Everyone stared at the spot where the mysterious man had been only a moment before.
"Who was that guy?!" Joey burst out.
"He is a friend," Kamara spoke up, emerging from where she was hidden in the corner. "He stayed with me until you all arrived. He told me many things—of dangers, of hope, and of how things may turn out if we all work together and trust in a Higher Power."
"But who is he?" Yugi asked, blinking in confusion.
"He did not give his name," Kamara replied, "but I suppose that does not really matter anyway. If it had been necessary, I am certain he would have told me."
"I suppose he got in the same way he went out?" Viper said as she locked the door behind the last of the group.
Kamara nodded. "He was just here all of a sudden."
Martin sank down into his favorite chair. "Well, at least he wasn't here to do harm."
Everyone else sat as well, tense and on edge.
"When are we gonna get my brother back?!" Mokuba cried, breaking the silence.
"Soon," Yami Yugi assured him. "But first we must know more of what we are up against."
"Of course," Martin nodded. "Well, these pirates have been doing their smuggling for quite some time now. At first I thought they were just another ordinary group of jewel larcenists, but then I took a closer look at the list of what they specialized in stealing."
"Which was?" Joey interrupted impatiently.
"In addition to the jewels, which I decided later were just a front for their darker activities, they have been taking ancient Egyptian artifacts of every shape and sort," Martin said grimly. "They have been doing this since January."
"Wasn't that when Seth popped up with that staff of his?" Joey said with a blink.
"Yes," Marik nodded. He remembered that time period very well, for he had been having quite the escapades of his own back then.
"Shadi told me that a great evil has been building ever since then," Yugi spoke up slowly.
There was a silence at the mention of Shadi's name.
"This Shadi person was right," Martin said at last. "And I suspect these pirates have been behind a great deal of it."
"So . . . what kind of monster are they trying to bring to life?" Téa asked hesitantly.
"A horrible creature that terrorized the world many thousands of years ago," Martin told her grimly. "No one could stop its horrible rampage until two formerly wicked people bravely stepped forward and challenged it. They managed to defeat it for what was hoped all time. But . . ." Here he paused in his tale, narrowing his eyes. "An evil sorcerer later made a prophecy that, just as those who had repented of their wickedness destroyed the creature, the blood of others who had done the same could be offered up to bring it back to life."
Marik gasped and then became angry. "I will not allow myself to be used in such a way to revive that beast!" he declared.
"And I will not allow it either," Rishid vowed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"I found out about all of this," Kamara said quietly, "and that was when the pirates came after me. They couldn't run the risk of my finding those who could stop them and telling all. But . . ." She gave a conspiratory smile. "I believe I have already done that." Her expression became serious. "You—all of you—are the ones destined to stop this evil plot."
"Then we'll do it!" Yugi said vehemently.
"Do you know where their hideout is?" Yami Yugi asked.
Martin sighed. "I have not as yet been able to determine that. But there several ways of finding out. . . ."
Kamara shook her head. "I will not allow anyone to be used as bait, unless it is me. I have a part in all of this as well, and I must not be afraid of it."
Ishizu gazed at the girl. She was so strong . . . so brave. . . . But still . . . she couldn't bear the thought of one younger even than Marik sacrificing herself when she had so much of her life ahead of her.
"I resemble you very much," Ishizu spoke up now. "I could go as the 'bait' and try to infiltrate the pirates' hideout."
"No!!" Kamara said loudly. "This is my responsibility. I do not want to leave you at the mercy of those barbarians!"
Trying to figure out a different, safer solution for everyone, Yugi thought a moment and then spoke up again. "What if their hideout is down near the docks somewhere?" he suggested.
Everyone agreed that would make sense.
"Well, maybe we could all get disguised and head down there and see if we could spot any of them," Yugi continued. "Then we could figure out a good way to get into their hideout once we know exactly what we were dealing with."
"We only have till tonight," Yami Yugi said.
"What happens if they don't get a second person by the full moon?" Téa wanted to know. "Won't it be impossible for them to release their beast?"
"There is always the next full moon," Yami Yugi replied.
"Yes," Martin nodded. "If they do not succeed tonight, they will go into hiding with their prisoner until next month and then try again."
"But Seto won't let that happen!!" Mokuba wailed. "And I won't either!!"
"There has to be some solution we can all agree on," Rishid said softly.
"Well . . ." Martin closed his eyes. "There is another part to the prophecy, telling how to get rid of the beast permanently."
"Which would be how?" Marik demanded. He wasn't prepared for the answer.
"Not only do you and Kaiba have the power to bring the thing to life with your blood, you have been given the power to destroy it as well."
