Joy: Hey everyone! I'm back! And I have a smashing sequel for you guys. This is the sequel to my Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic: Wings of the Phoenix, so if you haven't read that one, all I gotta ask is why not? I may give some background during this story, but you might be confused if you haven't read my first story yet. For now, I want to recap on where we left off in the first story:
It is summer still and Joy is still staying with her grandma. She, Seto (I'll be referring to Kaiba by his first name in this one, just cuz I can ^__~), and Yugi banished Yukia from the face of the earth so now they can relax…or can they?
Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Yu-Gi-Oh!? Come on, I mean, really…I didn't think so. I don't own, so don't ask. ^__~
Without further delay, here comes the first chapter of Stolen Light. Ready, set, go!
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A Disturbing Call and a Hidden Puzzle
Joy Houyoku lay in her bed at her grandmother's house in Tokyo, looking up at her ceiling. She was in deep thought. It had been almost two weeks since they had sent the wicked Yukia to hell, and since then, things seemed to return to normal.
However, she had not seen her two friends since her return to Tokyo the day after Yugi got out of the hospital. There just didn't seem to be any time to even call. Her grandma was always coming up with things for her to do and places for her to go. She was missing her friends deeply and wondering how they were doing.
Suddenly, Katilli, her dark side, appeared by her bedside. Joy turned to her. "Hey, Katilli," she greeted.
"Joy?" Katilli asked softly.
"What's up, Katilli?" Joy asked cheerfully, sitting up in bed.
"Can we take a trip to Domino City tomorrow?"
"Well, I don't see why not. That is, if obaasan doesn't have any plans." Katilli beamed. She missed her brother Yami (AN: Yes, Katilli and Yami are siblings), and knew Joy was missing her friends as well. She nodded eagerly, then vanished back into her soul room within Joy's mind. Joy lay back down and was about to fall asleep when her cell phone started to ring. Wondering who it could be, she answered. "Hello?"
For a moment she heard nothing, then a small voice spoke, almost inaudible. "J-Joy? I-It's Y-Yugi."
Joy's eyes grew wide. She had given Seto and Yugi her cell phone number so they could stay in touch, but why had Yugi called so late? And why did he sound scared…and hurt? She was immediately worried. "Yugi? What's wrong?"
"Evil…coming. Y-You gotta t-take care of t-the P-Puzzle…"
Joy's concern was steadily mounting. "Yugi, where are you? Is someone after you? What's going on?"
"Joy…they're coming…the P-Puzzle is…is hidden. Y-You have to go t-to K-" Yugi's trembling voice broke off as he let out a loud cry.
"Yugi? YUGI!" Click. The phone had been hung up, the connection lost.
Joy wasted no time in getting dressed. She told her grandma that she had just received an emergency call and had to go to Domino City right away. Her grandma agreed, just as long as she kept in touch.
"Thank you, obaasan. I'm afraid I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"That's okay, dear. Take as long as you like," grandma replied. Joy smiled, bowed and flew out the door. She leaped into her car and drove off as fast as she dared.
She reached the Kame Game Shop in record time and let herself in with the key that Yugi gave her. She knew Yugi's grandfather was away helping a friend with some dig or something. She searched the house for any sign of Yugi or the Millennium Puzzle, but alas, she found neither. She got back into her car, sitting there and thinking for a moment.
What do I do? Yugi has obviously been kidnapped. He said the Millennium Puzzle was hidden somewhere, but where? It's not at the Game Shop, so where it is?
Let's go to Kaiba Manor and enlist the help of Seto Kaiba, Joy. He may be able to help us get both Yugi and the Puzzle back safely.
Joy nodded and started for Seto's house, still in deep thought. If I were Yugi, where would I hide the puzzle? I certainly wouldn't hide it just anywhere, and I would hide it in the one place no one would look for it. Where?
She arrived at Kaiba Manor, where, much to her surprise, Seto was waiting for her just outside the house. "What took you so damn long?" he asked impatiently. "I was starting to worry." Getting a confused looked, he motioned for her to follow him inside. They went to the living room and sat down. "Yugi came over this evening. He said that someone had tried to steal the puzzle earlier and he was going to call you and ask for help. Then he made a very weird request."
"What?" Joy asked, curious now.
"He gave me the Millennium Puzzle and asked me to hide it and to make sure no one got to it. Then he left to call you." Joy was awestruck. Yugi had actually given the Millennium Puzzle to Seto Kaiba?
"What about Yami? Didn't he protest?"
"I don't know. Yugi didn't say and I didn't get a chance to ask." His eyes narrowed as he looked at Joy. "Didn't Yugi call you?" he asked.
"Yes, but he sounded scared and hurt. He only got a chance to tell me that there was an evil force coming and that the Puzzle was hidden. Then I heard him cry out and the connection broke," Joy explained.
Seto stood, frowning. "Come on. I have a way to track him." She followed the CEO up the stairs to his home office.
Joy, what about the Puzzle? Is Yami safe?
Hold on, Katilli. The Puzzle we have, Yugi we don't.
Yes. You are correct, of course.
Joy had been to Seto's office at home once before, when she had stayed with him. She knew he had the technology to track Yugi, but she was curious anyway. "Kaiba, how can you track Yugi? He's not wearing any Kaiba Corp. products."
"Oh, yes he is. He just doesn't know it. When he came over with the Puzzle earlier, I managed to slip a homing device onto him unobserved. I can track him that way easily." Joy nodded in understanding. Seto sat down and started to type in some commands onto his laptop. Joy watched silently, not wanting to disturb the process. Finally he closed his laptop and stood. "I have a fix on his general location. We can get there on my personal helicopter. Let's go." Joy followed. "We'll grab the Puzzle first. I'm not leaving it here unguarded. But I want you to wear it, Joy. I don't want that pharaoh talking to me the entire trip."
Joy allowed herself a small smile. "I'll meet you at the front door, Kaiba." Seto nodded and they parted.
Ten minutes later, Seto appeared carrying a bag. He put his hand in and produced the Millennium Puzzle, which he handed directly to Joy. She slipped it on, the Eye of Ra glowing a bit.
Yugi? Is that you, aibou? What's going on? Yami seemed very worried, almost frantic.
Yami, this isn't Yugi. Joy replied calmly. She felt Yami's amazement and heard him gasp in surprise.
Joy? What are you doing with the Puzzle? Where's Yugi? He had blocked the link between us, but that seems to have been a long time ago. Is he okay? Now he seemed twice as concerned. Joy sighed.
Katilli, can you explain everything to him? We need to hurry up if we're gonna save the day.
Yes, of course, aibou. Katilli agreed. She felt her dark going into the puzzle to talk to the pharaoh.
"Ready?" Seto asked at last. Joy nodded. "Good. Let's do this, then."
They boarded Seto's helicopter and headed on what they hoped would be a rescue mission.
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Joy: What did you think? I guess those three are just trouble magnets, aren't they? ^__~ Will they save Yugi? Will they find out who took him? Find out next time! Till then, review and sweat with anticipation. :oD