Tori felt as though someone was behind her, but every time she turned around there was nothing there.
"Get a grip, Tori," she thought. "No one is following you- Uncle Max hasn't made a sound in forever. You're perfectly safe."
//*Everything all right, Tori?*//
/*Yeah, I'm just kinda nervous. Domino is really creepy at night.*/
//*Well, I do believe I told you that seeing a different movie from everyone else was a bad idea- yours ended much later, thus meaning you would be walking home alone.*// Tori nodded.
/*I know, but that was the kind of movie Joey and I would have gone to see.*/ Joey had left to go visit his sister, Serenity- the poor girl was sick with pneumonia and Tori had urged Joey to go visit her.
"What about my dad?" Joey had asked her. "He won't let me go, even if it is to see Serenity." Tori rolled her eyes, in light of the situation. She had heard rumors about Joey's father- that he was an alcoholic and he abused Joey- but she never asked Joey about it. There were some places that she knew not to go when it came to Joey. He knew the same about her.
"Joey," she said. "Need I remind you that you haven't lived with your father in forever? What's he gonna do about it?" She was right- Joey had been staying with Tristen for the past few months, but Joey still didn't answer her question... at least not directly. He gave a light chuckle and said she was right- but in his mind, he was hoping Tori wouldn't have to find out what his father might do.
That was about a week ago. She missed Joey terribly, but didn't regret her suggestion. Although, she had to admit- it would have been nice to have him with her right now.
//*He'll be home tomorrow though, won't he?*// Tori let out a sigh.
/*Yeah... but it might as well be a year.*/ Tori heard something crash behind her. She spun around quickly and saw a few garbage cans knocked over on the sidewalk. Next to them was a black cat, digging through the trash. The girl shook her head- all that over a mangy black cat.
Suddenly, Tori felt something grab hold of the chain that held the Millennia Diamond, causing it to choke her. Tori fumbled with the chain for a moment, before finding the clasp that unhooked the necklace.
//*Tori! Tori, are you all right?*// Nothing- the bond between Hikaru and Tori seemed to be severed. //*TORINA!*// The girl was running as fast as she could- she could see her home in front of her. Just a little farther...
Yugi suddenly felt a jolt shoot through his body causing him to bend over and clutch his stomach, letting out a soft, but painful cry in the process. As Spirit barked his worry at the boy, Yami felt Yugi's pain and instantly appeared at his side.
"Yugi!" he said worriedly. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Tori," he replied. "There's something wrong with Tori." Before Yami could ask what he was talking about, the telephone rang. Yugi picked it up instantly. It was Joey.
"Yugi," he said, worry expressed in his voice. "Is Tori there? Let me talk to her!" Yugi let out a sigh.
"You felt it too?"
"You're damn right I felt it! I thought I was gonna scream, it hurt so bad! Where's Tori, what's happened to her?"
"She... she hasn't come home yet," Yugi said sadly. "We went to the movies and hers ran later than ours..."
"And you left her alone?! How could you do that Yugi?! Actually, don't even answer that- I'm on my way. You and Spirit be ready to go look for her." Yugi heard a click, which cued him to hang up the phone. Joey wasn't happy, that was obvious. But, he had never used that tone with Yugi before.
"You sure she woulda came this way?" asked Joey. He had arrived at Yugi's home about an hour after hanging up the phone- doing 85 in a 50 took a huge chunk out of the normal driving time. His old Charger could really kick it when it wanted to and he had lucked out that night- not a cop in sight. He, Spirit, Yugi and Yami were now combing the streets, looking for any and all signs of Tori.
"This is the quickest way home from the theater," Yugi said, scanning the area. "She's not to fond of the dark, so she would..."
"Oh my God..." Joey and Yugi shot a glance towards Yami, who was next to Spirit- the Millennia Diamond was in the dog's mouth. Yugi instantly went over and took it from him.
