Notes: To Yami's Tenshi: Thanx for your concern! ^^ That meant a lot :) I'm doing fine, but I have a whole bunch of fanfics I'm working on right now, so I don't get to work on this mystery fic as much as I'd like ^_~ Hehehe
Yugi gasped in utter alarm. "Come on!" he ordered, running ahead frantically. "We've gotta make sure everyone's okay!"
Quickly Yami Yugi and Bakura followed suit and, with much muttering, Yami Bakura trailed after them, his silvery hair flying out in the increasing breeze wafting off the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
As the group finally tore through the fog and came upon the cruise ship, they were all immensely relieved to find it still intact. Marik was leaning over the railing, watching them in confusion.
"Where are you all going?" he asked.
"Marik!" Yugi exclaimed. "Didn't you hear that big explosion?!"
The Egyptian boy blinked. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I never heard a thing."
Bakura's mouth dropped open. "But it was so loud!" he cried. "How could anyone not hear it?!"
Yami Bakura shook his head in annoyance. "The boy is obviously deaf." He turned to head up the gangplank.
"We still must discover the source of that explosion," Yami Yugi said, his violet eyes narrowed.
"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "Someone might be hurt!"
Yami Bakura snorted. "Then by all means, go," he snapped, obviously not intending to go with them.
"Look over there!" Bakura burst out suddenly. "That building is on fire!!"
Marik perked up. "I'll come with you," he declared, hurrying down the ramp and over to them. Yugi noticed in surprise that the other boy wasn't wearing his trademark earrings, but he decided not to make any comment on that at the moment.
"Let's go then!" Yugi cried, running off down the dock.
"Yugi, wait!" Yami Yugi yelled, chasing after him.
Yami Bakura watched in irritation as Bakura dashed off as well, Marik closely following. "Come back here, you dolt!" the thief screamed. "You can't go wandering off into some absurd, fiery inferno!"
"You're welcome to come if you like, Yami!" Bakura replied, not slowing down a bit.
With an angry curse, the tomb raider vanished into the Ring around Bakura's neck, deciding to go along in case of disasters. He didn't care what happened to Yugi and his Yami, of course, but he was protective of Bakura, and besides, he needed to keep an eye on the Millennium Puzzle.
****
When the foursome arrived at the warehouse, almost five minutes had passed.
"Hello!" Yugi called frantically, coming up next to the door, "is anyone in there?!"
At first there was no reply, but then they all heard coughing from the other side of the slab of wood.
"Yeah!" a girl's voice screamed. "I'm trapped in here! The door won't open and there was a big explosion in the back of the warehouse!!"
"Oh my!" Bakura cried. "Hang on, we'll get you out!"
Instantly all four of them slammed into the door hard, willing it to splinter open.
"I think it moved," Marik yelled over the noise of the crackling embers.
"Once more!" Yami Yugi directed, and they all crashed into the wood again. This time it tore free, sending all of them to the floor in a heap.
"Whoa, crash landing," the girl remarked, seeing them all fall in. Now that she knew there was a safe way out, she let her natural wit shine through.
Yugi looked up at her and struggled to climb out from under the pile of bodies. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Tch. I am now," the girl replied, hurrying to the doorway. "Thanks to you guys!" She smiled and then waited for them to get untangled and follow her out.
When they were all safely on hard ground again and the fire department was putting out the blaze, everyone turned to study the girl curiously. She didn't look any older than eleven; what on earth would she be doing all the way out here?!
"Now," Marik said, crossing his bare arms, "would you care to explain yourself, child?"
"I'm not a child!" the girl cried defensively, but then sighed. "And I was chasing a really suspicious-looking guy. He led me in there and then set off that bomb!" She gestured wildly with her hands.
"Why were you chasing him?" Yugi asked, horror evident in his eyes. "You could've been hurt seriously!"
"Or worse," Yami Yugi chimed in.
The girl crossed her arms in irritation. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Chasing bad guys should be left to the 'proper authorities,'" she said wearily. "But there weren't any around, and I was trying to stop that guy from getting away with those artifacts!"
Everyone perked up. "What kinds of artifacts?" Yugi asked.
The girl shrugged. "I think they were from Egypt," she replied, "or at least most of them were. A couple were from China."
"More Ming vases?" Marik mused aloud.
"I guess they coulda been," said the girl. "But now that guy could be miles away!"
"Or else he wound up perishing in the fire," Marik remarked, "though that is quite unlikely. He probably escaped through a back door."
Bakura was worrying and wondering if the man had known he was being shadowed by a child. Surely if he had, he couldn't have been so treacherous and abominable as to set off that bomb! he thought to himself.
