NOTES: Thanx to everyone who's been reviewing! ^^ It means a lot! Oh, and my stories will never be yaoi, so my readers who don't like that kinda writing won't have to worry about finding any of it here ^_~
Everyone gasped.
"No way!" Joey exclaimed. "Who? How?"
"Kim Bates," the shaken guard replied. "A flying knife almost stabbed her in the heart!"
"How awful!" Yugi cried.
"Is she alright?" Tea asked.
"You'll havta talk to her to find out," the guard said, pulling the gate open wide to let them in. "She's pretty shaken up, but then everyone here is!"
Yugi nodded. "I can well imagine."
"Man, get a load of this place!" Joey said, gawking and gesturing wildly. "Hey, there's Cindy!" He rushed over to the red-haired girl, who saw him and smiled.
"Joey! Are you guys all okay?" she demanded. "I heard what happened to that poor woman. It's a miracle she's not dead!" she shuddered.
"Man, you said it, Cindy," Joey agreed, shaking his head. "We're all okay now, but who knows what the heck might happen with the luck we've been havin' lately!"
"We'll all have to be on our guard here," Yugi said with a nod.
"So, Cindy, how long have you been here?" Joey asked as they started walking.
"I got here just before you did," she replied. "I've been walking around the grounds waiting for you to show up."
"Did you see anything goin' on that didn't look quite right?" Joey wondered.
"Nothing at all," Cindy said, wide-eyed, "and I'm really glad I didn't!"
"Hey, isn't that Kaiba over there?" Tristan exclaimed, pointing ahead. The young businessman was walking toward a building when he stopped suddenly and thrust his briefcase out in front of him.
"What the heck is he tryin' to do?!" Joey said, looking completely baffled.
They found out in the next instant as a deadly axe slammed into the briefcase. Seto staggered back from the impact, his eyes aflame with fury, and then he pulled out a plastic bag and wrapped it around the weapon. He pulled it out of the valise, glaring at it in distaste. He then changed his course of direction and headed for the security building.
"Oh man . . ." Joey shook his head in disbelief.
"He was nearly killed!" Tea gasped.
"Hey, Kaiba, wait up!" Joey yelled, running after him.
"Be careful, Joey!" Cindy's eyes shone with worry. "Someone might throw something at you!"
"None of us are safe," Yugi said, summoning his Yami. "We must all stick together and not be separated for any reason."
"That's fine with me," Mai declared as they all followed after Joey.
****
Bakura sighed and laid the quilt over his Yami's unconscious body again. The thief kept throwing it off in his sleep, seeming to prefer laying uncovered and shirtless on the bed. "Yami, you really must keep the quilt on," Bakura pleaded. "I don't want you to catch a cold. . . . You've been through enough already."
Yami Bakura tensed, then relaxed and sighed, pulling the quilt up over his head.
"Oh dear," Bakura said, shaking his head. "Yami, please don't do that!" He gently pulled the quilt down around his Yami's shoulders. "I do wish you'd wake up. . . ."
Yami Bakura mumbled something unintelligible and then slipped into a deeper and quieter state of unconsciousness. Bakura sat back down in the chair next to the bed, hoping that his Yami would be able to sleep off any lingering effects of the poison and revive before too much longer.
****
The others finally caught up with Seto just outside the security building. "Whoa, man, that was one close call you had," Joey exclaimed in greeting.
Seto opened the door to go inside. "I've had enough of this nonsense," he growled.
"Believe me, Kaiba, we all have," Yugi sighed.
The security guard looked up when he heard the door open. "Oh no," he groaned. "Don't tell me someone had another near-death 'accident'!"
"Kaiba was almost skewered by this thing!" Joey announced, pointing to the axe that the other boy was still holding.
"I want some answers, and I want them now," Seto said authoritatively to the guard, handing him the plastic bag with the weapon inside. "What have you been doing to prevent these so-called 'accidents' from happening?"
The guard looked nervous as he accepted the axe and twisted the handle around in his hands. "We . . . we have extra security guards posted around the studio, Mr. Kaiba, and we set up security cameras to try to find who's committing these outrageous acts . . ."
"Well, then I suggest you check the security cameras and see what you find . . . before anything else happens," Seto interrupted angrily, pointing his forefinger at the guard in emphasis. "If I had been injured, I wouldn't have hesitated to sue." He turned around and headed for the door.
"How long have these 'accidents' been happening?" Yugi asked the guard now.
"Well, odd things started happening the day we came here to set things up," the guard admitted, "but nothing life-threatening has happened before today, and now suddenly people are almost dying in freak accidents left and right!"
