Tristan and Mako could only stare in complete shock.
"Pushed?!" Mako burst out at last. "Who would be pushing you?!"
"Probably someone against us solvin' this mystery," Tristan replied for Joey in frustration. "There's a lot of those, you know—especially if they're the bad guys."
"Yeah, and they pushed me as some freaky kind of warning!" Joey added indignantly.
By now the crowd had started to gather around them, and Joey asked if anyone had seen him being pushed. Much to his annoyance, however, no one had—nor had they seen anyone suspicious running away from the scene.
"They are clever," Mako remarked. "Whoever they are, they are clever."
"Man, why can't we ever run into any stupid criminals?" Tristan exclaimed, still frustrated.
****
By the time Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid returned to the ship, two other people had "recognized" the boy and threatened him, much to his annoyance and Ishizu's and Rishid's worry.
Marik was worried himself, but not for his own welfare. "Both of you may be in danger," he said, looking up at those whom he held most dear.
"Brother, you are in more danger than we are," Ishizu replied softly.
As the trio walked down the corridor, they spotted Captain Hardy talking angrily with a man in a business suit. Both of them looked up then and the man pointed irately at Marik. "That's him!" he cried. "That's the boy!"
Marik looked indignant. "Speak to me, not around me!" he reprimanded. "I am not deaf!" He crossed his arms. "Now, what is it *you* think I have done?!"
Captain Hardy sighed. "I'm afraid that this gentleman insists that you plundered a museum in Oakland," he said, "but I've been trying to tell him that you couldn't have."
The man held out a badge coldly. "I'm Detective Pete Wilson," he introduced.
"And I am Marik Ishtar," the boy said firmly, stepping forward. "I am an honorable person! I did not steal whatever it was you think I did." He and the others then tried to explain about the double, whereupon the man pulled out a composite sketch someone had drawn of the burglar.
"He even has these same scars under his eyes as you do," Wilson pointed out.
"Were you not listening?" Rishid said angrily. "My brother has a double!"
Ishizu took the sketch and they all studied it. "True, he bears a resemblance to my brother, but could you say without a doubt that it was him?" She handed the sketch back to Wilson and waited patiently for an answer.
Wilson looked away, uncomfortable under the Egyptian woman's piercing gaze. "No," he said at last, "no, of course I could not."
"Then my brother is innocent," Ishizu said smoothly. "He is innocent until proven guilty."
****
Tea looked back nervously, trying to see any sign of the man who had been following them, but still he was nowhere in sight.
"Where could he have gone?!" she cried in frustration.
Seto glanced around, his eyes narrowed. He could still feel someone's eyes on him, but by all appearances they seemed to be entirely alone. He knew, however, that that didn't mean someone else wasn't there. "We should go someplace where there's lots of people," he muttered.
"There's a shopping center over there, big brother," Mokuba announced, pointing ahead.
"Good," Seto said, walking on determinedly.
Tea hurried to keep up with the two brothers, definitely not relishing the thought of meeting their pursuer while they were all by themselves.
****
The ancient spirit watched the trio with a smirk, knowing that they could no longer see him.
"Hello, brother."
The spirit looked up in annoyance. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded, seeing a younger—but still ancient—entity looking down at him.
"Watching you, of course," the younger phantom replied, floating down to stand on the ground. "But I don't quite see the point of following these fools around."
"You wouldn't." The older spirit grunted and poked his finger against the other's bare chest. "Between the two of us, I was always the smarter one."
"Oh really?" the blue-eyed apparition smirked at his brother. "Then why were you killed before I was?"
The dark-haired spectre turned away, muttering something in his native tongue and looking extremely put out. At last he looked up, steely-eyed. "You were only luckier. Nothing more."
His younger brother laughed. "Luckier . . . or perhaps smarter."
"Your taunting will not have its desired effect," the elder spirit replied stonily. "Now leave me be." With that he walked off down the street again, leaving his brother smirking on the sidewalk.
