During a lunch that Jackie had invited them to, Yugi leaned back on the couch and smiled. "That was delicious," he complimented.
Uncle nodded curtly. "Tohru made it," he said, taking a bit out of an infamous mung bean sandwich. Yugi and Tea had to admit that they were relieved that their lunch consisted of a salad and casserole.
"Well now," Yami Yugi spoke up, "what is this about magic powers inhabiting the stolen Egyptian artifacts?"
"Oh, it is just a myth," Jackie tried to say, but he was instantly whacked by Uncle.
"It is not myth!" the grouchy man cried. "Daolon Wong was after them!"
"Whoa," Jade exclaimed. "Seriously?" She sat up straight, intently interested. "Why did the Anti-Uncle want them? Do they have some kind of mundo-coolio powers like the Talis . . ."
Instantly she was interrupted by Jackie. "Jade!" he scolded. "I am certain our guests do not wish to hear about . . ."
"We can speak freely in front of them!" Uncle said, scolding him. "This spirit is the Egyptian Pharaoh Yugioh! There is no one better to share the mysteries of the past with!"
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks as Uncle paused, his eyes narrowing as a cold chill breezed through the room, extinguishing the lights.
"Spirits lurk!" Uncle said grimly.
Yami Yugi stood, the third eye glowing on his forehead. "Reveal yourselves!" he yelled commandingly.
"They wish to tell us something," Uncle announced, standing as well.
"Are they good spirits?" Yugi exclaimed, jerking as he felt an unseen hand on his shoulder and a chill breath against his neck.
"One of them is," Yami Yugi replied after a pause. "He says he is Chi Master Fong."
Uncle smiled. "Of course he is," he said.
"The other, however," Yami Yugi continued, "will not introduce himself . . . or herself. I sense a darkness about that entity."
"Uncle, what do they want?!" Jackie cried.
Uncle was already concentrating hard, trying to attempt communication. "Chi Master Fong is trying to warn us," he declared. "There is a great, ancient evil we are dealing with."
"Oh great," Tea muttered. "Why can't we ever deal with ordinary smugglers or jewel thieves any more?"
****
Gently Rishid laid his brother's body down on the bed in his room and pulled the quilt up around him. "He will be alright," the man said in relief, having already bandaged Marik's wounds and examined the bump on the boy's head. "The doctor said that he should awaken soon."
Mokuba brightened and climbed onto the bed by his friend's side. "Good ol' Marik," he said softly. "He's been such a great pal."
Rishid nodded slowly, his mind wandering as he tried to figure out why those bullies had hurt the boy. There was no reason for it! Silently he cursed the double who had caused so much pain for one undeserving of it.
Ishizu entered the room then and hastened to her brother's side, taking his hand. "Dear Marik," she whispered, then looked up at Rishid grimly. "It is a blessing that he was not hurt worse than he was. I sense that Bakura has been taken."
"What?!" Mokuba yelped.
Rishid's eyes narrowed and he took Marik's other hand protectively. "When was this?" he asked, realizing that Marik most likely could have been taken just as easily.
"I sensed it happened not long ago," Ishizu replied in a sad tone, smoothing Marik's hair back.
"What do they want with Bakura?!" Mokuba burst out.
"Unfortunately, that I do not know," Ishizu said soberly. "Nor do I know the identity of his abductor." She paused. "And the fact that he was taken causes me to ponder on the whereabouts of his Yami as well."
Mokuba hugged his unconscious friend worriedly. "Those jerks were gonna try to kill Marik with the Millennium Rod, but then they saw this bright light down at the other end of the alley and it scared them off," he remembered.
"We are greatly indebted to whoever caused that light to appear," Ishizu said quietly.
****
Bakura gasped in horror and struggled to rise from the slab, but Vivalene roughly pushed him down.
"Now, now. None of that," she scolded.
"What do you want with me?!" he cried, again trying to get up. "And what did you do to Yami?!"
Vivalene grabbed him viciously and forced him to lay flat. "Oh, poor Yami," she sneered. "It's your fault he's hurt, you know."
"What?!" Bakura cried in disbelief. "No! You're lying!!"
