Yugi gasped in alarm and frantically scrambled to get out of the way, but instead he slipped and fell under the water's surface.
"Yugi!!" Tea shrieked as she approached, flying off her horse and running toward the creek.
The well-built, hooded figure now sailed completely over the small body of water, seeming to entirely ignore both Yugi and Tea as he did so. His jet-black stallion snorted loudly as they vanished into the nearby pine trees.
Tea immediately ran to the creek's edge and looked into the bubbling water. "Yugi?" she called fearfully.
To her immense relief, the violet-eyed boy broke through to the surface, coughing and gasping. He looked around in confusion. "Where did that rider go?!" he exclaimed.
"He went over the creek and then disappeared," Tea said shakily as she helped Yugi out of the water.
Yugi blinked and glanced about again. "Dandelion's gone," he realized worriedly.
Tea nodded. "She ran off right after she threw you into the creek."
Yugi was already walking over near the cluster of pine trees. "We'll have to find her," he said as he poked through the branches in search of any clues the rider may have left behind. Suddenly he bent over and removed a gold chain from a bush. "Oh," he breathed, staring at it.
"That looks familiar," Tea said in surprise.
"Yeah," Yugi nodded, looking worried. "I think someone's trying to frame Rishid. This is exactly like the chain he has on his cloak."
****
Rishid, meanwhile, was helping to pick up the disasters Lonestar had created when Linda, who had been surveying the area near the pasture, abruptly ran up and indignantly stood in front of him.
"So here you are!" she snapped.
Rishid looked up, startled, and with his golden eyes silently asked her to explain.
"You had enough of terrorizing the ranch?" Linda crossed her arms angrily.
"I beg your pardon?!" Rishid said in disbelief.
"You scared me half to death!" Linda cried. "You rode by on that big black horse and purposely tried to run me down!"
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "I would never do such a thing."
Linda glared. "Then why did you?"
"Why are you so convinced that it was he who tried to attack you?" Ishizu asked, stepping forward.
"Because the guy that came after me had the same build and he was wearing this cloak," Linda replied, poking at the cape around Rishid's shoulders. "He had the hood up so I couldn't see his face, but I know it was him."
Rishid looked saddened. "I am sorry someone went after you, and I am also sorry that they decided to impersonate me," he said.
"Rishid has been here the entire time," Ishizu said firmly. "Everyone can attest to that."
"Yeah, and even if he had gone off somewhere, we know he'd never do anything like try to run you down," Tristan spoke up as he walked past.
Linda narrowed her eyes. "You're all covering for him, but I promise you that I will prove he did this," she hissed as she stormed off.
"Well, she's certainly sure of herself," Mai remarked.
"What a jerk!" Mokuba chimed in, looking angry.
Seto, meanwhile, had wandered over near an empty building by himself when he noticed something shiny on the ground. Narrowing his eyes, he bent down to have a better look. It was a plaque of some kind, and as he read it he went chalk white.
"Kaiba, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Instantly Seto whirled to find Mai looking at him with a half-amused and half-shocked expression.
"What did you find, Kaiba?" the blonde girl persisted. "Is it something important?"
Quickly Seto pocketed the item and stood. "It's nothing you need to worry about," he replied apathetically.
Mai could see from the look in his eyes that he was still shaken. "Well, whatever it is, it looks like you're shaken up about it," she commented. "And it would have to be pretty serious to get you shaken up."
"I'm not shaken up," Seto muttered, turning away.
****
Bakura closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to watch as his Yami steered the horse in every wild direction possible.
"Yami, you're going to get us both thrown off!" he yelped.
"Nonsense," Yami Bakura snorted. "I know what I'm doing!" Bakura didn't know it, but the thief had often ridden horses back in Egypt.
Now the boy dared to open his eyes again and soon found that they were dashing through a cluster of pine trees. And that someone else was barreling right toward them.
"Oh my!" he shrieked. "Yami!!!!"
Smirking, Yami Bakura pulled hard on the reins and made Firefly leap into the air. With a wild neighing sound the appaloosa soared right over the other rider and landed just behind his horse.
Bakura simply stared, his mouth hanging open, and then he turned around to look at the cloaked figure. "Is that Rishid?" he exclaimed in astonishment.
Yami Bakura ignored him and tugged on the reins, signaling Firefly to move forward again. As Bakura glanced back once more, he discovered that the mysterious rider and his stallion had both departed silently, without a trace.
****
Marik's pony—Lightning—was moving along quite smoothly when a riderless palomino tore past, startling her and causing her to rear up. Marik held firmly to the reins and managed to steady her, whispering comforting things and stroking her mane.
