Greetings! Here's another hopefully exciting installment of this fic. . .
Replies:
Wolfspeaker: Thanks! Yami isn't usually very vulnerable, but I'm sure he's got that side of him. I figured with Yugi in trouble, he'd be less likely to hide it.
I Luv Yugi and Kurt: Rape? Nope. . . after I read your review, I reread the chapter and it did kind of sound like that, didn't it? No, they want Yugi for something else. . .
Millennia Star: Thank you! I'm very glad that you like the story.
Ashley Motou: Nah, it's not mean to like the story. . . we hurt the ones we love, remember? :o)
Jadesaber: Yup, Yami couldn't sense Yugi because Yugi had been drugged. Since Yugi was unconscious, Yami couldn't talk to him or know that Yugi was still around.
Yugi: I'm very glad that you're enjoying the story, and that it was something you were on the look out for!
ShadowRika: Yugi is the perfect target because we all adore him. It just makes it so much fun to mess with his head. Gee, now that sounds mean. Glad you like the story, and 'Paint the Sky with Stars' as well!
Naomi Silverwolf: Glad to know you're still interested! I don't want to bore anyone. . . :o)
Now on with the show.
**~~**
Part 3: In the Hands of Strangers
Seto Kaiba was late for school.
He hated being late, but it couldn't be helped. He'd been called into the development lab to deal with a technical problem his engineers had needed authorization to solve, and it had taken him longer than he thought to work it all out. He'd decided to drive himself today so that he could go at his own pace, not at the pace his driver deemed it necessary to go.
He'd taken a shortcut to school this morning, one that he used every once in a while. It led him straight through the residential area closest to the school. Sometimes, he'd see Yugi and his friends walking to school along this street, but Kaiba doubted he'd see them this morning. They were probably in school by now.
Kaiba turned a corner and found himself driving along the street that led to the Moto's game shop. He slammed on the brakes suddenly when he spotted the police cruisers parked alongside the quiet shop. He was still a few meters away from the shop, so the police officers that were walking in and out of the house, and around the perimeter of the building, hadn't noticed him yet.
"What happened?" he asked himself.
He continued to watch the police activity around him, noting that several neighbors had come out of their houses to look at what was going on. Kaiba looked around for Yugi, his grandfather, or his friends, but didn't see anyone. He shrugged. Whatever had happened wasn't any of his business anyway. Yugi would probably be at school, so Kaiba could always ask him about what was going on once he got there.
With a final look at the game shop, Kaiba put the car in gear and drove away. He had classes to get to.
**~~**
'Where is he? He's never late'
Joey had been repeating the same thing over and over in his mind for the last half hour. It was five minutes until school began and there was no sign of Yugi. He was never late, Joey was certain about that. Yugi valued promptness and always walked to school with plenty of time to get there. He usually walked with Tea, but Joey had already seen her arrive, and Yugi had not been with her. Tea had told him that her father had dropped her off this morning because she'd been running late, and she hadn't gone to pick Yugi up as she usually did.
The one minute bell suddenly rang, and Joey couldn't afford to wait for Yugi anymore. With one last look around the empty courtyard, he ran into the school and barely made it to his class before the tardy bell rang.
"Where were you, Wheeler?" Tristan asked as Joey took his customary seat in front of him.
"I was waiting for Yug," Joey answered, turning to his right to see if maybe he'd missed Yugi. Unfortunately, the younger teen's desk was empty. "I don't know where he is this morning."
Joey wasn't given a chance to say more, because the teacher entered the room and began her lecture.
Thirty minutes later, Joey was barely paying attention to the history lecture. He'd taken to glancing outside into the courtyard to see if he could spot Yugi walking to school late. The last time Yugi was out of school was because he'd come down with a really bad case of the flu, and Joey was beginning to worry.
"Mr. Bakura, it's nice of you to finally join us."
Joey turned in the direction of the front door and saw their white haired friend standing next to the teacher's desk. Joey had been so worried about Yugi's absence that he hadn't noticed that Ryou wasn't there either. Ryou looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Joey wondered what had happened to him to make him look like that, and to make him late.
"My apologies, but I do have an excuse," Ryou said and handed the teacher a note. Joey turned his attention to her and saw as her face lost its color. Whatever was in the note, it wasn't a good thing.
