To Seto's immense relief, the phone was then answered by a sleepy-sounding Mokuba, who immediately perked up when he heard his brother's voice.
"Big brother, where are you?" the little boy cried. "I thought you'd be back ages ago!"
"Yeah, I thought so too," Seto said softly.
"You got hurt, didn't you, Seto?" Mokuba quavered.
Seto reached up to touch the wound on his forehead. "I'm alright, kid," he assured the younger boy.
"You must be hurt, Seto," Mokuba wailed. "Why else wouldn't you be back yet?"
Seto paused. How would he get out of this one? He didn't want to scare his brother by telling him what had happened. At last he said, "I'm really okay, Mokuba. But I won't be able to get back for a little while yet."
"Why not, Seto?" Mokuba cried worriedly. "Are you at the hospital?!"
"No, kid," Seto replied with a gentle smile that Mokuba could sense over the phone. "I just have to talk to someone."
"At eleven o'clock at night?" Mokuba exclaimed in disbelief.
Seto chuckled. "Afraid so. But don't worry—I promise I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you, Mokuba."
"I love you, too, Seto," Mokuba said softly, and then they both hung up.
"We're approaching Summit Hills, sir," the chauffeur announced.
"Good." Seto nodded in acknowledgment.
****
Joey was still fuming about the other teens' comments thirty minutes later, after they had helped Delores find her friend to take her home. He turned to go.
"Where are you going, Joey?" Yugi asked.
"Man, for your information, I'm going to walk Vivalene home now," the Brooklyn boy declared coolly, heading off down the hall. "She wants a tough, strong guy to protect her from the ninjas, and I'm just such a guy!"
Yugi looked at him worriedly. "Be careful, Joey," he pleaded.
"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "Marik probably knew what he was talking about."
Joey glared daggers at the other boy. "Will you all just quit bashin' Vivalene?! Maybe you're all just jealous 'cause she likes me instead of any of you!"
"That's ridiculous, Joey," Bakura cried, but the blonde boy was already walking away.
"Man, I'm going after him!" Tristan growled, but Yugi jumped in front of him.
"No, Tristan," he said firmly. "Joey isn't going to listen to us. Marik is right—Joey will have to learn about Vivalene the hard way," he stated sadly.
"But I'm sure we all feel the same," Tristan protested. "There's somethin' dark and sinister about her!"
"I know," Yugi said, nodding. "But there's not much we can do, Tristan. We can't control Joey's life for him, not even to protect him."
****
"Hello, darling," Vivalene smiled as Joey approached. "I'm so happy to see you!"
Joey grinned. "Are you ready to go, Vifa?" he asked, extending his arm for her to take. She had requested earlier that he call her by her nickname, and he was only too happy to oblige.
They walked out into the crisp winter air. "I've never met anyone quite like you, Joey," Vivalene purred. "I hope I'll be seeing a lot more of you."
"You sure will," Joey grinned again. How could his friends ever think that Vivalene was someone to steer clear of?! She was the sweetest girl he had ever met!
"Do you like my show, darling?" Vivalene asked now.
Joey blushed. He actually hadn't ever listened to the morning show, but he knew he always would from now on. "Eh, sure I do," he lied. "I never listen to any other radio show but yours!"
Vivalene smiled. "I'm flattered," she said softly. "You aren't like anyone I've ever met before, Joey. And that's a good thing. A very good thing." She ran her finger down his cheek, and Joey blushed. He had never been happier!
****
Marik walked down the dark streets, heading for the museum to find Ishizu. He couldn't believe Joey's foolishness in this whole Vivalene matter. Of course, he himself had been foolish concerning her, but he hadn't had anyone to warn him about her deadliness. Ishizu had never known about her, or she certainly would have.
Vivalene had approached him way back in Egypt when he was just first organizing the Rare Hunters and had proved herself capable and eager to join them. She had quickly become one of the top members, using her charms and wiles to secure the rare cards.
Marik slowly had found himself falling for her over the ensuing months, and Vivalene had seemed attracted to him as well—but of course it was just an act, as he found out not long after that.
