Immediately Joey looked up at the other occupants of the car. "It looks like you were right, Bakura," he remarked. "This guy here is Shadi!" He frowned, puzzling over what could have possessed the guardian of the Millennium Items to be warring with some strange person in the sky. And there was the matter of how much the two had seemed to look alike. . . . What was going on?!

"Shadi?!" everyone else repeated.

"Yeah!" Joey said, shaking his head in disbelief. He reached over, trying to help Shadi up and to see how badly he was hurt. Blood was running down the man's face, as well as from wounds on his right shoulder and his chest. Whoever he had been fighting had definitely been fierce. "Are you alright?!" the blonde boy exclaimed.

Shadi shuddered, struggling to sit up by himself. "It is not me you should concern yourself over, but Runihura." He didn't explain this cryptic statement and instead clapped a hand over the wound in his chest, obviously in pain.

"Who the heck is that?!" Joey cried in confusion.

A gravelly chuckle soon met his ears and he whirled to see Shadi's opponent standing a yard or so away, lightning crackling at his fingertips. The only major physical differences separating him from Shadi were the long scar on the left side of his face, the more pointed and unruly hair (as opposed to Shadi's curls), and the psychotic grin. Otherwise, especially from a distance, the two looked almost identical. "Forgive me," he purred now. "I should have introduced myself earlier. I am Runihura. In your language my name means Destroyer." He took a step forward and Shadi's eyes narrowed coldly.

"Who is that freak?!" Téa cried in horror, tensing and moving closer to Bakura. The British boy was simply staring with wide eyes, Tristan, Joey, and Duke all following suit.

"Is he trying to say his parents wanted him to be some kind of annihilation machine?!" Tristan frowned in confusion. "I mean, why else would someone name their kid something that means 'Destroyer'?!"

Runihura laughed nastily. "I was named that because that's what I was," he replied cryptically, "and am." He surveyed the scene, seeming especially interested in the fact that Shadi had fallen onto a modern method of transportation. And he remembered these youths from the ghost town in the canyons. He had been observing them all, though they hadn't realized it. Idly he wondered if their paths would continue to cross. And then he decided that it was very likely, in light of what his plans were.

"The damage has already been done," Shadi spoke now. "You have no reason to remain here, Destroyer." He clutched the Ankh in his shaking hand, pointing it at this strange intruder. His dark curls fell into his face, but he made no move to brush them aside. All of his strength was being pooled into the possibility of needing to attack Runihura again to protect the others. There was no reason to involve them in this.

"Perhaps not, but it amuses me anyway," Runihura smirked. Joey noticed that he didn't have a wound on him. "This isn't over, of course," the Egyptian added with a wide gesture.

Shadi regarded him icily. "It will not be over until you are returned to the Eternal Sleep."

"Which will not be happening," Runihura answered smoothly as he vanished with a clap of thunder. Joey and the others stared at the spot where he had been, appalled and confused.

"Alright, question and answer time," the Brooklyn boy declared, eyeing Shadi. "Who's that weirdo, why were you two fighting, and how come he wasn't even wounded?!"

Shadi didn't answer immediately, seeming to be gathering his strength and his thoughts. At last he looked back up at Joey and darkly said, "The wounds I bear are both mine and his," before vanishing as suddenly as he had appeared. He didn't intend to get them involved any more than they had to be. They were already in over their heads with the crime boss Del Vinci. There was no need for them to concern themselves over the even more grim and dangerous problem of Runihura the Destroyer.

Joey growled angrily, looking at the spot where Shadi had been sprawled on the hood of the jalopy, and then came back into the car, knowing it was fruitless to continue standing outside. Shadi wouldn't return. "Man, that was just freaky," he announced. Everyone else concurred. But they had no time to sit and discuss it now. They needed to get to Kaiba Manor, as did Seth and Khu—who had been watching everything from a distance.

"Show's over," Khu muttered. "Let's get going."

"Should we tell them about Runihura?" Seth wondered as he prepared again to teleport them both out.

Khu shrugged. "They'll find out soon enough anyway. Let's not."

Seth sighed.

Back at Kaiba Manor, Pegasus was telling the others about the research he had been doing concerning the employee who had been selling company secrets to Del Vinci—and on Del Vinci himself. "It's all quite top secret, of course," he said, "and kept under close watch by my guards. And you know, it might be a good idea for all of you to have it. You've encountered Del Vinci more than I have. Maybe you'd be able to make some sense out of it."

"Well, where is it?" Mokuba demanded, his blue-gray eyes filled with unshed tears. He was willing to try anything that might help in getting Seto back. If Del Vinci had him, they had no time to waste.

"Patience, patience," Pegasus scolded, wagging a finger at the child, who just looked frustrated. The man leaned forward, locking eyes with each person in turn. "As I said, it's under lock and key. It's at my San Francisco office. The only way any of you could have it is if I telephoned and told them to fly up here and bring it."