"Am I?" Vivalene half-turned, still keeping one of her hands on Bakura's chest to restrain him. "Tell me, Bakura—do you remember what you did after you were overcome by that sweet smell?"
Bakura was practically shaking—both with fear and outrage. "I . . . I fell unconscious," he replied at last.
Vivalene smirked at him. "Actually, darling, you pushed your Yami out the window."
"No!!" Bakura screamed, leaping clear off the slab. "I would never do such a thing!!"
Vivalene's emerald eyes flashed mercilessly. "Oh no? Where is he, then? Poor Bakura. You hurt your Yami—just as you were responsible for your sister's death."
Bakura paled. "What are you saying?! I couldn't have done anything to help her!! Heaven knows how I wished I could!!" Tears filled his eyes as the painful memories returned.
"Ah, but you still blamed yourself," Vivalene purred. "If only you had followed up on your feeling of foreboding from earlier, maybe she wouldn't have gotten in that car crash. Maybe she would still be with you today. You killed her, Bakura."
"Stop it!!" Bakura sobbed, clutching at her hands and trying to pry them away. "Stop it!!!!"
"I've hit a weak spot, I see." Vivalene smoothed Bakura's bangs back, only to have them flip back over his forehead stubbornly. "Poor, sweet, innocent Bakura. You harmed the people you cared about most in your life."
"No!!!" Bakura wailed. "It's not true!!" He struggled to arise but found himself too weak. Vivalene sneered as she produced a small bottle in her hand.
"You won't be going anywhere for awhile," she told him. "This temporary paralysis drug will see to that. Completely odorless, you know."
"Why do you want to torment me?!" Bakura demanded, tears streaming down his face. "You didn't even have much contact with me the last time you were around!"
"True, very true." Vivalene stroked his cheek, repulsing him. "But abducting you is the best way to get to your friends, especially once I return you to them in a broken-down state."
Bakura tried to figure out how to roll himself off the slab, but his frozen body wouldn't even allow him that much. "I don't know what you expect to gain from this!" he said bravely.
"Hmmm. Perhaps a bit of revenge?" Vivalene smirked. "I can never have too much of that. And oh . . . they'll be so busy dealing with your condition that they won't have any time to stop me from wreaking my havoc everywhere! Now . . . where were we?" Slowly and precisely she began braiding the boy's hair and caressing his face, all the while whispering dire threats as to what would happen to his friends if they refused to back off from the case. Bakura, who was starting to feel very drowsy, heard the words and impressed them sharply into his mind.
****
Shadi clutched the Millennium Ankh, his senses sharply alert. Someone was in the room—and they weren't friendly.
"Reveal yourself to me," he said coldly. "I know of your presence."
With an evil laugh, the man resembling Marik stepped out of the shadows and stood over his weakened opponent. "You are recovering from what I did, I see," he remarked.
Shadi's expression didn't change. "So. You cannot be held in the Shadow Realm. I might have expected that. Evil such as you bring cannot be kept prisoner or locked away in a dark realm. It always find a way to manifest itself once more."
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Marik's double leaned over the side of the bed, grinning maniacally. "What with all those special powers."
"Any power I have was granted to me to bring about a higher purpose," Shadi replied solemnly. "It is not mine to squander."
"Tough talker." The wicked man grabbed Shadi around the neck and began to squeeze. "You've been a thorn in my side long enough. But you're just a mortal man endowed with mystical abilities. I, on the other hand . . ." He paused, looking deep into Shadi's blue eyes. "I am much more dangerous than you might be inclined to believe." Speaking in an ancient tongue, he malevolently brought forth a grotesque beast, which stood fluttering over his enemy and roared viciously.
Shadi remained unfazed. "I know exactly how dangerous you are," he said grimly. "And I know that you are a shapeshifter. You only wished to make those teenagers believe that you were an excellent actor, but it is so much more than that. You do not simply imitate your victims—you can become them completely."
"Been doing your research, I see." The other man sneered. "However, I have many mortals working for me who are excellent actors. They also can pretend to be anyone I wish them to be. Before long, those you have appointed yourself to watch over will become confused with all the doubles of themselves that I have unleashed on the city."
