Tea felt dizzy. First the shrine and now this. . . . Had Seto been trying to tell her about this mysterious stalker when he had suddenly been silenced . . . maybe permanently?
Yugi and Bakura were equally horrified, as were Joey and Tristan when they picked themselves up off the floor. "Man, what the heck happened to him?" Joey gasped. "He looks like a stiff!"
"Joey!!" Yugi scolded, kneeling next to the lifeless boy worriedly and summoning his Yami.
Tea was standing in the corner, still shaking, feeling unable to move. "Yugi," she cried, "is he . . . is he . . . dead?!" She had to know, and yet she dreaded the answer.
Yugi was silent as he listened for a heartbeat and then he looked up, relieved. "He's alive," he reported, "but I think someone hit him very hard. He has a bad bump on his head."
"Poor Kaiba," Tea whispered, relieved beyond measure that the boy was alive, but horrified that he had been hurt. Shakily she also knelt next to his still body and looked into his pale face. "Kaiba?" she asked, smoothing his bangs back and accidentally touching the bump under his thick, soft hair. "Oh please wake up!" she sobbed.
"Hey, he'll be okay," Joey tried to comfort her.
Tea shook her head. "He . . . he was trying to warn me, and . . . and . . . someone hurt him because of it," she wailed.
Seto moaned softly as if he was in a lot of pain.
"Oh Kaiba . . ." Tea bent over the boy in concern. "I . . . I'm so sorry! . . ."
The boy had slipped back into silence, but he was breathing regularly, and that was a relief. Yugi nodded, satisfied. "He'll be alright," he said, straightening up.
Tea nodded, anxiously waiting for the injured boy to awaken. "Kaiba? Can . . . can you hear me?" she asked, taking his hand.
Seto's eyes opened slowly. "I can hear you," he rasped, and noticed the girl's hand wrapped around his own. He blinked in confusion and Tea pulled her hand away, looking embarrassed.
"Are . . . are you okay?" Tea asked.
Seto blinked, trying to clear his mind. Where was he? Why was he laying on the floor with Tea kneeling next to him looking so worried? He couldn't seem to remember what had happened, but he didn't especially want to admit that.
Yugi could tell from the look in the other boy's eyes, however. "Do you know where you are, Kaiba?" he asked.
Seto raised himself up on one elbow, rubbing the bump on his head. "I . . ." He glanced around and caught sight of the shrine on the wall. Suddenly everything came back. "Yes," he said firmly. "But what are you doing here?!" he demanded.
"Lookin' for you, man," Joey replied with a shrug.
Seto grunted. "It's not safe here," he scolded, trying to stand up.
"You should know," Tristan remarked. "I take it someone clobbered you while you were on the phone?"
Seto's eyes narrowed. "That's beside the point. We need to get out of here now."
"Fine with me," Joey exclaimed.
"Can you walk?" Tea asked, looking Seto up and down.
"Of course I can," Seto replied, sounding irritated. He took a step forward and felt a bit dizzy, but he tried to blank the feeling out of his mind. He would just have to walk it off.
"Do you know who erected that, um . . ." Bakura trailed off.
"Creepy shrine to Tea?" Joey finished, and Tea shuddered.
"No, I don't," Seto replied shortly.
"But what brought you out here anyway?" Tristan asked as they walked down the hall and outside, where a light snow had started to fall.
"An investigation." Seto wasn't feeling very talkative—not that he ever was. He had done a search on his computer for all cafes in the area that attracted bad crowds, had located the one the would-be assassin had been at, and had found out the address of the thug who had hired the man when he'd driven out there himself to question people. He didn't know the henchman's name, but he decided the address was good enough to start with, and so he had driven out to the neighborhood, found the Tea shrine in the rundown house, and decided that the criminal was right about her being in danger. He had been knocked unconscious before he had been able to finish delivering the message to Tea, and his eyes narrowed in anger at the memory. "I may not know the man's name, but I believe it's the same one who was in the toy store the other day," he said finally.
"The one who threw you off the balcony?!" Tea gasped.
"That's right," Seto said with a curt nod.
