Author's Note

Hey! Wow, so have I really not updated this thing since February. I guess I got distracted with the job hunt and commissions. And when I don't get any reviews, I don't get motivated XD But yeah, I'm back! So hi. Thanks to everyone who's commented so far! You're all the best.

So right back in with a Seto chapter! He's such a sarcastic narrator. I'm easing back in here XD Got the next two chapters planned at least so expect semi-regular updates for a while before my attention wanders again. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5: Land of What Might Have Been

Just when I think my arms are about to burst, we finally hit land. Rebecca and I had both paddled as though our lives depended on it… chiefly because we knew they damn well did. And we made it. We made it to land.

We seize upon it like the grateful survivors we are and collapse onto the dirty floor, panting and exhausted but at the same time elated. I'm on my hands and knees, gathering my breath and strength. Rebecca is laying on her back beside me, breathing heavily, staring up at the sky. I catch her eye and she beams at me. Despite myself, I can't help smiling back.

We did it.

The relief is dizzying… for a foolish moment, I actually thought… not important. Lack of nutrients, severe stress and extended exposure to annoying brats have taken their toll on me and compromised my brainpower.

I glance over at the aforementioned brat. She's bent over now, wringing her hair and clothes. Hm.

Anyway. The point is, we're back on dry land. Back with civilisation… I think…

Jeez… looking around here now, I begin to process the surroundings. It looks like we've leapt back in time. Come to think of it, it looks like Egypt. Ancient Egypt. We're on a mud-sand ground and it looks like dusk. The sky is dazzling purple with a warm orange glow on the horizon. The air is warm and dry. Just up ahead I see ancient looking stone houses with stalls outside… but not people.

"Oh, how cute!" shrieks Rebecca, looking in the same direction. "A little market! We're in a little village… this environment… I wonder where we could be? Possibly Africa…" She pauses and blinks. "Or… India?"

I shake my head. Woah… dizzy.

"Not possible. We were only in the water a day. We must be in Korea. Or Taiwan. Somewhere off the coast of Japan." She nods.

"True. It just doesn't look much like East Asia… We could be in Papua New Guinea…" she suggests. "I guess we'll know when we meet a local. This place is dead… hey, are you ok?"

"Huh?" I stare blearily at her, dimly aware that my skills of elelation… articution… no… I can't quite think straight…

Before I have chance to draw breath, the cough is consuming me. I'm bent double, coughing and heaving like I'm at death's door. Blood is pouring out of my mouth… Oh god… my lungs feel like they're on fire. What's happening?

"Hey… ok, get it out. There you go…" Rebecca is rubbing my back. Why? What good is that really going to do? Is she practising goddamn Bowen? I don't have the energy to scold her… Oh lord, so tired… Where did this come from? When I'm sure the vomiting has stopped, I slide down onto the floor and lean against a wall. Breathe in… breathe out… my head is spinning. I need to steady myself, get enough oxygen up there.

"Water…" I barely croak. My voice is so harsh and scratched, it sounds like I've been taken down an octave. "I need some water. Not that!" I bark (croakily) as her eyes dart sideways towards the ocean. And promptly cough up more blood. Rebecca stares at it with a mixture of revulsion and fear on her face. To her credit, she's not freaking out. She gulps and speaks in a calm and authoritative manner.

"You're severely dehydrated."

Gee. No shit, Sherlock. Now where's my fucking water? I don't have the energy to say the words to her and rolling my eyes just makes me dizzy so I settle for leaning as far back against the wall as possible and closing my eyes in an I'm-blocking-you-out-you're-just-too-stupid sort of way. Rebecca kneels in front of me and clutches my arms, as though to convince herself she's steadying me. Again, I couldn't tell her to get lost.

"Ok, stay here," she instructs. Well, shoot. I was planning to go join a hoe-down. "I'll try to find some help… don't die or get mugged or something while I'm gone, ok?"

"That is a terrific idea, I might just try that." It's barely more than a whisper. I don't think she heard me. Why bother?

She runs off. I lay here, gritting my teeth and try to tell myself to get a grip.

Get a grip, Seto.

Get a fucking grip.

Where has my energy gone? My fighting spirit? It's just a little dehydration, that's all it is? Possibly a minor chest infection. Please. I beat off worse than this at work every other Thursday? Every time Yuugi enters a tournament. Especially when it's one of mine. What's causing me to react so badly now? This isn't like me at all.

Oh joy, self evaluation. Well gosh, my daddy never loved me and deep down inside I never wanted to carry on. Please.

I guess I could attribute it to stress. I know stress. I thrive on stress. But this is different… I don't have Mokuba. Or rather… he doesn't have me. I'm not dead but for a while there I thought I was going to be. I thought I'd break my promise… that on its own damn near kills me.