Shadi leaned back, prying his assailant's hand away from his throat. "You may think that all of this will take me by surprise, but in that you have failed. I have been playing along with your little ruse, but you are not deceiving me. You are not the same person who was sent to the Shadow Realm. What I said to you a moment before about shapeshifting is actually in reference to an ancient creature whom you have been attempting to make people believe you are. But you cannot shapeshift, nor do you have an army of doubles throughout the city." He paused. "And the beast hovering over me is only a lifelike hologram stolen from the Kaiba Corporation," he added quietly, "not a true threat."
Marik's double growled, contorting his face angrily. "My master was right—you are a worthy opponent." He grabbed Shadi again, pressing unbearably on the back of his neck before the weakened man could do a thing about it. "Maybe I don't have any magic powers, but I don't need them!" the masquerader hissed as his enemy fell unconscious. "Sweet dreams, Shadi!" And with that he turned and spun out of the room.
****
Yami Bakura groaned as he opened his eyes, cursing in Egyptian. Where the devil was he? Slowly he realized that he was laying in a bed of flowers underneath "Eliza's" window and that those blasted cats had all crowded around, frantically trying to wake him up. Now that they saw he was conscious, they purred loudly and snuggled close, rubbing up against him and licking his face.
"ENOUGH!!!!!!!" He screamed loud enough that he heard an echo—but still the cats cuddled. Frustrated, he stood up without warning and clutched at his aching head. Now he remembered. Vivalene had challenged him to a Shadow Game, telling him that she'd become quite skilled at them during her stint as a Rare Hunter. He had replied that he didn't have time for any such thing at the moment—and then Vivalene had pulled out what looked like an old staff and summoned its dark powers to throw him backward out the window. Why did everyone have to be a magician these days?!
He looked around angrily, searching for any sign of Bakura. "That imbecile," he muttered, proceeding to call the boy every rude name he could think of while powering up the Millennium Ring to help him search. "Ring, where is Bakura?!" he growled.
The spindles went wild, then pointed to the right. Yami Bakura instantly dashed off, choosing to ignore the six cats that bounded after him.
****
Seto, meanwhile, was looking high and low for Seth and his two cronies, but no one else had seen them and the trio didn't appear to be around anywhere nearby.
"This is ridiculous," Mai sighed. "Maybe we should just give up."
"Yeah," Joey added in frustration. "I mean, it's not like they're just gonna pop up outta any old place and . . ."
He trailed off as he was suddenly shoved to the ground by a fleeing figure who seemed to resemble the high priest Seth.
"Hey!!! Watch where you're goin'!!!" the Brooklyn boy yelled angrily, waving his fist.
Seth ignored him and continued on, bowling over several other passers-by in his attempt to get away.
"Not so fast." Seto stepped boldly into his path and held out his arms, preventing his evil ancestor from leaving. "Now. What is it you're up to?"
Seth sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know. But you'll be pleased to know that my current plans have nothing to do with you or your brother—as long as you stay out of my way, that is." He turned to go. "And now if you'll excuse me."
Seto reached out and grabbed him. "Not so fast," he hissed, but Seth simply whisked himself away in a cloud of smoke.
"Man," Joey groaned, "I hate it when he does that."
****
"AIIYAA!!" Uncle cried loudly, startling everyone else in the room.
"What is it, Uncle?!" Jackie demanded. "What did Chi Master Fong say??"
Uncle looked at him grimly. "He revealed to me who has stolen the Egyptian artifacts!"
"Well, tell us, already!" Jade said impatiently.
"Daolon Wong has joined forces with a dangerous woman known as The Viper," Uncle replied slowly, "and they, together with an evil trio of spirits, have pulled off the heist!"
"VIPER?!" Jackie and Jade burst out.
"Not our Viper!!" Jade protested. "She's an EX-thief!"
"No, wait!" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes wide. "We know someone called The Viper—Vivalene!!"
****
Carelessly Vivalene dumped Bakura's limp body in Golden Gate Park with a smirk. "Sweet, innocent Bakura," she muttered.
Bakura moaned and stirred, shuddering. "Why?" he sobbed. "Why couldn't I have stopped Amane from getting in that car crash? Perhaps it was my fault! Oh . . ."
Vivalene pressed down on his shoulder blades wickedly with her foot. "Such a tortured soul," she sneered, turning to leave.