"Oh, my, that's unbelievable. Is there anything I can do?"
Joey frowned. The teacher was looking at Ryou, whose face had also lost a little more of its color. He shook his head as she handed him the note.
"No, there isn't, but I'll let you know if anything comes up." Ryou paused momentarily as he thought of something. "I would like to speak to Joey and Tristan, if I can. I think they need to know."
The teacher turned away from Ryou and glanced at Joey.
'Huh? What's going on that we need to know?' Joey thought. As soon as that thought went through his head, he turned to glance at Yugi's empty desk.
"Of course. Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Taylor, please step outside with Mr. Bakura. You have fifteen minutes to talk."
Joey got up from his desk, confusion clearly written all over his face. He saw Tristan glance at him and could see that his friend was just as confused as he was. The closer they got to Ryou, the worse he looked.
The three teenagers stepped outside of the room, and Ryou led them a few feet away from the door to the classroom. Without saying anything, he reached into his backpack and took out Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. He held it out to Joey.
"You should keep this Joey, before Bakura gets tempted to hide it from me."
Joey stared at the outstretched puzzle, then back at Bakura.
"What are you doing with that, Ryou? Yugi is going to kill you. Yami is also going to kill you when he finds out you took that."
Ryou's face lowered, but not before Joey saw the tears in his eyes.
"What happened? Why are you holding that? Where is Yugi? Why isn't he in school?"
Joey's voice had gotten a bit loud, and it took Tristan's hand on his shoulder to get him to lower it.
"What's going on, Ryou?" Tristan asked.
Ryou took a deep break and told them everything that had happened the night before. His voice was soft, but it shook as he recalled the events. Joey flinched when Ryou told them of Yami's description of what had happened. He couldn't understand what had happened and why.
"Take the puzzle, Joey. Yami needs to be able to talk to us; he needs to know what's going on through us. He probably won't be able to appear to you without me around, but the puzzle is safer with you."
Joey frowned. "I thought Yami could only appear if Yugi was around."
Ryou nodded. "That was the case, until Yami found a way to communicate with me and Bakura through our link. We have to keep him informed. Besides, he's the only one that saw what happened. We need his help to find Yugi."
"How can we do that?" Tristan asked. "Do the police know anything yet?"
Ryou was quiet for a moment. "Nothing yet. I was just at the police station, and they told me that they're still searching the house and the grounds surrounding it. Yugi's grandfather was in surgery this morning to repair a broken back, and the doctors say that he won't be regaining consciousness for a while."
"Ryou's right. I don't trust the police," Joey exclaimed. "If we want Yugi found, we have to find him ourselves."
"Okay, so what do we do?" Tristan asked.
"That's the next big problem."
**~~**
Yugi Moto was awake.
He had been for a while now. How long, he couldn't tell. He couldn't even see where he was, all he knew was that it was dark and cold. He could hear the sounds of civilization going on outside of the room he was in and wished that he wasn't gagged. He was sure that if he could only scream for help, someone would hear him.
His hands were tied, as were his feet. It was uncomfortable to lie on his back because his hands were tied behind him, so he had to lie on his side. It was so cold that his right side had gone numb from where it had been in contact with the floor. After all, he only had his thin pajamas to cover him.
His head felt fuzzy, but it wasn't fuzzy enough to prevent him from remembering the events of the night before.
He'd been sleeping soundly when he'd felt someone put a hand over his mouth and nose. He'd opened his eyes to see a man standing over him, pressing the cloth to his face. He'd breathed something awful and had tried to fight the attacker off with little success. His plight had awakened Yami, who'd come out of the puzzle to help, but Yugi had known that the spirit wasn't going to be able to do anything. Yugi hadn't been coherent enough to give control of his body to Yami, and Yami had probably been a little preoccupied to forcefully take it from him.
Yugi remembered his grandfather also. He only had bits and pieces of memory, but he knew that his grandfather had been there. What had happened to both of them?
His heart clenched at the possibility that something had happened to his grandfather or to his yami. He had noticed earlier that he wasn't wearing the puzzle. He didn't wear the puzzle to bed, so it was likely that the puzzle was still back in his room. Hopefully his grandfather or one of his friends would keep it safe.
