When Ishizu screamed, both Marik and Rishid sprang awake, leaping out of their beds and running to the door.
"Sister!" Marik cried, clutching at the doorframe. "Where are you?! What's wrong?!" Frantically he dashed into the hall, calling to her and rousing everyone else up. Rishid quickly followed after him, his golden eyes narrowed in worry.
"Marik!!" Yugi emerged from his room, where he'd been awake and studying the newspaper article with his Yami. "What's going on? Why did Ishizu scream?!"
Marik didn't answer, instead reaching the staircase and letting out a wail of anguish when he saw his sister laying at the bottom. Shadi was kneeling next to her, an immense look of concern on his face.
"What happened?!" Marik screamed, flying down the stairs and taking his older sister into his arms.
Shadi gave him a grave look. "Someone pushed her," he replied. "I know she is not careless enough to simply fall by accident."
Marik's eyes filled with tears. "Sister?" he sobbed, pleading for a response. "Sister, wake up!"
Before long, Rishid, Yugi, and the others had arrived upon the scene. Rishid knelt down in alarm, touching Marik's shoulder gently.
"I can't wake her up!" Marik said shakily, looking stricken.
Horrified, Rishid leaned down and listened for breath. "Lady Ishizu?" he whispered, praying desperately that she . . . that she wasn't . . .
Marik's eyes were wide as he watched, terrified. Ishizu can't die! he cried in his mind. Please . . . she must live!
At last Rishid looked up. "She is breathing very shallowly," he said haltingly, his golden eyes reflecting how grim he felt.
"She may die," Shadi put in, saddened at the thought of losing his dear friend. "She took a serious blow to her head."
"No!" Marik yelled, angry now. "She will not die! I won't let her!" Tears spilled over his cheeks as he fell across the woman protectively.
"Marik?"
The Egyptian boy looked up to see Mokuba standing next to him.
"Ishizu's gonna be okay, Marik," Mokuba tried to assure his friend, smiling shakily.
Marik smiled back. "Thank you, my friend," he said softly.
Rishid slowly stood up, holding his adopted sister close. "We must call a doctor!" he cried.
Lorelei shook her head. "There aren't any in these parts," she told them quietly.
"What?! This is outrageous!" Marik screamed. "I will not stand here and let my sister die!"
Shadi straightened up and walked over, touching Ishizu's forehead gently. "I will help her all I can, but we must hasten." He paused. "She does not have much time left."
Marik sobbed as Rishid carried their sister upstairs. The boy quickly followed alongside, holding Ishizu's limp hand frantically. Several hours ago he had nearly lost Rishid, and now he might lose Ishizu. "Why is this happening?" he wailed. "We have done nothing and yet we are being tormented!"
A long silence followed. At last Yugi turned to Shadi in confusion, hoping for answers. "Why are you here, Shadi?" the boy asked.
"Yeah," Joey put in, "can't you just zap us all back to Boston or home to Oregon or somethin'?!"
"I could," Shadi admitted, "but do you truly want to leave Lorelei to deal with the evil infesting this ranch?"
"Of course not, but . . ." Joey trailed off, shaking his head.
Lorelei looked at them sternly. "You should all leave while you're still alive," she told them.
"We won't go until this problem is solved!" Yugi replied firmly.
Marik nodded solemnly, tears glistening in his eyes. "Ishizu would want it that way," he said, stroking his sister's hand.
****
After the Egyptians disappeared into Ishizu's room, Yugi and the others waited outside, trying to decide what to do.
"Yami and I were going over this article," Yugi said slowly, "and it's not about Carol at all!"
"Oh no!" Tea moaned. "Someone else died here too?!"
"Apparently," Mai said grimly.
Yami Yugi took the article and held it up. "According to this, Lorelei had a twin sister who died here ten years ago."
"Oh!" Bakura cried, no stranger to the pain of losing a sibling. "How horrible!"
"How did she die?" Seto asked coldly.
Yami Yugi consulted the article. "She fell off the roof while mending it," he reported. "It was considered an accident."
