Notes: When I first started writing in the fandom, I was never certain what was Bakura's first name and what was his last name. Now that I know the correct order of his name, and since this story is independent from my mysteries, I decided to just see what it would be like to call Bakura "Ryou." I have decided that I definitely prefer "Bakura."

Chapter Five

Before the Shadow Ghoul could reach the bikers, it abruptly fled once again, disappearing through a crack in the window. Frowning, Alister went over to look out and saw it streaking across the outside wall. He had to wonder why it had exited in the first place. Had it heard some sort of signal on a frequency that only Duel Monsters were receptive to? And if so, who had sent it and why? Slowly he shut and locked the window, also wondering how it had gotten open at all. When questioned, Raphael said that he did not know how it had happened.

"So . . . what was that thing?" Valon asked, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms.

"A Shadow Ghoul," Raphael growled, setting Liu on the floor. "I'm guessing you know about the Duel Monster invasion all over the city." Even with amnesia, it would be impossible for Valon not to have noticed.

"Yeah, I know somethin' about it," Valon confirmed. "What I don't get is how come I don't remember you fellas, if it's really true that I live here." He frowned at them suspiciously, deciding that it would be a good idea for him to stay on his guard even though they seemed harmless. "I'm in Rocky's gang."

Raphael clenched a fist. Valon . . . what happened to you? He could imagine the immense agony the boy had been under, believing that he was responsible for his friends' deaths. What seemed so inconceivable to the blonde man was that now Valon seemed to not care at all about either of them. He was leaning on the wall, looking uncomfortable and bored, and his gaze kept wandering all about. And yet . . . he was here. Perhaps that said something.

Alister decided to change the subject, seeing that Raphael was still reeling at the discovery of Valon's memory loss. "Why were you here in the basement?" he asked. "Did you know that the window was slightly open? That's probably how the Shadow Ghoul got in."

Raphael grunted. "I thought I heard a noise," he remembered, "so I came down to investigate. I didn't see that the window was open. At least, I don't think I did." He rubbed his head again, wondering if he himself could be experiencing memory loss to a much lesser degree and did not recall the events that occurred immediately before he had been knocked unconscious.

"It's strange," Alister remarked, crossing his arms. "I wonder if someone outside was purposely opening the window to let the Shadow Ghoul in."

Valon frowned at him. "Why would someone wanna do that?" he demanded.

"We have a lot of enemies, unfortunately," Raphael answered with a sigh.

"I guess!" Valon snapped.

He looked around the basement curiously, then sighed. "So . . . where's my room?" he asked slowly. "Maybe I'd remember somethin' in there . . . if all this is on the up and up." Soon, but not right now, he wanted to ask them about the events in his dream. At this point he did not want to. He wanted to get to know them both a bit better first.

"It's upstairs," Raphael offered quietly. "It's between the other two bedrooms."

He and Alister watched Valon leave to go upstairs and investigate. Then they both sighed. Raphael ran a hand through his hair.

"He's different," the blonde man said quietly. He missed the Valon he remembered—the cheerful, mischievous Australian who enjoyed being with his friends and gently teasing Alister. This new Valon was abrupt, obviously uneasy, and did not seem to like either of those who were his friends. Raphael felt a twisting in his heart.

"Yes," Alister agreed, and voiced Raphael's thoughts from a moment before. "But he did come back with me. I guess that should count for something."

Raphael nodded slowly. "You're right," he admitted. "But will the Valon we know ever return?" He spoke darkly and pessimistically, as was often his way. Memory loss, either his own or a friend's, had not been something he had ever had to deal with before. He was unsure how to handle it, though he did know that it would require a lot of patience and kindness on his and Alister's parts. And if Valon did want to go back to the gang, Raphael knew that they would have to let him go. Alister had promised it, and Raphael could see the wisdom behind that promise.

"I hope so," Alister replied.

Outside, Domino City was lazily shifting from evening to night, and the overcast skies persisted. If anyone had seen the lone stranger trudging down the street, it would have been a surprise. People simply did not stray out of their homes after dark, and especially not as it neared midnight. The Duel Monsters who noticed the figure perked up with interest, but then would growl low and threateningly. The stranger glared at them coldly in return.

