Uncle bent over Shadi's lifeless body grimly while Yugi and Tea stood by tensely. They had brought their friend here in the hopes that the chi wizard could help him.

At last Uncle looked up in frustration. "Aiiyaa! He is dead!! I cannot bring the dead back to life!!"

Yugi stared at Shadi's pale face. The man looked very much not at peace, almost as if he would rise up any moment. But he didn't. Uncle was right—Shadi was dead.

Now Yugi looked up at Uncle, tears in his violet eyes. "He's dead because someone poisoned him!" the boy sobbed.

"WHAT?!?!" Uncle came closer and now examined the deep wound in the dead man's chest. "AIIYAA!!!"

"What is it?!" Tea gasped.

"An ancient method of eliminating one's enemies, used by thieves and assassins in China," Uncle replied seriously. "They would use this poison to make people appear crazy or evil when in actuality they were helpless under the control of the poison. Many were wrongly executed because of it and the rest soon died due to the poison's other effects."

"Uncle," Jackie exclaimed now as he came in and overheard, "would Daolon Wong know about this poison?!"

"Aiiyaa!" Uncle whacked Jackie with his fingers. "Of course Daolon Wong knows!!"

"And you said he's involved," Yugi said. "Could . . . could he have done this?!"

"Tch," Jade said, popping up suddenly, "of course he did! Who else would?"

Uncle looked at Yugi, Tea, and Yami Yugi soberly. "We must unite in order to defeat this evil," he announced then.

****

Seto looked at Khu in annoyance. "Seth is your brother? I should've guessed. You both have the same exasperating laugh."

Khu grinned. "I'm much smarter than that fool," he declared.

Suddenly the door burst open. "Freeze! Police!" an angry voice yelled.

"Farewell, mortals," Khu smirked, vanishing into thin air.

Before Vivalene could do the same, the searchlights were trained on her and Seto.

"What's going on here?" one of the officers demanded sternly.

"Oh Officer!" Vivalene cried. "It's simply appalling! This boy has been trying to rob the museum! I arrived just in time to stop him before he could run off with the . . ."

"Save it," Seto growled. "Officers, this is Vivalene—a very dangerous criminal and attempted murderess known nationwide. If you look on your records, you'll find out all you need to know about her crimes."

"Vivalene?" one of the officers repeated, narrowing his eyes as he pointed his gun at the woman threateningly. "I remember hearing about her. She caused some big commotion up in a place called Domino City."

"That's right," Seto nodded. "I'm Seto Kaiba, one of the witnesses to her treachery." He clenched his fists at the recollections of what she had done in the past—and at what she was trying to do now.

"Oh darling, surely you don't believe this boy," Vivalene exclaimed. "After all, if you check your records, you'll also find that Vivalene is dead!"

"She came back," Seto retorted.

The officers looked at each other, then back at Seto and Vivalene. "We'll have to take you both in for questioning," the first one declared, stepping forward and snapping handcuffs around their wrists. "I do hope you know of someone who will back up your story," he said to Seto, who just looked irritated.

"Look, do you even know who I am?" Seto cried.

"I don't care if you're the president of a multi-national company, buddy—you still have to be questioned!" the second officer said sharply. "This is a crime scene, after all."

****

Yami Bakura was vexed. Extremely vexed. He was standing on the docks at San Francisco Harbor, dripping wet and being adored by half a dozen cats, and trying desperately to comfort Bakura, who was still sobbing and bemoaning everyone's fate.

"Don't you see, Yami?" the boy wailed. "Shadi has gone completely crazy and it's all my fault!!"

"You ridiculous imbecile!!" Yami Bakura screamed in reply. "You would probably think that an earthquake in Peru was your fault as well if you heard about it!!"

Bakura stared up at him, looking crushed at the insulting comment. "But Yami . . . Vivalene told me that . . ."

"Why is it always about Vivalene?!" the thief snapped. "The last time she was around, all she did was tell lies! Why can't you grasp the fact that she's lying to you now?!"