/Hikaru! Hikaru are you all right?/ The spirit suddenly appeared and looked at the boys, visibly worried out of her mind.
"She's not here, is she?" Yugi shook his head and Hikaru began to tremble, prompting Yami to take her in his arms. "She was so worried that she was being followed," Hikaru whispered. "We both thought it was paranoia... and now she's gone."
"Shh," Yami said softly. "Calm down, my love- everything will be all right." As Yami consoled his wife, Yugi seemed to be lost in thought.
"This isn't the work of Pegasus," he said finally. "He knows of the Millennia Diamond's powers and would take it in order to use those powers for himself."
"What are you sayin' Yuge?" asked Joey. "We've got a whole other bad guy to worry about?" Yugi nodded.
"I suggest we pay Ryou and Bakura a visit."
Tori felt like someone was running a jackhammer inside her head. Her instinct was to put a hand to her forehead, but found that task difficult. She opened her eyes to find she was in a chair with her hands securely tied behind her back. She looked down- not only were her legs tied, but her Millennia Diamond was missing as well. What was going on?
"So, you're finally awake are you?" Tori looked around and saw a man standing in a doorway in front of her. A shocked gasp escaped Tori's lips- he looked like Joey! But he was older and his eyes... they were so evil.
"Who are you?" she whispered. "What do you want with me?" The man let out a laugh as he walked towards her.
"You were the one who told my son to leave," he said. "Now I can't find him anywhere." He knelt down in front of Tori, putting his eyes level with hers and looking directly into them- Tori was scared stiff. "You're the only one who knows where he is," he continued. "And you're the only thing that can bring him back." He ran his fingers down her cheek, causing the girl to shudder. "But I'm not guaranteeing what condition you'll be in." That's when Tori realized what was going on: this was Joey's father and it seemed that he blamed her for Joey moving out. A tear rolled down Tori's cheek, following the path laid by the senior Wheeler's fingers.
"Joey," she thought. "For your own good, please don't come after me." She bit her trembling lip- if there was anytime to be scared, this was definitely it.
It was now two days after Tori's disappearance- the cops were searching for her, as were her friends. Yugi and Joey had went right over to Ryou and Bakura's home the morning after finding the Millennia Diamond, with Yami and Hikaru in tow. And, as their luck would have it, there had been no one home- the boys left a note, asking Ryou to call them when he returned home.
"Don't worry, Joey," said Yugi. "Ryou will call us as soon as he can." Seconds later the phone rang. A short time later, Yugi, Joey, Yami, and Hikaru were at Ryou's home- Spirit was also there, growling at Bakura. Tristen and Teá had come along as well, wanting to find out just what was going on. As calmly as possible, Yugi explained what had happened two nights before, with Bakura giving him dirty looks the entire time.
"Oh, I get it," he said. "She disappears and it's automatically my fault?" Joey was about to say yes- considering that Bakura had kidnapped him and Mokuba and tried to use them to kill Tori, it was a reasonable assumption. But, when Yugi spoke up, he didn't seem to think so.
"We didn't come here to accuse you of anything, Bakura," he said. "We wanted to know if we could use your Millennium Ring." Yugi knew that the Millennium Ring located things by focusing on their Spirit Energy- all Bakura had to do was lock onto Tori's and that would be the end of it. There was a pause.
"You want me to help you find her?" the old tomb raider asked finally. Yugi, Yami and Hikaru nodded. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because you owe her." Everyone looked over at Ryou, who had his arms crossed in front of him- his innocent young face was deeply enraged. "You'd still be in the Shadow Realm if Tori Peg hadn't had you brought back and she showed you mercy by not sending you back after that stunt you pulled down at the pier. Now if that stupid ring can find her, then by God you are going to use it to help find her- or else." Bakura's eyes narrowed.
"Or else what?"
"Or else I'm going to give Yami and Hikaru permission to send you right back where you belong and I'll destroy this ring so you can never return." Bakura scowled.
"Oh all right."