He was having a difficult time grasping the concept of what had been happening in Domino City since he had last been in town. How had Duel Monsters gotten loose? The last time that had occurred had been during the time of the Doom organization, when the bridge between the dimensions had been severed. He frowned, wondering if it was possible that such a thing had happened again. But how would that be possible?

At the corner he bought a newspaper at the automatic stand. Carefully he removed it from the box and opened it up, glancing over the main page. Not finding anything that explained what was going on, he turned the page. Glancing at the various news stories, he then caught sight of one that definitely did interest him.

Paradius Corporation Being Rebuilt

He frowned, moving into the light of a streetlamp to see it better. "Paradius, hmm?" he mused. According to the short article, someone who was still unknown had made a deal with the government and had bought the Paradius lot. For the last couple of months, a construction company had been working to rebuild the skyscraper. The owner expected the corporation to reopen within a few months.

"Strange," the man declared to himself. "Why would the government allow this? How would they know that they could trust this person to not be using Paradius as a front, the way it was used before?" He folded up the paper thoughtfully. "I do believe that there's more going on here than meets the eye."

He had to wonder if the Doom organization was being started up again. Perhaps that was why the spirits were so angry. Maybe they knew that there was not hope for them, but they wanted him to fix things before the problem started all over again for other people. It made quite a bit of sense to him.

"I believe I've been gone much too long," he decided. "I think it's time I began investigating into these . . . abnormal goings-on." He disappeared down a nearby street, not knowing that the Duel Monsters were watching him. But he would not have cared even if he had realized.

Valon gazed around his room, looking from the bed to the shelves filled with manga and anime to the CD player and the various CD cases that were stacked around it. Idly he lifted one up to look at it. The album was Linkin Park's Meteora. Yes, he knew he liked Linkin Park. That was something in favor of these people's story, he supposed. Though if they were faking, Valon knew that it would be necessary for them to learn about the various things he enjoyed, in order to make it all seem authentic. But he had already decided that they were sincere. The shock in Raphael's eyes upon seeing him and realizing that Valon did not know him had been genuine. And Alister had seemed stunned as well.

He sank onto the bed, gazing blankly at the floor. Everything was so confusing. These people seemed so kind, unlike Rocky or his gang members. Valon found that he wished it were true, that he lived here and that it was his true home, instead of the old garage.

If I don't go back soon, Rocky'll wonder what happened, the boy thought to himself, and maybe he'll go checkin' around the area to see if I'm there. I don't think he really cares about me, though. He just doesn't seem like the kinda guy who cares about anyone, really. I wonder if Rambo's got it right, though—that Rocky wants to make me his right-hand man. If he doesn't get the chance, he'll probably get pretty ticked off. I don't really want anything to happen to these fellas, whether I really know them or not.

Sensing a shadow in the doorway, he looked up to see Raphael there. He blinked, but was not actually surprised.

"Does anything look familiar?" the blonde asked. As Valon studied him, he decided that the older man could easily overpower Rocky or Rambo, if he wished. But if they both attacked him at once, Valon was not certain what the outcome of that would be.

The Australian shook his head. "Naw, not really," he admitted. "It's interesting, though—there's Linkin Park albums." He nodded toward the CD cases and then stretched out on the bed, placing his arms behind his head.

Raphael sighed, remaining in the doorway as he watched the boy. "What's this gang like?" he asked, hoping to be able to have a conversation with his friend—and to know what kind of people he had been staying with for the past two months.

Valon shrugged. "Oh, y'know . . . they're like a gang," he said helplessly. "There's five other members, and I guess they're kinda like a family unit. Rocky's the leader. He doesn't like the gang members to fight each other and stuff, but that's probably just 'cause he doesn't want any of them to off anyone else so that he'll have to look for a replacement. I don't think he really cares for the sake of caring. Rambo's his right-hand man, and he's even meaner than Rocky himself. Then there's Angel, Rocky's unfaithful girlfriend, and Thorn, who's Rambo's sheila. Angel's a big flirt, but Thorn's a tomboy. Oh yeah . . . and then there's André. He's the mechanic . . . kinda wimpy, too. I dunno why Rocky let him in." Somehow it just felt so natural for him to be talking to Raphael that he did not even think about it until after he had told him about all the gang members. Then he frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"What's their purpose?" Raphael queried now. "Are they vandals, or thieves, or what?" He hated the fact that Valon had gotten mixed up with any kind of criminals, especially when he did not remember anything. And yet he had noticed how relaxed the Australian had seemed, when talking to him just now. Raphael had to hope that subconsciously Valon remembered.

