The chauffeur slammed on the brakes, startled.
"I see Tristan and Bakura!" Tea gasped. "And there's something chasing them!"
She threw the door open. "Quick, get in!" she called.
The two boys dove into the limo, their eyes wide with fright.
"What was that?!" Tea gasped.
"A scarecrow," Tristan replied, leaning back and catching his breath.
"It's been chasing us for ages," Bakura added.
Tristan looked around, suddenly realizing where he was. "Tea, why are you in Kaiba's limo?!" he demanded.
"Long story," she replied. "I'll tell you after we find Yugi and Joey." Getting an idea, she picked up the car phone and dialed Yugi's number.
Grampa Muto answered. "Hello, Muto residence."
"Hi, Grampa Muto, it's Tea," the girl said into the phone.
"Tea! Where in the name of Heaven have you been?" Grampa Muto demanded. "We've been worried sick!"
"Tristan and Bakura are with me," Tea said, "and we're all okay. We're heading back right now."
"That's good to know." Grampa Muto sounded obviously relieved. "We'll see you shortly then."
****
"So now, Tea, why in the world were you riding in Kaiba's limo?" Tristan asked again when they were all back at Yugi's place.
Tea told them the whole story, ending with how Seto had let her ride back to the game shop in his limousine.
"Someone broke in and gave Kaiba an electric shock?!" Joey exclaimed. "Man, we haven't been on the case for a whole day and already people are gettin' hurt!"
"He's alright, isn't he?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide with horror.
Tea sighed. "Oh, you know Kaiba. He'd say he was alright whether he actually was or not!"
Joey laughed. "You're right there, Tea. I've never seen anyone more independent than Seto Kaiba."
"Actually, Joey, you're pretty independent yourself," Tristan grinned, remembering several past incidents when Joey had demonstrated how he felt he was capable of handling problems all by himself without help from anyone else.
Joey rolled his eyes, then grinned as well. "Of course, I had to be independent," he said. "That's the way I got through life in Brooklyn."
****
Seto found himself yawning as he put the keyboard back together. That shock had really drained him of his energy, and he longed to go to sleep, but he needed to repair the damage done to the piece of hardware first. He didn't want Mokuba to wander in and suddenly be shocked as he had been.
The computer picked up on his exhaustion too. "You should go to bed," she told him.
"I will, just as soon as I reconnect the keyboard," Seto replied.
"Are you going to tell Mokuba what happened?" the computer asked.
Seto sighed. "I don't know."
"Tell me what, big brother?"
Seto turned around to see Mokuba standing in the doorway. "Mokuba," he said in surprise, "what are you doing up at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep," the young boy replied, coming over to sit next to his brother. "The maid said you've been down here for hours! Is something wrong?"
Seto laid the keyboard aside and gave his full attention to Mokuba. "Listen, Mokuba," he said seriously, "I want you to be very careful until I can have someone come to check the house out tomorrow. Someone broke in tonight and tampered with my computer's keyboard, and I don't know if they might have done some more damage as well."
Mokuba's eyes went wide. "What did they do, big brother?"
Seto sighed and ruffled his brother's hair. "Let's just say they disturbed the wiring and leave it at that."
Mokuba was not fooled. "Did you get hurt, big brother?" he asked.
Seto paused. "Yes, I did, Mokuba," he said finally, "and I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
****
"So . . . what's the plan, Yugi?" Joey asked the next day as they walked to school. "We don't have a lot to go on here."
"I know," Yugi said grimly. "I'm not sure what to do."
**Yugi, you must be extremely careful,** Yami Yugi warned. **I can feel darkness approaching.**
~Darkness? What do you mean, Yami?~ Yugi asked, concerned.
**I'm not sure,** Yami Yugi admitted. **It's not clear. But I'm afraid you just might be getting in over your head, Yugi.**
~But we can't back down now,~ Yugi protested. ~We promised Mr. Graves we'd help him!~
**I know, Yugi, and I'm not telling you to back down. But we must be very, very careful. In a case like this, nothing is as it seems.**
Before Yugi had a chance to ponder his Yami's advice, Tea came running up to them as they approached the school yard. Her eyes were wide and her face was a chalky white.
"Tea! What's wrong?" Yugi exclaimed.
"You look like you just saw a ghost!" Joey added.
"Yugi . . . Joey . . . it's just terrible!" Tea cried. "Two students are missing!"
The boys gasped. That was the last thing they'd expected to hear. "Oh no!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Who? How? Why?!" Joey demanded.
"It was Lionel Turner and Stacy Lake," Tea reported. "They both disappeared from their homes last night and no one knows where they went or why. Their parents think they were kidnapped!"
"That's terrible!" Yugi gasped.
"You said it, Yug," Joey agreed, shaking his head. "Man, I hope they're okay."
