Were you guys surprised from last chapter in seeing Heru, Mariku's past life, in ancient Egypt? Now you all know how he got to the afterlife and what his personality is truly like. But now, Malik has also disappeared and no one knows who did it! I hope you guys are prepared for this chapter then because you'll see who the person that took them really is!
The song starts to play:
The Millennium Puzzle appears in the center with the other Millennium items surrounding it in a circle. Then, they landed in their respective spots on the Millennium stone, which begins to glow.
Your move!
(Yugi sees something coming towards him in shock while he's frozen in place)
Your move!
(Ryou tries to defend himself with one arm as he sees something coming towards him)
Your move!
(Malik turns his head and was surprised to see something coming towards him)
Your move!
(Yugi, Ryou, and Malik are on the ground unconscious while next to each other, and lying on a huge circle with writings and pictures written on the ground)
Your move!
(Atem is on his throne with his usual stare as his crown twinkles from the light. Then, it changes to Yami, who's aura is glowing yellow with the 3 Egyptian god monsters appearing with him. The scenes blink to Bakura standing in the shadows and turning around to look at something, and to Mariku also turning around, but in the opposite direction to also look at something)
Yu-Gi-Oh!
(Yami is floating in the darkness and he brought his hands out to let a light that's shaped like the puzzle land onto both of his hands. As the music starts to play more, scenes of many Duel Monsters are appearing, showing off their roars and poses as they are fighting or defending. Even the Egyptian god monsters appeared at the end of it)
Your move!
(A woman who's face is covered in the shadows stands from her throne while spreading her arms out. The scene goes over to Yugi, Ryou, and Malik opening their eyes while standing near each other, but with different clothing on, and their eyes were a darker color than usual. The next scene shows 3 apparitions floating above them from behind and they resemble the 3 boys)
Yu-Gi-Oh!
(Yugi, Ryou, and Malik are falling into the darkness and their yamis' reached out to them to try to grab them, but were unable to. There were also 3 apparitions floating above them from behind that resembled the yamis', who did the same thing the yamis' were doing)
It's time to du-du-du-du-dududududududuel!
(Two figures that resemble Yami and Yugi are floating in the dark abyss, but in their glowing spirit form, and they were slowly leaning in towards each other as the light brightens a lot from the background to block their faces on what they were doing)
(As the music kicks up, Joey makes a pose with his duel disk and then his face appears with a stern expression on his face. Tristan does a pose with his duel disk and his face also appeared with a stern expression on it. Tea makes a pose with her duel disk and her face appeared that looked stern. Kaiba had his hand up while holding his card to summon his monster and a stern expression also appeared on his face)
(The next scene shows the yamis' holding Yugi, Ryou, and Malik bridal style as they appear unconscious in their arms, and looking at the blackened sky with their faces angered. Joey, Tristan, Tea, Kaiba, Ishizu, and Odion are in the background with them, and also looking at the sky with angered and frightful expressions on their faces while looking at the woman, who was floating in the sky and grinning evilly at them)
(The next scene shows Yami, Bakura, and Mariku holding their Millennium items in their hands as it started to glow, and they were looking at the sky as light was shot upwards towards it from their items. The final scene shows Yami drawing out his card and holding it up in the air in his usual pose as the Egyptian god monsters appeared with him)
Yu-Gi-Oh! (-Oh! -Oh! -Oh!)
(The Balance of Light & Darkness)
A choked sob escaped from her lips as she covered her mouth and tried not to let out too much noise. Small tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed at 3 figures lying down on the floor next to each other with their eyes closed. Even though they weren't moving, they were still breathing but unconscious. They were lying down on a huge circle with pictures and writings drawn and written on it. Most of it was Egyptian hieroglyphics that she can understand.
The room they were in is the basement area that was almost big like the living room upstairs. Besides the light-bulb hanging on the ceiling to provide illumination for the room, candles were lit up to provide more brightness and form some shadows on the walls. Wiping her eyes with her hands, she got on her knees and stroked a face. "Heba, my precious gem."
She then did the same to the other two figures. "Riyu, my beautiful gem. Namu, my lovely gem. You all came back to me. You're with your mommy again."
Her red lips formed into a smile, making her appearance look more beautiful. "My plan is perfectly going well. I just need to complete this spell, and they'll finally get their memories back. They'll remember me and our family again."