'Why am I here? What does that man want with me?' Yugi asked himself for the hundredth time since he'd woken up. No matter how he thought about it, how many angles he tried to see the situation from, he couldn't come to a reasonable conclusion. There was no reason for that man to break into his house and take him away. Yugi hadn't seen anyone around, and he was beginning to wonder if he was all by himself.
He shook his head, shivering slightly at the cold. Carefully, he maneuvered his body into a sitting position and scooted back until he felt a wall against his back. The wall felt warm, so Yugi figured that it must face the outside. He tried pounding it with his fists, but there was no sound. The wall, like the rest of the room, seemed to also be made of concrete. Sound would not travel well through it.
Yugi sighed and laid his head against the wall. He was tired and he ached. His stomach rumbled and he realized that he was also hungry. More than anything, he was scared. He wanted to know whey he'd been brought here.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the link he knew existed between him and Yami. If he couldn't call for help with his voice, he'd do it with his mind.
**Yami?**
Yugi waited, but nothing happened. He was still a bit woozy from the drugs he'd been given, but he didn't think it was enough to keep him from sensing Yami. Unless something was wrong and Yami was hurt.
**YAMI!**
This time, Yugi felt a jerk from the other end of the connection.
*YUGI!* came Yami's slightly surprised voice. *Where are you, are you okay?*
The connection was extremely faint, but Yugi could feel Yami's concern through the link.
**I don't know where I am, but it's cold. I can hear people outside, so it's got to be a building surrounded by a lot of other busy buildings. I wasn't awake when they put me in here. I'm gagged, so I can't call out for help.**
*Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?*
Yami's concern scared Yugi. It wasn't that Yami wasn't normally overprotective, it's just that this time, even through the weak link, Yugi felt Yami's fear for his safety. The situation seemed worse now that Yugi knew Yami was afraid for him.
**I feel disoriented, but I think it's because of the drug. Other than being cold and uncomfortable, I'm not injured.**
Yami remained quiet for a moment. *I will find you, Yugi. I can use the link to get to you*
Yugi frowned. **How are you going to do that? You can't exist on your own**
When Yami answered, Yugi could feel slight bemusement in Yami's mental voice. *I have learned to communicate with Bakura. Through Ryou, I can get to you*
**Okay. I'll try to help in any way I can through the link**
*I will get to you, Yugi, I swear it*
Yugi nodded once in affirmation. **I know you will, Yami. I know you will**
**~~**
Yami didn't bother to make a connection with Bakura. He'd seen Ryou with the puzzle, so he assumed that if he appeared, he'd be able to talk to Ryou. That's all he needed, so he willed himself out of the puzzle and was surprised to find himself in the middle of a strange place. It was empty, save for three people walking in front of him. One of them had white hair, so he knew he'd reached the right person.
"Ryou!"
Ryou turned, and Yami could see the surprise on his face. Tristan and Joey, who had been walking beside Ryou, also turned.
"Woah, Yami. I didn't know you were there," Joey commented, and Yami saw that he was now the one that held the Millennium Puzzle. He turned to Ryou.
"You've given Joey the puzzle?"
Ryou nodded. "I didn't want to take any chances, because Bakura wanted to hide it."
Yami nodded. It seemed as if he were going to be communicating with Joey Wheeler from now on.
"Yugi is awake. I just spoke to him through our mental link."
"Where is he?"
"Is he okay?"
Yami looked at Tristan and Joey and held up his hands. "Patience, please. Yugi is scared, but unharmed. He does not know where he is, but he hears noises outside of the room he is in. He speculated that he was in the middle of a populated area, something similar to a place of business. He could tell me nothing more, however. We must get to him quickly, before he is moved."
Joey frowned. "How do we do that?"
"Do you have any idea of anywhere Yugi might have been taken to that is surrounded by places of business?" Yami asked.
There was silence as the three friends pondered the question.
"The docks!" Tristan answered. "It's far away from the main part of the city to provide safety for the kidnappers, but still populated enough for Yugi to be hearing people outside."
Yami smiled slightly, glad to finally have a potential location. "How do we get to these docks?"
Joey grinned. "We take the bus. Come on, let's go!"
**~~**
Will the gang get to Yugi in time? Hmmm. . . we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reading!!
