4. The USS Chrysaor
It was pandemonium as Yugi suddenly was swallowed by a mob of his friends, all clamoring to embrace him simultaneously. Téa alone stood back with the Kaibas, at first so overwhelmed by relief that her legs felt like water and she couldn't move.
"Yugi!" she heard Joey's nasal twang call out, "Buddy, we were beginning to think you weren't gonna make it!"
"You and me both," she heard Yugi confirm from the middle of the mass of people and her heart almost skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. He's here. He's really here, and he's okay…. His voice was deeper than it used to be, something she'd noticed the last time she'd talked to him on the phone just before he left Cairo six months ago, but not as deep as what she thought of as his "game voice"—the Pharaoh's voice—like what he had used to address Kaiba when he first arrived.
"What the heck happened?" That was Tristan.
"What didn't happen? If there's a way to miss a bus, train, or plane, we found it. And then we finally make it to San Francisco and Rebecca has to try on fourteen different outfits before we leave the airport."
"It was only three," Téa heard Rebecca reply tartly. "I told you my luggage would make the flight. And by the way," she added, addressing all of them, "is anyone going to say hello to me?"
"Becky!" Duke called out and he pulled her away from the group and whirled her around in a tight hug.
The group finally parted and Téa could see Yugi now, flanked by Joey and Tristan. He looked taller than she remembered. His eyes looked somehow different, too; more intent and guarded. It occurred to her that he looked like Atem, but that wasn't quite right, either. More like a fusion between the old Yugi and Atem. He was looking around, a slightly troubled expression on his face.
He saw her then, and when their eyes met, he suddenly looked less like the Pharaoh and more like Yugi. His face broke into a broad smile. "Téa."
Finally her paralysis broke, and in three long steps she was in his arms. He hugged her tightly, his chin resting on her shoulder. He definitely was taller, only an inch or so shorter than her instead of five like he was when she last saw him, which suddenly seemed three lifetimes ago. His arms felt strong around her, like he'd added muscle mass in addition to growing taller, though he looked as lean as ever. A familiar scent washed over her; a mixture of soap, hair gel, and something else indefinable that she always associated with Yugi and it brought with it the overpowering reality of his presence. He was here, really here, together with her once more.
"Yugi," was all she could manage to say.
"Boy, have I missed you." he said, still holding her.
"Me too. We were starting to get worried when we didn't hear from you when you were supposed to be back in Cairo."
"I know," he said. "I am so sorry. We just had the worst luck getting back to Cairo, and then getting out of Cairo and every time I tried to e-mail or call, we ran into some new disaster." He pulled back enough to look at her, his hands still looped around her waist. "Man, Téa, you… you look amazing!" he said, then blushed, looking even more like the old Yugi.
She blushed, too. "Thanks. You look great, too. You're taller!"
"Yeah, just think, when you wear heels I'll almost come up to your chin now," he said wryly and she laughed, then pulled him back into one more hug. "God, it's good to see you, Yugi. I'm so happy you're here!"
"As touching as this little reunion is, we should probably all go and check in. I have a tournament to win," Kaiba cut in impatiently.
Yugi pulled back from Téa again, and she let him go with great reluctance. He stayed close beside her, however, with Joey and Tristan also grouped around them. The four of them, together again at last. Téa was so happy she thought her heart might burst in her chest.
"We're coming, Kaiba. I wouldn't miss beating you for the world," Yugi retorted, game voice back. "Just let me get our bags."
"I already took care of that," Mokuba told him. "I had Roland take them with ours," he said, indicating Kaiba's assistant, who was already rolling a dolly stacked with luggage, including Yugi's and Rebecca's bags, down the pier toward the ship.
"Mokuba?" Yugi asked in that middle-ground voice that seemed halfway between the old Yugi and Atem. He smiled and stuck out his hand to clasp the younger boy's. "Geez, look at you! You're taller than I am!"
"Yeah, there's a lofty goal," Mokuba replied dryly.