Yugi nodded in agreement. "You know, I suppose that could've been us."
"And it could still be us," Tea added.
"So there aren't any clues at all to their disappearances?" Joey asked.
Tea shook her head. "Nothing in either of their rooms was disturbed at all. It was like they were just suddenly . . . gone."
"Pretty creepy," Joey remarked. Then he shrugged. "Or maybe we're just being paranoid. Weren't Lionel and Stacy gettin' pretty serious a while ago? Maybe they went off and eloped." He grinned mischievously.
"Joey, this is serious!" Tea scolded.
"I am serious," Joey returned.
"If they went anywhere of their own accord, why didn't they take anything with them?" Tea pointed out.
"Eh, good point, Tea." Joey lapsed into silence.
"Maybe they both intended to come back . . . but never made it," Yugi said quietly.
"Exactly what I'm afraid of," Tea sighed, just as Tristan and Bakura joined them.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Tristan asked curiously.
Between the three of them, Yugi, Joey, and Tea related the disturbing news over again. Tristan and Bakura looked appalled.
"Man, that's not good," Tristan remarked, shaking his head.
"Oh dear, I hope they're alright," Bakura said as they walked into the school, his soft brown eyes wide.
"Look, there's Kaiba," Joey announced, pointing the young businessman out to the others. He was standing reading the bulletin board half-heartedly, as though he didn't have anything better to do.
"I thought he might be staying home today," Yugi said in surprise.
"Eh, you know Kaiba," Joey replied with a shrug.
"Hey, Kaiba," Yugi greeted as they walked over. Seto turned to look at them, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay?" Yugi asked, concerned. Up close he could see that Seto looked vaguely pale. "Tea told us what happened."
Seto nodded, his expression never changing. "I expected she would. But I can assure you that I'm fine," he said.
"Are you sure?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah, you look kinda pale," Joey added, voicing Yugi's thoughts.
"I'm fine," Seto said again, sounding irritated.
"Whatever you say, man," Joey replied with a shrug.
"Have you heard about those students who disappeared?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, I did, actually," Seto said. "It seems strange that all these weird things would be happening at once."
Joey raised an eyebrow. "Eh, you mean you think the disappearances might be connected to our new mystery?"
"It's possible, I suppose," Seto replied. "But then again, I do believe in coincidences." He paused. "However, not when one considers that both students who vanished had scarecrows in their backyards, which also vanished last night."
Everyone started. "What?!" Tea gasped.
"Oh man!" Joey exclaimed. "Does that mean the students were kidnapped by . . . scarecrows?!"
"I don't know what it means, Wheeler," Seto answered. "It just means . . ."
"It means somethin' freaky is goin' on!" Joey interrupted.
"We know that much, Wheeler," Seto said dryly.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm seriously startin' to panic here!" Joey declared.
"At this point, I'm not sure I blame you," Tea replied with a shudder.
"Uh, guys, I don't want to worry anyone, but there's a scarecrow standing right behind Joey," Tristan announced suddenly.
"What?! I'm not fallin' for another of your dumb pranks!" Joey said stubbornly, crossing his arms.
"Wheeler, this isn't one of Taylor's ridiculous pranks—this is real," Seto told him.
"Oh, so it's one of *your* pranks, Kaiba," Joey shot back.
"I don't play pranks, Wheeler," Seto snapped.
"Joey, he's being serious!" Yugi exclaimed.
Joey whirled around and came face to face with a horrid-looking scarecrow. "Yaaaaaa!" he screamed, backing up.
"I told you so, Wheeler," Seto shrugged.
Joey wasn't listening. "What do you want with me??!" he yelped.
The scarecrow reached out to grab him.
"On second thought, talk later, run NOW!" Joey shrieked, and he and the other five teens did exactly that.
"No running in the halls!" the principal yelled, then screamed upon seeing their assailant and quickly slammed the door to her office.
"Yugi, what should we do?" Tea asked as they ran past the cafeteria and the science classroom.
"I don't know, Tea, but I don't think we should stop running!" Yugi replied.
"For once I agree with you!" Seto yelled.
They didn't slow down until they had reached the homeroom. When Yugi and Seto dared to look back, the scarecrow was gone.
"Alright!" Joey grinned. "Looks like that thing decided it was no match for the rough, tough Joey Wheeler!"
The others exchanged Looks.
"I kind of doubt that, Joey," Tea said finally, while Seto laughed.
"Ah, my adoring fans!" Joey remarked.
"Seriously, why did that scarecrow leave?" Bakura wondered.
Yugi looked grim. "I think it was just trying to scare us now, but that later, when we least expect it, it will return with a vengeance to do whatever it intends to, and I'm sure it's not good."
"You mean at any given time, we might become bait for a straw man?!" Joey exclaimed.
Yugi nodded. "We'll all have to watch out."