When the pony had finally calmed down, the Egyptian boy turned his attention to the runaway palomino.
"I am certain that was the horse Yugi was riding," he muttered, climbing down from his pony and glancing about. "I hope he's not hurt."
He then began calling to the palomino, and her ears pricked up at the sound of her name. Amiably she came trotting over, whinnying happily at Marik, who petted her gently and led her back over to where Lightning was.
"Where is Yugi?" Marik asked quietly. "Do you know where Yugi is?"
Dandelion tossed her head and whinnied again, looking back in the direction she'd come from.
"Will you take me to Yugi?" Marik whispered, knowing that being calm and gentle was the best way to communicate with a horse—or with any animal, for that matter.
Dandelion quickly ambled off a ways and then looked back to see if Marik was coming. The boy mounted Lightning and followed the palomino, glancing about in uneasiness as he began to have the feeling he was being watched.
****
It took a while, but at last all those who had gone out to search for Lonestar met up again—all, that is, except for Bart.
"He must still be out lookin'," Joey said with a sigh, leaning on his horse's neck. "Man, that Lonestar must be in the next county by now!"
Yugi chuckled, then sobered. "And I'm also wondering about that weird rider," he remarked, already having told the others about the frightening experience at the creek.
"You really think he was purposely tryin' to frame Rishid?" Joey asked.
"I don't know," Yugi admitted, toying with the gold chain in his hand, "but now that I think of it, he really did remind me of Rishid . . . and I know it wouldn't really have been him."
Marik's eyes narrowed in rage. "I can't imagine why anyone would do that to him," he said.
"Well, whether they were impersonating Rishid or not, I bet they were up to no good," Tea said angrily.
"No doubt." Bakura blinked, his brown eyes displaying his concern. "But what are we going to do?"
"I'd say we should all get back to the ranch house as soon as possible," Yugi replied grimly. "There's no telling what might be going on back there."
"And we should make certain Rishid is alright," Marik added, jerking Lightning's reins abruptly. The pony immediately shot out, heading straight in the direction of the ranch house—at least Marik hoped that was where Lightning was going.
"Then it's settled," Joey grinned, snapping his own reins. His horse then galloped off at an unbelievable speed, causing the Brooklyn boy to cry out in shock.
Yugi had to chuckle at that.
****
When everyone arrived back at the ranch, the first member of their group they encountered was Mr. O'Dover.
"It's a good thing you kids have gotten back," the Irishman said with a smile. "We were gettin' worried about you."
"Is everything okay here?" Yugi asked urgently.
Mr. O'Dover blinked. "Well, I suppose they could be better," he said slowly.
"What happened?!" Marik demanded. "Is anyone hurt?"
The man hesitated. "Well," he said at last, "I wouldn't be a-knowin' for certain. You'd all better put your horses in the stable and then go up to the house and find out."
The teens exchanged worried glances before getting off their horses and leading them into their stalls.
"I do hope everyone's alright," Bakura remarked.
Yami Bakura simply leaned against the doorway, stroking Oreo's fur absentmindedly as his thoughts wandered and offered no comment.
Joey grinned at him. "Startin' to like the cat?"
Instantly Yami Bakura snapped back to attention. "Don't be absurd!" he growled.
Oreo only purred and snuggled close.
****
Tristan came running out to greet them as they approached the ranch house.
"Guys!!" he cried, looking out of breath and almost panicked.
"Tristan!" Joey gasped. "What the heck's up, man?! Is somethin' wrong?!"
"Several things, actually," Tristan sighed. "Come on and I'll tell you about it." He gestured for the five other teens to follow him and so they did.
"It took me a long time to realize this, but Joan didn't go with us when we all left the house earlier," Tristan said now.
Yugi blinked. "Hey, that's right!" he exclaimed.
"But then, where is she?" Tea wanted to know.
Tristan shook his head. "She claims that she was just settling down to work on her book when Rishid came in through the door and started rooting in all the desk drawers in the den," he said.
"What?!" Marik cried in disbelief.
"She never saw his face 'cause he was wearing that cloak thing with the hood up, but she still insists it was him." Tristan paused. "And Linda says that she was almost run down by him."
Marik clenched his fists indignantly. "Their claims are outrageous!"
Yugi held up the gold chain reluctantly. "Then I guess maybe what I was afraid of really is true," he said slowly. "That rider is purposely trying to frame him."
"Where is Rishid?" Marik demanded to know.
