"Yugi? What's going on?" Tea asked.
"We need to get to Mai's place right away," Yugi told her. "She might be hurt!"
"We can take my limo," Seto said in his usual unemotional tone, heading for the door.
****
Before long, the six teens and Mokuba had arrived at Summit Hills.
"There's a police car in front of Mai's house!" Tea exclaimed.
"But I don't see an ambulance," Yugi remarked as they climbed out of Seto's limo. "Maybe she's okay!"
Quickly they went up to the porch and Yugi knocked on the door. Soon it was opened by a police officer, who looked at them suspiciously. "Yes?"
"Hi," Yugi greeted. "We're friends of Mai Valentine's. She was talking to me on the phone, but then she screamed and the line went dead!"
The officer nodded slowly. "I see." He still seemed hesitant to let them in.
"It's alright," Mai called, coming into the parlor. "Let them in, Officer."
The policeman nodded and stepped aside, allowing the seven to enter.
"Are you okay, Mai?" Yugi asked.
Mai sighed. "I'm fine. Some horrible thing climbed in the window and threw its head at me!!"
Everyone gasped, and Bakura looked sickened at the thought.
"Mai, I don't get it," Joey said. "You mean somethin' like the Headless Horseman attacked you?!"
Mai nodded shakily. "Exactly like that. Then it turned and jumped out the window!"
"What about its, uh . . ." Joey paused, not exactly sure how to finish the sentence.
"The head's gone too," Mai told him, "and it left blood all over my white carpet!" she complained.
"Only there's nothing there now," the officer remarked. "When I got there, there was no evidence of any break-in, and certainly not a . . . tossed head."
"I'm not crazy, Officer," Mai protested. "I know what I saw!"
"Look, miss, the police force is swamped with all these alien sightings lately, and we don't have time to be chasing around after headless spooks," the officer replied coldly. "Good night." He turned and went out the door.
"Nice guy," Joey muttered.
"You believe me, don't you, Yugi?" Mai asked.
Yugi paused. "Well, Mai, we've been dealing with lots of weird things lately . . . There's no telling what you've might've seen, but we all believe that you saw something, and we're going to find out what!"
Mai smiled. "Thanks."
"Now, show us where you saw this creepy creature," Joey said.
Mai led them upstairs to a window looking at the nearby canyons. "It was right here," she told them. "It climbed in the window while I was on the phone with Yugi."
Everyone looked out the window. "Freaky!" Joey declared. "There's no way to get down from here!"
"Maybe Mokuba's aliens did it," Tristan grinned.
Mai blinked. "Huh?"
"There was another UFO sighting in the canyons near your home," Seto explained. "Mokuba heard about it on the news."
"Well, now I know not to leave my windows open," Mai said dryly.
"So what do we do now?" Tristan wondered.
"Let's search the grounds," Yugi suggested, summoning his Yami. "And then we should go up to the canyons."
"Fine with me, Yug," Joey said. "Just as long as we don't havta reenact the Legend of Sleepy Hollow!"
****
A thorough search of Mai's yard turned up nothing.
"This is crazy!" Joey declared. "There's no sign that anyone's been here at all! Maybe you really did see the Headless Horseman, Mai!"
Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation, Wheeler. Perhaps someone projected the image of the headless creature from somewhere in Mai's house."
"There's no one in there but me!" Mai protested.
"You think," Seto replied. "We should probably do a thorough search of your house to make certain there isn't anything lurking in there."
"But why would someone do it?" Mai exclaimed. "What would be the point of a prank like that?!"
"Nothing makes sense," Tea sighed as they headed back into Mai's house.
"Alright, let's all split up into groups of two," Yugi directed, and he and Joey went to search the library. Then Mai went with Bakura to check upstairs while Tea and Tristan looked in the basement and Seto and Mokuba decided to investigate the attic.
"Man, Yug, I don't see anything in here," Joey complained. "Just a bunch of books and stuff. Nothin' that you wouldn't ordinarily see in a library."
"So it would appear," Yugi replied mysteriously. "But don't be fooled by appearances, Joey. Many things that you would not ordinarily see could be hidden right under our noses."
"Eh, you mean like this, Yug?" Joey held up a bottle of red disappearing ink.
Yugi brightened. "Yes, Joey! Exactly like that!" He took the bottle from Joey and examined it. "This is a perfect clue, Joey! Where did you find it?"
