Everyone gazed at JP in apparent disbelief.
"Fanged beast?" Yugi repeated.
"It was probably a large dog," Seto grumbled.
JP sighed. "Admittedly, I have no way of knowing what it was. But all the evidence points to a werewolf. After it jumped at me, I ducked and tried to throw something at it, but nothing could seem to make it stop. I didn't know what I was going to do . . . but then I heard a weird noise, like a motor, and the creature turned tailed and ran into the shadows. A moment later Phil appeared."
Joey's eyes were wide in astonishment. "And he claimed he hadn't seen any weird dog?"
"That's right," JP nodded.
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "It's all circumstantial. I personally do not believe in werewolves."
JP grinned sheepishly. "Me either, but it does seem kinda suspicious after all this."
Seto didn't look impressed. "This is wasting my time. I don't have to listen to this nonsense." He rose, preparing to leave. "Let's go, Mokuba."
"Wait, Seto!" Mokuba protested. "What if there is some dog loose here? Wouldn't someone need to be told?"
"I did tell animal control," JP said slowly, "but they never found anything."
Marik leaned forward with a sigh. He wasn't thrilled with the way the new mystery was going. The last thing he wanted was to deal with werewolves—something he didn't believe existed.
"So while Bakura works undercover, what do you want the rest of us to do?" Tristan asked.
"Just . . . act like you're having a great time," JP smiled. "Be inconspicuous! Wander around the station and say that I gave you the green light."
"Okay," Yugi said hesitantly. "But how long have weird things been going on here?"
"It just started recently," JP replied. "Curiously, it began shortly after Phil came."
****
Yami Bakura was champing at the bit to get on the air. Bakura could tell that when they did, the thief would try to make some sort of announcement, and the boy wasn't anxious for a war of the microphone.
Oreo pawed at the microphone now, causing the device to make a sound of protest. The cat meowed in approval, rubbing up against it.
"She was born for the mic!" Bruce grinned. "This is going to be the best Mystery Hour yet!"
Bakura stood to the side reluctantly, wishing he wouldn't have to go through with this. But he'd already said he would, so there wasn't anything he could do but go.
"You're on in five seconds!" Bruce yelled.
Bakura gulped as he reached for the microphone. Before he could greet the listeners as the On the Air button flashed red, Oreo beat him to it.
"MEOOOW!!" she cried loudly.
Instantly the poor boy went as red as the button. "Oh, um, that was my cat," he said feebly, trying to laugh. "We seem to be doing the Mystery Hour tonight . . ."
"That's right," Yami Bakura growled as he snatched the mic away. "And fear shall be struck into the heart of every mortal who is listening tonight! For strange creatures prowl the streets on this damp, cold October, waiting to attack and force you into their furry army!"
Bakura's mouth dropped open. "Yami, what are you doing??!!" he practically screamed.
"Just watch and see," the thief smirked.
"I'm afraid to," Bakura moaned.
****
In the meantime, the others were roaming through the station, just as JP had directed.
Marik had found himself down in the basement, all alone. He had been with Ishizu and Rishid, but somehow they had become separated during a bit of confusion between the firefighters and Phil Court.
He peered around a corner, memories returning to him. He couldn't forget how Vivalene had once been working at KETY. That vile woman. . . .
But that was all over now. He had to concentrate on the present situation.
Slowly the boy clicked on the light, narrowing his eyes as he noticed blood splashed on the walls. Whose blood? How had it gotten there?
He advanced carefully, inspecting the blood to see if it was fresh. To his concern, he found that it, indeed, was.
"Someone was harmed here, very recently," the Egyptian boy muttered.
The basement was littered with old cardboard and Styrofoam cartons that had once held equipment and CDs for the station. As Marik crept down through the mostly bare, mildew-filled rooms, he had the distinct feeling that something was following him. The strange dog, perhaps? He clutched the Rod tightly to him, ready to use it in an instant if it became necessary. Several times he turned around abruptly, trying to catch his assailant by surprise, but never was he able to catch sight of anyone. Though he wouldn't admit it, the boy was starting to feel quite uneasy.