"I betcha it wasn't," Tristan said with narrowed eyes.
****
Shadi bent over Ishizu, speaking softly in Egyptian and brushing the stray strands of hair away from her face. Marik and Rishid watched tensely, not certain of what he was doing but just praying it would work.
At last the mysterious man straightened up and looked at them. "Speak to her," he directed quietly. "Her body may be unconscious, but her spirit is aware of you."
Tearfully Marik stepped forward and took Ishizu's hand. "Dear sister," he whispered. "Please . . . you must not allow these cowards to win! You must pull through!" He held the woman's hand up to his cheek. "Sister, you have always been there for me! You cannot leave me now!"
"Your sister is dead."
Marik looked up in disbelief at the quiet voice's words, which pierced him through to his very heart. "Who are you?" he demanded furiously. "My sister is not dead! She will not die!!"
Slowly a young woman's sad form began to materialize until she stood in front of him. "This ranch is cursed," she said softly, "and those who die here of unnatural causes are forced to wander the lonely halls until the murderer is found and convicted."
"What?!" Marik threw himself across Ishizu's body, glaring at the apparition. "Ishizu will not be joining you in your hauntings!!"
"Brother . . ."
Rishid stared speechlessly at something just behind Marik. "Master," he managed to say at last, continuing to gaze in disbelief.
"Rishid?! What on earth is . . ." Marik whirled around to look . . . and immediately went pale. Ishizu's spirit was standing beside him, shimmering slightly.
Shadi, who had been mostly silent but was taking in everything very closely, looked at his friend's ghost with narrowed eyes. "Ishizu," he uttered low.
Ishizu smiled softly at him and then gently ran a translucent hand through Marik's hair.
Marik's eyes flooded with tears as he looked first at Ishizu's body and then up at her spirit. "Sister, no!!!" he screamed.
"She is another victim of this madness," the first spirit said solemnly.
"No!!" Marik leaped up, his eyes flashing. "This is an illusion! It is not real!"
"It is not an illusion, Marik," Ishizu's spirit said quietly. "But this woman here is only partially correct in what she says." She straightened up, looking at the other apparition with a steely gaze. "I will not allow myself to die."
"You can't prevent it," the first ghost said pessimistically, looking down. Her bright pink hair glistened in the soft light.
"I can and I will," Ishizu told her. She leaned down and kissed Marik's cheek. "Do not give up hope, dear brother," she said softly.
Slowly she crossed the room and held up her hand next to Shadi's, gently entwining her fingers with his. "You will solve the mystery and break the curse," she told him firmly. "I know that you will."
Shadi gazed at her, his blue eyes soft and shining. Quietly he spoke to her in Egyptian and Ishizu replied in the same language before moving on to Rishid.
"Lady Ishizu," he said softly.
Ishizu smiled and touched his shoulder. "Do not worry about me, Rishid. I will return, my brother." With a flash of light her spectral form vanished.
All three stared at the spot where she had been standing and then Marik bent over her still body once more. "She is alive!" the boy said in relief. "She kept her promise! She is alive!" He embraced his sister's form joyously.
"It's not over yet," the ghost whispered softly, starting to vanish. "Things have only just begun."
Shadi watched her disappear and then smiled slightly. "Ishizu will be alright," he assured Marik and Rishid now. "And now I must go. There are other matters I must attend to."
Before either Marik or Rishid could respond, Shadi had vanished as well.
"Dear Lady Ishizu," Rishid whispered softly.
****
In the meantime, the rest of the gang had split up to look for the guilty party who had thrown Ishizu down the stairs.
"They couldn't have gotten far," Yami Yugi remarked as he, Yugi, and Tea wandered down a seemingly endless corridor.
"Did you just hear something?!" Tea exclaimed, stopping short and staring ahead, her eyes wide.
"Hear what, Tea?" Yugi asked in concern.
Tea shook her head. "I . . . I don't know. . . . It . . . it almost sounded like someone calling for help!" she admitted.
