Chapter 14

"Breaking News! KaibaCorp's Noah Kaiba was arrested last week after allegations that the boy held innocent civilians hostage after a work related incident and shot at an unarmed individual. The boy has been denied bail and will have his hearing next month. His older brother Seto Kaiba has since taken over as CEO of the corporation. The company's sales have declined in the last few months since the sale of the Duel Disk 3000 and the new trading cards from their major competitor, Millennium Corp. Will Seto Kaiba be able to bring the company back to its glory days? Hopefully, we'll soon find out!

In other news, the disappearance toll has jumped to 23 as another three individuals have been reported missing in the last week. Please remember to stay safe and check on your loved ones.

This has been Arthur Hawkins reporting from Channel 36, Domino City News."

Bakura switched the television off and turned to Ryou who was sitting on the couch next to him, looking quite serious.

"That's another three people who have disappeared and so far we've come up with no leads" Ryou sighed.

"Not necessarily. They still could be connected to our duel disks even though I have no idea how" Bakura replied.

From what he and his brothers knew, Millennium Corp's duel disks were like any other duel disk and he had no idea how there was any connection between the duel disk and the disappearances.

"I mean, maybe someone is trying to take all the duel disks but then why would they be kidnapping people? It really doesn't make any sense" Ryou said, resting his forehead in his hands.

Bakura put an arm around Ryou's shoulders. The boy looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Bakura looked Ryou over and his eyes stopped on Ryou's arm where a small scar was the only reminder of that night.

"Does it still hurt?" Bakura asked and Ryou looked up quickly at the quiet tone in Bakura's voice. His eyes followed Bakura's line of vision and saw Bakura looking at his bullet wound.

"No it doesn't… but you know, it makes me look a bit tougher, don't you think?" Ryou asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You've always been tough" Bakura replied and he pulled Ryou closer to him. Ryou blushed and snuggled in close to Bakura's chest. He wasn't sure but he thought he heard Bakura sigh in content.

They both jumped suddenly when Ryou's phone started buzzing loudly.

"Hello" Ryou answered as he pulled away from Bakura. He listened for a moment before replying shortly and ending the call.

"That was Kaiba. He's managed to grab hold of someone who was there when their friend disappeared. He said to go meet up with them and tell them we're friends of Joey's and she should be able to tell us everything that happened" Ryou explained.

"I'm coming too" Bakura said, going to stand up.

"No, you and your brothers' faces are easily recognizable. I'll go with Yugi and Malik" Ryou replied.

Bakura went to argue back but thought better of it because Ryou did actually have a point.

"Okay then, but one more thing" Bakura said slyly. Ryou turned back around to face Bakura in confusion. Bakura grabbed his waist and pulled him down onto his lap.

"Stay safe" Bakura said sweetly and gave Ryou a peck on the lips.

Ryou's ears went bright red as he got up from Bakura's lap. "Okay" he managed to reply before walking towards the penthouse door.

As he passed Bakura's bedroom he saw a gold glint in the corner of his eye. He stopped and saw the small metal monkey he had given Bakura before they'd been uncovered. He hadn't expected Bakura to have kept it and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he exited the building.

(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)

Yugi, Malik and Ryou looked at each other before Malik stepped forward and knocked on the pink wooden door.

They heard footsteps from inside and the door opened to reveal a female about their age with short brown hair.

"Hi, we're Joey's friends; Malik, Yugi and Ryou" Malik began. "Are you Anzu?"

The girl nodded. "Come on inside, Joey said you guys would be coming" Anzu said, beckoning the three inside.

They all sat down in the living room as Anzu poured them some tea. The walls were covered with pink flowers and there was a general air of femininity in the room.

"So, if you don't mind us asking, what happened to your friend?" Yugi asked sincerely.

"Well it happened a couple of days ago. My friend and I had just bought the new Duel Disk 3000s, you know, the ones from Millennium Corp, and we were just about to duel when my phone starting ringing. I went inside to answer it but when I came back my friend was gone but her duel disk was just lying on the floor" Anzu explained, her eyes tearing up.

