Tea stared at Seto in disbelief. "What?! You want to jump out of here?!" She watched the scenery fly by at a speed she didn't even want to think about.
Seto gave her an amused smirk. "We'll have to wait for the train to slow down first, or we'll both fall to our deaths," he replied, turning to look at the countryside.
Just as they started to pass a meadow, the train began to lose speed.
"We're heading for a hill," Seto told her. "We have to get off—now."
Tea grabbed Seto's arm. "Are you sure about this? Maybe you're not thinking straight after getting that knock on your head!"
"I'm thinking perfectly straight," Seto grumbled. "Now listen to me. When you jump out, you'll have to immediately curl up and roll to avoid serious injury."
Tea gulped. "Well, if it's the only way . . ."
"It is." Seto turned to the open door. "I'll go first. You follow right after me."
Tea watched Seto leap out, and then shakily stood in the doorway herself. "Here goes," she muttered, and found herself taking a spill through the air. With a scream, she came to a halt across Seto's back.
The boy grunted. "Get off," he ordered, and Tea obeyed, backing off of his shoulder blades and kneeling next to him. Seto rolled over and sat up.
"Are you alright?" Tea asked pointedly.
"Fine." Seto looked Tea up and down and decided that she was fine as well.
"Now we need to figure out where we are," Tea remarked. The area seemed to be completely deserted, and it was nighttime by now. Far off in the distance, a strange howl started up. "What was that?!" Tea exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it," Seto replied, getting to his feet. Tea shakily stood up as well, hearing the howl again.
"Is that a wolf?!" she demanded.
"I told you not to worry about it. Now come on. We should look for a road." Seto turned to go.
Suddenly the familiar sound of a shot rang out and Tea shrieked. "Someone's shooting at us!!" she cried.
Seto turned to look and saw several men with pistols leaning over the railing of the train's caboose. "Come on," he said grimly, grabbing Tea's hand. "We'll disappear in those trees over there."
****
Yugi hung up the phone, looking worried. "Tea's still not home," he exclaimed.
"Man, where the heck would she be?!" Joey cried.
The phone rang abruptly and Yugi heard his grandfather answer the extension in the kitchen. Soon he came to the doorway, looking concerned. "Yugi, that's Mokuba on the phone," the elderly man reported. "He wonders if you've seen his brother."
Yugi blinked. "Kaiba's missing?!" he exclaimed, grabbing the phone in the living room. "Hello?"
"Yugi, have you seen my big brother?" Mokuba pleaded. "He came home from school and said he was going to his office, but when I called, they said he'd never got there!"
Yugi gasped. That was bad, but he didn't want to frighten the younger boy. "I haven't seen your brother," he said at last, "but don't worry, Mokuba—we'll find him!"
"I hope so," Mokuba quavered. "I don't know where he might have gone!"
After they hung up, Yugi turned back to the others. "Kaiba's missing too," he reported grimly.
"Eh, you think there's a connection?" Joey wondered.
"You mean did they go off together?" Tristan said smirkingly, and he and Joey started to laugh.
Yugi shook his head. "This is serious! I'm sure they *are* together, but not the way you're thinking!" He stood up. "Come on, guys. We've gotta go look for them!"
Joey stifled another laugh. "What about Marik?" he wondered.
"I will come with you." The boy stood in the doorway resolutely. "I don't want to stay here tonight." He was tired of being plagued by those horrid images, and he hoped that with something important to do, it would block them from his mind.
"Are you sure you should?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, what with all those weird guys tryin' to off you . . ."
"I will be fine," Marik interrupted. "I'm not a coward and I'm a good fighter. They just took me by surprise before. But they won't again." Of course he had been baffled and upset (and still was) by the ex-Rare Hunters' actions, but now he would fight against them. They had no right to treat him like this, not when he had repented!
"Well then . . ." Yugi summoned his Yami. "Let's go!"