Bakura was silent for a long time, seeming to be lost in his own memories and thoughts. At last he said quietly, "Perhaps it's because I always have blamed myself for Amane's death."

Yami Bakura sighed and sat down on a crate, motioning for the boy to sit next to him. "Bakura, there is no reason for you to blame yourself, you dolt," he growled.

"Yami, you don't understand," Bakura said sadly. "I had a feeling that something would go wrong that day, but I couldn't imagine what it would be, so I didn't follow up on it." Tears spilled down his cheeks as he looked up at the ancient thief.

"Fool. If you had no idea what was wrong, how on earth could you do anything to fix it?!" Yami Bakura grunted.

"If I'd only gone to Amane's school to get her at the end of the day," Bakura sobbed. "I just assumed that the teacher would bring her home and everything would be alright. But she's . . . she's . . ."

"Hush," Yami Bakura shot back. "You were not responsible for that. People die, you fool, and it can't be prevented. It's part of life. Get used to it," he added bitterly.

Bakura sniffled. "But Yami, what if she'd still be alive today if I had acted on my feeling?!" he cried.

"No one could know that, you moron," Yami Bakura said in irritation. "You should know better than to dwell on what ifs and if onlys. If everyone did that, would there be any progress at all?!" He waved his hands in a wild gesture. "Perhaps you mortals are even more foolish than I thought."

"But . . . I . . . I can't help it, Yami!" Bakura said quietly. "I miss her so much. . . ." He trailed off and then suddenly gasped in horror. "Oh! The others!! They're all still in danger because of me!! Oh, why wouldn't they stop investigating?!?!?!"

"There you go again!!" Yami Bakura screamed. "Everything is your fault!! YOU . . . YOU . . ." He searched for a word that would properly vent his frustration.

Bakura was already leaping up and running off down the dock. "I have to save them!!" he declared, panic-stricken.

"Come back here!!" Yami Bakura yelled, running forward and tackling the boy angrily. "You're in no condition to do anything!!"

Bakura struggled to get free, but then flopped to the ground sadly. "Oh . . . Yami, you're right," he said dejectedly. "I'd probably just screw everything up worse."

"Well, of course you will if you keep thinking that you're responsible for every bad thing that happens to them!!" Yami Bakura rumbled. "You're being completely absurd!!"

Bakura was silent again, his tears splashing against the wood of the dock as he cried softly.

"Oh Bakura . . ." Yami Bakura sighed and shook his head, then dragged the boy up next to him and let him cry. "Pull yourself together, you imbecile," he growled as Bakura sobbed into his chest. "Everything Vivalene told you was false. I've never seen anyone more devoted to their friends and family than you." He paused, wondering why he was allowing himself to act so soft. "If anything, you dolt, you've helped them—not hindered them."

"I'm just a burden," Bakura wailed now. "They just keep having to rescue me!"

"Idiot," Yami Bakura muttered. "Get up." He yanked the boy to his feet and glared at him. "I want my Ring back and you're wasting my time."

Bakura nodded shakily. "Of . . . of course, Yami," he said then, following the thief over the wharfs and back to the heart of the city. "You need to get your Ring. . . . Oh! But then you'll probably get hurt fighting Shadi!!"

Yami Bakura growled. "No I won't," he insisted. "He'll be the one getting hurt!!"

****

Marik held Rishid's still body close to his own, wondering whatever he was going to do. "Rishid," he wailed. "Please wake up, my brother! Please!!"

"Oh, poor Marik," a voice purred that sounded hauntingly like his own. The boy looked up and found that he was staring at himself.

Instinctively he wrapped his arms tighter around his brother's lifeless form and glared up at this unwelcome intruder. "What do you want?!" he growled.

"Just this." The double bent down and picked up the blood-stained machete, probably the worst thing he could have done under the circumstances.

Marik's eyes flashed in outrage. "You!!" he cried. "You did this!!"

"Perhaps I did." The double twirled his weapon around and looked at Rishid's body uncompassionately. "And I spoke like you the entire time to make him feel as though his adopted brother was attacking him."

Marik snarled. "Why?! Why would you hurt him?! He has done nothing to you!!"

