TCG: Hey people! Sorry about the horribly long wait…I had terrible writers block, and as you'll be able to tell from this first chapter, I didn't quite get over it. I mean, I typed what I wanted to, just not as good as I thought I could do it.
Yugi: But…aren't first chapters always the toughest?
TCG: That's true…I'll be sure to do better in the next chapter! Oh, and by the way, if you don't know what the deal with Alexa is, read my first story in this series, "YuGiOh: Alexa Added!". And, so you know what else is going on, in my second story, which I'd like if you read, also, "The Escape from Ancient Egypt", is pretty much the story of Alexa earning Yami's trust. Now, the third story, what I consider the last of my "must read" stories, but only the third in many more stories to come, is about Yami actually telling Alexa that he trusts her. Yeah…it's that hard of a thing to do…
Yugi: (Finishes reading chapter) Wait…you ended this in a cliffhanger, too!
TCG: Yep…
Yugi: How torturous…
TCG: Anyway, people, a few announcements: One, you know chapter 15 of my last story? Yeah, the chapter before the last one? Well, there was a whole scene I forgot to type in there…so I went back and fixed it. I just thought you'd like to know, since I'm not sure if it'll be mentioned in this story again or not.
Yugi: Gee, pull it together, TCG. Forgetting a whole scene…writers block…it's horrid!
TCG: I know, I meant to say so last chapter, but I forgot then too…
Yugi: Oh boy…
TCG: Anyway, I'll let you get to the story, since I've forced you to wait so long. Yugi, would you do the honors?
Yugi: Of course. TCGgirl124 does not own YuGiOh, or anything related. She does, however, own Alexa, Emily, Megan, and this story line.
TCG: Thank you, and now, on with the story! Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I'll respond!
It was a hot summer day in June when Yugi and Alexa were in the Game shop looking at the new merchandise. The newest duel monsters cards were in, and Alexa was more then willing to buy.
"Let's see…that's about…four dollars, right?" Alexa asked, flipping through her wad of cash that had emerged from her pocket. "Maybe I'll get some new equip cards for my Maha Vailo's!"
"Yep, that's four dollars." Grandpa answered Alexa, accepting her money and handing her the pack she'd bought. "And who knows, you never know what you'll get in those card packs."
Yugi watched Alexa as she opened up the pack. It was way too hot to talk unless you absolutely had to. Alexa was wearing a gray halter top, as well as a pair of gray Capri's. Even with the light clothing and the air conditioning, it was still hot. Yugi wore the black sleeveless shirt he often wore under his jacket, but still wore the same blue pants. Definitely not one of the smarter things he'd did that day…
"No equip cards…but some of these will still help me out…" Alexa said when she was done shuffling through the cards. "I'll have to edit my deck later…"
The door to the store opened with another customer. Yugi moaned as the heat from outside came in. "Come on, Alexa; let's go to the living room where it's cool…"
Alexa just nodded and followed him. They were sitting on the coach flipping through the channels when Grandpa came in. "I had to close shop…that heat is far too much for me!"
"Well, it's nice in here…" Alexa said. "Thanks to air conditioning!"
Grandpa nodded.
"Hey…what's this?" Yugi stopped flipping through the channels on one of the news stations.
"And, recently today, the native of Tora Island, Jujiti Wasgalou, was reported to be the last remaining of the Talahino tribe. We asked him what he planned to do now that he was the only inhabitant…" Jujiti's name almost seemed Mexican, Alexa thought. The first "j" in his name sounded like a j, but the second one was pronounced like an "h". Joo-heet-tee…Alexa pronounced the foreign name in her head, but quickly silenced her thoughts as the native was shown on the screen. He had dark skin, and was dressed like any aborigine, in brightly-died clothes that seemed very African. Geez…where in the world was this "Tora Island!"
"I, Jujiti, of the fabulous Tora Island, am sorry to announce the last of my tribe dead, leaving only me to guard this great island." The scene on the TV showed shots of Tora Island, showing a beautiful Island, looking just like the Bahamas or Cancun or something. All three of them gasped at the beauty of it.
"For years," Jujiti continued. "My tribe has lived in solitude and seclusion from the rest of the world. This tropical paradise has been uninhabited by any foreigner for more then a century. However, for my own benefit, and hopefully being able to keep this Island as great and wonderful as it is now, I will be opening it to tourists for the first time. I will be personally guiding a specially selected group to experience the wonders of Tora Island and give constructive criticism for the sake of future tourists."
"Man…there lucky…" Alexa sighed. In this time of year, that seemed to be the perfect place to be.
"You can say that again…" Yugi answered, nodding. This heat made everyone lazy, which made even that an effort.
"So, I hope that everyone will be looking forward to the opening of Tora Island to the public!" Jujiti finished on the TV screen. "And now, for the lottery numbers!"
Yugi flicked off the TV. "That would be great about now…being the selected few who could just lounge around on a tropical paradise…"
Just then, the heard the mail box open and close. "I'll get it…" Yugi said, forcing himself up for his own benefit. "Huh…what's this?" Yugi asked himself while flipping through the envelopes.
"What's what, Yuge?" Alexa asked.
"This letter's addressed to me…from Jujiti Wasgalou!" Yugi said, almost dropping the other envelopes.
