"What's going on?!" Mokuba shrieked, flying backward into Marik's arms as they both crashed into Ishizu. The Egyptian woman cried out in pain, pulling her injured arm out of the way.
A mechanically altered voice laughed raucously. "Poor Ishizu," it cackled. "Your arm hurts, doesn't it?"
Marik straightened up, helping Mokuba and Ishizu to regain their balance as well. "What have you done to her?!" the infuriated boy demanded.
"Me? Well, technically, I didn't hurt her; my minions did that. But . . ." There was another wicked laugh. "I *am* the only one with the cure for the poison."
"You poisoned her?!" Rishid rumbled.
Ishizu moaned, going paler and grabbing for the wall's support. Marik ran to her, gathering the poor woman into his arms and feeling angry tears prick his eyes. "Ishizu has done nothing to you!" he screamed. "Give us the antidote for your damage before I hunt you down and force it out of you!"
"You really are a protective brother, aren't you?" the voice purred. "Well, I'll tell you what. You get what I want and bring it to me, and we'll talk about it."
"And why should he listen to you, you big bully?!" Mokuba snapped angrily;.
The voice paused. "Oh, let's see. Maybe because Ishizu will die within the hour if he doesn't."
Almost as if on cue, Ishizu screamed in anguish, her vision swimming.
Tears streamed down Marik's cheeks as he held his sister close. "I'll have to play your game. What is it you want?!"
The voice laughed. "I knew you'd see it my way. Good boy." There was another pause. "Now. Go to the desk in Joan's room. You'll find a map in the top drawer. Study it and go to the place marked 'Hollow Willow.' You'll get your next clue there."
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "Master, we may be walking into a trap," he cautioned.
Marik nodded. "I realize that, my brother, but we'll have to take that risk. Ishizu's life is at stake." He looked down as Ishizu grabbed onto him frantically in her delirium. "We can do nothing for her except pray. Meanwhile, we are expected to do more than simply sit back and wait, and I know I cannot do that anyway. We have to find this person before it's too late." Gently he stroked Ishizu's silky black hair, trying to comfort her.
Mokuba laid his hand over Marik's. "We're in this together, buddy," he grinned. "We're gonna save Ishizu and then kick those bad guys into submission!"
Marik looked briefly surprised at Mokuba's gesture, but then reached out and squeezed his friend's hand. "Of course we will," he said in determination, holding Ishizu's shivering body tightly. "And they will pay."
****
Bakura and Yugi tensed as heavy footsteps approached.
"I see you've both fallen into my trap," Bart sneered, stepping into the light.
Yugi gasped. "You're mixed up in this too?!" he cried.
"You could say that." Bart produced a lasso and sent it flying around the two boys, roping them tightly.
"What are you doing?!" Bakura demanded, struggling against the bonds.
"Just makin' sure you don't escape any time soon," Bart grinned, pulling on the lasso and forcing them to be dragged along with him. "After all, when my plans are almost all finished up like this, I can't let anything spoil 'em."
"But what are your plans?!" Yugi pleaded to know.
"Now that's not something you little dogies need to know," Bart replied smoothly, opening another door and pushing the two of them through. The room was dark and mostly bare, except for several wooden boxes and a saw hanging on the wall.
Bakura cried out as he slammed hard into a crate, receiving a harsh cut on his forehead. Yugi fell backward, clanking his head against Bakura's.
Bart sneered as he watched the dazed youth struggle to regain their bearings. "This cellar should keep you held for a long while. Maybe it'll even still be here after the whole ranch goes boom!"
"What?!" Yugi burst out in alarm.
Bart only continued to grin and then shut the door on them, plunging the teenagers' world into darkness.
****
Joey tensed as the sound grew closer. "Alright!!" he called bravely. "You'd better watch out, you cheap crooks, 'cause we've got you surrounded!!"
A soft light lit the room.
"Joey?" a familiar voice said in surprise.
Joey blinked. "Eh?" The boy stared as Yami Yugi and Téa approached.
Rex had to grin. "Not doing too well tonight, are you, Wheeler?" he remarked. "First you nearly give me a concussion, and now you threaten two of your friends and call them 'cheap crooks.'"
"Oh shut up, Raptor," Joey growled.
Téa ignored their argument. "Joey, what's been going on?!" she wanted to know.
