Chapter 3
Yami, Bakura, and Rayne had arrived at Domino Harbor. The large boardwalk- like area stretched pretty far and was just as wide. It would take a while for them to search the entire area, so they decided to recheck what they had already to try to narrow the search.
"Perhaps there's something in the letter that we're overlooking that could help." Bakura said.
"Maybe." Yami commented. "We know he said that the ocean has a calming effect, so wherever he hid the clue, you can see the ocean from there."
"Well, we can count this section out then," Rayne said aloud. "The view of the ocean is blocked from here by all the stores."
Yami nodded in agreement at Rayne's observation.
"Yes. That's true. Well, we know that much. Also, all the stores face in this direction, so he wouldn't have hid the clue in one of them."
"Right. Perhaps checking along the ocean-side walkway might help." Bakura chimed in.
"That's a good place to start, Bakura." Rayne agreed. It was then that she looked to the letter still clutched in Yami's hand and saw the envelope that it came in.
"Yugi, let me see that envelope," she said reaching for it. He did so, and she looked inside it. There was a boat rental receipt inside.
"Check this out," she said handing it to Yami.
"Hm. He might have thrown the clue into the Harbor. Perhaps to make the search harder."
"I doubt it. He wants us to find him, so he probably put the clue, whatever it is, in an easy-to-find spot. I think this is just to throw us off. Obviously a fan of red herrings."
"You're probably right. Let's do what Bakura suggested, and check the walkway. We'll split up and meet up back here in a half hour." Yami said.
Rayne and Bakura nodded in agreement and headed off in different directions to check the walkway. Yami went his own way and scoured everything for a possible hint.
***
As Bakura walked along his part of the walkway, he began to feel odd. He felt light-headed, and then he began to black out, but he wasn't falling. The dark presence that inhabited his Millenium Ring brought himself out and took control of Bakura's body. YaBakura looked at the ocean, which he was standing in front of, and thought hard about the present situation.
"Hm. So Joey's gone missing, and little Yugi wants my help," he thought. "Whomever took him must know about the bond Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle share, as it was mentioned in the letter. It's quite possible that the kidnapper is a thief like myself going after the Puzzle. I'd better go along with this little rescue mission for the time being, to make sure the Puzzle remains in little Yugi's possession. That is, until I decide to take it for myself. Plus, I might be able to get to know that girl better. Bakura seems quite taken with her, and I can't quite blame him."
With a final few thoughts and a last look at the ocean, YaBakura went to the task of scouring the boardwalk for anything that might lead to Joey's whereabouts.
***
Rayne was looking frantically about for the clue. She scoured the boardwalk, leaving no possible place unsearched. It was as if she was a professional at it. As it happened, she was.
Rayne was actually an undercover agent that was investigating a recent string of murders and thefts, and the trail happened to lead her to Domino Town. She enrolled in the school system as to not raise suspicion about a child moving to the city near the beginning of the school year, but not going. Any digging the police might have done would probably blow her cover. True, she was a bit young for the job, but the fact was, Rayne was a genius. She'd graduated from a prestigious college when she was only 13 and joined the police force as a reference assistant a year after that. Her work was some of the best in the business, and eventually, Interpol noticed her. They hired her to do the same job she'd been doing, but eventually a case came up that needed a young agent to go undercover, and Rayne was the likely candidate. She turned out to be a natural in the field, and stayed there ever since.
She'd collected an interesting track record over time, arresting nearly 40 wanted criminals, and getting promoted on a regular basis. She also had one of the highest criminal casualty records, as she had a very bad temper and often took it out of the people she arrested. Ever since was made an orphan by a purse-snatcher that decided he wanted to move onto bigger crimes and killed her parents, Rayne had had a lot of angst. She couldn't stand those types of criminals, or ones that harmed children, so this case was fast becoming personal-like.
"If I were that lunatic, where would I hide a clue of substantial importance?" Rayne mumbled to herself.