Tristan paused again and shook his head. "That's another of the problems," he said slowly. "The real Rishid's missing!"
"Yugi!!" Tea shrieked as she approached, flying off her horse and running toward the creek.
The well-built, hooded figure now sailed completely over the small body of water, seeming to entirely ignore both Yugi and Tea as he did so. His jet-black stallion snorted loudly as they vanished into the nearby pine trees.
Tea immediately ran to the creek's edge and looked into the bubbling water. "Yugi?" she called fearfully.
To her immense relief, the violet-eyed boy broke through to the surface, coughing and gasping. He looked around in confusion. "Where did that rider go?!" he exclaimed.
"He went over the creek and then disappeared," Tea said shakily as she helped Yugi out of the water.
Yugi blinked and glanced about again. "Dandelion's gone," he realized worriedly.
Tea nodded. "She ran off right after she threw you into the creek."
Yugi was already walking over near the cluster of pine trees. "We'll have to find her," he said as he poked through the branches in search of any clues the rider may have left behind. Suddenly he bent over and removed a gold chain from a bush. "Oh," he breathed, staring at it.
"That looks familiar," Tea said in surprise.
"Yeah," Yugi nodded, looking worried. "I think someone's trying to frame Rishid. This is exactly like the chain he has on his cloak."
****
Rishid, meanwhile, was helping to pick up the disasters Lonestar had created when Linda, who had been surveying the area near the pasture, abruptly ran up and indignantly stood in front of him.
"So here you are!" she snapped.
Rishid looked up, startled, and with his golden eyes silently asked her to explain.
"You had enough of terrorizing the ranch?" Linda crossed her arms angrily.
"I beg your pardon?!" Rishid said in disbelief.
"You scared me half to death!" Linda cried. "You rode by on that big black horse and purposely tried to run me down!"
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "I would never do such a thing."
Linda glared. "Then why did you?"
"Why are you so convinced that it was he who tried to attack you?" Ishizu asked, stepping forward.
"Because the guy that came after me had the same build and he was wearing this cloak," Linda replied, poking at the cape around Rishid's shoulders. "He had the hood up so I couldn't see his face, but I know it was him."
Rishid looked saddened. "I am sorry someone went after you, and I am also sorry that they decided to impersonate me," he said.
"Rishid has been here the entire time," Ishizu said firmly. "Everyone can attest to that."
"Yeah, and even if he had gone off somewhere, we know he'd never do anything like try to run you down," Tristan spoke up as he walked past.
Linda narrowed her eyes. "You're all covering for him, but I promise you that I will prove he did this," she hissed as she stormed off.
"Well, she's certainly sure of herself," Mai remarked.
"What a jerk!" Mokuba chimed in, looking angry.
Seto, meanwhile, had wandered over near an empty building by himself when he noticed something shiny on the ground. Narrowing his eyes, he bent down to have a better look. It was a plaque of some kind, and as he read it he went chalk white.
"Kaiba, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Instantly Seto whirled to find Mai looking at him with a half-amused and half-shocked expression.
"What did you find, Kaiba?" the blonde girl persisted. "Is it something important?"
Quickly Seto pocketed the item and stood. "It's nothing you need to worry about," he replied apathetically.
Mai could see from the look in his eyes that he was still shaken. "Well, whatever it is, it looks like you're shaken up about it," she commented. "And it would have to be pretty serious to get you shaken up."
"I'm not shaken up," Seto muttered, turning away.
****
Bakura closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to watch as his Yami steered the horse in every wild direction possible.
"Yami, you're going to get us both thrown off!" he yelped.
"Nonsense," Yami Bakura snorted. "I know what I'm doing!" Bakura didn't know it, but the thief had often ridden horses back in Egypt.
Now the boy dared to open his eyes again and soon found that they were dashing through a cluster of pine trees. And that someone else was barreling right toward them.
"Oh my!" he shrieked. "Yami!!!!"
Smirking, Yami Bakura pulled hard on the reins and made Firefly leap into the air. With a wild neighing sound the appaloosa soared right over the other rider and landed just behind his horse.
Bakura simply stared, his mouth hanging open, and then he turned around to look at the cloaked figure. "Is that Rishid?" he exclaimed in astonishment.
Yami Bakura ignored him and tugged on the reins, signaling Firefly to move forward again. As Bakura glanced back once more, he discovered that the mysterious rider and his stallion had both departed silently, without a trace.
****
Marik's pony—Lightning—was moving along quite smoothly when a riderless palomino tore past, startling her and causing her to rear up. Marik held firmly to the reins and managed to steady her, whispering comforting things and stroking her mane.
