FicWad

Sanity

Party
“What!” Atem shouted as he took off into a run and followed Bakura out the door. Dirk and Yugi looked at each other before both darted out the door. They raced after Bakura, who headed down one passageway after another. He slid to a stop in front of Layla’s room. Without bothering to knock, he slammed the door open. The room was empty. There was nothing, not even a rumpled pillow.
“Empty,” he growled, “she’s gone.”
Yugi’s gaze traveled over the entire room. It was as if nobody had ever been there to begin with. His gaze rested on the only table in the room.
“Not completely empty,” he said.
“Wha…?” Bakura asked.
Yugi merely ignored him and walked over to the table. There was a piece of paper, face down on it. Attached to the back was a small sticky note. He picked up the paper and tore the note off and handed it to Atem.
“Yugi, Atem, I’m sorry, please forgive me. Layla,” Atem read.
“Atem,” Yugi whispered.
Atem glanced over at the paper in Yugi’s hands. It was the drawing that she had made of them. Atem growled and whirled around.
“Bakura, go to the other survivors rooms. See if their still there. Dirk, go to the infirmary. I have a hunch,” he said.
“Right,” they said in unison before they both fled out of the room.
Atem crumpled the sticky note up in his hand. His eyes fixed on the floor, unseeing as anger coursed through him. His eyes had turned a blood red color, darkened by the frustration that filled every part of him.
“Damn it,” he snarled, “I should have seen this coming! I was foolish to think we’d be safe here. After everything we’ve been through, I should have known…”
Yugi gripped the drawing in his hands as Atem continued to rant. He turned and walked over to the older one. He gently slid a hand into the hand that wasn’t clutching the note and Atem immediately calmed.
“Atem, listen to me. You didn’t know. We didn’t know. Anyone would have thought it to be pure coincidence,” he whispered.
“But…” Atem said as he turned to Yugi and pulled the smaller one into his arms.
Yugi wrapped his arms around his taller look-a-like and buried his hands into satin like hair. He gently kissed Atem’s forehead, “No buts. We had no way of knowing. Now listen, she’s either still on this ship, or she’s in a lifeboat. She can’t have gotten far. Let’s go look for her, okay?”
Atem nodded and leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Yugi’s mouth, “You’re right, hikari. Let’s go.”
The two walked out of the room and hurried to the bridge. The Commander looked out at the sea from the helm. The water was extremely calm, and not a breath of wind disturbed the American flag that hung from her pole. He heard the door slam open and knew something was wrong, merely from the looks on the two’s faces. They approached him and gave a swift nod.
“Commander, we have a problem.”

45 minutes later…
“Sir,” Lieutenant Bourne said, “The search teams turned up empty. She’s not on the ship sir.”
“What about the lifeboats?” the Commander questioned.
“All accounted for,” he replied.
“Then how the hell did she get off this ship?” the Commander asked.
“I don’t know, sir,” he said.
“Find out.”
“Yes, sir,” Bourne said.
Atem and Yugi walked into the bridge just as Bourne left. They murmured quick hello’s before the door closed behind them. The Commander gave a frustrated sigh as the two approached. Yugi and Atem gave each other a quick glance.
“I take it that sigh doesn’t mean good news,” Atem said.
The Commander turned and gave him a look, “No, it doesn’t. She’s not anywhere on this ship, and none of the lifeboats are missing. How the hell does one just simple disappear in the middle of the ocean?”
Atem shook his head and sighed, “I don’t know, Commander. There had to be some way she got off this ship without us knowing.”
One of the officers of the ship approached the group uncertainly. He stopped next to the commander and glanced around nervously.
“What is it?” the Commander snapped.
“Uh… um… well…” he said.
“Spit it out,” the Commander said.
“Well, sir,” he said, “Do you remember how there was a blip on the underwater radar?”
“What of it?”
“What if it wasn’t what we thought it was?” he asked.
The commander turned to the young officer and studied him for a moment, “Explain.”
“What if it was a submersible, sir,” he replied, “A submersible wouldn’t be picked up by the radar, and if it was, it would have been too small to cause alarm.”
The Commander paused and considered the notion. It was entirely plausible, and by the time they had noticed that she was gone, the submersible would have been able to cross hundreds of miles of ocean before reaching another ship. One that would be entirely outside of their radar. He shook his head and sighed, “You’re right.”
“I-I-I am sir?” the young officer asked.
“Yes, thank you,” the Commander replied.
“You’re welcome, sir,” he said as he walked away.
The Commander turned to the two and nodded, “That’s how she got off the ship. There was a submersible waiting for her. This entire thing was planned. From the moment we got the distress call, up until now. Every detail was preplanned. She knew we’d respond to the call and come help her. From there, it was just a matter of time, but what did she want?”
“We’ll it obviously wasn’t to kill us,” Yugi remarked, “She could have done that while she was drawing us.”
“We can help with that,” a voice said from behind them.
The three turned around and Bakura and Dirk stood in the doorway. They approached the group with grim faces.
“It wasn’t she. It was they. The four other survivors? They’re gone. They must have been helping her,” Bakura said.
“It appears that they came for the bodies of the ones that attacked us on the Lisa Marie,” Dirk added.
“Why? If they wanted to kill us, then why didn’t they do it while they had the chance?” Atem asked.
“I have no idea,” Bakura muttered with a shake of his head.
“Well, I suggest you four get some sleep, now that the threat is gone. We’ll be reaching port tomorrow afternoon.
The four of them nodded and left.