"Yugi…you don't think that…?" Alexa asked mid sentence.
"Well, open it Yugi…" Grandpa said. "I want to see what it says…"
"You just want to see if you can make money off of it…" Yugi corrected him as he opened up the envelope, and read what the letter said:
Dear Yugi Mutou,
I have noticed that you have won many of the previous Duel Monsters tournaments. Well, isn't it time you had a nice vacation? I invite you, and ten guests of your choice, to come and experience the luxury of Tora Island. Please call to either accept or decline your offer. I hope I'll be seeing you in the beautiful Island paradise of Tora Island!
Sincerely,
Jujiti.
PS- For business purposes, you must have exactly 10 people. No more, no less…
"Yugi…you get to be the first group on that island!" Alexa stated the obvious.
"I know, and I can't believe it! I mean…you don't think that he really picked me just because I've won at duel monsters a lot, do you?" Yugi asked.
Alexa pondered the thought. "I'm not sure, but hey! Who cares about why he picked you; now the question is who are you going to pick!"
"Well, that's pretty obvious…you, Joey, Tristan…Duke…um…I'd better write this down…" Yugi grabbed a pen and paper. "I mean, I can only have 10 people."
"Yugi…you need 10 people…" Alexa corrected. "According to the official rules, the deal is void if the number of people after you isn't 10…."
Yugi nodded as he finished writing down the list. "Let's see, Joey, Tristan, you, Duke…well, that's four anyway…"
Alexa helped Yugi think of people. "What about Mai? She'd probably like it…"
Yugi wrote that down. "What about the Kaiba brothers?"
"I guess so…but only because we can't think of anyone…"
"Ok, we need two more…"
"Two? My math says we need three…" Alexa said, who had been keeping track of people on her fingers.
Yugi coughed, said a name, and coughed again in one motion. He thought Alexa would kill him when she realized what name he'd said…
"What! We can't invite Teã! Not in a thousand years! We just CAN'T!" Alexa yelled.
Yugi knew that Alexa didn't like Teã, but he couldn't invite his friends and not invite Teã…the girl would be out of a hobby, in her case, friendship ranting. "Well, Alexa, I could just not invite you, then that wouldn't be a problem…"
Alexa whined. "Oh fine…but I am not going to talk to that evil friendship ranter!" Alexa said defiantly.
Yugi rolled his eyes. "But that still leaves us with two people…and I can't think of anymore!"
"Hmm…" Alexa thought to herself. "I've got it! What about my kid sister and my friend Emily?"
"What…you mean, from human world! We can't do that!" Yugi protested.
"Oh come on, Emily wouldn't tell a soul, and my sister wouldn't either…" Alexa answered.
"No! I mean…one persons' one thing…but two! Alexa, you know as well as I do that we might as well tell the whole world…"
"No, I'm serious! They wouldn't tell anyone!" When Yugi gave her a hard look, she tried another tactic. "Well, fine. Then we'll just have to tell that Jujiti guy that you can't make it…"
Yugi realized what she was saying. "Alexa…" He sighed. "Are you sure they won't tell!"
Alexa smiled. "I'm positive. Now, let's make sure that everyone can come…"
So, Yugi called Kaiba first…
"Hmm…my brother and I were just looking for a place to vacation…but be aware that if I tag along, I want nothing to do with your little play group…"
"Fine Kaiba. We'll leave you alone. Just say that you'll be coming…"
"I'm only doing this because it's a cheap way to get a vacation." Kaiba said, hanging up.
Then he called Joey…
"Of course I'll come! I'll get ready right now!" Geez, that was easy…
Then Tristan, who had the same response, as well as Duke.
Then there was Mai.
"Of course I'll come! A girl like me needs a beautiful island to show off on!"
Ok…at least she was coming.
Alexa moaned as Yugi called the last person on there list: Teã.
"Is that girl Alexa coming along, Yugi?"
"Um…yes…"
There was a pause on the other line. "Fine. I'll come as long as you keep her away from me!"
"Alright, that'll be easy enough to accomplish…bye…"
"Bye Yugi!" Tea said in a flirtish tone.
"Now Alexa, if you can just get your friend Emily and your sister, Megan to come, we'll be all set!"
"No problem…" Alexa replied. "Emily will want to come for Duke and Megan has a crush on Joey…"
Yugi laughed. "Really, now?"
"Yeah…for Emily, it's more like an "Omigosh! He is so totally the coolest!" kind of thing, and with Megan, she's more like. "Joey! YOU ROCK HARD DUDE!" I mean really, I'm not sure if you'd call them "in love"…"
"You mean, like we are?"
"What!"
"I mean...oh, so they are?" Yugi laughed nervously. So much for staying "calm and collected."
…
Alexa went home, and quickly asked to sleep over at Emily's house. When they were outside, doing who knows what, Alexa broke it to Emily.
"Hey Emily, remember how we'd used to think of what would happen if we could go to Cartoon World?" Long before Alexa had ever met Yugi, they'd always had a kind of idea of how it worked. Of course, they'd both thought that the other thought it was fake, like a game almost…
"Yeah? What about it?" Emily asked.
"Well…what if I was to tell you...it was real. What would you say?" Alexa asked, a tone in her voice hinting that what she was saying was true.
