Kaiba sat down behind his desk, freshly showered with his hair still dripping wet.
A part of him was thankful that he could take hot showers again without boiling his skin off, but another part of him mourned the loss of the ability to withstand freezing water.
It probably had something to do with the egg…changing the composition of his body.
He'd become significantly more human after that incident.
He could still hear other people's thoughts, but they were growing fainter.
His nails still grew out into sharp points, but it took at least three months for it to get that way.
His skin was growing paler and looking sallower every time he passed his reflection in the mirror, and Kaiba tried not to think about it too much.
He could still hear exceptionally well too, but Kaiba was afraid that was diminishing…or maybe it was just his imagination. The sounds of the TV were drifting up the hall, and he could hear Noah talking to Kemo, but it sounded muffled.
Just yesterday, he could hear them as if they were right next to him.
Something about him was changing, again, and this time, it wasn't for the better.
Damn, Kaiba thought dully, and he wondered if his age was catching up to him.
Better not think about it too much.
He pried his laptop open and checked his corporate email for the first time in a decade.
The last read email was from ten years ago.
Jesus fuck.
Time to delete everything because none of this was relevant anymore.
Did he really need to read all of this, or could he just forward the relevant shit to Mokuba?
Hitting 'select all', his cursor hovered over the 'delete' button just before another email pinged in his box and appeared at the top.
Cursing, Kaiba read the title quickly, "Perhaps this will go nowhere but…."
Very informal.
It didn't sound like spam, but it didn't sound like anyone he knew either.
How strange. This person must really be grasping, trying to reach anyone….
Deciding to click on it anyway, Kaiba scanned the email, his heart thudding slowly in his ears as he digested the words on the screen.
"Title: Perhaps this will go nowhere but I'm desperate
Dear Mr. Kaiba(s),
I'm not sure who I will reach, but I had to pay someone a lot of money to get this email, so one of you better answer me!
Introduction: My name is Maximillion Pegasus, and you will have to excuse the horrible Japanese, for I am using a translator.
I live in the United States of America in sunny San Fran, and I am about to disclose some highly confidential information! The reason I share this with you is because I seek your guidance!
Yes, I know you are a recluse billionaire, just like myself, and given what the press has been saying about you for the past thirty or so years, I believe I may have found…your secret!
But call me back, quick! I fear he's dying, and I don't know how to keep him alive.
I need the proper facilities, but I don't know what to build.
You are a genius of sorts, are you not?
Come out of hiding and fly here immediately!
I will give you the coordinates for my private helipad.
CALL ME BACK. THIS IS THE NUMBER: 00-000-000-000, and if you tag it with a recording, I will sue you, goddammit. This is serious!
A person's life is in danger!
To prove that I am not lying, and that this is not a prank, does 'telepathic fish' mean anything to you?
If this has reached the wrong person, go away. I want nothing to do with you, peasant. Also, I am a crazy loon, so don't even call that number to beg for money!
Sincerely,
Pegasus."
Shocked, Kaiba leaned back in his seat, staring so hard at the screen, he saw white spots dotting his vision.
Holy…shit on a fucking stick.
Telepathic fish?
This Pegasus guy caught a merperson, and by the sounds of it, had had him for at least two days, because, "Quick! I fear he is dying."
But hang on, Kaiba snatched the towel off from around his neck and dried his hair vigorously, his mind spinning.
The way M. Pegasus wrote the email, he sounded just as crazy, if not more, which meant he was dangerous. But…he had a merperson, dying in a shallow puddle of water somewhere. Also, what the hell was the media saying about him that made Pegasus think he'd know anything about telepathic fish?
Dragging his laptop closer, Kaiba hastily typed his own name into the web search bar together with 'telepath' and a couple of startling suggestions came up underneath.