A little while later…
Yugi stared at the picture of him and Atem. He still couldn’t get over how beautiful it was. He could hardly believe that the artist was someone they were against. He just didn’t get that feeling about her. He sighed and placed the picture down onto the table and moved silently over to where Atem was on the bed. Atem had one leg bent, and an arm over his eyes. His other arm rested on his stomach. Yugi sat down gently next to him and started to run his hands through the other’s hair. Atem hummed in pleasure. Yugi smiled and started to massage his scalp. The two didn’t say anything, they didn’t need to. They knew everything the other was going to say anyways. Yugi slipped his hands from the other’s hair and motioned for him to turn over. Atem rolled over and got comfortable. Yugi straddled his waist and began to work the knots out of Atem’s shoulders and back. He felt Atem relax into a pile of mush on the bed. A wicked idea popped into his mind and he worked his hands lower until he was near Atem’s side. With an evil grin, he began to tickle the other. Atem gave a surprised yelp and started to wiggle underneath him. Yugi laughed out loud and continued to tickle his darker half. Atem managed to flip them over and pinned him to the bed. He switched Yugi’s wrists to one hand and placed his hand on Yugi’s side. The smaller one’s eyes widened and he started to move.
“Nuh-uh, little one,” Atem said with a wicked grin, “You started this.”
Yugi squealed out loud when Atem started to tickle him. He managed to pull his wrists free and he tried to push Atem off of him. Atem merely smirked and leaned down to kiss him. Yugi forgot all about trying to push him away and instead, wrapped his arms around the older one’s neck and pulled him closer. The kiss lasted several seconds before Yugi broke for air. Atem rested his forehead against Yugi’s and the two stared deeply into the other’s eyes.
“I love you,” Yugi whispered.
“And I love you,” he replied, “So very much.”
Atem rolled off of the smaller one and pulled him into his arms. The two stared into each other’s eyes as they played with the other’s hair. Yugi rested his head against Atem’s chest and sighed happily as he fell asleep. Atem continued to stroke the other’s hair as thoughts filled his mind. He was worried. There was so much going on, and he didn’t want to lose Yugi. It was different when they were together, when he was still in Yugi’s mind. Now that they were separated, he couldn’t guarantee that he could protect Yugi. It made him worry and he hoped beyond all hope that he could always protect Yugi.