"A little of both, I guess," Valon answered after a pause, "but Rocky says they're revolutionaries. I dunno . . . maybe he's hoping to change stuff, like the way the city runs and that kinda thing." He sat up again, glaring suspiciously at Raphael. "But what's with all the questions?" he demanded. "Are you tryin' to get them stuck in jail?" Valon had a phobia of jails and prisons, though he did not know why. It seemed to him that he despised them more than most other people did.

Raphael ran a hand through his hair. "I just want to know how your life's been recently," he replied quietly. "I imagine you've been participating in their crimes?" He felt sick thinking of it. The last thing he ever wanted was for Valon to have to go to jail. He knew why the Australian had such a loathing of such places, and he worried about what would happen to the boy if he had to go back again. Somehow he doubted that Valon would be allowed to go free just because he had not remembered anything during the time he had been a member of the gang.

Valon idly played with the cover and pages of a manga that had been on his bed. "Actually, Rocky mostly keeps me around for gang wars and stuff," he said. "He likes me to fight with the rival gang members." Usually it was Rocky and Thorn who did the vandalizing, and Rambo and Angel who did the stealing. André's job was to run the garage and keep their vehicles in order. But Valon saw no need to tell Raphael all about each person's role, even though he realized that he held very little loyalty towards them or their cause. If he had found somewhere else to go ages before, he would have left then. He was wondering if he had now found that somewhere else.

Raphael nodded slowly, feeling himself relaxing just slightly. "I noticed," he commented, "that you refer to the gang as 'they,' not as 'we,' even though you're a part of it." This gave him hope as well. It said to him that Valon did not actually like being part of it and perhaps did not consider himself as a member, even if only unconsciously.

Valon grunted. "Eh," was all that he offered in response to that. But he had noticed it himself. And he realized anew just how out of place he felt in the gang.

Raphael could see that he would get nowhere by pursuing that line of questioning. "What do you think of things here?" he asked now.

The boy blinked up at him. "It's nice enough, I guess," he said with another shrug. "It's kinda cozy and all. And you seem like a good fella. That Alister, though, he's kinda weird. I mean, look at how he dresses!" He gestured wildly with his hands.

Raphael groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. The last thing he wanted to do was to see repeats of all of Alister and Valon's disagreements. Listening to them so many times before—and having to break them up—had wearied him. "If you think he's so weird," he said finally, "how on earth did he ever get you to come home with him?"

Valon opened his mouth to retort, but then let the question actually sink in. "I dunno," he muttered. "Just crazy, I guess."

Marik let out an exasperated sigh as he and his siblings at last managed to get into the taxi cab that was waiting at the airport. It was true that they had been delayed for some time due to several Baby Dragons that had decided to make the terminal their home, but the Egyptian boy supposed that it could have been worse. Though having the telephone disconnected and then being chased by a playful, fire-spitting dragon was plenty bad. He ran a hair through his hair.

"Oh for Heaven's sake," he muttered, suddenly recalling how he had been talking to Yugi when the phone's cord had been severed by the Baby Dragon. The multi-color haired boy must be quite worried, and with good enough reason.

"What is it, my brother?" Ishizu asked, turning to look at him with concern. She was thankful as well that getting out of the airport had not been as hectic as getting to the airport in the first place. Still she wondered what had happened to the Cyber Commander and the Marauding Captain who had been flying the air craft. They could have remained important allies if they had stayed around after the plane had been landed.

"I just remembered that I haven't called Yugi back," Marik informed her and Rishid. "Knowing him, he's probably on his way to the airport now to find out what's wrong."

Rishid sighed, shaking his head. "It would be better and safer for him to remain home," he mused. "Perhaps we can find a telephone booth and you can call him from there. It is unfortunate that there are not telephones in this taxi."

Marik rubbed his eyes, sighing again. It all seemed like such a hopeless disaster. How, he wondered, would any of this possibly be resolved without the aid of the Pharaoh or the Millennium Items? It was probably magic that had pulled open the gate between the dimensions. Marik saw no way to remove the monsters and close the gate again without the aid of some kind of magic. They did not even know where such a gate was.