Uncle nodded curtly. "Tohru made it," he said, taking a bit out of an infamous mung bean sandwich. Yugi and Tea had to admit that they were relieved that their lunch consisted of a salad and casserole.
"Well now," Yami Yugi spoke up, "what is this about magic powers inhabiting the stolen Egyptian artifacts?"
"Oh, it is just a myth," Jackie tried to say, but he was instantly whacked by Uncle.
"It is not myth!" the grouchy man cried. "Daolon Wong was after them!"
"Whoa," Jade exclaimed. "Seriously?" She sat up straight, intently interested. "Why did the Anti-Uncle want them? Do they have some kind of mundo-coolio powers like the Talis . . ."
Instantly she was interrupted by Jackie. "Jade!" he scolded. "I am certain our guests do not wish to hear about . . ."
"We can speak freely in front of them!" Uncle said, scolding him. "This spirit is the Egyptian Pharaoh Yugioh! There is no one better to share the mysteries of the past with!"
Yugi and Tea exchanged looks as Uncle paused, his eyes narrowing as a cold chill breezed through the room, extinguishing the lights.
"Spirits lurk!" Uncle said grimly.
Yami Yugi stood, the third eye glowing on his forehead. "Reveal yourselves!" he yelled commandingly.
"They wish to tell us something," Uncle announced, standing as well.
"Are they good spirits?" Yugi exclaimed, jerking as he felt an unseen hand on his shoulder and a chill breath against his neck.
"One of them is," Yami Yugi replied after a pause. "He says he is Chi Master Fong."
Uncle smiled. "Of course he is," he said.
"The other, however," Yami Yugi continued, "will not introduce himself . . . or herself. I sense a darkness about that entity."
"Uncle, what do they want?!" Jackie cried.
Uncle was already concentrating hard, trying to attempt communication. "Chi Master Fong is trying to warn us," he declared. "There is a great, ancient evil we are dealing with."
"Oh great," Tea muttered. "Why can't we ever deal with ordinary smugglers or jewel thieves any more?"
****
Gently Rishid laid his brother's body down on the bed in his room and pulled the quilt up around him. "He will be alright," the man said in relief, having already bandaged Marik's wounds and examined the bump on the boy's head. "The doctor said that he should awaken soon."
Mokuba brightened and climbed onto the bed by his friend's side. "Good ol' Marik," he said softly. "He's been such a great pal."
Rishid nodded slowly, his mind wandering as he tried to figure out why those bullies had hurt the boy. There was no reason for it! Silently he cursed the double who had caused so much pain for one undeserving of it.
Ishizu entered the room then and hastened to her brother's side, taking his hand. "Dear Marik," she whispered, then looked up at Rishid grimly. "It is a blessing that he was not hurt worse than he was. I sense that Bakura has been taken."
"What?!" Mokuba yelped.
Rishid's eyes narrowed and he took Marik's other hand protectively. "When was this?" he asked, realizing that Marik most likely could have been taken just as easily.
"I sensed it happened not long ago," Ishizu replied in a sad tone, smoothing Marik's hair back.
"What do they want with Bakura?!" Mokuba burst out.
"Unfortunately, that I do not know," Ishizu said soberly. "Nor do I know the identity of his abductor." She paused. "And the fact that he was taken causes me to ponder on the whereabouts of his Yami as well."
Mokuba hugged his unconscious friend worriedly. "Those jerks were gonna try to kill Marik with the Millennium Rod, but then they saw this bright light down at the other end of the alley and it scared them off," he remembered.
"We are greatly indebted to whoever caused that light to appear," Ishizu said quietly.
****
Bakura gasped in horror and struggled to rise from the slab, but Vivalene roughly pushed him down.
"Now, now. None of that," she scolded.
"What do you want with me?!" he cried, again trying to get up. "And what did you do to Yami?!"
Vivalene grabbed him viciously and forced him to lay flat. "Oh, poor Yami," she sneered. "It's your fault he's hurt, you know."
"What?!" Bakura cried in disbelief. "No! You're lying!!"
"Am I?" Vivalene half-turned, still keeping one of her hands on Bakura's chest to restrain him. "Tell me, Bakura—do you remember what you did after you were overcome by that sweet smell?"