****
Marik rushed into his room, followed by Rishid and Ishizu, and went to get the Millennium Rod from where he was keeping it. Generally he didn't carry the blasted thing around with him anymore because of the bad memories it brought back, but now he lifted it up and turned it around, dreading what he was about to do.
::Yami?:: he called through their mental bond. ::Yami, are you there?::
There was a long silence and Marik became uneasy, fearing that the spirit truly wasn't around and was instead out causing trouble. Or perhaps . . . he wasn't even in the Rod at all. The thought crossed Marik's mind that instead the treacherous creature was actually in the Shadow Realm—the Rod only being the means by which he was sent.
(( You insolent cur, )) came the reply at last. (( What business is it of yours whether I am here or not? ))
Marik took a deep breath. :: Someone who looks like me has been going around causing trouble throughout the city, and I thought it might have been you,:: he admitted.
Yami Marik sneered, though Marik couldn't see it. (( Though I would greatly enjoy causing destruction, it wasn't me. )) With that he broke off the connection abruptly, leaving Marik frustrated and no less puzzled.
"He says it wasn't him," the boy reported to Rishid and Ishizu with a sigh.
"Do you believe him, brother?" Ishizu asked.
Marik shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to believe," he muttered. "I wish I could see for myself exactly what that burglar looks like."
****
In the meantime, Yugi, Bakura, and their Yamis were still heading for the ship as they tried to see through the murky fog.
"This is ridiculous!" Yami Yugi cried. "There was never this problem back in Egypt!"
Bakura was about to reply when someone suddenly crashed into his Yami from behind, starting a domino effect that landed everyone on the ground.
"You're sure in a hurry," Yugi commented dazedly while Yami Bakura made Egyptian curses.
Without a word, the figure picked himself up and ran off, his blonde hair streaming out after him.
"Oh my," Bakura remarked, "that looked like Marik!"
"You're right," Yami Yugi said grimly. "Perhaps it was his double."
"Then let's go track him down!" Yugi cried determinedly as he jumped up, and Bakura and Yami Yugi stood up to go with him.
Yami Bakura had no desire to accompany them, but since Bakura was going he felt he had no choice. Growling angrily, the tomb robber stood up as well and reluctantly followed.
****
Joey, Tristan, and Mako were just leaving the aquarium when they, too, were suddenly accosted by the suspicious character. He bowled past, knocking all three of them off-balance.
"Hey!!" Joey yelled, grabbing the other boy's arm before he could disappear from sight, "watch it, you jerk!!"
"Let . . . me . . . go!" their assailant hissed, struggling wildly.
"Marik?!" Joey cried in disbelief, hearing the familiar voice.
The other boy pulled free, not answering Joey's question. "Stay out of my way or your doom is sealed," he warned.
"WHAT?!" Joey yelled indignantly. He lunged in for the attack but was held back by Tristan and Mako.
"Cool down, man," Tristan said in frustration.
"He just threatened me!" Joey retorted.
"But you know he is not the real Marik," Mako replied. "This is not worth getting angry over!"
"And if that was Marik's double," Tristan said now, "we should probably follow him and see what he's up to!"
"Man, he skipped the joint ages ago!" Joey shot back, still steamed at the whole incident—and at the fact that the creep had just eluded them.
"But he did leave this." Mako held up a golden earring which was very unlike the real Marik's favorite pair.
The two other boys stared at it. "Man, that thing's freaky-looking!" Joey cried. The earring was in the image of a long, spread-out cobra with deadly fangs and a forked tongue.
"This," Tristan declared with a grin, "is not only a very interesting clue, but it may help us catch this guy." He paused for effect. "Maybe he'll figure out that we must have his earring and come after us to get it back."
"Bring him on!" Joey growled, slamming his fist into his palm.