"But why would he be interested in me?" Tea cried. "He could've killed me with that crate he threw!"
"As usual, nothing makes sense," Tristan groaned.
"Maybe he only just got interested in you recently?" Joey suggested. "Like, after he threw the crate?"
"Then how do you explain pictures of me from even before Battle City?" Tea retorted.
They walked in silence for a bit. "Hey, Yug, what do you think's goin' on?" Joey asked.
Yugi, who had been quiet for some time now, looked concerned. "I don't know," he said finally.
"And how does this tie in with the other cases? Or have we gotten mixed up in an entirely different mystery now?" Tea wondered.
"I think they're all connected," Yugi replied slowly, "but I don't know how yet." He paused. "I only know that we need to find out quickly."
****
Mokuba and Mara were playing Monster Capsule back at the manor when they heard the front door open.
"Do you think that's your brother?" Mara asked hopefully.
"I don't know," Mokuba replied, standing up and going to the door. "Seto?" he called. "Big brother?"
There was no response, but suddenly the boy heard a scream and a thump down the hall and he came back into the room, his heart pounding. "That isn't Seto," he said grimly, locking the door.
"It's not?" Mara gasped. "Is it a bad man?"
Mokuba nodded shakily. "I think he just hurt Velma," he exclaimed. "And since Seto told her not to open the door unless she was absolutely certain who it was, they must've picked the lock or something to get in!"
"What're we gonna do?" Mara cried fearfully, clutching the locket around her neck.
"We've gotta get out of here," Mokuba told her.
"We can't hide somewhere in the house?" Mara said in horror.
Mokuba shook his head. "There's a secret room, but we can't get to it from here, and that guy's coming down the hall right now." He paused. "Wait! There is another door in here. If we can just . . ."
He had no time to finish his sentence before the doorknob was rattling. "He knows we're here!" Mara said, wide-eyed.
"Then come on!" Mokuba grabbed her hand and ran toward the other door. But when he turned the knob, another evil-looking man was standing there.
"Sorry, kids," he sneered. "Looks like you're surrounded!"
The two children backed up, horrified.
"What do we do?" Mara cried. Now they couldn't go out either door!
Mokuba thought fast. "Hang on to me!" he ordered and ran to the window. Throwing it open, the boy jumped out and pulled Mara with him. The little girl screamed as they plummeted towards earth and landed in the snow not far below. "They're still coming for us!" Mokuba said grimly, looking around. There was nowhere for them to run, and he could hear the men running down the stairs and heading for the door.
"What do we do?" Mara asked.
Mokuba turned to the girl and looked her right in the eyes. "I have a plan," he said, and quickly proceeded to tell her what was on his mind.
Mara's eyes went wide. "No!" she protested. "No! You can't make me go along with that!!"
"It's the only way," Mokuba said, hearing the door open and standing up.
Mara began to cry, knowing the boy was really going to do it.
****
When everyone got back to the better part of the city, Joey suggested they drive over to Bobby's place and see what was happening with Mr. Thorton across the street, since Yugi had called Mai and she had said that the man still hadn't come in.
"That's fine with me," Tea said as Joey turned the car in that direction. "I wish we could get this mystery solved before Christmas!"
"Perhaps we can," Yugi said slowly.
Seto didn't say anything, but Tea knew that the blue-eyed boy was determined to solve his own mystery, which seemed—as usual—to be tangled up with theirs.
Actually, what was going through Seto's mind at the moment was a horrible feeling that something was terribly wrong. He couldn't reach his cell phone when they were all cramped into Joey's tiny car, but he intended to call home just as soon as he could. "Please let them be safe," he prayed fervently.
****
Bobby was helping his mother carry groceries into the house. When he saw Joey and the others pull up, he brightened and waved. "Hi, Joey!" he called. "I'll be right with you!"
While they waited, Seto took out his cell phone and dialed his home phone number, but no one answered. "That's strange," the boy muttered, his eyes narrowing.
"What is it?" Bakura asked.
Seto put the cell phone away, looking concerned. "No one answered at home," he replied. "Something must be wrong."