That wasn't the only thought she had on her mind, though. She was thinking how the Yugi boy could be connected to her suspect. It was all very confusing to her. In the letter, the guy called Yugi a Pharaoh. She'd studied Ancient Egyptian history in college and knew the Pharaoh often gathered a vast amount of enemies over his reign. She figured the guy must be an Egyptian history lover and a duelist, so he would consider Yugi a "King" in some aspect, as he was the Duel Monsters Champion. He'd won the Duelist Kingdom tournament as well and earned the title of "King of Games", which was mentioned in the letter. She also knew that Duel Monsters had a base in Egypt from a report that she had read by Professor Arthur Hawkings on some ruins he had discovered with another man that had hieroglyphics depicting many things that can be connected to Duel Monsters. His findings and theories were mocked and laughed at by his peers, but she thought they had a lot of reasoning. That's how her fascination with Duel Monsters started. She was quite a good duelist, but often had no one to battle with. That's why she jumped on the chance to take the case that would lead her to the hometown of the Champ. Now that she was deeply involved, however, dueling was the last thing on her mind. Many things in this case were disturbing, and she had spent many a night trying to connect the crimes this slippery criminal had so obviously committed.
The first crime was the theft of some Ancient Egyptian relics from a museum in Cairo. They seemed to be just your regular artifacts excavated from one of the Great Pyramids. Bracelets, cups, precious jewels. Everything one would expect to find in a Pharaoh's tomb. It wasn't your regular smash and grab job, though. There wasn't anything broken or damaged in the place, including the case where the relics were kept, and the security system wiring box on the roof. No prints were found at the scene and the security cameras showed no one entering or leaving the area where the items were kept except by the occasional patrolling security guard. That was the first of many mysteries this case would produce.
The second crime was the homicide of a family who lived near Giza. It was one of the most gruesome things Rayne had ever seen. The entire family's entrails had been pulled out through their mouths. Their brains were pulled out through their noses, just as the Ancient Egyptians had done to prepare a dead body for mummification. Even the pet cat hadn't been able to escape the murderer. By this time, he'd decided to show his sense of humor and left a calling card behind. It was a Duel Monster card, "The King of the Yamimakai." Rayne knew that the word "yamimakai" translated extremely loosely from Japanese would mean "dark spirit world." Whoever was doing this felt he was the King of Darkness. It made Rayne think why he would want to kill these people. By doing some digging, she found that the family was actually the overseers of a Pharaoh's tomb. They made sure that archeologists didn't deface the tomb to much, and often helped the guardians of the tomb. It was then a connection between the crimes arose. The items stolen from the museum had been excavated from the tomb of the same Pharaoh the murdered family had overseen. She figured the guy had some whacked-out obsession with this particular Pharaoh and wanted to wipe out everything that had a connection with it. She thought that he would go after the guardians of the tomb and was on the lookout for him around where they supposedly lived, but soon found out he'd made his way to Japan.
The most recent theft was not too far away from where she was currently located. Some scrolls had been stolen from an Ancient Egypt exhibit at another museum, again connected to the same Pharaoh as before. They were said to be incantations of great power with which the Pharaoh had used to lock a great evil away. Rayne then connected more dots in this child's puzzle. The Pharaoh was also mentioned in the findings of the report she had read about the ancient ruins. It was said that a game of great power called the Shadow Games, which Rayne had figured Duel Monsters was based on, was played between Pharaohs in that day and age. They used real monsters, however, and played this "game" in a dark place called "The Shadow Realm." Unfortunately, the monsters soon became too hard to control, and ran rabid in the land of Egypt. They were locked away for some time, but then some sorcerers found a way to release the creatures from their tombs and start the games all over again. It was then that the Pharaoh decided to step in and locked the magic away forever in several different items, sacrificing himself in the process. The stolen scrolls were found outside the Pharaoh's tomb in an archeological dig, and put on display in an Egyptian museum. These scrolls were then signed out to a museum as part of a special exhibit, and came to Japan, where they were stolen. Again, A King of the Yamimakai card was left behind, no prints were left and not a shard of broken glass or snipped wire was found. Whoever this clown was, he was beginning to piss Rayne off.
Now she was in Domino, as she figured he would come to the Champ's hometown, and she could now add kidnapping to his already long list of crimes. Rayne was determined to find Joey, no matter what it took. She'd seen a lot of kidnapping cases in her time as an Interpol agent, some with happy endings; others, not so lucky. All of them made her angry to some extent or another, and this was no exception. She'd find that clue if it was the last thing she did. And she would find the connection between her guy and Yugi. It was just that, unlike her current clue, she didn't know where to start looking for it.
