- 2 -
At 1am, Kaiba's driver decided it had been long enough. He decided to risk Mr. Kaiba's wrath and entered the building. He found Seto sitting up with his head in his hands outside the main room, groaning. He then looked into the main room and saw two other people unconscious on the floor. He started in to see if they were okay, but was stopped by Kaiba's command.
"Leave them and help me up." Trying to rise with great difficulty, Seto stumbled and his driver caught and steadied him. "Mokuba might be here somewhere. We need to search for him."
When they returned – without Mokuba – Meri and Téa were up and looking around with increasing alarm.
"Where are the guys?" Téa was shaken up, but had gone to take a look where Yugi had been. The pattern of the Spellbinding Circle had been burned into the floor, in the middle laid Mau, slowly breathing, but still not awake. He was curled around the Millennium Puzzle. She picked the Puzzle up and put it around her neck, then cuddled Mau to her.
"BAKURA!" Meri shouted and waited for a response, but all she got were the echoes – kura kura kura.
"Quit your yelling. There is no one else here." Seto growled at her as he and his driver walked into the room.
"Kaiba, there's no reason for you to be taking your mood out on us." Téa's friends were in trouble and she felt no reason to take Kaiba's attitude.
"I'll do as I please. I came here to find Mokuba, but what do I find instead? The people I despise the most and a refugee from a garage dump." Seto gestured angrily towards Meri, who lowered her head in shame and looked at the floor. Meri tilted her head, what's that? she wondered. The lantern had been set on a piece of paper, where it could be easily found.
"Now how am I supposed to find Mokuba or his captor's trail?"
"How am I supposed to know, Kaiba? It's not like it's my fault they're gone." The two were face to face screaming at each other.
A soft voice interrupted their squabble, "I think I know where they are." She looked at their disbelieving faces, "Egypt." She showed them the paper - it was the handwritten list for the scavenger hunt. At the bottom was the description of the prize.
If you succeed, you will be given an all expenses paid trip to Egypt,
stay at the palace as our guest
and witness the return of our king
Seto rudely jerked the paper out of her hand and compared the script with his note. They were identical.
Meri frowned. "I don't understand, but somehow we are connected in this. But I didn't meet you until today."
"I don't know Seto's connection, but you are a friend of Bakura. Bakura was the one who got us into the scavenger hunt. Bakura was aware that you knew the warehouse district and had the cat. Mau is connected with Yugi somehow because they were both to be in the circle together. Mau and the Puzzle are still here, but Yugi is gone. There is some reason why we are the only ones left."
"I have to go after Mokuba." said Kaiba.
"Bakura is my only friend, I have to do what I can to rescue him." Meri said quietly.
"Yugi is gone, so I must follow too." Téa looked down into her arms and saw Mau gazing at her. "And, for some strange reason, I am sure Mau should go."
"Do we contact the police? They have better resources than we do."
"No!" Seto was ready to assert his control of this situation. "These people set this up very precisely. If we turn to the police, the hostages may just be killed out of spite. They want something specific done. My resources, in some ways, are better than the authorities'. Let's go to the Kaiba mansion and see what I can dig up." Seto turned on his heel and he and his driver headed to the limo, the two girls trailed behind.
The limo pulled up to the mansion and they all got out. Kaiba turned to the driver and ordered him to "clean and sanitize the limo immediately" loud enough for the girls to hear him. Meri's face colored and tears misted her eyes. They entered the mansion and Meri was told "don't touch anything!"
In his office, Seto sat down at his computer and started hacking his way to the information he wanted. One of his housemaids came in with some tea. He then ordered his maid to take the "urchin" to the baths, find her some decent clothes to wear and feed her before she faints from hunger. After the embarrassed girl was led out of the room, Téa rounded on Seto.
"Don't you have any manners? How can you be so cruel to her?"
"She is dirty, stinks and her clothes are falling off of her!" He retorted not taking his eyes off the computer. "If she is going to be around me for any length of time, I don't want to smell her or have her contaminate my possessions.
"Besides, she looks like she hasn't bathed in a month and doesn't have decent clothes or shoes. I feel I am being extremely generous to her by allowing her to bathe, wear better clothes than she could ever obtain herself and have her fill of good food.
