"Guys, it's been nice knowin' you," Tristan said grimly as the villains prepared to fire.
"Same here, bud," Joey replied with a nervous nod.
"Good heavens!" Bakura exclaimed. "Where's Mara?!"
"Eh?" The hitmen lowered their guns, staring. Mara had, indeed, vanished. "Oh well. We want her alive, anyway," one of the assassins said after a moment of reflection.
"You bad men aren't gonna kill my friends!" a familiar voice yelled, and suddenly heavy crates clunked on the assassins' heads. Groaning, they slumped to the floor and Mara appeared from behind a control panel, holding a rope. "Are you guys okay?" she asked worriedly.
Joey let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, kid—thanks to you!"
"Yes!" Bakura agreed emphatically. "You saved us all!"
Smiling, Mara dropped the rope and ran off down the hall. "We've gotta find Mommy, Daddy, and Mokuba!" she cried.
"Man, I hope they're okay," Joey whispered.
****
Seto gently kissed Mokuba on the forehead. "He's asleep," he told Tea softly, just enjoying watching his brother's steady breathing and knowing that the younger boy was alive.
Tea smiled. "I'm so glad he's alright," she said earnestly. She had seen a very different side to the normally cold Seto Kaiba tonight. She wasn't comfortable with the circumstances in which she had seen how vulnerable he could be, but she was touched by his kindness toward his brother and knew that the boy was a lot different than she had originally thought.
The panel in the wall opened suddenly and Yugi and his Yami fell in.
Tea looked up, startled, then brightened. "Hey you guys!" she said, waving.
Yugi smiled. "Hi, Tea!" He looked over worriedly at Seto, who was standing up with Mokuba in his arms. "Kaiba, is Mokuba . . .?"
"He's alright," Seto replied, not wanting to elaborate. As far as he was concerned, only he and Tea would know the details of what had transpired.
"That's a relief," Yugi declared.
Yami Yugi nodded in agreement. "We should go look for the others," he stated. "They might be in grave danger."
Seto nodded. Now that he had found his brother, he also had to find Mara's parents. He had promised her that he would, and he didn't intend to break that promise. "Let's go," he said determinedly.
****
"Mommy!" Mara screamed, looking in every room without success. "Daddy! Where are you? Mokuba! Answer me! Please!" she wailed.
"They might not be here," Mai said in an undertone.
"I know," Joey nodded. "Or maybe they are, but they're . . ."
Bakura shook his head warningly. He knew it was a possibility, but he didn't want Mara to hear. She was already worried enough about that without Joey and Mai feeding her fears.
They came to the end of the long hall without finding any sign of the missing persons. "Now what?" Tristan wondered.
"They've gotta be here!" Mara wailed. "We can't leave until we leave them!"
"We won't," Bakura assured her.
"Actually . . ." A panel opened and a sneering older man with an evil glint in his eyes stepped out. "They are all dead and soon you all will be joining them!"
The teens gasped and Mara shrieked. "No! I don't believe you!"
"Sadly, little girl, it's true." The man smirked, grabbing Mara and wrenching the locket away from her. "And now I have the information they all died for!"
"I don't think so, Del Vinci!"
Everyone looked up. Seto, Tea, and Yugi (who had merged with his Yami) were standing there. In Seto's arms he held Mokuba's little body.
Mara screamed. "Ishedeadishedeadishedead?!"
"I'm afraid so," Del Vinci said flatly.
"No, he's not!" Seto retorted fiercely. "Your treacherous scheme failed!"
Del Vinci blinked. "Poor boy. He's in denial," he said, waving his hand dismissively.
Mokuba stirred and blinked. "I'm not dead, you creep!" he yelled as loud as he could, which wasn't very loud since he was still quite weak.
"Mokuba!" Mara and the teens with her cried in delight.
"What you tried to do was really messed up!" Mokuba cried, and Seto nodded in agreement.
"You almost killed my brother," the older boy said in a low tone.
"He should have died," Del Vinci said, his eyes narrowing. "But no matter. I will just kill you all!"
With that many more assassins came out of every room in the basement.
"Man . . . is anyone else feelin' deja vu here?!" Joey said in frustration.
Seto gave Mokuba to Tea. "Don't let anything happen to him," he ordered, turning to face his opponents.
What followed was an all-out wild battle. Guns went off left and right as the frenzy escalated. Tea, unsure of what to do but knowing she had to keep Mokuba safe, ducked down and tried to make her way to the control panel Mara had been using. Maybe she would be able to find something there to help win the fight!