Emily gasped. "I'd say that is totally awesome! W-why do you ask?"
"Well…it is. The whole place…it's all real!" Alexa said calmly yet excitedly. Emily immediate became ecstatic, and hugged Alexa in a hyper way. Emily was taller than Alexa, and Alexa guessed that she'd probably be the height of the others back in cartoon world. She had brown hair and blue eyes, which Alexa always thought was a strange combination. She had very pale skin also, Alexa wasn't quite sure if that meant anything, but she noticed it anyway.
"Alexa…does that mean…does that mean we can go there!" Emily asked.
"Yeah, here's the deal: Yugi got this trip to a place called Tora Island, only he can only go if exactly ten people come with him. He only had eight, so he said I could bring you and my sister…"
"Did you tell Megan?"
Alexa thought about her little sister, Megan. She figured the age difference was about the same as between Serenity and Joey. Megan had brown hair, and brown eyes, dark compared to Alexa.
"Um…not yet…"
Emily laughed. "You're going to tell her right before we go, aren't you?"
Alexa nodded. "That's the plan."
Almost all too soon, the day came. Alexa had Emily sleep over at her house that night, and at about one in the morning, she woke up her sister, told her, and they all left to cartoon world. Alexa had set it up so they'd arrive about a day early. She'd planned with Yugi to bring them right to his house, to give them a chance to "animate", as Alexa called it. Basically, to get them from looking human to looking cartoon, as well as to get them used to anime things, such as sweat drops and anime falls. According to Alexa's genius, these were very important to fitting in.
"So…Emily, Megan, this is Yugi. Yugi…Emily and Megan…" Alexa set up the introduction.
Emily walked over to shake Yugi's hand. "Hello, nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too." Yugi replied. Alexa had guessed right. Emily was still a tall person…
Megan stood, her head slightly tilted. "You're shorter then I thought Yugi…"
Alexa sighed. "Megan, that's a really nice thing to say to someone who just let you come with them on vacation…" Alexa said to her, then said to Yugi. "She speaks her mind…usually doesn't mean any offense…"
Yugi laughed. "Nah, it's ok. I get it all the time. So what time did you guys leave from human world?" He asked.
"About one in the morning. My parents were sleeping, so I thought it'd be a good time to leave…" Alexa answered.
Megan yawned. "Yeah…I'm tired…"
"Megan…stop complaining! If you're tired…go sleep!"
"Where?" Megan asked.
"On the floor, Megan, no! Sleep…" Alexa had said her first line sarcastically, then realized she didn't know where her tired sister could sleep. "Yugi, can she sleep on the couch or something?"
Yugi laughed. "Yeah, there's one in the living room she can sleep on."
When Megan didn't move, Alexa dragged her half-sleeping sister onto the couch in the living room. "There…"
Emily looked around at all the stuff. "Hey Alexa, why did we come so early anyway?"
Alexa gave an exasperated sigh. "Emily, look at you, and look at me…tell me the difference."
Emily looked from Alexa to her reflection in the mirror. "Hey, why are you cartoon and I'm still human!"
"It takes a while before you finally animate…" Yugi replied. "She brought you here early so that you wouldn't look strange to the others…"
Emily nodded. "I wonder what I'll look like…"
Alexa joked with her friend. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll have lime colored eyes…"
"Hey! It's not my fault that lime is a cool color!" Emily replied to Alexa. "I mean, yours are purple!"
"Yeah! Purples my favorite color! What's wrong with it?"
"What's wrong with lime?"
"Ever see anime with lime eyed people?"
"Have you ever seen them with purple? Wait…strike that…" Emily said, noticing Yugi.
"Oh whatever. Let's just worry about fitting in rather than what you look like."
Yugi had long since been sweat dropping from there cat-fight. "Do you guys do that often?"
"You mean fighting and apologizing right away? Yes…" Both Alexa and Emily said right away.
"Ok then…just making sure…" Yugi said. "So, what do you want to do until then?"
Emily and Alexa thought for a moment, and then Emily grinned.
…
"I win again!" Emily yelled happily.
"Grr…I'll beat you one day, Emily…" Alexa sighed. They'd been playing Go, a strategy game similar to chess. Well, in the strategy part, anyway.
Yugi looked at the board. It was a large square with a grid on it. The black and white stones were on the intersections, marking off space on the board. Yugi assumed that the goal was to get the most territory.
"Dude…look in the mirror…" Alexa said casually with a smile, nodding towards the small mirror at the corner of the room.
Emily at first seemed confused, but suddenly got excited. "Alexa! Alexa! Alexa! I've got lime eyes! Well, technically green, but who cares!" Emily hugged Alexa again, almost killing her in the process.
Alexa looked at her friend. She was still tall, and still pale in comparison to most people, but she still looked much different. Her eyes were pretty much lime, as she'd stated. Her brown hair was streaked with red. She looked pretty cool animated, Alexa thought. Speaking of which, her sister should be turned cartoon right about…
"ACK! WHAT HAPPENED!"
…now…
Alexa laughed as her sister ran in, animated. She looked pretty much like she had before, only in anime form.