When the pony had finally calmed down, the Egyptian boy turned his attention to the runaway palomino.
"I am certain that was the horse Yugi was riding," he muttered, climbing down from his pony and glancing about. "I hope he's not hurt."
He then began calling to the palomino, and her ears pricked up at the sound of her name. Amiably she came trotting over, whinnying happily at Marik, who petted her gently and led her back over to where Lightning was.
"Where is Yugi?" Marik asked quietly. "Do you know where Yugi is?"
Dandelion tossed her head and whinnied again, looking back in the direction she'd come from.
"Will you take me to Yugi?" Marik whispered, knowing that being calm and gentle was the best way to communicate with a horse—or with any animal, for that matter.
Dandelion quickly ambled off a ways and then looked back to see if Marik was coming. The boy mounted Lightning and followed the palomino, glancing about in uneasiness as he began to have the feeling he was being watched.
****
It took a while, but at last all those who had gone out to search for Lonestar met up again—all, that is, except for Bart.
"He must still be out lookin'," Joey said with a sigh, leaning on his horse's neck. "Man, that Lonestar must be in the next county by now!"
Yugi chuckled, then sobered. "And I'm also wondering about that weird rider," he remarked, already having told the others about the frightening experience at the creek.
"You really think he was purposely tryin' to frame Rishid?" Joey asked.
"I don't know," Yugi admitted, toying with the gold chain in his hand, "but now that I think of it, he really did remind me of Rishid . . . and I know it wouldn't really have been him."
Marik's eyes narrowed in rage. "I can't imagine why anyone would do that to him," he said.
"Well, whether they were impersonating Rishid or not, I bet they were up to no good," Tea said angrily.
"No doubt." Bakura blinked, his brown eyes displaying his concern. "But what are we going to do?"
"I'd say we should all get back to the ranch house as soon as possible," Yugi replied grimly. "There's no telling what might be going on back there."
"And we should make certain Rishid is alright," Marik added, jerking Lightning's reins abruptly. The pony immediately shot out, heading straight in the direction of the ranch house—at least Marik hoped that was where Lightning was going.
"Then it's settled," Joey grinned, snapping his own reins. His horse then galloped off at an unbelievable speed, causing the Brooklyn boy to cry out in shock.
Yugi had to chuckle at that.
****
When everyone arrived back at the ranch, the first member of their group they encountered was Mr. O'Dover.
"It's a good thing you kids have gotten back," the Irishman said with a smile. "We were gettin' worried about you."
"Is everything okay here?" Yugi asked urgently.
Mr. O'Dover blinked. "Well, I suppose they could be better," he said slowly.
"What happened?!" Marik demanded. "Is anyone hurt?"
The man hesitated. "Well," he said at last, "I wouldn't be a-knowin' for certain. You'd all better put your horses in the stable and then go up to the house and find out."
The teens exchanged worried glances before getting off their horses and leading them into their stalls.
"I do hope everyone's alright," Bakura remarked.
Yami Bakura simply leaned against the doorway, stroking Oreo's fur absentmindedly as his thoughts wandered and offered no comment.
Joey grinned at him. "Startin' to like the cat?"
Instantly Yami Bakura snapped back to attention. "Don't be absurd!" he growled.
Oreo only purred and snuggled close.
****
Tristan came running out to greet them as they approached the ranch house.
"Guys!!" he cried, looking out of breath and almost panicked.
"Tristan!" Joey gasped. "What the heck's up, man?! Is somethin' wrong?!"
"Several things, actually," Tristan sighed. "Come on and I'll tell you about it." He gestured for the five other teens to follow him and so they did.
"It took me a long time to realize this, but Joan didn't go with us when we all left the house earlier," Tristan said now.
Yugi blinked. "Hey, that's right!" he exclaimed.
"But then, where is she?" Tea wanted to know.
Tristan shook his head. "She claims that she was just settling down to work on her book when Rishid came in through the door and started rooting in all the desk drawers in the den," he said.
"What?!" Marik cried in disbelief.
"She never saw his face 'cause he was wearing that cloak thing with the hood up, but she still insists it was him." Tristan paused. "And Linda says that she was almost run down by him."
Marik clenched his fists indignantly. "Their claims are outrageous!"
Yugi held up the gold chain reluctantly. "Then I guess maybe what I was afraid of really is true," he said slowly. "That rider is purposely trying to frame him."
"Where is Rishid?" Marik demanded to know.
Tristan paused again and shook his head. "That's another of the problems," he said slowly. "The real Rishid's missing!"