He had entrusted her to head a secret mission with some of his other top Rare Hunters, but later that night Vivalene came to him with a tale of how they had been attacked by a group rivaling the Rare Hunters in their notoriety and greediness. They had killed almost all of the other Rare Hunters and stolen all of their decks. Vivalene had been the only one to escape, she had said.
Marik had actually believed her at first, but then a blood-stained card belonging to one of the dead Rare Hunters had fallen out of Vivalene's purse and Marik realized he had been duped. Vivalene had strung him along all that time. She couldn't be trusted as he had thought.
Vivalene quickly realized that he had seen the card and then suddenly turned on him, her smile deadly and vicious. "It's been fun, darling," she had purred, "but all good things must come to an end." Then she had pulled out a revolver, shooting Marik in the chest before he—or even his Yami—had been able to do a thing about it. He had nearly died at Vivalene's hands that night.
Ishizu and Rishid had found him lying in a pool of blood shortly afterward and had rushed him to the hospital, where he had lain in a coma for several days. When he had finally regained consciousness, he remembered nothing of what had occurred that fateful night—and of course Vivalene had vanished as well. For a reason unknown to him, he had decided to mind-control most of his future Rare Hunters to prevent such things from happening again. Now he remembered exactly what had made him come to that decision.
He touched the bullet scar under his shirt. When he had heard Vivalene's name tonight, everything had come back. The audacity of that witch—to pretend that she didn't even know Marik, when she had pretended to love him before and then had nearly murdered him! Somehow he knew he had to stop her before anyone else got hurt or died.
He wondered what on earth Vivalene wanted with Joey. That boy certainly didn't have any wealth or power as he, Marik, did—so it must be something else she wanted from him. But what?
****
When Seto got out of the limo in front of JP's sister's house, he found that the lights were still on and he nodded in satisfaction.
Purposefully he strode up to the door and rang the bell. Soon it was opened by a maid, and she led Seto into the front parlor. "I'll go find Miss Palmer," she said, excusing herself.
Seto glanced around the room, his thoughts wandering. Before long an attractive woman in her early twenties appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Miss Palmer?" Seto asked.
"That's me," the woman replied in a world-weary tone. "But call me Lila." She descended to the bottom and stood in front of her guest. "And of course you need no introduction, Seto Kaiba," she remarked. The boy was quite famous in Domino City and the surrounding area. "But why are you visiting me?"
Seto nodded curtly. "I'll get right to the point. My company owns the station your brother worked at, and I'm investigating his disappearance."
Lila sighed. "I've already spoken with the police, Mr. Kaiba," she said.
"Well, I don't work with the police," Seto replied, "so maybe you can answer a few questions for me as well."
Lila shrugged. "What the heck, sure. What do you want to know?"
Seto looked at her seriously. "What is your brother like?"
"Oh, he's pretty care-free and fun-loving," Lila told him. "He made lots of friends, but sometimes he fell in with the wrong crowd." She leaned back on the railing. "JP could never say no to anyone. If they wanted a favor done, he was always ready to help them."
Seto nodded slowly. "What do you mean when you say he fell in with the wrong crowd?" he asked pointedly.
Lila fingered a rubber plant. "Oh . . . con men . . . criminals. . . . JP wasn't a crook, you understand," she added hurriedly. "But sometimes he just got mixed up with them by accident."
"I understand," Seto said emotionlessly. "But did he ever . . . learn things he maybe shouldn't have?" he finished.
Lila blinked. "I wouldn't be surprised. But he and I aren't real close. If he found out stuff like that, I doubt he would've told me. Heck, I doubt he would've known what to do with it all. He might not have realized the seriousness of it . . . depending on what it was, of course. But then we don't know if he even knew anything."
"Given the circumstances, it seems likely," Seto replied. "Unless he could've had enemies for another reason."
Lila shrugged. "Darin' Dave, maybe," she said slowly.
Seto blinked. "Who?"