A few hisses were heard and Nagini slithered out from the shadows along with two other snakes. The first snake had a light purple shade with a bit of white covering its scales and eyes a light red color. The second snake had a yellow and black shade of color on its scales and eyes that were dark and beady. Eboni stroked their scales while looking at them. "Viola. Nagini. Aurelia. You 3 can go and touch them. But you must make it quick. I have to finish performing the spell before they wake up."
They nodded and slid over to the boys: Viola going to Yugi, Nagini going to Ryou, and Aurelia going to Malik. They each looked at the boys, and then nuzzled their cheeks with their heads. A soft purr rumbled in their throats as they happily hissed at being reunited with their family members.
"Soon, they'll come back to us. They'll finally remember us again," she smiled more as her form changed to depict an Egyptian woman dressed in clothing that made her resemble a goddess. Her features remained the same except for her head, which changed shape to resemble a snake's head as her golden snake-like eyes started glowing. "No one will stop me from being with my gems~ My sweet children~ My pure, kind lights~"
She gazed at them with a loving look in her eyes as she started to chant a spell in her language. The snakes quickly slid away from the boys as the circle on the ground along with the pictures and writings began to glow. A symbol appeared on the boys' foreheads, showing a W glowing in a rainbow color.
"Are you kidding me?! Ryou also disappeared?!"
"But how!?"
"He left me a text saying he's on his way! He couldn't have vanished!"
"I'm afraid I'm not joking," Solomon sadly sighed after hanging up the phone. "I just received a call from Ryou's father. He tried to call Ryou on his phone so many times and left some messages and voice mails, but he still got no answer. He said that it was rare for Ryou to miss his calls and messages. I had to make him believe that Ryou was busy with after-school activities and will call him soon. I couldn't let him think that his son disappeared. We can't let the police get involved with something they don't even know or believe."
"With Ryou missing, someone must be targeting them for a specific reason," a grim look appeared on Ishizu's face. "I hope my reason isn't correct."
"Ishizu, Malik isn't answering my calls or messages," Odion replied with his tone filled with worry. "I have a bad feeling about this."
A small chill washed through her as her fingers started to tremble. She could hear her own heart beating loudly in her body, and her surroundings suddenly became silent. Her vision started to change its image into something else. It looked like a film being played and only she could see and hear it. Images of hieroglyphics and pictures appeared along with an altar showing a statue of an Egyptian deity. 3 figures dressed in hooded cloaks had their backs turned to her and were kneeling at the altar that was decorated with flowers and jewelry.
Then, the figures stood up straight and slowly turned their heads so she could see their faces. She could tell who they were due to their resemblance to Yugi, Ryou, and Malik. Apparitions of familiar duel monsters appeared behind them and a snake was resting on each of the boys' shoulders.
The scene changed to a throne room where a female sat at her throne. Her face was covered with a veil and only her eyes were shown. She looked like a beautiful Egyptian goddess due to the clothing she wore, and the hieroglyphics printed on the walls of the room. She wielded a blue and yellow scepter with a statue of a golden snake wrapped around the top of it.
Before she could examine more on the throne room, the scene changed again to a cave being lit up with a fireplace. She saw the boy, who resembled her brother Malik, sitting on a blanket and next to a figure. Taking a closer look, a look of shock appeared on her face when she realized that the person sitting next to Malik's look-a-like resembles Mariku. They looked like they were having a conversation and getting along with one another, smiling and laughing. Then, their eyes gazed at each other and slowly started to lean in with the shadows hiding their faces.
Suddenly, her body began to shake and someone was yelling in her ear. Blinking her eyes, she was now back in the game-shop and being held by Odion. Looking around, everyone gave her a concerned and worried look. "D-Did something happen?"
"Ishizu, you nearly fainted when you had that odd look on your face," Tea answered with her eyes filled with concern. "We were scared that you were having some sort of panic attack or something."
"I think you should sit down since you're still shaking," Tristan pointed to Ishizu's legs trembling a bit.
Slowly sitting down on the couch with Odion's help, Solomon gave her a glass of water. Thanking him, she took a few sips and let out a sigh of relief after placing the cup on the table. "Thank you. I don't know what happened. It felt like I wasn't here anymore. Its almost like I got a vision from somewhere."
"Vision?" Joey asked.
"But how is that possible? You no longer have the Millennium necklace," Odion replied with a bit of shock. "Could it be its after-effects?"
"I have no clue, Odion," she said and massaged her forehead. "But I knew it was a vision. It showed me something from the past."
"From the past? Did you get a clear image of it?"
"Yes. I did," she said and looked at him with her eyes filled with concern. "I believe it's related to Yugi and Ryou's disappearance. We need to find Malik now before he's next."