After taking the milk into the house, Bobby came back out and exchanged a high-five with his friend. "Hey, kid," Joey grinned. "How's life today?"
"Things are great!" Bobby chirped. The boy was always cheerful, even tho he had a lot he could be depressed and sad about, what with his family's current situation and all. He greeted all of the other teens enthusiastically. Bobby had met them all at one time or another, even Seto Kaiba.
"So, uh, have you seen Mr. Thorton today?" Joey asked. "He hasn't shown up for work today."
Bobby scrunched his face up in thought. "I saw him loading stuff into his car," he reported.
The teens were shocked. "What?!" Tristan, Yugi, and Bakura exclaimed.
"He was packing up to leave for somewhere?!" Tea cried in disbelief.
"Sure seemed to be," Bobby nodded. He paused, looking sheepish. "And . . . I don't think he's planning to come back any time soon."
"What makes you say that?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bobby dug the toe of his shoe into the snow guiltily. "Well . . . I tried to talk to him, but he was all nervous and wouldn't give me a straight answer," he reported. "So after he left, I kinda . . . Well, I . . ."
"You went up and looked in the window of the guy's house," Joey deduced.
Bobby nodded. "Well, yeah. And . . ." He paused. "And I saw all the furniture was covered up with sheets!"
"Oh man," Tristan sighed. "So now the guy's skipped town!"
"That's bad," Yugi said, shaking his head. "It makes it look like he's running from something."
"Maybe even the police," Tristan added, voicing Yugi's thoughts.
"What's the next step in your investigation?" Bobby asked, interested.
"I guess we should talk to Joey's police officer friend," Yugi said slowly.
Bobby grinned. "Sounds like fun! I wish I could come along, but . . . I promised Mom I'd watch Annie while she takes a nap," he finished.
Joey laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, why don't you and Annie both come along?" he suggested. "We shouldn't be runnin' into any big dangers at a police station, after all!"
Bobby's face lit up. "Really? We could come?" he exclaimed.
"Sure, if your mom says it's okay," Joey told him, and the boy sprinted into the house to ask. Joey turned back to the others. "Bobby's a good kid," he said. "He needs a chance now and then to still be able to be one and not havta act so grownup all the time."
Seto didn't make a reply to that and said instead, "Just how do you propose to fit everyone in your junkheap of a car, Wheeler?" It had been enough of a squeeze for the six teens to ride in the old car, which was really made for only four people. Joey, Yugi, and Tristan had been jammed in the front, while Bakura, Tea, and Seto had been crowded into the back. There was no way they could take two little kids with them as well without having a bigger car. What's more, Seto knew, they could get a ticket for riding around that way, especially when they'd be right at a police station.
"Hey! My car's not a junkheap!" Joey yelled defensively, completely ignoring the question. Seto sighed and took out his cell phone to call his limo.
While he was at it, Seto decided to try calling home again. The phone rang for the longest time but still no one ever picked it up. "Something *is* wrong," the boy said grimly to himself, vowing to drive out there the moment the limo arrived.
That's when Bobby came running back out with Annie. "Mom says it's okay!" he beamed.
"Hey, that's great!" Joey grinned.
When the limo arrived shortly afterward, Seto told the chauffeur that they had to check in with the kids before driving to the station, and so they headed up into the ritzy part of the city.
Bobby and Annie looked at the spectacular mansions in awe. "Wow," the boy exclaimed. "These places are so big!"
"You could play hide-and-seek for hours in 'em!" Annie added excitedly.
At last the limo pulled up in front of the Kaiba Manor and Seto got out. Before he could protest, everyone else had as well. Seto, however, was more worried about the welfare of Mokuba and Mara than having a procession, so he went up to the porch and opened the door and seemed to not care that seven others were following him. "Hello?" the boy called, looking through the parlor. He gasped at the sight before him.
Velma was laying on the couch, an ice pack on her head. Off to the side, Anna was trying to comfort Mara, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Mokuba was nowhere to be seen.
"What's happened in here?" Seto demanded.
"Oh, Mr. Kaiba, I'm so sorry!!" Mara wailed. "I . . . I tried to stop him, but . . ."