By this time, it was obvious to Tori what was in store for her- she was going to be used as a punching bag for a while, then as bait for Joey. The pain was nothing Tori couldn't stand. Granted, she had never felt anything quite like it before, but she wasn't about to give in. Joey's father, who's first name remained unknown, had moved her from the chair to the middle of the room- she was now hanging about two feet off the ground, her arms tied above her head... making it easy for Joey's father to strike her with his whip wherever he wanted. *Crack* Another pain shot across her back, but Tori remained silent.
"Tough little bitch- what is it going to take to make you cry?" Still silence- Tori had began to realize that her constant emotional attitude was her weakness. She wasn't going to abandon her emotions totally, but she wasn't going to use them right now. "You're gonna be a tough shell to crack, aren't you?" he asked her with a laugh. "Well, I've got other methods I can use." Tori really didn't like the sound of that, but she was going to stay strong. She was going to stay strong for the people who cared for her: Yugi, Joey, Teá, Grandpa, Ryou, Tristen, Spirit, Hikaru, Yami... and for herself. This time, she was going to do something for herself. And it was gonna take everything she had to stay strong through what was going to happen next...
"I can't find her." Everyone looked at Bakura in shock. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "It's not my fault the blasted thing can't pick her up!"
"What does that mean though?" asked Teá. "I know it's not good, but..." Bakura rolled his eyes.
"It means that the girl is either dead or whoever she's with has completely broken her spirit- she feels there is no reason to stay alive." Yugi let out a sigh, then looked at Ryou.
"Ryou, could I use your phone please?" he asked. "It's a long distance call, but I'll be glad to pay you back." Ryou nodded and gestured towards the phone.
"Who are you calling, aibou?" asked Yami. Yugi looked at him and shook his head.
"A last resort- the only other person who can find Tori... if she's still alive."
Tori felt dirty. Dirty and worthless. An experience like the one she had just gone through would do that to a person. She was sitting in the corner of a bed, her hands cuffed to the metal headpiece. Her bottom lip was bleeding, she had bruises all over her body, along side the wounds from the whip... but that wasn't even the worst of it.
After he'd gotten his fill of whipping her, Joey's father let her down from the ceiling and placed her on the bed. She thought he was maybe he was finally going to leave her alone, if only for a moment... boy was she wrong. He had raped her. The thought of it disgusted her- he had her hands cuffed over her head and he sat on top of her. He tore her shirt at the seam along her shoulder and kissed her neck. Tori remembered letting out a frightened gasp, which was quickly silenced by Joey's father sticking his tongue in her mouth, followed by him biting her lip and causing it to bleed. She almost choked on her own blood as he went on like this was a normal thing for him- she wouldn't have doubted it. Her skirt was also torn and the necklace Teá had given her was lying on the ground. Tori scooted over to the side of the bed and managed to pick it up. As she looked at it, Tori knew it was over. She clenched her fist around the necklace.
"I'm sorry everyone- I tried."
"Sir, you have a telephone call- the caller said it was urgent." The employee handed his employer the telephone.
"This had better be important," the employer said into the phone. "I have important things to do right now." The caller took a deep breath.
"Pegasus, this is Yugi Moto. I- I need your help." Pegasus let out a laugh.
"You need my help, Yugi-boy?" he asked. "What could you need my help with and what makes you think that I'll help you?"
"You mean you don't know? You haven't been spying on Tori recently?"
"I've been working on a new product for my company and haven't had time to 'spy' on my niece. So enlighten me- what don't I know?"
"Tori's missing," said Yugi. "She disappeared two nights ago on her way home from the movies- we've tried using the Millennium Ring, but it can't find her." There was a pause.
"Meaning she's dead or just wishes she was," Pegasus finally replied. "I take it that you want me to find her for you?"
"Yes, that's what I want. Please Pegasus, I'm not asking this for me. Tori's in real trouble, I can feel it. She doesn't deserve to die- not now and not the way I'm afraid that I'll find her..."