Finally he came to the very back of the basement and found a door with a staircase outside it, leading upward to the vacant field in back of the station. He was about to turn around and go back when he heard a vicious snarling behind him. It *was* the dog!
Before Marik could do a thing about it, the creature was springing in the air to attack. He fell backwards as he tried to avoid it, falling against the door. The dog slammed into him in the next instant, sending him right through the glass and to the concrete on the other side.
Furiously the boy stabbed at his assailant with the dagger in the Rod, hoping to slow it down. Desperately he prayed that at least it wouldn't go back in the station and terrorize his loved ones. Making up his mind, he went up the stairs carefully with his back to them, preparing to try using the Rod's powers on the creature once they were in the open field.
He never did get that chance.
A loud motor roared just behind him as he got to the top, and the dog suddenly barreled the poor boy over to rush to the private jet that was preparing to take off.
"What the devil?!" Marik yelped, struggling up to stare at the airplane. Where had it come from? What was it doing behind the KETY studios? And why was the dog running toward it as though the world would end if it didn't?!
"Lights out, bucko," a nasty voice hissed. In the next second, something hard struck Marik on the head and he blacked out.
****
A spooky, B-movie laugh echoed through the room as Yami Bakura continued to refuse to let Bakura have the microphone.
"Domino City is full of curious creatures tonight," the thief said in the sort of dangerous, low tone that was infamous on old thriller radio shows. "They could be peering through your window right at this moment, but you'd never know it. And then in the next instant . . ." He made a sound that was a reference to death.
"Yami, I'm sure everyone has heard quite enough of that!" Bakura exclaimed in horror, grabbing at the microphone. "Um, he's just joking," he tried to say for the audience's benefit. "For Halloween, you know?"
"Who's joking?" Yami Bakura said calmly.
"MEOOW!" Oreo yowled suddenly, taking the microphone between her paws and licking it.
"CAT!!!!!!" Yami Bakura screamed. "That isn't FOOD!! What? Do you think it resembles a shish-kebab?!"
"Meow," Oreo replied lazily.
****
"What's going on, Seto?" Mokuba asked as he followed his big brother down the hall.
"I'm going to talk to Bruce myself about the fire and anything else that may have happened," Seto told him.
"But what if he is guilty?" Mokuba asked.
Seto grunted. "Then he'll just have to realize that I'll bring him down. I'm tired of nonsense going on at the places I own."
The boy wasn't any more impressed when he walked past an open door and saw Joey pretending to be a deejay.
"Yeah, you're tuned in to Jammin' Joey for another hour of rockin' and rollin' fun!" the Brooklyn boy chirped, chuckling as he adjusted the headset he was wearing.
"Heh. I wonder if all of Domino City is fleeing in terror."
Instantly Joey froze, knowing that Seto had heard him. An embarrassed grin spread across his face, though he made certain not to turn and let the CEO see. "Hey, I'd have plenty of listeners!" he said defensively. "Heck, I bet more people would wanna hear me crank out the tunes than listen to you make some speech about politics or a new economical system. BO-RING!"
Seto snorted in response and turned away, only to be intercepted by Bruce.
"What's going on here?!" the high-strung man demanded.
"Eh, just havin' some fun," Joey replied, setting the headphones down and coming over.
"Fun?! FUN??!!" Bruce wailed. "You interrupted Bakura with your drivel! You went on the air!!"
"WHAT?!" Joey yelped.
Seto snickered. "Not only that, Wheeler, but I believe you're still on the air."
Joey whirled around to stare at the On the Air button. "Hey! That means you went on the air too!!" he cried.
Seto shrugged. "I really don't care," he said, walking off. "And Bakura was probably happy to be interrupted."
****
Yugi walked into the room where the fire had been set, Téa and Tristan following him closely.
"Here's the box," Yugi announced, looking in it.
"Anything worth while in it?" Tristan asked.
"Just ashes," Yugi sighed.
Téa wandered over to the wall. "I wonder what kind of room this is supposed to be," she mused. "Why is it completely empty except for this box?"
"Maybe it's going to be another studio," Yugi suggested. "Or a storage room."