"No one is stealing one of my friends again!" Joey exclaimed. "Come on, you guys! Lets go and find Malik now!"
"On it!" Tristan also exclaimed.
"Ishizu, you should stay with Mr. Muto. You still need to recover from what happened," Tea said while looking at her.
"But I can't let Malik be in danger. I must go look for him!" Ishizu replied, trying to get up but was stopped by Odion.
"Ishizu," he said and looked at her. "I'll look for Malik. Don't forget that he is also my brother and I care for him a lot just like how you care for him. Stay here and rest. Your health is also important."
"But Odion-
A look from him made her seal her lips shut. Knowing what he's telling her without speaking in words, she frowned but then slowly nodded. She knew that she couldn't go anywhere after what happened a few minutes ago. She'll have to stay and rest a bit while they go look for Malik.
Seeing that she agreed, Odion gave her a firm nod and left the game-shop with Joey, Tristan, and Tea. Closing her hand into a fist and placing it on her chest, the memory of what she saw still played in her mind. Why did the boys in her vision resemble her brother along with Yugi and Ryou? Why were they mentioned in her mother's diary and shown in the picture? Who was the woman in her vision? But most of all, what type of relationship did the boy who resemble Malik and the boy who resembled Mariku have with each other?
A frustrated growl escaped from his lips as his head turned from left to right, his eyes scanning the park. After he and the others had split up to cover the city, he had a gut feeling that the park would hold some clues that can help him figure out who took Yugi and Ryou. Since Ryou's apartment is nearly close to the park, there's a possibility that Malik took the park as a shortcut to get there.
Looking around more, Joey started walking on a particular pathway that was near some cherry blossom trees. Seeing that they were still blooming, a sigh escaped from his lips as he continued to scan the area. "I really hope Malik didn't get kidnapped. If he did, then we're all back to square one."
His mind pondered over to the events from the discovery of Yami along with the Millennium items and the recovery of Yami's memories as a pharaoh. He could still remember the time he met Ryou along with his darker half known as Bakura. Even Malik's darker half Mariku was also creepy. It did take him a while to trust Malik again after all the events that happened, but he can tell that Malik is really a good person.
To him, they can both relate to each other: having bastard fathers, a tough childhood, no mother, and wanting to keep their loved ones safe. He could see Malik as a younger brother and a possible partner-in-crime if they ever wanna pull tricks on people. A small snort escaped from his mouth as an image of him and Malik in chibi form are running away in glee from a chibi Kaiba, who's chasing them and pissed off due to being covered in pink paint.
"I can definitely see that happening," he chuckled a bit and continued his search.
As he continued to look around while walking, he didn't notice someone walking past him until he bumped into that person. Managing to regain his balance, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I didn't see you there."
"Its alright. I should apologize for not paying attention to my surroundings."
Looking over, he saw that it was his classmate from school. "It was totally my fault, Eboni. I didn't see you there until it was too late and-
She placed her hand up to silence him. "Its fine, Joey. I know it was an accident."
Lightly blushing from her smile, his face turned into confusion. "Wait! You know my name?"
"I heard from others that you have a huge rivalry going on with a person named Seto Kaiba."
"That's because I'm an awesome duelist while he's a bastard with a heart that's cold as ice!" he exclaimed in triumph while puffing his chest out. "I'm also a pretty good duelist myself!"
"Really? You must have a very strong deck then," she giggled a bit. "You know, your hair reminds me of the sun."
"My hair?" he asked while touching his hair.
She nodded. "Your hair is a beautiful golden color. It reminds me of a citrine gem. Your hair perfectly matches it."
"G-Gee. Thanks," a small red blush appeared on his face. "It's the first time a stranger had complimented my hair."
"Your personality is also filled with radiance. You're definitely like the sun."
"Really?"
"Really," she smiled more, her eyes started to glow a golden color while looking at him. "You're like a radiant gem."
"Radiant…. gem?..." his eyes started to turn into a dull color as he looked at her glowing eyes.
A small smirk formed on her lips. Looking around to see that there were no witnesses, she brought her hand out and slowly reached out to him. "Come to me, my radiant gem~ You can join our family~"
"Join… family?..." he slowly started to lean into her touch.
Before she could lay a finger on him, she suddenly jumped back as a blast hit the ground in front of her. Growling a bit, she looked up and hissed to see the person who did that. "How dare you!?~"
Holding Joey with one arm, who was unconscious and had his head resting against the crook of his neck, Seto Kaiba had his other arm pointed at her, a device on his wrist that looked like the capsule disk that can shoot out duel monsters but can actually shoot out beams. "I don't appreciate it when someone messes with my puppy. I'm the only person who can mess with him."