"Good…now at least we aren't all cooped up in the house." Yugi said. "Only problem is, it's almost too hot to go outside…"
Alexa sighed. "Well…would you mind if I dragged them around to meet the guys? You know, so we're not all total strangers…?" Alexa asked.
"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Emily answered.
"Do you think Joey will like me?" Megan asked.
Yugi laughed. "You know you'll have some competition with Mai, right?"
Megan gave a hard shrug. "So? I'll use my charm to win him over!"
"Yeah, if you mean your good luck charm…" Alexa smirked, speaking under her breath. Megan went to kick her, but Alexa dodged it.
"Well, let's go then." Yugi said. "We'll visit everyone before the big day tomorrow…
…
"Hey guys!" Joey and Tristan showed up last, as everyone else expected. Yugi and Alexa were standing, Emily was trying to talk to a frog, Megan was running over to Joey, Duke sat and twirled a piece of hair, and the Kaiba brothers remained seated in the limousine right off the dock. Mai also sat in her car right off the dock, talking with Teã, who she had picked up. They all were waiting for the boat that would bring them to the island.
"I wonder if this frog has any idea what I'm saying to it…" Emily asked with curiosity to no one in particular.
"Watch out Emily, you'll end up weirding everyone out before we even get on the boat…" Alexa said with a sweat drop.
"Ooh! I want to do that!" Emily yelled, copying Alexa's sweat drop.
"Oh! Don't forget ME!" Megan copied the sweat drop too.
Alexa bowed her head in shame. "You guys are a disgrace to all anime…"
"Hey, look! It's the boat!" Yugi shouted. Everyone looked out towards the ocean. There, a large yacht came over to the dock. The thing wasn't a cruise ship, but it was a heck of a lot bigger than any of them had ever been on. Except for maybe the Kaiba's, but you're talking about multi-millionaires there…
The boat docked itself right next to them all. Then, they all saw Jujiti himself.
"Hello, Yugi Mutou and Company! You are about to embark on a journey to the beautiful island of Tora! Now, bring all you're things, everyone has there own rooms onboard this vessel, so there's no need to worry. Hurry up now, we wouldn't want to miss the Island in its prime!"
Alexa didn't say anything, but she had a bad feeling about this guy…
The Kaiba's, no one quite knew when they'd gotten out of there limousine, were the first to go into there rooms, without saying a word to anyone else.
"What's his problem?" Mai asked, as she and Teã came from the car.
"Oh…he wants us to leave him and Mokuba alone…" Yugi answered. "To him, this is just a free vacation."
"Yugi, why does she have to come again?" Teã asked Yugi, pointing at Alexa.
"Because she's my friend and I want her…" He watched Alexa kick Teã… "…to…" He glared at Alexa, who laughed nervously.
"Maybe we should just get on the boat…" Alexa said, grabbing her stuff and heading on board.
Yugi sighed. "Something tells me this is going to be a looong trip."
Soon thought, everyone was on board. The ship took off, and everyone found a room to call there own. As they were settling down, they heard Jujiti on the loudspeaker.
"Hello, and welcome aboard the S.S. Kristy. It will be approximately five hours until we reach the island, but you're vacation can start right now!"
"Is that so?" Alexa asked the loudspeaker.
"On the lower deck of this ship, you'll find an all you can eat buffet…"
At that Joey and Tristan both ran down to the lower deck…
"A games room, including shuffle board and miniature golf…"
"Wait…how can you half mini golf on a ship?" Emily thought. "The ball would never stop moving!"
"And even an Olympic sized swimming pool with a retractable roof, that way when the sun shines you can enjoy the great outdoors, and when it pours you can still swim!"
"That had to be the worst sales-pitch related line I've heard yet." Mai said.
"What ever you decide to do, you won't be bored, and that's a sure thing!"
The loudspeaker clicked off, and everyone began to go here and there. Alexa went up to the deck to get some fresh air. Much to her surprise, she saw Yugi there as well.
"Hey Yugi! Beautiful day today, isn't it?"
"Alexa! Yeah, it sure is…" Yugi answered. The sky was as blue as it could get, and the water was nice and clear. The boat almost didn't even bob all that much.
"Is it just me, or did it get really hot really quickly?" Alexa asked, noticing Yugi had changed into a pair of swim trunks, flip flops, and a T-shirt.
"No, it got really hot really quickly…" Yugi said smiling. Alexa was still dressed from the morning, which consisted of a pair of navy blue sweat pants, a purple hooded sweat shirt, and sneakers.
"Alright then, I'll be right back, I'm going to change…" Alexa said, heading back to her room.
Yami, did you tell her yet?
Um…yes…
No you didn't. I can tell.
Yami sighed. What gave it away?
You use big words and formal language. If you had really told her, you would have said something like "Yes, I did tell her…"
So, now it's a crime to be informal around friends?
Yugi laughed. The Pharaoh had a great knack for staying in character even with out of character lines. Look Yami, all I know is that until you tell Alexa, she's going to think you don't trust her. She won't be as nice to you cause she'll be afraid…you know her…
Yami knew Yugi was right. When they'd first met, Alexa had been afraid of him. When they'd been stuck in the past, in ancient Egypt, that's when he learned to trust her, and he was almost certain she was comfortable around him. Now, he found that she was afraid to act friendly again, in case he'd changed his mind. Yami knew how she felt, he could sense it. I'll tell her soon, Yugi…
I hope so, and you'd better, because before you know it, they'll come a time where that trust is important and she won't even know it exists…
"Hey Yugi!"