"Kaiba Seto…telepathic date…"
"Kaiba Seto…telepathic meme…"
"Kaiba Seto…psychic telepathy, reads minds at studio…"
"Kaiba Seto…'s secretary comes forth with a blog post about his telepathic behavior…"
Are you fucking serious?! Kaiba fumed, clicking on that last search result and seeing his secretary's face pop up, smiling in a profile picture, coupled with a lengthy blog post about her time working with him.
Did NDA's mean nothing to these people?!
He was being memed for fuck's sake.
Reaching for his phone to call a lawyer, Kaiba froze when he realized…his NDA's had all expired.
They were active for 15 years and usually required another signature to renew it, but since he was no longer working at the company with his own team…they had all expired….
FUCK!
The date on the blog post was three years ago.
This was old news!
I hate the public, Kaiba growled, and he understood where Mokuba was coming from when he said this was embarrassing to their family name.
It was embarrassing.
That was why Mokuba wanted to take to Ayame's surname so badly.
Every 'Kaiba' search resulted in 'Seto Kaiba', and not 'Mokuba Kaiba'.
Fuck everything.
He'd become that eccentric, rich weirdo.
It was no wonder Noah was being teased.
I'm sorry I'm an embarrassment, Kaiba raged as he typed, opening his Twitter for the first time in years too, and he hastily posted a status, wondering if it would make a difference.
He'd been so detached from society that he hadn't realized how much of a burden he'd become to Mokuba, and it was so bad that it was even affecting Noah's schooling.
"I'm sorry," Kaiba wrote, and he hit 'post' without thinking.
He was mildly surprised to see he had 1.8 million followers on this dead account. People were waiting for him to say or do something…probably. Maybe. Who knew, and who cared.
Several pings rolled in, and people sounded worried and concerned.
" Kaiba_Seto HACKED?! loolololololol post nudes"
" Kaiba_Seto ….ummmm?! Are you okay?!"
" Kaiba_Seto has finally gone off the deep end. Sounds like a s*icude note."
Biting back a sour laugh, Kaiba closed twitter and went back to the email with Pegasus's phone number. Yeah, social media was fucking pointless. He could say one thing, and it would be twisted eight-hundred ways before someone guessed the truth.
He tapped the number into his phone and pressed it to his ear, holding his breath and listening to the rings.
One ring… two rings… three rings… four rings?!
Wait, what time was it over there?
Hovering his cursor over the clock on his laptop. It was 5 PM.
Someone should pick up unless the merperson had melted everyone's face off with acidic spit...
After the sixth ring, a breathless, frantic voice answered the other end in English, sounding quite feminine, but clearly male. "Yes? Who is it? I don't normally pick up from blocked numbers, you know."
Kaiba blinked steadily and bit the tip of his tongue, wondering what the hell he should say to that.
After a few seconds, the flamboyant man spoke up again, "Prank call? Okay, goodbyeeeee…!"
"No, wait!" Kaiba hissed, gripping the edge of his chair so hard, his knuckles burned. "You sent me an email literally ten minutes ago. I'm replying."
There was a stunned silence on the other end, and Kaiba decided to add spitefully, "Prank email? I'm hanging up."
"No, wait wait!" The man cried, and he hastily introduced himself. "I am Maximillion Pegasus. You have reached the right number. How soon can you get here?"
"How about I diagnose you over the phone?" Kaiba asked dryly, seeing Noah's shadow hovering by the door, eavesdropping. Man, eavesdropping ran in the family, didn't it? Mokuba used to do that shit all the time when they were kids.
"Uh, alright, okay, he's uh, well…it's a man," Pegasus stammered, sounding very flustered. "Uh he's very pretty, but he's lacking a bit of hair. Is that normal?"
"He's…bald?" Kaiba cried, his skin crawling when he wondered if it could possibly be…any of the bald mermen he'd caught glimpses of when dealing with Mahad. "What color is his skin?"
"A deep, rich chocolate," came the reply, and Kaiba reeled, gripping the armrest of his chair even tighter. He knew his claws were digging into the soft leather, but he didn't care.