Her eyes glowing in anger, a loud hiss escaped from her lips. "I never knew that you had feelings, priest."
His eyebrow rose a bit at her comment. "So its true. You're not really from here. You're part of that Egyptian hocus pocus thing, aren't you? Only a few people knew me as a priest from a long time ago."
"I know everything, priest," a small evil laugh escaped from her mouth while grinning. "I've lived through so many years when time had changed and everything became different. I still remember your occupation, your Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the feelings you hold for your radiant gem~"
"What are you blabbing about?"
"Let the priestess know that I returned~ And this time, the pharaoh and his partners won't stop me at all~"
Grabbing something from her pocket, she threw it on the ground and the whole area was covered in smoke. Covering his mouth with one hand to prevent inhalation of it, the smoke soon cleared away with no evidence that Eboni was there. Frowning more, he looked down and his eyes gazed at Joey. Still unconscious and in his arms, he sighed and picked him up in a bridal position. Thanking his lucky stars that the park was empty and no one was there, he went over to his nearby limousine where his driver and Mokuba were waiting for him.
His door opened for him, Kaiba stepped inside and carefully placed Joey on the seat next to him. With the door closed behind them, the driver started to drove them towards their destination. He looked at Joey and saw that there were no injuries on him, which made him feel a bit of relief. He didn't know why he felt like that, but brushed it off as nothing.
"Big brother, whats going on?" Mokuba asked while looking at both him and Joey with a worried look on his face. "What happened to Joey? Did someone hurt him?"
"Nothing like that, Mokuba. The mutt nearly got into trouble and I had to get him out of that situation," Kaiba bluntly replied while looking out the window with his arms folded and his legs crossed. "We'll make a stop at the Kame Game Shop and drop the mutt off there. They can take him home since they have his address."
"But what if he's really hurt? Maybe we should take him to the hospital or to our mansion so our personal doctor can look him over," Mokuba suggested to him.
"People will ask questions and the paparazzi would spread fake rumors on why he's with us. We need to remain undetected."
"I know you're concerned about him, big brother. I can tell by that look in your eye."
"What look?"
"You know which one I'm talking about."
Seto remained silent and continued to look at the window in interest. His mind pondered over to what happened at the park. He was lucky to see from the distance and saw everything that happened there. His gut feeling proved him right when he saw Eboni's eyes glowing. She wasn't human at all. And she was close to hypnotizing Wheeler, but he was able to stop it. He had no clue why he did that or brought his latest gadget to help him save Joey, but the voice in his head wouldn't stop telling him that no one is allowed to mess with Joey except for himself.
"Let the priestess know that I returned~ And this time, the pharaoh and his partners won't stop me at all~"
His eyes widened a bit after that sentence repeated in his head. She mentioned about the priestess, whom he knew that she's referring to Ishizu. And the pharaoh, he knew who he was. If what she's saying is true, then there's a possibility that he'll return.
Atem, or known as Yami Yugi, will come back to this time.
A small groan reached his ears and he turned his head to see the mutt slowly starting to wake up. Seeing his black eyelashes fluttering open from his eyelids, his eyes were then wide open and he gasped while looking around. "W-What the hell!? Where am I!?"
"Joey! Thank goodness you're okay!" Mokuba tackled him into a hug. "Seto wouldn't tell me the whole story, but I know that he saved you from something!"
"H-Huh!?" memories of what happened flowed into his head and his eyes widened and he turned his head to look at Seto. "Y-You saved me? B-But why!?"
"I don't allow anyone messing with what belongs to me," Seto replied with his eyes closed, but then opened them as a small smirk formed on his lips. "After all, you're my puppy."
"H-Hey! I'm no puppy! Say my real name right!" Joey shook his fist angrily at him while snarling. "And more importantly, where are you taking me!?"
"Back to the game shop. I need answers from there along with what Eboni had said."
"What are you talking about?"
"I need to know if the pharaoh truly is coming back."
"H-Huh?!" Joey exclaimed in shock. "A-Atem's coming back!? What did she say to you!? And what did she try to do to me!?"
"Lets just say that I knew Eboni Ode isn't who she really is. She's more likely not human."
"Y-You mean she's an alien!?"
"That's not what I-
"I knew it! Aliens are real! Pretty soon, zombies are gonna come to life along with vampires and-
"She isn't an alien! Now stop interrupting!"