***
Yami looked about in every place imaginable. The search was frantic, but to the average person, it looked as if he was just walking along the strip with something on his mind. Thoughts raced at all speeds in Yami's complex conscious. Where would it be? Why did he take Joey? Can I find him in time? Yami shook himself. It was no time to be thinking like that. He would find Joey. And he would make his kidnapper pay dearly for what he put them both through. But another thought entered just then. How would he tell Joey's family about what was going on? Perhaps Téa and Tristan had already solved this problem, but how were they taking it, if that was the case? How would they take it if he were the one that had to tell them? Yami envisioned the look on Joey's sister Serenity's face if had to tell her. He couldn't bear it. No, he wouldn't do it. He'd find Joey, or kill himself trying. Not just for Joey's family's sake, but for Yugi and everyone else's as well.
***
The three comrades returned to the rendezvous point empty-handed a half- hour later. None of them had had any luck in finding any trace of a clue.
"This is ridiculous," Rayne said with a bit of anger in her voice. "Three very intelligent people look for one clue, and they all come up with nothing."
"I admit, that does seem out there," Yami commented. "Perhaps we did read the clue wrong."
"I don't believe so, Yugi," the now normal Bakura said aloud. "I just think we were looking in the wrong place. Perhaps that line meant something else."
"Perhaps so, Bakura."
Rayne was fuming silently as her mind ran over different things the clue might have meant. Perhaps it meant that they should have went to the aquarium, or something else that has to do with water.
"No, that's not it," she thought. "It has to be here, I know it. Bakura is right. We're not looking in the right spot."
It was then she looked up and noticed a peculiar storefront a bit away from where she, Bakura and Yami stood. It was painted all blue, and had an array of ocean life painted on it. To one, it might look like you were seeing a picture from an underwater camera. Rayne saw the sign on it and figured out why.
"Uh, Bakura? Yugi? Remember when we said that the clue couldn't be in one of the stores? I do believe we were mistaken," she said pointing to the store.
Yami and Bakura looked in the direction where she pointed and looked at the building with slight shock. It was named "The Ocean."
"You could be right, Rayne. Let's go check it out," Yami said decisively.
They walked over to the store and entered. What was inside was nothing like one would expect from the choice of paint outside.
It seemed sort of like a room straight out of the Woodstock era. Strong incense that smelled sort of like a variety of flowers and mint mixed together were burning and music sort of like what's often associated with India played in the background. The bright orange walls made Rayne's head hurt, but she still looked around. All over were different objects used for meditation. Artifacts used in Buddhism and other Eastern and Far Eastern religions filled the artful shelves and lined the walls. In the back was the checkout counter and a guy who looked pretty much like he was higher than a kite stood behind it.
"Welcome to my store, dudes and dudette," he said in a sort of hippie-like voice. "What can I do for you?"
"Umm.Well. We were wondering if any strange characters might have come in here recently." Rayne told the guy.
"Aren't we all strange characters?" he responded.
"Perhaps," Rayne said with a bit of impatience in her voice, "but I mean someone looking like they were up to no good. We're looking for something he might have left here."
"Oh, him! Yeah, yeah.. I know who you mean now. That dude had a wicked aura going on. Ruining the whole vibe of my store, ya know?"
"So he was here?" Bakura asked eagerly.
"Yeah. Didn't get a good look at the guy, though. He always wore this hood that shadowed his face and all. Looked like that Sith dude from Star Wars."
"Did he leave anything here?" Rayne asked, not at all hiding her growing anger with having to deal with this guy.
"Yeah. An envelope. He said some people were going to come looking for it. Guess that means it's you guys. So, do you know him?"
"Not exactly," Yami replied, "but we will soon. You can count on it."
"Well, here you go," he said handing the envelope out to them. Rayne walked to the back and took it from him.
"Thanks," she said flatly. "Note to self:" she thought. "Have this place checked for drug possession."
The three walked out of the place relatively quickly and opened the envelope. Inside there was another letter to Yami. Rayne handed it to him and he read it aloud.
Pharaoh,
So you've figured out my first puzzle. Very good. But it's only going to get harder. This next one is a blast from your past, or should I say, your vessel's past.