Deep chocolate skin with no hair? Had to be someone from Atem's colony. One last question…
"Hello? Anyone there?" Pegasus whispered anxiously, and Kaiba could hear voices in the background, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.
"Yeah, one last thing," Kaiba said, rising to his feet shakily. "Does he have a tattoo anywhere visible? Face, chest, or—"
"FACE!" Pegasus shrieked, and Kaiba winced, angling the phone away from his ear.
"It's a giant, forked tattoo…oh, I don't know what it is! It's on his forehead, and he keeps slipping in and out of consciousness! Tell me what to do!" Pegasus ranted breathlessly, and Kaiba gripped the phone tightly, the air leaving his lungs in a tight whoosh!
Forehead tattoo, bald…it had to be…Ambassador Shada! Or was it Shadi?
No, Shadi was 'doughnut earrings.'
Holy fuck. What the hell was one of Atem's men doing so far from home? Or…was that where they lived and Atem was far from home when he'd been captured?
"Can I give you the coordinates to my place? Is this line secure?" Pegasus asked, his voice getting fainter as he turned away to order someone to do something, and Kaiba nodded stiffly, saying, "Yes. I'll be on my way as soon as I can."
"Goody!" The man cheered, sounding oddly childish, and he rattled off a series of numbers and letters while sounding completely mature. "Did you get that?"
Committing it to memory, Kaiba resisted the urge to hang up. This guy was a fucking nutcase.
"Yes. Don't go anywhere." Kaiba spoke into the receiver one last time, itching to hang up.
"Not planning to!" The man sang, and the line went dead in his ear first.
"Tch," Kaiba hissed, irritated.
Americans.
Whatever.
Scrolling down through his contacts, Kaiba tapped the phone number he had saved under the name, " " and pressed the phone to his ear, not expecting a reply.
He'd just seen Mahad last week, and he was busy acting as his daughter's escort.
No one would pick up this line.
The dial tone hummed in his ear, followed by the automated voice, "The person you are trying to reach is unavailable…"
Of course, goddammit.
This was why he was still stuck on land with a pair of legs.
To do this kind of dirty work for merpeople and getting nothing in return except for being separated from his daughter he shared with the man he loved.
Growling and grumbling to himself, Kaiba grabbed a spare briefcase from his closet before he tossed it back inside after changing his mind, making a mess.
He didn't want to send Pegasus the wrong message.
He wasn't there to play or have a sleepover, so he wouldn't bring a change of clothes.
He was there to bargain for a merman's freedom.
Stepping out into the hallway, he nearly tripped over Noah, and Noah cried out in dismay, "Owwie! Setooooh!"
"Hey, kid, who said listening at doors was an acceptable way to behave?" Kaiba asked stiffly, grabbing the kid by the hand and leading him back to the living room where the TV was still on. "Be good. Stay here with Kemo. I have somewhere I need to go."
"Where?" Noah asked curiously, gazing up at him unblinkingly. "Can I come?"
Kneeling with a sigh, Kaiba placed his hands on Noah's shoulders, managing a warm smile. "No, kid, you can't come. This is actually work. But I'll be back by tomorrow or the day after, so just…tell your dad I said 'Hi' okay?"
"Okay…but why can't I come with you to work?" Noah asked stubbornly, and the shadow of Kemo panned overhead, and Kaiba grit his teeth, annoyed.
"Because…I'm flying out of Japan and you can't come until you've learned English," Kaiba said firmly, and he saw Noah pout cutely.
"Master Kaiba, shall I arrange a car for you to take you to the tarmac?" Kemo asked deeply, and Kaiba rose to his feet, glaring at the man.
Yes, of course. He just said he was flying out, so obviously, the correct line of action would be to call a car. Goddamn. Isono would never ask such imbecilic questions.
"Right away," the man mumbled, and he hurried away with his head lowered.
Noah threw himself forward and hugged his leg tightly.
"But Saturday nights are fire nights," he said anxiously, hugging Seto tighter. "And we roast marshmallows on the fire by the beach!"