Joey shrugged. "Oh nothin' much. Rex was stupid enough to get himself locked in a closet."
"Hey!" Rex yelled. "You're the one who got trapped in a *wall*!! How much more stupid is that?!"
Joey turned to glare at him. "Why you little . . ." Instantly he had tackled the shorter boy and brought him to the ground. "I oughtta kick you into next week!"
"Enough!" Yami Yugi yelled forcefully.
The two squabbling teens looked up.
"We don't have time for this!" Téa said angrily. "You're both acting half your age!"
"He started it," Joey muttered.
Yami Yugi glared. "You can work out your differences later. Right now we must rescue our friends. They're all in danger!"
"Where do we look for them?" Rex asked, seeming relieved at the idea that the fight was being postponed.
"They're probably all over the house!" Téa said flatly.
Another explosion tore through, making the floor underneath them tremble.
"What the heck?!" Joey yelped.
"There have been small explosions all over the house," Yami Yugi told him. "I heard another one off at the other wing only several moments before."
"Do you think anyone got hurt?" Joey asked, instantly alert.
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "That's what we must find out," he said firmly, walking out of the room and heading down the hall.
"Hey!" Joey cried, running to catch up. "Wait for us!"
Téa ran after him, looking annoyed, and then Rex decided he might as well go with them too. After all, he did want to be informed on what was happening, and besides, he didn't really want anyone to be hurt.
****
Alyson continued to stare at Shadi in shock, tears slipping from her maroon eyes. "Shadi?! Wake up!! Please!!" she wailed.
Mako leaned down to listen for a heartbeat. "He's barely alive," he announced grimly.
Alyson trembled, hugging him in alarm. "Shadi . . ." The Egyptian man was the closest thing to a father she knew and she couldn't bear the thought of ever losing him. "Shadi!! Come on, you've gotta get up!!" She grabbed his hand desperately, longing for him to give an indication that he knew of her presence.
"He can't, kid," Tristan said softly. "But he did this for us, and especially for you."
Alyson clung to Shadi's form. "But I didn't want him to die!" she sobbed.
"He's not dead yet, my little Alyson," her grandmother said softly.
Mako bent over the wounded man again. "He needs help immediately," he said quietly.
"What about Ivy?" Mai said in a low tone.
"He's dead," Tristan told her.
"And Shadi will be, too, unless we can stop him from losing any more blood," Mako said grimly.
Alyson backed up, staring at her red hands. "This is Shadi's blood!" she shrieked.
Mai knelt down beside her. "Come with me, hon, and I'll help you wash it off," she offered kindly.
Alyson stood up shakily as if in a daze. "Shadi . . . please don't die," she whispered. "Please . . . you can't!"
****
"Well, this is the Hollow Willow," Mokuba said ten minutes later as they stood in front of a towering, enormous tree.
Marik narrowed his eyes. "I don't see anything!" he snarled.
A nearly radio device crackled. "This was just a test," the strange voice said. "But of course, why should I have doubted that you'd come? You want to save your precious sister's life."
Ishizu moaned from where she was laying limply in Rishid's arms.
"You only have fifty minutes to save her," the voice remarked.
"Silence!!" Marik screamed, clenching his fists. "What do you want from us? TELL ME!!"
Mokuba looked up at him worriedly. He'd never seen Marik this angry since he'd repented. But of course, Marik had a good reason to be angry. Mokuba was angry himself. He couldn't imagine why this person was delighting in the game he or she was playing with them while Ishizu's life was at stake. The boy couldn't imagine anything more abominable than that. "Hey, you big jerk!" the younger Kaiba screamed now. "Just tell us how to save Ishizu and stop doing these messed-up things!"
"Oh, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun, would it?" the voice laughed.
Marik fumed, feeling the rage boiling in his heart. "Once I get my hands on you . . ." he began, his whole body shaking with fury.
Ishizu looked over at Marik, her blue eyes glazed. She smiled weakly, taking his hand and holding it in hers. "It will be alright, my brother," she whispered. Gently she brought his hand up to her cheek, just content to have both her brothers close to her.
Marik gazed at her, tears in his eyes. Twice on this night he'd had to watch his sister suffering because of the actions of evil people. It wasn't fair! he screamed in his mind. Ishizu is so sweet and kind! She shouldn't have to go through this!