****
Tea ran into the woods with Seto, not even bothering to pull her hand free from his grasp. She was much more worried about escaping those assassins and she definitely did not want to get separated from the boy. "They're still coming!" she cried, seeing the men jumping off the train and running after them.
Seto's eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure why those people wanted them dead, but he'd worry about that later.
A bullet clipped a tree next to him and bark rained down abundantly over the two fleeing teens. Seto brushed a piece out of his bangs in annoyance.
Suddenly Tea screamed as she stumbled over a pit in the ground and went down. Seto turned around, looking irritated. "What happened?!" he demanded.
Tea struggled to stand up but couldn't. "I think I twisted my ankle," she gasped, ducking as a bullet flew by. "Kaiba, you have Mokuba to think of. Just go on without me," she insisted, trying again to rise and failing.
Seto also ducked as a bullet passed, narrowly missing his shoulder. Without a word he scooped Tea into his arms and turned to run again. "Don't protest," he muttered.
Tea felt a bit awkward, but she had to admit that she was also very grateful.
Seto ran across the meadows and through the woods, dodging bullets and then vanishing behind a large boulder in order to see what their assailants would do. "Stay quiet," he muttered, and Tea was only too happy to comply.
They could hear the voices talking among themselves. "Where did he go?" one of them growled.
"He can't be far," another declared. "Fan out!"
Without another word, Seto turned and disappeared into the darkness, still carrying Tea in his arms.
"What are you going to do?" the girl asked.
Seto didn't answer. He wasn't entirely sure himself. As he darted through the trees, a rifle was suddenly pointed directly at them, and Tea gasped.
"Don't move a muscle or I'll blow you to Kingdom Come," a nasty-sounding voice growled.
****
Ishizu found herself having a strange and unclear dream. She saw Marik fighting an unknown enemy in what seemed to be a fiery furnace. "I will not allow you to win this time," Marik vowed, and he and the shadowy spectre he was battling with struggled over the Millennium Rod. With a loud, metallic clang the Rod fell to the ground below, and then one of the figures fell off the platform and into the flames.
Ishizu sprang up, breathing heavily. "Marik!" she screamed. Somehow she knew it was her brother who had fallen to his death. But was this something that would be . . . or only something that might be? She had to find Marik . . . immediately.
Quickly she climbed out of her bed and got into her off-white dress. As she adjusted the thick gold belt, she knew she needed to check in on Rishid before she left. She hadn't wanted to sleep, but Shadi had insisted. And she had felt so worn out that she had finally agreed.
Slowly she walked down the hall to Rishid's room. As always, the door was open and Shadi was sitting in the chair next to the bed. Rishid was laying unconscious and still. He hadn't seemed to have changed position from earlier. Ishizu sighed sadly as she looked.
"Marik needs you more right now," Shadi said quietly. "And Rishid needs his brother, even if Marik doesn't remember everything. You must bring him. It will be safe enough now, but more dangerous if he does not come."
Ishizu knew he was right. Gently she took Rishid's hand and spoke to him softly in Egyptian, telling him that she was going to get Marik now and that he had to hang on for the both of them. Then she straightened up, melancholy, and smiled a thank you at Shadi before leaving.
****
The other teens met in downtown Domino City two hours later, out of breath and frustrated.
"Man, we've looked everywhere!" Joey cried.
"We have too," a female voice said, and Mai and Mokuba appeared from out of the shadows. The others were startled.
"How did you two wind up here?" Yugi wondered.
"Mokuba called me after he'd talked to you," Mai replied with a little smile. "He said he figured you wouldn't let him come on the search because it might be dangerous, so I agreed to help him look."
"We didn't have any luck!" Mokuba wailed.
"Neither did we," Yugi admitted grimly. "Let's split up again. Some of us should report this to the police while the rest of us continue looking. I'm afraid there's the possibility that they were both kidnapped."