****
Rex opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling, trying to focus. Where the heck was he?!
"So . . . you're awake, are you?"
He blinked, taking in Mai Valentine standing over him with her arms crossed and a bit of a smirk on her face.
"Yeah . . . I'm awake," he said slowly, secretly relieved to see that she was alright.
Mai half-turned. "Good." She tried to figure out how to phrase things without sounding too soft. "At first . . . no one knew if you were going to make it."
"I wasn't hurt that bad," Rex grunted, struggling to sit up and failing.
Mai turned back, looking into Rex's dark eyes. "Why did you save me?" she asked.
Rex stared back at her and then narrowed his eyes defensively. "Hey! I've still gotta beat you at Duel Monsters!" he said then.
Mai raised an eyebrow. "It would be hard to do that if you'd have wound up fatally injuring yourself," she commented.
Rex leaned back into the pillows in frustration. "You wanna know the truth?" he said at last.
"I'd love to," Mai said dryly.
"The truth is . . . I don't know why I did it," Rex replied quietly. "I saw that he was aiming for you and . . . it was kind of an instantaneous reaction. I just lunged forward and pushed you out of the way." He shrugged helplessly.
"Hmmm." Mai studied him for another minute and then glanced out the window before turning to go. "Well . . . I never thought I'd be saying this to you . . . but . . . I owe you one." Before Rex had a chance to respond, the girl had reached the door and was opening it. "But don't think you'll ever beat me at Duel Monsters," she smirked.
****
Serenity, meanwhile, hadn't slept as peacefully as the others had thought. She stared out her window now at the oncoming dawn, worrying about her brother.
Where could Joey be? she thought to herself. Is he hurt somewhere? Why isn't he back yet? She did know about Martin Collsworths' arrival, as Alyson had come and told her shortly after the others had all left.
Slowly she walked to the door and inched it open, wondering if she was the only one still there in the hotel. Hearing voices to her right, the auburn-haired girl blinked and headed for the half-open door across the hall. "Tristan? Duke?" she called softly.
The door was flung all the way open by a smiling Tristan. "Serenity!" he exclaimed. "How are you? Did you sleep well?"
Serenity smiled weakly. "As well as I could, under the circumstances," she said. "Do you know where Joey is?" she asked urgently.
"Joey?" Tristan repeated. "Sorry . . . I don't know where he's gotten himself by now."
"I thought they were all going out to Martin's hideout," Duke spoke up. "Wherever that is. . . ."
"Why can't he call or something to let us know how he is?!" Serenity lamented.
"I don't know," Tristan answered truthfully. "Maybe he's gotten involved in something major and can't get to a phone."
"I hope he's okay," Serenity whispered, wringing her hands.
"Hey, this is Joey we're talking about," Tristan said brightly. "I'm sure he's fine!"
Serenity smiled weakly. "I know he can take care of himself, but solving these mysteries sounds so dangerous!" she declared. "I can't believe this is the tenth one!"
"Believe it," Tristan replied. "I don't know how we do it either, really. . . ." He trailed off, remembering all of their misadventures during the time they'd been amateur sleuths and hoping that Serenity wouldn't wind up getting in trouble because of it all. Siblings often seemed to get used against each other on their cases, and he was afraid that one day someone would use Serenity against Joey.
Abruptly the door burst open and Alyson's grandmother rolled herself in with her wheelchair. "Have any of you seen Alyson?" she asked urgently.
"No," Tristan said slowly in confusion.
"Why?" Duke blinked his emerald eyes worriedly. "Is she missing?"
The elderly woman held out a piece of paper. "Well . . . she left this. I'm just afraid of what she's getting into!"
Tristan took the paper and stared at it. "Oh man," he breathed softly.
Grandma—
I know what I havta do now
with the Ankh. I've gotta go
take care of it, but I'll be back!
I promise!
I love you!
—Alyson
"I don't know where she could have gone!" the elderly woman cried, shaking her head.
"Well, I don't either," Tristan said, "but we're gonna find out!"
****
Marik stared at Martin incredulously. "And what exactly do you mean by this statement?" he wanted to know.
Martin gave him a secret smile. "You will know when the time is right," he predicted.
Marik leaned back into the soft couch, looking frustrated. "Well, in the meantime, we still have to find a solution for our current problem," he said. "Somehow we have to find these pirates and see where they're hiding out!" A new thought came to him and he narrowed his lavender eyes. "Perhaps I should be the 'bait,'" he suggested in a low voice.
"What?! Marik, no!!!" Ishizu cried.
"Brother, you can't possibly . . ." Rishid began.