"I see Tristan and Bakura!" Tea gasped. "And there's something chasing them!"
She threw the door open. "Quick, get in!" she called.
The two boys dove into the limo, their eyes wide with fright.
"What was that?!" Tea gasped.
"A scarecrow," Tristan replied, leaning back and catching his breath.
"It's been chasing us for ages," Bakura added.
Tristan looked around, suddenly realizing where he was. "Tea, why are you in Kaiba's limo?!" he demanded.
"Long story," she replied. "I'll tell you after we find Yugi and Joey." Getting an idea, she picked up the car phone and dialed Yugi's number.
Grampa Muto answered. "Hello, Muto residence."
"Hi, Grampa Muto, it's Tea," the girl said into the phone.
"Tea! Where in the name of Heaven have you been?" Grampa Muto demanded. "We've been worried sick!"
"Tristan and Bakura are with me," Tea said, "and we're all okay. We're heading back right now."
"That's good to know." Grampa Muto sounded obviously relieved. "We'll see you shortly then."
****
"So now, Tea, why in the world were you riding in Kaiba's limo?" Tristan asked again when they were all back at Yugi's place.
Tea told them the whole story, ending with how Seto had let her ride back to the game shop in his limousine.
"Someone broke in and gave Kaiba an electric shock?!" Joey exclaimed. "Man, we haven't been on the case for a whole day and already people are gettin' hurt!"
"He's alright, isn't he?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide with horror.
Tea sighed. "Oh, you know Kaiba. He'd say he was alright whether he actually was or not!"
Joey laughed. "You're right there, Tea. I've never seen anyone more independent than Seto Kaiba."
"Actually, Joey, you're pretty independent yourself," Tristan grinned, remembering several past incidents when Joey had demonstrated how he felt he was capable of handling problems all by himself without help from anyone else.
Joey rolled his eyes, then grinned as well. "Of course, I had to be independent," he said. "That's the way I got through life in Brooklyn."
****
Seto found himself yawning as he put the keyboard back together. That shock had really drained him of his energy, and he longed to go to sleep, but he needed to repair the damage done to the piece of hardware first. He didn't want Mokuba to wander in and suddenly be shocked as he had been.
The computer picked up on his exhaustion too. "You should go to bed," she told him.
"I will, just as soon as I reconnect the keyboard," Seto replied.
"Are you going to tell Mokuba what happened?" the computer asked.
Seto sighed. "I don't know."
"Tell me what, big brother?"
Seto turned around to see Mokuba standing in the doorway. "Mokuba," he said in surprise, "what are you doing up at this hour?"
"I couldn't sleep," the young boy replied, coming over to sit next to his brother. "The maid said you've been down here for hours! Is something wrong?"
Seto laid the keyboard aside and gave his full attention to Mokuba. "Listen, Mokuba," he said seriously, "I want you to be very careful until I can have someone come to check the house out tomorrow. Someone broke in tonight and tampered with my computer's keyboard, and I don't know if they might have done some more damage as well."
Mokuba's eyes went wide. "What did they do, big brother?"
Seto sighed and ruffled his brother's hair. "Let's just say they disturbed the wiring and leave it at that."
Mokuba was not fooled. "Did you get hurt, big brother?" he asked.
Seto paused. "Yes, I did, Mokuba," he said finally, "and I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
****
"So . . . what's the plan, Yugi?" Joey asked the next day as they walked to school. "We don't have a lot to go on here."
"I know," Yugi said grimly. "I'm not sure what to do."
**Yugi, you must be extremely careful,** Yami Yugi warned. **I can feel darkness approaching.**
~Darkness? What do you mean, Yami?~ Yugi asked, concerned.
**I'm not sure,** Yami Yugi admitted. **It's not clear. But I'm afraid you just might be getting in over your head, Yugi.**
~But we can't back down now,~ Yugi protested. ~We promised Mr. Graves we'd help him!~
**I know, Yugi, and I'm not telling you to back down. But we must be very, very careful. In a case like this, nothing is as it seems.**
Before Yugi had a chance to ponder his Yami's advice, Tea came running up to them as they approached the school yard. Her eyes were wide and her face was a chalky white.
"Tea! What's wrong?" Yugi exclaimed.
"You look like you just saw a ghost!" Joey added.
"Yugi . . . Joey . . . it's just terrible!" Tea cried. "Two students are missing!"
The boys gasped. That was the last thing they'd expected to hear. "Oh no!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Who? How? Why?!" Joey demanded.
"It was Lionel Turner and Stacy Lake," Tea reported. "They both disappeared from their homes last night and no one knows where they went or why. Their parents think they were kidnapped!"
"That's terrible!" Yugi gasped.
"You said it, Yug," Joey agreed, shaking his head. "Man, I hope they're okay."
