In the meantime, Duke was still puzzling over his dreams while Yugi stood by, watching him.
"You say I said what?!" the emerald-eyed boy gasped.
Yugi scratched his cheek. "You said something about burial at sea," he replied, frightening thoughts dancing through his head.
Duke winced. "When I was being beaten unconscious, I overheard them saying that they were going to lock me in the crate and then throw it in the water," he stated.
Yugi's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh!!!" he gasped.
Duke shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "It didn't happen, Yugi. I'm fine, even if I don't look it."
"I know, but still . . ." Yugi visibly shuddered. "Just the thought of it . . ."
Duke smirked weakly. "Not the most appealing way to go."
Yugi remember the other strange crates Mokuba had talked about. Suddenly an alarming possibility occurred to him. "Duke!" he burst out. "What if . . . what if those crates Mokuba thought looked like coffins . . . really were?" He whispered the last two words.
Duke's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't put it past them," he uttered softly.
****
Seto burst through into the room he shared with his little brother, calling for him desperately. The entire suite looked as though a tornado had blown right through the middle of it. Furniture was overturned, lamps were shattered, and there was a red substance on the walls that looked frighteningly like blood.
"What's . . . happened in here?!" Seto breathed, narrowing his eyes in anger at the sight of the mess. Where was Mokuba?!
A low moan came from behind the upsidedown couch and Seto immediately whirled to look. Ishizu was laying on the floor, her eyes closed. She seemed to be bleeding from a painful-looking cut on her neck.
Muttering to himself, Seto knelt down and gently shook Ishizu on the shoulder. "What happened?!" he demanded.
Ishizu moaned again and tried to open her eyes. "Kaiba . . . Mokuba is . . . he's . . ." She looked confused.
"Where is he?!" Seto said furiously.
Ishizu winced, touching the cut on her neck. "He . . . he . . ."
Before she could struggle to explain, a wicked laugh ricocheted around the room. "Oh, he's right here, Seto Kaiba."
Immediately Seto whirled around to see an unfamiliar person clutching his brother out over the balcony. Mokuba was gagged, but his eyes were full of terror as he stared at the concrete far below.
"MOKUBA!!!" Seto screamed, going to run forward.
"Kaiba . . . it's . . . a trap," Ishizu tried to say. "It's . . . dangerous . . ."
"The beautiful lady is quite right, Seto Kaiba," Mokuba's captor sneered, holding the little boy out farther.
Mokuba struggled vainly, managing to bite through the gag. "Seto!!! They want you, big brother!!!" he yelled. "Don't go with them, Seto!! Please!! Please don't!!"
Seto clenched his fists. "I'm the one you want. Leave Mokuba out of this!"
The man laughed. "Well, that wouldn't be as much fun, would it? After all, this is the perfect way to force you into doing what we want."
Seto had the horrible feeling that this man planned to drop Mokuba whether he agreed to go with them or not. He stared at the scene before him in frustration, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. I'll go with you. But only if you put my brother safely back here in the room," he added.
"Oh, you're so predictable, Seto Kaiba," the villain snickered.
Instantly half a dozen other thugs started surrounding Seto, each one looking more fearsome than the last, and all of them looking harder to beat by far than any of Vivalene's goons.
Seto glared. "You said you'd let Mokuba go," he growled. "Safely!"
Mokuba continued to struggle. "SETO!!! NO, you CAN'T go with them!!!" he wailed.
Ishizu slowly pulled herself to her feet, watching the scene and trying to think of something she could do. No one was paying any attention to her. If only there was a way she could do something to help Mokuba!
Without warning the man holding Mokuba was suddenly yanked forward by seemingly nothing and he gave a cry of horror. "There's a ghost in here!" he screamed, throwing Mokuba into the room, where he crashed right against the head thug and knocked him to the floor.
Seto smirked. "Well, any ghost that frees my brother from your filthy grasp is welcome here," he said, delivering a painful karate chop to another thug's midsection.
Ishizu managed to get a chair directly in the path of another criminal Seto was soon fighting with. The man went sprawling backwards over it, enabling Seto to get the upper hand.