Rishid looked at them both, unsure of what to say or do. He, too, was outraged at the endless events of the night. All he wanted was to be able to get away from this terrible place for good. Not that things would be any calmer in Boston. With their luck, he thought wryly, they'd be involved in another dangerous mystery before the week was over.
"Well," the voice spoke up again, breaking into Rishid's thoughts, "let me just tell you where you need to go next. Open the map and find the location of the Endless Well. Then go to it for further instructions."
"A well?!" Mokuba said in disbelief.
"Oh yes," the voice purred. "It was here in the 19th-century, and it's reported that a girl drowned in it once."
Marik snarled in frustration. "Oh joy," he muttered.
****
Yugi struggled against the tight ropes binding him and Bakura.
"Ouch!" the British boy yelped. "Yugi, your elbow is jabbing into my back!"
"Sorry," Yugi replied hurriedly, trying to move further away.
"Hey!" Bakura exclaimed suddenly. "I remember seeing a saw over at the other end of this room! If we could somehow get over to it, we might be able to cut ourselves free!"
Yugi perked up at this information. "Well," he said slowly, "I guess we'll have to try it."
"Alright," Bakura said after a moment's pause, "now on the count of three we'll both stand up and try to make our way over to the other wall."
Yugi nodded. "Let's go!"
Bakura took a deep breath. "One . . . two . . . THREE!" he cried, pulling himself up. Yugi did the same and the two boys tried to get their bearings.
"I think we're facing West right now," Yugi remarked.
"Right," Bakura agreed. "So if we head to the East, we should find the saw!"
Carefully the boys began trying to maneuver their way across the room, but it proved to be much harder than they thought. First they tripped over a crate that was right in their way and it took them Heaven knows how long to get themselves back on their feet. Then they crashed into the wall and nearly fell down again.
"Oh dear," Bakura remarked. "That wall wasn't supposed to be there!"
Yugi jumped when he heard something clatter to the floor. "I think that was the saw," he said at last.
"I'm afraid you're right," Bakura said, realizing that they would have to get on the floor again and somehow crawl toward it. "I'm afraid this may be a bit more difficult than we thought," he commented ruefully.
A mechanically altered voice laughed raucously. "Poor Ishizu," it cackled. "Your arm hurts, doesn't it?"
Marik straightened up, helping Mokuba and Ishizu to regain their balance as well. "What have you done to her?!" the infuriated boy demanded.
"Me? Well, technically, I didn't hurt her; my minions did that. But . . ." There was another wicked laugh. "I *am* the only one with the cure for the poison."
"You poisoned her?!" Rishid rumbled.
Ishizu moaned, going paler and grabbing for the wall's support. Marik ran to her, gathering the poor woman into his arms and feeling angry tears prick his eyes. "Ishizu has done nothing to you!" he screamed. "Give us the antidote for your damage before I hunt you down and force it out of you!"
"You really are a protective brother, aren't you?" the voice purred. "Well, I'll tell you what. You get what I want and bring it to me, and we'll talk about it."
"And why should he listen to you, you big bully?!" Mokuba snapped angrily;.
The voice paused. "Oh, let's see. Maybe because Ishizu will die within the hour if he doesn't."
Almost as if on cue, Ishizu screamed in anguish, her vision swimming.
Tears streamed down Marik's cheeks as he held his sister close. "I'll have to play your game. What is it you want?!"
The voice laughed. "I knew you'd see it my way. Good boy." There was another pause. "Now. Go to the desk in Joan's room. You'll find a map in the top drawer. Study it and go to the place marked 'Hollow Willow.' You'll get your next clue there."
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "Master, we may be walking into a trap," he cautioned.
Marik nodded. "I realize that, my brother, but we'll have to take that risk. Ishizu's life is at stake." He looked down as Ishizu grabbed onto him frantically in her delirium. "We can do nothing for her except pray. Meanwhile, we are expected to do more than simply sit back and wait, and I know I cannot do that anyway. We have to find this person before it's too late." Gently he stroked Ishizu's silky black hair, trying to comfort her.
Mokuba laid his hand over Marik's. "We're in this together, buddy," he grinned. "We're gonna save Ishizu and then kick those bad guys into submission!"