Taller than the Sphinx
Harder than stone
This place of times past
You well know
Find the Pharaoh of this place. He will not be willing to give you the clue, for he does not know he possesses it. He would probably not help you even if he did know he had it. Of course, you do not know what to look for, so here is another little something for you to ponder
These walls, so hard
Hide what you seek
Try to find it quickly
For your friend grows weak.
Good luck to you, Your Highness.
Your Old Friend
P.S. I hope you have your mind set on reclaiming your little vessel's lost friend. For my puzzles will be more difficult as you progress.
Rayne and Bakura looked at one another with blank expressions, then at Yami.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rayne said in an annoyed voice.
"I don't quite know." Yami replied.
"I think I do," Bakura said after pondering the riddle a bit. "Allow me to see that letter."
Yami handed the letter over to Bakura and he read the riddle over. He seemed to think hard about what he thought might be the solution and finally nodded.
"I do believe we have to pay Kaiba a visit," he told them.
"What? Kaiba?" Yami said incredulously. "Why would we have to go to him?"
"Well, look at what the letter said. 'Taller than the Sphinx; Harder than stone; This place of times past; You well know.' That would probably mean the Kaiba Corporation building, where you and Kaiba had your first duel. Kaiba is the CEO, so he would be the Pharaoh, in a manner of speaking. It also said he wouldn't help even if he knew he had the clue, which I don't doubt that Kaiba wouldn't. Then, look at this."
He showed the letter to Rayne and Yami, and pointed to the "P.S." at the bottom.
"Do you see where the letters are different? Thinner, I mean? It seems that the letters S, E, T and O are written like this, which would spell Seto, Kaiba's first name."
"Hmm. I guess you're right, Bakura. It does seem like we'll be paying Kaiba a visit."
"I take it you all have had your share of history with him besides the first duel you had?" Rayne asked.
"You could say that." Yami replied. "All I know is, getting this next clue won't be easy at all."
"Well, I know one thing. If Kaiba's anything like that last guy, I'm going postal on him." Rayne commented.
"That would just about fulfill every wish all of us had about dealing with Kaiba." Bakura told her.
"Good. Then I'd be doing you a favor." Rayne said as she let Yami lead the way to the Kaiba Corp. building.
"You would.think that.Detective," the hooded figure said from his perch in a nearby tree. "But you'd be.dead wrong."
Yami, Bakura, and Rayne had arrived at Domino Harbor. The large boardwalk- like area stretched pretty far and was just as wide. It would take a while for them to search the entire area, so they decided to recheck what they had already to try to narrow the search.
"Perhaps there's something in the letter that we're overlooking that could help." Bakura said.
"Maybe." Yami commented. "We know he said that the ocean has a calming effect, so wherever he hid the clue, you can see the ocean from there."
"Well, we can count this section out then," Rayne said aloud. "The view of the ocean is blocked from here by all the stores."
Yami nodded in agreement at Rayne's observation.
"Yes. That's true. Well, we know that much. Also, all the stores face in this direction, so he wouldn't have hid the clue in one of them."
"Right. Perhaps checking along the ocean-side walkway might help." Bakura chimed in.
"That's a good place to start, Bakura." Rayne agreed. It was then that she looked to the letter still clutched in Yami's hand and saw the envelope that it came in.
"Yugi, let me see that envelope," she said reaching for it. He did so, and she looked inside it. There was a boat rental receipt inside.
"Check this out," she said handing it to Yami.
"Hm. He might have thrown the clue into the Harbor. Perhaps to make the search harder."
"I doubt it. He wants us to find him, so he probably put the clue, whatever it is, in an easy-to-find spot. I think this is just to throw us off. Obviously a fan of red herrings."
"You're probably right. Let's do what Bakura suggested, and check the walkway. We'll split up and meet up back here in a half hour." Yami said.
Rayne and Bakura nodded in agreement and headed off in different directions to check the walkway. Yami went his own way and scoured everything for a possible hint.
***
As Bakura walked along his part of the walkway, he began to feel odd. He felt light-headed, and then he began to black out, but he wasn't falling. The dark presence that inhabited his Millenium Ring brought himself out and took control of Bakura's body. YaBakura looked at the ocean, which he was standing in front of, and thought hard about the present situation.
