16. The Search Party

"You were bribed?" Kaiba roared. "By whom?"

Yugi looked angrily at Goradon, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know! I swear I don't! A few days after Pegasus and I made the original agreement, I got a phone call requesting a private meeting to discuss the tournament. I'd assumed it was someone from Industrial Illusions, but when he showed up, he offered me five hundred thousand dollars to use this cruise line for the tournament venue. I assume it was someone from the cruise line."

"Our company is not in the habit of bribing people to get business!" Evan protested. "Our Alaskan cruises are very popular. We certainly didn't need to take on a charter at less than capacity!"

"Your company is making plenty on this deal!" Goradon retorted.

"Not so much to make it worth paying off one person five hundred thousand dollars!" Evan shot back.

"Who was it who met with you?" Yugi asked.

"I have no idea! It was a man I'd never seen before in my life and never saw since. He paid me half the money on the spot, and after the contracts were signed with the cruise line, I received a package by courier with the rest."

"You weren't suspicious at such a large sum of money for such a small thing as a Duel Monsters tournament venue?"

"Suspicious of what? You don't honestly think it occurred to me that someone would want to try and blow up a ship full of gamers!"

"What about the island and the cave? Did you know we were being deliberately brought here?"

"Of course not! I told you, I wouldn't have come on the ship if I'd have known it was going to sink. I didn't know this island even existed until we got here and I still don't know what cave you keep going on about!"

"Who knew that Pegasus wanted to host a tournament?" Yugi changed tracks swiftly.

"Croquet already told you, just him, Pegasus, me, and the other IDMTC officers."

"How many officers are there?"

"Five including myself."

"Did you tell anyone about Pegasus's involvement?"

"No!"

"And you weren't suspicious that this mystery visitor knew about it?"

"He didn't say he knew about Pegasus's involvement, just that he knew there was a tournament coming and he wanted it to be on an Alaskan cruise. That's it, I swear it!"

"What about Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood?"

"What about them? I don't know anything about them!"

"Why were they even invited?" Kaiba demanded. "They aren't exactly the caliber of duelist you would expect at an international championship, not anymore."

"I had nothing to do with who was invited, that was Pegasus's job! He issued all the invitations and did all the seeding into the separate divisions."

Yugi looked at Croquet for confirmation.

"It's true, Mr. Pegasus made all the decisions about competitors."

"Why Rex and Weevil, then?"

Croquet shrugged. "I think it amused him. They were among the best in the game until Duelist Kingdom when Weevil lost to you in the first duel and Rex lost to Mr. Wheeler not long after that. They've been going downhill fast ever since then. Pegasus thought it entertaining to pit them against you two again, for old time's sake. That's why they were seeded against you both in the first round."

"Well, I hope he's satisfied with the price he paid for his little joke," Kaiba barked, looking over at Pegasus, still lying unconscious on the floor with Harrison and Serenity beside him.

"Whatever Rex and Weevil's involvement, they didn't blow up the ship," Yugi stated, surprising even himself with his own conviction. Yet, he knew it to be true. Everything was linked, but the sinking of the ship was not Rex and Weevil. "They wouldn't be able to pull off such a complicated sabotage." His eyes swept back to Goradon.

"I wouldn't know how to sabotage the ship either!" he protested.

"I didn't say you would," Yugi said serenely.

"Then stop questioning me like I'm some common criminal!"

"Last I checked, accepting bribes was a crime," Kaiba said, towering over Goradon, his face a mask of fury. "If you know anything about who blew up the ship and why we're here, you'd better say something now."

"I have no idea!" he cried fearfully, "I don't! Why would I put my own life in danger for a gaming tournament? Not even five hundred thousand dollars is worth this!"

"Why don't I believe you?" Kaiba growled.

"Kaiba," Yugi placated him, "I don't think we'll get any further with him. We need to find our answers back at that cave."

"Hold on, hold on," Evan said, putting his hands up. "This is a little too big for a bunch of gamers to take on. What we need to do is for you to tell me where you found Mr. Pegasus so we can start searching for the two men that you say did this to him. We—and by we I mean myself and my fellow crew mates—" he added, nodding his head toward Harrison, still kneeling beside Pegasus, "We will keep the two of them in custody and then after we are rescued we will report them and Mr. Goradon to the appropriate authorities. Our only concern here is keeping everyone safe and getting off this island. This is not a game!"