"Can you think of anyone who would do these things?" Tea wanted to know.
"Well, the producer of this film—Art Carmichael—could tell you more, but I do know that there was a man—he said he was a real estate agent—who kept pushing for us not to set up on this property," the guard replied. "It's a wild idea, but maybe he's doing it to scare us into leaving so he can use the property, or maybe try to buy it."
"Do you know his name?" Yugi queried.
"No, I don't, but . . . why in the world am I telling you kids all of this anyway?" The guard turned to go into a backroom. "I'm going to have this axe checked for fingerprints, Mr. Kaiba," he called. "My apologies for this . . . problem," he finished finally, disappearing through a door.
"Man, there was somethin' fishy about that guy," Joey said, slamming his fist into his palm.
"I agree," Tristan said with a nod.
"This entire place is strange," Seto muttered, his eyes narrowing.
"Well, let's start combin' the place for clues," Joey suggested. "There's gotta be some around here somewhere with all these 'accidents' goin' on."
Yugi nodded. "And I'm afraid we may have to split up after all," he said. "Some of us should go look for this Art Carmichael. But . . ." He paused, looking at each of the others gravely. "Everyone must stay with their group. If anyone wanders off by themselves, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"I hear ya, man," Tristan said. "Okay, how should we do this? We have an uneven number of people again."
They wound up splitting into two groups of four—Yugi, his Yami, Tristan, and Mai would go look for clues and try to find the actress Kim Bates, and Seto, Tea, Joey, and Cindy would try to find Art Carmichael—with the agreement to meet back at the security building in two hours.
"Be on guard at all times," Yami Yugi cautioned as they set out. "You never know what the culprits behind these dastardly acts might try next."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then the two groups went their separate ways.
"So, what's the plan?" Mai asked as her group passed by a building marked Props.
"Hey, I think I see some guy spying on us," Tristan declared before Yugi or his Yami could answer. "Look over there!"
The others turned to see what Tristan was pointing at and gasped. A shadowy figure clad in ninja garb was standing on top of the Costume building, glaring at them. "Prepare to meet your doom, foolish mortals!" it cackled, springing forth to attack.
****
"Where in the world are we gonna find this Art guy?" Joey sighed
"Maybe in there?" Cindy suggested, pointing to a trailer marked "Art Carmichael—Producer."
Joey grinned sheepishly and looked embarrassed. "Eh, well, I was just about to suggest that," he bluffed.
They walked up to the trailer and Seto knocked on the door.
"Maybe he's not there," Joey sighed.
The door started to open. "Or maybe he is," Tea replied.
A grouchy-looking man with wild black hair and a thick mustache stood in the doorway. "Yeah? What is it?" he growled. His gaze fell on Seto Kaiba and his eyes bugged out. "You!"
"You know him?" Joey said, raising an eyebrow at Seto.
The man clenched his hands into fists angrily. "So, you came back, eh? And this time you've brought friends! Some people never learn."
"What are you talking about?" Seto's eyes narrowed. "I've never seen you before." Even as the boy said this, a flash of memory came back and he recalled the man's menacing voice. He had heard it somewhere before, but he didn't know how or where or why.
The man paused. "You haven't, eh?" He considered this for a moment and then his lips curled up in a fake smile. "Oh, my apologies. I must have you mixed up with someone else."
"I suppose you must have." Seto's cold expression didn't change. Something strange was going on, and he didn't buy the man's story for one second.
Tea decided to break the silence that ensued. "Um, are you Art Carmichael?" she asked.
The man nodded. "I am. Who are you kids?"
"Well, I'm Tea Gardner, and this is Joey Wheeler, Cindy . . ." Tea paused. "I don't believe I ever caught your last name," she said in realization.
Cindy giggled. "No, I don't believe I ever quite introduced myself completely," she admitted. "I'm Cindy Bradford."
"And this is Seto Kaiba," Tea finished, indicating the blue-eyed boy.
Carmichael nodded thoughtfully. "So you're Seto Kaiba," he said, continuing to smile in his nasty way. Tea definitely disliked this man. "You own this property, don't you?"
"I do," Seto nodded stiffly.
"Well, we came by to talk to you about the strange things that have been happening," Tea said. "One of the guards was telling us about a suspicious real estate agent who was very much against you using this property to make your movie."
"Oh. Oliver Brown," Carmichael said. "Now he's a real oddball. Thinks the place is a communication center for extra-terrestrials. If he wanted to badly enough, he could probably create some of the nonsense that's been going on around here to make us pack up and leave."
"Where does this guy work?" Joey asked.