"Hm. So Joey's gone missing, and little Yugi wants my help," he thought. "Whomever took him must know about the bond Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle share, as it was mentioned in the letter. It's quite possible that the kidnapper is a thief like myself going after the Puzzle. I'd better go along with this little rescue mission for the time being, to make sure the Puzzle remains in little Yugi's possession. That is, until I decide to take it for myself. Plus, I might be able to get to know that girl better. Bakura seems quite taken with her, and I can't quite blame him."
With a final few thoughts and a last look at the ocean, YaBakura went to the task of scouring the boardwalk for anything that might lead to Joey's whereabouts.
***
Rayne was looking frantically about for the clue. She scoured the boardwalk, leaving no possible place unsearched. It was as if she was a professional at it. As it happened, she was.
Rayne was actually an undercover agent that was investigating a recent string of murders and thefts, and the trail happened to lead her to Domino Town. She enrolled in the school system as to not raise suspicion about a child moving to the city near the beginning of the school year, but not going. Any digging the police might have done would probably blow her cover. True, she was a bit young for the job, but the fact was, Rayne was a genius. She'd graduated from a prestigious college when she was only 13 and joined the police force as a reference assistant a year after that. Her work was some of the best in the business, and eventually, Interpol noticed her. They hired her to do the same job she'd been doing, but eventually a case came up that needed a young agent to go undercover, and Rayne was the likely candidate. She turned out to be a natural in the field, and stayed there ever since.
She'd collected an interesting track record over time, arresting nearly 40 wanted criminals, and getting promoted on a regular basis. She also had one of the highest criminal casualty records, as she had a very bad temper and often took it out of the people she arrested. Ever since was made an orphan by a purse-snatcher that decided he wanted to move onto bigger crimes and killed her parents, Rayne had had a lot of angst. She couldn't stand those types of criminals, or ones that harmed children, so this case was fast becoming personal-like.
"If I were that lunatic, where would I hide a clue of substantial importance?" Rayne mumbled to herself.
That wasn't the only thought she had on her mind, though. She was thinking how the Yugi boy could be connected to her suspect. It was all very confusing to her. In the letter, the guy called Yugi a Pharaoh. She'd studied Ancient Egyptian history in college and knew the Pharaoh often gathered a vast amount of enemies over his reign. She figured the guy must be an Egyptian history lover and a duelist, so he would consider Yugi a "King" in some aspect, as he was the Duel Monsters Champion. He'd won the Duelist Kingdom tournament as well and earned the title of "King of Games", which was mentioned in the letter. She also knew that Duel Monsters had a base in Egypt from a report that she had read by Professor Arthur Hawkings on some ruins he had discovered with another man that had hieroglyphics depicting many things that can be connected to Duel Monsters. His findings and theories were mocked and laughed at by his peers, but she thought they had a lot of reasoning. That's how her fascination with Duel Monsters started. She was quite a good duelist, but often had no one to battle with. That's why she jumped on the chance to take the case that would lead her to the hometown of the Champ. Now that she was deeply involved, however, dueling was the last thing on her mind. Many things in this case were disturbing, and she had spent many a night trying to connect the crimes this slippery criminal had so obviously committed.
The first crime was the theft of some Ancient Egyptian relics from a museum in Cairo. They seemed to be just your regular artifacts excavated from one of the Great Pyramids. Bracelets, cups, precious jewels. Everything one would expect to find in a Pharaoh's tomb. It wasn't your regular smash and grab job, though. There wasn't anything broken or damaged in the place, including the case where the relics were kept, and the security system wiring box on the roof. No prints were found at the scene and the security cameras showed no one entering or leaving the area where the items were kept except by the occasional patrolling security guard. That was the first of many mysteries this case would produce.
The second crime was the homicide of a family who lived near Giza. It was one of the most gruesome things Rayne had ever seen. The entire family's entrails had been pulled out through their mouths. Their brains were pulled out through their noses, just as the Ancient Egyptians had done to prepare a dead body for mummification. Even the pet cat hadn't been able to escape the murderer. By this time, he'd decided to show his sense of humor and left a calling card behind. It was a Duel Monster card, "The King of the Yamimakai." Rayne knew that the word "yamimakai" translated extremely loosely from Japanese would mean "dark spirit world." Whoever was doing this felt he was the King of Darkness. It made Rayne think why he would want to kill these people. By doing some digging, she found that the family was actually the overseers of a Pharaoh's tomb. They made sure that archeologists didn't deface the tomb to much, and often helped the guardians of the tomb. It was then a connection between the crimes arose. The items stolen from the museum had been excavated from the tomb of the same Pharaoh the murdered family had overseen. She figured the guy had some whacked-out obsession with this particular Pharaoh and wanted to wipe out everything that had a connection with it. She thought that he would go after the guardians of the tomb and was on the lookout for him around where they supposedly lived, but soon found out he'd made his way to Japan.