Aloud he said, "Are you certain it was the man you were chasing who set off the bomb?" He knew that there was another possibility.
The girl blinked. "Well, yeah. He ran into the back and that was when he tried to toast the place!"
"What if," Yami Yugi suggested, catching on to what Bakura was getting at, "that man had someone else after him besides you, and it was this second man who set off the bomb in order to attempt eliminating the man you were chasing?"
"Whoa, you mean there might be some kinda conspiracy going on?" the girl exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Cool!"
"Very uncool, I'm afraid," Marik sighed.
****
Seto, Tea, and Mokuba had only been hiding behind the pillar for a few minutes when Mai Valentine turned up again.
"Hey you guys," the blonde girl said, blinking at them. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to catch some weirdo who's been following us!" Mokuba replied.
"Really? You guys have been followed?" Mai looked surprised at first, then shook her head. "You just can't get a moment's peace, can you?"
"It doesn't look like it," Tea sighed.
"Well, what does this person look like?" Mai wanted to know.
Seto emotionlessly described their stalker, all the while keeping an eye out in case he made a sudden appearance.
"He looked a lot like Seth," Mokuba spoke up with a shudder.
Mai crossed her arms. "I never met this Seth person," she remarked.
"Be glad," Tea said, heaving a sigh.
"I doubt that he'll show up," Seto said now, narrowing his eyes. "I'm certain he knows by now that we're on to him."
"Well, then you might as well come out into the open," Mai replied with a shrug. "Everyone's turning to look over here. They probably think I'm carrying on a conversation with this piece of marble."
Wordlessly the trio emerged from their hiding place, glancing around at the crowds.
"Where are we now, anyway?" Tea wondered. "I've gotten all turned around."
"We're over near Chinatown," Mai replied, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "It's over there."
"I wish we could figure out what to do next," Tea sighed as everyone began walking again.
"We should try to find out more about this case," Mokuba spoke up. "Maybe we could go to the library and check out the recent newspapers. They might have articles on the burglaries and stuff."
"Not a bad idea, kid," Seto smiled, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "It's worth a try."
****
Meanwhile, Joey, Tristan, and Mako finally made it back to the ship and found Marik in the dining room, staring off into space.
"Hey buddy," Tristan greeted. Joey, he noticed, stayed silent, and the hazel-eyed boy was sure that it was due to the earlier incident.
"Hello," Marik replied, snapping back to Earth.
"We had a strange experience a while ago," Mako reported. "We met your double out in the fog."
Marik perked up immensely. "You did?" he exclaimed.
"That's right," Joey said, now speaking up. "And the jerk threatened me!"
Marik was disturbed. "You knew it wasn't me, didn't you?" he wanted to know.
"Hey, of course we did," Tristan replied before Joey could. "And look at this freaky thing he was wearing!" With that he dropped the odd earring into Marik's hands and the boy stared at it curiously.
"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Joey demanded.
"I never have," Marik said, shaking his head. His own earrings clinked softly with the motion.
****
"So now tell me, Mako—why in the name of Heaven would someone tell you that I could help you on your quest, and what exactly is your quest?"
Marik and Mako were out on the deck, watching Joey and Tristan playing table top tennis.
Mako looked at his new friend very seriously. "I am searching for my father," he explained, and began telling Marik of that fateful storm that had separated them. "I know he escaped, because the lifeboat was gone," the dark-haired boy said.
He also told Marik about the Legendary Fisherman card that he had been sent anonymously. "I believe it was my father who sent it to me," he said now.
"If it was your father, why didn't he explain where he was?" Marik asked.
"I don't know," Mako sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps he is in some sort of predicament and can't reveal his location."
"But you think I can tell you where that location is?" Marik said incredulously.
"You may have some sort of clue," Mako replied. "Perhaps you know someone who knows where my father is, or maybe you even knew my father at some point."
Marik stared at the other boy. "Do you resemble him?" he wanted to know.
"I have been told that," Mako answered.
"Then I am certain I have never met him personally," Marik said.
****
"Here's something about the burglaries," Tea reported, holding up the previous day's news. "It says that several Egyptian archaeological finds were stolen from an antique store in Chinatown!"
Mai blinked. "What were archaeological finds doing at an antique shop?"
Tea scanned over the article again. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "It doesn't say why. But it does say that the items weren't for sale in the shop."
"Oh wow!" Mokuba cried. "Look at this!" He pointed to the next page, and everyone turned to see what had startled him.
It was a picture taken in Golden Gate Park during a community picnic. Leaning against a nearby tree and watching was someone who looked strikingly like Yami Yugi!