"A fill-in deejay at KETY," Lila told him. "He wanted JP's slot, but Von Wilkenson just made him a very replaceable fill-in guy instead. I know he was pretty bitter about it for a while. He might still be, too."
Seto nodded thoughtfully. This was interesting news indeed.
****
Velma came to the door of the sitting room and looked in at Mokuba, who was curled up on the couch and trying not to fall asleep. "I'd better get you up to bed, honey," she told him gently. "It's gettin' awfully late!"
Mokuba shook his head, bleary-eyed. "I have to stay awake until Seto comes back!" he insisted. "I want to see my brother!"
Velma patted his shoulder. "I know you do, but he wouldn't want you to be stayin' up real late like this."
Mokuba sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Please, Velma, just a little longer!" he begged.
Velma sighed. "Well . . . alright," she agreed. "But only for a little bit longer," she said, waving a finger at him.
Mokuba nodded, just as the phone rang again. "Maybe that's Seto," he said hopefully.
Velma picked up the phone. "Hullo, Mr. Kaiba's place," she answered, then went pale. Mokuba stared at her, wide-eyed.
"What is it, Velma?!" he cried. "Is my brother hurt??!"
Velma didn't even seem to remember he was there. "Who is this?!" she screamed, but a loud and final click met her ears. She stood staring at the phone, shaking.
"Oh, Velma, what was it?!" Mokuba wailed.
Velma shook her head. "Wrong number," she said weakly, replacing the phone in its cradle.
"Velma, you gotta tell me!" Mokuba pleaded.
Velma still didn't answer. The caller had said that they had a message for Seto Kaiba and then had breathed a dire, graphic threat to the poor maid on exactly what they would do to him if he didn't stay out of other people's business. There was no way she could tell Mokuba what they had said. It would give her nightmares for many a night to come.
****
Marik reached the Domino Museum and climbed the many steps to the top. Ishizu might not still be there this late, he knew. She might have returned to the home they shared . . . and yet the door was still unlocked, Marik noted with surprise. Slowly he pushed the door open and went inside. "Hello? Sister?" he called, his voice echoing off the dark, lonely walls. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but Ishizu would never leave for home and leave the door unlocked. "Sister, are you here?" Perhaps she was in the Egyptian exhibit in the back, he decided, heading for the stairs. A cold sense of foreboding enveloped him and he paused, his lavender eyes narrowed. What if Ishizu was hurt?
"Sister, are you alright?" he screamed, reaching to click on the light.
A rough hand grabbed his wrist, pressing his arm band harshly into his skin. "Your sister is fine," a dark voice growled, "but you won't be."
Marik struggled to pull free, but it was useless. "Who are you?! And how did you get in?!"
Suddenly there were many dark forms circling around him. He could just make out their shapes in the pale light from the moon outside. "We came in through the door, of course," one of them hissed.
"What do you want with me?!" Marik demanded, again trying to pull free.
A hand grabbed him by the throat and started lifting him into the air. The poor boy gasped, feeling his breath being cut off. "We want you dead," another voice growled, dropping him harshly to the floor.
"What have I done?!" Marik cried, his voice rasping. "I do not even know you!"
"We have a . . . mutual acquaintance," a third said smoothly, suddenly beating Marik viciously with what felt like a ninja weapon. "You needed to learn to keep your mouth shut. But now it's too late for that."
Marik screamed as the weapon tore through his flesh, and he struggled to stand up. Instantly he was roughly pushed back down and one of the men stepped deliberately on his chest, causing him to cry out again. He grabbed for the man's leg to throw him off, but then a barbed whip cut across his forehead and he fell back, dazed. "Vivalene hired you to kill me, didn't she?" he gasped, his vision swimming.
The men didn't answer as they continued to pound the hapless boy's body mercilessly. Marik lay sprawling on his stomach, screaming in agony at every vicious strike and hit. "Help me," he prayed softly, just as his weak body was kicked violently down the long flight of stairs. He crashed at the bottom, hitting his head on the hard floor.