"Don't they have enough storage room in the basement?" Tristan said. "I mean, really, all that's down there is boxes and more boxes!"
"You were in the basement, Tristan?" Yugi said in surprise.
"No," Tristan said hurriedly. "I just glanced down from the top of the stairs."
"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. "Is there a new mystery to solve?"
Everyone turned to see Bernard and Elsa standing in the doorway, looking in with interest. The two pre-teens were constantly arguing and trying to crack cases in the midst of it. And there was always one suspect they came up with who was responsible for whatever went wrong.
"What makes you say that?" Yugi said cautiously.
"Oh come on!" Bernard said. "We know about the fire! And we know who did it!"
Elsa nodded. "It was Bruce!"
Téa sighed. "You always say Bruce did it!" she scolded.
"Well . . . he did!" Elsa replied defensively.
****
Marik opened his eyes slowly, feeling the unsteady floor under him and the heavy sack of grain over his side, preventing him from getting up without a struggle. When his mind cleared a bit, he realized that he must be on the aircraft he'd seen back in the field. He hissed in anger, shoving at the sack until it was lifted and he was free to stand.
"Awake, are you?" came a calm voice from the cockpit.
Instantly Marik stormed up to the apparent pilot, fury in his eyes. "Why have you abducted me?!" he growled.
The pilot looked unruffled. "I had my reasons," he said coolly.
"I demand that you let me down this minute!" Marik fumed. "If you don't . . . I may force your hand."
"With this?" The pilot held up the Millennium Rod. "'Fraid not."
Marik snarled, knowing that he couldn't make a grab for it while they were up in the air. "At least enlighten me as to where we're going," he hissed.
"You'll see soon enough." The pilot's expression changed suddenly, his eyes a picture of horror. "Oh no . . ."
"What is it now?!" Marik snapped.
"Someone's tampered with the engine. We're going down!" was the unnerving reply. "And I . . . I can't stop it!" The man tugged on the controls frantically without success.
In the next instant, the plane slammed against a tree, dislocating one of the wings. Marik fell backward, feeling the darkness of oblivion blanketing him again.
"Fanged beast?" Yugi repeated.
"It was probably a large dog," Seto grumbled.
JP sighed. "Admittedly, I have no way of knowing what it was. But all the evidence points to a werewolf. After it jumped at me, I ducked and tried to throw something at it, but nothing could seem to make it stop. I didn't know what I was going to do . . . but then I heard a weird noise, like a motor, and the creature turned tailed and ran into the shadows. A moment later Phil appeared."
Joey's eyes were wide in astonishment. "And he claimed he hadn't seen any weird dog?"
"That's right," JP nodded.
Rishid narrowed his eyes. "It's all circumstantial. I personally do not believe in werewolves."
JP grinned sheepishly. "Me either, but it does seem kinda suspicious after all this."
Seto didn't look impressed. "This is wasting my time. I don't have to listen to this nonsense." He rose, preparing to leave. "Let's go, Mokuba."
"Wait, Seto!" Mokuba protested. "What if there is some dog loose here? Wouldn't someone need to be told?"
"I did tell animal control," JP said slowly, "but they never found anything."
Marik leaned forward with a sigh. He wasn't thrilled with the way the new mystery was going. The last thing he wanted was to deal with werewolves—something he didn't believe existed.
"So while Bakura works undercover, what do you want the rest of us to do?" Tristan asked.
"Just . . . act like you're having a great time," JP smiled. "Be inconspicuous! Wander around the station and say that I gave you the green light."
"Okay," Yugi said hesitantly. "But how long have weird things been going on here?"
"It just started recently," JP replied. "Curiously, it began shortly after Phil came."
****
Yami Bakura was champing at the bit to get on the air. Bakura could tell that when they did, the thief would try to make some sort of announcement, and the boy wasn't anxious for a war of the microphone.
Oreo pawed at the microphone now, causing the device to make a sound of protest. The cat meowed in approval, rubbing up against it.
"She was born for the mic!" Bruce grinned. "This is going to be the best Mystery Hour yet!"
Bakura stood to the side reluctantly, wishing he wouldn't have to go through with this. But he'd already said he would, so there wasn't anything he could do but go.