"Oh!" Yugi cried, his eyes widening. "Did you hear it, Yami?" he asked.
The ancient Pharaoh shook his head. "I heard nothing," he responded.
"Oh great," Tea sighed. "Am I going crazy then?!"
No one knew what to say to that, but Yugi had the feeling that perhaps Tea truly had heard something.
****
"Yami?"
Yami Bakura turned to look at Bakura, who had spoken quaveringly and looked quite terrified.
"What is it, you dolt?" the thief growled.
"Yami, the eyes on that portrait are watching us!" Bakura whispered frantically.
Yami Bakura whirled around to stare at the painting on the wall. "That's nonsense!" he scolded. "It's a perfectly normal picture."
Oreo flattened her ears against her head and hissed at the portrait.
"She knows something's wrong!" Bakura declared, his eyes wide.
Yami Bakura shook his head and threw his hands up in disbelief.
Maybe you should listen to the boy, Bakare.
The tomb raider froze.
"Yami?" Bakura blinked, obviously unaware of the voice.
After all, the voice continued, in the past when he's thought something was amiss, it truly was.
"Shut up!!" Yami Bakura screamed.
"Yami, what is it?!" Bakura cried. "Was it something I said?!"
"It's not you, moron!" Yami Bakura retorted irritably, wondering how on earth the voice had known to call him "Bakare."
****
Seto and Mokuba were still in the upstairs hall, checking in each room for signs of ill activity.
"This is awful!" Mokuba burst out. "I can't believe someone would do that to Ishizu! Marik must feel just terrible!" He clenched his fists. "I wish I could go see how he's doing."
Seto was about to reply that Mokuba would probably be safer with Marik and Rishid rather than wandering down the halls when a strange hand broke through the window they were standing by and grabbed for the younger boy viciously.
"Seto!!!" Mokuba screamed as he was pulled out through the opening in the glass.
"Mokuba!!!!" Seto grabbed for the boy and managed to catch hold of his ankle. Before he knew what was happening, he was being yanked out as well.
"Sister!" Marik cried, clutching at the doorframe. "Where are you?! What's wrong?!" Frantically he dashed into the hall, calling to her and rousing everyone else up. Rishid quickly followed after him, his golden eyes narrowed in worry.
"Marik!!" Yugi emerged from his room, where he'd been awake and studying the newspaper article with his Yami. "What's going on? Why did Ishizu scream?!"
Marik didn't answer, instead reaching the staircase and letting out a wail of anguish when he saw his sister laying at the bottom. Shadi was kneeling next to her, an immense look of concern on his face.
"What happened?!" Marik screamed, flying down the stairs and taking his older sister into his arms.
Shadi gave him a grave look. "Someone pushed her," he replied. "I know she is not careless enough to simply fall by accident."
Marik's eyes filled with tears. "Sister?" he sobbed, pleading for a response. "Sister, wake up!"
Before long, Rishid, Yugi, and the others had arrived upon the scene. Rishid knelt down in alarm, touching Marik's shoulder gently.
"I can't wake her up!" Marik said shakily, looking stricken.
Horrified, Rishid leaned down and listened for breath. "Lady Ishizu?" he whispered, praying desperately that she . . . that she wasn't . . .
Marik's eyes were wide as he watched, terrified. Ishizu can't die! he cried in his mind. Please . . . she must live!
At last Rishid looked up. "She is breathing very shallowly," he said haltingly, his golden eyes reflecting how grim he felt.
"She may die," Shadi put in, saddened at the thought of losing his dear friend. "She took a serious blow to her head."
"No!" Marik yelled, angry now. "She will not die! I won't let her!" Tears spilled over his cheeks as he fell across the woman protectively.
"Marik?"
The Egyptian boy looked up to see Mokuba standing next to him.
"Ishizu's gonna be okay, Marik," Mokuba tried to assure his friend, smiling shakily.
Marik smiled back. "Thank you, my friend," he said softly.