"Ooh, you are definitely a Kaiba," Yugi shot back, but he was grinning happily. "Thanks for getting our bags."
"No problem," Mokuba told him as all nine duelists and guests headed toward the Chrysaor, the Kaibas in the lead with Joey, Yugi, Téa, and Tristan following behind and Duke, Rebecca, and Serenity bringing up the rear.
"So tell us what happened," Joey prompted Yugi. "You weren't in any trouble or anything, were you?"
"No," Yugi shook his head, "we just kept running into snags getting back to Cairo. Sand storms, missed busses, a car that never showed, that sort of thing. We didn't get back until early Friday morning, and then we lost our passports—"
"Our passports were stolen," Rebecca interrupted, elbowing her way between Yugi and Téa from behind. Téa tried hard not to grimace.
Yugi rolled his eyes. "Rebecca, your grandpa probably just misplaced them. You know how he is."
"Your passport too?" she countered skeptically. "Why would he even be anywhere near your backpack? I'm telling you, there's no way both of us lost our passports. The last time we had them was on the train in Al Bawiti. They've been sold on the black market by now."
"Maybe," Yugi shrugged, "but—" He was cut short, however, when Rebecca tugged on his arm so hard she pulled him off balance, away from the rest of them. "Rebecca!" he cried out.
"Come on, I've seen snails move faster than you! I want to check in," she urged.
"And I want to see my friends," Yugi protested, but he hadn't regained his balance enough to resist.
Téa could've sworn she saw an impish glint in Rebecca's eye as she tugged Yugi away. "One of these days I'm going to strangle that girl," she muttered under her breath.
Not under her breath enough, apparently. "You're looking a little green, there, Téa," Joey teased. "You do realize she's just a kid."
"A really incredibly annoying kid," Téa seethed.
"Okay, you got me there," he conceded.
At that moment, Mokuba stopped in front of them and turned to Yugi and Rebecca. "Hey, now I remember you. You're Rebecca Hawkins, right? You dueled in the KC Grand Championship a couple years ago, and you helped Seto stop those Paradias creeps from taking over Kaiba Corp. You're awesome with computers."
Rebecca stopped short so suddenly that Yugi stumbled into her. She let go of his arm and pushed him off of her as if he were the one who had been imposing himself on her. Flushing slightly, she replied, "Thank you. You're Mokuba Kaiba, right?"
"That's right. Are you in the tournament?"
"Yes, I am," she replied coyly, walking beside him as they turned to continue on their way behind Kaiba, Yugi and the others completely forgotten.
The rest of them stood behind, gaping. "Hey Yuge, you bribe Mokuba or something?" Joey asked, incredulous.
"With what?" Yugi replied. "He can buy and sell me ten times over. I think he just became my new best friend, though," he grinned, then slipped back into place between Téa and Joey.
"Hey, that positions been filled," Joey laughed, throwing his arm around Yugi's shoulders and giving him a half hug. "Man, Yuge, it's good to see you again. Things just haven't been the same without you."
"Yeah, I haven't had anyone try to steal my soul even once the past two years," Tristan quipped.
"It's still early yet," Duke added from behind them, "he only just got here."
"Thanks a lot, guys," Yugi retorted sarcastically. "It's so nice to know I can count on my friends."
"Don't listen to them, Yugi," Serenity put in. "They've all just been bored out of their minds since you went to Egypt. We're all glad you're back."
"Thanks Serenity," Yugi said. He then turned to Téa. "You okay? You're awfully quiet."
She smiled. "Mm hm. I'm just so happy we're all together."
He nodded. "I'm really sorry I didn't make it to New York. We really tried to get back on time."
"I know. " She snaked her arm through his and gave it a squeeze. "You're here now, that's what matters."
The long registration table set up just inside the gangway of the Chrysaor was crowded with duelists signing in to get their tournament badges and their cabin assignments. Yugi recognized many of them, but there were many new faces, too. Two years was not only too long to go without seeing his friends, it was too long to go without competing. He watched as old friends and rivals greeted each other, compared decks, showed off new and rare cards, and checked rankings. The atmosphere was so familiar, it was like coming home.