Mara, was, at that moment, fighting Del Vinci and trying to get her locket back. "Mommy entrusted that to me!" she cried. "You aren't supposed to have it!"
Del Vinci was not impressed. "It's mine now, just as it should have been weeks ago," he replied.
"I don't think so!" Seto growled, grabbing Del Vinci's arm and twisting it viciously. "Run, Mara!" he called, and the terrified girl snatched her locket and disappeared into the melee.
"After her!" Del Vinci screamed, struggling with Seto. "And get rid of Kaiba!!"
One of the assassins turned and fired his gun right at the blue-eyed boy. With a cry of pain, Seto's grip on the Mafia don loosened and he sank to the floor.
"Big brother!!" Mokuba shrieked.
Tea was horrified as well, but she tried to keep Mokuba calm as she darted around the others and found the control panel. "I'm sure he'll be alright," she whispered to the boy comfortingly.
Del Vinci sneered at Seto's limp form and turned to run after Mara. Suddenly Seto sprang to life, grabbing the man viciously. "I was only grazed on my arm," he growled. "Your men couldn't shoot me properly if they were standing right next to me!"
Del Vinci's eyes narrowed in anger. "They were right about you, Seto Kaiba," he admitted grudgingly. "You don't die easily."
Joey, meantime, was fighting his own battle. He grappled with the hitman for the gun, which went off at the control panel and short-circuited it.
Tea backed away as sparks flew. "Well, that plan's out," she said, shaking her head.
"Try pulling that rope up there," Mokuba suggested.
Tea looked up and blinked. "Well, I guess in a case like this it couldn't hurt," she admitted, giving the rope a tug.
Instantly more crates rained down, striking the assassins and sending them to the floor. The teens had to dodge the falling wooden boxes so they wouldn't get hit as well.
Del Vinci screamed as he was thrown to the floor. Seto picked up a nearby fallen gun and pointed it right at him before he could get up. "Don't move," the boy hissed.
Del Vinci's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" he exclaimed nervously.
Seto held the gun steady. "You nearly killed my brother. I should shoot you right now for what you did to that innocent kid. But . . ." He grabbed Del Vinci and restrained his wrists while still keeping the revolver in one hand. "If I did, I'd be no better than you—killing out of hate."
Del Vinci breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly whirled around and grabbed for the gun. "You really should have killed me, Seto Kaiba," he smirked. "Now I *will* get rid of you!"
Seto wrenched his arm free and fired all of the gun's remaining bullets into the ceiling before Del Vinci could stop him. "Save it. No one's going to kill anybody. Your days of carrying out atrocious plans are over," he said coldly. He restrained the man again and tied his hands.
The assassins were now all on the floor, dazed from the crates and being restrained by the teens. Suddenly the panel in the wall opened again and two people stepped out, wearing ski masks and carrying guns.
"What now?!" Joey cried.
One of them removed their mask, revealing a man Seto had remembered seeing on Del Vinci's wanted list on the computer. "Good work, kids," he congratulated, looking over the subdued criminals.
"Daddy!!" Mara cried in delight, leaping up from where she'd been hiding behind the control panel.
"Mara!" the man smiled, taking the girl into his arms.
The other person took their mask off as well, revealing the mysterious woman from the photos. "Oh Mara, you're safe!" she exclaimed. "We were so worried!!"
"Mommy!!" Mara's eyes were shining.
The teens watched this reunion happily. Their new mystery had come to a close, and everyone had survived!
Now that Seto had got Del Vinci captured, he went across the room and took Mokuba from Tea, holding the younger boy tenderly. "Are you okay, kid?" he asked.
Mokuba nodded. "I'm fine, Seto." He gasped. "Oh Seto, you're hurt!" he cried in alarm, seeing the hole in his brother's trenchcoat and the blood running down his arm.
Seto blinked. He had forgotten about his injury. "It's nothing, kid," he reassured Mokuba. "Just a scratch."
Seto now walked over to the reunited family and looked at them in satisfaction. "Your daughter has been looking for you," he said, "and even coming along when she shouldn't," he added, looking at Mara suspiciously. He had a pretty good idea of how the girl had gotten to the mansion.
Mara blushed and ducked her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," she said, "but I couldn't stay behind!"
"You're the young man who has been taking care of our Mara?" the father said, studying Seto.
The boy nodded. "I am."
"We can't thank you enough," the mother said softly.
Joey grinned. "Well, it looks like another happy ending!" He paused, blinking. "But there's still a whole bunch of questions that need answerin'!" he declared, and the other teens nodded in agreement.