"What?" Seto asked, feeling frantic now.
"Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba's gone!" Mara cried.
Yugi and Bakura were equally horrified, as were Joey and Tristan when they picked themselves up off the floor. "Man, what the heck happened to him?" Joey gasped. "He looks like a stiff!"
"Joey!!" Yugi scolded, kneeling next to the lifeless boy worriedly and summoning his Yami.
Tea was standing in the corner, still shaking, feeling unable to move. "Yugi," she cried, "is he . . . is he . . . dead?!" She had to know, and yet she dreaded the answer.
Yugi was silent as he listened for a heartbeat and then he looked up, relieved. "He's alive," he reported, "but I think someone hit him very hard. He has a bad bump on his head."
"Poor Kaiba," Tea whispered, relieved beyond measure that the boy was alive, but horrified that he had been hurt. Shakily she also knelt next to his still body and looked into his pale face. "Kaiba?" she asked, smoothing his bangs back and accidentally touching the bump under his thick, soft hair. "Oh please wake up!" she sobbed.
"Hey, he'll be okay," Joey tried to comfort her.
Tea shook her head. "He . . . he was trying to warn me, and . . . and . . . someone hurt him because of it," she wailed.
Seto moaned softly as if he was in a lot of pain.
"Oh Kaiba . . ." Tea bent over the boy in concern. "I . . . I'm so sorry! . . ."
The boy had slipped back into silence, but he was breathing regularly, and that was a relief. Yugi nodded, satisfied. "He'll be alright," he said, straightening up.
Tea nodded, anxiously waiting for the injured boy to awaken. "Kaiba? Can . . . can you hear me?" she asked, taking his hand.
Seto's eyes opened slowly. "I can hear you," he rasped, and noticed the girl's hand wrapped around his own. He blinked in confusion and Tea pulled her hand away, looking embarrassed.
"Are . . . are you okay?" Tea asked.
Seto blinked, trying to clear his mind. Where was he? Why was he laying on the floor with Tea kneeling next to him looking so worried? He couldn't seem to remember what had happened, but he didn't especially want to admit that.
Yugi could tell from the look in the other boy's eyes, however. "Do you know where you are, Kaiba?" he asked.
Seto raised himself up on one elbow, rubbing the bump on his head. "I . . ." He glanced around and caught sight of the shrine on the wall. Suddenly everything came back. "Yes," he said firmly. "But what are you doing here?!" he demanded.
"Lookin' for you, man," Joey replied with a shrug.
Seto grunted. "It's not safe here," he scolded, trying to stand up.
"You should know," Tristan remarked. "I take it someone clobbered you while you were on the phone?"
Seto's eyes narrowed. "That's beside the point. We need to get out of here now."
"Fine with me," Joey exclaimed.
"Can you walk?" Tea asked, looking Seto up and down.
"Of course I can," Seto replied, sounding irritated. He took a step forward and felt a bit dizzy, but he tried to blank the feeling out of his mind. He would just have to walk it off.
"Do you know who erected that, um . . ." Bakura trailed off.
"Creepy shrine to Tea?" Joey finished, and Tea shuddered.
"No, I don't," Seto replied shortly.
"But what brought you out here anyway?" Tristan asked as they walked down the hall and outside, where a light snow had started to fall.
"An investigation." Seto wasn't feeling very talkative—not that he ever was. He had done a search on his computer for all cafes in the area that attracted bad crowds, had located the one the would-be assassin had been at, and had found out the address of the thug who had hired the man when he'd driven out there himself to question people. He didn't know the henchman's name, but he decided the address was good enough to start with, and so he had driven out to the neighborhood, found the Tea shrine in the rundown house, and decided that the criminal was right about her being in danger. He had been knocked unconscious before he had been able to finish delivering the message to Tea, and his eyes narrowed in anger at the memory. "I may not know the man's name, but I believe it's the same one who was in the toy store the other day," he said finally.
"The one who threw you off the balcony?!" Tea gasped.
"That's right," Seto said with a curt nod.
"But why would he be interested in me?" Tea cried. "He could've killed me with that crate he threw!"
