Falling . . . falling . . . it seemed as if they would never reach the bottom, and that if they did, they'd both be killed instantly.
Frantically Seto grabbed the edge of the windowsill with one hand while struggling to hold onto Mokuba with the other.
"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed, swaying upsidedown dizzily.
"Mokuba, grab onto the window ledge right by you!" Seto directed, knowing that they needed to steady themselves before anything else could go wrong.
Mokuba swayed again, groping for the window ledge. "Seto! Whatever's trying to get us is still here!" he cried, feeling a cold, clammy hand grab for him.
Seto growled angrily and tried unsuccessfully to pull them both up into the window.
"Oh my!" Bakura's familiar soft voice exclaimed. "Mokuba!"
Seto could hear him open the window just below them.
"Bakura!" Mokuba cried in relief, grabbing for the British boy frantically. "Seto's out here too!"
"What?!" Bakura took Mokuba's wrists and then glanced up at Seto above them. "Oh dear."
"Take Mokuba," Seto ordered. "I'll climb back in through the window up here."
"But Seto . . .!" Mokuba protested.
"Do it, Bakura," Seto growled.
Bakura blinked. "Well, alright," he said slowly, pulling Mokuba inside. "What on earth happened to you two?!"
Mokuba quickly explained about the thing that had grabbed for him. "I don't know what it was," he said with a shudder, "but it was weird!"
"I can imagine," Bakura exclaimed, hurrying to close the window.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
Both boys jumped.
"Rex Raptor?!" Bakura burst out. "What on earth?!"
Rex shrugged. "Hey, I followed that weird guy here from San Francisco," he told them. "He got that talisman back from that spirit and then decided to come out here!"
"He got the Horse Talisman back?!" Bakura blinked.
"Yeah," Rex said, "but I don't know how. You'll havta ask him yourself."
"Why did Shadi want to come here?!" Mokuba asked, remembering how, during a time when the Egyptian man had been considered dead, he had rescued Mokuba and Ishizu from an evil wizard back in Frisco.
"Search me," Rex grunted. "But there's a couple of people locked in . . ."
Before he could continue, Seto appeared, looking extremely ruffled.
"Seto!" Mokuba grinned, running to him.
Seto smiled and hugged him. "Whatever it was out there got away," he said in irritation.
"Oh dear," Bakura burst out.
"What thing are we talkin' about?!" Rex demanded.
Hurriedly Bakura explained, ending with, "What were you starting to say, Rex?"
Rex narrowed his eyes. "There's an old lady and her granddaughter locked in the basement!" he cried. "That guy went down there to see them and went right through the wall!"
"Well, that's Shadi for you," Mokuba grinned.
"Why were they locked in the basement?" Seto asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know!" Rex said in frustration. "No one would tell me anything!" He looked around, appearing disturbed and annoyed.
****
Marik was still sitting by Ishizu's side, holding her hand and stroking it gently.
"Why would anyone do this?" the boy sobbed again. "Ishizu would never hurt anyone!"
Rishid looked down sadly, wishing that they never would have landed at this ranch. "If only I could have stopped this," he said softly.
Marik looked shocked. "Rishid, there is nothing you could have done!"
"If I had been able to capture that person who threw me off the cliff, perhaps Lady Ishizu wouldn't have gotten injured!" Rishid berated.
Marik shook his head. "I believe more than one person is at work here. Ishizu most likely would have still been harmed."
Ishizu stirred slightly, squeezing Marik's hand.
"Dear sister," Marik whispered.
****
Shadi was back in the basement, holding the sleepy little girl on his lap and trying to converse with the elderly woman.
"Oh, I don't know why these things happen," she sighed. "Lou just told me that I'd be safer down here because I kept saying crazy things."
"What about Alyson?" Shadi asked, indicating the child sleeping on his chest.
"Lou said she talked too much," the woman replied.
"And what was she talking too much about?" Shadi wanted to know.
"About what I was seeing," she told him. "I have these visions quite frequently. I see the past, present, and the future. Lou thinks I'm just a senile old woman."
"You did not always have such visions," Shadi recalled.
Now the woman looked sad. "I know," she said softly.
****
Bakura looked around nervously, having become separated from Rex and the Kaiba brothers. He felt as if every picture, every statue, and even the walls, floor, and ceiling, were watching his every move. The boy shuddered, longing for one of his friends; even having Oreo would be better than being all alone.
"Yami?" he called shakily. "Oreo? Yugi?!" His voice echoed off the walls as he turned the corner. "Is anyone here?"
In answer to his pleas, a mournful wailing began and a cold chill started to envelope Bakura in it.
"What's happening?!" the boy screamed, clutching the wall as a feeling of despair began to overwhelm him. "I say, help!!"