"At some real estate company in the city," Carmichael told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the bottom of this." He sneered at Seto before shutting the door of his trailor.
"Wow, he was weird too!" Cindy exclaimed. "He seemed a bit too eager to accuse that Oliver Brown guy." She poked Seto playfully on the arm. "And who on earth would he be getting you confused with?"
"No one, most likely." Seto crossed his arms in vexation.
"Do you think he was responsible for what happened to you?" Tea asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Seto replied.
"But why in the world would he do that to ya?" Joey threw his hands up in frustration.
Seto grunted. "I intend to find out."
"Is it my imagination, or is it getting really misty?" Cindy exclaimed, blinking.
"It's not your imagination," Joey sighed. "Before long, this fog will probably be thicker than pea soup!"
Seto looked indifferent. "Let's have a look in here," he said, opening the door to the prop building. The others quickly followed, not wanting to get separated. They stood in the dim light of the room uncertainly, glancing around for a light switch. Without warning, a soft click was heard and the building was bathed in a bright glow.
"Did you turn the lights on?" Tea asked Seto.
The blue-eyed boy shook his head. "No."
"And I didn't turn them on," Cindy said with a blink.
All eyes turned to Joey for his answer to the question. But instead of answering, the Brooklyn-born boy grabbed Cindy and dropped to the floor, yelling, "Look out!! Flyin' trunk at two o'clock!!"
"Huh?" Tea gasped, just as Seto grasped her wrist and pulled her to the floor as well—and just in time. The stray trunk smashed into the wall behind them and plastic swords and knifes, as well as a few assorted bowling balls and and top hats, rolled out.
"Well, that was different," Cindy declared.
A plastic dagger bounced off Joey's head and he stared at it in consternation. "Man, who the heck tossed that thing?!"
"There's no one in sight!" Tea said, standing up.
"They can't have gotten far," Seto remarked.
"Then let's go after them!" Joey jumped up and ran down the hall, disappearing from sight.
"Joey, wait for us!" Tea yelled, as she and the other two chased after him.
A loud crash echoed through the building.
"Joey! Are you okay?" Cindy screamed frantically.
"What's he gone and gotten himself into now?" Tea sighed.
They rounded the corner and stood still in shock. Joey was up against the wall, several knives pinning his jacket to it and keeping him from escaping. A strange blonde woman was standing in front of him, holding another of the deadly weapons to his throat!
Everyone gasped.
"No way!" Joey exclaimed. "Who? How?"
"Kim Bates," the shaken guard replied. "A flying knife almost stabbed her in the heart!"
"How awful!" Yugi cried.
"Is she alright?" Tea asked.
"You'll havta talk to her to find out," the guard said, pulling the gate open wide to let them in. "She's pretty shaken up, but then everyone here is!"
Yugi nodded. "I can well imagine."
"Man, get a load of this place!" Joey said, gawking and gesturing wildly. "Hey, there's Cindy!" He rushed over to the red-haired girl, who saw him and smiled.
"Joey! Are you guys all okay?" she demanded. "I heard what happened to that poor woman. It's a miracle she's not dead!" she shuddered.
"Man, you said it, Cindy," Joey agreed, shaking his head. "We're all okay now, but who knows what the heck might happen with the luck we've been havin' lately!"
"We'll all have to be on our guard here," Yugi said with a nod.
"So, Cindy, how long have you been here?" Joey asked as they started walking.
"I got here just before you did," she replied. "I've been walking around the grounds waiting for you to show up."
"Did you see anything goin' on that didn't look quite right?" Joey wondered.
"Nothing at all," Cindy said, wide-eyed, "and I'm really glad I didn't!"
"Hey, isn't that Kaiba over there?" Tristan exclaimed, pointing ahead. The young businessman was walking toward a building when he stopped suddenly and thrust his briefcase out in front of him.
"What the heck is he tryin' to do?!" Joey said, looking completely baffled.
They found out in the next instant as a deadly axe slammed into the briefcase. Seto staggered back from the impact, his eyes aflame with fury, and then he pulled out a plastic bag and wrapped it around the weapon. He pulled it out of the valise, glaring at it in distaste. He then changed his course of direction and headed for the security building.
"Oh man . . ." Joey shook his head in disbelief.
"He was nearly killed!" Tea gasped.
"Hey, Kaiba, wait up!" Joey yelled, running after him.
"Be careful, Joey!" Cindy's eyes shone with worry. "Someone might throw something at you!"
"None of us are safe," Yugi said, summoning his Yami. "We must all stick together and not be separated for any reason."
"That's fine with me," Mai declared as they all followed after Joey.
