Notes: Oookay, there's quite a few of 'em for this chapter ^^ To BakurasGrl66: Have you checked out "Stolen Memories"? That's the first fic I did with Marik, and he has more of a starring role in it ^_^ To YGOCritic: I don't know why that always happens. It just . . . does. ^_~ And now, the general chapter notes: This story is meant to take place before the short story "Dance Without Me," but both of those are supposed to be friendship only, not romance ^_~ Whoo, now that that novel's over, On to the story!! ^_^
Everyone made their way over to the scribbled wall seriously, and Gabrielle's partner snapped a picture for evidence.
"What is that?!" Tea demanded, indicating the deep red color of the graffiti. "It isn't blood . . . is it?"
Gabrielle studied it, her eyes narrowed.
"Actually . . ." Seto spoke up, glancing at the wound in his arm and then up at the wall, "I think it might be."
Yugi and Bakura looked sickened.
"What's happening?!" a new voice cried, and suddenly two young kids appeared on the scene.
"This is no place for you!" Bruce said angrily. "I hired you to deliver the mail, not to disturb crime scenes!!"
"Crime scenes?!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Did someone get murdered?" the girl gasped.
"NO!!!" Bruce thundered. "Now get out of here, both of you!!!" He slammed the door before the two preteens could enter.
"Who were those two geeks?!" Joey exclaimed, nearly tripping over a sound woofer.
"Bernard and Elsa," Bruce muttered. "But don't bother about them. They're of no consequence here."
"What if they saw something?" Tea suggested.
"I doubt it," Bruce grumped. "They're the type who let their imaginations run wild. They can't help us."
Yugi took note of Bruce's behavior, finding it a bit odd.
"Hey, what's this?" Marik bent down to the floor, pointing to what seemed to be a tie clip.
"Evidence," Gabrielle replied, leaning down and picking it up in a plastic bag. The teens crowded around to stare at it. It was rather odd and unusual and was shaped like a rattlesnake. "This is our best clue so far," the officer remarked, after finding out from Bruce that it didn't belong to JP.
"It might be our only clue," Tristan remarked, staring at the studio. Everything was a shambles, but there didn't seem to be any more evidence pertaining to the deejay's attackers.
"Isn't there anyone who might have seen something?" Seto demanded now.
"The only one is the sound engineer, sir," Bruce replied, "and I told you that he was hit over the head before all this even happened. He doesn't know a thing about JP's disappearance."
Seto's eyes narrowed in vexation.
Tea was about to order him to let her treat his injury when the door burst open and a chipper redhead danced in, her eyes bright and alert. "Oh Bruce, what happened in here?!" she gasped, staring at the room in disbelief. "Did JP have another of his wild studio parties?!"
Bruce stared at the girl, obvious annoyance in his eyes. "No, Miss Granger. JP has disappeared," he informed her.
Miss Granger blinked, then shrugged. "Oh well. I figured it would happen one of these days," she said flippantly, and spotted Seto. Her eyes lighted up. "Ooooooh, you're the famous Seto Kaiba, aren't you?!" she exclaimed, running over and grabbing at his injured arm. Seto narrowed his eyes and pulled away, but she grabbed for him again. "I'm Mandy and I've always wanted to meet you!!" she declared. "You always come up with the most exciting, the most inventive, the most brilliant gaming technology!"
Tea stood watching this, finding herself immensely disliking this girl for some reason.
"Your enthusiasm is appreciated, I'm sure," Seto replied emotionlessly, again trying to pry her hand away.
Mandy blinked, suddenly noticing the blood. "You're wounded!!" she shrieked. "Here, let me help you!!"
"I don't need any help." Seto turned away, but Mandy wasn't about to let him go.
"I know all about how to treat cuts and scrapes!" Mandy insisted, grabbing for him again and knocking him hard against the recording table. Seto winced, knocking his left arm on the wood.
"You're hurting him more than you're helping him!!" Tea fumed, stepping in between them.