The most recent theft was not too far away from where she was currently located. Some scrolls had been stolen from an Ancient Egypt exhibit at another museum, again connected to the same Pharaoh as before. They were said to be incantations of great power with which the Pharaoh had used to lock a great evil away. Rayne then connected more dots in this child's puzzle. The Pharaoh was also mentioned in the findings of the report she had read about the ancient ruins. It was said that a game of great power called the Shadow Games, which Rayne had figured Duel Monsters was based on, was played between Pharaohs in that day and age. They used real monsters, however, and played this "game" in a dark place called "The Shadow Realm." Unfortunately, the monsters soon became too hard to control, and ran rabid in the land of Egypt. They were locked away for some time, but then some sorcerers found a way to release the creatures from their tombs and start the games all over again. It was then that the Pharaoh decided to step in and locked the magic away forever in several different items, sacrificing himself in the process. The stolen scrolls were found outside the Pharaoh's tomb in an archeological dig, and put on display in an Egyptian museum. These scrolls were then signed out to a museum as part of a special exhibit, and came to Japan, where they were stolen. Again, A King of the Yamimakai card was left behind, no prints were left and not a shard of broken glass or snipped wire was found. Whoever this clown was, he was beginning to piss Rayne off.
Now she was in Domino, as she figured he would come to the Champ's hometown, and she could now add kidnapping to his already long list of crimes. Rayne was determined to find Joey, no matter what it took. She'd seen a lot of kidnapping cases in her time as an Interpol agent, some with happy endings; others, not so lucky. All of them made her angry to some extent or another, and this was no exception. She'd find that clue if it was the last thing she did. And she would find the connection between her guy and Yugi. It was just that, unlike her current clue, she didn't know where to start looking for it.
***
Yami looked about in every place imaginable. The search was frantic, but to the average person, it looked as if he was just walking along the strip with something on his mind. Thoughts raced at all speeds in Yami's complex conscious. Where would it be? Why did he take Joey? Can I find him in time? Yami shook himself. It was no time to be thinking like that. He would find Joey. And he would make his kidnapper pay dearly for what he put them both through. But another thought entered just then. How would he tell Joey's family about what was going on? Perhaps Téa and Tristan had already solved this problem, but how were they taking it, if that was the case? How would they take it if he were the one that had to tell them? Yami envisioned the look on Joey's sister Serenity's face if had to tell her. He couldn't bear it. No, he wouldn't do it. He'd find Joey, or kill himself trying. Not just for Joey's family's sake, but for Yugi and everyone else's as well.
***
The three comrades returned to the rendezvous point empty-handed a half- hour later. None of them had had any luck in finding any trace of a clue.
"This is ridiculous," Rayne said with a bit of anger in her voice. "Three very intelligent people look for one clue, and they all come up with nothing."
"I admit, that does seem out there," Yami commented. "Perhaps we did read the clue wrong."
"I don't believe so, Yugi," the now normal Bakura said aloud. "I just think we were looking in the wrong place. Perhaps that line meant something else."
"Perhaps so, Bakura."
Rayne was fuming silently as her mind ran over different things the clue might have meant. Perhaps it meant that they should have went to the aquarium, or something else that has to do with water.
"No, that's not it," she thought. "It has to be here, I know it. Bakura is right. We're not looking in the right spot."
It was then she looked up and noticed a peculiar storefront a bit away from where she, Bakura and Yami stood. It was painted all blue, and had an array of ocean life painted on it. To one, it might look like you were seeing a picture from an underwater camera. Rayne saw the sign on it and figured out why.
"Uh, Bakura? Yugi? Remember when we said that the clue couldn't be in one of the stores? I do believe we were mistaken," she said pointing to the store.
Yami and Bakura looked in the direction where she pointed and looked at the building with slight shock. It was named "The Ocean."
"You could be right, Rayne. Let's go check it out," Yami said decisively.
They walked over to the store and entered. What was inside was nothing like one would expect from the choice of paint outside.