Marik held up his hand for silence. "Just hear me out," he pleaded. "If this is true, that Kaiba and I are the ones who can permanently destroy this creature, then . . ." His gaze turned steely. "Perhaps I must allow the pirates to take me prisoner for this to happen."
Ishizu enveloped Marik in her arms, tears slipping from her eyes. "No, brother, no," she sobbed. "You cannot give yourself up! They will kill you!!"
Rishid and Mokuba looked equally horrified at Marik's remarks, even though they knew that he could be right. Of course the thought that he was only made it even more of a horror to them.
Kamara spoke up evenly. "I already said that this part fell to me," she said. "It is my destiny now to fall into their hands in order to assist the rest of you." The girl paused. "The mysterious veiled man told me so."
"Well, hey, it's not like everything he says has to be taken seriously!" Joey burst out. "We don't even know who he is!"
The third eye glowed on Yami Yugi's forehead. "I sense, however, that he is correct on this," the Pharaoh declared. "Kamara must go."
Tears filled Yugi's eyes. "But Yami, what if . . ." He trailed off.
"I am honored to help in any way I can," Kamara said sincerely.
Mako had stayed pretty much silent throughout all of this conversation. He never could have dreamed that the search for his father would have evolved into a situation of such immense seriousness as this. He could only pray that his father, wherever he was, wasn't mixed up in it somehow.
****
Bakura watched as his Yami suddenly started awake, his slanted brown eyes snapping open. Oreo gave a muffled meow of surprise from inside the thief's shirt, peeking up slightly so that her ears and eyes showed.
"Yami, what is it?" Bakura exclaimed.
The tomb raider didn't answer and instead sprang to his feet, muttering various curses in Egyptian. "MORON!!" he screamed finally.
Bakura turned pink and was very relieved that they were the only ones in the room. "Yami, what on earth is the matter?!" he demanded.
"A monster so terrible you can't even imagine what it looks like is about to be unleashed on the city," Yami Bakura hissed. "There are only a few hours to stop it!! We have to get out of here now!! We shouldn't have ever come!!"
Bakura gasped, staring out the window. "Yami?" he said very shakily, not having heard the old tomb robber's last comment.
"What?!" the thief snapped.
"Are you certain it hasn't already been unleashed?" Bakura pointed nervously to where a horrible beast was attempting to come through the window!
"Who was that guy?!" Joey burst out.
"He is a friend," Kamara spoke up, emerging from where she was hidden in the corner. "He stayed with me until you all arrived. He told me many things—of dangers, of hope, and of how things may turn out if we all work together and trust in a Higher Power."
"But who is he?" Yugi asked, blinking in confusion.
"He did not give his name," Kamara replied, "but I suppose that does not really matter anyway. If it had been necessary, I am certain he would have told me."
"I suppose he got in the same way he went out?" Viper said as she locked the door behind the last of the group.
Kamara nodded. "He was just here all of a sudden."
Martin sank down into his favorite chair. "Well, at least he wasn't here to do harm."
Everyone else sat as well, tense and on edge.
"When are we gonna get my brother back?!" Mokuba cried, breaking the silence.
"Soon," Yami Yugi assured him. "But first we must know more of what we are up against."
"Of course," Martin nodded. "Well, these pirates have been doing their smuggling for quite some time now. At first I thought they were just another ordinary group of jewel larcenists, but then I took a closer look at the list of what they specialized in stealing."
"Which was?" Joey interrupted impatiently.
"In addition to the jewels, which I decided later were just a front for their darker activities, they have been taking ancient Egyptian artifacts of every shape and sort," Martin said grimly. "They have been doing this since January."
"Wasn't that when Seth popped up with that staff of his?" Joey said with a blink.
"Yes," Marik nodded. He remembered that time period very well, for he had been having quite the escapades of his own back then.
"Shadi told me that a great evil has been building ever since then," Yugi spoke up slowly.
There was a silence at the mention of Shadi's name.
"This Shadi person was right," Martin said at last. "And I suspect these pirates have been behind a great deal of it."
"So . . . what kind of monster are they trying to bring to life?" Téa asked hesitantly.
"A horrible creature that terrorized the world many thousands of years ago," Martin told her grimly. "No one could stop its horrible rampage until two formerly wicked people bravely stepped forward and challenged it. They managed to defeat it for what was hoped all time. But . . ." Here he paused in his tale, narrowing his eyes. "An evil sorcerer later made a prophecy that, just as those who had repented of their wickedness destroyed the creature, the blood of others who had done the same could be offered up to bring it back to life."
Marik gasped and then became angry. "I will not allow myself to be used in such a way to revive that beast!" he declared.