As they entered and approached the registration tables, conversations began to die as all eyes turned toward them. An official wearing a black jacket with the "Duel at Sea" logo emblazoned on the back rushed over. He was a little on the heavy side, with sandy hair that was starting to gray at the edges and a ridiculously large and comical moustache. "Well, well, well, here at last, our most honored guests," he gushed as he approached, clipboard in hand.
Joey stepped forward. "That's right, folks, Joey Wheeler, Japanese National Champion has arrived!"
They all groaned, and Tristan yanked Joey backwards by the arm. "Not you, you moron!"
"Yugi Mutou!" the dueling official gushed, stopping in front of him. "Welcome to Duel at Sea! I am Geoffrey Goradon, President of the International Duel Monsters Tournament Commission. On behalf of the Duel Monsters Duel at Sea Tournament organizers, I welcome you. We are honored to have you competing with us!" He then turned to Kaiba, standing a few feet away, arms crossed and scowling. "And Mr. Seto Kaiba, our other honored guest! Welcome! Please, if you both will follow me, I will be happy to register you."
Yugi felt his cheeks flush. "Um… isn't this the line to register?" He pointed to a crowd of people waiting.
"Oh, no, no, no, you are our special guests. I've already pulled your registration packets and left them at the Purser's Desk. Please allow me to personally register you, right this way."
He made a broad sweeping gesture with his arm, then turned and headed away from the gangway into the main lobby. Yugi and Kaiba followed, along with Mokuba, Rebecca, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, and Serenity. When they entered the lobby, Yugi stopped short and stared. A huge banner hung above the purser's desk, proclaiming:
DUEL AT SEA WELCOMES THE RETURN OF YUGI MUTOU, KING OF GAMES!
Other, smaller banners were spaced around the room with his various titles:
YUGI MUTOU: DUELST KINGDOM CHAMPION!
YUGI MUTOU: BATTLE CITY CHAMPION!
YUGI MUTOU: KAIBA CORP GRAND CHAMPION!
YUGI MUTOU: WORLD CHAMPION!
As they entered the lobby, crewmembers and tournament officials all stopped what they were doing and applauded.
Yugi felt his face burn, and he would have been eternally grateful if a hole had suddenly opened in the deck and swallowed him. Kaiba sniffed in disdain. "'World Champion?' Please. You haven't dueled in two years."
"He also never actually lost the title," Joey was quick to counter.
Yugi said nothing. While he certainly wasn't above exchanging barbs with Kaiba one on one or in the dueling ring, he was very uncomfortable with the celebrity status he'd achieved in dueling circles and did not want to draw any more attention to himself than the banners were already causing.
Mr. Goradon led them to the purser's desk. "I just need to see your travel documents and passports," he told them. Yugi and Kaiba each handed over their passports and papers, to which Mr. Goradon only gave a cursory glance. After handing their papers back, he pulled out two registration packets. "Yugi Mutou. Here is your tournament badge. Please wear it whenever you are competing." He handed Yugi a black badge with YUGI MUTOU printed in large white letters and WORLD CHAMPION printed below. Kaiba sniffed again and Yugi accepted his badge with a mumble of thanks.
"And Mr. Kaiba, here is your badge." Kaiba's was the reverse of Yugi's, white with black letters that read SETO KAIBA and WORLD CHAMPION.
"After this tournament, only one of us will get to keep that title," Kaiba remarked.
Now that they were no longer the center of everyone's attention, Yugi felt more in his element. "Yes. I hope you don't miss it," he shot back.
Once again, Joey pushed his way forward. "Joey Wheeler," he announced. "Japanese Na—"
"Excuse me, Mr. Weasel—"
"Wheeler," Joey grumbled.
"Uh… yes," Mr. Goradon replied. "The registration table is back by the gangway." He turned back to Yugi and Kaiba. "Now, Mr. Mutou and Mr. Kaiba, I'll be happy to arrange for a steward to show you to your staterooms."