Rishid slowly stood up, holding his adopted sister close. "We must call a doctor!" he cried.
Lorelei shook her head. "There aren't any in these parts," she told them quietly.
"What?! This is outrageous!" Marik screamed. "I will not stand here and let my sister die!"
Shadi straightened up and walked over, touching Ishizu's forehead gently. "I will help her all I can, but we must hasten." He paused. "She does not have much time left."
Marik sobbed as Rishid carried their sister upstairs. The boy quickly followed alongside, holding Ishizu's limp hand frantically. Several hours ago he had nearly lost Rishid, and now he might lose Ishizu. "Why is this happening?" he wailed. "We have done nothing and yet we are being tormented!"
A long silence followed. At last Yugi turned to Shadi in confusion, hoping for answers. "Why are you here, Shadi?" the boy asked.
"Yeah," Joey put in, "can't you just zap us all back to Boston or home to Oregon or somethin'?!"
"I could," Shadi admitted, "but do you truly want to leave Lorelei to deal with the evil infesting this ranch?"
"Of course not, but . . ." Joey trailed off, shaking his head.
Lorelei looked at them sternly. "You should all leave while you're still alive," she told them.
"We won't go until this problem is solved!" Yugi replied firmly.
Marik nodded solemnly, tears glistening in his eyes. "Ishizu would want it that way," he said, stroking his sister's hand.
****
After the Egyptians disappeared into Ishizu's room, Yugi and the others waited outside, trying to decide what to do.
"Yami and I were going over this article," Yugi said slowly, "and it's not about Carol at all!"
"Oh no!" Tea moaned. "Someone else died here too?!"
"Apparently," Mai said grimly.
Yami Yugi took the article and held it up. "According to this, Lorelei had a twin sister who died here ten years ago."
"Oh!" Bakura cried, no stranger to the pain of losing a sibling. "How horrible!"
"How did she die?" Seto asked coldly.
Yami Yugi consulted the article. "She fell off the roof while mending it," he reported. "It was considered an accident."
"I betcha it wasn't," Tristan said with narrowed eyes.
****
Shadi bent over Ishizu, speaking softly in Egyptian and brushing the stray strands of hair away from her face. Marik and Rishid watched tensely, not certain of what he was doing but just praying it would work.
At last the mysterious man straightened up and looked at them. "Speak to her," he directed quietly. "Her body may be unconscious, but her spirit is aware of you."
Tearfully Marik stepped forward and took Ishizu's hand. "Dear sister," he whispered. "Please . . . you must not allow these cowards to win! You must pull through!" He held the woman's hand up to his cheek. "Sister, you have always been there for me! You cannot leave me now!"
"Your sister is dead."
Marik looked up in disbelief at the quiet voice's words, which pierced him through to his very heart. "Who are you?" he demanded furiously. "My sister is not dead! She will not die!!"
Slowly a young woman's sad form began to materialize until she stood in front of him. "This ranch is cursed," she said softly, "and those who die here of unnatural causes are forced to wander the lonely halls until the murderer is found and convicted."
"What?!" Marik threw himself across Ishizu's body, glaring at the apparition. "Ishizu will not be joining you in your hauntings!!"
"Brother . . ."
Rishid stared speechlessly at something just behind Marik. "Master," he managed to say at last, continuing to gaze in disbelief.
"Rishid?! What on earth is . . ." Marik whirled around to look . . . and immediately went pale. Ishizu's spirit was standing beside him, shimmering slightly.
Shadi, who had been mostly silent but was taking in everything very closely, looked at his friend's ghost with narrowed eyes. "Ishizu," he uttered low.
Ishizu smiled softly at him and then gently ran a translucent hand through Marik's hair.
Marik's eyes flooded with tears as he looked first at Ishizu's body and then up at her spirit. "Sister, no!!!" he screamed.
"She is another victim of this madness," the first spirit said solemnly.
"No!!" Marik leaped up, his eyes flashing. "This is an illusion! It is not real!"