"You're on in five seconds!" Bruce yelled.
Bakura gulped as he reached for the microphone. Before he could greet the listeners as the On the Air button flashed red, Oreo beat him to it.
"MEOOOW!!" she cried loudly.
Instantly the poor boy went as red as the button. "Oh, um, that was my cat," he said feebly, trying to laugh. "We seem to be doing the Mystery Hour tonight . . ."
"That's right," Yami Bakura growled as he snatched the mic away. "And fear shall be struck into the heart of every mortal who is listening tonight! For strange creatures prowl the streets on this damp, cold October, waiting to attack and force you into their furry army!"
Bakura's mouth dropped open. "Yami, what are you doing??!!" he practically screamed.
"Just watch and see," the thief smirked.
"I'm afraid to," Bakura moaned.
****
In the meantime, the others were roaming through the station, just as JP had directed.
Marik had found himself down in the basement, all alone. He had been with Ishizu and Rishid, but somehow they had become separated during a bit of confusion between the firefighters and Phil Court.
He peered around a corner, memories returning to him. He couldn't forget how Vivalene had once been working at KETY. That vile woman. . . .
But that was all over now. He had to concentrate on the present situation.
Slowly the boy clicked on the light, narrowing his eyes as he noticed blood splashed on the walls. Whose blood? How had it gotten there?
He advanced carefully, inspecting the blood to see if it was fresh. To his concern, he found that it, indeed, was.
"Someone was harmed here, very recently," the Egyptian boy muttered.
The basement was littered with old cardboard and Styrofoam cartons that had once held equipment and CDs for the station. As Marik crept down through the mostly bare, mildew-filled rooms, he had the distinct feeling that something was following him. The strange dog, perhaps? He clutched the Rod tightly to him, ready to use it in an instant if it became necessary. Several times he turned around abruptly, trying to catch his assailant by surprise, but never was he able to catch sight of anyone. Though he wouldn't admit it, the boy was starting to feel quite uneasy.
Finally he came to the very back of the basement and found a door with a staircase outside it, leading upward to the vacant field in back of the station. He was about to turn around and go back when he heard a vicious snarling behind him. It *was* the dog!
Before Marik could do a thing about it, the creature was springing in the air to attack. He fell backwards as he tried to avoid it, falling against the door. The dog slammed into him in the next instant, sending him right through the glass and to the concrete on the other side.
Furiously the boy stabbed at his assailant with the dagger in the Rod, hoping to slow it down. Desperately he prayed that at least it wouldn't go back in the station and terrorize his loved ones. Making up his mind, he went up the stairs carefully with his back to them, preparing to try using the Rod's powers on the creature once they were in the open field.
He never did get that chance.
A loud motor roared just behind him as he got to the top, and the dog suddenly barreled the poor boy over to rush to the private jet that was preparing to take off.
"What the devil?!" Marik yelped, struggling up to stare at the airplane. Where had it come from? What was it doing behind the KETY studios? And why was the dog running toward it as though the world would end if it didn't?!
"Lights out, bucko," a nasty voice hissed. In the next second, something hard struck Marik on the head and he blacked out.
****
A spooky, B-movie laugh echoed through the room as Yami Bakura continued to refuse to let Bakura have the microphone.
"Domino City is full of curious creatures tonight," the thief said in the sort of dangerous, low tone that was infamous on old thriller radio shows. "They could be peering through your window right at this moment, but you'd never know it. And then in the next instant . . ." He made a sound that was a reference to death.
"Yami, I'm sure everyone has heard quite enough of that!" Bakura exclaimed in horror, grabbing at the microphone. "Um, he's just joking," he tried to say for the audience's benefit. "For Halloween, you know?"
"Who's joking?" Yami Bakura said calmly.
"MEOOW!" Oreo yowled suddenly, taking the microphone between her paws and licking it.
"CAT!!!!!!" Yami Bakura screamed. "That isn't FOOD!! What? Do you think it resembles a shish-kebab?!"
"Meow," Oreo replied lazily.
****
"What's going on, Seto?" Mokuba asked as he followed his big brother down the hall.