Marik looked briefly surprised at Mokuba's gesture, but then reached out and squeezed his friend's hand. "Of course we will," he said in determination, holding Ishizu's shivering body tightly. "And they will pay."
****
Bakura and Yugi tensed as heavy footsteps approached.
"I see you've both fallen into my trap," Bart sneered, stepping into the light.
Yugi gasped. "You're mixed up in this too?!" he cried.
"You could say that." Bart produced a lasso and sent it flying around the two boys, roping them tightly.
"What are you doing?!" Bakura demanded, struggling against the bonds.
"Just makin' sure you don't escape any time soon," Bart grinned, pulling on the lasso and forcing them to be dragged along with him. "After all, when my plans are almost all finished up like this, I can't let anything spoil 'em."
"But what are your plans?!" Yugi pleaded to know.
"Now that's not something you little dogies need to know," Bart replied smoothly, opening another door and pushing the two of them through. The room was dark and mostly bare, except for several wooden boxes and a saw hanging on the wall.
Bakura cried out as he slammed hard into a crate, receiving a harsh cut on his forehead. Yugi fell backward, clanking his head against Bakura's.
Bart sneered as he watched the dazed youth struggle to regain their bearings. "This cellar should keep you held for a long while. Maybe it'll even still be here after the whole ranch goes boom!"
"What?!" Yugi burst out in alarm.
Bart only continued to grin and then shut the door on them, plunging the teenagers' world into darkness.
****
Joey tensed as the sound grew closer. "Alright!!" he called bravely. "You'd better watch out, you cheap crooks, 'cause we've got you surrounded!!"
A soft light lit the room.
"Joey?" a familiar voice said in surprise.
Joey blinked. "Eh?" The boy stared as Yami Yugi and Téa approached.
Rex had to grin. "Not doing too well tonight, are you, Wheeler?" he remarked. "First you nearly give me a concussion, and now you threaten two of your friends and call them 'cheap crooks.'"
"Oh shut up, Raptor," Joey growled.
Téa ignored their argument. "Joey, what's been going on?!" she wanted to know.
Joey shrugged. "Oh nothin' much. Rex was stupid enough to get himself locked in a closet."
"Hey!" Rex yelled. "You're the one who got trapped in a *wall*!! How much more stupid is that?!"
Joey turned to glare at him. "Why you little . . ." Instantly he had tackled the shorter boy and brought him to the ground. "I oughtta kick you into next week!"
"Enough!" Yami Yugi yelled forcefully.
The two squabbling teens looked up.
"We don't have time for this!" Téa said angrily. "You're both acting half your age!"
"He started it," Joey muttered.
Yami Yugi glared. "You can work out your differences later. Right now we must rescue our friends. They're all in danger!"
"Where do we look for them?" Rex asked, seeming relieved at the idea that the fight was being postponed.
"They're probably all over the house!" Téa said flatly.
Another explosion tore through, making the floor underneath them tremble.
"What the heck?!" Joey yelped.
"There have been small explosions all over the house," Yami Yugi told him. "I heard another one off at the other wing only several moments before."
"Do you think anyone got hurt?" Joey asked, instantly alert.
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "That's what we must find out," he said firmly, walking out of the room and heading down the hall.
"Hey!" Joey cried, running to catch up. "Wait for us!"
Téa ran after him, looking annoyed, and then Rex decided he might as well go with them too. After all, he did want to be informed on what was happening, and besides, he didn't really want anyone to be hurt.
****
Alyson continued to stare at Shadi in shock, tears slipping from her maroon eyes. "Shadi?! Wake up!! Please!!" she wailed.
Mako leaned down to listen for a heartbeat. "He's barely alive," he announced grimly.
Alyson trembled, hugging him in alarm. "Shadi . . ." The Egyptian man was the closest thing to a father she knew and she couldn't bear the thought of ever losing him. "Shadi!! Come on, you've gotta get up!!" She grabbed his hand desperately, longing for him to give an indication that he knew of her presence.
"He can't, kid," Tristan said softly. "But he did this for us, and especially for you."
Alyson clung to Shadi's form. "But I didn't want him to die!" she sobbed.
"He's not dead yet, my little Alyson," her grandmother said softly.
Mako bent over the wounded man again. "He needs help immediately," he said quietly.