Replies:
Wolfspeaker: Thanks! Yami isn't usually very vulnerable, but I'm sure he's got that side of him. I figured with Yugi in trouble, he'd be less likely to hide it.
I Luv Yugi and Kurt: Rape? Nope. . . after I read your review, I reread the chapter and it did kind of sound like that, didn't it? No, they want Yugi for something else. . .
Millennia Star: Thank you! I'm very glad that you like the story.
Ashley Motou: Nah, it's not mean to like the story. . . we hurt the ones we love, remember? :o)
Jadesaber: Yup, Yami couldn't sense Yugi because Yugi had been drugged. Since Yugi was unconscious, Yami couldn't talk to him or know that Yugi was still around.
Yugi: I'm very glad that you're enjoying the story, and that it was something you were on the look out for!
ShadowRika: Yugi is the perfect target because we all adore him. It just makes it so much fun to mess with his head. Gee, now that sounds mean. Glad you like the story, and 'Paint the Sky with Stars' as well!
Naomi Silverwolf: Glad to know you're still interested! I don't want to bore anyone. . . :o)
Now on with the show.
**~~**
Part 3: In the Hands of Strangers
Seto Kaiba was late for school.
He hated being late, but it couldn't be helped. He'd been called into the development lab to deal with a technical problem his engineers had needed authorization to solve, and it had taken him longer than he thought to work it all out. He'd decided to drive himself today so that he could go at his own pace, not at the pace his driver deemed it necessary to go.
He'd taken a shortcut to school this morning, one that he used every once in a while. It led him straight through the residential area closest to the school. Sometimes, he'd see Yugi and his friends walking to school along this street, but Kaiba doubted he'd see them this morning. They were probably in school by now.
Kaiba turned a corner and found himself driving along the street that led to the Moto's game shop. He slammed on the brakes suddenly when he spotted the police cruisers parked alongside the quiet shop. He was still a few meters away from the shop, so the police officers that were walking in and out of the house, and around the perimeter of the building, hadn't noticed him yet.
"What happened?" he asked himself.
He continued to watch the police activity around him, noting that several neighbors had come out of their houses to look at what was going on. Kaiba looked around for Yugi, his grandfather, or his friends, but didn't see anyone. He shrugged. Whatever had happened wasn't any of his business anyway. Yugi would probably be at school, so Kaiba could always ask him about what was going on once he got there.
With a final look at the game shop, Kaiba put the car in gear and drove away. He had classes to get to.
**~~**
'Where is he? He's never late'
Joey had been repeating the same thing over and over in his mind for the last half hour. It was five minutes until school began and there was no sign of Yugi. He was never late, Joey was certain about that. Yugi valued promptness and always walked to school with plenty of time to get there. He usually walked with Tea, but Joey had already seen her arrive, and Yugi had not been with her. Tea had told him that her father had dropped her off this morning because she'd been running late, and she hadn't gone to pick Yugi up as she usually did.
The one minute bell suddenly rang, and Joey couldn't afford to wait for Yugi anymore. With one last look around the empty courtyard, he ran into the school and barely made it to his class before the tardy bell rang.
"Where were you, Wheeler?" Tristan asked as Joey took his customary seat in front of him.
"I was waiting for Yug," Joey answered, turning to his right to see if maybe he'd missed Yugi. Unfortunately, the younger teen's desk was empty. "I don't know where he is this morning."
Joey wasn't given a chance to say more, because the teacher entered the room and began her lecture.
Thirty minutes later, Joey was barely paying attention to the history lecture. He'd taken to glancing outside into the courtyard to see if he could spot Yugi walking to school late. The last time Yugi was out of school was because he'd come down with a really bad case of the flu, and Joey was beginning to worry.
"Mr. Bakura, it's nice of you to finally join us."
Joey turned in the direction of the front door and saw their white haired friend standing next to the teacher's desk. Joey had been so worried about Yugi's absence that he hadn't noticed that Ryou wasn't there either. Ryou looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes. Joey wondered what had happened to him to make him look like that, and to make him late.
"My apologies, but I do have an excuse," Ryou said and handed the teacher a note. Joey turned his attention to her and saw as her face lost its color. Whatever was in the note, it wasn't a good thing.