"Bakura," a voice whispered, and slowly the feeling dispersed.
Bakura relaxed somewhat and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you?" he called.
"We are prisoners here," a second one told him.
"Prisoners?!" Bakura repeated. "But why?! How?!"
"You must free us," a third voice chimed in.
"Free you?!" Bakura was more confused than ever. Suddenly a new thought occurred to him. "Were . . . were you all . . . killed here?" he asked quaveringly.
"Yes," the first voice told him. "A great evil permeates throughout the ranch, and you and your friends are the only ones who can stop it."
"What?!" Bakura gasped, bowled over. "But . . . why us?!"
The voices didn't answer and then Bakura felt the spirits they belonged to vanish. He was alone again, but certainly not any less nervous. If anything, he was more nervous than ever.
****
Shadi held Alyson thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he began to reflect on the past. It was true—there had been a great evil infesting the ranch—but he had gotten rid of it the last time he had been there. Unfortunately, he knew that evil could not stay defeated for long. Somehow, it had returned now to torment the innocent further.
He looked down at the little girl as she snuggled close to him. No one knew his deepest feelings. To all those he met, he was the guardian of the Millennium Items—an emotionless soul who enforced justice. But there was more to him than that. Much more.
He was very fond of children, for one thing—especially sweet, pure ones such as the one sleeping in his arms. He never had been certain why she was so drawn to him, but ever since he had first met her, the girl had sensed something special about him and now she never left his side when he was around.
Shadi smiled faintly. It was comforting to know that someone truly cared whether he lived or died.
Alyson stirred vaguely, grabbing for the Ankh in her sleep.
Shadi chuckled. "No, no, little one," he said quietly, prying it gently out of her grasp. Sighing to himself, the Egyptian man leaned back and started to doze.
Abruptly the wall creaked behind him and he started awake again.
"Who is here?" he demanded, receiving no answer. He narrowed his eyes. "Be warned—I will let no harm come to the people staying here."
Soft breathing echoed in the small room and suddenly a tall, strong man stepped out of the shadows. "You again!" he snarled.
Shadi looked at him stonily. "Have you no shame, Lou? Imprisoning your own mother and your niece in the basement?"
Lou growled. "I should've known you'd come back," he muttered. "Just when I think my plans are going along smoothly, you show up and get in the way." He moved forward and tried to grab for Alyson, but Shadi stood up and held the sleeping girl out of his reach.
"You will never touch this girl again as long as I am here," Shadi said in a dangerous, low tone.
Lou snatched Shadi's arm and tried to wrench it around. "She's my niece, Egyptian," he said in an equally dangerous tone.
"You never treated her as one," Shadi replied, taking hold of Lou's arm and forcing the other man away from him.
"Maybe I've changed since I was released from prison," Lou said with an evil grin.
"You haven't changed at all," Shadi said stonily.
Alyson stirred slightly again, opening her eyes and looking around. "Shadi?" she asked quaveringly, wrapping her arms around his neck in fright. "Please don't let Uncle Lou hurt me!!"
"Do not fear," Shadi told her. He held the girl tightly and glared at Lou, who only growled back.
****
As Bakura continued to wander down the hall, a black-robed form darted past his line of vision and turned the corner.
"Wait!" the boy cried, running forward. "Stop!!"
Of course the figure didn't, and Bakura found himself running down a long hallway that seemed to never end. "Why on earth is this ranchhouse so big?" he wondered to himself. "It reminds me of the ski lodge back in Utah!"
Abruptly all the lights went out, plunging Bakura into complete darkness.
"Oh my!" he gasped, feeling around for the wall. "What's happening?!"
A maniacal laugh echoed throughout the corridors and then a bony hand dug into Bakura's back and shoved him roughly out through the double doors onto the balcony.
With a soft moan, the British boy pulled himself into a sitting position and looked about. He soon found that he was three floors above the ground, much to his displeasure. Quickly he turned to go back inside when he was suddenly accosted by the robed creature.
"Why are you pursuing me?" it asked in a raspy voice.
"Pursuing you?!" Bakura cried in amazement. "You're the one attacking everyone!!"
The creature hissed and grabbed at Bakura fiercely, trying to throw him over the balcony railing. The boy gave a cry of alarm and struggled with it, eventually collapsing to the floor of the terrace and wrestling about.
It wasn't long before the thing got its hand wrapped around Bakura's throat and lifted him into the air. The boy gasped as his air supply was squeezed off and he clawed at the arm frantically, trying to get it to let him go.
"Help!" he choked out, his eyes wild with fright. "Someone, please . . ."
"No one can hear you," the creature sneered, holding him aloft over the edge of the railing. "Tis a pity, isn't it?"
Just before Bakura was certain his neck would have broken, his assailant abruptly let go, throwing him out into the darkness.