"What about Ivy?" Mai said in a low tone.
"He's dead," Tristan told her.
"And Shadi will be, too, unless we can stop him from losing any more blood," Mako said grimly.
Alyson backed up, staring at her red hands. "This is Shadi's blood!" she shrieked.
Mai knelt down beside her. "Come with me, hon, and I'll help you wash it off," she offered kindly.
Alyson stood up shakily as if in a daze. "Shadi . . . please don't die," she whispered. "Please . . . you can't!"
****
"Well, this is the Hollow Willow," Mokuba said ten minutes later as they stood in front of a towering, enormous tree.
Marik narrowed his eyes. "I don't see anything!" he snarled.
A nearly radio device crackled. "This was just a test," the strange voice said. "But of course, why should I have doubted that you'd come? You want to save your precious sister's life."
Ishizu moaned from where she was laying limply in Rishid's arms.
"You only have fifty minutes to save her," the voice remarked.
"Silence!!" Marik screamed, clenching his fists. "What do you want from us? TELL ME!!"
Mokuba looked up at him worriedly. He'd never seen Marik this angry since he'd repented. But of course, Marik had a good reason to be angry. Mokuba was angry himself. He couldn't imagine why this person was delighting in the game he or she was playing with them while Ishizu's life was at stake. The boy couldn't imagine anything more abominable than that. "Hey, you big jerk!" the younger Kaiba screamed now. "Just tell us how to save Ishizu and stop doing these messed-up things!"
"Oh, but that wouldn't be nearly as fun, would it?" the voice laughed.
Marik fumed, feeling the rage boiling in his heart. "Once I get my hands on you . . ." he began, his whole body shaking with fury.
Ishizu looked over at Marik, her blue eyes glazed. She smiled weakly, taking his hand and holding it in hers. "It will be alright, my brother," she whispered. Gently she brought his hand up to her cheek, just content to have both her brothers close to her.
Marik gazed at her, tears in his eyes. Twice on this night he'd had to watch his sister suffering because of the actions of evil people. It wasn't fair! he screamed in his mind. Ishizu is so sweet and kind! She shouldn't have to go through this!
Rishid looked at them both, unsure of what to say or do. He, too, was outraged at the endless events of the night. All he wanted was to be able to get away from this terrible place for good. Not that things would be any calmer in Boston. With their luck, he thought wryly, they'd be involved in another dangerous mystery before the week was over.
"Well," the voice spoke up again, breaking into Rishid's thoughts, "let me just tell you where you need to go next. Open the map and find the location of the Endless Well. Then go to it for further instructions."
"A well?!" Mokuba said in disbelief.
"Oh yes," the voice purred. "It was here in the 19th-century, and it's reported that a girl drowned in it once."
Marik snarled in frustration. "Oh joy," he muttered.
****
Yugi struggled against the tight ropes binding him and Bakura.
"Ouch!" the British boy yelped. "Yugi, your elbow is jabbing into my back!"
"Sorry," Yugi replied hurriedly, trying to move further away.
"Hey!" Bakura exclaimed suddenly. "I remember seeing a saw over at the other end of this room! If we could somehow get over to it, we might be able to cut ourselves free!"
Yugi perked up at this information. "Well," he said slowly, "I guess we'll have to try it."
"Alright," Bakura said after a moment's pause, "now on the count of three we'll both stand up and try to make our way over to the other wall."
Yugi nodded. "Let's go!"
Bakura took a deep breath. "One . . . two . . . THREE!" he cried, pulling himself up. Yugi did the same and the two boys tried to get their bearings.
"I think we're facing West right now," Yugi remarked.
"Right," Bakura agreed. "So if we head to the East, we should find the saw!"
Carefully the boys began trying to maneuver their way across the room, but it proved to be much harder than they thought. First they tripped over a crate that was right in their way and it took them Heaven knows how long to get themselves back on their feet. Then they crashed into the wall and nearly fell down again.
"Oh dear," Bakura remarked. "That wall wasn't supposed to be there!"
Yugi jumped when he heard something clatter to the floor. "I think that was the saw," he said at last.
"I'm afraid you're right," Bakura said, realizing that they would have to get on the floor again and somehow crawl toward it. "I'm afraid this may be a bit more difficult than we thought," he commented ruefully.