Yugi had expected the next person he spoke aloud to, to be Alexa, however, Teã proved him wrong. "Hey, Teã…" She was dressed in a summer-yellow tube top and a pair of white Capri's, accented by her light brown platform sandals. Of course, Yugi wasn't quite sure you could consider platform shoes sandals…
"You want to go swimming? The pool is huge!"
"No, I'm waiting for Alexa, but thanks for asking." Yugi shot off one of his cute smiles that he didn't do to be cute but made him that way anyway.
Teã smiled. "Well, alright then, when you get bored of her, I'll be at the pool!" She said, going off.
Teã sounded like she knows I'll get bored of Alexa…Yugi thought. But Teã did look cute in that outfit… He thought, feeling himself blush.
Just stick with one girl…Yami warned him. It's a little foreign for Egypt, but I can tell in today's society having two of them is bad trouble…
Yugi blushed more. You're not helping, you know! He just heard Yami give a light chuckle.
"Hey Yuge, I'm back!" Alexa said, coming back towards Yugi.
Yugi stared. He saw a very tan Alexa standing in front of him, wearing a blue string bikini in a very hot body. Her slightly-longer-than-shoulder length hair was flipped aside in seemingly slow motion, and then she batted her bright-green eyes.
"Yugi…"
"Yeah?" Yugi asked, in a daze.
"Yugi? Yugi…Yugi!"
Yugi suddenly blinked, and there was no longer a hot model standing in front of him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Alexa asked. She was pretty tan, Yugi thought, but not as much as he'd just imagined. She was wearing a skin-tight blue halter top, and had on a matching set of blue shorts. She also had a pair of light brown sandals that didn't seem like there purpose was to make the wearer about five inches taller.
Remembering he'd been asked a question, Yugi stuttered. "Uh…n-no reason, Alexa…" Yugi said, laughing nervously.
See? I told you, just stick with one…Yami reminded Yugi silently.
Alexa raised an eyebrow, and then shook it off. Why is it that no matter how sweet the guy is, they all have wild fantasies about sexy girls in bathing suits? My mom's right, all men are perverts, and they can't help it… "So, when was the last time you took a vacation?" She asked, trying to get the thought out of her head.
"Oh, I don't know…with all the stuff that's been going on, I've hardly had any time to myself…" Yugi answered. "If I can get through this vacation without having a life or death crisis on my hands, then that will be a miracle in itself…"
Alexa laughed. "So, you brought you're dueling deck too, hmm?"
Yugi laughed as well. "Yeah, I did. I figured its better to be safe than sorry…"
Alexa nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling, of course with Emily and the little person…my sister…" Alexa added at Yugi's confused look. "This will be far from vacation…"
Yugi gave an amused look that suggested he wanted to laugh. "Hey, you want to go swimming?"
"Sure! I have my bathing suit on underneath my clothes!"
At that, Yugi just did an anime fall.
"What? Is that a bad thing?"
…
Alexa and Yugi were enjoying themselves as they walked together to there rooms. They stopped at the edge of the ship to enjoy the view, because it was soon that they were to be reaching Tora Island.
"Hey Alexa…is it just me, or is the word "Tora" sounding kinda familiar?"
Alexa thought for a moment. "No…I think it's just you…I can't think of anything with the name "Tora" in it…"
Yugi thought for a moment. "Yeah, maybe it's just me…"
Suddenly, the three of them, Yugi, Alexa, and Yami, all looked up at the horizon. It was very sudden, and it disappeared right away, but each one of them could have sworn they'd felt an evil presence near by.
"Hey…did you guys sense that?" Alexa asked quietly, practically knowing that they had.
"I did…" Yugi answered, none of them taking there view off the horizon…
"So did I…" Yami answered, the only one looking at the horizon as if not by force but as if just to look off into it.
"Well…let's not think about it…" Alexa suggested, forcing herself to turn away. "I mean, we're going to be there in a few minutes anyway, right?"
"Yeah, I'm sure it was nothing…" Yugi answered, both him and Alexa continuing to there rooms.
Yami stood there for a few seconds longer before following them both. Somehow…I beg to differ…
"Hey guys!" Megan stood in front of them, seeming happy. "Guess what?"
"What?" Alexa asked, sounding bored.
"Did you know that "virus" is Latin for "poison"?"
Alexa and Yugi stood there silently for a moment, before Alexa said. "Wow Megan, that's great…" And they walked past her. "Don't mind her…she just talks for attention…" She said to Yugi. Yugi just gave a nod.
"Attention all passengers! Please report to the top deck for an important announcement!" The loud speaker rang.
"Holy geez, we were just there!" Alexa moaned as she turned around and headed back to the top deck. Yugi sighed and followed her.
Everyone gathered except the Kaiba brothers…
"But Seto, I want to play shuffle board!" Mokuba yelled.
"Mokuba, I am not going to play such a low game as shuffle board…" Kaiba said. He had brought his laptop, and was typing on it.
"Could you get off your laptop at least! We're on vacation, you know!"