"This time, Marik Ishtar, you *will* die," he heard a sultry voice hiss just before he passed into the darkness.
"Big brother, where are you?" the little boy cried. "I thought you'd be back ages ago!"
"Yeah, I thought so too," Seto said softly.
"You got hurt, didn't you, Seto?" Mokuba quavered.
Seto reached up to touch the wound on his forehead. "I'm alright, kid," he assured the younger boy.
"You must be hurt, Seto," Mokuba wailed. "Why else wouldn't you be back yet?"
Seto paused. How would he get out of this one? He didn't want to scare his brother by telling him what had happened. At last he said, "I'm really okay, Mokuba. But I won't be able to get back for a little while yet."
"Why not, Seto?" Mokuba cried worriedly. "Are you at the hospital?!"
"No, kid," Seto replied with a gentle smile that Mokuba could sense over the phone. "I just have to talk to someone."
"At eleven o'clock at night?" Mokuba exclaimed in disbelief.
Seto chuckled. "Afraid so. But don't worry—I promise I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you, Mokuba."
"I love you, too, Seto," Mokuba said softly, and then they both hung up.
"We're approaching Summit Hills, sir," the chauffeur announced.
"Good." Seto nodded in acknowledgment.
****
Joey was still fuming about the other teens' comments thirty minutes later, after they had helped Delores find her friend to take her home. He turned to go.
"Where are you going, Joey?" Yugi asked.
"Man, for your information, I'm going to walk Vivalene home now," the Brooklyn boy declared coolly, heading off down the hall. "She wants a tough, strong guy to protect her from the ninjas, and I'm just such a guy!"
Yugi looked at him worriedly. "Be careful, Joey," he pleaded.
"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "Marik probably knew what he was talking about."
Joey glared daggers at the other boy. "Will you all just quit bashin' Vivalene?! Maybe you're all just jealous 'cause she likes me instead of any of you!"
"That's ridiculous, Joey," Bakura cried, but the blonde boy was already walking away.
"Man, I'm going after him!" Tristan growled, but Yugi jumped in front of him.
"No, Tristan," he said firmly. "Joey isn't going to listen to us. Marik is right—Joey will have to learn about Vivalene the hard way," he stated sadly.
"But I'm sure we all feel the same," Tristan protested. "There's somethin' dark and sinister about her!"
"I know," Yugi said, nodding. "But there's not much we can do, Tristan. We can't control Joey's life for him, not even to protect him."
****
"Hello, darling," Vivalene smiled as Joey approached. "I'm so happy to see you!"
Joey grinned. "Are you ready to go, Vifa?" he asked, extending his arm for her to take. She had requested earlier that he call her by her nickname, and he was only too happy to oblige.
They walked out into the crisp winter air. "I've never met anyone quite like you, Joey," Vivalene purred. "I hope I'll be seeing a lot more of you."
"You sure will," Joey grinned again. How could his friends ever think that Vivalene was someone to steer clear of?! She was the sweetest girl he had ever met!
"Do you like my show, darling?" Vivalene asked now.
Joey blushed. He actually hadn't ever listened to the morning show, but he knew he always would from now on. "Eh, sure I do," he lied. "I never listen to any other radio show but yours!"
Vivalene smiled. "I'm flattered," she said softly. "You aren't like anyone I've ever met before, Joey. And that's a good thing. A very good thing." She ran her finger down his cheek, and Joey blushed. He had never been happier!
****
Marik walked down the dark streets, heading for the museum to find Ishizu. He couldn't believe Joey's foolishness in this whole Vivalene matter. Of course, he himself had been foolish concerning her, but he hadn't had anyone to warn him about her deadliness. Ishizu had never known about her, or she certainly would have.
Vivalene had approached him way back in Egypt when he was just first organizing the Rare Hunters and had proved herself capable and eager to join them. She had quickly become one of the top members, using her charms and wiles to secure the rare cards.
Marik slowly had found himself falling for her over the ensuing months, and Vivalene had seemed attracted to him as well—but of course it was just an act, as he found out not long after that.