"I can handle this myself," Seto grunted.
"Oh be quiet," Tea snapped. "I'll see that Mr. Kaiba is properly cared for!" she said to Mandy, shielding Seto from her clumsiness and over-eagerness.
The other teens blinked as Tea marched off with Seto, leaving Mandy looking completely unruffled.
"I just adore that boy," she declared, stars in her eyes.
Bruce gave her a very irritated glare. "Miss Granger, your duties at this station do not include swooning over Seto Kaiba!"
"I know," Mandy replied in a singsong voice.
"She's totally out of it," Tristan remarked.
"Just exactly what are her duties here at the station?" Yugi asked now, watching Mandy go off on another flight of fancy.
Bruce growled angrily. "None, if she keeps up with this. She's supposed to be the deejay who comes on right after JP's show." He crossed his arms in frustration. "We have another studio where our fill-in guy is just wrapping up JP's show for him, but there's no way I can let Mandy go on the air in her state!"
Yugi chuckled, then sobered. "Bruce, can you tell us more about JP? We'd like to help find him."
Bruce stared. "You're just kids!" he cried.
"Hey!! We happen to be top-rate sleuths!" Joey said defensively.
"That is true," Gabrielle smiled briefly before turning back to dusting for fingerprints.
Bruce sighed. "I'll accept help from anyone if they can just get JP back!! His show is the highest-rated on the station! If we lose him, all of KETY will go down the drain!"
"JP's safety is more important than your ratings," Bakura said sternly, looking upset.
Bruce blinked. "Oh. Well, of course. Just find him for me!!!" he screamed.
"We'll do our best," Yugi promised. "But can you tell us about him?"
Bruce adjusted his tie and tried to ignore Mandy prancing around the room dreamily. "JP Palmer has a photographic memory. He reads these music charts and can rattle them off to the audience without even having to doublecheck. The listeners love him."
"Interesting," Yugi remarked. "But what kind of person is he? Did he make lots of friends . . . or enemies?"
"He has no enemies," Bruce replied firmly. "Everyone was JP's friend."
"With friends who do stuff like this, who needs enemies?!" Joey retorted, gesturing around at the studio.
****
Tea half-dragged Seto into an empty studio at the end of the hall and shut the door, still fuming over Mandy's behavior.
Seto pulled himself free now. "Why did you do that?" he demanded. "I can take care of myself."
"I know you can, but that girl was driving me crazy!!" Tea grumped. "And you're not doing anything about that injury of yours, so I'm going to!!"
Seto grunted. "I told you, it's nothing."
Tea grabbed his hand and pried it away from the wound. "I'll be the judge of that," she muttered, staring at the red gash in his arm. "You call that nothing?!" she gasped, her eyes wide.
Seto didn't like being fussed over. He pulled his arm away, ignoring the pain.
"Kaiba, that man stabbed you!!" Tea cried, recognizing the wound as having been inflicted by a knife. She grabbed his arm again and then gently pulled it out from the sleeve of his trenchcoat.
"It's not a life-threatening injury," Seto remarked, sounding vaguely irritated. He draped his coat over his uninjured arm.
Tea rolled up his shirt sleeve in order to properly treat the wound. "Maybe not," she agreed, "this time." She looked down as she got a scarf and pressed it against the abrasion. "But you're always getting into danger. One of these days, Kaiba, you're going to get hurt really badly, and . . ." She bit her lip, narrowing her eyes. "You're not indestructible, you know."
Seto's expression didn't change. "I didn't know you cared that much," he said.
"Of course I care, you lamebrain!" Tea shot back, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped. "You can't leave Mokuba. He's still just a little kid!"
"I would never leave Mokuba," Seto replied coldly.
Tea blinked back what felt like tears in her eyes. "No, you wouldn't. Not if you could help it." She went over to a water cooler and moistened a handkerchief, then came back over and gently cleaned the wound. "But what if you couldn't help it?!"