****
As Seto, Tea, and Mokuba reached the shopping mall, they soon got caught up in the crowds and hoped that they had lost and confused their pursuer. However, since Seto hadn't been able to see the man who was after him for some time now, he couldn't be certain that they were truly safe yet.
"This is ridiculous!" Tea cried, tugging to free her purse from where it had become entangled around a doorknob.
"You said it!" Mokuba agreed emphatically. "Marik's being mistaken for a thief while we're being shadowed by some weird guy who looks like he could be an evil ancient Egyptian high priest! That goes past ridiculous—it's just plain bizarre!"
Seto seemed almost not to hear them. He glanced about furtively as they came to a bit of a clearing in the crowd, looking for any sign of their stalker. "Let's get behind here," he directed, shepherding the others to a thick pillar. "We'll wait and watch to see if our mysterious pursuer makes an appearance."
"I can't help but hope he won't, especially if he *is* Seth," Tea muttered.
The dark-haired spirit who had been following them now watched as they hid behind the pillar. "Fools," he declared, still invisible and mute to mortal eyes and ears. "I am not Seth. He is the least of your worries now!"
****
Yugi and the others chased after Marik's double for what seemed like ages, but it seemed completely vain in the thick fog.
"It's no use!" Bakura cried after thirty minutes of their wild goose chase. "I'm afraid all we're doing is getting further and further away from the ship!"
"Actually," Yami Yugi said, glancing about, "I think we may be quite close to it." He pointed ahead to what seemed to be the docks.
Suddenly Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes suspiciously, apparently hearing something odd. "Someone's running away," he muttered. "The blasted sound seems to be coming from over there at that wharf."
"Hello?" Yugi called as loud as he could. "Can anyone hear me? Who's here?!"
The sound of the footsteps only grew louder and more pronounced, and then suddenly a horrific KA-BOOM rocked the ground the group was standing on.
"Something just blew up!" Yugi cried in horror.
"Great Scott!" Bakura exclaimed, his eyes wide, "what if it was the ship?!"
"Pushed?!" Mako burst out at last. "Who would be pushing you?!"
"Probably someone against us solvin' this mystery," Tristan replied for Joey in frustration. "There's a lot of those, you know—especially if they're the bad guys."
"Yeah, and they pushed me as some freaky kind of warning!" Joey added indignantly.
By now the crowd had started to gather around them, and Joey asked if anyone had seen him being pushed. Much to his annoyance, however, no one had—nor had they seen anyone suspicious running away from the scene.
"They are clever," Mako remarked. "Whoever they are, they are clever."
"Man, why can't we ever run into any stupid criminals?" Tristan exclaimed, still frustrated.
****
By the time Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid returned to the ship, two other people had "recognized" the boy and threatened him, much to his annoyance and Ishizu's and Rishid's worry.
Marik was worried himself, but not for his own welfare. "Both of you may be in danger," he said, looking up at those whom he held most dear.
"Brother, you are in more danger than we are," Ishizu replied softly.
As the trio walked down the corridor, they spotted Captain Hardy talking angrily with a man in a business suit. Both of them looked up then and the man pointed irately at Marik. "That's him!" he cried. "That's the boy!"
Marik looked indignant. "Speak to me, not around me!" he reprimanded. "I am not deaf!" He crossed his arms. "Now, what is it *you* think I have done?!"
Captain Hardy sighed. "I'm afraid that this gentleman insists that you plundered a museum in Oakland," he said, "but I've been trying to tell him that you couldn't have."
The man held out a badge coldly. "I'm Detective Pete Wilson," he introduced.
"And I am Marik Ishtar," the boy said firmly, stepping forward. "I am an honorable person! I did not steal whatever it was you think I did." He and the others then tried to explain about the double, whereupon the man pulled out a composite sketch someone had drawn of the burglar.
"He even has these same scars under his eyes as you do," Wilson pointed out.
"Were you not listening?" Rishid said angrily. "My brother has a double!"