Bakura was practically shaking—both with fear and outrage. "I . . . I fell unconscious," he replied at last.
Vivalene smirked at him. "Actually, darling, you pushed your Yami out the window."
"No!!" Bakura screamed, leaping clear off the slab. "I would never do such a thing!!"
Vivalene's emerald eyes flashed mercilessly. "Oh no? Where is he, then? Poor Bakura. You hurt your Yami—just as you were responsible for your sister's death."
Bakura paled. "What are you saying?! I couldn't have done anything to help her!! Heaven knows how I wished I could!!" Tears filled his eyes as the painful memories returned.
"Ah, but you still blamed yourself," Vivalene purred. "If only you had followed up on your feeling of foreboding from earlier, maybe she wouldn't have gotten in that car crash. Maybe she would still be with you today. You killed her, Bakura."
"Stop it!!" Bakura sobbed, clutching at her hands and trying to pry them away. "Stop it!!!!"
"I've hit a weak spot, I see." Vivalene smoothed Bakura's bangs back, only to have them flip back over his forehead stubbornly. "Poor, sweet, innocent Bakura. You harmed the people you cared about most in your life."
"No!!!" Bakura wailed. "It's not true!!" He struggled to arise but found himself too weak. Vivalene sneered as she produced a small bottle in her hand.
"You won't be going anywhere for awhile," she told him. "This temporary paralysis drug will see to that. Completely odorless, you know."
"Why do you want to torment me?!" Bakura demanded, tears streaming down his face. "You didn't even have much contact with me the last time you were around!"
"True, very true." Vivalene stroked his cheek, repulsing him. "But abducting you is the best way to get to your friends, especially once I return you to them in a broken-down state."
Bakura tried to figure out how to roll himself off the slab, but his frozen body wouldn't even allow him that much. "I don't know what you expect to gain from this!" he said bravely.
"Hmmm. Perhaps a bit of revenge?" Vivalene smirked. "I can never have too much of that. And oh . . . they'll be so busy dealing with your condition that they won't have any time to stop me from wreaking my havoc everywhere! Now . . . where were we?" Slowly and precisely she began braiding the boy's hair and caressing his face, all the while whispering dire threats as to what would happen to his friends if they refused to back off from the case. Bakura, who was starting to feel very drowsy, heard the words and impressed them sharply into his mind.
****
Shadi clutched the Millennium Ankh, his senses sharply alert. Someone was in the room—and they weren't friendly.
"Reveal yourself to me," he said coldly. "I know of your presence."
With an evil laugh, the man resembling Marik stepped out of the shadows and stood over his weakened opponent. "You are recovering from what I did, I see," he remarked.
Shadi's expression didn't change. "So. You cannot be held in the Shadow Realm. I might have expected that. Evil such as you bring cannot be kept prisoner or locked away in a dark realm. It always find a way to manifest itself once more."
"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Marik's double leaned over the side of the bed, grinning maniacally. "What with all those special powers."
"Any power I have was granted to me to bring about a higher purpose," Shadi replied solemnly. "It is not mine to squander."
"Tough talker." The wicked man grabbed Shadi around the neck and began to squeeze. "You've been a thorn in my side long enough. But you're just a mortal man endowed with mystical abilities. I, on the other hand . . ." He paused, looking deep into Shadi's blue eyes. "I am much more dangerous than you might be inclined to believe." Speaking in an ancient tongue, he malevolently brought forth a grotesque beast, which stood fluttering over his enemy and roared viciously.
Shadi remained unfazed. "I know exactly how dangerous you are," he said grimly. "And I know that you are a shapeshifter. You only wished to make those teenagers believe that you were an excellent actor, but it is so much more than that. You do not simply imitate your victims—you can become them completely."
"Been doing your research, I see." The other man sneered. "However, I have many mortals working for me who are excellent actors. They also can pretend to be anyone I wish them to be. Before long, those you have appointed yourself to watch over will become confused with all the doubles of themselves that I have unleashed on the city."