Yugi shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. It is absolutely a game. To Rex and Weevil, it's all about the game. That's why the only ones who can find them and bring them back are those of us who play the game."

Evan gave him an incredulous look. "You're comparing terrorism to a card game?"

"No. We're talking about two separate things here. Rex and Weevil did not sink the ship," he reiterated. "They have a grudge against Pegasus and against me and Joey and that's why we have to find them. But the ship sinking is a separate thing."

"So you think you should come with us to search for them?" Evan demanded.

"No, I think we should go alone. You have enough responsibilities here with the other passengers. Rex and Weevil are my responsibility."

"Because of a game?"

"Because they see themselves as our rivals," Yugi replied, nodding to Joey. "Listen, Evan, they're not terrorists. They're a couple of teenagers who hit their prime when they were fourteen or fifteen and are already has-beens at nineteen and twenty and they resent it. They resent us. So only we can take care of it."

"But you think that we were brought to this island deliberately because of something you found in this cave where your friends found Mr. Pegasus?"

Yugi exhaled slowly. How could he possibly begin to explain the connection to someone who not only knew nothing of the Shadow Realm but didn't even play Duel Monsters? The connections to the Egyptian tablets the others had found in that cave were even harder to explain.

"This cave," Yugi began. "Apparently someone has put up some stone tablets with Egyptian hieroglyphics on them. Several of us spent some time in Egypt a couple of years ago, and I'm an Egyptology student. Rebecca's grandfather is an archaeologist," he said, nodding in Rebecca's direction. "The game of Duel Monsters itself is based on a game ancient Egyptians played, using their mythology. Rex and Weevil somehow ended up in this same cave. It's all too many coincidences. We need to go there and figure out what it all means."

"You think this was done for your benefit?" Evan asked, incredulous. "'Cause I always got the impression that Kaiba was the one who thought he was the center of the universe, not you."

Kaiba snorted. "You'd be surprised."

Yugi ignored Kaiba. "Rex and Weevil attacked Pegasus to get my attention. And someone obviously made some very careful plans to bring us here. Neither Rex Raptor nor Weevil Underwood are that someone. As Mr. Goradon said himself, the selection process for duelists was handled separately from the travel arrangements. It's all connected, Evan, and my friends and I are the once who can figure it out. We need to be the ones to go after them."

"Do you honestly expect me to trust you after the way you behaved in that game back there?"

Before Yugi could even open his mouth to reply—not that he knew what to say to that, anyway—Rebecca jumped to his defense.

"Oh come on, it's a role-playing game! On the field we are enemy warriors summoning monsters and magicians to do battle on our behalf. Sometimes we get carried away, but what happens on the field stays on the field. It's not who we are off the field," she said, looking directly at Yugi, "we all know that."

Guilt washed over him over how he had treated her, what he had said about her brother, but he recognized the message she was giving him and uncrossing his arms and placing one hand on her shoulder, nodded to her in gratitude.

Evan considered a moment, then surprised Yugi by looking to Mai. "Mai, I want your opinion on this. Does this guy know what he's talking about?"

Mai looked a little taken aback by the sudden question directed at her and Joey's face hardened into a scowl, but he kept silent.

"Yes," Mai answered firmly. "I know it sounds fantastic, Evan, but this Egyptian stuff is pretty weird and Yugi is the expert. If anyone can figure out what it all means, he's the guy."

"Okay, okay," he said at last. "I'm gonna let you guys form a search party to check out that cave and find those two. But I'm going with you."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Yugi replied.

"And I don't think sending you all off on your own is a good idea. Whether or not they were involved with the sabotage of the ship, they were involved, or so it seems, in hurting one of the passengers. That makes them my responsibility. If you think you can find them and that they're looking to make this some sort of gaming challenge, fine, but you aren't going after them without me."

Yugi considered this. When things started to get weird—and Yugi had no doubt that they would—someone with no understanding of the Shadow Realm would almost certainly get in the way. But it wasn't going to do him any good to stand here and argue for another hour. At last, he gave one curt nod. "Fine. We'll go together."