"Get Mokuba out of here!" the teenage boy growled.
"But Seto . . .!!" Mokuba tried to protest.
"NOW!" Seto yelled sternly, leaving no room for arguments.
Swiftly Ishizu took Mokuba by the hand and led him off, despite his struggling and objecting.
"I have to help Seto!!" Mokuba wailed, grabbing at Ishizu's wrist and trying to pull himself free.
"Your brother will be fine," Ishizu told him, though inwardly she wasn't completely sure of that. "He would not want you to assist him here. Now come." In her heart she could understand the boy's torment, as she knew exactly how she would feel if she witnessed Marik or Rishid in trouble and couldn't help them. But she also knew that Mokuba might be harmed if he stayed and even that he might get used against his brother once again. The most important thing to Seto Kaiba right now was for Mokuba to be kept safe.
Instantly Ishizu's Millennium Tauk glowed brightly and the woman gasped as she began to have a short vision. In it, she saw another gang waiting right outside the door. She knew that if she and Mokuba left via that door, they would both be captured and used to lure Seto and Marik into danger.
"Seto!!" Mokuba screamed again, watching as his brother was thrown forcefully back against the wall.
Ishizu bit her lip. "Come," she said quietly, leading Mokuba into the small bathroom. "Look for the button that sounds the alarm," the woman directed. "In a case such as this, I do not think the hotel manager would complain if we used it."
"Alright," Mokuba agreed shakily, beginning the search. After a moment he grinned triumphantly. "Here!" he cried, pressing the red button with gusto.
A horrible wail sounded throughout the hotel, startling everyone there.
The main bully beating up on Seto froze, cursing inwardly. "That woman and the stupid kid!" he realized. "We should've killed them both! Now the place will be swarming with security guards and police any second!"
Seto brought a lamp down on his attacker's head. "Oh?" he said calmly. "Well, that's really what happens when you break the law. And I swear I'll throw the book at you for what you tried to do to my brother."
The man groaned dizzily. "I hope the book isn't as heavy as that lamp," he slurred, slumping to the floor.
Seto stood over him and then kicked backward, knocking one of the others off his feet without even looking. "No one defies the Kaibas and gets away with it," he muttered.
****
Rishid continued to cradle Marik's still body, rocking back and forth slightly. How could this have happened? How could Vivalene have just taken control of his body so fast? He hadn't even had the chance to resist! And now . . . now, because of that, Marik was . . . he was . . .
Suddenly the boy gave a weak moan and shuddered, not quite comprehending where he was or what was happening around him. His emotions were so muddled, so confused. . . . All he could remember were cold eyes boring into his. Strong hands trying to squeeze the life out of him. It had been Rishid who had done it. Rishid . . . his brother . . . his precious brother!
Rishid nearly dropped Marik from shock when he felt him move and then he shakily pulled back to look at him. "Master Marik?!" he cried, reverting back to his old habit of addressing the boy by that title.
"Rishid . . ." Marik wheezed now in delirium, "Rishid . . . please . . . don't hurt me again. . . . Please don't . . ." Had he known what he was saying, he never would have dreamed of uttering it. Rishid was innocent, he knew. Vivalene had done this. Not Rishid.
Tears spilled over Rishid's cheeks as he again enveloped Marik in his arms. "Forgive me, Master," he begged. "Please forgive me . . . I . . . I couldn't control it . . . I tried so hard to stop it. . . . I never wanted harm to befall you. . . . I never did. . . . I would gladly die for you . . . and instead . . . I have nearly caused your own death!"
Marik blinked as the tears splashed against his eyelids and struggled to focus, gulping in the welcome air. "Rishid . . ." He fumbled with his words, unable to string them together the way he wanted.
"I am not worthy to even be your servant," Rishid said quietly, Marik's father's evil remarks echoing painfully in his mind. It seemed that every single thing he had ever said to Rishid was intensified now, making it almost unbearable to stand.