"It was in this hollow globe here," Joey told the other boy, pointing to a world globe on the table.
"Someone will probably be back to retrieve it," Yugi decided. "Let's see if we can give them a little surprise when they do."
****
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Mai asked as she and Bakura wandered down the hall, checking in every room and closet.
"Anything suspicious," Bakura replied.
A loud crash came from a room across the hall.
"Someone's in there!" Mai declared, looking angry, and headed for the room.
"Mai, wait!" Bakura protested vainly. "It could be dangerous!"
"Yeah—for them, kiddo! I have a black belt!" Mai retorted, throwing the door open. The room was completely empty. "Alright, come out with your hands up!" Mai yelled threateningly.
"I just saw a shadow fade into the wall," Bakura exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Mai, I don't think this is safe!" He tried to get his Yami to talk to him through their mental connection. {Yami, do you know if something other-worldly is in here?} he asked frantically.
There was silence for a long time, but then Yami Bakura finally responded grouchily, [You dolt. What do you think? If you feel uneasy, then you probably should be.]
"We need to leave right now," Bakura said grimly.
"Leave? To go where? This is my house, kiddo, and I don't intend to leave!" Mai said stubbornly, just as the wardrobe was hoisted into the air.
"Mai, look out!" Bakura gasped, and the two teens ducked down just as the piece of furniture flew at them. It paused and hovered in midair, then headed toward the floor again.
"Quick, we must leave!" Bakura cried, and this time Mai didn't protest. They ran out the door and slammed it shut behind them. {Yami, what *was* that?!} the frightened boy demanded.
[I don't know,] the ancient thief responded, and a chill ran up Bakura's spine.
"What *was* that?!" Mai exclaimed aloud. "And what was it doing in my house?!"
"I think we should find Yugi right away and tell him," Bakura told her grimly.
"Fine with me!" Mai declared as they ran down the hall.
****
"I don't like this basement," Tea remarked as she and Tristan poked around in one of the storage rooms. "It's creepy down here!"
"Ah, come on, Tea," Tristan grinned as he looked behind an old dresser, "it's not that bad. Of course, if the boogie man was down here, it might be a different story!" He snickered.
"That's not funny, Tristan!" Tea fumed, leaning on the wall. Suddenly she screamed as a panel swung open and she fell through, landing hard against a wall.
"Hey, Tea, are you okay?" Tristan asked, coming to look in.
Tea got up slowly, blinking. "I'm fine," she replied, confused. "But there's a staircase in here!"
"Staircase?" Tristan repeated, feeling around for a lightswitch and finding none.
"I wonder where it leads," Tea mused.
"Let's find out," Tristan suggested, stepping in to the small room.
The panel swung shut abruptly.
"Whoa," Tristan exclaimed, "that was kinda weird."
Tea pushed on the panel frantically. "We're locked in!" she gasped. "We'll have to climb the staircase to get out . . . in the dark!"
"Just remember to hold onto the banister," Tristan warned as they started up the long flight of stairs. "Or you might trip and fall all the way back down."
The stairs seemed to go on forever. Suddenly Tea bumped into something. "The stairs end here," she announced worriedly.
"Well, what'd you bump into, Tea?" Tristan asked.
Tea felt around. "I think . . . Yes, it's a panel!" she exclaimed in relief. "Help me open it, Tristan!"
Working together, the two teens managed to move the board, which revealed an opening into another room. Tristan and Tea exchanged looks, then silently crept into the room, which also seemed to be dark, except for the light from the moon coming through a window on the opposite wall.
"Where are we?" Tea wondered, backing up to survey the room better. Suddenly she screamed, banging into something.
"Tea? What's going on?" Tristan demanded and whirled around, only to find Tea and Seto Kaiba exchanging looks.
"I could ask you the same question," Seto said coldly.
"Tristan and I just came up a secret staircase from the basement!" Tea told him.
"I see." Seto nodded slowly.
Just then Mokuba came running out from around a corner, his gray eyes wide. "Big brother, there's somethin' in here!" he declared.
"What do you mean, Mokuba?" Seto asked.
Before the little boy could answer, Tea screamed, horrified. "I think that's what he meant!" she exclaimed, pointing at a horrendous figure standing just in front of them wearing a dark black cloak and gloves and poised to attack. The four youth slowly backed away from the apparition as an unearthly laugh rippled through its body. "It doesn't have any head!" Tea shrieked.
