A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 17- First Floor - Bane of the Mariner

The group stepped into a dark room, room that was big enough to fit in several large huts without any problems. The only light came from the open door behind them, and through the many windows above them. And yet it was so dark in front of them that they couldn't see anything.

Yugi walked along the elaborate, pale tiles as he tried to see in front of him. But he may as well have tried to grow wings and fly away. It was so dark, that he didn't have a hope of seeing anything in front. The men holding him forced him forward; he took another step when… the door behind them shut as if a powerful wind had come through. Now he, Yami, and the crew were all trapped in the dark…

Suddenly, a light began to shine from beneath his feet, he looked down to see words beginning to appear in a tiles. The words all began to cress-cross and overlap each other until, written in a deep fire, color, the words spelled out:

Lighter than what I am made of,

More of me am hidden than is seen,

I am the bane of the mariner,

A tooth within the sea.

Speak my name.

Yugi had no idea what the riddle meant… until he felt water lapping at his ankles. The tower was beginning to flood… it began to rise… the men behind him begin to panic… they dropped him and started running around in circles. Yugi stood up and the water had risen up to his chest and continued to rise at an unnatural rate. He felt a familiar pair of hands on his shoulders, as the water began to swell and he was struggling to remain afloat. "Hold your breath," cried out Yami's voice and Yugi did what he was told. He took a deep breath as a wave came and swept over them.

He and Yami were underwater when Yugi opened his eyes. He could see the images of the crew swimming, or rather floundering, around him. The stone floor had disappeared and he felt Yami grab his hand and begin to pull him up. He felt as if his lungs were going to pop as he closed his eyes and let Yami continue to pull drag him towards the surface. He kicked desperately, he couldn't breathe, he needed air, and reached out with the one arm that wasn't holding onto Yami.

Just when he was beginning to think that there wasn't any surface he felt his head break past the water. He was taken deep breaths, trying to get as much as the life-giving air as he could, when he opened his eyes again he wasn't staring at the ceiling as he thought he was… he was staring up at the sky.

The sea water was up to his neck and he struggled to draw breath. "What's going on?" he cried as he felt Yami holding onto him, making sure that the waves didn't him away. The tower was gone, while he and Yami were both in the middle of the ocean, fighting to stay afloat. The waves were turbulent and the sky was gray, covered with storm clouds, and the wind was blowing so hard that it felt like razor-sharp knifes were cutting into his face.

"Yami! What's going on?" cried Yugi again.

"I don't know!" Yami shouted back. "How did we get back out into the ocean? And where did the tower go?" He took in a big gulp of seawater as he said that. Yugi merely held onto him and started to paddle out.

Imagine trying to stay afloat in the middle of a hurricane, infreezing water, in the pouring rain, without lifejackets, at night. Good now you know what it must have been like for them. Every once in awhile a huge wave would come and sweep over them. They would sink a few feet and then be tossed around like a couple socks in the washing machine before going back up for air. Onwards they swam, trying to find some kind of glimmer of hope; but things kept turning from bad to worse.

Yugi suddenly went back under and he didn't come back up.

"YUGI!" yelled Yami as he dived down to find him. The water was so dark that he could hardly make anything out… until he spotted a small hand sinking deeper. He swam down; ignoring the stabbing pain that he was feeling in this icy water, and grabbed the hand. He then pulled up as fast as he could, as he felt that he was about to pass out.

When he broke through, he pulled up a very tired and weak Yugi along with him. "YUGI!" he yelled. "COME ON YUGI! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME NOW!" Yugi did as he was told, but he could only open them halfway as he looked into Yami's own panic-stricken eyes.

"Yami," he croaked out. The waves were so loud that Yami could barely hear him. "I can't…"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Yami yelled again. "WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE! JUST HOLD ON! THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING WRONG!" he saw Yugi's lips move again, but he couldn't hear the words as another wave washed over them.

When they next came up, Yugi said, a little louder this time, "Riddle!"

Yami was looking at him as if he had finally lost his mind. "Riddle? Why do you want to hear a riddle now?" he asked exasperatedly. He was about to try to talk some sense into him when Yugi spoke again, "No, before the tower filled up with water… a riddle appeared on the floor. You were behind me so you probably couldn't see it." Yugi's eyes lit up when he said those words and some kind of hidden strength seemed to come back to him. He started to paddle by himself again, Yami was able to let him go, but kept his hand tight onto Yugi's.

"This is magic!" yelled Yugi in triumph. "Merlin and Morgan le Fay put in hidden traps in the tower! Remember the legend! The riddle I saw before on the floor was probably the key to solving all of this.

"Wait?" Yami yelled back as another wave came over. "So you're saying that if we just solve the riddle then we'll be saved?"