"Do it then!" Mokuba cried. "Please!" He clenched his fists, looking at Pegasus with the desperate sadness of a pained brother. "If there's any way it might lead us to Seto, we have to try. I . . . I can't lose him. I just can't!"

Marik's eyes narrowed with determination. "You won't, my friend," he reassured him. "I swear, I'll do everything in my power to get your brother back to you." He still couldn't help but feel slightly responsible. What if he actually had hit Seto? Mokuba was certain that he hadn't, but Marik wasn't sure at all. He was a skilled driver, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't ever get involved in an accident. When Seto had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it was very possible that Marik had struck him with the motorcycle. Hopefully it wouldn't have been a fatal blow, but even if it hadn't been, it was likely that it would have hurt Seto even worse than he already was.

Rishid laid a strong hand on the boy's shoulder, sensing his feelings. Marik would never want anything to happen to his young friend's brother, and especially he wouldn't want to have to live with the guilt of having possibly caused some of his troubles. If Rishid could, he would take all of Marik's sadness and pain away. But he knew that was beyond his abilities. He could only offer his comfort to the brother he loved more than life itself. Still, Marik seemed to find that good enough.

When Joey finally pulled up near the Kaiba Manor, he and the others were all stunned to see the flashing lights of an ambulance.

"What happened here?!" Téa cried in horror. Every part of her mind was screaming, No! Not another disaster! Not someone else being hurt! But she swallowed hard, knowing that there would likely never be an end to this. She and Yugi had used to live quite a peaceful life, until the Millennium Puzzle entered the scene. Ever since then they had been having endless misadventures. Even the supposed departure of the Pharaoh to the land of the dead hadn't ended things. He had wound up returning eventually, along with the supposedly destroyed Millennium Items, to avert another calamity. And it had just continued on from there. And, Téa thought to herself, it probably always would.

"Well, let's find out!" Joey said in determination as he parked the car and leaped out. The others quickly followed him and they soon came upon Yugi, Atemu, and Raphael, who were watching grimly as the ambulance began to drive away.

"Yugi!" Téa called as she ran over. The boy turned to look at her, worry shining in his violet eyes. Téa looked from him to Atemu to Raphael and then back again, her heart pounding. "Who was hurt, Yugi?" she asked. Or was it worse than them just being hurt?

"It was Pegasus," Yugi replied, unconsciously clutching the Millennium Puzzle in his hands.

"Pegasus?!" Tristan repeated as he and the other boys caught up.

"Why don't you explain this from the top, Yug?" Joey suggested, finding himself extremely baffled.

Yugi sighed, looking after the departing ambulance. "He went outside to try to call Industrial Illusions from the phone in his limo," he began. "See, the phones inside aren't working and something went wrong with Pegasus's cell phone too." He frowned at this, wondering what it could have been. The device had been working fine just a short while ago.

"But when he went outside and tried to go across the street to his limo, he was struck down by a car," Yami Yugi continued grimly, still remembering the sounds of the thump and the screeching brakes. Mokuba had sprang to his feet in alarm when he had heard it. Raphael had told the child to remain inside with Valon and Alister while he investigated. Yugi and Atemu had then joined him and found Pegasus laying in the road while the car sped away.

"Oh my!" Bakura exclaimed in alarm, his soft brown eyes widening in horror. "Is he going to be alright?"

"We're not sure yet," Raphael spoke up darkly. It had definitely been deliberate. There was no question in his mind of this. All of them were still in danger. And with Pegasus out of commission, what were they going to do to get hold of that possibly important research? He had said the guards would only release it if he spoke to them himself.

"Let's go inside," Yami Yugi said quietly. "There isn't much we can do out here." The others concurred.

Back inside the warm house, everyone discussed the twists and turns of the case and their ideas for what could be done about it. Unfortunately, they didn't have very many. There were mixed feelings on what to do concerning checking Cooperstown for Seto. It seemed to be their only lead, but it was true that it would be next to impossible to get into the ghost town with the current blizzard.

"Maybe they took a jet," Mokuba mused from where he was sitting with Marik, nursing a cup of hot chocolate. "But they'd have to have a really good pilot to not get into some kind of accident. . . ." He sighed sadly and worriedly, tears filling his eyes as he again wondered what had become of his dear brother. Seto could be anywhere! And what was so much worse, no one knew if he was alive. He had been hurt in the car crash—and possibly by being struck by Marik, though Mokuba refused to believe that such a thing had happened—and might be in need of medical help. If Del Vinci had him, it wasn't likely that he would provide it.

Joey slammed his fist into his palm. "Man, if we could just get our hands on Pegasus's research!" he cried in frustration.