"Oh, my, that's unbelievable. Is there anything I can do?"
Joey frowned. The teacher was looking at Ryou, whose face had also lost a little more of its color. He shook his head as she handed him the note.
"No, there isn't, but I'll let you know if anything comes up." Ryou paused momentarily as he thought of something. "I would like to speak to Joey and Tristan, if I can. I think they need to know."
The teacher turned away from Ryou and glanced at Joey.
'Huh? What's going on that we need to know?' Joey thought. As soon as that thought went through his head, he turned to glance at Yugi's empty desk.
"Of course. Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Taylor, please step outside with Mr. Bakura. You have fifteen minutes to talk."
Joey got up from his desk, confusion clearly written all over his face. He saw Tristan glance at him and could see that his friend was just as confused as he was. The closer they got to Ryou, the worse he looked.
The three teenagers stepped outside of the room, and Ryou led them a few feet away from the door to the classroom. Without saying anything, he reached into his backpack and took out Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. He held it out to Joey.
"You should keep this Joey, before Bakura gets tempted to hide it from me."
Joey stared at the outstretched puzzle, then back at Bakura.
"What are you doing with that, Ryou? Yugi is going to kill you. Yami is also going to kill you when he finds out you took that."
Ryou's face lowered, but not before Joey saw the tears in his eyes.
"What happened? Why are you holding that? Where is Yugi? Why isn't he in school?"
Joey's voice had gotten a bit loud, and it took Tristan's hand on his shoulder to get him to lower it.
"What's going on, Ryou?" Tristan asked.
Ryou took a deep break and told them everything that had happened the night before. His voice was soft, but it shook as he recalled the events. Joey flinched when Ryou told them of Yami's description of what had happened. He couldn't understand what had happened and why.
"Take the puzzle, Joey. Yami needs to be able to talk to us; he needs to know what's going on through us. He probably won't be able to appear to you without me around, but the puzzle is safer with you."
Joey frowned. "I thought Yami could only appear if Yugi was around."
Ryou nodded. "That was the case, until Yami found a way to communicate with me and Bakura through our link. We have to keep him informed. Besides, he's the only one that saw what happened. We need his help to find Yugi."
"How can we do that?" Tristan asked. "Do the police know anything yet?"
Ryou was quiet for a moment. "Nothing yet. I was just at the police station, and they told me that they're still searching the house and the grounds surrounding it. Yugi's grandfather was in surgery this morning to repair a broken back, and the doctors say that he won't be regaining consciousness for a while."
"Ryou's right. I don't trust the police," Joey exclaimed. "If we want Yugi found, we have to find him ourselves."
"Okay, so what do we do?" Tristan asked.
"That's the next big problem."
**~~**
Yugi Moto was awake.
He had been for a while now. How long, he couldn't tell. He couldn't even see where he was, all he knew was that it was dark and cold. He could hear the sounds of civilization going on outside of the room he was in and wished that he wasn't gagged. He was sure that if he could only scream for help, someone would hear him.
His hands were tied, as were his feet. It was uncomfortable to lie on his back because his hands were tied behind him, so he had to lie on his side. It was so cold that his right side had gone numb from where it had been in contact with the floor. After all, he only had his thin pajamas to cover him.
His head felt fuzzy, but it wasn't fuzzy enough to prevent him from remembering the events of the night before.
He'd been sleeping soundly when he'd felt someone put a hand over his mouth and nose. He'd opened his eyes to see a man standing over him, pressing the cloth to his face. He'd breathed something awful and had tried to fight the attacker off with little success. His plight had awakened Yami, who'd come out of the puzzle to help, but Yugi had known that the spirit wasn't going to be able to do anything. Yugi hadn't been coherent enough to give control of his body to Yami, and Yami had probably been a little preoccupied to forcefully take it from him.
Yugi remembered his grandfather also. He only had bits and pieces of memory, but he knew that his grandfather had been there. What had happened to both of them?
His heart clenched at the possibility that something had happened to his grandfather or to his yami. He had noticed earlier that he wasn't wearing the puzzle. He didn't wear the puzzle to bed, so it was likely that the puzzle was still back in his room. Hopefully his grandfather or one of his friends would keep it safe.