"We may be, Mokuba, but Kaiba corp. never does…"
Mokuba groaned. "This will be an awesome vacation, Seto…" He added sarcastically.
Meanwhile, back on the top deck, everyone else had gathered, gossiping about this and that until Jujiti arrived to say whatever it was he was about to say.
"Hello, everyone! Well, as you all know, we are only moments away from reaching Tora Island! Now, construction for hotels hasn't begun yet, due to the fact this Island is so far away from supplies. However, rest assured; we'll still have a luxurious stay here. Everyone should pair up, boy-girl."
Everyone started talking at once. Finally, Alexa asked. "Why do we have to pair up?"
"Simple: Each pair will be given a tent."
Mai immediately protested. "I demand that you give me a good reason to as we're on a cruise ship and we have to sleep in tents on a vacation!"
"Well Miss, you'll see that there insulated pop-ups that are very spacious. And I'm afraid it's the best I can do until hotels are built.
Everyone talked some more, until some one asked. "Why do we need to be in pairs?"
Jujiti gave a smirk that, if anyone had noticed, didn't make them feel very comfortable. "For safety reasons. Scientific studies have proven that boy-girl pairings have faired better against the wilderness then people who are alone. And the last thing I want to happen is for people to be endangered on my Island."
Everyone seemed to be surprised and angry at the same time. Who the heck looked at scientific studies anymore?
"Well, I demand the right to my own tent! A girl like me needs her privacy!" Mai yelled.
Jujiti frowned. "I can only do that if you agree that I'm no longer responsible for you're safety, and you sign a waiver stating that fact."
Everyone gasped. Was Tora Island really that dangerous?
"Now, now folks, there's nothing to be alarmed about. It's a simple precaution to avoid law-suits, nothing unusual."
For some reason, no one agreed with him.
Yugi…is it just me or is there something weird about this guy? Alexa asked him silently.
No…I see it too…so much for a peaceful vacation…Yugi sighed.
"Well, all that besides…you wanna share a tent with me?" Yugi asked.
"Really! I'd love that! I mean, you mean it!"
Yugi smiled. "Sure, although I'm not quite sure what kind of dangers I could save you from…" They both laughed.
Mai, who'd asked the question, simply yelled. "Fine, give me that waiver! I can take care of myself, and I definitely don't need to share a tent with anyone! Hmph!" Mai stated, grabbed the waiver Jujiti had, signed it, and put the pen and paper down with a bang.
"Oh…yeah, um…the two Kaiba's will probably want there own "exclusive" tent…" Yugi said quietly. "I know for a fact that can't stand anyone here…"
"Hey, Joey…" Megan walked over to him.
"Yeah, Megan?" He asked.
"Um…could I…would you…uh…I don't have anyone to share my tent with…" She said.
Joey smiled. "Well den, you have come to de right place, cause neither do I!" Joey said back.
Megan smiled. "So, that means you'll share your tent with me! Oh, that didn't sound right…"
"Don't worry 'bout it!"
Alexa whispered to Emily. "Hey…why don't you go over and ask you-know-who to do you-know-what. Strike that, that didn't sound right…"
Emily laughed. "No, I don't think he will want to go with me…" she whined.
"Stop being so pessimistic and go ask him already!" Alexa shouted in a loud whisper, and pushed Emily into Duke.
"Oh, sorry Duke…" Emily said, laughing nervously.
"Oh, that's alright…hey Emily, um…since everyone else seems to be taken already…um…what I mean is…Do you need protection!" Duke asked the last line rather quickly.
Emily stood blankly, figuring out what Duke had just said. "Really! You mean it!"
Duke regained his I'm-on-the-top-of-everything poise. "Of course, because Duke Devlin is only here to protect the ladies…"
Did he just refer to himself in third person? Emily asked herself. "Ok, Duke! That sounds great!" She walked over and gave a quiet squeal in Alexa's ear. "He said yes, and I didn't even ask him!"
Alexa smiled. "That's great Emily!"
"Hey…what about me?" Tristan asked, coming up from below deck.
"Dude…where were ya?" Joey asked.
"Finishing up the all-you-can-eat buffet…why?" Tristan asked. "I mean, I heard something about partners…?"
Everyone explained it to Tristan…
"What! Then who am I stuck with!" Tristan yelled.
Just then, Teã ran up to the rest of them. "Sorry I'm late! I was taking a shower! If I left the chlorine in there any longer, I wouldn't be able to get it out!" Tea panted. "So…what did I miss…?"
Tristan did a combination sweat-drop and anime fall. "Don't tell me: She's the last person…"
"Sorry Tristan…" Alexa said…patting his shoulder in sympathy.
"What? I'm the last for what?"
And so, they spent the next five minutes explaining to Teã…
"What!" Teã shrieked when she heard what was going on.
"It's true…" Emily said, a full member of Alexa's hypothetic Anti-Teã club.
"You mean…Yugi actually said yes to Alexa!" Teã said her name like it was a curse word.
"He asked me…" Alexa said. "So why don't you just back off…"
Teã scoffed and walked towards the railing of the ship, where Yugi was.
"I can't believe it Yugi, you actually asked her to…to…share a tent with you!"
"Why not? I like her…" Yugi just looked at Teã, who stared at him like he'd just went crazy.