These words brought Marik at last to full awareness. "Rishid, no!!" he cried, grabbing at the man's dark cloak. "Rishid, I know you couldn't control it! Please, brother, please do not blame yourself!! Vivalene is the one to blame!! She caused this! She controlled your body so you would attack me, but it wasn't you, Rishid!! I know it wasn't you!!"
Rishid stared at him wordlessly, many emotions coursing through his golden eyes. He barely even heard Marik now, as the elder Ishtar's expressions of anger and hatred were hammering so very loudly in the corridors of his mind that it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else.
"Rishid?" Marik's voice dropped to a whisper and a tear fell onto his brother's hand. "Rishid . . . don't call yourself a servant. You are not one!! Rishid . . . please . . ." He was openly crying now, distressed and concerned that he had had some part in Rishid's broken behavior. "You're my brother!!" the teenager screamed now. "Rishid, YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!" He grabbed the man and embraced him tightly, the sobs wracking his body. "I never want to hear you call yourself a servant again!! Do you hear me? NEVER!!"
At last Marik penetrated Rishid's confusion and despair. The golden-eyed Egyptian looked up, again gazing into the soft, earnest, lavender orbs of this boy he had sworn to always protect. Slowly the wicked, untrue statements of their father were pushed away, replaced by Marik's forceful, sincere screams of "YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!"
And it was true, Rishid realized. He was Marik's brother. He had always been Marik's brother. No matter what happened, no matter what others tried to say or do to destroy it, they would always be brothers, forever more! No amount of evil, cruel, heartless people's actions would ever change that. Marik loved him! He would always love him! And Rishid loved him as well.
Shakily Rishid reached out and grabbed Marik, holding him close. He clung to the boy for dear life, praying that they would never be separated, not in this life or the next. "Marik," he said finally, his words shining and clear, "Marik . . . my dear brother. . . . My precious brother. . . ."
Marik looked up at Rishid with joy. "Yes, Rishid!" he cried with a smile. "Yes!! We are brothers. Not master and servant, but equals!! Friends! Brothers!!"
"Brothers," Rishid repeated, also smiling.
How little Vivalene knows about true family, Marik thought to himself then. She thinks that everyone is as treacherous and unforgiving as she is. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Rishid, Ishizu, and I are a true family. We love each other more than anything and would each be willing to die if it meant the others would live. We would never betray each other or dream of deliberately doing anything to hurt one another in any way. I know Rishid would never purposely do a thing to bring harm to Ishizu or me. He has always only been good and kind and loyal.
Rishid was having similar thoughts. Perhaps someday Vivalene will learn the truth, he mused silently, his heart swelling with joy. Perhaps someday she will learn that her wicked plots shall never tear a true, loving family apart. Marik and Ishizu truly care for me, and I them. And our relationships shall never be changed. He felt almost awed, as if he were just becoming acutely aware of all this now. As he looked at his younger brother again, he felt a heavy burden being lifted from his heart. Their father's words bothered him no longer. Marik didn't believe them; he saw them for what they honestly were—despicable and evil and untrue. And now, Rishid could finally put them behind him as well.
Father never accepted Rishid into our family, Marik remembered, but then . . . he didn't understand what a true family was either. Rishid will always be a part of the true Ishtar family, whether Father likes it or not!
They embraced again, two brothers reunited on the battlefield of life—never to be separated.
****
When Yami Yugi and Alyson arrived back at the place where Joey, Tristan, and Mako had been holding the strange woman down, they found only destruction and chaos—and three very dazed boys.
"Man, is it just me or are there four of you, Yug?" Joey mumbled from where he was sprawled upsidedown.
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I am not Yugi," he replied, helping Joey up.
Joey blinked at him. "That woman's powers are out of this world!" he cried now as Tristan and Mako slowly got up as well.
"Where is she?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.
"She's gone, unfortunately," Mako said slowly.
"Can't anyone explain what's goin' on here?!" Joey wailed.
"Perhaps I can."
Everyone looked up at the sound of the new voice. A strange, middle-aged, bespectacled man was standing there, watching them.
"And who the heck are you?" Joey wanted to know.
"Martin Collsworth," was the reply. "I hear you've been looking for me."