"As usual, nothing makes sense," Tristan groaned.
"Maybe he only just got interested in you recently?" Joey suggested. "Like, after he threw the crate?"
"Then how do you explain pictures of me from even before Battle City?" Tea retorted.
They walked in silence for a bit. "Hey, Yug, what do you think's goin' on?" Joey asked.
Yugi, who had been quiet for some time now, looked concerned. "I don't know," he said finally.
"And how does this tie in with the other cases? Or have we gotten mixed up in an entirely different mystery now?" Tea wondered.
"I think they're all connected," Yugi replied slowly, "but I don't know how yet." He paused. "I only know that we need to find out quickly."
****
Mokuba and Mara were playing Monster Capsule back at the manor when they heard the front door open.
"Do you think that's your brother?" Mara asked hopefully.
"I don't know," Mokuba replied, standing up and going to the door. "Seto?" he called. "Big brother?"
There was no response, but suddenly the boy heard a scream and a thump down the hall and he came back into the room, his heart pounding. "That isn't Seto," he said grimly, locking the door.
"It's not?" Mara gasped. "Is it a bad man?"
Mokuba nodded shakily. "I think he just hurt Velma," he exclaimed. "And since Seto told her not to open the door unless she was absolutely certain who it was, they must've picked the lock or something to get in!"
"What're we gonna do?" Mara cried fearfully, clutching the locket around her neck.
"We've gotta get out of here," Mokuba told her.
"We can't hide somewhere in the house?" Mara said in horror.
Mokuba shook his head. "There's a secret room, but we can't get to it from here, and that guy's coming down the hall right now." He paused. "Wait! There is another door in here. If we can just . . ."
He had no time to finish his sentence before the doorknob was rattling. "He knows we're here!" Mara said, wide-eyed.
"Then come on!" Mokuba grabbed her hand and ran toward the other door. But when he turned the knob, another evil-looking man was standing there.
"Sorry, kids," he sneered. "Looks like you're surrounded!"
The two children backed up, horrified.
"What do we do?" Mara cried. Now they couldn't go out either door!
Mokuba thought fast. "Hang on to me!" he ordered and ran to the window. Throwing it open, the boy jumped out and pulled Mara with him. The little girl screamed as they plummeted towards earth and landed in the snow not far below. "They're still coming for us!" Mokuba said grimly, looking around. There was nowhere for them to run, and he could hear the men running down the stairs and heading for the door.
"What do we do?" Mara asked.
Mokuba turned to the girl and looked her right in the eyes. "I have a plan," he said, and quickly proceeded to tell her what was on his mind.
Mara's eyes went wide. "No!" she protested. "No! You can't make me go along with that!!"
"It's the only way," Mokuba said, hearing the door open and standing up.
Mara began to cry, knowing the boy was really going to do it.
****
When everyone got back to the better part of the city, Joey suggested they drive over to Bobby's place and see what was happening with Mr. Thorton across the street, since Yugi had called Mai and she had said that the man still hadn't come in.
"That's fine with me," Tea said as Joey turned the car in that direction. "I wish we could get this mystery solved before Christmas!"
"Perhaps we can," Yugi said slowly.
Seto didn't say anything, but Tea knew that the blue-eyed boy was determined to solve his own mystery, which seemed—as usual—to be tangled up with theirs.
Actually, what was going through Seto's mind at the moment was a horrible feeling that something was terribly wrong. He couldn't reach his cell phone when they were all cramped into Joey's tiny car, but he intended to call home just as soon as he could. "Please let them be safe," he prayed fervently.
****
Bobby was helping his mother carry groceries into the house. When he saw Joey and the others pull up, he brightened and waved. "Hi, Joey!" he called. "I'll be right with you!"
While they waited, Seto took out his cell phone and dialed his home phone number, but no one answered. "That's strange," the boy muttered, his eyes narrowing.
"What is it?" Bakura asked.
Seto put the cell phone away, looking concerned. "No one answered at home," he replied. "Something must be wrong."
After taking the milk into the house, Bobby came back out and exchanged a high-five with his friend. "Hey, kid," Joey grinned. "How's life today?"