Frantically Seto grabbed the edge of the windowsill with one hand while struggling to hold onto Mokuba with the other.
"Big brother!" Mokuba screamed, swaying upsidedown dizzily.
"Mokuba, grab onto the window ledge right by you!" Seto directed, knowing that they needed to steady themselves before anything else could go wrong.
Mokuba swayed again, groping for the window ledge. "Seto! Whatever's trying to get us is still here!" he cried, feeling a cold, clammy hand grab for him.
Seto growled angrily and tried unsuccessfully to pull them both up into the window.
"Oh my!" Bakura's familiar soft voice exclaimed. "Mokuba!"
Seto could hear him open the window just below them.
"Bakura!" Mokuba cried in relief, grabbing for the British boy frantically. "Seto's out here too!"
"What?!" Bakura took Mokuba's wrists and then glanced up at Seto above them. "Oh dear."
"Take Mokuba," Seto ordered. "I'll climb back in through the window up here."
"But Seto . . .!" Mokuba protested.
"Do it, Bakura," Seto growled.
Bakura blinked. "Well, alright," he said slowly, pulling Mokuba inside. "What on earth happened to you two?!"
Mokuba quickly explained about the thing that had grabbed for him. "I don't know what it was," he said with a shudder, "but it was weird!"
"I can imagine," Bakura exclaimed, hurrying to close the window.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
Both boys jumped.
"Rex Raptor?!" Bakura burst out. "What on earth?!"
Rex shrugged. "Hey, I followed that weird guy here from San Francisco," he told them. "He got that talisman back from that spirit and then decided to come out here!"
"He got the Horse Talisman back?!" Bakura blinked.
"Yeah," Rex said, "but I don't know how. You'll havta ask him yourself."
"Why did Shadi want to come here?!" Mokuba asked, remembering how, during a time when the Egyptian man had been considered dead, he had rescued Mokuba and Ishizu from an evil wizard back in Frisco.
"Search me," Rex grunted. "But there's a couple of people locked in . . ."
Before he could continue, Seto appeared, looking extremely ruffled.
"Seto!" Mokuba grinned, running to him.
Seto smiled and hugged him. "Whatever it was out there got away," he said in irritation.
"Oh dear," Bakura burst out.
"What thing are we talkin' about?!" Rex demanded.
Hurriedly Bakura explained, ending with, "What were you starting to say, Rex?"
Rex narrowed his eyes. "There's an old lady and her granddaughter locked in the basement!" he cried. "That guy went down there to see them and went right through the wall!"
"Well, that's Shadi for you," Mokuba grinned.
"Why were they locked in the basement?" Seto asked with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know!" Rex said in frustration. "No one would tell me anything!" He looked around, appearing disturbed and annoyed.
****
Marik was still sitting by Ishizu's side, holding her hand and stroking it gently.
"Why would anyone do this?" the boy sobbed again. "Ishizu would never hurt anyone!"
Rishid looked down sadly, wishing that they never would have landed at this ranch. "If only I could have stopped this," he said softly.
Marik looked shocked. "Rishid, there is nothing you could have done!"
"If I had been able to capture that person who threw me off the cliff, perhaps Lady Ishizu wouldn't have gotten injured!" Rishid berated.
Marik shook his head. "I believe more than one person is at work here. Ishizu most likely would have still been harmed."
Ishizu stirred slightly, squeezing Marik's hand.
"Dear sister," Marik whispered.
****
Shadi was back in the basement, holding the sleepy little girl on his lap and trying to converse with the elderly woman.
"Oh, I don't know why these things happen," she sighed. "Lou just told me that I'd be safer down here because I kept saying crazy things."
"What about Alyson?" Shadi asked, indicating the child sleeping on his chest.
"Lou said she talked too much," the woman replied.
"And what was she talking too much about?" Shadi wanted to know.
"About what I was seeing," she told him. "I have these visions quite frequently. I see the past, present, and the future. Lou thinks I'm just a senile old woman."
"You did not always have such visions," Shadi recalled.
Now the woman looked sad. "I know," she said softly.
****
Bakura looked around nervously, having become separated from Rex and the Kaiba brothers. He felt as if every picture, every statue, and even the walls, floor, and ceiling, were watching his every move. The boy shuddered, longing for one of his friends; even having Oreo would be better than being all alone.
"Yami?" he called shakily. "Oreo? Yugi?!" His voice echoed off the walls as he turned the corner. "Is anyone here?"
In answer to his pleas, a mournful wailing began and a cold chill started to envelope Bakura in it.
"What's happening?!" the boy screamed, clutching the wall as a feeling of despair began to overwhelm him. "I say, help!!"
"Bakura," a voice whispered, and slowly the feeling dispersed.