"What about my brother, Mokuba Kaiba?" Kaiba asked. "He is a contestant as well."
Mr. Goradon checked his clipboard. "Oh yes, of course. I see he will be sharing your suite. I can register him right here as well. Let me get an assistant purser to retrieve their registration materials," he said in a rather sycophantic manner as he motioned over someone from the ship's crew.
Joey was about to boil over next to him, so Yugi put his hand on his friend's arm to calm him. "Excuse me, Mr. Goradon? I would appreciate it if you would register my friends and our guests as well. They would have been registered by now if they hadn't waited for me to arrive. Otherwise, I'll just go with them to the registration tables and we can get our rooms later."
Yugi could tell he was torn. While he clearly wasn't the type who could abide giving preferential treatment to anyone who wasn't either a world champion or very rich, he had already made a big show of ushering Yugi away from the registration tables. Yugi frankly would have preferred to register with everyone else, but now that he was already signed up, he didn't want to be put above his friends. He was especially sick of people dumping on Joey, who as Japanese National Champion deserved more credit than everyone gave him. It bothered him that Joey always seemed to have to walk in his shadow, even after he'd been away from dueling for two years while his friend had become a title-holder in his own right.
"Oh, very well," Mr. Goradon sighed. "Give me your names and I'll send for your registration packets."
He checked everyone's travel documents and passports—Yugi's friends more carefully than Yugi's or either Kaiba's, Yugi couldn't help but notice with annoyance—while they waited for the steward to return with their packets. When he appeared, Mr. Goradon distributed their badges. Joey's badge was blue and proclaimed him JAPANESE NATIONAL CHAMPION. Duke's was red and labeled him NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL FINALST. Rebecca's yellow badge said U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPION, although like Yugi, she was really the former champion due to her two-year absence from dueling. Mokuba's badge was green and was labeled PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGIONAL CHAMPION. Tristan, Téa, and Serenity all got brown badges with their names and GUEST printed on them.
Once they were all registered with the tournament, Mr. Goradon arranged for stewards to show them to their staterooms. As per their requests on their initial entrance forms, Yugi, Joey, Duke, and Tristan were all rooming together in one cabin and Téa, Serenity, and Rebecca in another. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a private suite, Mr. Mutou?" Mr. Goradon asked him.
Yugi by now was thoroughly annoyed with Mr. Goradon. "No, I would like to room with my friends, please," he said with strained patience.
Finally two stewards led them all away from the ingratiating tournament official and toward a bank of elevators. They rode up to nearly the top level, the Aloha Deck. When they reached their deck, Yugi and his friends parted company with the Kaibas as one steward led the latter two to the starboard side of the ship while the other led Yugi and his friends down a passageway on the port side. He stopped at a huge set of ornate double-doors, swiped a key card through the slot, opened the doors, and ushered them in.
Yugi sucked in his breath when they stepped into the stateroom. He heard Téa and a couple of the others gasp. Tristan let out a low, long whistle.
The room they had walked into was the living room of an enormous suite. Directly across from them was a sliding glass door that opened onto a private balcony overlooking the ocean. There was a long, sectional sofa that curved in a semi-circle around a low coffee table in the center of the room, and a dining room table with eight tall-backed chairs in the far corner. Besides the double doors through which they'd entered, there were four other doors that led out of the room, two in the wall on Yugi's left and two on his right. Their bags were already there, Yugi noticed, stacked neatly by the doors on either side of the living room. He saw his suitcase by the door on the right and recognized Rebecca's bag among those on the left.
"This is our Grand Master Olympian suite," the steward explained. "Our best suite for the tournament's top duelist. There's a bedroom and a bathroom on either side, and each bedroom has its own exit to the hallway." He turned and showed them a desk behind him and picked up a thick folder. "This packet has all your information about the ship." He went on to explain about the mandatory lifeboat drill before the ship set sail, and about the formal dinner and ball later that evening.