"But we do that every week. Can we skip it just this once?" Kaiba asked gently, prying the child's arms off of his leg and making his way to the door.
Noah followed him loyally and watched him shrug on a long trench coat, his thoughts leaking with disappointment.
Aw… Uncle Seto is leaving. I mean, sure, I see him all the time, but I only get to spend two days out of the week with him. I really wanted to roast the marshmallows! Kemo is boring…
"I'm sorry, but this is really important," Kaiba apologized, and he bent down to draw Noah into a tight hug, feeling the child hug him back with vigor. "Next week, okay?"
"Okay," Noah replied softly, his voice muffled by the soft folds of Seto's coat. He clung onto Seto's neck, not wanting to let go, and it seemed Uncle Seto knew this, so they hugged for a really long time.
Finally, after his arms got tired, Noah let go.
He watched Seto step out into the cold, windy night and get into a waiting car. Its headlights were two, tiny dots in the distance.
Sighing, he closed the door and listened to the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway.
Adina opened her eyes slowly, listening to the hustle and bustle outside her closed door.
The tiny voice of an octopus was repeating itself over and over again while Seth and Mahad argued so loudly, their voices carried down the hall.
"You can't leave! You must escort her back to your colony, as per your duty!" Seth fumed, balling his fists at his sides while the octopus continued to scream annoyingly beside his ear.
"EMERGENCY! AMBASSADOR SHADA HAS BEEN TAKEN! EMERGENCY! AMBASSADOR SHADA HAS BEEN TA—"
"WE KNOW!" Mahad roared at the tiny octopus, and it squirted a tiny cloud of ink at him in distress. "But Seth, it's easier for me to surface using the Chrysalis on this shore, not the one closer to our shore!"
"Not…my…problem," Seth said through gritted teeth. "Your job is to ensure her safety. Get her home. The Ambassador can wait. One more sunlit day here in this colony and she'll start feeling sick."
Mahad ground his teeth furiously, wondering if Atem was having a better time at home than he was here.
Atem was not having a better time.
The court was in an uproar, again. It seemed there was too much panic going on this decade, first with Adina going missing, and now Ambassador Shada had been hauled out of the water by a net.
According to a dolphin, it wasn't just any net. It was a net made of something else…and it had been surrounded by submarines the moment he'd been caught.
Weaponless and tired from a long swim, Shada couldn't fight very much before his body disappeared above water.
"We must…send men on shore to fetch him!" Shadi shook with a mixture of rage and fear. "There's been too much human interference this century! Can they keep their filthy hands out of the ocean?! Apparently not!"
"Rest easy," Isis said coldly, nodding at Rishid who gave her a stern nod in return. "My brother Marik is on his way there. Flying to another coast is easier than swimming there."
"And how would you know that?" Solomon cried, running a nervous hand through his long, white hair. "What was Ambassador Shada doing?!"
"He was coming home," Mana whispered, and she gripped Atem's hand tightly, but Atem couldn't feel anything. His entire body had grown numb.
Another netting, and according to the messenger, it would be three sunlit days soon. Going by his own experience, Shada must have trouble breathing, and would start to vomit after two more days.
Had he been fed? Was he comfortable?
Did he have…a wonderful, luxurious wading pool, and food wheeled to him in a cart by another human? Somehow, he doubted that.
Deep down, he knew he had received royal treatment from Kaiba.
His captivity was more like a vacation if he hadn't been so sick near the end.
"And we cannot send Mahad because he's currently at a resort," Shadi spat, unable to keep his tone pleasant. "…with the princess."
"He's on his way back!" Mana shouted angrily, looking as if she wanted to claw the ambassador in the face. "You do something! Deploy your men while we all depend on Mahad…for everything!"
She swam out of the throne room tearfully, leaving a trail of pearly tears clinking on the ground as she went.
"King Atem?" Shadi turned to him with wide eyes, looking worn out and desperate. "We need your guidance."