Seto was silent, subdued by that question. It was his greatest fear—that something would happen to him that he wouldn't be able to control and Mokuba would be left all alone. "None of us knows how long we're going to be here," he said finally, taking the handkerchief and wiping the blood off his hands.
Tea tied the scarf around the injury, knowing somewhere deep in her heart that it wasn't just for Mokuba's sake that she cared about what happened to Seto. "Just . . . try to be more careful," she said softly.
Seto grunted in reply.
Without warning, a loud rock-and-roll tune blared throughout the room and Tea jumped a mile high. "What's that?!" she screamed over the thunderous noise.
Seto turned around, looking immensely irritated at the racket. "It's the CD player!" he declared finally.
"You mean it turned on by itself?!" Tea exclaimed.
"It appears that way," Seto replied, going over to study the machine. "But I'm certain it's just someone's childish attempt to frighten us."
The CD abruptly ceased to play and the two teens looked around suspiciously. "Who's here?!" Tea demanded.
"They might be using a remote-control to get the CD player to work," Seto mused, rolling his sleeve down again and putting his trenchcoat back on.
A spooky laugh echoed throughout the room. Tea let out a shriek.
Seto's eyes narrowed. "Wheeler, I know it's you."
Joey came in through the door, cracking up.
Now Tea was furious. "That wasn't funny, Joey Wheeler!!!" she cried.
But Joey couldn't stop laughing. "Yug sent me to find the two of you," he choked out at last.
"Just how long were you standing there?!" Seto demanded now.
Joey tried to get control of himself. "Oh, I came in when Tea told you to be more careful," he replied, a twinkle in his eye. "By the way, that wasn't me playin' the CD," he added.
"Did Yugi find something out about the deejay?" Tea asked, ignoring those remarks.
Joey shook his head. "I don't think so. Man, this just might be our most puzzling case yet!"
Another eerie cackle ricocheted through the studio. Seto turned to Joey with a raised eyebrow.
"It wasn't me this time!" Joey protested.
"It certainly wasn't," a deep, booming voice declared. "And this will prove to be your last case, you meddling teenagers!!"
With that, a deadly machete flew threw the air and embedded itself in the wall right next to them!
Everyone made their way over to the scribbled wall seriously, and Gabrielle's partner snapped a picture for evidence.
"What is that?!" Tea demanded, indicating the deep red color of the graffiti. "It isn't blood . . . is it?"
Gabrielle studied it, her eyes narrowed.
"Actually . . ." Seto spoke up, glancing at the wound in his arm and then up at the wall, "I think it might be."
Yugi and Bakura looked sickened.
"What's happening?!" a new voice cried, and suddenly two young kids appeared on the scene.
"This is no place for you!" Bruce said angrily. "I hired you to deliver the mail, not to disturb crime scenes!!"
"Crime scenes?!" the boy exclaimed, his eyes wide as saucers.
"Did someone get murdered?" the girl gasped.
"NO!!!" Bruce thundered. "Now get out of here, both of you!!!" He slammed the door before the two preteens could enter.
"Who were those two geeks?!" Joey exclaimed, nearly tripping over a sound woofer.
"Bernard and Elsa," Bruce muttered. "But don't bother about them. They're of no consequence here."
"What if they saw something?" Tea suggested.
"I doubt it," Bruce grumped. "They're the type who let their imaginations run wild. They can't help us."
Yugi took note of Bruce's behavior, finding it a bit odd.
"Hey, what's this?" Marik bent down to the floor, pointing to what seemed to be a tie clip.
"Evidence," Gabrielle replied, leaning down and picking it up in a plastic bag. The teens crowded around to stare at it. It was rather odd and unusual and was shaped like a rattlesnake. "This is our best clue so far," the officer remarked, after finding out from Bruce that it didn't belong to JP.
"It might be our only clue," Tristan remarked, staring at the studio. Everything was a shambles, but there didn't seem to be any more evidence pertaining to the deejay's attackers.