"And I will not allow it either," Rishid vowed, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"I found out about all of this," Kamara said quietly, "and that was when the pirates came after me. They couldn't run the risk of my finding those who could stop them and telling all. But . . ." She gave a conspiratory smile. "I believe I have already done that." Her expression became serious. "You—all of you—are the ones destined to stop this evil plot."
"Then we'll do it!" Yugi said vehemently.
"Do you know where their hideout is?" Yami Yugi asked.
Martin sighed. "I have not as yet been able to determine that. But there several ways of finding out. . . ."
Kamara shook her head. "I will not allow anyone to be used as bait, unless it is me. I have a part in all of this as well, and I must not be afraid of it."
Ishizu gazed at the girl. She was so strong . . . so brave. . . . But still . . . she couldn't bear the thought of one younger even than Marik sacrificing herself when she had so much of her life ahead of her.
"I resemble you very much," Ishizu spoke up now. "I could go as the 'bait' and try to infiltrate the pirates' hideout."
"No!!" Kamara said loudly. "This is my responsibility. I do not want to leave you at the mercy of those barbarians!"
Trying to figure out a different, safer solution for everyone, Yugi thought a moment and then spoke up again. "What if their hideout is down near the docks somewhere?" he suggested.
Everyone agreed that would make sense.
"Well, maybe we could all get disguised and head down there and see if we could spot any of them," Yugi continued. "Then we could figure out a good way to get into their hideout once we know exactly what we were dealing with."
"We only have till tonight," Yami Yugi said.
"What happens if they don't get a second person by the full moon?" Téa wanted to know. "Won't it be impossible for them to release their beast?"
"There is always the next full moon," Yami Yugi replied.
"Yes," Martin nodded. "If they do not succeed tonight, they will go into hiding with their prisoner until next month and then try again."
"But Seto won't let that happen!!" Mokuba wailed. "And I won't either!!"
"There has to be some solution we can all agree on," Rishid said softly.
"Well . . ." Martin closed his eyes. "There is another part to the prophecy, telling how to get rid of the beast permanently."
"Which would be how?" Marik demanded. He wasn't prepared for the answer.
"Not only do you and Kaiba have the power to bring the thing to life with your blood, you have been given the power to destroy it as well."
****
Rex opened his eyes slowly and stared up at the ceiling, trying to focus. Where the heck was he?!
"So . . . you're awake, are you?"
He blinked, taking in Mai Valentine standing over him with her arms crossed and a bit of a smirk on her face.
"Yeah . . . I'm awake," he said slowly, secretly relieved to see that she was alright.
Mai half-turned. "Good." She tried to figure out how to phrase things without sounding too soft. "At first . . . no one knew if you were going to make it."
"I wasn't hurt that bad," Rex grunted, struggling to sit up and failing.
Mai turned back, looking into Rex's dark eyes. "Why did you save me?" she asked.
Rex stared back at her and then narrowed his eyes defensively. "Hey! I've still gotta beat you at Duel Monsters!" he said then.
Mai raised an eyebrow. "It would be hard to do that if you'd have wound up fatally injuring yourself," she commented.
Rex leaned back into the pillows in frustration. "You wanna know the truth?" he said at last.
"I'd love to," Mai said dryly.
"The truth is . . . I don't know why I did it," Rex replied quietly. "I saw that he was aiming for you and . . . it was kind of an instantaneous reaction. I just lunged forward and pushed you out of the way." He shrugged helplessly.
"Hmmm." Mai studied him for another minute and then glanced out the window before turning to go. "Well . . . I never thought I'd be saying this to you . . . but . . . I owe you one." Before Rex had a chance to respond, the girl had reached the door and was opening it. "But don't think you'll ever beat me at Duel Monsters," she smirked.
****
Serenity, meanwhile, hadn't slept as peacefully as the others had thought. She stared out her window now at the oncoming dawn, worrying about her brother.
Where could Joey be? she thought to herself. Is he hurt somewhere? Why isn't he back yet? She did know about Martin Collsworths' arrival, as Alyson had come and told her shortly after the others had all left.
Slowly she walked to the door and inched it open, wondering if she was the only one still there in the hotel. Hearing voices to her right, the auburn-haired girl blinked and headed for the half-open door across the hall. "Tristan? Duke?" she called softly.
The door was flung all the way open by a smiling Tristan. "Serenity!" he exclaimed. "How are you? Did you sleep well?"
Serenity smiled weakly. "As well as I could, under the circumstances," she said. "Do you know where Joey is?" she asked urgently.