He had entrusted her to head a secret mission with some of his other top Rare Hunters, but later that night Vivalene came to him with a tale of how they had been attacked by a group rivaling the Rare Hunters in their notoriety and greediness. They had killed almost all of the other Rare Hunters and stolen all of their decks. Vivalene had been the only one to escape, she had said.
Marik had actually believed her at first, but then a blood-stained card belonging to one of the dead Rare Hunters had fallen out of Vivalene's purse and Marik realized he had been duped. Vivalene had strung him along all that time. She couldn't be trusted as he had thought.
Vivalene quickly realized that he had seen the card and then suddenly turned on him, her smile deadly and vicious. "It's been fun, darling," she had purred, "but all good things must come to an end." Then she had pulled out a revolver, shooting Marik in the chest before he—or even his Yami—had been able to do a thing about it. He had nearly died at Vivalene's hands that night.
Ishizu and Rishid had found him lying in a pool of blood shortly afterward and had rushed him to the hospital, where he had lain in a coma for several days. When he had finally regained consciousness, he remembered nothing of what had occurred that fateful night—and of course Vivalene had vanished as well. For a reason unknown to him, he had decided to mind-control most of his future Rare Hunters to prevent such things from happening again. Now he remembered exactly what had made him come to that decision.
He touched the bullet scar under his shirt. When he had heard Vivalene's name tonight, everything had come back. The audacity of that witch—to pretend that she didn't even know Marik, when she had pretended to love him before and then had nearly murdered him! Somehow he knew he had to stop her before anyone else got hurt or died.
He wondered what on earth Vivalene wanted with Joey. That boy certainly didn't have any wealth or power as he, Marik, did—so it must be something else she wanted from him. But what?
****
When Seto got out of the limo in front of JP's sister's house, he found that the lights were still on and he nodded in satisfaction.
Purposefully he strode up to the door and rang the bell. Soon it was opened by a maid, and she led Seto into the front parlor. "I'll go find Miss Palmer," she said, excusing herself.
Seto glanced around the room, his thoughts wandering. Before long an attractive woman in her early twenties appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Miss Palmer?" Seto asked.
"That's me," the woman replied in a world-weary tone. "But call me Lila." She descended to the bottom and stood in front of her guest. "And of course you need no introduction, Seto Kaiba," she remarked. The boy was quite famous in Domino City and the surrounding area. "But why are you visiting me?"
Seto nodded curtly. "I'll get right to the point. My company owns the station your brother worked at, and I'm investigating his disappearance."
Lila sighed. "I've already spoken with the police, Mr. Kaiba," she said.
"Well, I don't work with the police," Seto replied, "so maybe you can answer a few questions for me as well."
Lila shrugged. "What the heck, sure. What do you want to know?"
Seto looked at her seriously. "What is your brother like?"
"Oh, he's pretty care-free and fun-loving," Lila told him. "He made lots of friends, but sometimes he fell in with the wrong crowd." She leaned back on the railing. "JP could never say no to anyone. If they wanted a favor done, he was always ready to help them."
Seto nodded slowly. "What do you mean when you say he fell in with the wrong crowd?" he asked pointedly.
Lila fingered a rubber plant. "Oh . . . con men . . . criminals. . . . JP wasn't a crook, you understand," she added hurriedly. "But sometimes he just got mixed up with them by accident."
"I understand," Seto said emotionlessly. "But did he ever . . . learn things he maybe shouldn't have?" he finished.
Lila blinked. "I wouldn't be surprised. But he and I aren't real close. If he found out stuff like that, I doubt he would've told me. Heck, I doubt he would've known what to do with it all. He might not have realized the seriousness of it . . . depending on what it was, of course. But then we don't know if he even knew anything."
"Given the circumstances, it seems likely," Seto replied. "Unless he could've had enemies for another reason."
Lila shrugged. "Darin' Dave, maybe," she said slowly.
Seto blinked. "Who?"