"You say I said what?!" the emerald-eyed boy gasped.
Yugi scratched his cheek. "You said something about burial at sea," he replied, frightening thoughts dancing through his head.
Duke winced. "When I was being beaten unconscious, I overheard them saying that they were going to lock me in the crate and then throw it in the water," he stated.
Yugi's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh!!!" he gasped.
Duke shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "It didn't happen, Yugi. I'm fine, even if I don't look it."
"I know, but still . . ." Yugi visibly shuddered. "Just the thought of it . . ."
Duke smirked weakly. "Not the most appealing way to go."
Yugi remember the other strange crates Mokuba had talked about. Suddenly an alarming possibility occurred to him. "Duke!" he burst out. "What if . . . what if those crates Mokuba thought looked like coffins . . . really were?" He whispered the last two words.
Duke's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't put it past them," he uttered softly.
****
Seto burst through into the room he shared with his little brother, calling for him desperately. The entire suite looked as though a tornado had blown right through the middle of it. Furniture was overturned, lamps were shattered, and there was a red substance on the walls that looked frighteningly like blood.
"What's . . . happened in here?!" Seto breathed, narrowing his eyes in anger at the sight of the mess. Where was Mokuba?!
A low moan came from behind the upsidedown couch and Seto immediately whirled to look. Ishizu was laying on the floor, her eyes closed. She seemed to be bleeding from a painful-looking cut on her neck.
Muttering to himself, Seto knelt down and gently shook Ishizu on the shoulder. "What happened?!" he demanded.
Ishizu moaned again and tried to open her eyes. "Kaiba . . . Mokuba is . . . he's . . ." She looked confused.
"Where is he?!" Seto said furiously.
Ishizu winced, touching the cut on her neck. "He . . . he . . ."
Before she could struggle to explain, a wicked laugh ricocheted around the room. "Oh, he's right here, Seto Kaiba."
Immediately Seto whirled around to see an unfamiliar person clutching his brother out over the balcony. Mokuba was gagged, but his eyes were full of terror as he stared at the concrete far below.
"MOKUBA!!!" Seto screamed, going to run forward.
"Kaiba . . . it's . . . a trap," Ishizu tried to say. "It's . . . dangerous . . ."
"The beautiful lady is quite right, Seto Kaiba," Mokuba's captor sneered, holding the little boy out farther.
Mokuba struggled vainly, managing to bite through the gag. "Seto!!! They want you, big brother!!!" he yelled. "Don't go with them, Seto!! Please!! Please don't!!"
Seto clenched his fists. "I'm the one you want. Leave Mokuba out of this!"
The man laughed. "Well, that wouldn't be as much fun, would it? After all, this is the perfect way to force you into doing what we want."
Seto had the horrible feeling that this man planned to drop Mokuba whether he agreed to go with them or not. He stared at the scene before him in frustration, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. I'll go with you. But only if you put my brother safely back here in the room," he added.
"Oh, you're so predictable, Seto Kaiba," the villain snickered.
Instantly half a dozen other thugs started surrounding Seto, each one looking more fearsome than the last, and all of them looking harder to beat by far than any of Vivalene's goons.
Seto glared. "You said you'd let Mokuba go," he growled. "Safely!"
Mokuba continued to struggle. "SETO!!! NO, you CAN'T go with them!!!" he wailed.
Ishizu slowly pulled herself to her feet, watching the scene and trying to think of something she could do. No one was paying any attention to her. If only there was a way she could do something to help Mokuba!
Without warning the man holding Mokuba was suddenly yanked forward by seemingly nothing and he gave a cry of horror. "There's a ghost in here!" he screamed, throwing Mokuba into the room, where he crashed right against the head thug and knocked him to the floor.
Seto smirked. "Well, any ghost that frees my brother from your filthy grasp is welcome here," he said, delivering a painful karate chop to another thug's midsection.
Ishizu managed to get a chair directly in the path of another criminal Seto was soon fighting with. The man went sprawling backwards over it, enabling Seto to get the upper hand.