"We're so sorry to hear that" Ryou said, putting a hand on Anzu's knee.

Anzu sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "I thought maybe she had left but all her belongings were still here. The strange thing was that the duel disk wouldn't switch on after that."

"Well we're going to do whatever we can to find her" Malik said.

"Thank you all so much. Here's a photo of her if that helps" Anzu said, taking a small photo out of her purse.

The boys looked at the photo, memorizing every detail on the girl's face. There was nothing special about her appearance but the way Anzu spoke of her made her seem quite extraordinary.

"What's your friend like?" Yugi asked.

"Well she's really strong-minded and very good at duel monsters" Anzu explained, a small smile coming to her face. "But besides that she's like everybody else."

"Well thanks for that, we won't take any more of your time. Hopefully we have good news for you soon" Malik said and the boys stood up to leave.

"Let me know if I can do anything else to help" Anzu offered. "Friendships are so important to me."

"We'll keep you updated" Ryou smiled and the boys went to leave.

"One more thing! Take this" Anzu said, handing Yugi over a Duel Disk. "This was my friend's. Maybe you can get some clues from it or something."

"Thanks" Yugi said and the boys left the house.

"What did you guys get out of that? Because I got nothing" Malik sighed as soon as they were outside of earshot.

"Yeah, that wasn't as enlightening as I thought it would be" Yugi agreed.

"I think it does confirm though that the disappearances are definitely connected to the duel disk somehow. Maybe let's take her duel disk back to the others and go from there?" Ryou suggested and the other two nodded in agreement.

(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)

Yami turned the duel disk over in his hands and sighed. "Nothing looks out of the ordinary but maybe we're missing something" Yami said as he continued to look over the machine the boys had handed to him. "The last thing we want is for our products to be making people disappear" he continued.

"Hold on! What's that blue thing?" Marik exclaimed, pointing to the duel disk.

"What are you talking about?" Bakura asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked over at the duel disk in Yami's hands.

"Right there" Marik pointed. He walked over to Yami and turn the duel disk upside down. There, blending into the duel disk in the space where a duelist inserted their arm, was a very small blue barcode.

"I don't remember ever seeing that before" Yami said, squinting at the small barcode.

"Is that bad?" Yugi asked.

"I have no idea" Yami responded. "But you know who would know?" Yami asked and he and his brothers' eyes all met. "Our father."

"Knowing him, the bastard is probably the one behind all this" Bakura sneered.

Yami nodded and lay the duel disk down on the table in front of him. "I knew he was twisted, but why would he be kidnapping people?"

"The guy is insane, and that's coming from me. I think we should pay daddy-dearest a visit" Marik suggested, a manic glint in his eyes.

"Yeah and in the meantime, we'll halt duel disk production before this gets any worse" Yami added.

"Guys" Marik began, turning to face the three spies and clapping his hands together, "it's time to meet our father."

(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)

Well 'meet' their father was one way to put it. The three spies were currently behind Pegasus' mansion, clothed all in black, hidden behind a large Mwaloni tree.

Ryou was hurriedly messaging Bakura and the two exchanged messages before Ryou got the all-clear to go on ahead.

The plan was that Bakura, Yami and Marik would go in from the front and keep Pegasus occupied while the other three went in from the back and tried to figure out what the hell was going on with these duel disks.

Malik and Ryou watched as Yugi climbed the tree and positioned himself on the tallest branch. Although you couldn't tell from his height, Yugi had been the top of his class in agility and stealth, and that included being able to climb tall heights without a sound.

Yugi pulled out his grappling hook and pointed the gun at the second story of Pegasus' mansion. With only a small click, the rope quickly shot across the yard and landed exactly on the windowsill of one of the rooms. Yugi pulled at the rope to make sure it was secure before tying the other end securely to the tree.