"It's lucky I was able to get through at all," he realized, recalling how they had previously been unable to contact Yugi. "It seems that the phone lines aren't all down after all." But some of them definitely were. Just up ahead, he could see a Giant Soldier of Stone sending a telephone pole to the ground. The taxi driver cursed, quickly swerving to the right to drive down a side street.

"They might as well be," the man growled. "This town's a wreck! Heck, the whole world's a wreck from this crazy stuff, but it seems like it's even worse here. I've been watching the news, and Professor Hawkins thinks that the monsters are all coming from somewhere near here! How come we always get the weird stuff?" He said this last part mostly to himself, but the Ishtars were not listening, especially not Ishizu. She was most interested in his previous statement.

"Professor Hawkins believes this?" she questioned, looking at the driver firmly. She wanted to make certain that she had not misheard him.

"Yeah, you know, Arthur Hawkins," the driver shrugged, turning the next corner. "He's a famous guy. He's pretty renowned all over the place."

"Ishizu knows who he is," Marik said irritably. "They've worked together sometimes, and sometimes the archaeologist James Bakura joins them."

Ishizu gently laid a hand on Marik's shoulder to shush him. "Is Professor Hawkins in town right now?" she wanted to know. If he was, then it could be vitally important for her to speak with him. She needed to know why he was theorizing that the Duel Monsters were originating here in Domino City. It was true that it was something she and her brothers had wondered about, but now there was the chance to possibly acquire proof.

"Yeah, he just got in the other day," was the reply. "He brought his granddaughter with him. She's pretty famous too, actually—a Duel Monsters prodigy. Well, the game Duel Monsters, not the creatures themselves." He smirked at his own joke. "And she's been taking courses at the university. Wow, I mean, she's no ordinary teenager."

"Rebecca Hawkins?" Marik muttered, crossing his arms and not bothering at the moment to see the irony of the man's last remark. "Oh joy." He had heard things about her from the news and from some of Yugi's friends, and he had gathered that Rebecca was probably quite self-centered and overly proud of her abilities. People such as her generally were like that, Marik felt, and he was not looking forward to the meeting that would probably happen between him and her, if Ishizu went to speak with the professor. He had considered it a blessing that he had not met her yet.

"I think they're staying at the Hilton hotel uptown," the driver said now, trying to be helpful.

"Thank you," Ishizu smiled, leaning back in her seat. Once they got back to the home they owned in the city, and after a good night's rest, she would have to contact him. If this problem could not be solved soon, she feared that the entire world would be left in ruins.

Ryou was just settling down with a book when he heard a knock at the door. Confused, he got up and went over, looking through the peephole. To his amazement, he found Téa standing out on the porch. Quickly he opened the door.

"Téa!" he exclaimed. "Oh my . . . this is a surprise." He smiled shyly and in bewilderment, holding the edge of the door with one hand for a moment before inviting her inside. But his smile soon disappeared as he heard the explanation for the girl's late visit.

"Hi, Bakura," she greeted him worriedly, pulling her light jacket closer around herself. Even though "Ryou" was actually his first name, all of his friends called him "Bakura," and he actually preferred that. He was not extremely fond of his first name. "You haven't seen Tristan lately, have you?"

Ryou's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, no," he answered. "I haven't seen him since school ended. What's wrong? Is he missing?" Oreo winded between his legs, meowing loudly and wanting attention.

Téa ran a hand through her bangs. "I don't know," she said helplessly, "but there's been all kinds of trouble going on. Joey and Serenity's mother got kidnapped by the Duel Monsters, and Yugi's been trying to find a way to contact the Dark Magician Girl that he helped during those problems with Doom." Ryou nodded, even though he did not know much about the Doom organization or the problems it had caused, save for what Téa and others had told him later. "He hasn't had any luck yet, and he started calling everyone else to find out if anyone had seen Ms. Kawai. He got hold of me, but there wasn't any answer at Tristan's place or yours!"

Ryou scratched his cheek. "Yes, well, the phone's actually been out here," he explained. "I think all the telephones on the street are down. Perhaps a telephone pole was knocked over or some such thing." He bit his lip. "Have you been to Tristan's house yet?"