"I trust…Mahad, Kaiba, and Marik will all manage to help Shada," Atem said, trying to sound certain. "These are all the men we should be sending to shore for now, and if they fail, well…"
Atem rose from the throne and let the silence ripen as he went to follow Mana.
"They won't fail," he said darkly, exiting the throne room with a swish of kelp behind him.
Gritting his teeth, Atem bit back tears as he bolted through the hallway, back to the safety of his room. Kaiba was on land. Mahad was going on land, and Isis's brother who was always reliable, was on land.
That was three merpeople already. There was no need to send more.
He ran nose first into a bare chest, and Atem backed away nervously, his heart racing with relief when Joey's grinning face greeted him.
"Hey Atem, good news," he beamed, and he draped an arm around the distressed king, leading him down the men's wing. "Can I come into your room? It's a secret."
"Sure, Jou, sure," Atem said heavily, and he let Joey pull him into his room and shut the door with a bang.
The silence rang painfully in his ears.
Good thing Adina wasn't here to witness the chaos. This type of behavior was not good for her to be around. She needed a stable environment—
"Hey! You okay, bud?" Joey asked worriedly, floating closer to his face and circling him in the water. "But this is a great time to go! Everyone's distracted!"
"Go…where?" Atem asked, his breath catching in his throat.
"Shore!" Joey cried, exasperated. "Were ya even listenin?!"
"No, say it again," Atem said hollowly, moving to sit at the edge of his bed, and he folded his hands shakily together. God this was agonizing…
His era was going to be plagued by 'shore capture'.
The title in textbooks underneath his name was going to be, 'King Atem, better known as, The King of Shore Incidents'.
"HEY!" Joey reached down and gave his shoulders a firm shake. "Look at me, bud. You're really not hearin' me. Look…at...me."
Atem slowly raised his head up, feeling as if everything weighed a thousand tons as he gazed into Joey's soft brown eyes and watched his mouth move, with strange sounds dropping from them.
"There is…an unsecured…Chrysalis."
Atem blinked rapidly, his heart dropping to the floor with shock and excitement.
"An unsecured…what—how?!" Atem sputtered, his cheeks turning pink with exertion. "Tell me everything!"
"I been doin' that and you ain't listening!" Joey cried, rolling his eyes. "Okay get this. You know the myth of 'shore maidens' with flowing white hair from the dead Kingdom of Ilkos?"
"Kaiba's wife," Atem said dully, losing interest immediately. So, this Chrysalis was a myth. Great.
"No, man, I'm sayin' they used this Moon Pool to get on land!" Joey shook Atem furiously by the shoulders, willing some sense back into his friend. "That's how Mahad gets on shore! The pact is unbreakable, geddit? He never broke his pact! And that's why Rich Boy on land, with all his brains, can't break the pact either!"
"I don't…understand…" Atem breathed, feeling as if he was floating out of his body. "You know the location of this Chrysalis?"
"Yep!" Joey grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Actually, it was kinda an accident. And Duke was hunting for gold, and so we decided to look on the map for any abandoned colonies that would leave behind riches—"
"Get us there! You're right. This is a great time to go!" Atem rose from the bed, invigorated by the idea of finally getting to see Kaiba…but he'd be sporting a pair of legs, just like him. How…perfect!
"One…thing though," Joey said, frowning. "If we get caught, its death for all of us. Mahad is okay, because he goes when there's 'trouble.'"
"There is trouble now!" Atem whispered, his heart racing with excitement. "Ambassador Shada has been captured! This is how we'll avoid any penalty when we come back."
"Well how long are you plannin' on going?" Joey asked, looking increasingly more worried. "I mean, I could go with ya, but we can't stay longer than a week. Heck, we can't stay longer than maybe two days. Where are we gonna live?!"
"With Kaiba," Atem said confidently, beaming at Joey. "He housed you last time. There's a house on a hill where his private shore is. He can't refuse us."
"R-Right …well…" Joey fidgeted nervously, and Atem glared sharply at his friend.