Yugi nodded in agreement. "You know, I suppose that could've been us."
"And it could still be us," Tea added.
"So there aren't any clues at all to their disappearances?" Joey asked.
Tea shook her head. "Nothing in either of their rooms was disturbed at all. It was like they were just suddenly . . . gone."
"Pretty creepy," Joey remarked. Then he shrugged. "Or maybe we're just being paranoid. Weren't Lionel and Stacy gettin' pretty serious a while ago? Maybe they went off and eloped." He grinned mischievously.
"Joey, this is serious!" Tea scolded.
"I am serious," Joey returned.
"If they went anywhere of their own accord, why didn't they take anything with them?" Tea pointed out.
"Eh, good point, Tea." Joey lapsed into silence.
"Maybe they both intended to come back . . . but never made it," Yugi said quietly.
"Exactly what I'm afraid of," Tea sighed, just as Tristan and Bakura joined them.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Tristan asked curiously.
Between the three of them, Yugi, Joey, and Tea related the disturbing news over again. Tristan and Bakura looked appalled.
"Man, that's not good," Tristan remarked, shaking his head.
"Oh dear, I hope they're alright," Bakura said as they walked into the school, his soft brown eyes wide.
"Look, there's Kaiba," Joey announced, pointing the young businessman out to the others. He was standing reading the bulletin board half-heartedly, as though he didn't have anything better to do.
"I thought he might be staying home today," Yugi said in surprise.
"Eh, you know Kaiba," Joey replied with a shrug.
"Hey, Kaiba," Yugi greeted as they walked over. Seto turned to look at them, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling okay?" Yugi asked, concerned. Up close he could see that Seto looked vaguely pale. "Tea told us what happened."
Seto nodded, his expression never changing. "I expected she would. But I can assure you that I'm fine," he said.
"Are you sure?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah, you look kinda pale," Joey added, voicing Yugi's thoughts.
"I'm fine," Seto said again, sounding irritated.
"Whatever you say, man," Joey replied with a shrug.
"Have you heard about those students who disappeared?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, I did, actually," Seto said. "It seems strange that all these weird things would be happening at once."
Joey raised an eyebrow. "Eh, you mean you think the disappearances might be connected to our new mystery?"
"It's possible, I suppose," Seto replied. "But then again, I do believe in coincidences." He paused. "However, not when one considers that both students who vanished had scarecrows in their backyards, which also vanished last night."
Everyone started. "What?!" Tea gasped.
"Oh man!" Joey exclaimed. "Does that mean the students were kidnapped by . . . scarecrows?!"
"I don't know what it means, Wheeler," Seto answered. "It just means . . ."
"It means somethin' freaky is goin' on!" Joey interrupted.
"We know that much, Wheeler," Seto said dryly.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm seriously startin' to panic here!" Joey declared.
"At this point, I'm not sure I blame you," Tea replied with a shudder.
"Uh, guys, I don't want to worry anyone, but there's a scarecrow standing right behind Joey," Tristan announced suddenly.
"What?! I'm not fallin' for another of your dumb pranks!" Joey said stubbornly, crossing his arms.
"Wheeler, this isn't one of Taylor's ridiculous pranks—this is real," Seto told him.
"Oh, so it's one of *your* pranks, Kaiba," Joey shot back.
"I don't play pranks, Wheeler," Seto snapped.
"Joey, he's being serious!" Yugi exclaimed.
Joey whirled around and came face to face with a horrid-looking scarecrow. "Yaaaaaa!" he screamed, backing up.
"I told you so, Wheeler," Seto shrugged.
Joey wasn't listening. "What do you want with me??!" he yelped.
The scarecrow reached out to grab him.
"On second thought, talk later, run NOW!" Joey shrieked, and he and the other five teens did exactly that.
"No running in the halls!" the principal yelled, then screamed upon seeing their assailant and quickly slammed the door to her office.
"Yugi, what should we do?" Tea asked as they ran past the cafeteria and the science classroom.
"I don't know, Tea, but I don't think we should stop running!" Yugi replied.
"For once I agree with you!" Seto yelled.
They didn't slow down until they had reached the homeroom. When Yugi and Seto dared to look back, the scarecrow was gone.
"Alright!" Joey grinned. "Looks like that thing decided it was no match for the rough, tough Joey Wheeler!"
The others exchanged Looks.
"I kind of doubt that, Joey," Tea said finally, while Seto laughed.
"Ah, my adoring fans!" Joey remarked.
"Seriously, why did that scarecrow leave?" Bakura wondered.
Yugi looked grim. "I think it was just trying to scare us now, but that later, when we least expect it, it will return with a vengeance to do whatever it intends to, and I'm sure it's not good."
"You mean at any given time, we might become bait for a straw man?!" Joey exclaimed.
Yugi nodded. "We'll all have to watch out."