"Isn't there anyone who might have seen something?" Seto demanded now.
"The only one is the sound engineer, sir," Bruce replied, "and I told you that he was hit over the head before all this even happened. He doesn't know a thing about JP's disappearance."
Seto's eyes narrowed in vexation.
Tea was about to order him to let her treat his injury when the door burst open and a chipper redhead danced in, her eyes bright and alert. "Oh Bruce, what happened in here?!" she gasped, staring at the room in disbelief. "Did JP have another of his wild studio parties?!"
Bruce stared at the girl, obvious annoyance in his eyes. "No, Miss Granger. JP has disappeared," he informed her.
Miss Granger blinked, then shrugged. "Oh well. I figured it would happen one of these days," she said flippantly, and spotted Seto. Her eyes lighted up. "Ooooooh, you're the famous Seto Kaiba, aren't you?!" she exclaimed, running over and grabbing at his injured arm. Seto narrowed his eyes and pulled away, but she grabbed for him again. "I'm Mandy and I've always wanted to meet you!!" she declared. "You always come up with the most exciting, the most inventive, the most brilliant gaming technology!"
Tea stood watching this, finding herself immensely disliking this girl for some reason.
"Your enthusiasm is appreciated, I'm sure," Seto replied emotionlessly, again trying to pry her hand away.
Mandy blinked, suddenly noticing the blood. "You're wounded!!" she shrieked. "Here, let me help you!!"
"I don't need any help." Seto turned away, but Mandy wasn't about to let him go.
"I know all about how to treat cuts and scrapes!" Mandy insisted, grabbing for him again and knocking him hard against the recording table. Seto winced, knocking his left arm on the wood.
"You're hurting him more than you're helping him!!" Tea fumed, stepping in between them.
"I can handle this myself," Seto grunted.
"Oh be quiet," Tea snapped. "I'll see that Mr. Kaiba is properly cared for!" she said to Mandy, shielding Seto from her clumsiness and over-eagerness.
The other teens blinked as Tea marched off with Seto, leaving Mandy looking completely unruffled.
"I just adore that boy," she declared, stars in her eyes.
Bruce gave her a very irritated glare. "Miss Granger, your duties at this station do not include swooning over Seto Kaiba!"
"I know," Mandy replied in a singsong voice.
"She's totally out of it," Tristan remarked.
"Just exactly what are her duties here at the station?" Yugi asked now, watching Mandy go off on another flight of fancy.
Bruce growled angrily. "None, if she keeps up with this. She's supposed to be the deejay who comes on right after JP's show." He crossed his arms in frustration. "We have another studio where our fill-in guy is just wrapping up JP's show for him, but there's no way I can let Mandy go on the air in her state!"
Yugi chuckled, then sobered. "Bruce, can you tell us more about JP? We'd like to help find him."
Bruce stared. "You're just kids!" he cried.
"Hey!! We happen to be top-rate sleuths!" Joey said defensively.
"That is true," Gabrielle smiled briefly before turning back to dusting for fingerprints.
Bruce sighed. "I'll accept help from anyone if they can just get JP back!! His show is the highest-rated on the station! If we lose him, all of KETY will go down the drain!"
"JP's safety is more important than your ratings," Bakura said sternly, looking upset.
Bruce blinked. "Oh. Well, of course. Just find him for me!!!" he screamed.
"We'll do our best," Yugi promised. "But can you tell us about him?"
Bruce adjusted his tie and tried to ignore Mandy prancing around the room dreamily. "JP Palmer has a photographic memory. He reads these music charts and can rattle them off to the audience without even having to doublecheck. The listeners love him."
"Interesting," Yugi remarked. "But what kind of person is he? Did he make lots of friends . . . or enemies?"
"He has no enemies," Bruce replied firmly. "Everyone was JP's friend."
"With friends who do stuff like this, who needs enemies?!" Joey retorted, gesturing around at the studio.