"What is it?"
"I don't know how to say this…" Joey rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, feeling himself sweat."
"Just say it," Atem growled, losing his patience. "Will it hurt? What?"
"Nah... just…that, Rich Boy might not…look the same, ya know?" Joey said awkwardly, patting Atem on the shoulder. "It's been almost…3 decades. Humans age…even merpeople in human form age. He might have white hair."
"Adina hasn't said anything about him having white hair, so I highly doubt that he's aged much," Atem said loftily, folding his arms. "Let's go now."
"Okay, but you can't wear any of that," Joey pointed at all of Atem's gold bands covering his arms. "You don't want it sealing into your skin on accident when you change. Gross, I know, but just in case. Earrings are okay, but anything not pierced to your body needs to come off."
"Very well," Atem swam quickly into his treasury and began to slip off his armbands. A burning fire had been lit inside of him for the first time in…decades.
Finally, for once, he'd be going up to see Kaiba…! Wait…!
"I can't surface!" Atem cried, whirling around to give Joey a brokenhearted look. "My pact prevents me from even visiting Seth's colony! It's too close to the surface!"
Joey frowned and crossed his arms in deep thought, "Ya know, if you can hold out until you get into the pool, it should heal you."
"You mean…you'll willingly drag my lifeless body into the Chrysalis," Atem muttered, his stomach swirling with dread. "This is self-destructive. Perhaps I shouldn't go after all. What happens when I come back down?!"
"You would've broken the pact, right?" Joey wondered, tapping his finger against his chin. "If you can break out of the pact, it shouldn't affect you anymore. That's how it works."
"Yes, except breaking out of it puts me on the brink of death," Atem fumed, and Joey shrugged, seemingly unfazed.
"Yeah, and I'll toss you in the Pool, and you'll heal. I'm guessing that's how they did it in the olden days when they needed healing pods, but none were nearby, so…easy peasy."
"You say that so easily," Atem breathed, now realizing this was a horrible idea. "If Kaiba has amended the pact above water, which he most certainly has, then it might…kill me if I try to surface."
"And I'm sayin' I got your back!" Joey cried, scratching his head in distress. "Alright? Let's go now. Leave the princess a note. We'll be back before you know it. I realllly wanna eat some ramen."
"I'm swimming to my death," Atem ground his teeth tightly. "I will leave her a messenger. Help me catch one and then we can leave."
"You got it," Joey dove out of the room and closed the door behind him with a resounding bang.
Trying to slow his own breathing down, Atem pressed a hand to his chest and tried to remain composed.
This was either going to be a suicide mission or it would successfully break his pact, on which seven decades remained.
Seven decades wasn't considered a long time by merpeople, but Atem knew that on land, a lot could happen within seven decades, and he prayed with all his might that Kaiba would still be waiting for him.
Of course, Kaiba would still be there.
He was seeing Adina frequently. And he was sending them nets full of gifts every moon cycle or so. Kaiba would cry with happiness once they were reunited.
Emboldened by this thought, Atem slipped off his crown and laid it on the nightstand, staring down at it with determination.
He swore to himself that he would not perish on his way up.
He would come back for this crown and wear it proudly.
Kaiba leaned his head against the airplane headrest, trying to get comfortable.
He was nauseous. The horrid churning had returned at the pit of his stomach and the urge to vomit was at an all-time high. He hadn't felt this bad since…the egg, and Kaiba realized with a jolt that the altitude was too high.
Shit. Maybe there was some unwritten rule about traveling by air.
If he recalled correctly, had Mahad ever ridden in a plane?
No. The logical thing to do would be to change back into a fish, swim to where he needed to be, and grow legs there. It was economical and it saved them money.
It wasn't like using a chrysalis cost him money every time.
The pools were 'public property' according to merpeople, and letting Adina hatch in one was basically like leaving an infant in the middle of the road, right?