"Good," Evan replied. "Now, we need to take plenty of water, some of the rations, though I think we're down pretty low thanks to those guys stealing most of it, so we need to get our food back from them, and we all need to get something to eat before we leave. Also, we'll take one flashlight for every two people. I wish we could take a couple radios, but the batteries were all dead by yesterday morning." He looked back at Harrison, still kneeling beside Pegasus. "You'll be in charge back here, understood?"

Harrison nodded.

While Evan went off to gather provisions, the rest of them met outside the cave at the campfire where Mako was already starting to cook today's catch for dinner. Yugi was headed in that direction when he felt a tug at his elbow. Turning around, he found Serenity at his side.

"Yugi, something is really wrong with Pegasus," she told him. "It's a lot like the Shadow Realm, but… different."

He cocked his head at her, startled by her certainty. "How do you know?

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I just know. When I touched his neck to check his pulse… I don't know. I just got this feeling. Like he's not there. Like Mai in Battle City, but not like her. It's like… I can't tell where he went."

"Are you sure he isn't just unconscious? What does Harrison say?"

"He says Pegasus has a concussion and is hoping he's not in a coma. He thinks Pegasus's pallor is weird, but…." She blew hair out of her face in frustration. "I can't explain it, Yugi, I just know. It's worse than the Shadow Realm."

Yugi frowned. "Worse than the Shadow Realm? That can't be good."

"I know."

He nodded. "Okay. I trust your judgment. After all that time watching over Mai, maybe you've developed a sixth sense about the Shadow Realm."

She gave him a troubled look, like she didn't even completely trust her own judgment or where this feeling was coming from, but she didn't say anything more, and then he looked up at the rest of the group, the nine other Shadow Duelists gathered around him.

"I need to know who is planning on coming to the cave."

"I think you and I can handle this ourselves, Yugi," Kaiba said imperiously.

"No way, rich boy. Rex Raptor is mine," Joey jumped in.

"There's much more going on than just Rex and Weevil, whatever I might have said to Evan," Yugi said to Kaiba, his voice low. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Fine. Then you, me, Valentine, and I suppose Wheeler. His dumb luck does seem to keep getting him into tournament finals even without any discernable skills."

Joey fumed at this, but it was Tristan who shot out a response. "Listen you stuck-up jerk, there's more to life than dueling skills. We're all in this together, whether we're duelists or not. Even Pegasus said we're all Shadow Duelists."

"This isn't a pep rally and we don't need cheerleaders," Kaiba bit back.

"Tristan's right, Kaiba. We all go," Yugi said.

"Who is 'all?'" Kaiba asked, eyes narrowed.

"Any one the ten of us Shadow Duelists that chooses to go."

"I'm definitely in," Joey said quickly, and Tristan and Téa both added "Me too."

"You aren't going anywhere without me," Mai proclaimed.

"I'm in, too," Rebecca said, quickly followed by Duke, then Serenity and Mokuba.

"Mokuba stays," Kaiba said flatly at the same time as Joey told Serenity not to come.

"Like hell, Seto! I'm going with you!"

"Uh, hello Joey, eighteen here! I can decide for myself!"

Things quickly degenerated to two arguments on either side of Yugi. As much as he would like to protect Mokuba and Serenity, or Rebecca or even Téa for that matter, he had the strong feeling that each and every one of them was important. When Joey pulled on his arm and said "Help me out here, Yuge," Yugi sighed, hating to have to disappoint his friend.

"Joey, she's right. We need her. She's the only one of us with any medical training at all, and… she seems to have some sort of sixth sense about what is a normal injury and what's the Shadow Realm. Or worse."

"Well, thanks for backing me up, pal," Joey responded bitterly, but Yugi put his hand on his friend's arm.

"Joey, I know you're worried about her. I'm worried about all of us. But we have to stick together." Then louder so that he interrupted the Kaiba brothers' quarrel, he said "Listen, all of you. We were all brought here for a reason. We all have different strengths and we're all going to have to work together, whether those strengths are in dueling or fighting or strategy or medical skills or just knowing how to discern the right thing to do," he said, his eyes resting on Téa's at the last comment. "Finding Rex and Weevil and the Millennium Items—real or fake—are only the beginning of something much bigger happening here. We're going into the Shadows, and we still have a huge problem in that every time we duel we aren't ourselves. It's going to take every one of us to find out who is behind this and stop the Shadow Games."