Mara's parents nodded as well. "We'll explain everything," her father assured them.
"Same here, bud," Joey replied with a nervous nod.
"Good heavens!" Bakura exclaimed. "Where's Mara?!"
"Eh?" The hitmen lowered their guns, staring. Mara had, indeed, vanished. "Oh well. We want her alive, anyway," one of the assassins said after a moment of reflection.
"You bad men aren't gonna kill my friends!" a familiar voice yelled, and suddenly heavy crates clunked on the assassins' heads. Groaning, they slumped to the floor and Mara appeared from behind a control panel, holding a rope. "Are you guys okay?" she asked worriedly.
Joey let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, kid—thanks to you!"
"Yes!" Bakura agreed emphatically. "You saved us all!"
Smiling, Mara dropped the rope and ran off down the hall. "We've gotta find Mommy, Daddy, and Mokuba!" she cried.
"Man, I hope they're okay," Joey whispered.
****
Seto gently kissed Mokuba on the forehead. "He's asleep," he told Tea softly, just enjoying watching his brother's steady breathing and knowing that the younger boy was alive.
Tea smiled. "I'm so glad he's alright," she said earnestly. She had seen a very different side to the normally cold Seto Kaiba tonight. She wasn't comfortable with the circumstances in which she had seen how vulnerable he could be, but she was touched by his kindness toward his brother and knew that the boy was a lot different than she had originally thought.
The panel in the wall opened suddenly and Yugi and his Yami fell in.
Tea looked up, startled, then brightened. "Hey you guys!" she said, waving.
Yugi smiled. "Hi, Tea!" He looked over worriedly at Seto, who was standing up with Mokuba in his arms. "Kaiba, is Mokuba . . .?"
"He's alright," Seto replied, not wanting to elaborate. As far as he was concerned, only he and Tea would know the details of what had transpired.
"That's a relief," Yugi declared.
Yami Yugi nodded in agreement. "We should go look for the others," he stated. "They might be in grave danger."
Seto nodded. Now that he had found his brother, he also had to find Mara's parents. He had promised her that he would, and he didn't intend to break that promise. "Let's go," he said determinedly.
****
"Mommy!" Mara screamed, looking in every room without success. "Daddy! Where are you? Mokuba! Answer me! Please!" she wailed.
"They might not be here," Mai said in an undertone.
"I know," Joey nodded. "Or maybe they are, but they're . . ."
Bakura shook his head warningly. He knew it was a possibility, but he didn't want Mara to hear. She was already worried enough about that without Joey and Mai feeding her fears.
They came to the end of the long hall without finding any sign of the missing persons. "Now what?" Tristan wondered.
"They've gotta be here!" Mara wailed. "We can't leave until we leave them!"
"We won't," Bakura assured her.
"Actually . . ." A panel opened and a sneering older man with an evil glint in his eyes stepped out. "They are all dead and soon you all will be joining them!"
The teens gasped and Mara shrieked. "No! I don't believe you!"
"Sadly, little girl, it's true." The man smirked, grabbing Mara and wrenching the locket away from her. "And now I have the information they all died for!"
"I don't think so, Del Vinci!"
Everyone looked up. Seto, Tea, and Yugi (who had merged with his Yami) were standing there. In Seto's arms he held Mokuba's little body.
Mara screamed. "Ishedeadishedeadishedead?!"
"I'm afraid so," Del Vinci said flatly.
"No, he's not!" Seto retorted fiercely. "Your treacherous scheme failed!"
Del Vinci blinked. "Poor boy. He's in denial," he said, waving his hand dismissively.
Mokuba stirred and blinked. "I'm not dead, you creep!" he yelled as loud as he could, which wasn't very loud since he was still quite weak.
"Mokuba!" Mara and the teens with her cried in delight.
"What you tried to do was really messed up!" Mokuba cried, and Seto nodded in agreement.
"You almost killed my brother," the older boy said in a low tone.
"He should have died," Del Vinci said, his eyes narrowing. "But no matter. I will just kill you all!"
With that many more assassins came out of every room in the basement.
"Man . . . is anyone else feelin' deja vu here?!" Joey said in frustration.
Seto gave Mokuba to Tea. "Don't let anything happen to him," he ordered, turning to face his opponents.
What followed was an all-out wild battle. Guns went off left and right as the frenzy escalated. Tea, unsure of what to do but knowing she had to keep Mokuba safe, ducked down and tried to make her way to the control panel Mara had been using. Maybe she would be able to find something there to help win the fight!
