spots of broken bones, "And I'd say that he has at least two ribs in the front either cracked or broken, and four broken in the back." He noticed the slice in Yugi's side, "As well as a nasty cut and a sprained arm." He pulled off some of the equipment he was using to monitor Yugi's heartbeat and other things, and pulled out some bandages, handing them to Yami, "Take him to the bathroom. Get him out of those wet cloths, and carefully apply this long bandage on his side. Get him into his pajamas or something, as long as he's not in his wet cloths anymore, then bring him back out. Don't wrap any other injuries unless they're bleeding."
Yami nodded and carefully and gently scooped Yugi up, walking over to the bathroom.
Seto handed him the bandages and the pajamas, and Yami closed the door.
The group was still a bit upset, but some of the people were convinced that he would be alright, and proceeded to ask what happened.
The group exchanged looks, wondering how the hell they would explain it.
The wife of the family that had been pulled out of the plane earlier stepped over to Sugoroku, "I am Maria. Was that your grandson who saved us?"
Sugoroku nodded, "Yes."
"Thank you so much," Maria sniffled back tears.
The man came up, holding the small, 6-year-old girl in his arms, "My name is Daren. This is Wanda. Thank you so much for saving us."
"It wasn't us," Seto stated, "It was Yugi."
"That's the boy's name?" Maria asked.
Sugoroku nodded, "Yes."
"Thank God for him," Maria whispered.
Wanda tugged on her father's shirt, "Papa, is 'Yugi' the boy who wescued us?"
Daren nodded, "Yes, precious."
Just then, Yami came out, still cradling Yugi, who was dressed in his blue pajamas, a new blanket wrapped around him.
"Well?" Jou asked anxiously.
"He's got some broken bones and a fever, as well as exhaustion," Yami stated, "But he should be fine if we get him some medical attention and if he gets some rest."
A lot of the people blew out breaths they didn't know they were holding.
Yami sat down in one of the seats that was still intact, moving things around slightly so that it created almost a couch from the three seater isle, and started to lay Yugi down on it, sitting down at the end so that Yugi's head rested on his lap.
Yugi stirred and opened his eyes, blearily looking at the people surrounding them. He coughed weakly and just looked around with his eyes, feeling drained and unable to move.
"Papa! He's awake!" Wanda pointed.
Yugi blinked wearily, wanting to pass out again. He felt a warm presence by him, and knew that it was Yami. Some of his fear left him, and he managed a weak smile.
"Thank you, Yugi," Maria sniffled, "For saving my family."
"Thank you so much," Daren nodded.
"Tankies, Yugi!" Wanda smiled, "You'we my hewo!"
Some of the passengers, as well as Anzu and the group, smiled.
Yugi managed a weak smile and closed his eyes again.
Yami nodded and grinned, "He says 'you're welcome'."
Anzu wiped away a tear, looking down at the boy who had fallen asleep. The Yugi she knew months ago would never have jumped from a crashing airplane. He had grown a lot, even with the minor setback at the base in the Rainforest. Anzu smiled, feeling relieved along with the rest of the plane as the engines sputtered to life, and they moved towards the coast of Morocco, where they would all be safe for now.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Note: Please, please, please, please…do not jump from a moving vehicle or aircraft unless you are wearing a parachute and/or you are supposed to.