Disclaimer: WookieeBeta does not own Yuugiou. Or Alaminos. Or sanity, apparently.


Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Chapter Fifteen: The Calm, and the Storm

By WookieeBeta


Everything was so peaceful here under the surface, Kaiba mused. No chaos, no interruptions, no frantic phone calls from an incompetent Board of Directors; just calm, and quiet, and solitude. He could understand why Noa had chosen to build his base away from land. A person could get so much more done here.

And did, obviously. He'd been surprised when he first laid eyes on Smith's private sub. It was a small affair, only meant for three or four people maximum, and crammed to bursting with research equipment, but there was nothing without a purpose, nothing extraneous. All of the equipment was well-worn, but everything was top-of-the-line and kept in excellent condition.

Smith, too, had turned out to be something of a surprise. His insecurity, so glaringly obvious on solid ground, had disappeared the instant he touched the controls; here under the waves, he was assured, confident, in control. This is a man I could work with, Kaiba decided.

Right now the Texan was piloting the tiny sub out of the marina with one hand and speaking into the radio held in the other. His face was stern.

"What do you mean, we have to cancel?" he raged. "I promised my client I'd take him out today, and I won't have the chance again for another four weeks - no, it can't wait until then! Why are you so emphatic, anyway?"

The radio crackled, but Kaiba couldn't make out what was being said. Still, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had to get out there today... He was busy for the next three months with producing and marketing the new line, he wouldn't have time to deal with this. It had to be done now, while his Board hadn't yet figured out that they could shift all their work onto his shoulders and receive nary a complaint. While he still had time.

"So what if there's a storm?" Smith retorted. "I've been out there in a hurricane before - a little tropical storm isn't going to bother me. Besides, we'll be down far enough that it won't matter." More crackling. "Yeah, I'll ask - hold on a sec. Hey, Mister Kaiba," he said, turning to face the teen.

"Yes?"

"We've got a little bit of a problem. There's a tropical storm out in the Gulf, right where we're going. Now, I don't think it's an issue - I've been watching it for a while, and I don't think it's gonna grow anytime soon - but my buddy onshore says he just received a new report that predicts it's gonna get really nasty out there. Do you want to go out anyway, or head back in and wait for a few more weeks?"

Kaiba hesitated. He had to get this done...but then again, he didn't want to put anyone's life or equipment on the line, and if the storm was as bad as Smith's "buddy" made it out to be... "Give me a moment," he decided. He brought his laptop out of his briefcase (Smith had allowed him to bring it in) and flipped it open, accessing the KaibaCorp. satellites. He wanted a bird's-eye view of this storm.

"You probably won't get reception from in here," Smith warned him.

Kaiba smirked. "Oh, I will. This particular laptop is more powerful than any three of your government's computers combined, I'm sure of it. Here's the storm, by the way." He spun the laptop around and handed it to Smith, who whistled.

"I've never seen such a clear satellite image! Well, it's your call, Mister Kaiba."

"We'll do it," the CEO decided. Worst come to worst, we can break into the base itself - I've cracked through Noa's security once, I can do it again.

"You heard that, bud? My client said we're go."

More crackling. This time Kaiba could faintly make out the words "your funeral."

"Well, then," Smith said with a tight grin, clipping the radio back onto its receiver, "let's get moving!"


Jounouchi shifted uncomfortably. He hated hospitals; he hated institutions even more. Too much white. The dead silence was unnerving.

"Hey, Malik?" he whispered quietly.

He jumped when the disembodied voice spoke in his ear. "Yeah, Katsuya?"

"You feel your yami anywhere around here?"

There was a long moment of hesitation before Malik replied, "...yeah. I do. But it's not...I don't know, not him exactly. And it's faint, like he's not been here in a while."

"Well, you're real helpful," Jou hissed sarcastically.

There was a distinct cold sensation to his right. "Forgive me if I'm not exactly pleased about tracking down the spirit that killed my father and tried to kill me," Malik snapped back.

Jou snarled. "Take a good long moment and think about precisely who you're talking to, and then say that again, bud."

A sigh. "I'm sorry, Jou. I'm just...afraid."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that. It's okay, Malik - Namu. We'll find him, and then Ryou and Bakura will help you send him back to the Shadow Realm. I haveta shut up now, all the doctors are looking at me funny. You let me know when you sense anything new, all right?"

"Sure."

It was strange, the Brooklyn blonde reflected, how quickly they'd all managed to adapt. First to the fact that magic really did exist, and that several of their friends and neighbors were able to wield it; then to the fact that two of these same friends had alternate personalities that just happened to be their Ancient Egyptian incarnates; then to the idea that yet another magic-bearer was trying to kill them; now to the fact that several of the people that had once tried to destroy them needed their help to survive. Malik, who had used his Millennium Rod to force Jou to nearly wipe out his own best friend, was now almost hiding behind him in spirit form. Things had certainly changed.

"Katsuya," the Egyptian hissed suddenly. His voice was tinged almost imperceptibly with fear. "Katsuya, he's here...I can feel him... He's using the Rod on someone in this room."

"But I thought you had the Rod!" the other blonde snapped back.

"I gave it to my sister for safekeeping, since I couldn't use it - but that doesn't matter. If he wants it badly enough, he can activate it without being anywhere near it." There was a definite note of terror now. "Jouno... He knows I'm here... Jouno? Jou, what's wrong?"

Jounouchi smiled suddenly, a malicious grin working its way across his face. "Why, nothing's wrong now, pretty-pretty."


A/N 1: If you haven't seen the English version, "Namu" is the fake name that Malik uses to enter the Battle City tournament.

A/N 2: Minor edits, title change. This is where the last version left off; to this point it really hadn't changed much, which is good, so none of the details should be weird. Chapters will probably be longer from here on out, but no promises. And to the wonderful people who reviewed the last time I tried this – many many thanks for your support, and hopefully this time I won't get bored of it halfway through! I'm planning on uploading another two or three chapters tomorrow, and after that we'll see. – WB 09Nórui2006