Disclaimer: WookieeBeta does not own Yuugiou. Except in her stranger dreams.

Warning: Language.


Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude

Chapter Sixteen: Reveal

By WookieeBeta


"Ryou!" Malik shouted wildly, barging through the albino reincarnation's apartment wall. "Ryou, Tomb Robber, anyone, help - what in Khemet!"

Ryou struggled to speak, but the gag muffled his words beyond comprehension. His face was pale and streaked with tears. Beyond his bound form, Malik could see the dismembered remains of the Millennium Ring.

"Well well," an all-too-familiar voice sneered. "A little late to join the party, aren't you?"

The Egyptian snarled. "You're supposed to be dead. How did you get here?"

"Oh, I'm not your little friend," the short figure replied. "He's long gone. Though, I'm not sure we've ever met... Did your worthless companions ever happen to mention the Big Five to you, perhaps?"

"What the hell have you done with Mouto!" Malik raged. Damn damn damn damn damn! This was not in the plan! For the moment, there was nothing he could do but stall until either he came up with a plan or someone else happened to stumble in, preferably with a cell phone. Stupid stupid spirit form...couldn't carry anything physical. So, no cell phone, and no Rod. Not even a damned motorcycle.

The spiky-haired duelist sneered again. "Done with him? I've done nothing with him. Now, my lawyer friend here says he may have killed him, but no one's quite sure... Not that it should matter to you. After all, we've done you a favor by removing your enemy, right...Malik?"

Their words struck a more glancing blow than they could have known. After the duel between Jounouchi and Yuugi, the Egyptian teen had vowed that he would not kill any of the duelist's little fan club; no one with a bond of friendship that strong deserved to die. Nor would he banish them to the shadows. Break them, possibly; steal their Items, certainly; kill them, no. And yet, when the Tomb Robber's light had released him from the Shadow Realm and informed him that the Pharaoh was dead, his first response was to inquire after the puzzle and the God Cards.

And then in his much-weakened state, he had been forced to rely on the Pharaoh's followers for aid; with time he had become quite attached to them. He'd even apologized to the mutt, for Ra's sake.

"Keep your honeyed words to yourself, murderer," he snapped. Wait a moment... Even if it is Yuugi's body, the soul - or souls - inhabiting it are neither yami nor hikari he realized. Which means they shouldn't be able to see me... He took a few careful steps to the side, being extremely careful not to make any noise, but the cold violet eyes followed his every move.

"I wouldn't suggest trying to run," not-Yuugi said smugly. "We were fortunate in our choice of bodies. Physically it may be weak, but it certainly has some interesting powers...such as the ability to see and inflict damage upon spirits such as yourself..."

Uh-oh.


"What the hell is that?" Smith exclaimed.

Kaiba eyed the base somewhat apprehensively. "It's a mobile underwater computer system, with a single section able to support human life," he said.

Smith shot him a suspicious glance. "How do you know?"

"I've been in it before."

"Okaaay... Er, which part are you talking about, exactly?"

Kaiba pointed to the dome. "The main section, on top. The rest is just a protective shell containing one of the world's most powerful computers." He turned slightly to look Smith directly in the eye. "And you're going to get me in there."

The American blanched. "I'm what! Oh, no no no. No way in hell am I gonna tangle with that thing. Matter of fact, we're turning around right now and reporting this to the police." He reached for the radio and pulled it off the hook, only to realize that the wire was disconnected.

Kaiba held it up and twiddled it between his fingers. "If you get me into that thing, and then back out, I'll replace the wire and quadruple your pay. If you refuse, I'll kill you and do it myself. It's your decision."

Smith glowered at him for a long moment.

"I don't make idle threats," Kaiba said flatly. "Or idle promises. You have ten seconds to decide."

"Fine. I'll do it," Smith said after a moment's hesitation. "But only on one condition."

The CEO raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"I want to know exactly who you are and what you're up to."

Kaiba couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny!"

"I'm the CEO of Japan's biggest, most powerful company," Kaiba said. "I think I've mentioned before that I create virtual reality games. That base there contains the greatest, most advanced, and by far the most dangerous virtual reality world in existence; I can name two people who have died there that I knew well, and several more that were my employees. To make a long story short, I'm here to destroy the thing."

The oceanographer was staring at him open-mouthed. "...oooookaaaaaaay...forget I asked. You said you wanted in? If this thing's so advanced, then won't it have a security system?"

"Highly unlikely," Kaiba replied, shaking his head. "I wiped out most of the defences when I blasted out with my blimp."

"Blimp?" Smith shook his head. "Never mind, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"No," Kaiba replied icily, "you don't." He retrieved his laptop one more time and flipped it open. "And no, there isn't any security. You should be able to use your sample-retrieval claw to pry the doors open; they should open easily, and if there is any damage KaibaCorp. will reimburse you."

"I guess you're the boss," Smith sighed. He moved the sub forward and positioned it so that he could grip the very edge of the dome cover with the claw. True to Kaiba's prediction, the doors slid open easily, and the sub slipped inside.

Now comes the hard part, Kaiba told himself. He would have to open the submarine's hatch, swim outside without flooding it, find a way to destroy the base without killing himself in the process (all the while treading water, since the chamber would no doubt be flooded), and make it back into Smith's sub and away before all hell broke loose.

"I really hope you have a plan, Mister Kaiba," Smith said as the sub settled on the steel floor. "Because I sure don't."

"I'm working on it," the CEO responded tersely. Then, "What the!"

The water was draining from the chamber, leaving the sub resting in only an inch-or-so-deep puddle. He winced and shielded his eyes as all of the lights in the chamber suddenly flickered on simultaneously.

Smith was looking decidedly more nervous now. "I don't suppose this is a good thing?" he asked.

"Hardly. Move over," Kaiba replied. Long slim fingers deftly manipulated the black wire back into its rightful place in the radio set, and he twisted the dial to a familiar frequency. The voice that crackled through the receiver was speaking Japanese.

"...please step outside of your vehicle, and I promise you will not be harmed. I repeat, if the intruder will please step outside of the vehicle, you will not be harmed. Can you hear me? Please step outside of your vehicle..."

Kaiba blinked a few times in surprise.

"What is he saying?" Smith demanded.

"He...wants us to get out of the sub," Kaiba replied once he had regained control of his vocal chords. "I...I think I should go first..." Smith nodded, and unlocked the hatch. By this point he was willing to do anything the younger man said; after all, at least the kid had a clue as to what was going on.

Kaiba hesitated as the too-familiar stun lasers swiveled around to aim point-blank at his torso. Then he growled.

"Don't you dare shoot me, Mouto."