Putting the packet back on the desk, he folded his hands behind his back. "If there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to call. My name is John and I will be your steward for this trip."
"Thank you, John," Yugi said as he reached for his wallet. Duke beat him to it and handed John a tip. The steward bowed, then left them alone, closing the double doors behind him.
"All right!" Joey shouted as he flung himself onto the circular sofa. "Is this living or what?"
"Sure beats my barracks," Tristan agreed, flopping down on the opposite side of the couch from Joey and folding his hands behind his head. "I could definitely get used to this."
There was a squeal from the bathroom on the left, and Serenity emerged, her face radiant. "Oh, you should see the huge tub in here! I could soak in there for hours!"
They explored the suite a little more. The balcony extended the entire length of the suite and sliding doors led into each bedroom as well as the living room. The bedrooms weren't quite as grand as the living room, but considering this was a ship and space was at a premium, they seemed enormous to Yugi.
"Hey, check this out," Joey said, examining a map of the ship from the information folder the steward had left on the desk. "This ship has a mall on the Promenade Deck, a spa, two pools, a movie theater on the Fiesta Deck, a weight room and a gym with a basketball court on the Holiday Deck, and seven different restaurants… with all meals paid for, all you can eat!"
"The cruise line's going to go bankrupt with you aboard," Tristan told him.
They brought their bags into the bedrooms and pulled out their formal wear to hang and air out. Serenity consulted the map and suggested they watch the ship set sail from the Sun Deck at the top of the ship after the lifeboat drill. Once they were at sea, they could return to the suite and get ready for dinner.
Soon an announcement came over the ship intercom declaring the start of the mandatory muster drill. They grabbed lifejackets out of the closets, then headed out of the suite towards the staircase, which the announcement had instructed them to use rather than the elevators.
"This trip is gonna be so much fun," Joey exclaimed. "I can't wait for the tournament tomorrow. This is the year I'm finally going to kick Kaiba's butt, I can feel it in my bones." He grinned at Yugi. "Maybe I'll even beat you this time."
"Ha! You can try," Yugi replied, then laughed. "You're right though; this is going to be great. I haven't competed just for fun since, oh, it would have to have been the KC Grand Championship almost three years ago."
"Dueling for fun, what a concept," Téa laughed.
"No souls to save, no monsters come to life," Tristan added.
"Nope, those days are behind us. This trip is just going to be about fun and friends," Yugi smiled as they joined a crowd of other passengers headed out the doors and down the stairs to their assigned muster station.
On a luxurious Lear Jet flying west over the east coast of the United States, a lone passenger sat in his high-backed leather seat, a thick, leather-bound volume open before him. Text in Arabic lined one side, while the facing page held Egyptian hieroglyphics. Tracing a line with his finger down the page, he followed the hieroglyphics until he came to an illustration that depicted seven magical items. The Millennium Items. The entire focus of his life for more than a decade. They had all been lost two and a half years ago when that idiot boy Yugi Mutou sent the Nameless Pharaoh back to the spirit world.
Of course, he knew the pharaoh's name, he just didn't think he deserved one. Atemu, if transliterated directly into the Roman alphabet, but pronounced Atem, not that he would ever lower himself to pronouncing it; the pharaoh that, along with his successor, Seto, ended the Shadow Games, sealing them for thousands of years in the Millennium Items, keeping the pharaohs and sorcerers who came after them from accessing their power. Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the same pharaoh, reborn in the young high school student from Japan, did it again in the modern age by burying the Millennium Items themselves. If he'd have only arrived in Egypt even a week earlier, he could have saved the Millennium Items and things would have been so much simpler. But what's done was done and there was no point in dwelling on it. It had taken him two years, but he now had what he needed to access the power of the Shadow Games, and soon the time of the true pharaoh would begin. Atem had been a nobody, nameless until just two years ago. Real pharaohs had names. Real pharaohs did not throw away their power.
"Excuse me, sir," the flight attendant interrupted. "There is a call for you."
"Thank you," he replied in a crisp English accent, then picked up the air phone from the seat beside him. "Yes?"