"It is not an illusion, Marik," Ishizu's spirit said quietly. "But this woman here is only partially correct in what she says." She straightened up, looking at the other apparition with a steely gaze. "I will not allow myself to die."
"You can't prevent it," the first ghost said pessimistically, looking down. Her bright pink hair glistened in the soft light.
"I can and I will," Ishizu told her. She leaned down and kissed Marik's cheek. "Do not give up hope, dear brother," she said softly.
Slowly she crossed the room and held up her hand next to Shadi's, gently entwining her fingers with his. "You will solve the mystery and break the curse," she told him firmly. "I know that you will."
Shadi gazed at her, his blue eyes soft and shining. Quietly he spoke to her in Egyptian and Ishizu replied in the same language before moving on to Rishid.
"Lady Ishizu," he said softly.
Ishizu smiled and touched his shoulder. "Do not worry about me, Rishid. I will return, my brother." With a flash of light her spectral form vanished.
All three stared at the spot where she had been standing and then Marik bent over her still body once more. "She is alive!" the boy said in relief. "She kept her promise! She is alive!" He embraced his sister's form joyously.
"It's not over yet," the ghost whispered softly, starting to vanish. "Things have only just begun."
Shadi watched her disappear and then smiled slightly. "Ishizu will be alright," he assured Marik and Rishid now. "And now I must go. There are other matters I must attend to."
Before either Marik or Rishid could respond, Shadi had vanished as well.
"Dear Lady Ishizu," Rishid whispered softly.
****
In the meantime, the rest of the gang had split up to look for the guilty party who had thrown Ishizu down the stairs.
"They couldn't have gotten far," Yami Yugi remarked as he, Yugi, and Tea wandered down a seemingly endless corridor.
"Did you just hear something?!" Tea exclaimed, stopping short and staring ahead, her eyes wide.
"Hear what, Tea?" Yugi asked in concern.
Tea shook her head. "I . . . I don't know. . . . It . . . it almost sounded like someone calling for help!" she admitted.
"Oh!" Yugi cried, his eyes widening. "Did you hear it, Yami?" he asked.
The ancient Pharaoh shook his head. "I heard nothing," he responded.
"Oh great," Tea sighed. "Am I going crazy then?!"
No one knew what to say to that, but Yugi had the feeling that perhaps Tea truly had heard something.
****
"Yami?"
Yami Bakura turned to look at Bakura, who had spoken quaveringly and looked quite terrified.
"What is it, you dolt?" the thief growled.
"Yami, the eyes on that portrait are watching us!" Bakura whispered frantically.
Yami Bakura whirled around to stare at the painting on the wall. "That's nonsense!" he scolded. "It's a perfectly normal picture."
Oreo flattened her ears against her head and hissed at the portrait.
"She knows something's wrong!" Bakura declared, his eyes wide.
Yami Bakura shook his head and threw his hands up in disbelief.
Maybe you should listen to the boy, Bakare.
The tomb raider froze.
"Yami?" Bakura blinked, obviously unaware of the voice.
After all, the voice continued, in the past when he's thought something was amiss, it truly was.
"Shut up!!" Yami Bakura screamed.
"Yami, what is it?!" Bakura cried. "Was it something I said?!"
"It's not you, moron!" Yami Bakura retorted irritably, wondering how on earth the voice had known to call him "Bakare."
****
Seto and Mokuba were still in the upstairs hall, checking in each room for signs of ill activity.
"This is awful!" Mokuba burst out. "I can't believe someone would do that to Ishizu! Marik must feel just terrible!" He clenched his fists. "I wish I could go see how he's doing."
Seto was about to reply that Mokuba would probably be safer with Marik and Rishid rather than wandering down the halls when a strange hand broke through the window they were standing by and grabbed for the younger boy viciously.
"Seto!!!" Mokuba screamed as he was pulled out through the opening in the glass.
"Mokuba!!!!" Seto grabbed for the boy and managed to catch hold of his ankle. Before he knew what was happening, he was being yanked out as well.