"I get the picture, Yugi-boy. And I'll do it, but on one condition."
"What's the condition?"
"I'm getting ready for a second Duelist Kingdom Tournament- if I help you find my niece, you and Joseph Wheeler must participate in the tournament... and you can bring your little friends along for the ride. Do we have a deal?" Yugi sighed- instead of one of defeat, like Pegasus had expected, it was a sigh of relief.
"Yes, we have a deal- now please, just tell me where she is." Pegasus let out a laugh.
"All right then, Yugi-boy. I'm putting you on hold for a moment: when I come back, I'll tell you where she is."
Pegasus pushed the hold button. What was Yugi Moto thinking? Calling him up and asking for his help- did he actually think he cared for Tori? Of course not- this was just an easy way to get Yugi and Joey into the tournament. He'd work on the other participants later... now he had to find Torina. He tapped into the powers of his Millennium Eye and was soon inside his niece's mind, looking through her memories. He looked through ones of the past forty-eight hours and found himself appalled at what he saw. That poor girl...
He then focused on things that might let Yugi know where she was: things outside the window, things inside the building... description of the girl's captor. Seconds later, he was reporting back to Yugi.
"She's in a motel of some sort," he said. "There's a neon sign outside one of the windows that reads "Easy Motel- Open 24 hours;" I figuring there's more on the sign, but she can't see it. Also... the person who has her looks remarkably like Joseph Wheeler and he has acted less than proper to her." Yugi didn't know what to say... except for one thing.
"Thank you Pegasus- let me know about the tournament." Pegasus gave no reply and hung up the phone, cuing Yugi to do the same. He then looked over at his friends and relayed what he had been told. He thought Joey would blow up instantly, but he just looked at the ground and shook his head.
"I know where she is," he said. "Pegasus was right, there is more to that sign." He looked up. "She's at the Sleep-Easy Motel- let's call the cops."
"So, was it good for you too?" Joey's father asked as he sat down next to her. Tori closed her eyes and still refused to speak to him, which prompted him to slap her across the face. "I can't believe you Torina- I thought we had something special. I was looking foreword to telling that son of mine all about it." Joey...
"Joey," thought Tori. "Joey, I am so sorry." Suddenly, there was someone pounding at the door.
"Open up, Wheeler!" yelled a voice. "This is the Police- let us in!" Joey's father let out a scowl as he fumbled to free Tori from the bed. Just as he managed to get the key into the lock, the door came flying open, followed by a storm of police officers. They took down Joey's father and dragged him kicking and screaming out the door.
Tori still had her eyes closed, afraid of what she might see. Then, the handcuffs that had been cutting into her wrists loosened, then vanished. Seconds later, someone took her into their arms. Her eyes opened and she let out a gasp.
"Joey!" she cried as best she good, her voice being hoarse and raspy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled in close to him. "Joey..."
The Sleep-Easy Motel was less than a block away from the place Joey had once called home. He never thought his father would be stupid enough to take Tori some place familiar... then again, he never really thought his father would take Tori in the first place. Joey looked at her- he really looked at her and was horrified at what he saw. Her clothes were torn, she was bruised and bleeding from various areas of her body. Around her wrists, especially- where the handcuffs had been. They had been so tight that whenever she moved her hands, the cuffs cut into her. Joey became angry as he thought of the person who had hurt Tori.
"Dear God," he thought, "Dad, what have you done to her?" He then held Tori close and kissed her forehead.
"Joey," she whispered one last time before passing out in his arms, causing a tear to roll down Joey's cheek.
"It's okay Tori-girl. I'm right here."
"And I'm never gonna leave you again," he thought. "Never."
Tori was in the hospital for a few days after that. Her wounds were major, but not fatal- the scars that didn't show were the hardest to treat and would take longest to heal. And although she had been crying in his arms right after her rescue, Tori refused to see Joey.