"Joey?" Tristan repeated. "Sorry . . . I don't know where he's gotten himself by now."
"I thought they were all going out to Martin's hideout," Duke spoke up. "Wherever that is. . . ."
"Why can't he call or something to let us know how he is?!" Serenity lamented.
"I don't know," Tristan answered truthfully. "Maybe he's gotten involved in something major and can't get to a phone."
"I hope he's okay," Serenity whispered, wringing her hands.
"Hey, this is Joey we're talking about," Tristan said brightly. "I'm sure he's fine!"
Serenity smiled weakly. "I know he can take care of himself, but solving these mysteries sounds so dangerous!" she declared. "I can't believe this is the tenth one!"
"Believe it," Tristan replied. "I don't know how we do it either, really. . . ." He trailed off, remembering all of their misadventures during the time they'd been amateur sleuths and hoping that Serenity wouldn't wind up getting in trouble because of it all. Siblings often seemed to get used against each other on their cases, and he was afraid that one day someone would use Serenity against Joey.
Abruptly the door burst open and Alyson's grandmother rolled herself in with her wheelchair. "Have any of you seen Alyson?" she asked urgently.
"No," Tristan said slowly in confusion.
"Why?" Duke blinked his emerald eyes worriedly. "Is she missing?"
The elderly woman held out a piece of paper. "Well . . . she left this. I'm just afraid of what she's getting into!"
Tristan took the paper and stared at it. "Oh man," he breathed softly.
Grandma—
I know what I havta do now
with the Ankh. I've gotta go
take care of it, but I'll be back!
I promise!
I love you!
—Alyson
"I don't know where she could have gone!" the elderly woman cried, shaking her head.
"Well, I don't either," Tristan said, "but we're gonna find out!"
****
Marik stared at Martin incredulously. "And what exactly do you mean by this statement?" he wanted to know.
Martin gave him a secret smile. "You will know when the time is right," he predicted.
Marik leaned back into the soft couch, looking frustrated. "Well, in the meantime, we still have to find a solution for our current problem," he said. "Somehow we have to find these pirates and see where they're hiding out!" A new thought came to him and he narrowed his lavender eyes. "Perhaps I should be the 'bait,'" he suggested in a low voice.
"What?! Marik, no!!!" Ishizu cried.
"Brother, you can't possibly . . ." Rishid began.
Marik held up his hand for silence. "Just hear me out," he pleaded. "If this is true, that Kaiba and I are the ones who can permanently destroy this creature, then . . ." His gaze turned steely. "Perhaps I must allow the pirates to take me prisoner for this to happen."
Ishizu enveloped Marik in her arms, tears slipping from her eyes. "No, brother, no," she sobbed. "You cannot give yourself up! They will kill you!!"
Rishid and Mokuba looked equally horrified at Marik's remarks, even though they knew that he could be right. Of course the thought that he was only made it even more of a horror to them.
Kamara spoke up evenly. "I already said that this part fell to me," she said. "It is my destiny now to fall into their hands in order to assist the rest of you." The girl paused. "The mysterious veiled man told me so."
"Well, hey, it's not like everything he says has to be taken seriously!" Joey burst out. "We don't even know who he is!"
The third eye glowed on Yami Yugi's forehead. "I sense, however, that he is correct on this," the Pharaoh declared. "Kamara must go."
Tears filled Yugi's eyes. "But Yami, what if . . ." He trailed off.
"I am honored to help in any way I can," Kamara said sincerely.
Mako had stayed pretty much silent throughout all of this conversation. He never could have dreamed that the search for his father would have evolved into a situation of such immense seriousness as this. He could only pray that his father, wherever he was, wasn't mixed up in it somehow.
****
Bakura watched as his Yami suddenly started awake, his slanted brown eyes snapping open. Oreo gave a muffled meow of surprise from inside the thief's shirt, peeking up slightly so that her ears and eyes showed.
"Yami, what is it?" Bakura exclaimed.
The tomb raider didn't answer and instead sprang to his feet, muttering various curses in Egyptian. "MORON!!" he screamed finally.
Bakura turned pink and was very relieved that they were the only ones in the room. "Yami, what on earth is the matter?!" he demanded.
"A monster so terrible you can't even imagine what it looks like is about to be unleashed on the city," Yami Bakura hissed. "There are only a few hours to stop it!! We have to get out of here now!! We shouldn't have ever come!!"
Bakura gasped, staring out the window. "Yami?" he said very shakily, not having heard the old tomb robber's last comment.
"What?!" the thief snapped.
"Are you certain it hasn't already been unleashed?" Bakura pointed nervously to where a horrible beast was attempting to come through the window!