It seemed sort of like a room straight out of the Woodstock era. Strong incense that smelled sort of like a variety of flowers and mint mixed together were burning and music sort of like what's often associated with India played in the background. The bright orange walls made Rayne's head hurt, but she still looked around. All over were different objects used for meditation. Artifacts used in Buddhism and other Eastern and Far Eastern religions filled the artful shelves and lined the walls. In the back was the checkout counter and a guy who looked pretty much like he was higher than a kite stood behind it.
"Welcome to my store, dudes and dudette," he said in a sort of hippie-like voice. "What can I do for you?"
"Umm.Well. We were wondering if any strange characters might have come in here recently." Rayne told the guy.
"Aren't we all strange characters?" he responded.
"Perhaps," Rayne said with a bit of impatience in her voice, "but I mean someone looking like they were up to no good. We're looking for something he might have left here."
"Oh, him! Yeah, yeah.. I know who you mean now. That dude had a wicked aura going on. Ruining the whole vibe of my store, ya know?"
"So he was here?" Bakura asked eagerly.
"Yeah. Didn't get a good look at the guy, though. He always wore this hood that shadowed his face and all. Looked like that Sith dude from Star Wars."
"Did he leave anything here?" Rayne asked, not at all hiding her growing anger with having to deal with this guy.
"Yeah. An envelope. He said some people were going to come looking for it. Guess that means it's you guys. So, do you know him?"
"Not exactly," Yami replied, "but we will soon. You can count on it."
"Well, here you go," he said handing the envelope out to them. Rayne walked to the back and took it from him.
"Thanks," she said flatly. "Note to self:" she thought. "Have this place checked for drug possession."
The three walked out of the place relatively quickly and opened the envelope. Inside there was another letter to Yami. Rayne handed it to him and he read it aloud.
Pharaoh,
So you've figured out my first puzzle. Very good. But it's only going to get harder. This next one is a blast from your past, or should I say, your vessel's past.
Taller than the Sphinx
Harder than stone
This place of times past
You well know
Find the Pharaoh of this place. He will not be willing to give you the clue, for he does not know he possesses it. He would probably not help you even if he did know he had it. Of course, you do not know what to look for, so here is another little something for you to ponder
These walls, so hard
Hide what you seek
Try to find it quickly
For your friend grows weak.
Good luck to you, Your Highness.
Your Old Friend
P.S. I hope you have your mind set on reclaiming your little vessel's lost friend. For my puzzles will be more difficult as you progress.
Rayne and Bakura looked at one another with blank expressions, then at Yami.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rayne said in an annoyed voice.
"I don't quite know." Yami replied.
"I think I do," Bakura said after pondering the riddle a bit. "Allow me to see that letter."
Yami handed the letter over to Bakura and he read the riddle over. He seemed to think hard about what he thought might be the solution and finally nodded.
"I do believe we have to pay Kaiba a visit," he told them.
"What? Kaiba?" Yami said incredulously. "Why would we have to go to him?"
"Well, look at what the letter said. 'Taller than the Sphinx; Harder than stone; This place of times past; You well know.' That would probably mean the Kaiba Corporation building, where you and Kaiba had your first duel. Kaiba is the CEO, so he would be the Pharaoh, in a manner of speaking. It also said he wouldn't help even if he knew he had the clue, which I don't doubt that Kaiba wouldn't. Then, look at this."
He showed the letter to Rayne and Yami, and pointed to the "P.S." at the bottom.
"Do you see where the letters are different? Thinner, I mean? It seems that the letters S, E, T and O are written like this, which would spell Seto, Kaiba's first name."
"Hmm. I guess you're right, Bakura. It does seem like we'll be paying Kaiba a visit."
"I take it you all have had your share of history with him besides the first duel you had?" Rayne asked.
"You could say that." Yami replied. "All I know is, getting this next clue won't be easy at all."
"Well, I know one thing. If Kaiba's anything like that last guy, I'm going postal on him." Rayne commented.
"That would just about fulfill every wish all of us had about dealing with Kaiba." Bakura told her.
"Good. Then I'd be doing you a favor." Rayne said as she let Yami lead the way to the Kaiba Corp. building.
"You would.think that.Detective," the hooded figure said from his perch in a nearby tree. "But you'd be.dead wrong."