"You two, look out!"
Suddenly, the ship gave a big lurch and knocked them both off there feet. Teã went clear over the edge, unable to grip the railings due to the tons of lotion she had on. Yugi, on the other hand, kept himself from the ocean by grabbing the rail in time.
"Yugi!" Alexa ran and grabbed his hand, in an attempt to pull him up. "You ok?"
"Yeah…but Teã's…" Yugi looked towards where she'd fallen. Both he and Alexa were shocked at what they saw.
"Help! Guys! Come back! Don't leave me! Please…?" Teã had landed on a large, flat rock, about 10 feet in diameter.
"We'll have to go back and get her…" Alexa said. "Right now, we got to get you back on board." Alexa pulled Yugi with all she had, but she couldn't pull him up. "Yugi…I'm not strong enough…can you get yourself…"
"Alexa! What's goin'…Yugi! Hold on, let me help ya!" Joey ran over to the two, who helped Alexa pull Yugi back on deck.
They all panted.
"Thanks Alexa…" Yugi said, catching his breath. She didn't call me too heavy for her to drag out; she called herself not strong enough. I'm not sure why, but that strikes me as a good quality…
"No problem Yugi. Sorry I couldn't drag you out; I have almost no upper body strength when it comes to pulling…"
"Hey, you guys! Look! We're there! We're at Tora Island!" Joey exclaimed. And it was true. Obviously, for a while now, they'd been nearing the island. Of course, with the whole "about to fall off the boat" incident, no one had time to notice…
Jujiti looked on from his cabin. "Perfect…everything's set according to plan…" He watched the crowd form around the front of the boat, so happily. He gave a chuckle and grabbed a long suitcase from the ground, and flicked open the locks. Inside, there was a long staff of wood. He picked it up, and looked back outside where the last of the population of the boat gathered. "Yugi…we'll meet again soon enough…" With that, he suddenly vanished from the very spot he stood on.
"Hey, wait…is it just me, or is it a lit-tle strange that that Jujiti isn't here giving a speech right about now?" Alexa asked no one in particular.
"You're right; I wonder what he's up to…" Yugi thought out loud.
"Who cares? Let's find da tents and stuff and set ourselves up!" Joey said.
"So, we're finally here, are we? Well then, Mokuba and I will just have to get off first to find a spot away from you geeks…" Kaiba said, walking back from below deck.
"Kaiba, you do know we have to use tents, right?" Emily said, just for the purpose of trying to annoy Kaiba.
"Is that a fact? Well, it doesn't seem to bother us to much, right Mokuba?"
Just then, Mokuba came up dragging a large back pack looking thing with him. "Yeah, we got Kaiba Corp to make us a super-deluxe self-making tent! We'll be pretty much back home…"
Suddenly, the boat lurched and everyone gave a yell. They felt the whole deck slant, and the boat stopped bobbing in the waves. They all tripped over one another, and ended up in a heap.
"Hey you guys, the boat crashed!" Megan said, the first one scrambling up.
There was adlib conversation amongst all of them. "What? Why wasn't the boat landed properly? Where did navigator go? Why were they the only ones on board?"
"Well, seems to me like there is a curse after all…" Kaiba said smugly.
"Curse! What curse!" Joey asked.
"The curse of Tora Island. Kaiba found it on his laptop while he was working. Supposedly, the first person off of any ship to set foot on the island will get the worst of it!" Mokuba answered.
"What! Dat's it, I'm getting off last." Joey said.
"Oh, come on; don't tell me you believe in curses…" Alexa said, getting up.
"Yeah Joey, there just an urban legend…" Yugi added.
"Well tell me, how can they be urban if this island's deserted?" Joey asked.
"Ok Joey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll get off first…" Yugi answered.
"No, Yugi! Send one of Alexa's human friends first, I'll bet there immune!"
"What! I refuse to get cursed for one of you guys…" Megan yelled back.
"You guys, you don't have to worry about it any more…" Yugi said. He'd climbed off the boat and onto the island.
"What! No, Yugi! You coulda been spared!" Joey said.
"Joey, calm down, there's no such things as curses…" Alexa replied, letting Yugi help her off the weird angle of the crashed boat.
"I'm still getting' off last…" Joey said, as he waited for everyone else to get off.
"Oh no, you guys, look!" Mai said, after she'd climbed off. "The boats hull is completely destroyed!"
As there luck was, the whole front of the boat had crushed under a rock.
"No such thing as luck, eh?" Joey said under his breath, finally getting off…
Alexa rolled her eyes. "Now, let's set up camp before it get's dark out…"
"But what about food? We'll starve to death!" Tristan protested.
"You guys ate the whole 'All you can Eat' Buffet! Don't tell me you're worried about starving!" Yugi said. "Besides, it'll be getting dark soon; we should get the tents up before then…"
"Looks like Kaiba and Mokuba did first…" Megan said, pointing at there tent that was already up.
"Well, someone come with me to get the tents: We'll start now." Alexa said.
So, for the rest of what was left of the afternoon, they got there stuff inside there tents and set up themselves up. They'd even found sleeping bags, so they were pretty much all set. They all spread out along the beach, and were just close enough to be heard if you yelled or screamed. A bit inland, there was a jungle-type area, full of trees and vines and all the things that'd make it a jungle. As the sun lowered, they pulled together and somehow made a fire to keep themselves warm. It was hot during the day, but like any other sand covered place, it got cool quickly.