'Why am I here? What does that man want with me?' Yugi asked himself for the hundredth time since he'd woken up. No matter how he thought about it, how many angles he tried to see the situation from, he couldn't come to a reasonable conclusion. There was no reason for that man to break into his house and take him away. Yugi hadn't seen anyone around, and he was beginning to wonder if he was all by himself.
He shook his head, shivering slightly at the cold. Carefully, he maneuvered his body into a sitting position and scooted back until he felt a wall against his back. The wall felt warm, so Yugi figured that it must face the outside. He tried pounding it with his fists, but there was no sound. The wall, like the rest of the room, seemed to also be made of concrete. Sound would not travel well through it.
Yugi sighed and laid his head against the wall. He was tired and he ached. His stomach rumbled and he realized that he was also hungry. More than anything, he was scared. He wanted to know whey he'd been brought here.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the link he knew existed between him and Yami. If he couldn't call for help with his voice, he'd do it with his mind.
**Yami?**
Yugi waited, but nothing happened. He was still a bit woozy from the drugs he'd been given, but he didn't think it was enough to keep him from sensing Yami. Unless something was wrong and Yami was hurt.
**YAMI!**
This time, Yugi felt a jerk from the other end of the connection.
*YUGI!* came Yami's slightly surprised voice. *Where are you, are you okay?*
The connection was extremely faint, but Yugi could feel Yami's concern through the link.
**I don't know where I am, but it's cold. I can hear people outside, so it's got to be a building surrounded by a lot of other busy buildings. I wasn't awake when they put me in here. I'm gagged, so I can't call out for help.**
*Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?*
Yami's concern scared Yugi. It wasn't that Yami wasn't normally overprotective, it's just that this time, even through the weak link, Yugi felt Yami's fear for his safety. The situation seemed worse now that Yugi knew Yami was afraid for him.
**I feel disoriented, but I think it's because of the drug. Other than being cold and uncomfortable, I'm not injured.**
Yami remained quiet for a moment. *I will find you, Yugi. I can use the link to get to you*
Yugi frowned. **How are you going to do that? You can't exist on your own**
When Yami answered, Yugi could feel slight bemusement in Yami's mental voice. *I have learned to communicate with Bakura. Through Ryou, I can get to you*
**Okay. I'll try to help in any way I can through the link**
*I will get to you, Yugi, I swear it*
Yugi nodded once in affirmation. **I know you will, Yami. I know you will**
**~~**
Yami didn't bother to make a connection with Bakura. He'd seen Ryou with the puzzle, so he assumed that if he appeared, he'd be able to talk to Ryou. That's all he needed, so he willed himself out of the puzzle and was surprised to find himself in the middle of a strange place. It was empty, save for three people walking in front of him. One of them had white hair, so he knew he'd reached the right person.
"Ryou!"
Ryou turned, and Yami could see the surprise on his face. Tristan and Joey, who had been walking beside Ryou, also turned.
"Woah, Yami. I didn't know you were there," Joey commented, and Yami saw that he was now the one that held the Millennium Puzzle. He turned to Ryou.
"You've given Joey the puzzle?"
Ryou nodded. "I didn't want to take any chances, because Bakura wanted to hide it."
Yami nodded. It seemed as if he were going to be communicating with Joey Wheeler from now on.
"Yugi is awake. I just spoke to him through our mental link."
"Where is he?"
"Is he okay?"
Yami looked at Tristan and Joey and held up his hands. "Patience, please. Yugi is scared, but unharmed. He does not know where he is, but he hears noises outside of the room he is in. He speculated that he was in the middle of a populated area, something similar to a place of business. He could tell me nothing more, however. We must get to him quickly, before he is moved."
Joey frowned. "How do we do that?"
"Do you have any idea of anywhere Yugi might have been taken to that is surrounded by places of business?" Yami asked.
There was silence as the three friends pondered the question.
"The docks!" Tristan answered. "It's far away from the main part of the city to provide safety for the kidnappers, but still populated enough for Yugi to be hearing people outside."
Yami smiled slightly, glad to finally have a potential location. "How do we get to these docks?"
Joey grinned. "We take the bus. Come on, let's go!"
**~~**
Will the gang get to Yugi in time? Hmmm. . . we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reading!!