****
Bakura sighed and laid the quilt over his Yami's unconscious body again. The thief kept throwing it off in his sleep, seeming to prefer laying uncovered and shirtless on the bed. "Yami, you really must keep the quilt on," Bakura pleaded. "I don't want you to catch a cold. . . . You've been through enough already."
Yami Bakura tensed, then relaxed and sighed, pulling the quilt up over his head.
"Oh dear," Bakura said, shaking his head. "Yami, please don't do that!" He gently pulled the quilt down around his Yami's shoulders. "I do wish you'd wake up. . . ."
Yami Bakura mumbled something unintelligible and then slipped into a deeper and quieter state of unconsciousness. Bakura sat back down in the chair next to the bed, hoping that his Yami would be able to sleep off any lingering effects of the poison and revive before too much longer.
****
The others finally caught up with Seto just outside the security building. "Whoa, man, that was one close call you had," Joey exclaimed in greeting.
Seto opened the door to go inside. "I've had enough of this nonsense," he growled.
"Believe me, Kaiba, we all have," Yugi sighed.
The security guard looked up when he heard the door open. "Oh no," he groaned. "Don't tell me someone had another near-death 'accident'!"
"Kaiba was almost skewered by this thing!" Joey announced, pointing to the axe that the other boy was still holding.
"I want some answers, and I want them now," Seto said authoritatively to the guard, handing him the plastic bag with the weapon inside. "What have you been doing to prevent these so-called 'accidents' from happening?"
The guard looked nervous as he accepted the axe and twisted the handle around in his hands. "We . . . we have extra security guards posted around the studio, Mr. Kaiba, and we set up security cameras to try to find who's committing these outrageous acts . . ."
"Well, then I suggest you check the security cameras and see what you find . . . before anything else happens," Seto interrupted angrily, pointing his forefinger at the guard in emphasis. "If I had been injured, I wouldn't have hesitated to sue." He turned around and headed for the door.
"How long have these 'accidents' been happening?" Yugi asked the guard now.
"Well, odd things started happening the day we came here to set things up," the guard admitted, "but nothing life-threatening has happened before today, and now suddenly people are almost dying in freak accidents left and right!"
"Can you think of anyone who would do these things?" Tea wanted to know.
"Well, the producer of this film—Art Carmichael—could tell you more, but I do know that there was a man—he said he was a real estate agent—who kept pushing for us not to set up on this property," the guard replied. "It's a wild idea, but maybe he's doing it to scare us into leaving so he can use the property, or maybe try to buy it."
"Do you know his name?" Yugi queried.
"No, I don't, but . . . why in the world am I telling you kids all of this anyway?" The guard turned to go into a backroom. "I'm going to have this axe checked for fingerprints, Mr. Kaiba," he called. "My apologies for this . . . problem," he finished finally, disappearing through a door.
"Man, there was somethin' fishy about that guy," Joey said, slamming his fist into his palm.
"I agree," Tristan said with a nod.
"This entire place is strange," Seto muttered, his eyes narrowing.
"Well, let's start combin' the place for clues," Joey suggested. "There's gotta be some around here somewhere with all these 'accidents' goin' on."
Yugi nodded. "And I'm afraid we may have to split up after all," he said. "Some of us should go look for this Art Carmichael. But . . ." He paused, looking at each of the others gravely. "Everyone must stay with their group. If anyone wanders off by themselves, the consequences could be catastrophic."
"I hear ya, man," Tristan said. "Okay, how should we do this? We have an uneven number of people again."
They wound up splitting into two groups of four—Yugi, his Yami, Tristan, and Mai would go look for clues and try to find the actress Kim Bates, and Seto, Tea, Joey, and Cindy would try to find Art Carmichael—with the agreement to meet back at the security building in two hours.
"Be on guard at all times," Yami Yugi cautioned as they set out. "You never know what the culprits behind these dastardly acts might try next."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then the two groups went their separate ways.
"So, what's the plan?" Mai asked as her group passed by a building marked Props.
"Hey, I think I see some guy spying on us," Tristan declared before Yugi or his Yami could answer. "Look over there!"
The others turned to see what Tristan was pointing at and gasped. A shadowy figure clad in ninja garb was standing on top of the Costume building, glaring at them. "Prepare to meet your doom, foolish mortals!" it cackled, springing forth to attack.
****
"Where in the world are we gonna find this Art guy?" Joey sighed
"Maybe in there?" Cindy suggested, pointing to a trailer marked "Art Carmichael—Producer."
Joey grinned sheepishly and looked embarrassed. "Eh, well, I was just about to suggest that," he bluffed.