Bakura agreed to go to the police station with Mai and Mokuba, while Joey and Tristan and Yugi and Marik split into two groups and continued the search. "We'll meet back here in another two hours," Yugi directed, praying that they would have success in the search.
****
Seto glared into the shadows, holding Tea protectively. "Put the gun down," he ordered.
There was a long pause. "You're just a kid," the voice exclaimed, lowering the firearm. "What in the name of Heaven are you doing on my property?!"
"Someone's trying to kill us!" Tea cried.
"There's two of you?" The man shined a flashlight at them. "What goes on around here?!"
"What town is this?" Seto demanded, ignoring the man's question.
"Eh? You been drinkin' or something?" the man asked, squinting at them.
"I don't drink," Seto replied coldly.
"Please help us," Tea begged. "We were kidnapped and just managed to escape a few minutes ago!"
The man blinked. "Kidnapped, eh?"
"And she's hurt," Seto added sternly, indicating Tea.
"Alright," the man sighed, "come with me." He turned and walked toward his house, Seto following closely.
"I'd better not regret this later," the boy muttered, having a strange feeling about what they were getting into.
Tea concurred.
When they reached the man's home, he told them that they were in Lincoln—quite a ways from Domino City. "There's not much to see out here," he said. "It's a pretty small community, but for some reason I always get vandals invading my yard," he added angrily.
He gestured at his living room couch. "Just lay your lady friend down there and I'll go find my wife," he said as he left the room.
Seto's eyes narrowed at the term 'lady friend,' but he complied and positioned Tea on the couch. Somehow, something still didn't feel quite right—and when he saw Tea's eyes all wide and frightened, he knew she sensed it too.
****
Yugi ran down the street, Marik in tow. No one had seen Seto or Tea anywhere, and Yugi was very worried. By now he absolutely suspected foul play.
"What if I am the reason they are missing?" Marik cried in despair. "What if my enemies found out that I am staying with you and they abducted your friends as punishment?" The sickening images had entered his mind again, much to his dismay, and he couldn't get rid of them no matter how hard he tried. He had the feeling that the ex-Rare Hunters wouldn't be above hurting others to get at him. But he couldn't know that poor Rishid was hurt because of them.
Yugi shook his head. "No, Marik," he said gently. "That wouldn't even make sense!"
"Nothing makes sense!" Marik retorted.
"This is not your fault," Yugi said firmly.
"And where are you going so late at night?" a familiar voice asked.
Both boys whirled to see Weevil standing outside Duke Devlin's shop, watching them.
Yugi didn't have time for greetings. "Weevil, have you seen Tea or Seto Kaiba?" he demanded. "They're both missing, and I strongly suspect something is very wrong."
Weevil shrugged. "I haven't seen them," he said abruptly.
At that moment, Duke came out of the shop looking concerned. "Did I hear right, Yugi? Tea and Kaiba are gone?" He started upon seeing Marik. "You?"
Yugi blinked. "That is a very long story," he said in reference to Marik's presence. "But yeah, Tea and Kaiba are gone. I don't suppose you've seen either of them?"
Duke put the 'Closed' sign on the door and then turned back to Yugi. "I did see them, actually—both of them!"
Yugi perked up. "You did?" Marik also looked hopeful.
Duke nodded. "I saw them after school this afternoon. They were walking down the street together and trying to appear inconspicuous, but I'm pretty sure they were following some guy."
Yugi's eyes narrowed in concern. "What did the man they were tailing look like?"
Duke paused, thinking. "I couldn't see him very well, but he seemed to be middle-aged, with broad shoulders and black hair."
Weevil listened to all of this with goggle-eyed interest. "Why would they be following someone?" he demanded.
Yugi shook his head, ignoring him for the time being. "What direction were they heading in?"
"They were going north," Duke replied. "Can I help you look for them?"
Yugi smiled. "Your help is welcome."
Weevil didn't offer his help, but he followed them curiously.