Ugh, that's stupid and overly sentimental. I'm not dead, I'm alive. I'm laying here like a loser against a wall and not using this to my advantage, why? I gotta get home and see him. Rebecca and I need to get out of this dump. Somewhere there has to be a phone, or an airport or at least a damn boat or something.

We survived a plane crash and made it back to land with our – with MY – bare hands. We're geniuses. We run the greatest company there is. We can do this too.

Where is she with my water?

I open my eyes and gingerly turn my head left and right, relieved to find that I'm not so dizzy anymore. Very slowly, I use the wall to haul myself to my feet… woah… ok, steady. Steady. I'm fine. With a stretch and a sigh, I shake it off and I'm good to go, near enough.

Blood and vomit on my shirt. Wonderful.

Oh well, I'm still sexy.

Now here's a decision. To go and look for Rebecca and risk us getting permanently separated or to stay here and wait for her to find me and guarantee we stick together?

I set off down the dusty path just in time to see her rounding the corner. So close.

"There's what looks like a city down there… a really really old city. But it would take me an hour to get there and back so I came to find you again. I'm stronger than I look though so I could carry you there if you needed," she announced, brightly.

"That won't be necessary. What, no Evian?" I ask, eyeing her hands with an eyebrow raised.

"Nah, sorry. But I did steal you this banana."

"Excellent. Just like in the movies."

She turns on her heel and starts heading back the way she came from. I dutifully walk alongside her. It's not long before I see what she means. We appear to be on high land, as down a hill immediately in front of us there's a stone city that must be easily fifty feet below sea level… these guys are practically in a giant bowl.

The city is in near total darkness. It's sizeable. There's an obvious centre with a giant statue of… something or other… and some sort of temple. Residential areas, a sports stadium? Coliseum? None of it is lit. Only a few small streets have dim lights visible.

"I haven't seen any sign of any locals… unusual as it can't be too late at night. My guess is anywhere between seven and ten in the evening." I'm feeling better as we stroll briskly towards the city. Rebecca is narrating her findings while I peel my banana. "Unusually, I can't find any sign of linguistics either. At least, nothing that jumps out. It's weird, the houses and shops are all unmarked. Some of them have little pictures…"

I swallow my mouthful and offer her a bite. "Possible hieroglyphics? Looks like the kind of place…"

She shakes her head at my banana (well that's never happened before) and dismisses me with her hand. "No. More like doodles. I've never seen anything like it. I wonder if we've landed in some sort of… tribes town." She gasped, her eyes sparkling with delight as a rare epiphany hits her. "Perhaps they have a whole undiscovered language! We could be on an unknown island previously hidden from Western eyes! A whole new culture to study! Not to mention possible desert vegetation. Do you know what this means? I smell Nobel Prize!" she's practically squealing and clapping her hands. This is like a normal girl at a sample sale. Actually, this is like Rebecca at a sample sale. She just also happens to be a nerd.

"I smell burning human flesh."

"What?!"

"Supposing your theory is correct," I muse, "do you really think a society that's hidden from pale faces for thousands of years-"

"Racist much?" She interjected, outraged. I'm unmoved. "Just because they're not as obviously forward as us, you assume they're black?"

"You assumed this was Africa. I figured it was probably Asia. Either way, it's likely the natives her have epicanthic folds," I gesture pointedly to my own Japanese eyes.

Rebecca rolled her Western ones. "'I'm black so I can say the n-word,' right?"

"My point. Whatever culture this is, they're not Western. You will be unfamiliar for sure, and I probably will be as well. Xenophobia… it stems from ignorance. There's a chance that we'll be immediately seen as a threat, as intruders. They might not be so welcoming. Furthermore, if they do speak a previously unknown language, how can you possibly hope to effectively communicate? You can't rely on gestures, it could be offensive for all you know."

Rebecca heaved a heavy sigh, obviously dejected and I feel a little bad for trampling on her excitement. But we need to be practical. We need shelter, food, water… and if she's right, we don't have a hope in hell of getting any of those things. I glance down at her, walking beside me. She's dry now; we both are.

She's not looking disappointed or sad, she's just staring straight ahead with a calm expression on her face. Something isn't right…

She's quiet for a couple of minutes before she speaks again.

"I guess we'll find out when we reach the city, won't we."

"Yeah, I guess. Can you see alright?"

"Yeah, it's not that dark."

"I mean without your glasses."

"Oh." She stupidly felt her face as though to confirm they weren't there. "Yeah, I only really need them for reading."

"Computer work, et cetera?"

"Yeah."

"Ah."

We walk in silence for a while.

Awkward.

Author's Note

So a brief chapter, not a whole lot happened. It's kind of filler, I know. But hey, it's YGO. I can get away with it here, right? XD