They walked up to the trailer and Seto knocked on the door.
"Maybe he's not there," Joey sighed.
The door started to open. "Or maybe he is," Tea replied.
A grouchy-looking man with wild black hair and a thick mustache stood in the doorway. "Yeah? What is it?" he growled. His gaze fell on Seto Kaiba and his eyes bugged out. "You!"
"You know him?" Joey said, raising an eyebrow at Seto.
The man clenched his hands into fists angrily. "So, you came back, eh? And this time you've brought friends! Some people never learn."
"What are you talking about?" Seto's eyes narrowed. "I've never seen you before." Even as the boy said this, a flash of memory came back and he recalled the man's menacing voice. He had heard it somewhere before, but he didn't know how or where or why.
The man paused. "You haven't, eh?" He considered this for a moment and then his lips curled up in a fake smile. "Oh, my apologies. I must have you mixed up with someone else."
"I suppose you must have." Seto's cold expression didn't change. Something strange was going on, and he didn't buy the man's story for one second.
Tea decided to break the silence that ensued. "Um, are you Art Carmichael?" she asked.
The man nodded. "I am. Who are you kids?"
"Well, I'm Tea Gardner, and this is Joey Wheeler, Cindy . . ." Tea paused. "I don't believe I ever caught your last name," she said in realization.
Cindy giggled. "No, I don't believe I ever quite introduced myself completely," she admitted. "I'm Cindy Bradford."
"And this is Seto Kaiba," Tea finished, indicating the blue-eyed boy.
Carmichael nodded thoughtfully. "So you're Seto Kaiba," he said, continuing to smile in his nasty way. Tea definitely disliked this man. "You own this property, don't you?"
"I do," Seto nodded stiffly.
"Well, we came by to talk to you about the strange things that have been happening," Tea said. "One of the guards was telling us about a suspicious real estate agent who was very much against you using this property to make your movie."
"Oh. Oliver Brown," Carmichael said. "Now he's a real oddball. Thinks the place is a communication center for extra-terrestrials. If he wanted to badly enough, he could probably create some of the nonsense that's been going on around here to make us pack up and leave."
"Where does this guy work?" Joey asked.
"At some real estate company in the city," Carmichael told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the bottom of this." He sneered at Seto before shutting the door of his trailor.
"Wow, he was weird too!" Cindy exclaimed. "He seemed a bit too eager to accuse that Oliver Brown guy." She poked Seto playfully on the arm. "And who on earth would he be getting you confused with?"
"No one, most likely." Seto crossed his arms in vexation.
"Do you think he was responsible for what happened to you?" Tea asked.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Seto replied.
"But why in the world would he do that to ya?" Joey threw his hands up in frustration.
Seto grunted. "I intend to find out."
"Is it my imagination, or is it getting really misty?" Cindy exclaimed, blinking.
"It's not your imagination," Joey sighed. "Before long, this fog will probably be thicker than pea soup!"
Seto looked indifferent. "Let's have a look in here," he said, opening the door to the prop building. The others quickly followed, not wanting to get separated. They stood in the dim light of the room uncertainly, glancing around for a light switch. Without warning, a soft click was heard and the building was bathed in a bright glow.
"Did you turn the lights on?" Tea asked Seto.
The blue-eyed boy shook his head. "No."
"And I didn't turn them on," Cindy said with a blink.
All eyes turned to Joey for his answer to the question. But instead of answering, the Brooklyn-born boy grabbed Cindy and dropped to the floor, yelling, "Look out!! Flyin' trunk at two o'clock!!"
"Huh?" Tea gasped, just as Seto grasped her wrist and pulled her to the floor as well—and just in time. The stray trunk smashed into the wall behind them and plastic swords and knifes, as well as a few assorted bowling balls and and top hats, rolled out.
"Well, that was different," Cindy declared.
A plastic dagger bounced off Joey's head and he stared at it in consternation. "Man, who the heck tossed that thing?!"
"There's no one in sight!" Tea said, standing up.
"They can't have gotten far," Seto remarked.
"Then let's go after them!" Joey jumped up and ran down the hall, disappearing from sight.
"Joey, wait for us!" Tea yelled, as she and the other two chased after him.
A loud crash echoed through the building.
"Joey! Are you okay?" Cindy screamed frantically.
"What's he gone and gotten himself into now?" Tea sighed.
They rounded the corner and stood still in shock. Joey was up against the wall, several knives pinning his jacket to it and keeping him from escaping. A strange blonde woman was standing in front of him, holding another of the deadly weapons to his throat!