"We need to get to Mai's place right away," Yugi told her. "She might be hurt!"
"We can take my limo," Seto said in his usual unemotional tone, heading for the door.
****
Before long, the six teens and Mokuba had arrived at Summit Hills.
"There's a police car in front of Mai's house!" Tea exclaimed.
"But I don't see an ambulance," Yugi remarked as they climbed out of Seto's limo. "Maybe she's okay!"
Quickly they went up to the porch and Yugi knocked on the door. Soon it was opened by a police officer, who looked at them suspiciously. "Yes?"
"Hi," Yugi greeted. "We're friends of Mai Valentine's. She was talking to me on the phone, but then she screamed and the line went dead!"
The officer nodded slowly. "I see." He still seemed hesitant to let them in.
"It's alright," Mai called, coming into the parlor. "Let them in, Officer."
The policeman nodded and stepped aside, allowing the seven to enter.
"Are you okay, Mai?" Yugi asked.
Mai sighed. "I'm fine. Some horrible thing climbed in the window and threw its head at me!!"
Everyone gasped, and Bakura looked sickened at the thought.
"Mai, I don't get it," Joey said. "You mean somethin' like the Headless Horseman attacked you?!"
Mai nodded shakily. "Exactly like that. Then it turned and jumped out the window!"
"What about its, uh . . ." Joey paused, not exactly sure how to finish the sentence.
"The head's gone too," Mai told him, "and it left blood all over my white carpet!" she complained.
"Only there's nothing there now," the officer remarked. "When I got there, there was no evidence of any break-in, and certainly not a . . . tossed head."
"I'm not crazy, Officer," Mai protested. "I know what I saw!"
"Look, miss, the police force is swamped with all these alien sightings lately, and we don't have time to be chasing around after headless spooks," the officer replied coldly. "Good night." He turned and went out the door.
"Nice guy," Joey muttered.
"You believe me, don't you, Yugi?" Mai asked.
Yugi paused. "Well, Mai, we've been dealing with lots of weird things lately . . . There's no telling what you've might've seen, but we all believe that you saw something, and we're going to find out what!"
Mai smiled. "Thanks."
"Now, show us where you saw this creepy creature," Joey said.
Mai led them upstairs to a window looking at the nearby canyons. "It was right here," she told them. "It climbed in the window while I was on the phone with Yugi."
Everyone looked out the window. "Freaky!" Joey declared. "There's no way to get down from here!"
"Maybe Mokuba's aliens did it," Tristan grinned.
Mai blinked. "Huh?"
"There was another UFO sighting in the canyons near your home," Seto explained. "Mokuba heard about it on the news."
"Well, now I know not to leave my windows open," Mai said dryly.
"So what do we do now?" Tristan wondered.
"Let's search the grounds," Yugi suggested, summoning his Yami. "And then we should go up to the canyons."
"Fine with me, Yug," Joey said. "Just as long as we don't havta reenact the Legend of Sleepy Hollow!"
****
A thorough search of Mai's yard turned up nothing.
"This is crazy!" Joey declared. "There's no sign that anyone's been here at all! Maybe you really did see the Headless Horseman, Mai!"
Seto rolled his eyes. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation, Wheeler. Perhaps someone projected the image of the headless creature from somewhere in Mai's house."
"There's no one in there but me!" Mai protested.
"You think," Seto replied. "We should probably do a thorough search of your house to make certain there isn't anything lurking in there."
"But why would someone do it?" Mai exclaimed. "What would be the point of a prank like that?!"
"Nothing makes sense," Tea sighed as they headed back into Mai's house.
"Alright, let's all split up into groups of two," Yugi directed, and he and Joey went to search the library. Then Mai went with Bakura to check upstairs while Tea and Tristan looked in the basement and Seto and Mokuba decided to investigate the attic.
"Man, Yug, I don't see anything in here," Joey complained. "Just a bunch of books and stuff. Nothin' that you wouldn't ordinarily see in a library."
"So it would appear," Yugi replied mysteriously. "But don't be fooled by appearances, Joey. Many things that you would not ordinarily see could be hidden right under our noses."
"Eh, you mean like this, Yug?" Joey held up a bottle of red disappearing ink.
Yugi brightened. "Yes, Joey! Exactly like that!" He took the bottle from Joey and examined it. "This is a perfect clue, Joey! Where did you find it?"