Kaiba bent forward in his seat as another violent wave of nausea overtook him, and he struggled to breathe, realizing he was done for. He was going to have to survive a ten-hour flight in pure agony because he hadn't thought this through.
Fuck…everything.
Atem was dizzy, and it was getting harder to breathe the higher Joey pulled him through the water.
He could take small, gasping breaths, but the rest of the time, his lungs were screaming for air.
How much…further?! Atem grabbed Joey's arm so hard, his palm burned.
Almost there, bud, hang on! Joey thought anxiously, hoping he wasn't lost. The king was growing heavier and heavier at his side, and it was making him worry.
Wait a minute. Pacts were all about words, and how to wiggle out of them, right?
"Hey, what if I carried you the rest of the way?" Joey asked instantly, wondering why he hadn't thought of this genius idea before. "You pact is like, 'I won't try to surface' or 'surface isn't part of my duties' right? What if I… 'forced you' by carryin' you up 'against your will'?"
You can try! Atem thought furiously, his cheeks turning red with effort as he tried to draw another breath. He couldn't even see the sun yet.
They weren't anywhere near the surface.
This was pure torture.
"Alrighty, don't hate me for this," Joey said, and without warning, he turned to hook his elbow strongly around Atem's neck, hanging onto him in a tight choke hold.
Atem opened his mouth to shout in surprise, but only large bubbles escaped his lips as he felt his eyes bulging from his head the harder Joey choked him.
"Five…four…. three…" Joey counted patiently, his heart thundering with nervousness as he wondered if he was committing murder.
Atem went limp in his arms, and Joey let go, seeing the lifeless king floating eerily in the water before him, stripped bare of his jewelry, but his spiky hair was still magnificently fixed.
Welllll crap. Better get him up there fast.
Diving forward to wrap his arms around Atem's body, Joey powered through the water and kept his eyes peeled for any Guardians, ships, or other merpeople.
If anyone saw him now, it was death by beheading for sure.
His tail ached with effort, but he willed himself to swim faster. Atem was only unconscious, but if the pact was doing some weird shit to him, the sooner he reached the Chrysalis, the better.
Thin streams of sunlight sprinkled in from above, and Joey dared to breathe a sigh of relief. He saw a familiar rock formation, and he beat his tail mightily, seeing tiny bubbles escape Atem's lips the higher he went.
Bubbles was a good sign, right?! Right?!
Frantic with fear and anxiety, Joey burst upwards through the water and swam steadily through the curved rocks, finally finding the shallow pool of water surrounded by the pointed stones covered with merwriting.
Yep. This better be it. It looked like all the other ones, except this one was run down, with puddles of rotting seaweed everywhere, and it didn't have eight layers of protection around it.
The water was shallow, like a wading pool, and a solid patch of sky was visible above their heads. A set of rusty, barnacle-covered metal rungs were embedded in the rock beside their head.
A man-made ladder to get out through the top when you had legs.
This was it.
Gently setting Atem against the edge of a pointed rock, he heaved the king's upper body onto the pebbly shore and made sure to keep his glittering red fins draped in the water.
Now…. time to wait.
Crawling out of the pool and sitting beside Atem, Joey wrapped his arm protectively around his unconscious friend and made sure his own fins were soaking in the water too. His heart was thudding rapidly with a mixture of adrenaline and fear at the thought of what he'd just done.
Something hella fucking illegal.
But hey, he was with the king, so everything could be pardoned, right? Right.
Also, Mahad did this all the time, so whatever.
Joey bit back a yawn and leaned against the cool stones. The hollow sound of the waves echoed thinly around them, and a cawing seagull soared over their heads.
Taking a deep breath, Joey tilted his head to the side and began to doze off.
This part always took the longest, but it was going to be worth it.
Author's note:
Joey comes thru in the clutch. People are always underestimating him for being dumb but atem made the right choice by being his closest friend because now look! They are soaking in the elusive chrysalis!
Kaiba is currently in the air, feeling sick! Shada has been captured! So many things happening at once!