"Get Mokuba out of here!" the teenage boy growled.
"But Seto . . .!!" Mokuba tried to protest.
"NOW!" Seto yelled sternly, leaving no room for arguments.
Swiftly Ishizu took Mokuba by the hand and led him off, despite his struggling and objecting.
"I have to help Seto!!" Mokuba wailed, grabbing at Ishizu's wrist and trying to pull himself free.
"Your brother will be fine," Ishizu told him, though inwardly she wasn't completely sure of that. "He would not want you to assist him here. Now come." In her heart she could understand the boy's torment, as she knew exactly how she would feel if she witnessed Marik or Rishid in trouble and couldn't help them. But she also knew that Mokuba might be harmed if he stayed and even that he might get used against his brother once again. The most important thing to Seto Kaiba right now was for Mokuba to be kept safe.
Instantly Ishizu's Millennium Tauk glowed brightly and the woman gasped as she began to have a short vision. In it, she saw another gang waiting right outside the door. She knew that if she and Mokuba left via that door, they would both be captured and used to lure Seto and Marik into danger.
"Seto!!" Mokuba screamed again, watching as his brother was thrown forcefully back against the wall.
Ishizu bit her lip. "Come," she said quietly, leading Mokuba into the small bathroom. "Look for the button that sounds the alarm," the woman directed. "In a case such as this, I do not think the hotel manager would complain if we used it."
"Alright," Mokuba agreed shakily, beginning the search. After a moment he grinned triumphantly. "Here!" he cried, pressing the red button with gusto.
A horrible wail sounded throughout the hotel, startling everyone there.
The main bully beating up on Seto froze, cursing inwardly. "That woman and the stupid kid!" he realized. "We should've killed them both! Now the place will be swarming with security guards and police any second!"
Seto brought a lamp down on his attacker's head. "Oh?" he said calmly. "Well, that's really what happens when you break the law. And I swear I'll throw the book at you for what you tried to do to my brother."
The man groaned dizzily. "I hope the book isn't as heavy as that lamp," he slurred, slumping to the floor.
Seto stood over him and then kicked backward, knocking one of the others off his feet without even looking. "No one defies the Kaibas and gets away with it," he muttered.
****
Rishid continued to cradle Marik's still body, rocking back and forth slightly. How could this have happened? How could Vivalene have just taken control of his body so fast? He hadn't even had the chance to resist! And now . . . now, because of that, Marik was . . . he was . . .
Suddenly the boy gave a weak moan and shuddered, not quite comprehending where he was or what was happening around him. His emotions were so muddled, so confused. . . . All he could remember were cold eyes boring into his. Strong hands trying to squeeze the life out of him. It had been Rishid who had done it. Rishid . . . his brother . . . his precious brother!
Rishid nearly dropped Marik from shock when he felt him move and then he shakily pulled back to look at him. "Master Marik?!" he cried, reverting back to his old habit of addressing the boy by that title.
"Rishid . . ." Marik wheezed now in delirium, "Rishid . . . please . . . don't hurt me again. . . . Please don't . . ." Had he known what he was saying, he never would have dreamed of uttering it. Rishid was innocent, he knew. Vivalene had done this. Not Rishid.
Tears spilled over Rishid's cheeks as he again enveloped Marik in his arms. "Forgive me, Master," he begged. "Please forgive me . . . I . . . I couldn't control it . . . I tried so hard to stop it. . . . I never wanted harm to befall you. . . . I never did. . . . I would gladly die for you . . . and instead . . . I have nearly caused your own death!"
Marik blinked as the tears splashed against his eyelids and struggled to focus, gulping in the welcome air. "Rishid . . ." He fumbled with his words, unable to string them together the way he wanted.
"I am not worthy to even be your servant," Rishid said quietly, Marik's father's evil remarks echoing painfully in his mind. It seemed that every single thing he had ever said to Rishid was intensified now, making it almost unbearable to stand.
These words brought Marik at last to full awareness. "Rishid, no!!" he cried, grabbing at the man's dark cloak. "Rishid, I know you couldn't control it! Please, brother, please do not blame yourself!! Vivalene is the one to blame!! She caused this! She controlled your body so you would attack me, but it wasn't you, Rishid!! I know it wasn't you!!"