"A fill-in deejay at KETY," Lila told him. "He wanted JP's slot, but Von Wilkenson just made him a very replaceable fill-in guy instead. I know he was pretty bitter about it for a while. He might still be, too."
Seto nodded thoughtfully. This was interesting news indeed.
****
Velma came to the door of the sitting room and looked in at Mokuba, who was curled up on the couch and trying not to fall asleep. "I'd better get you up to bed, honey," she told him gently. "It's gettin' awfully late!"
Mokuba shook his head, bleary-eyed. "I have to stay awake until Seto comes back!" he insisted. "I want to see my brother!"
Velma patted his shoulder. "I know you do, but he wouldn't want you to be stayin' up real late like this."
Mokuba sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Please, Velma, just a little longer!" he begged.
Velma sighed. "Well . . . alright," she agreed. "But only for a little bit longer," she said, waving a finger at him.
Mokuba nodded, just as the phone rang again. "Maybe that's Seto," he said hopefully.
Velma picked up the phone. "Hullo, Mr. Kaiba's place," she answered, then went pale. Mokuba stared at her, wide-eyed.
"What is it, Velma?!" he cried. "Is my brother hurt??!"
Velma didn't even seem to remember he was there. "Who is this?!" she screamed, but a loud and final click met her ears. She stood staring at the phone, shaking.
"Oh, Velma, what was it?!" Mokuba wailed.
Velma shook her head. "Wrong number," she said weakly, replacing the phone in its cradle.
"Velma, you gotta tell me!" Mokuba pleaded.
Velma still didn't answer. The caller had said that they had a message for Seto Kaiba and then had breathed a dire, graphic threat to the poor maid on exactly what they would do to him if he didn't stay out of other people's business. There was no way she could tell Mokuba what they had said. It would give her nightmares for many a night to come.
****
Marik reached the Domino Museum and climbed the many steps to the top. Ishizu might not still be there this late, he knew. She might have returned to the home they shared . . . and yet the door was still unlocked, Marik noted with surprise. Slowly he pushed the door open and went inside. "Hello? Sister?" he called, his voice echoing off the dark, lonely walls. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but Ishizu would never leave for home and leave the door unlocked. "Sister, are you here?" Perhaps she was in the Egyptian exhibit in the back, he decided, heading for the stairs. A cold sense of foreboding enveloped him and he paused, his lavender eyes narrowed. What if Ishizu was hurt?
"Sister, are you alright?" he screamed, reaching to click on the light.
A rough hand grabbed his wrist, pressing his arm band harshly into his skin. "Your sister is fine," a dark voice growled, "but you won't be."
Marik struggled to pull free, but it was useless. "Who are you?! And how did you get in?!"
Suddenly there were many dark forms circling around him. He could just make out their shapes in the pale light from the moon outside. "We came in through the door, of course," one of them hissed.
"What do you want with me?!" Marik demanded, again trying to pull free.
A hand grabbed him by the throat and started lifting him into the air. The poor boy gasped, feeling his breath being cut off. "We want you dead," another voice growled, dropping him harshly to the floor.
"What have I done?!" Marik cried, his voice rasping. "I do not even know you!"
"We have a . . . mutual acquaintance," a third said smoothly, suddenly beating Marik viciously with what felt like a ninja weapon. "You needed to learn to keep your mouth shut. But now it's too late for that."
Marik screamed as the weapon tore through his flesh, and he struggled to stand up. Instantly he was roughly pushed back down and one of the men stepped deliberately on his chest, causing him to cry out again. He grabbed for the man's leg to throw him off, but then a barbed whip cut across his forehead and he fell back, dazed. "Vivalene hired you to kill me, didn't she?" he gasped, his vision swimming.
The men didn't answer as they continued to pound the hapless boy's body mercilessly. Marik lay sprawling on his stomach, screaming in agony at every vicious strike and hit. "Help me," he prayed softly, just as his weak body was kicked violently down the long flight of stairs. He crashed at the bottom, hitting his head on the hard floor.
"This time, Marik Ishtar, you *will* die," he heard a sultry voice hiss just before he passed into the darkness.