****
Tea half-dragged Seto into an empty studio at the end of the hall and shut the door, still fuming over Mandy's behavior.
Seto pulled himself free now. "Why did you do that?" he demanded. "I can take care of myself."
"I know you can, but that girl was driving me crazy!!" Tea grumped. "And you're not doing anything about that injury of yours, so I'm going to!!"
Seto grunted. "I told you, it's nothing."
Tea grabbed his hand and pried it away from the wound. "I'll be the judge of that," she muttered, staring at the red gash in his arm. "You call that nothing?!" she gasped, her eyes wide.
Seto didn't like being fussed over. He pulled his arm away, ignoring the pain.
"Kaiba, that man stabbed you!!" Tea cried, recognizing the wound as having been inflicted by a knife. She grabbed his arm again and then gently pulled it out from the sleeve of his trenchcoat.
"It's not a life-threatening injury," Seto remarked, sounding vaguely irritated. He draped his coat over his uninjured arm.
Tea rolled up his shirt sleeve in order to properly treat the wound. "Maybe not," she agreed, "this time." She looked down as she got a scarf and pressed it against the abrasion. "But you're always getting into danger. One of these days, Kaiba, you're going to get hurt really badly, and . . ." She bit her lip, narrowing her eyes. "You're not indestructible, you know."
Seto's expression didn't change. "I didn't know you cared that much," he said.
"Of course I care, you lamebrain!" Tea shot back, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped. "You can't leave Mokuba. He's still just a little kid!"
"I would never leave Mokuba," Seto replied coldly.
Tea blinked back what felt like tears in her eyes. "No, you wouldn't. Not if you could help it." She went over to a water cooler and moistened a handkerchief, then came back over and gently cleaned the wound. "But what if you couldn't help it?!"
Seto was silent, subdued by that question. It was his greatest fear—that something would happen to him that he wouldn't be able to control and Mokuba would be left all alone. "None of us knows how long we're going to be here," he said finally, taking the handkerchief and wiping the blood off his hands.
Tea tied the scarf around the injury, knowing somewhere deep in her heart that it wasn't just for Mokuba's sake that she cared about what happened to Seto. "Just . . . try to be more careful," she said softly.
Seto grunted in reply.
Without warning, a loud rock-and-roll tune blared throughout the room and Tea jumped a mile high. "What's that?!" she screamed over the thunderous noise.
Seto turned around, looking immensely irritated at the racket. "It's the CD player!" he declared finally.
"You mean it turned on by itself?!" Tea exclaimed.
"It appears that way," Seto replied, going over to study the machine. "But I'm certain it's just someone's childish attempt to frighten us."
The CD abruptly ceased to play and the two teens looked around suspiciously. "Who's here?!" Tea demanded.
"They might be using a remote-control to get the CD player to work," Seto mused, rolling his sleeve down again and putting his trenchcoat back on.
A spooky laugh echoed throughout the room. Tea let out a shriek.
Seto's eyes narrowed. "Wheeler, I know it's you."
Joey came in through the door, cracking up.
Now Tea was furious. "That wasn't funny, Joey Wheeler!!!" she cried.
But Joey couldn't stop laughing. "Yug sent me to find the two of you," he choked out at last.
"Just how long were you standing there?!" Seto demanded now.
Joey tried to get control of himself. "Oh, I came in when Tea told you to be more careful," he replied, a twinkle in his eye. "By the way, that wasn't me playin' the CD," he added.
"Did Yugi find something out about the deejay?" Tea asked, ignoring those remarks.
Joey shook his head. "I don't think so. Man, this just might be our most puzzling case yet!"
Another eerie cackle ricocheted through the studio. Seto turned to Joey with a raised eyebrow.
"It wasn't me this time!" Joey protested.
"It certainly wasn't," a deep, booming voice declared. "And this will prove to be your last case, you meddling teenagers!!"
With that, a deadly machete flew threw the air and embedded itself in the wall right next to them!