Rishid stared at him wordlessly, many emotions coursing through his golden eyes. He barely even heard Marik now, as the elder Ishtar's expressions of anger and hatred were hammering so very loudly in the corridors of his mind that it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything else.
"Rishid?" Marik's voice dropped to a whisper and a tear fell onto his brother's hand. "Rishid . . . don't call yourself a servant. You are not one!! Rishid . . . please . . ." He was openly crying now, distressed and concerned that he had had some part in Rishid's broken behavior. "You're my brother!!" the teenager screamed now. "Rishid, YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!" He grabbed the man and embraced him tightly, the sobs wracking his body. "I never want to hear you call yourself a servant again!! Do you hear me? NEVER!!"
At last Marik penetrated Rishid's confusion and despair. The golden-eyed Egyptian looked up, again gazing into the soft, earnest, lavender orbs of this boy he had sworn to always protect. Slowly the wicked, untrue statements of their father were pushed away, replaced by Marik's forceful, sincere screams of "YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!!"
And it was true, Rishid realized. He was Marik's brother. He had always been Marik's brother. No matter what happened, no matter what others tried to say or do to destroy it, they would always be brothers, forever more! No amount of evil, cruel, heartless people's actions would ever change that. Marik loved him! He would always love him! And Rishid loved him as well.
Shakily Rishid reached out and grabbed Marik, holding him close. He clung to the boy for dear life, praying that they would never be separated, not in this life or the next. "Marik," he said finally, his words shining and clear, "Marik . . . my dear brother. . . . My precious brother. . . ."
Marik looked up at Rishid with joy. "Yes, Rishid!" he cried with a smile. "Yes!! We are brothers. Not master and servant, but equals!! Friends! Brothers!!"
"Brothers," Rishid repeated, also smiling.
How little Vivalene knows about true family, Marik thought to himself then. She thinks that everyone is as treacherous and unforgiving as she is. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Rishid, Ishizu, and I are a true family. We love each other more than anything and would each be willing to die if it meant the others would live. We would never betray each other or dream of deliberately doing anything to hurt one another in any way. I know Rishid would never purposely do a thing to bring harm to Ishizu or me. He has always only been good and kind and loyal.
Rishid was having similar thoughts. Perhaps someday Vivalene will learn the truth, he mused silently, his heart swelling with joy. Perhaps someday she will learn that her wicked plots shall never tear a true, loving family apart. Marik and Ishizu truly care for me, and I them. And our relationships shall never be changed. He felt almost awed, as if he were just becoming acutely aware of all this now. As he looked at his younger brother again, he felt a heavy burden being lifted from his heart. Their father's words bothered him no longer. Marik didn't believe them; he saw them for what they honestly were—despicable and evil and untrue. And now, Rishid could finally put them behind him as well.
Father never accepted Rishid into our family, Marik remembered, but then . . . he didn't understand what a true family was either. Rishid will always be a part of the true Ishtar family, whether Father likes it or not!
They embraced again, two brothers reunited on the battlefield of life—never to be separated.
****
When Yami Yugi and Alyson arrived back at the place where Joey, Tristan, and Mako had been holding the strange woman down, they found only destruction and chaos—and three very dazed boys.
"Man, is it just me or are there four of you, Yug?" Joey mumbled from where he was sprawled upsidedown.
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I am not Yugi," he replied, helping Joey up.
Joey blinked at him. "That woman's powers are out of this world!" he cried now as Tristan and Mako slowly got up as well.
"Where is she?" Yami Yugi wanted to know.
"She's gone, unfortunately," Mako said slowly.
"Can't anyone explain what's goin' on here?!" Joey wailed.
"Perhaps I can."
Everyone looked up at the sound of the new voice. A strange, middle-aged, bespectacled man was standing there, watching them.
"And who the heck are you?" Joey wanted to know.
"Martin Collsworth," was the reply. "I hear you've been looking for me."