"If you don't like how I am going about it," Seto turned to her, "TOUGH! When was the last time you ate? Go find the kitchen and eat. Then have one of the maids take you both to a room where you can rest. It might take me a while to find the information I am looking for and I want you out of my hair." He turned back to his computer – an obvious dismissal. Realizing that glaring at the back of his head would not give her any satisfaction, she left to find the kitchen because she was hungry.
Hours later, Seto had the information he needed and had made the arrangements necessary to get the three (well four, including Mau) of them to Egypt. He had summoned the girls back to his office so they could go over the plans.
Téa walked in, her attitude still evident, but behind her walked Meri (at least he thought it was her) with her eyes focused downward. Téa sat on one of the chairs in his office, but Meri stood in the middle of the floor, unsure if she was allowed to sit yet or not. Hmm…she cleans up pretty good, Seto thought as he appraised her. Her jet black hair was clean and pulled back out of her face with a gold band. The new clothes and shoes were of good taste, serviceable and fit nicely. Seto caught her eye and indicated she could sit. Meri sat in the chair and kept her eyes focused on the floor.
"Okay, our quarry left around 1am in a private jet bound for Egypt and will be landing at a private airport. The jet is registered to a company on which I can find absolutely no information. I have notified my aircraft to be prepared to leave within the hour and have made arrangements for the supplies we might need. Once we know what we are up against, I can finalize the arrangements."
He looked at Téa inquiringly. She stated, "I called Yugi's grandfather to inform him what happened. He said that their home had been broken into and the Millennium Items Yugi obtained at the end of your tournament are missing. He also doesn't know if Yugi had the god cards with him, but he can't find those either."
"Just wonderful," Seto said sarcastically. "I guess it is back to the old 'in a prior life in Egypt' crap again." He grunted in disgust and stood up. "Time to go."
During the long flight, Téa played with Mau, who for some reason would not come to Meri anymore. The girls talked and got to know one another. Seto worked on his laptop and Meri did her best to avoid him. Finally, after many hours and stops to refuel, the aircraft touched down in Egypt. Seto handed out passports. "Don't lose them." was all he said. With that, they left the aircraft.
A small car was awaiting them outside the hanger with a large man leaning on it. As they approached, the man stood and opened the door for them. With no questions or words between them, Kaiba signaled the girls should enter the vehicle. The door was shut behind them. Kaiba and the man spoke softly outside, seemed to come to an agreement and then entered the front seats of the car. Kaiba turned and spoke over the back of his seat. "This is Pamiu. He is willing to put us up in his home and get us the supplies we need."
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Meri kept catching Pamiu looking at her using the rearview mirror. For some reason, Pamiu made her very nervous.
As they settled in at Pamiu's home, his wife prepared a meal and they discussed their plans. Still looking at Meri, who would not meet his gaze, Pamiu stated, "There is one thing that needs to be done before we can know exactly what you need to get where you are going." He nodded to his wife, who brought a small bottle with scented oil and gave it to him. "This quiet, demur girl sitting so politely and respectfully is not who she thinks she is." Meri's eyes looked up at him in confusion. "Do you want to know why Egypt is so familiar to you?" Meri shook her head negatively. "Sure you do, it's the only way you can help save your friends."
Though there was fear in her eyes, she nodded and said "I must save Bakura." Pamiu uncorked the bottle and slowly passed it under her nose a few times. Meri tilted her head back and closed her eyes. He gave her a few minutes. A slight smile creased her face.
Pamiu lined his face up with hers and in a strong, commanding voice said "Meritaten."
Meritaten's eyes snapped open, a huge smile lit up her face and she jumped up to hug Pamiu. "It is so good to see you again."
"Can we save the reunion for later? Like after we have our plans together?" Seto said with impatience.
Meritaten looked over at Kaiba, a mischievous expression on her face. She walked over to him, her eyes never leaving his. "I would like to express my feelings for all that you have done, Kaiba."
He pretended to be gracious, "That is not necessary."
"Oh, but it is, Seto Kaiba." She then backhanded him across the face. His face stinging, he lunged at her and found himself with a knife posed to enter his abdomen. He froze. "Don't ever try that again, Seto. I am much faster than you."