Suddenly a dark figure stepped in front of the four boys threateningly. "Your search is pointless," he declared. "Those you are looking for are dead!"
Seto gave her an amused smirk. "We'll have to wait for the train to slow down first, or we'll both fall to our deaths," he replied, turning to look at the countryside.
Just as they started to pass a meadow, the train began to lose speed.
"We're heading for a hill," Seto told her. "We have to get off—now."
Tea grabbed Seto's arm. "Are you sure about this? Maybe you're not thinking straight after getting that knock on your head!"
"I'm thinking perfectly straight," Seto grumbled. "Now listen to me. When you jump out, you'll have to immediately curl up and roll to avoid serious injury."
Tea gulped. "Well, if it's the only way . . ."
"It is." Seto turned to the open door. "I'll go first. You follow right after me."
Tea watched Seto leap out, and then shakily stood in the doorway herself. "Here goes," she muttered, and found herself taking a spill through the air. With a scream, she came to a halt across Seto's back.
The boy grunted. "Get off," he ordered, and Tea obeyed, backing off of his shoulder blades and kneeling next to him. Seto rolled over and sat up.
"Are you alright?" Tea asked pointedly.
"Fine." Seto looked Tea up and down and decided that she was fine as well.
"Now we need to figure out where we are," Tea remarked. The area seemed to be completely deserted, and it was nighttime by now. Far off in the distance, a strange howl started up. "What was that?!" Tea exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it," Seto replied, getting to his feet. Tea shakily stood up as well, hearing the howl again.
"Is that a wolf?!" she demanded.
"I told you not to worry about it. Now come on. We should look for a road." Seto turned to go.
Suddenly the familiar sound of a shot rang out and Tea shrieked. "Someone's shooting at us!!" she cried.
Seto turned to look and saw several men with pistols leaning over the railing of the train's caboose. "Come on," he said grimly, grabbing Tea's hand. "We'll disappear in those trees over there."
****
Yugi hung up the phone, looking worried. "Tea's still not home," he exclaimed.
"Man, where the heck would she be?!" Joey cried.
The phone rang abruptly and Yugi heard his grandfather answer the extension in the kitchen. Soon he came to the doorway, looking concerned. "Yugi, that's Mokuba on the phone," the elderly man reported. "He wonders if you've seen his brother."
Yugi blinked. "Kaiba's missing?!" he exclaimed, grabbing the phone in the living room. "Hello?"
"Yugi, have you seen my big brother?" Mokuba pleaded. "He came home from school and said he was going to his office, but when I called, they said he'd never got there!"
Yugi gasped. That was bad, but he didn't want to frighten the younger boy. "I haven't seen your brother," he said at last, "but don't worry, Mokuba—we'll find him!"
"I hope so," Mokuba quavered. "I don't know where he might have gone!"
After they hung up, Yugi turned back to the others. "Kaiba's missing too," he reported grimly.
"Eh, you think there's a connection?" Joey wondered.
"You mean did they go off together?" Tristan said smirkingly, and he and Joey started to laugh.
Yugi shook his head. "This is serious! I'm sure they *are* together, but not the way you're thinking!" He stood up. "Come on, guys. We've gotta go look for them!"
Joey stifled another laugh. "What about Marik?" he wondered.
"I will come with you." The boy stood in the doorway resolutely. "I don't want to stay here tonight." He was tired of being plagued by those horrid images, and he hoped that with something important to do, it would block them from his mind.
"Are you sure you should?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, what with all those weird guys tryin' to off you . . ."
"I will be fine," Marik interrupted. "I'm not a coward and I'm a good fighter. They just took me by surprise before. But they won't again." Of course he had been baffled and upset (and still was) by the ex-Rare Hunters' actions, but now he would fight against them. They had no right to treat him like this, not when he had repented!
"Well then . . ." Yugi summoned his Yami. "Let's go!"