"We're about to set sail," the voice on the other end informed him without preamble.
"And?"
"They both checked in about an hour ago."
He frowned. "Both of them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do we know how they both managed to make it on time?"
"Not sure. Someone pulled some strings with both the Japanese and American consulates to get Mutou and that Hawkins girl reissued passports."
I'll bet I know who, he thought, sourly. Pity, too, since he had relieved them of their passports personally.
"I understand your guys in Cairo even arranged a mechanical delay that held them up for four hours so they'd miss their connection in Paris, but they managed to get another flight. I heard Homeland Security was extra paranoid about foreigners traveling from the Middle East and he almost didn't make it through customs in time at Dulles, but the guy clearly leads a charmed existence. They got here just in time."
"And the other?" he asked, impatiently.
"There seemed to be some outside help there, too. The labor dispute you orchestrated fell apart at the last hour when a mediator appeared out of nowhere and negotiated an agreement. Your guy in Kaiba Corp is pretty sure there were bribes involved, but it's doubtful they came from Kaiba. That guy is just too tight with a buck and too stubborn to settle."
"Yes, I'm sure there was outside help. Obviously the same person who got our Mr. Mutou his passport."
He sighed. "It was inevitable, I suppose. We can still proceed, outside help or no."
"You know who it is?"
"Of course, but that's not your concern. Your concern is getting us to the next step. I trust you've already arranged it?"
"Yes, sir. Everything is in place."
"You understand, the timing must be quite precise. You are very clear on every step?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. In the meantime, watch them closely. And see what happens when the tournament host reveals himself. That ought to be very… entertaining."
"Yes, sir."
"What about the others? Were you able to procure a list of contestants and guests?"
"Of course."
"Who from my lists are there?"
There was a pause, and then the voice at the other end read a list of names. "Uh… from the first list, Mutou and Kaiba, of course. Wheeler. Devlin. The Hawkins girl. The other Kaiba. Valentine."
He raised his eyebrows. "Interesting. A bit unexpected."
"Also Gardner, Taylor, and the other Wheeler from your first list are guests."
"Naturally. But none of the Ishtars?"
"No."
"Ryou Bakura?"
"No."
"I expected as much. And yet, Valentine…" he mused. "What about the other list?"
"Pretty much the same names. Mutou, Kaiba, Wheeler, Valentine. The others you listed in parentheses: Hawkins, Devlin, Gardner, Taylor, the other Kaiba."
"Not any of the others?"
"No, just the ones that overlap. Except for the other Wheeler. She's the only one not on both lists."
He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Worrisome. A coincidence, or did he somehow know where we'd be focusing our efforts?" He thought about his two lists and who were excluded from each of them and another pattern emerged. Except for Ishizu Ishtar, everyone excluded from the tournament had deliberately played a Dark Game. Furthermore, if he looked at his first list exclusively, ignoring the second list, it was the one thing those excluded had in common, other than Ishizu, and her absence could easily be explained by the other work she would be doing. Perhaps, then, his second list hadn't been considered at all. It would certainly explain Valentine's inclusion. Mutou, of course, would have been included regardless, but the only thing that could explain Valentine's inclusion given who was missing from the second list was that his adversary had not considered the second list at all. If he had, he would have realized exactly how dangerous Valentine was. This was very good. He could definitely use this to his advantage, perhaps even try a little experiment….
"Oh wait, here's something, sir."
He listened to the names, frowning. "Why on earth…?" This could blow his entire theory out of the water, as these two new names would only have appeared on the second list, had he bothered to include them. Then again, there were other reasons they might have been invited. "I think our friendly host has a very warped sense of humor. At least I hope that's all it is. Regardless, we can use this to our advantage, I believe. Good catch."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now you must watch and wait. I will contact you again when I want you to act."
"Yes sir. Anything else?"
He considered a moment. He really did want to try his little experiment. "Yes, there is one more thing. You do still have the objects I gave you?
"Of course."
"Good. Then I have a side project for you."