"Welcome back, Meritaten, and quit flirting with the boy," said Pamiu with an amused look on his face. "You remember everything now?"
She nodded as she stepped away from Kaiba and tossed the knife back onto the table. "Téa, close your mouth and get that look off your face. I wouldn't have really hurt our dear sweet Seto. We do need him to get back out of this place."
Téa found her voice again. "So, what just happened?"
"Let me explain," said Pamiu. "About six years ago, my son and I found a dirty, bedraggled, young girl in the desert, dying of thirst and hunger. We brought her home and nursed her to health."
"Hmmm, sounds like a reoccurring theme here," Seto interrupted, "So, when she got better, did she show her appreciation by smacking you across the face?" The angry red mark on his face almost glowed.
"No, we actually treated her with respect. In return, we earned her love and trust." Seto rolled his eyes at this.
"To continue … she was running away from her people. Among other things, she was expected to bring back the king they had waited for so long. While she had no problems with that, it was the "other things" she had a problem with. So, she rejected her "destiny" and, after being severely punished for it, took off across the desert. At her request and with her help, through fragrances and (something like) hypnosis, we were able to create a mental barrier. It was our thought that if she couldn't remember her "destiny," she wouldn't unconsciously start making it come to pass. I assume she woke up, didn't recognize where she was and left." He looked at her questioningly. She nodded. "But here we are, getting ready to send her back."
"How did you end up in Domino?" Seto asked curiously.
"None of your business, Seto." She said snidely.
"Meritaten, be nice."
"But that's no fun. It is so fun to put this simple boy in his place."
Téa slammed her hand down on the table and startled Mau who was sleeping on her lap. "Enough! If I am hearing right, it seems we will be traveling together though some pretty tough terrain. That will be hard enough. But having to listen to you two cut at each other the whole time is going to turn me homicidal. Now keep your differences to yourselves and let's actually work together."
"Rah rah rah! Still the little cheerleader, Téa?" Seto's eyes narrowed at her in amusement.
"Shut up, Kaiba!" Téa half wished that she had the nerve to backhand Seto herself. "Let's just get this quest going. I want to be back home with my friends. Unfortunately, I have to depend on you two for this to happen."
She has spunk, that's for sure. Meritaten thought with approval. "I guess I could curb my snide tendencies towards the boy, I mean Seto, for the trip, my friend."
Téa glared at Kaiba. "Whatever," he said offhandedly.
"Well, now that that is settled. My son, Jarha, has the camels you will need. Meritaten, you know where you are going and approximately how long it will take. Make sure the others listen to you with regards to the rationing of your supplies. Seto, you are the protector of the girls. My wife and I will supply you with desert clothing, and I will take you to my son's home. Now let's get the vehicle loaded, departure will be in an hour." Pamiu turned to leave.
"Wait," said Téa, "what is my job in this?"
"Cheerleader?" remarked Kaiba. A small rock bounced off his head.
"We are supposed to get along, Seto. Be nice." Meritaten looked more than ready to take up their arguing again.
"Téa, see that little creature in your lap?" She nodded as she scratched Mau's chin. "He is your charge. Keep him safe." Téa looked at Pamiu questioningly, then nodded.
Kaiba snorted, made a mock bow, "Think you are up to the task, Oh Keeper of the Ball of Fur?" He exited the room before Meritaten could find something larger and more painful to throw at him.
They were on the road for several more hours to get to Jarha's home. After a quick but cheerful reunion between Jarha and Meritaten, the already prepared camels were led out. Dusk was approaching quickly, bringing with it the most breathtaking sunset they had ever seen. "You will have the moonlight to help guide you. The mountains are about 100 miles away."
He handed Téa a pouch with a drawstring. "Put the Puzzle in here. If you wear it around your neck, you will end up with welts before the trip is through. Good, now tie it around your waist under the cloak." Jarha then handed a staff to Kaiba and a slingshot to Meritaten – "Just in case."
They mounted the camels. Meritaten looked off toward the mountains and took a steadying breath. Jarha put his hand upon hers. "Come back to us safe. We will have a huge celebration." Meritaten looked at him with gratitude, then urged her camel into motion. She took the lead with Seto and Téa side by side and an extra camel tied to Téa's bringing up the rear. They were on their way.