"Perhaps I enjoy causing torment." He turned and was about to walk off when Marik spoke again.

"You are a coward," the boy said low. "A sadistic coward!!" His voice raised as the fire in his eyes became more insistent. "And I demand to know who you truly are!!" Were it not that he was concerned with tending to Rishid's wounds, he would have leaped up and attacked the foul person.

"You met me before, you know," the man said, "back on the cruise ship. Do you remember? I was the one talking on the phone in the ancient Egyptian language—which, incidentally, I believe you actually do understand."

Marik continued to try getting the bleeding to stop. "You were arrested," he retorted.

"Oh, I had ways of getting away again," the imposter grinned, disappearing into the fog. "So sorry about your brother." And with a maniacal laugh, he was gone.

Marik glared after him, feeling the rage boiling within his heart, and then looked down at Rishid tearfully. "Rishid," he whispered in disbelief.

****

Yami Yugi was just pulling a sheet over Shadi's dead body when he noticed something odd. "Hmm? What's this?" Narrowing his eyes, the Pharaoh reached down and pulled the Millennium Ring out from where it had been wrapped in Shadi's robes.

Yugi gasped. "The Ring!!" he burst out.

"Shadi must have attacked Bakura and his Yami before he came after us," Yami Yugi muttered.

Tea was about to reply when her cell phone rang. Confused, she picked it up and answered. "Hello?" When she heard who was on the other end, she nearly dropped the device in shock.

"Tea?"

The girl's eyes went wide. "Kaiba?!" she exclaimed loudly, causing everyone else in the room to stare at her. "Where are you?!"

"Downtown," Seto replied after a short pause. "Look, have you seen Wheeler anywhere?"

"Joey?" Tea shook her head. "He hasn't been around at all!"

Seto grunted. "I should've figured," he muttered. After another pause, he said at last, "Look, I'm not allowed to say what's happening over the phone, but you need to come down to the police station."

"Wait a minute—what are you doing at the police station?!" Tea demanded.

"Never mind that," Seto said in irritation. "But if you would just get down here immediately, it would be much appreciated."

Tea blinked. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll be there."

"What did Kaiba want?" Yugi exclaimed when Tea had hung up the phone. Tea explained and then headed for the door.

"Are you sure you should go there by yourself?" Yugi worried. "You don't know what might happen!"

"Hey," Tea smiled, "it's the police station. What could happen there?! I'll be fine."

Uncle nodded curtly. "You need to come with me, Yugi!" he declared. "We must find Daolon Wong and his associates!"

Tea looked concerned at that. "Be careful, Yugi," she pleaded as she hurried out the door to a taxi.

****

Seto sat in the chair angrily, his arms crossed. He and Vivalene had both been questioned over and over again and the police officers seemed more inclined to believe her than him. They did admit, however, that she matched the description given of Vivalene in their records and that if someone else would come in and positively identify her as the wanted criminal, she would be arrested.

At last he saw through the glass wall that Tea was walking in and speaking to the desk sergeant. Soon she was directed into the room next to his. Obviously the police didn't want her speaking to him before seeing Vivalene. They hadn't even allowed him to tell her anything about Vivalene at all on the telephone, the reason being that they didn't want him to try setting things up to get the woman falsely identified.

Shortly afterward the door was unlocked and one of the officers from the museum came in to get him. "Alright, Mr. Kaiba," he said, "you're free to go."

Seto grunted and stood up. "It's about time," he said, walking out into the front office.

"Kaiba!" Tea burst out. "You never said you were in jail!"

"I wasn't," Seto snorted. "Just being questioned."

The twosome walked outside and into the waiting taxi. "Take us back to Uncle's Rare Finds in Chinatown," Tea requested.

"Right away," the driver said in a vaguely familiar voice.

It wasn't long before they realized that they were going in completely the wrong direction.

"Hey!" Tea cried. "This isn't the right way!!"

"I know," the driver smirked, adjusting the rear view mirror to look back at them, his violet eyes glinting in amusement.

Seto's eyes narrowed angrily. "Khu!!" he growled.