"Oh good, yet another teamwork pep rally speech," Kaiba growled.

"He's right, Seto, and you know it," Mokuba said. "I'm going and you're not gonna stop me."

Kaiba looked at his brother coldly for a moment, then spat, "Fine."

"That goes for me, too, Joey," Serenity said to her older brother.

"Yeah, okay," he said at last. "It's not like I could stop you."

"Okay then," Yugi said, thinking of the things they needed to do to prepare. "Evan went to get water and whatever food he can scrounge from what's left of the rations. Hopefully when we find Rex and Weevil we'll find the rest of the food. We need flashlights and blankets. We've got Mai's backpack and Evan has his, and maybe Sho and Mako will loan us theirs, too. Let's get together what we can and then get something to eat before we leave. We should head out in about an hour."

While the rest of them were eating, Téa noticed Yugi slip off from the campsite alone. Concerned that today's duel had brought him back to the place he was last night, she followed him, wanting to reach out to help him, but not sure how. Whatever he had said to Rebecca during their duel was still eating away at him, and his guilt was matched by her own at being the one who had prevented them from finding the Egyptian stone carvings in the cave before the duel ever happened in the first place.

She also didn't know what to make of his sudden shift into what she thought of as full Pharaoh mode. While she was glad he was accessing the strengths he had learned from his other self, she hoped he wasn't discounting his own strengths in the process. Whatever was going to happen down in that cavern, she knew it was going to involve dueling, and she knew that it was only Yugi, not the Pharaoh, who had the power to overcome whatever darkness was eating at all of them during those duels.

She found him down at the far end of the beach, standing and looking out at the ocean.

"Yugi?" she said, coming up behind him and tentatively putting her hand on his shoulder.

He turned to look at her briefly, giving her a half smile, then covered her hand with his own just like he had after the duel.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I… I'm just worried about what happened today."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

"Why?" he asked, a little bitterness creeping into his voice. "So you could see me take something personal Rebecca told me and throw it back in her face?" He shuddered. "I'm really glad you weren't there."

"It's not your fault, Yugi, you know that, and so does Rebecca."

"It doesn't matter, Téa. I couldn't stop it. Not even after the duel was over. If Kaiba hadn't knocked me out…" He trailed off and Téa squeezed his shoulder. "At least when the duel ending snapped us out of it, it seemed like something we could risk, but now? How are we supposed to go into a Shadow Game if we can't come out without getting knocked unconscious first?"

"We'll figure it out," she said. She moved closer to him, intending to put her arm around him and rest her head on his shoulder, but he jerked away from her suddenly. "Yugi?" she asked, taken aback.

He looked at her, his eyes full of pain and she felt a lurch in her stomach as she knew she didn't want to hear what he was going to say next.

"Téa… I can't."

"Can't what? I was just going to put my arm around you," she said a little defensively.

"I know, I just… I can't be distracted anymore. I have to figure out what we're going to do, and I can't do that if you… if we…" he trailed off again.

Though she had been thinking the same thing herself earlier, it still stung to hear him say it. "So I'm a distraction?" she said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. He thinks it's my fault, too. "I thought you said I helped, that I helped keep you centered."

His eyes went round in horror. "Oh Téa, no! You do! I meant everything I said last night. I need you! But you… you're blinding right now. You eclipse everything else because all I want to do is be with you and when I am with you, I can't think of anything else and I can't let that happen right now."

She nodded, partially mollified by the intensity of his feelings for her, but still smarting from the idea that she was a distraction, that she had nothing of real value to offer.

"Please understand. It's not your fault, it's mine. I've wanted this for so long and it still feels so unreal. I… maybe when it isn't so new, it will be easier to find balance, but for now I can't be alone with you without everything else completely going away and I can't afford for everything else to go away."

"I understand," she said quietly. "But Yugi, don't go back to that place where you think you have to shoulder this all on your own. We're all here to help."

"I know. I was the one who said everyone needed to come, remember?"

"Yeah, but you got all Pharaoh-y back there, which is good because it means you're finding that piece of you inside, but… don't lose Yugi in the process. Because I have a feeling that when we go into the Shadows, it's Yugi's light that we'll need to pull us back out again."

Continued in Part Three: Into the Shadows