Shadi leaned back, prying his assailant's hand away from his throat. "You may think that all of this will take me by surprise, but in that you have failed. I have been playing along with your little ruse, but you are not deceiving me. You are not the same person who was sent to the Shadow Realm. What I said to you a moment before about shapeshifting is actually in reference to an ancient creature whom you have been attempting to make people believe you are. But you cannot shapeshift, nor do you have an army of doubles throughout the city." He paused. "And the beast hovering over me is only a lifelike hologram stolen from the Kaiba Corporation," he added quietly, "not a true threat."
Marik's double growled, contorting his face angrily. "My master was right—you are a worthy opponent." He grabbed Shadi again, pressing unbearably on the back of his neck before the weakened man could do a thing about it. "Maybe I don't have any magic powers, but I don't need them!" the masquerader hissed as his enemy fell unconscious. "Sweet dreams, Shadi!" And with that he turned and spun out of the room.
****
Yami Bakura groaned as he opened his eyes, cursing in Egyptian. Where the devil was he? Slowly he realized that he was laying in a bed of flowers underneath "Eliza's" window and that those blasted cats had all crowded around, frantically trying to wake him up. Now that they saw he was conscious, they purred loudly and snuggled close, rubbing up against him and licking his face.
"ENOUGH!!!!!!!" He screamed loud enough that he heard an echo—but still the cats cuddled. Frustrated, he stood up without warning and clutched at his aching head. Now he remembered. Vivalene had challenged him to a Shadow Game, telling him that she'd become quite skilled at them during her stint as a Rare Hunter. He had replied that he didn't have time for any such thing at the moment—and then Vivalene had pulled out what looked like an old staff and summoned its dark powers to throw him backward out the window. Why did everyone have to be a magician these days?!
He looked around angrily, searching for any sign of Bakura. "That imbecile," he muttered, proceeding to call the boy every rude name he could think of while powering up the Millennium Ring to help him search. "Ring, where is Bakura?!" he growled.
The spindles went wild, then pointed to the right. Yami Bakura instantly dashed off, choosing to ignore the six cats that bounded after him.
****
Seto, meanwhile, was looking high and low for Seth and his two cronies, but no one else had seen them and the trio didn't appear to be around anywhere nearby.
"This is ridiculous," Mai sighed. "Maybe we should just give up."
"Yeah," Joey added in frustration. "I mean, it's not like they're just gonna pop up outta any old place and . . ."
He trailed off as he was suddenly shoved to the ground by a fleeing figure who seemed to resemble the high priest Seth.
"Hey!!! Watch where you're goin'!!!" the Brooklyn boy yelled angrily, waving his fist.
Seth ignored him and continued on, bowling over several other passers-by in his attempt to get away.
"Not so fast." Seto stepped boldly into his path and held out his arms, preventing his evil ancestor from leaving. "Now. What is it you're up to?"
Seth sneered. "Wouldn't you like to know. But you'll be pleased to know that my current plans have nothing to do with you or your brother—as long as you stay out of my way, that is." He turned to go. "And now if you'll excuse me."
Seto reached out and grabbed him. "Not so fast," he hissed, but Seth simply whisked himself away in a cloud of smoke.
"Man," Joey groaned, "I hate it when he does that."
****
"AIIYAA!!" Uncle cried loudly, startling everyone else in the room.
"What is it, Uncle?!" Jackie demanded. "What did Chi Master Fong say??"
Uncle looked at him grimly. "He revealed to me who has stolen the Egyptian artifacts!"
"Well, tell us, already!" Jade said impatiently.
"Daolon Wong has joined forces with a dangerous woman known as The Viper," Uncle replied slowly, "and they, together with an evil trio of spirits, have pulled off the heist!"
"VIPER?!" Jackie and Jade burst out.
"Not our Viper!!" Jade protested. "She's an EX-thief!"
"No, wait!" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes wide. "We know someone called The Viper—Vivalene!!"
****
Carelessly Vivalene dumped Bakura's limp body in Golden Gate Park with a smirk. "Sweet, innocent Bakura," she muttered.
Bakura moaned and stirred, shuddering. "Why?" he sobbed. "Why couldn't I have stopped Amane from getting in that car crash? Perhaps it was my fault! Oh . . ."
Vivalene pressed down on his shoulder blades wickedly with her foot. "Such a tortured soul," she sneered, turning to leave.