"We're here, Seto!"
He turned his head to see that they stopped near the game shop. Seeing that they parked at a good distance away from prying eyes, he got out of the limousine along with Mokuba and Wheeler. He then turned his head to look at Joey. "If that Eboni person does come back, you'll be staying at our mansion until we're sure she leaves you alone."
"Wait! What?!" Joey exclaimed in shock. "Are you the real Kaiba?!"
"Are you ill, big brother?" Mokuba tried not to smirk. "I think you need a vacation."
"I suggest you wipe that smirk off your face or I'll take away your allowance," Kaiba looked at Mokuba with a small glare.
Mokuba's smirk dropped while Joey is still shouting nonsense on Kaiba not being Kaiba or someone impersonating him. Sighing a bit, Kaiba grabbed Joey's arm and dragged him inside the game shop with Mokuba following them from behind.
"We couldn't find any clues and no one had seen Malik or Ryou."
"I spoke to a bunch of people and a couple of them did saw Malik running towards the park."
"There was still no call or message on my phone from Malik. Ishizu, I fear that Malik was taken just like Ryou."
Tea bit her lip in anguish as she continued to rub Ishizu's back, whose face was covered with her hands. She could see her shoulders nearly shaking, but was still trying to calm herself down. First Yugi went missing, then Ryou, and now Malik? If the dreams they were having are connected to their disappearance, then who is the woman and what does she want with them?
The bell to the shop rang and when she looked up, she saw Joey coming in along with Kaiba and Mokuba. "Joey? How come-
"The mutt nearly got kidnapped by your so-called classmate Eboni Ode," Seto answered before Joey could open his mouth. "If I wasn't there to stop her, he would've been kidnapped or eaten by her."
"Eboni Ode? The beautiful transfer student at our school?" Tristan asked.
"The same one. However, she's not human," Kaiba frowned and then looked around. "By the way, is it true that the pharaoh is coming back?"
"The pharaoh?" Ishizu removed her hands and looked over at him. "What do you mean? He returned to the afterlife. Its impossible."
"Eboni mentioned about returning and knew that you were a priestess from a past life. She even knew about the pharaoh and the others."
Tea was confused on what Kaiba was saying, but Ishizu's face was filled with horror and shock as she quickly stood up. Odion was also in shock. She had no clue what Kaiba is trying to say, but from what he had mentioned, there's a possibility that Eboni could be an enemy from a past life in Egypt.
"Then there's a possibility," Ishizu's body trembled a bit as she looked at everyone. "She's the one who took my brother along with Yugi and Ryou."
"Who took my landlord?!"
A gasp escaped from everyone's lips as their heads turned to a familiar face. Tea covered her mouth in shock as small tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. She saw Solomon standing in front of 3 figures who were behind them. The figure on the left had the same features as Malik, but a whole lot wilder and just the way she remembered him from Battle City. The figure on the right looked like Ryou, but his face was a bit scarier and his hair had white bangs sticking out on the sides that resemble devil horns. The figure in the middle, however, looked exactly how she remembered him from a long time ago: same crimson red eyes, same tricolored hair, the same Millennium puzzle around his neck, and the same outfit that he wore on the day he dueled against Yugi.
"Its about time you came back, pharaoh," Kaiba narrowed his eyes while looking at him. "We still need to resettle our rematch."
"We will soon, Kaiba," Yami nodded at him and then looked at the others. "Its been a while, everyone."
"Holy moly! Yami came back!" Joey exclaimed in shock.
"Don't forget Yami Bakura!" Tristan pointed at Bakura in shock.
Odion glared at Mariku. "I thought you were destroyed in the shadow realm, Mariku."
Mariku looked at Odion, giving him a devilish smirk. "There are things you don't even know, my Hikari's brother."
"Alright! Enough of this!" Bakura seethed and glared at Ishizu. "Who took yadonushi? And this woman you were talking about. I want those answers immediately!"
"Bakura, calm down!" Yami placed his hand on his shoulder. "Ishizu will tell us everything. We'll get our answers."
Tea saw Bakura let out a tsk sound and crossed his arms over his chest while looking away with an annoyed look on his face. She then saw Yami turn his head and looked at Ishizu with a serious expression on his face. "Ishizu, I need to know everything on what happened. I want to know who took Yugi and the others and why."
Did you guys get the hint from the story? If so, you'll be able to figure out who Eboni really is. If not, then read it again or wait until I update the next chapter.