The next day…Atem and Yugi stood on the bow of the ship as they entered the New York harbor. They passed the fabled Ellis Island. They watched in silent awe as they passed the Statue of Liberty. Her copper dress and skin turned green from age, though the torch still gleamed a golden bright. She still looked as magnificent as the day she was built so many, many years ago.
“It’s amazing to know that every person that came by boat to this section of America got to see her,” Bakura said quietly as he came up behind them, “She represents everything that is free.”
“How do you know so much about her?” Yugi asked.
Bakura sighed and turned to him, “Before the whole thing with the “Organization,” Ryou’s parents moved here to America for a few years before going to Japan. Ryou took the time to learn all he could about America. He certainly loved being here. I hope when this is all over again, I can bring him back.”
Yugi smiled, “I always knew you were a softy, Bakura.”
“Oh hush, shorty. It’s just looking at the Statue of Liberty makes me want to fight every single thing that threatens our freedom. She represents exactly what we’re fighting for,” he replied as he motioned to the statue that was already falling behind them.
Atem turned and looked at the statue as it got smaller and smaller on the horizon, “You’re right. It does.”
The three stood at the rail watching the ships sail past them out of the harbor. The New York skyline came into view and the group stared in awe at it. They were so caught up in their own thoughts that they failed to notice Dirk joining them.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked.
Yugi nodded as both Bakura and Atem murmured their agreements, “When we came here the first time, back when we were still together, we never got to see the city. Not with the tracing devices we had.”
The group watched the skyline pass as the ship finally docked.
“I promise, after everything is done, I’ll show you the city. I grew up here, in Manhattan. It was things like 9/11 that pushed me into joining the navy and becoming a seal,” Dirk said as the group moved to leave.
Atem studied him for a moment. He knew what Dirk was referring to. The day the United States was attacked by terrorists. He remembered floating next to Yugi as the smaller one watched the T.V. He recalled feeling the horrified confusion run through his hikari as the events of that day unfolded on the screen. He turned back to the skyline and tried to imagine the two beautiful sky scrapers standing proudly against the sky, “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine the fear that was felt that day.”
Dirk nodded, “It was terrifying. I almost lost a cousin that day. And things like that is what pushes me to want to stop bastards like Acario Grey. I just want to say, no matter where or when, if you ever need it, my team and I will be at your disposal. Just call and we’ll be there.”
Atem turned around and Dirk held out his hand. The two shook hands, “Thank you.”
“Oh, and I have a message,” Dirk said as the group proceeded to leave the deck, “Mr. Kaiba called and said that once you get into the nearest hotel, to give him a call. He’s got some things he wants you to do.”
Yugi nodded as the four parted ways. The Wades had already left, whisked off to a safe place set up by Kaiba Corps. Dirk was planning on staying on the ship until it docked in Washington D.C. The other three quickly said their goodbye’s to the Commander and crew before catching a cab to the nearest hotel.

20 minutes later, the Holiday Inn
Atem had rented two rooms, one for him and Yugi and one for Bakura. After they unpacked and got settled, the three of them met in their room to call Seto. The phone ringed 3 times before it was picked up.
“Speak.”
“Hello to you too,” Atem said as he switched the phone over to speaker.
“Atem. Where the hell have you been? I’ve been waiting for your call for… 1 hour and 18 minutes,” Seto growled.
“We were finding a hotel and getting settled in. Why, what have you found that’s so important?” Yugi asked.
“We found out some more information about Ataxia Empire. I’ll e-mail you the details,” he replied, “And also, there’s somewhere I need you to be tomorrow. Do you still have that Seal on hand?”
“I think we can catch him before the ship leaves, why?” Atem said.
“How well is your knowledge with airplanes?”
Atem hesitated, “It’s fair.”
“Good, because the four of you are going to an air show tomorrow. One of Acario Grey’s sisters is supposedly in it,” he said.
“Layla?” Yugi asked.
“No, a different one,” Seto said, “And from what I hear, she’s ruthless.”
Bakura sighed, “Great, just what we need, a woman whose ruthless and related to a man that seemingly wants us dead. How much better can it get?”
“Even better,” Seto smirked, “You’re to talk to her.”
“About what?” Yugi asked.
“Try and find out what Ataxia Empire is up to,” Seto replied simply.
“Oh, and we’re just supposed to hope that she doesn’t kill us, right then and there?” Bakura asked.
“She won’t kill you, it’s a public showing. There will be too many people around,” Seto replied.
A collective sigh went through the group.
“We’ll do it, but if we die,” Atem said, “You’re paying for the funeral.”
“Don’t I pay for everything else?” Seto asked before he hung up.
Atem hung the phone up and Bakura retreated to his room to “write his will” as he called it. Yugi and Atem guessed it was to call Ryou. Yugi took a shower while Atem called Dirk at the ship. He agreed to meet them at the JFK airport, where the showing was being held. Atem hung up with him. He could still hear the shower running and an evil thought entered his head.
“Yugi, I have to use the bathroom,” he said as he knocked on the door, “Mind if I come in?”
“No, go right ahead,” Yugi’s shouted over the noise from the shower.
Atem stepped inside and smirked. He could see Yugi’s outline through the curtain and the little one had his back to him. Atem quietly stripped out of his clothes and slipped noiselessly into the shower. He circled Yugi’s waist with his arms and nibbled on his earlobe, earning a moan from the smaller one. He ran his hands up and down Yugi’s chest as he let go of his ear and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Their tongues dueled as he rubbed Yugi’s nipples harshly. Yugi gasped and broke the kiss to moan loudly.
“Oh, Gods, Atem,” he panted.
Atem smirked and attacked the back of Yugi’s neck with his mouth. Yugi unconsciously tilted his head, giving Atem more access to it. Atem sucked and nibbled on his neck, littering it with small bite marks. He felt Yugi shudder and he pulled him into another kiss. Yugi turned in his arms and panted when the kiss broke.
“I want you,” he murmured.
Atem kissed him again, “Your wish is my command.”