****
Tea ran into the woods with Seto, not even bothering to pull her hand free from his grasp. She was much more worried about escaping those assassins and she definitely did not want to get separated from the boy. "They're still coming!" she cried, seeing the men jumping off the train and running after them.
Seto's eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure why those people wanted them dead, but he'd worry about that later.
A bullet clipped a tree next to him and bark rained down abundantly over the two fleeing teens. Seto brushed a piece out of his bangs in annoyance.
Suddenly Tea screamed as she stumbled over a pit in the ground and went down. Seto turned around, looking irritated. "What happened?!" he demanded.
Tea struggled to stand up but couldn't. "I think I twisted my ankle," she gasped, ducking as a bullet flew by. "Kaiba, you have Mokuba to think of. Just go on without me," she insisted, trying again to rise and failing.
Seto also ducked as a bullet passed, narrowly missing his shoulder. Without a word he scooped Tea into his arms and turned to run again. "Don't protest," he muttered.
Tea felt a bit awkward, but she had to admit that she was also very grateful.
Seto ran across the meadows and through the woods, dodging bullets and then vanishing behind a large boulder in order to see what their assailants would do. "Stay quiet," he muttered, and Tea was only too happy to comply.
They could hear the voices talking among themselves. "Where did he go?" one of them growled.
"He can't be far," another declared. "Fan out!"
Without another word, Seto turned and disappeared into the darkness, still carrying Tea in his arms.
"What are you going to do?" the girl asked.
Seto didn't answer. He wasn't entirely sure himself. As he darted through the trees, a rifle was suddenly pointed directly at them, and Tea gasped.
"Don't move a muscle or I'll blow you to Kingdom Come," a nasty-sounding voice growled.
****
Ishizu found herself having a strange and unclear dream. She saw Marik fighting an unknown enemy in what seemed to be a fiery furnace. "I will not allow you to win this time," Marik vowed, and he and the shadowy spectre he was battling with struggled over the Millennium Rod. With a loud, metallic clang the Rod fell to the ground below, and then one of the figures fell off the platform and into the flames.
Ishizu sprang up, breathing heavily. "Marik!" she screamed. Somehow she knew it was her brother who had fallen to his death. But was this something that would be . . . or only something that might be? She had to find Marik . . . immediately.
Quickly she climbed out of her bed and got into her off-white dress. As she adjusted the thick gold belt, she knew she needed to check in on Rishid before she left. She hadn't wanted to sleep, but Shadi had insisted. And she had felt so worn out that she had finally agreed.
Slowly she walked down the hall to Rishid's room. As always, the door was open and Shadi was sitting in the chair next to the bed. Rishid was laying unconscious and still. He hadn't seemed to have changed position from earlier. Ishizu sighed sadly as she looked.
"Marik needs you more right now," Shadi said quietly. "And Rishid needs his brother, even if Marik doesn't remember everything. You must bring him. It will be safe enough now, but more dangerous if he does not come."
Ishizu knew he was right. Gently she took Rishid's hand and spoke to him softly in Egyptian, telling him that she was going to get Marik now and that he had to hang on for the both of them. Then she straightened up, melancholy, and smiled a thank you at Shadi before leaving.
****
The other teens met in downtown Domino City two hours later, out of breath and frustrated.
"Man, we've looked everywhere!" Joey cried.
"We have too," a female voice said, and Mai and Mokuba appeared from out of the shadows. The others were startled.
"How did you two wind up here?" Yugi wondered.
"Mokuba called me after he'd talked to you," Mai replied with a little smile. "He said he figured you wouldn't let him come on the search because it might be dangerous, so I agreed to help him look."
"We didn't have any luck!" Mokuba wailed.
"Neither did we," Yugi admitted grimly. "Let's split up again. Some of us should report this to the police while the rest of us continue looking. I'm afraid there's the possibility that they were both kidnapped."
Bakura agreed to go to the police station with Mai and Mokuba, while Joey and Tristan and Yugi and Marik split into two groups and continued the search. "We'll meet back here in another two hours," Yugi directed, praying that they would have success in the search.