"It was in this hollow globe here," Joey told the other boy, pointing to a world globe on the table.
"Someone will probably be back to retrieve it," Yugi decided. "Let's see if we can give them a little surprise when they do."
****
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Mai asked as she and Bakura wandered down the hall, checking in every room and closet.
"Anything suspicious," Bakura replied.
A loud crash came from a room across the hall.
"Someone's in there!" Mai declared, looking angry, and headed for the room.
"Mai, wait!" Bakura protested vainly. "It could be dangerous!"
"Yeah—for them, kiddo! I have a black belt!" Mai retorted, throwing the door open. The room was completely empty. "Alright, come out with your hands up!" Mai yelled threateningly.
"I just saw a shadow fade into the wall," Bakura exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Mai, I don't think this is safe!" He tried to get his Yami to talk to him through their mental connection. {Yami, do you know if something other-worldly is in here?} he asked frantically.
There was silence for a long time, but then Yami Bakura finally responded grouchily, [You dolt. What do you think? If you feel uneasy, then you probably should be.]
"We need to leave right now," Bakura said grimly.
"Leave? To go where? This is my house, kiddo, and I don't intend to leave!" Mai said stubbornly, just as the wardrobe was hoisted into the air.
"Mai, look out!" Bakura gasped, and the two teens ducked down just as the piece of furniture flew at them. It paused and hovered in midair, then headed toward the floor again.
"Quick, we must leave!" Bakura cried, and this time Mai didn't protest. They ran out the door and slammed it shut behind them. {Yami, what *was* that?!} the frightened boy demanded.
[I don't know,] the ancient thief responded, and a chill ran up Bakura's spine.
"What *was* that?!" Mai exclaimed aloud. "And what was it doing in my house?!"
"I think we should find Yugi right away and tell him," Bakura told her grimly.
"Fine with me!" Mai declared as they ran down the hall.
****
"I don't like this basement," Tea remarked as she and Tristan poked around in one of the storage rooms. "It's creepy down here!"
"Ah, come on, Tea," Tristan grinned as he looked behind an old dresser, "it's not that bad. Of course, if the boogie man was down here, it might be a different story!" He snickered.
"That's not funny, Tristan!" Tea fumed, leaning on the wall. Suddenly she screamed as a panel swung open and she fell through, landing hard against a wall.
"Hey, Tea, are you okay?" Tristan asked, coming to look in.
Tea got up slowly, blinking. "I'm fine," she replied, confused. "But there's a staircase in here!"
"Staircase?" Tristan repeated, feeling around for a lightswitch and finding none.
"I wonder where it leads," Tea mused.
"Let's find out," Tristan suggested, stepping in to the small room.
The panel swung shut abruptly.
"Whoa," Tristan exclaimed, "that was kinda weird."
Tea pushed on the panel frantically. "We're locked in!" she gasped. "We'll have to climb the staircase to get out . . . in the dark!"
"Just remember to hold onto the banister," Tristan warned as they started up the long flight of stairs. "Or you might trip and fall all the way back down."
The stairs seemed to go on forever. Suddenly Tea bumped into something. "The stairs end here," she announced worriedly.
"Well, what'd you bump into, Tea?" Tristan asked.
Tea felt around. "I think . . . Yes, it's a panel!" she exclaimed in relief. "Help me open it, Tristan!"
Working together, the two teens managed to move the board, which revealed an opening into another room. Tristan and Tea exchanged looks, then silently crept into the room, which also seemed to be dark, except for the light from the moon coming through a window on the opposite wall.
"Where are we?" Tea wondered, backing up to survey the room better. Suddenly she screamed, banging into something.
"Tea? What's going on?" Tristan demanded and whirled around, only to find Tea and Seto Kaiba exchanging looks.
"I could ask you the same question," Seto said coldly.
"Tristan and I just came up a secret staircase from the basement!" Tea told him.
"I see." Seto nodded slowly.
Just then Mokuba came running out from around a corner, his gray eyes wide. "Big brother, there's somethin' in here!" he declared.
"What do you mean, Mokuba?" Seto asked.
Before the little boy could answer, Tea screamed, horrified. "I think that's what he meant!" she exclaimed, pointing at a horrendous figure standing just in front of them wearing a dark black cloak and gloves and poised to attack. The four youth slowly backed away from the apparition as an unearthly laugh rippled through its body. "It doesn't have any head!" Tea shrieked.