"I can't do it, Teá," she told her best friend as they sat in Tori's bedroom. "I can't look at him without thinking that I betrayed him..."
"Don't say that, Tori," Teá said kindly. "Joey knows it wasn't your fault and he loves you no matter what... and deep down inside, you know that." Tori nodded as she absentmindedly scratched Spirit behind the ears and sighed sadly.
"But that doesn't take the feeling away." Teá let out a sigh- it was going to take awhile for Tori to get over this, but she would get over it. And as her friend, Teá would be there to help.
Tori couldn't believe it: she was back in that awful motel room. She looked around the room- she didn't see Joey's father, but she could feel that he was there somewhere. Suddenly, someone shoved her from behind and she landed facedown on the bed. She felt a hand tightly grasp her should and flip her over- it was Joey's father. He smiled at her as he climbed on top of her once again and leaned in towards her face.
"You came back," he whispered into her ear before kissing her cheek. "I knew you'd come back." Tori struggled to get him off of her but was to no avail- he wouldn't budge.
"No," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "No, please- not again! STOP!"
Grandpa had been in his office, which was next to the stairway that led to Tori's apartment, filling out forms for the card shop, when he heard Tori scream. He instantly dropped what he was doing and rushed up to Tori's room. When he reached the girl, she had a cold sweat pouring down her face and was tossing and turning- it was as though she was fighting with something. Spirit was on the floor, with his paws on the bed, whimpering- it was as though he was trying to wake Tori up.
"Tori!" cried Grandpa, lightly grasping her shoulders. "Tori wake up!"
He had his hands around Tori's neck and was squeezing it as tight as he could, choking her. Tori managed to gasp for air, but she knew it wasn't enough to keep her alive.
"Let her go, Dad!" yelled a voice. Tori turned her head to see Joey standing in the doorway. He rushed over to his father and pulled him off of Tori. "Leave her alone!" The two of them began to fight and it seemed like Joey would win... until his father pulled out a knife and jabbed it in his stomach. Tori let out a frightened gasp.
"Joey!" she yelled. Joey fell to the ground with a thud and remained still. "No! Joey, no!" Joey's father turned back towards her, the knife still in his hand.
"Now, it's your turn." Tori eyes widened with fear.
Grandpa was running out of options. He knew his granddaughter was hurting and he had to help her. But, how to wake her up?
"Tori!" he called again. "Come on, honey wake up!" Suddenly, Tori sat straight up, as if she'd been shot out of a cannon. Her bottom quivered as she gasped for air and looked around the room. When her eyes landed on Grandpa, she jumped in fear and backed away from him. "Whoa, calm down, Tori! It's just me!" Tori relaxed a bit, but she was still shaking, prompting Grandpa to wrap his arms around her. "It's okay, Tori- no one's gonna hurt you."
Yugi had woken up when he heard Grandpa rush up the stairs and rushed up himself after hearing Tori cry out for Joey. When he peeked into Tori's room and saw his grandfather calming her down, he slowly went back downstairs, smiling a bit.
//Everything all right, Yugi?//
/Yeah- everything's just fine./
Hikaru had also heard the goings on and was about to help her Hikari, when she heard Grandpa enter the room and decided to let him handle it. It wasn't because she didn't care about Tori- it was because she wanted Tori to remember that others cared for her too. The girl seemed to have forgotten that since the rape and if anyone could remind her, it would be her grandfather.
"It was him, wasn't it Tori?" asked Grandpa. "Joey's father?" Tori's head bobbed up and down, but she didn't say a word. "He tried to hurt Joey?" Another nod.
"He killed him," she whispered. "He was trying to save me..." Grandpa smiled as he hugged her tight.
"Sounds like that boy really loves you." Tori thought about that and realized something- the feeling was gone. The feeling of betrayal had vanished and she felt the way she did when she and Joey first started dating- her heart was fluttering and she felt completely in love. She smiled and sighed.
"Yeah- I guess he does."