"I'm going to talk to Bruce myself about the fire and anything else that may have happened," Seto told him.
"But what if he is guilty?" Mokuba asked.
Seto grunted. "Then he'll just have to realize that I'll bring him down. I'm tired of nonsense going on at the places I own."
The boy wasn't any more impressed when he walked past an open door and saw Joey pretending to be a deejay.
"Yeah, you're tuned in to Jammin' Joey for another hour of rockin' and rollin' fun!" the Brooklyn boy chirped, chuckling as he adjusted the headset he was wearing.
"Heh. I wonder if all of Domino City is fleeing in terror."
Instantly Joey froze, knowing that Seto had heard him. An embarrassed grin spread across his face, though he made certain not to turn and let the CEO see. "Hey, I'd have plenty of listeners!" he said defensively. "Heck, I bet more people would wanna hear me crank out the tunes than listen to you make some speech about politics or a new economical system. BO-RING!"
Seto snorted in response and turned away, only to be intercepted by Bruce.
"What's going on here?!" the high-strung man demanded.
"Eh, just havin' some fun," Joey replied, setting the headphones down and coming over.
"Fun?! FUN??!!" Bruce wailed. "You interrupted Bakura with your drivel! You went on the air!!"
"WHAT?!" Joey yelped.
Seto snickered. "Not only that, Wheeler, but I believe you're still on the air."
Joey whirled around to stare at the On the Air button. "Hey! That means you went on the air too!!" he cried.
Seto shrugged. "I really don't care," he said, walking off. "And Bakura was probably happy to be interrupted."
****
Yugi walked into the room where the fire had been set, Téa and Tristan following him closely.
"Here's the box," Yugi announced, looking in it.
"Anything worth while in it?" Tristan asked.
"Just ashes," Yugi sighed.
Téa wandered over to the wall. "I wonder what kind of room this is supposed to be," she mused. "Why is it completely empty except for this box?"
"Maybe it's going to be another studio," Yugi suggested. "Or a storage room."
"Don't they have enough storage room in the basement?" Tristan said. "I mean, really, all that's down there is boxes and more boxes!"
"You were in the basement, Tristan?" Yugi said in surprise.
"No," Tristan said hurriedly. "I just glanced down from the top of the stairs."
"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. "Is there a new mystery to solve?"
Everyone turned to see Bernard and Elsa standing in the doorway, looking in with interest. The two pre-teens were constantly arguing and trying to crack cases in the midst of it. And there was always one suspect they came up with who was responsible for whatever went wrong.
"What makes you say that?" Yugi said cautiously.
"Oh come on!" Bernard said. "We know about the fire! And we know who did it!"
Elsa nodded. "It was Bruce!"
Téa sighed. "You always say Bruce did it!" she scolded.
"Well . . . he did!" Elsa replied defensively.
****
Marik opened his eyes slowly, feeling the unsteady floor under him and the heavy sack of grain over his side, preventing him from getting up without a struggle. When his mind cleared a bit, he realized that he must be on the aircraft he'd seen back in the field. He hissed in anger, shoving at the sack until it was lifted and he was free to stand.
"Awake, are you?" came a calm voice from the cockpit.
Instantly Marik stormed up to the apparent pilot, fury in his eyes. "Why have you abducted me?!" he growled.
The pilot looked unruffled. "I had my reasons," he said coolly.
"I demand that you let me down this minute!" Marik fumed. "If you don't . . . I may force your hand."
"With this?" The pilot held up the Millennium Rod. "'Fraid not."
Marik snarled, knowing that he couldn't make a grab for it while they were up in the air. "At least enlighten me as to where we're going," he hissed.
"You'll see soon enough." The pilot's expression changed suddenly, his eyes a picture of horror. "Oh no . . ."
"What is it now?!" Marik snapped.
"Someone's tampered with the engine. We're going down!" was the unnerving reply. "And I . . . I can't stop it!" The man tugged on the controls frantically without success.
In the next instant, the plane slammed against a tree, dislocating one of the wings. Marik fell backward, feeling the darkness of oblivion blanketing him again.