"But we need Pegasus to do that," Téa said gloomily. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about the news of Pegasus being struck down. When they had first met him, he had been a dangerous and formidable enemy, capturing people's souls in cards and forcing others to play his little games. But later on he had seemed to change. He had rescued Solomon, Mokuba, and Téa herself from being crushed in Seto's collapsing Duel Dome building during the misadventure with the Pyramid of Light and later had tried to give Yugi information on the Doom organization. Téa supposed that she didn't really want anything bad to happen to him. Being purposely hit by a car was a horrible way to die. And she didn't want anyone to die from these cases.

Suddenly Mokuba looked up, his eyes wide. "Or," he said slowly, an idea beginning to form, "someone who sounds like him. . . ." He knew someone who could imitate Pegasus near-perfectly. And in light of things, Mokuba was certain he'd do it again. At least, he hoped so. It might be their only chance to rescue Seto!

Instantly all eyes were upon the child. "What are you talking about, Mokuba?!" Tristan cried. "I seriously doubt that there's anyone who sounds like that guy." He then tried to prove his point by doing an extremely bad impression of the eccentric businessman, which produced much wincing on the part of the others present.

"Tristan," Joey sighed, "do me a favor. Never go into voice acting." He shuddered, wondering if he would ever recover from this horror.

Alister was slowly sitting up, looking irritated as well. "That's not how it's done," he said to Tristan. He had caught the look from Mokuba and knew what the boy was hoping. Indeed, Mokuba perked up at this and smiled. Alister would help out. Not only did he want to catch Del Vinci, but he didn't want Mokuba to be without his brother. He still wasn't sure he liked Seto Kaiba very much—after all, he was a ruthless businessman—but he knew that Seto was innocent of any wrongdoing towards Alister's family. And Mokuba loved him dearly, so he couldn't be all bad.

The hazel-eyed boy frowned at the former Doom member. "Yeah?" he snorted. "I'd like to see you do better."

Alister crossed his arms. "I won't perform for you," he replied, picking up the telephone and discovering that now there was a dial tone. But he didn't think anything of it, assuming that the telephone company had merely managed to fix the problem. "The only reason I'm going to do this at all is because the research Pegasus gathered might be important." He picked out the number of Industrial Illusions and then waited while the computer answered and gave him a list of options to pick from.

Valon just blinked at his friend in confusion. "What are you going to do, Alister?" he demanded. Since the two of them had not communicated any more than they had to during most of the time when they were in Doom, he didn't know about the redhead's acting skills. After all, it wasn't something he did for a hobby. Alister only made use of those talents when it was necessary.

Raphael smirked slightly in amusement. "You'll find out in a minute," he replied, crossing his arms. He had been closer to Alister during their time in Doom than Valon had been and he had heard him doing his Pegasus imitation several times. Alister could definitely make a career out of acting if he wanted to—but he really didn't want to.

At last Alister was able to get the department he wanted on the line. He leaned back, crossing his legs, and calmly began speaking in a near-perfect imitation of Pegasus while most everyone else simply gawked at him. Only Mokuba and Raphael were not surprised. Mokuba couldn't stop from involuntarily shuddering, however, recalling the first time he had met Alister. But that time was long past and Alister had changed, though his impersonation of Pegasus was as sharp as ever.

"Now, now," he was saying into the phone, "I don't care what it takes. I want those folders sent up to Domino City immediately, with plenty of security! Do you understand me?" There was a pause. "Good. I'll be expecting them as soon as you can fly up. Watch out for the blizzard as you enter the area!" He said goodbye and hung up before regarding the others with a look that plainly said, What are you looking at?

Valon just stared at him. "I don't know whether I should be disturbed or triumphant, mate," he said finally. "I mean, hearin' Pegasus's voice comin' out of you. . . ." He trailed off and threw his hands in the air.

"Can you do anyone else's voice?" Joey asked, while Tristan was speechless.

Alister grunted. "I said I wouldn't perform for you," he answered. He hoped it wouldn't take a long time for the folders to be brought up from California.

Surprising himself, Mokuba ran over and hugged the redhead. "Thank you," he whispered. Alister was surprised as well, but then he smiled softly and hugged Mokuba close.

Consciousness slowly washed over the form laying sprawled on the floor in the darkened room. Weakly he tried to open his blue eyes, but he was met with only blackness. With an irritated grunt he closed them again. And so he lay there, wondering exactly what he was going to do and how he had gotten into this predicament. He couldn't remember very much about it. The last thing he remembered clearly was that he was supposed to be going to KaibaCorp. For some reason, Yugi, Atemu, and Pegasus had been with him. After that everything was a blank.

"Are you awake yet, Seto?!"

The voice was cruel and cold, with no hint of feeling or compassion. And Seto Kaiba tensed, his eyes narrowed angrily in the darkness. He hated hearing that voice almost more than anything. After the experience in Noa's virtual world he had thought he wouldn't have to hear it again. But now he was, for the second time this day.

"I'm awake, Gozaburo," he said coldly. "And I want some answers."