Ishizu took the sketch and they all studied it. "True, he bears a resemblance to my brother, but could you say without a doubt that it was him?" She handed the sketch back to Wilson and waited patiently for an answer.
Wilson looked away, uncomfortable under the Egyptian woman's piercing gaze. "No," he said at last, "no, of course I could not."
"Then my brother is innocent," Ishizu said smoothly. "He is innocent until proven guilty."
****
Tea looked back nervously, trying to see any sign of the man who had been following them, but still he was nowhere in sight.
"Where could he have gone?!" she cried in frustration.
Seto glanced around, his eyes narrowed. He could still feel someone's eyes on him, but by all appearances they seemed to be entirely alone. He knew, however, that that didn't mean someone else wasn't there. "We should go someplace where there's lots of people," he muttered.
"There's a shopping center over there, big brother," Mokuba announced, pointing ahead.
"Good," Seto said, walking on determinedly.
Tea hurried to keep up with the two brothers, definitely not relishing the thought of meeting their pursuer while they were all by themselves.
****
The ancient spirit watched the trio with a smirk, knowing that they could no longer see him.
"Hello, brother."
The spirit looked up in annoyance. "What are you doing here?!" he demanded, seeing a younger—but still ancient—entity looking down at him.
"Watching you, of course," the younger phantom replied, floating down to stand on the ground. "But I don't quite see the point of following these fools around."
"You wouldn't." The older spirit grunted and poked his finger against the other's bare chest. "Between the two of us, I was always the smarter one."
"Oh really?" the blue-eyed apparition smirked at his brother. "Then why were you killed before I was?"
The dark-haired spectre turned away, muttering something in his native tongue and looking extremely put out. At last he looked up, steely-eyed. "You were only luckier. Nothing more."
His younger brother laughed. "Luckier . . . or perhaps smarter."
"Your taunting will not have its desired effect," the elder spirit replied stonily. "Now leave me be." With that he walked off down the street again, leaving his brother smirking on the sidewalk.
****
Marik rushed into his room, followed by Rishid and Ishizu, and went to get the Millennium Rod from where he was keeping it. Generally he didn't carry the blasted thing around with him anymore because of the bad memories it brought back, but now he lifted it up and turned it around, dreading what he was about to do.
::Yami?:: he called through their mental bond. ::Yami, are you there?::
There was a long silence and Marik became uneasy, fearing that the spirit truly wasn't around and was instead out causing trouble. Or perhaps . . . he wasn't even in the Rod at all. The thought crossed Marik's mind that instead the treacherous creature was actually in the Shadow Realm—the Rod only being the means by which he was sent.
(( You insolent cur, )) came the reply at last. (( What business is it of yours whether I am here or not? ))
Marik took a deep breath. :: Someone who looks like me has been going around causing trouble throughout the city, and I thought it might have been you,:: he admitted.
Yami Marik sneered, though Marik couldn't see it. (( Though I would greatly enjoy causing destruction, it wasn't me. )) With that he broke off the connection abruptly, leaving Marik frustrated and no less puzzled.
"He says it wasn't him," the boy reported to Rishid and Ishizu with a sigh.
"Do you believe him, brother?" Ishizu asked.
Marik shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to believe," he muttered. "I wish I could see for myself exactly what that burglar looks like."
****
In the meantime, Yugi, Bakura, and their Yamis were still heading for the ship as they tried to see through the murky fog.
"This is ridiculous!" Yami Yugi cried. "There was never this problem back in Egypt!"
Bakura was about to reply when someone suddenly crashed into his Yami from behind, starting a domino effect that landed everyone on the ground.
"You're sure in a hurry," Yugi commented dazedly while Yami Bakura made Egyptian curses.
Without a word, the figure picked himself up and ran off, his blonde hair streaming out after him.
"Oh my," Bakura remarked, "that looked like Marik!"