"You guys, I'm really worried. Now that Jujiti's gone, how are we supposed to get off the island? We all saw it ourselves, the boats destroyed." Emily said.
"Something's fishy with that Jujiti…and it's not the tuna he ate for lunch…" Joey said, agreeing.
"You guys, we'll have to worry about it tomorrow. Now that it's dark, there isn't much we can do." Alexa said.
"Yeah. Besides, we'll be able to get help off of Kaiba's laptop, providing he doesn't waste the batteries on checking Kaiba Corps' Stocks…" Yugi said. "I wonder how Teã's doing…"
"Oh, I'm sure she's fine…" Alexa said sarcastically.
"Um…someone…anyone…help? Oh, forget it…" Teã sat on her rock. "Now there probably having the time of there lives, and I'm stuck on a rock. Well, it's dark, I bet there just waiting for the morning. Yeah, and then I'll be back on the island. And once that happens, I'll be sure to get Yugi back from Alexa by wearing a nice string bikini…hehe…"
"Well, I'm going to go to bed…" Megan said, yawning. She was notorious for being the first to go to bed.
"I guess I'll go to…if I stay awake I'm sure ta get hungry…" Joey said.
Slowly, everyone excused themselves, until all that was left was Yugi, Alexa, and the fire.
"You know, for being stranded on an uncharted Island…it's really pretty at night…" Alexa said, looking at the ocean and the stars.
Yugi took a bucket of water and doused the fire. "You're right it is…"
"It's so cold though…I didn't realize it was this cold during the summer…" Alexa said, pulling her legs towards herself.
"What, you're cold? It's not that bad…"
Alexa laughed. "Note to self: Do not shave legs when you're going to a cold place."
"What!" Yugi said, laughing.
"What? You'd be surprised how much body heat you lose when you shave…"
"And we're talking about this why?"
"Cause I'm tired and I tend to bring up conversations that make no sense…"
"Yeah, I'll say…"
They were quiet, then they looked at each other, and just started laughing.
"That get's the award for stupidest thing I've ever said…" Alexa said, giving a sigh of relief.
Yugi just shook his head. "Whatever you say, Alexa."
Alexa just laughed some more. It was then she realized how good of friends she'd become with Yugi. At this moment, although they were stuck on an island, she couldn't have been happier. She was enjoying herself now more than ever. "Well, I'm gonna go to sleep now…I'll see you in the morning."
"Ok, I'll be there in a minute. Good night, Alexa…"
"Good night…"
Yugi waited until Alexa was out of earshot. "Did you tell her yet?"
Yami came by his side. "Of course I did…"
Yugi sighed. "Come on, Yami. You have to tell her, or I'll make you…"
"You couldn't…" Yami paused as he saw Yugi lift the millennium puzzle, and get in a position to smash it. "You wouldn't…"
Yugi stayed quiet for a minute. "I would…"
Yami couldn't believe it. He knew it meant a lot to Yugi for him to tell Alexa that he trusted her, but he never imagined how much. "I promise, Yugi. When the time is right, I'll tell her…"
"That 'time' better be soon…who knows how long it'd take me to put the puzzle back together…"
Yami felt bad, now. He was almost certain, no; he knew Yugi wouldn't destroy the puzzle. But the threat of it…the threat of doing something like that was what hit the hardest. Yami disappeared from Yugi's side.
Yugi sighed, stood up, and went back to the tent, where Alexa was, already sleeping. He unrolled his own sleeping bag, and lay down. He thought about what everyone had said that day to him. "I wonder if there really is a curse on this island…"
…
Alexa woke up in the middle of the night. She yawned and went to stretch her arms, but suddenly realized she couldn't. Suddenly fully awake, she realized she was no longer in the tent, either. It all hit her at once: She was in the middle of the jungle, propped up against a tree, her hands tied together behind it. And as if that wasn't bad enough, her waist was also tied to it with a rope, leaving her completely immobile. Alexa used her feet, the only free-moving thing left untied to try and pull away, but it was no use. She couldn't pull away. She sighed. "Who the heck did this? And how did they do it without waking me up?"
Alexa suddenly heard a low growl, like that of an animal. She looked up, and she suddenly was filled with fright. She began to shake with nervousness as she saw what has caused the growl, and possibly the end of her life.
In front of her, was the hugest animal she'd ever come in counter with: A tiger.
Hey, sorry about the cliffhanger, but I wanted a lot of reviews to start off with (since it keeps me posting new chapters more often). Anyway, I'll answer the reviews from the last chapter of my last story. I really must say, I was kinda sad…I only got 3 reviews. Only 3 reviews! I was so devastated…oh well. I'll get over it if you make it up in this chapter. (smiles)
Ice-neko-girl: Yay, I'm glad you liked it! Please review again!
LoneWolfPrincess: Yeah...let's see how long it takes for Alexa to figure that out. :p Anyway, thanks for the review and please review again!
eternitycode: AHH! NOT THE CHIHUAHUA! Ok...I'm good. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and please review again!
Well, that's all for now. See you around next time, people!