Mara, was, at that moment, fighting Del Vinci and trying to get her locket back. "Mommy entrusted that to me!" she cried. "You aren't supposed to have it!"
Del Vinci was not impressed. "It's mine now, just as it should have been weeks ago," he replied.
"I don't think so!" Seto growled, grabbing Del Vinci's arm and twisting it viciously. "Run, Mara!" he called, and the terrified girl snatched her locket and disappeared into the melee.
"After her!" Del Vinci screamed, struggling with Seto. "And get rid of Kaiba!!"
One of the assassins turned and fired his gun right at the blue-eyed boy. With a cry of pain, Seto's grip on the Mafia don loosened and he sank to the floor.
"Big brother!!" Mokuba shrieked.
Tea was horrified as well, but she tried to keep Mokuba calm as she darted around the others and found the control panel. "I'm sure he'll be alright," she whispered to the boy comfortingly.
Del Vinci sneered at Seto's limp form and turned to run after Mara. Suddenly Seto sprang to life, grabbing the man viciously. "I was only grazed on my arm," he growled. "Your men couldn't shoot me properly if they were standing right next to me!"
Del Vinci's eyes narrowed in anger. "They were right about you, Seto Kaiba," he admitted grudgingly. "You don't die easily."
Joey, meantime, was fighting his own battle. He grappled with the hitman for the gun, which went off at the control panel and short-circuited it.
Tea backed away as sparks flew. "Well, that plan's out," she said, shaking her head.
"Try pulling that rope up there," Mokuba suggested.
Tea looked up and blinked. "Well, I guess in a case like this it couldn't hurt," she admitted, giving the rope a tug.
Instantly more crates rained down, striking the assassins and sending them to the floor. The teens had to dodge the falling wooden boxes so they wouldn't get hit as well.
Del Vinci screamed as he was thrown to the floor. Seto picked up a nearby fallen gun and pointed it right at him before he could get up. "Don't move," the boy hissed.
Del Vinci's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" he exclaimed nervously.
Seto held the gun steady. "You nearly killed my brother. I should shoot you right now for what you did to that innocent kid. But . . ." He grabbed Del Vinci and restrained his wrists while still keeping the revolver in one hand. "If I did, I'd be no better than you—killing out of hate."
Del Vinci breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly whirled around and grabbed for the gun. "You really should have killed me, Seto Kaiba," he smirked. "Now I *will* get rid of you!"
Seto wrenched his arm free and fired all of the gun's remaining bullets into the ceiling before Del Vinci could stop him. "Save it. No one's going to kill anybody. Your days of carrying out atrocious plans are over," he said coldly. He restrained the man again and tied his hands.
The assassins were now all on the floor, dazed from the crates and being restrained by the teens. Suddenly the panel in the wall opened again and two people stepped out, wearing ski masks and carrying guns.
"What now?!" Joey cried.
One of them removed their mask, revealing a man Seto had remembered seeing on Del Vinci's wanted list on the computer. "Good work, kids," he congratulated, looking over the subdued criminals.
"Daddy!!" Mara cried in delight, leaping up from where she'd been hiding behind the control panel.
"Mara!" the man smiled, taking the girl into his arms.
The other person took their mask off as well, revealing the mysterious woman from the photos. "Oh Mara, you're safe!" she exclaimed. "We were so worried!!"
"Mommy!!" Mara's eyes were shining.
The teens watched this reunion happily. Their new mystery had come to a close, and everyone had survived!
Now that Seto had got Del Vinci captured, he went across the room and took Mokuba from Tea, holding the younger boy tenderly. "Are you okay, kid?" he asked.
Mokuba nodded. "I'm fine, Seto." He gasped. "Oh Seto, you're hurt!" he cried in alarm, seeing the hole in his brother's trenchcoat and the blood running down his arm.
Seto blinked. He had forgotten about his injury. "It's nothing, kid," he reassured Mokuba. "Just a scratch."
Seto now walked over to the reunited family and looked at them in satisfaction. "Your daughter has been looking for you," he said, "and even coming along when she shouldn't," he added, looking at Mara suspiciously. He had a pretty good idea of how the girl had gotten to the mansion.
Mara blushed and ducked her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," she said, "but I couldn't stay behind!"
"You're the young man who has been taking care of our Mara?" the father said, studying Seto.
The boy nodded. "I am."
"We can't thank you enough," the mother said softly.
Joey grinned. "Well, it looks like another happy ending!" He paused, blinking. "But there's still a whole bunch of questions that need answerin'!" he declared, and the other teens nodded in agreement.
Mara's parents nodded as well. "We'll explain everything," her father assured them.