"Things are great!" Bobby chirped. The boy was always cheerful, even tho he had a lot he could be depressed and sad about, what with his family's current situation and all. He greeted all of the other teens enthusiastically. Bobby had met them all at one time or another, even Seto Kaiba.
"So, uh, have you seen Mr. Thorton today?" Joey asked. "He hasn't shown up for work today."
Bobby scrunched his face up in thought. "I saw him loading stuff into his car," he reported.
The teens were shocked. "What?!" Tristan, Yugi, and Bakura exclaimed.
"He was packing up to leave for somewhere?!" Tea cried in disbelief.
"Sure seemed to be," Bobby nodded. He paused, looking sheepish. "And . . . I don't think he's planning to come back any time soon."
"What makes you say that?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bobby dug the toe of his shoe into the snow guiltily. "Well . . . I tried to talk to him, but he was all nervous and wouldn't give me a straight answer," he reported. "So after he left, I kinda . . . Well, I . . ."
"You went up and looked in the window of the guy's house," Joey deduced.
Bobby nodded. "Well, yeah. And . . ." He paused. "And I saw all the furniture was covered up with sheets!"
"Oh man," Tristan sighed. "So now the guy's skipped town!"
"That's bad," Yugi said, shaking his head. "It makes it look like he's running from something."
"Maybe even the police," Tristan added, voicing Yugi's thoughts.
"What's the next step in your investigation?" Bobby asked, interested.
"I guess we should talk to Joey's police officer friend," Yugi said slowly.
Bobby grinned. "Sounds like fun! I wish I could come along, but . . . I promised Mom I'd watch Annie while she takes a nap," he finished.
Joey laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, why don't you and Annie both come along?" he suggested. "We shouldn't be runnin' into any big dangers at a police station, after all!"
Bobby's face lit up. "Really? We could come?" he exclaimed.
"Sure, if your mom says it's okay," Joey told him, and the boy sprinted into the house to ask. Joey turned back to the others. "Bobby's a good kid," he said. "He needs a chance now and then to still be able to be one and not havta act so grownup all the time."
Seto didn't make a reply to that and said instead, "Just how do you propose to fit everyone in your junkheap of a car, Wheeler?" It had been enough of a squeeze for the six teens to ride in the old car, which was really made for only four people. Joey, Yugi, and Tristan had been jammed in the front, while Bakura, Tea, and Seto had been crowded into the back. There was no way they could take two little kids with them as well without having a bigger car. What's more, Seto knew, they could get a ticket for riding around that way, especially when they'd be right at a police station.
"Hey! My car's not a junkheap!" Joey yelled defensively, completely ignoring the question. Seto sighed and took out his cell phone to call his limo.
While he was at it, Seto decided to try calling home again. The phone rang for the longest time but still no one ever picked it up. "Something *is* wrong," the boy said grimly to himself, vowing to drive out there the moment the limo arrived.
That's when Bobby came running back out with Annie. "Mom says it's okay!" he beamed.
"Hey, that's great!" Joey grinned.
When the limo arrived shortly afterward, Seto told the chauffeur that they had to check in with the kids before driving to the station, and so they headed up into the ritzy part of the city.
Bobby and Annie looked at the spectacular mansions in awe. "Wow," the boy exclaimed. "These places are so big!"
"You could play hide-and-seek for hours in 'em!" Annie added excitedly.
At last the limo pulled up in front of the Kaiba Manor and Seto got out. Before he could protest, everyone else had as well. Seto, however, was more worried about the welfare of Mokuba and Mara than having a procession, so he went up to the porch and opened the door and seemed to not care that seven others were following him. "Hello?" the boy called, looking through the parlor. He gasped at the sight before him.
Velma was laying on the couch, an ice pack on her head. Off to the side, Anna was trying to comfort Mara, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Mokuba was nowhere to be seen.
"What's happened in here?" Seto demanded.
"Oh, Mr. Kaiba, I'm so sorry!!" Mara wailed. "I . . . I tried to stop him, but . . ."
"What?" Seto asked, feeling frantic now.
"Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba's gone!" Mara cried.