Bakura relaxed somewhat and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you?" he called.
"We are prisoners here," a second one told him.
"Prisoners?!" Bakura repeated. "But why?! How?!"
"You must free us," a third voice chimed in.
"Free you?!" Bakura was more confused than ever. Suddenly a new thought occurred to him. "Were . . . were you all . . . killed here?" he asked quaveringly.
"Yes," the first voice told him. "A great evil permeates throughout the ranch, and you and your friends are the only ones who can stop it."
"What?!" Bakura gasped, bowled over. "But . . . why us?!"
The voices didn't answer and then Bakura felt the spirits they belonged to vanish. He was alone again, but certainly not any less nervous. If anything, he was more nervous than ever.
****
Shadi held Alyson thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he began to reflect on the past. It was true—there had been a great evil infesting the ranch—but he had gotten rid of it the last time he had been there. Unfortunately, he knew that evil could not stay defeated for long. Somehow, it had returned now to torment the innocent further.
He looked down at the little girl as she snuggled close to him. No one knew his deepest feelings. To all those he met, he was the guardian of the Millennium Items—an emotionless soul who enforced justice. But there was more to him than that. Much more.
He was very fond of children, for one thing—especially sweet, pure ones such as the one sleeping in his arms. He never had been certain why she was so drawn to him, but ever since he had first met her, the girl had sensed something special about him and now she never left his side when he was around.
Shadi smiled faintly. It was comforting to know that someone truly cared whether he lived or died.
Alyson stirred vaguely, grabbing for the Ankh in her sleep.
Shadi chuckled. "No, no, little one," he said quietly, prying it gently out of her grasp. Sighing to himself, the Egyptian man leaned back and started to doze.
Abruptly the wall creaked behind him and he started awake again.
"Who is here?" he demanded, receiving no answer. He narrowed his eyes. "Be warned—I will let no harm come to the people staying here."
Soft breathing echoed in the small room and suddenly a tall, strong man stepped out of the shadows. "You again!" he snarled.
Shadi looked at him stonily. "Have you no shame, Lou? Imprisoning your own mother and your niece in the basement?"
Lou growled. "I should've known you'd come back," he muttered. "Just when I think my plans are going along smoothly, you show up and get in the way." He moved forward and tried to grab for Alyson, but Shadi stood up and held the sleeping girl out of his reach.
"You will never touch this girl again as long as I am here," Shadi said in a dangerous, low tone.
Lou snatched Shadi's arm and tried to wrench it around. "She's my niece, Egyptian," he said in an equally dangerous tone.
"You never treated her as one," Shadi replied, taking hold of Lou's arm and forcing the other man away from him.
"Maybe I've changed since I was released from prison," Lou said with an evil grin.
"You haven't changed at all," Shadi said stonily.
Alyson stirred slightly again, opening her eyes and looking around. "Shadi?" she asked quaveringly, wrapping her arms around his neck in fright. "Please don't let Uncle Lou hurt me!!"
"Do not fear," Shadi told her. He held the girl tightly and glared at Lou, who only growled back.
****
As Bakura continued to wander down the hall, a black-robed form darted past his line of vision and turned the corner.
"Wait!" the boy cried, running forward. "Stop!!"
Of course the figure didn't, and Bakura found himself running down a long hallway that seemed to never end. "Why on earth is this ranchhouse so big?" he wondered to himself. "It reminds me of the ski lodge back in Utah!"
Abruptly all the lights went out, plunging Bakura into complete darkness.
"Oh my!" he gasped, feeling around for the wall. "What's happening?!"
A maniacal laugh echoed throughout the corridors and then a bony hand dug into Bakura's back and shoved him roughly out through the double doors onto the balcony.
With a soft moan, the British boy pulled himself into a sitting position and looked about. He soon found that he was three floors above the ground, much to his displeasure. Quickly he turned to go back inside when he was suddenly accosted by the robed creature.
"Why are you pursuing me?" it asked in a raspy voice.
"Pursuing you?!" Bakura cried in amazement. "You're the one attacking everyone!!"
The creature hissed and grabbed at Bakura fiercely, trying to throw him over the balcony railing. The boy gave a cry of alarm and struggled with it, eventually collapsing to the floor of the terrace and wrestling about.
It wasn't long before the thing got its hand wrapped around Bakura's throat and lifted him into the air. The boy gasped as his air supply was squeezed off and he clawed at the arm frantically, trying to get it to let him go.
"Help!" he choked out, his eyes wild with fright. "Someone, please . . ."
"No one can hear you," the creature sneered, holding him aloft over the edge of the railing. "Tis a pity, isn't it?"
Just before Bakura was certain his neck would have broken, his assailant abruptly let go, throwing him out into the darkness.