Yugi gasped in utter alarm. "Come on!" he ordered, running ahead frantically. "We've gotta make sure everyone's okay!"
Quickly Yami Yugi and Bakura followed suit and, with much muttering, Yami Bakura trailed after them, his silvery hair flying out in the increasing breeze wafting off the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
As the group finally tore through the fog and came upon the cruise ship, they were all immensely relieved to find it still intact. Marik was leaning over the railing, watching them in confusion.
"Where are you all going?" he asked.
"Marik!" Yugi exclaimed. "Didn't you hear that big explosion?!"
The Egyptian boy blinked. "No," he said with a shake of his head. "I never heard a thing."
Bakura's mouth dropped open. "But it was so loud!" he cried. "How could anyone not hear it?!"
Yami Bakura shook his head in annoyance. "The boy is obviously deaf." He turned to head up the gangplank.
"We still must discover the source of that explosion," Yami Yugi said, his violet eyes narrowed.
"That's right!" Yugi exclaimed. "Someone might be hurt!"
Yami Bakura snorted. "Then by all means, go," he snapped, obviously not intending to go with them.
"Look over there!" Bakura burst out suddenly. "That building is on fire!!"
Marik perked up. "I'll come with you," he declared, hurrying down the ramp and over to them. Yugi noticed in surprise that the other boy wasn't wearing his trademark earrings, but he decided not to make any comment on that at the moment.
"Let's go then!" Yugi cried, running off down the dock.
"Yugi, wait!" Yami Yugi yelled, chasing after him.
Yami Bakura watched in irritation as Bakura dashed off as well, Marik closely following. "Come back here, you dolt!" the thief screamed. "You can't go wandering off into some absurd, fiery inferno!"
"You're welcome to come if you like, Yami!" Bakura replied, not slowing down a bit.
With an angry curse, the tomb raider vanished into the Ring around Bakura's neck, deciding to go along in case of disasters. He didn't care what happened to Yugi and his Yami, of course, but he was protective of Bakura, and besides, he needed to keep an eye on the Millennium Puzzle.
****
When the foursome arrived at the warehouse, almost five minutes had passed.
"Hello!" Yugi called frantically, coming up next to the door, "is anyone in there?!"
At first there was no reply, but then they all heard coughing from the other side of the slab of wood.
"Yeah!" a girl's voice screamed. "I'm trapped in here! The door won't open and there was a big explosion in the back of the warehouse!!"
"Oh my!" Bakura cried. "Hang on, we'll get you out!"
Instantly all four of them slammed into the door hard, willing it to splinter open.
"I think it moved," Marik yelled over the noise of the crackling embers.
"Once more!" Yami Yugi directed, and they all crashed into the wood again. This time it tore free, sending all of them to the floor in a heap.
"Whoa, crash landing," the girl remarked, seeing them all fall in. Now that she knew there was a safe way out, she let her natural wit shine through.
Yugi looked up at her and struggled to climb out from under the pile of bodies. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Tch. I am now," the girl replied, hurrying to the doorway. "Thanks to you guys!" She smiled and then waited for them to get untangled and follow her out.
When they were all safely on hard ground again and the fire department was putting out the blaze, everyone turned to study the girl curiously. She didn't look any older than eleven; what on earth would she be doing all the way out here?!
"Now," Marik said, crossing his bare arms, "would you care to explain yourself, child?"
"I'm not a child!" the girl cried defensively, but then sighed. "And I was chasing a really suspicious-looking guy. He led me in there and then set off that bomb!" She gestured wildly with her hands.
"Why were you chasing him?" Yugi asked, horror evident in his eyes. "You could've been hurt seriously!"
"Or worse," Yami Yugi chimed in.
The girl crossed her arms in irritation. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Chasing bad guys should be left to the 'proper authorities,'" she said wearily. "But there weren't any around, and I was trying to stop that guy from getting away with those artifacts!"
Everyone perked up. "What kinds of artifacts?" Yugi asked.
The girl shrugged. "I think they were from Egypt," she replied, "or at least most of them were. A couple were from China."
"More Ming vases?" Marik mused aloud.
"I guess they coulda been," said the girl. "But now that guy could be miles away!"
"Or else he wound up perishing in the fire," Marik remarked, "though that is quite unlikely. He probably escaped through a back door."
Bakura was worrying and wondering if the man had known he was being shadowed by a child. Surely if he had, he couldn't have been so treacherous and abominable as to set off that bomb! he thought to himself.
Aloud he said, "Are you certain it was the man you were chasing who set off the bomb?" He knew that there was another possibility.