"You have a better idea?" Yugi cried as they went under again; which was actually a good thing this time. He was able to think without having a storm raging on in his ears. he closed his eyes and tried as hard as he could to remember the words that were on the floor before the water came and swallowed them.

"Lighter than… what I am made of," wasthe first line… but what was the next? "More of me… is… what?" they came up for air again. "Yugi!" shouted Yami. "I hope you figure out that riddle… and soon!" Yugi knew that he was right. He had no idea how much longer that they could last out here. "More of me… am hidden than is seen!" he figured out the second line!

They both went under again. The waves were getting stronger and colder; Yugi figured that they only had a few minutes left. He had to remember the rest of that riddle if they were to ever get out of here.

"Lighter than what I am made of, more of me am hidden than is seen… I am… I am the bane of the mariner…" he was doing good, just two more lines. The fourth line… it had something to do with the sea he knew that much but what was it?

But he then realized that he had bigger problems… his hands had grown so numb from the cold that he couldn't hold onto anything—not even Yami's hand. He felt his hand get retched from Yami and the swirling tides were pulling them apart.

"YAMI!" cried Yugi as he watched as his closest friend was being swept away. "A tooth within the sea!" the line suddenly came flowing into his mind. He had to figure out that riddle here and now if he was going to save himself and Yami. A wave came again, and he was once more, underwater. He had to do it now—he had the lines he just needed to focus.

Lighter than what I am made of,

More of me am hidden than is seen,

I am the bane of the mariner,

A tooth within the sea.

Speak my name.

What is lighter than it's made of, more that is hidden than you can see, can harm the mariner, and is a tooth within the sea…

He felt himself sinking… he was too weak to swim anymore… he felt himself sinking… as he sank deeper into the darkness something had happened.

He got it… he knew what it was… the answer had come to him out of nowhere…

With his last ounce of breath he cried out "ICE!" and he heard and saw no more…

"Yugi!"

"Yugi!"

Someone was calling him… he felt warm and safe wherever he was… what was that shaking him?

"Yugi! Wake up!" shouted the familiar voice. Yugi did as he was told and saw that the thing that was shaking him was Yami. Yami was pale and soaked wet as he looked down at him with in confusion. "Yami?" he said weakly. "Where are we? What happened?"

Yami lifted his small body up and gave him such a strong hug, Yugi thought that his ribs would break. "Yo… you… g… got the rid… rid…riddle," croaked out Yami through chattering teeth. Yugi's memories came back to him… he remembered the riddle and was able to guess the answer. He looked around him, over Yami's shoulder; they were back inside the tower. Yami had let go, but still had to hold Yugi's head up, he didn't realize just how much that water had taken out of his friend. They were both still soaking wet, freezing, and so tired that they didn't want to move. But Yami could see that Yugi was in really bad shape.

His lips were blue, he was drenched to the bone, he was shaking, his eyes were glazed over, he was so weak that Yami didn't think that he could move, and Yami could tell that he was having trouble breathing. "Yugi?" he asked as he held up his head gently. "Are you ok?"

'No, of course he's not ok,' he thought to himself. 'He's in almost as bad shape as he was a few weeks ago.' But this time he didn't have Ishizu here to help him out. He was on his own… or so he thought.

"Well done boys," said the voice that had caused all of this. Yami whirled around on his knees to give his father a look so menacing that even demons would have run from. His father was standing there with a handful of his crew; they were all soaked wet and shivering which meant that they were also stuck in that sea.

His father wringed out his sleeve as he walked over to them. Yami held Yugi closer to him and snarled, "Get away from us! What just happen?!"

"Isn't if obvious?" his father asked coolly. "We just pass the first trial."

"What trial?"

"The trial of the tower," answered his father calmly. "Each floor will have a challenge for us to solve. It judges a person. If they are worthy to claim the prize at the top of the tower, then you will be able to make it to the top."

"And if we fail it test?" snapped back Yami.

"If you are not worthy then you become a part of the mist that guards the sacred isle," replied his father as if he was answering what the weather would be like tomorrow. He looked around him at his crew who were all shaking, and not just from the cold. "I can see that some of our members have been claimed by the magic surrounding the isle. No matter, we continue onwards."

"You really are insane aren't you?" Yami asked in amazement. "We were almost all killed and it was just the first floor! It's bound to get worst the more we move up!"

His father just rubbed his hands together and said, "I know…"

Sorry, I know that it's not my longest chapter. And sorry that it's taken so long; but I've had essays and reports to do. Listen though, there's gonna be a few more floors that they have to go through to get to the top. So if anyone has a good riddle, then send it to me with the answer and if I think that it can fit into the story, then it might become a challenge for them to get through! Please tell me what you think of it so far and thank you for sticking with it for this long. I'll try to put it up sooner from now on.