Yugi motioned for the others to join him and Ryou and Malik climbed the tree to sit next to Yugi. They each pulled out a hanger from the backpacks and hooked them onto the rope before gliding one by one into the open window of Pegasus' mansion.

(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)

"Well my dear boys, what a pleasant surprise. I do wish you would have called first but you can't have everything… well maybe you can" Pegasus laughed as he opened the doors to his three adoptive sons.

"We're here to discuss business so you can stop the small talk" Yami stated as they entered the mansion.

"My my my, and here I was thinking you had come to see dear old me" Pegasus said as he fake-pouted.

Pegasus got no response from his boys. "Business hey? Isn't our baby blooming? Sales have shot up 5% just this week" Pegasus boasted.

"Yes we've seen. We just wanted to know if you had any idea why" Yami asked, not a trace of a smile mirroring his father's.

"What do you mean why? Our products are impeccable!" Pegasus declared.

"Did you do something to the duel disks?" Bakura asked bluntly.

"Why whatever do you mean?" Pegasus asked.

Bakura took his phone out and showed Pegasus the picture he had taken of the blue barcode. "Does this ring any bells?"

Pegasus' eye twitched slightly but he kept the smile on his face. "Should I know what this is?" he asked.

"It's on our duel disks. Are you saying you've never seen it before?" Marik said.

"I – " Pegasus began but paused when he felt a vibration come from his trouser pocket. He pulled out a small device and looked at the screen.

"My my, I'm full of guests today. If you don't mind, I just need to check on something" Pegasus said, pocketing the device and heading towards the back of the mansion.

The brothers quickly exchanged glances before Yami quickly stepped forward. "We're not finished speaking with you" he demanded.

Pegasus sighed and turned to face the boys. "Well if you must, talk while we walk" Pegasus replied and made his way down the corridor with his sons in tow.

(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)

The boys entered the bedroom and wasted no time in looking through cupboards and drawers in the hope of finding something useful.

Ryou was going through drawer after drawer before he pulled at one that wouldn't open. He saw a small keyhole. "Guys, come over here" Ryou whispered and the other two came around.

Malik pulled out a small wire and began to unlock the drawer. Within a couple of seconds they heard a satisfying click and the drawer unlocked. Ryou pulled it open and found a stack of papers.

They went through the documents and realised they were blueprints for the duel disk.

"Guys look at this" Ryou said as he held up one of the blueprints. "It says here that the Duel Disk 3000 has a new added device. They call it the energy barcode" Ryou read. "What happens is that when you put on the duel disk, that blue barcode scans your wrist and if your soul energy is strong enough, your body is transported back here and your soul is captured."

"What?!" Yugi exclaimed. "Why would Pegasus be collecting souls?"

"To make these" Malik whispered and Ryou and Yugi turned to look at him. Malik was holding up another blueprint, this one with trading cards on it.

"No. You mean to say he's been taking people just to make trading cards? That's sick" Ryou shivered.

"Umm guys, was that red light always flashing?" Yugi asked urgently, pointing to a small light just to the left of the drawer.

"No it was not" a new voice came from the doorway.

All three spies looked up suddenly and saw the silver-haired man followed by his sons.

"I don't like trespassers in my house" Pegasus said slowly.

"Don't hurt them" Yami exclaimed and Pegasus turned to face his sons.

"They're with you?" he asked, no emotion written on his face.

"Yes" Marik answered as the brothers walked over to the spies.

"Oh, you should have told me sooner. Well this makes things easy" Pegasus cried happily.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Easy?" Marik asked.

"Yes, easy to get rid of you all together" Pegasus clapped. Before anyone could really process what he had just said, Pegasus reached over to the wall and pressed a hidden button and before they knew it, the floor disappeared and all six boys fell into the darkness below.

A/N: Another cliffhanger! Hope you guys are enjoying; there's only one or two more chapters left before this fic comes to an end. I probably won't be able to update in the next couple of weeks because of exams but feel free to review in the meantime haha! Keep smiling :)