The girl blinked. "Well, yeah. He ran into the back and that was when he tried to toast the place!"
"What if," Yami Yugi suggested, catching on to what Bakura was getting at, "that man had someone else after him besides you, and it was this second man who set off the bomb in order to attempt eliminating the man you were chasing?"
"Whoa, you mean there might be some kinda conspiracy going on?" the girl exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Cool!"
"Very uncool, I'm afraid," Marik sighed.
****
Seto, Tea, and Mokuba had only been hiding behind the pillar for a few minutes when Mai Valentine turned up again.
"Hey you guys," the blonde girl said, blinking at them. "What on earth do you think you're doing?"
"Trying to catch some weirdo who's been following us!" Mokuba replied.
"Really? You guys have been followed?" Mai looked surprised at first, then shook her head. "You just can't get a moment's peace, can you?"
"It doesn't look like it," Tea sighed.
"Well, what does this person look like?" Mai wanted to know.
Seto emotionlessly described their stalker, all the while keeping an eye out in case he made a sudden appearance.
"He looked a lot like Seth," Mokuba spoke up with a shudder.
Mai crossed her arms. "I never met this Seth person," she remarked.
"Be glad," Tea said, heaving a sigh.
"I doubt that he'll show up," Seto said now, narrowing his eyes. "I'm certain he knows by now that we're on to him."
"Well, then you might as well come out into the open," Mai replied with a shrug. "Everyone's turning to look over here. They probably think I'm carrying on a conversation with this piece of marble."
Wordlessly the trio emerged from their hiding place, glancing around at the crowds.
"Where are we now, anyway?" Tea wondered. "I've gotten all turned around."
"We're over near Chinatown," Mai replied, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. "It's over there."
"I wish we could figure out what to do next," Tea sighed as everyone began walking again.
"We should try to find out more about this case," Mokuba spoke up. "Maybe we could go to the library and check out the recent newspapers. They might have articles on the burglaries and stuff."
"Not a bad idea, kid," Seto smiled, ruffling the younger boy's hair. "It's worth a try."
****
Meanwhile, Joey, Tristan, and Mako finally made it back to the ship and found Marik in the dining room, staring off into space.
"Hey buddy," Tristan greeted. Joey, he noticed, stayed silent, and the hazel-eyed boy was sure that it was due to the earlier incident.
"Hello," Marik replied, snapping back to Earth.
"We had a strange experience a while ago," Mako reported. "We met your double out in the fog."
Marik perked up immensely. "You did?" he exclaimed.
"That's right," Joey said, now speaking up. "And the jerk threatened me!"
Marik was disturbed. "You knew it wasn't me, didn't you?" he wanted to know.
"Hey, of course we did," Tristan replied before Joey could. "And look at this freaky thing he was wearing!" With that he dropped the odd earring into Marik's hands and the boy stared at it curiously.
"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Joey demanded.
"I never have," Marik said, shaking his head. His own earrings clinked softly with the motion.
****
"So now tell me, Mako—why in the name of Heaven would someone tell you that I could help you on your quest, and what exactly is your quest?"
Marik and Mako were out on the deck, watching Joey and Tristan playing table top tennis.
Mako looked at his new friend very seriously. "I am searching for my father," he explained, and began telling Marik of that fateful storm that had separated them. "I know he escaped, because the lifeboat was gone," the dark-haired boy said.
He also told Marik about the Legendary Fisherman card that he had been sent anonymously. "I believe it was my father who sent it to me," he said now.
"If it was your father, why didn't he explain where he was?" Marik asked.
"I don't know," Mako sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps he is in some sort of predicament and can't reveal his location."
"But you think I can tell you where that location is?" Marik said incredulously.
"You may have some sort of clue," Mako replied. "Perhaps you know someone who knows where my father is, or maybe you even knew my father at some point."
Marik stared at the other boy. "Do you resemble him?" he wanted to know.
"I have been told that," Mako answered.
"Then I am certain I have never met him personally," Marik said.
****
"Here's something about the burglaries," Tea reported, holding up the previous day's news. "It says that several Egyptian archaeological finds were stolen from an antique store in Chinatown!"
Mai blinked. "What were archaeological finds doing at an antique shop?"
Tea scanned over the article again. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "It doesn't say why. But it does say that the items weren't for sale in the shop."
"Oh wow!" Mokuba cried. "Look at this!" He pointed to the next page, and everyone turned to see what had startled him.
It was a picture taken in Golden Gate Park during a community picnic. Leaning against a nearby tree and watching was someone who looked strikingly like Yami Yugi!