"Yugi's checking there now," Téa answered. "He wanted to go to the airport because Marik called him from there and they got cut off, but Marik called back just a few minutes ago and said that everything was okay." She played absentmindedly with the Kuriboh decoration on her cell phone as she spoke. All of these problems that they were going through right now were bothering her immensely. She just wished they would stop before someone got seriously hurt . . . if that had not happened already.

Now Ryou was even further surprised. "Marik's back in Domino?" he cried in astonishment. "But I thought he and the others needed to stay in Egypt for a while longer." Oreo meowed again, more insistently, and finally Ryou picked her up, stroking her soft fur.

"Yeah, that's what we all thought," Téa said, shaking her head. "Marik said they came back to try to help us get rid of all the Duel Monsters." At that moment her phone rang and she quickly held it to her ear. "Hello? Yugi?" she asked hopefully. Ryou could hear the short boy's voice coming through the phone.

"Yeah, Téa, it's me. I'm at Tristan's house, but he isn't here! His parents don't know where he is. They said he left shortly after dinner and they haven't heard from him since!" Yugi swallowed hard, feeling very worried and nervous. For one of them to vanish at any time was a worry, but for it to happen right now was even worse. The bad Duel Monsters could have attacked him and even severely injured him, which was what had happened to Alister and Raphael two months previous. Or maybe . . . maybe even it was worse than Tristan just being injured. . . . Yugi forced himself not to think of that.

Téa felt her hopes shatter. "Oh no!" she moaned.

"I'm really worried," Yugi admitted softly. "But what about Bakura? Is he okay?"

Téa was relieved that she could report the good news that he was. After telling Yugi that she and Ryou would be right over, she quickly hung up.

Suddenly realizing something, Ryou stared at her in shock. "Surely you didn't walk here, Téa?" he exclaimed. "It's so dangerous to do that here, especially after dark!" In his mind he worried over what could have happened to Tristan. He was thinking things along the same lines as Yugi had. And something terrible could have happened to Téa as well, especially if she had walked.

"No," she reassured him, "Mr. Muto brought me over in his truck. Yugi went with Joey and Serenity in Joey's . . . car," she finally finished after a hesitation. The blonde boy's jalopy was such a wreck that it seemed laughable to actually address it as a car.

Ryou did not seem to notice her hesitation. "Well, that's good," he smiled. "Let's go hunt for Tristan!" He opened the door, still holding Oreo over his opposite shoulder.

Téa followed. "It's probably a good idea to bring her with us," she said. "We don't know what might happen to her all alone here at home." Ryou concurred.

While all of these events were going on, a muscular, purple-haired gang leader seemed to slip by unnoticed. He went directly to the rented home where he had been instructed to visit once he had something of worth to report, and knocked three times on the door—one long tap, one short tap, one long tap—the signal. After a moment the door was opened slightly.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" the woman demanded. The man appeared behind her, watching their guest suspiciously.

"'Course not," was the growled response as the young man tossed his hair away from his eye. "If anyone had been followin' me, they'd be dead now anyway." Without waiting to be invited in, he pushed his way in through the partially open door and then slammed it shut behind him.

"Well?" the man asked coldly. "What news have you brought?" He did not approve of his wife's idea to hire such scum to accomplish their mission, but since it had been done, there was not much he could do about it, save to hope that the mercenary knew what he was doing.

"The kid I've been looking after didn't come home yet." An amber eye flashed in annoyance. "I sent him on a mission, but he's takin' too long."

"What kind of mission?" came the indignant demand. "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to him. We need him!"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get him," the mercenary snapped. "He was at the place I sent him to, but he left after that. His motorcycle's gone, but I saw where it had been. And I saw that another motorcycle was there too. They must've left together. Don't worry. I've got the gang combing the whole city. We'll find him, and he'll be in trouble when we do," he hissed to himself.

"Just bring him here!" the woman ordered. "Forget about your punishments or whatever! We want him here as soon as you do find him. Your toying around with things has gone far enough!"

"I daresay you have an agenda of your own that's different from ours," the man added with a frown. "You know the boy can't stay in your gang."

"Whatever. Just don't mess with me, Pops, and everything'll go fine." With that the gang leader turned and left in annoyance, slamming the door behind him with a bang.