"You're right," Yami Yugi said grimly. "Perhaps it was his double."
"Then let's go track him down!" Yugi cried determinedly as he jumped up, and Bakura and Yami Yugi stood up to go with him.
Yami Bakura had no desire to accompany them, but since Bakura was going he felt he had no choice. Growling angrily, the tomb robber stood up as well and reluctantly followed.
****
Joey, Tristan, and Mako were just leaving the aquarium when they, too, were suddenly accosted by the suspicious character. He bowled past, knocking all three of them off-balance.
"Hey!!" Joey yelled, grabbing the other boy's arm before he could disappear from sight, "watch it, you jerk!!"
"Let . . . me . . . go!" their assailant hissed, struggling wildly.
"Marik?!" Joey cried in disbelief, hearing the familiar voice.
The other boy pulled free, not answering Joey's question. "Stay out of my way or your doom is sealed," he warned.
"WHAT?!" Joey yelled indignantly. He lunged in for the attack but was held back by Tristan and Mako.
"Cool down, man," Tristan said in frustration.
"He just threatened me!" Joey retorted.
"But you know he is not the real Marik," Mako replied. "This is not worth getting angry over!"
"And if that was Marik's double," Tristan said now, "we should probably follow him and see what he's up to!"
"Man, he skipped the joint ages ago!" Joey shot back, still steamed at the whole incident—and at the fact that the creep had just eluded them.
"But he did leave this." Mako held up a golden earring which was very unlike the real Marik's favorite pair.
The two other boys stared at it. "Man, that thing's freaky-looking!" Joey cried. The earring was in the image of a long, spread-out cobra with deadly fangs and a forked tongue.
"This," Tristan declared with a grin, "is not only a very interesting clue, but it may help us catch this guy." He paused for effect. "Maybe he'll figure out that we must have his earring and come after us to get it back."
"Bring him on!" Joey growled, slamming his fist into his palm.
****
As Seto, Tea, and Mokuba reached the shopping mall, they soon got caught up in the crowds and hoped that they had lost and confused their pursuer. However, since Seto hadn't been able to see the man who was after him for some time now, he couldn't be certain that they were truly safe yet.
"This is ridiculous!" Tea cried, tugging to free her purse from where it had become entangled around a doorknob.
"You said it!" Mokuba agreed emphatically. "Marik's being mistaken for a thief while we're being shadowed by some weird guy who looks like he could be an evil ancient Egyptian high priest! That goes past ridiculous—it's just plain bizarre!"
Seto seemed almost not to hear them. He glanced about furtively as they came to a bit of a clearing in the crowd, looking for any sign of their stalker. "Let's get behind here," he directed, shepherding the others to a thick pillar. "We'll wait and watch to see if our mysterious pursuer makes an appearance."
"I can't help but hope he won't, especially if he *is* Seth," Tea muttered.
The dark-haired spirit who had been following them now watched as they hid behind the pillar. "Fools," he declared, still invisible and mute to mortal eyes and ears. "I am not Seth. He is the least of your worries now!"
****
Yugi and the others chased after Marik's double for what seemed like ages, but it seemed completely vain in the thick fog.
"It's no use!" Bakura cried after thirty minutes of their wild goose chase. "I'm afraid all we're doing is getting further and further away from the ship!"
"Actually," Yami Yugi said, glancing about, "I think we may be quite close to it." He pointed ahead to what seemed to be the docks.
Suddenly Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes suspiciously, apparently hearing something odd. "Someone's running away," he muttered. "The blasted sound seems to be coming from over there at that wharf."
"Hello?" Yugi called as loud as he could. "Can anyone hear me? Who's here?!"
The sound of the footsteps only grew louder and more pronounced, and then suddenly a horrific KA-BOOM rocked the ground the group was standing on.
"Something just blew up!" Yugi cried in horror.
"Great Scott!" Bakura exclaimed, his eyes wide, "what if it was the ship?!"