****
Seto glared into the shadows, holding Tea protectively. "Put the gun down," he ordered.
There was a long pause. "You're just a kid," the voice exclaimed, lowering the firearm. "What in the name of Heaven are you doing on my property?!"
"Someone's trying to kill us!" Tea cried.
"There's two of you?" The man shined a flashlight at them. "What goes on around here?!"
"What town is this?" Seto demanded, ignoring the man's question.
"Eh? You been drinkin' or something?" the man asked, squinting at them.
"I don't drink," Seto replied coldly.
"Please help us," Tea begged. "We were kidnapped and just managed to escape a few minutes ago!"
The man blinked. "Kidnapped, eh?"
"And she's hurt," Seto added sternly, indicating Tea.
"Alright," the man sighed, "come with me." He turned and walked toward his house, Seto following closely.
"I'd better not regret this later," the boy muttered, having a strange feeling about what they were getting into.
Tea concurred.
When they reached the man's home, he told them that they were in Lincoln—quite a ways from Domino City. "There's not much to see out here," he said. "It's a pretty small community, but for some reason I always get vandals invading my yard," he added angrily.
He gestured at his living room couch. "Just lay your lady friend down there and I'll go find my wife," he said as he left the room.
Seto's eyes narrowed at the term 'lady friend,' but he complied and positioned Tea on the couch. Somehow, something still didn't feel quite right—and when he saw Tea's eyes all wide and frightened, he knew she sensed it too.
****
Yugi ran down the street, Marik in tow. No one had seen Seto or Tea anywhere, and Yugi was very worried. By now he absolutely suspected foul play.
"What if I am the reason they are missing?" Marik cried in despair. "What if my enemies found out that I am staying with you and they abducted your friends as punishment?" The sickening images had entered his mind again, much to his dismay, and he couldn't get rid of them no matter how hard he tried. He had the feeling that the ex-Rare Hunters wouldn't be above hurting others to get at him. But he couldn't know that poor Rishid was hurt because of them.
Yugi shook his head. "No, Marik," he said gently. "That wouldn't even make sense!"
"Nothing makes sense!" Marik retorted.
"This is not your fault," Yugi said firmly.
"And where are you going so late at night?" a familiar voice asked.
Both boys whirled to see Weevil standing outside Duke Devlin's shop, watching them.
Yugi didn't have time for greetings. "Weevil, have you seen Tea or Seto Kaiba?" he demanded. "They're both missing, and I strongly suspect something is very wrong."
Weevil shrugged. "I haven't seen them," he said abruptly.
At that moment, Duke came out of the shop looking concerned. "Did I hear right, Yugi? Tea and Kaiba are gone?" He started upon seeing Marik. "You?"
Yugi blinked. "That is a very long story," he said in reference to Marik's presence. "But yeah, Tea and Kaiba are gone. I don't suppose you've seen either of them?"
Duke put the 'Closed' sign on the door and then turned back to Yugi. "I did see them, actually—both of them!"
Yugi perked up. "You did?" Marik also looked hopeful.
Duke nodded. "I saw them after school this afternoon. They were walking down the street together and trying to appear inconspicuous, but I'm pretty sure they were following some guy."
Yugi's eyes narrowed in concern. "What did the man they were tailing look like?"
Duke paused, thinking. "I couldn't see him very well, but he seemed to be middle-aged, with broad shoulders and black hair."
Weevil listened to all of this with goggle-eyed interest. "Why would they be following someone?" he demanded.
Yugi shook his head, ignoring him for the time being. "What direction were they heading in?"
"They were going north," Duke replied. "Can I help you look for them?"
Yugi smiled. "Your help is welcome."
Weevil didn't offer his help, but he followed them curiously.
Suddenly a dark figure stepped in front of the four boys threateningly. "Your search is pointless," he declared. "Those you are looking for are dead!"