Eine Mitternachtsstimme Chapter 8 [Yu-Gi-Oh, Rubato]
Title: Eine Mitternachtsstime (A Midnight Voice) Chapter 8 (other chapters can be found at ff.net)
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Theme: 11; Rubato
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is
Summary/Comments: Marik and Odion arrive as Seto tries to make sense of what's going on, and while Téa meets a new friend...
Cross-posted to ff.net
Seto stared at the medallion for a full thirty seconds before angrily removing it from his neck. It had to be some sort of trick! Someone had taken Roland, and then made it seem like Seto had done it under the power of the medallion!
…But who would have been able to enter Kaiba Manor, take the medallion, and then bring Seto to his office without him being aware of it…? And just the other night, he had woken up in his own office…
But wait… hadn’t his secretary just said that Roland had seen him walking?
Seto ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Was he sleepwalking? Did it have something to do with all of the work he had been doing? And Roland… what had happened to Roland…!? If Seto had been sleepwalking… was it even remotely possible that he had done something to Roland!?
His mind raced, desperately seeing some answers. Well, first of all, he had to find Roland. Roland would be able to tell him exactly what happened… assuming Roland wasn’t too badly hurt… or perhaps even worse…
A yell from the phone in his hand brought him to reality; he had forgotten that Mokuba had still been on the line.
“Seto, what happened?!” Mokuba’s voice yelled in a panic. “I just got a call from the secretary on the other line-she told me that Roland saw you, and--”
“Disappeared; yes, I heard…” said Seto.
“But what were you doing out there?” Mokuba asked. “You didn’t say anything about going to work that early…”
“I wasn’t aware of it, either…” Seto muttered.
Mokuba stared at the phone in horror.
“Seto… what does this mean!?”
“I wish I knew…” Seto replied, shutting his eyes and trying to focus. If he had been somewhere of his own volition, he should be able to recall fragments of what happened. Assuming that he wasn’t the one responsible for Roland’s disappearance, who was? Had they been planning to take him, only Roland ended up thwarting their plan? And there was the all-important question: what if Seto hadn’t been there of his own volition?
The young CEO growled in frustration, refusing to believe that he was being mind-controlled. He glared at the medallion in his hand. True, that detective last night had warned him about it, going on about dangers, but Seto certainly didn’t believe in any of that!
“Seto…” Mokuba was saying over the line. “You were at that dinner party last night, weren’t you? The last time you woke up in your office that morning, it was just after you got off the phone with that head of NightWing Enterprises…”
Seto blinked. Yes, he had spoken to von Krolock that night, and he had also seen him in person the previous night. Could it be that von Krolock was somehow hypnotizing him into aiding him with this plot about the disappearing people? Could he be the reason behind Pegasus’ disappearance? Well, he’d just have to have a word with him and get some answers…
“You might be on to something, Mokuba…” said Seto, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll be looking into that.”
“Be careful…” his brother pleaded.
Mokuba sighed as Seto said his goodbyes and hung up. Something terrible was happening to his elder brother-he just knew it! And even though Seto would probably be furious, Mokuba knew he would have to go to the ones he knew would be able to help: Yugi and his friends.
********************************
Téa had not slept well that night; her nightmares had been filled with visions of Bandit Keith pursuing her through a maze of realistic holograms. She had gone through a door that hadn’t truly been a door, but had, in fact, been Arkana’s magic cabinet, which closed and locked behind her. All had gone dark, the mad magician’s laugh ringing in her ears…
It was at this point that she had awoken with a gasp. She breathed out a sigh of relief and suppressed a shudder as she reflected on how real the dream had seemed…
She hardly ate anything that moment for breakfast; her appetite had been diminished by the nightmare. But she did eat a piece of buttered toast before heading outside to calm her nerves.
She had gotten up early; most of her friends wouldn’t even be out of bed yet. And the Game Shop wouldn’t be open yet. With another sigh, she decided to stop by the arcade; perhaps a round or two of the dancing game they had in there would serve as a nice morning pick-me-up. And this early, she’d probably be the only one in line.
And she was right; there was only one other person in the arcade-a young man, who was completely absorbed in one of the pinball machines. He didn’t give her a glance at all; he was too into his game. Beside him, a year-old Siberian husky sat, waiting for him to finish. Téa wasn’t sure that dogs were allowed in the arcade, but she decided not to ruin his fun.
She started a one-player game and began to dance her way through it. Ah, yes… it was definitely working to calm down her nerves. She was in her element… where she belonged… And in spite of how the Rare Hunters tried to shatter her dream, she knew that she could not let them make her quit dancing. As long as she kept dancing, she would be beating them, and that was essential to her spirit.
The young man, finishing up his pinball game, began searching his pockets for more quarters when he finally looked up and saw Téa dancing. He blinked, finally retrieving a quarter, and briefly glanced back at the pinball machine before glancing at the second-player stage on the dancing game.
Shrugging to himself, the young man deposited the quarter in the second-player stage and began to dance. Téa smiled at her opponent, who started out strongly, but found himself unable to keep up with her. Five minutes in, he gave up, the husky giving him an amused look.
“Okay, I surrender!” he yelped, leaping from the stage. “Uncle! You win!”
Téa smiled at him again as her screen displayed the “Level Clear!” sign.
“You started off pretty well…” she said.
“Yeah…” the young man mused. “But I’m no dancer; I’m just a lowly messenger boy…”
“I actually am a dancer…” said Téa. “I’m Téa Gardner.”
She extended her hand, and the young man took it, kissing it.
“Enchanted…” he said, softly.
Téa just smiled, admittedly slightly flattered.
Careful… her mind told herself. Flattery was how you got yourself involved with those Rare Hunters…
She pushed the thought aside; she didn’t want to become as cynical and distrusting of everyone like Seto was! She had to believe that this young man was on the level.
“And you are…?” she asked.
The young man blinked.
“Well…” he said. “My friends call me Pip sometimes… short for Pippin-we have a Lord of the Rings thing going on sometimes…”
Téa blinked. They called him that “sometimes”? A thought prodded her mind: did he have something to hide? His friendly nature was something she had seen before in Aurus.
“Well, it’s certainly nice to meet you, Pip,” she said, managing a smile. There wasn’t much sincerity in her words; she wasn’t about to trust him.
“Likewise…” the young man replied. He blinked as the husky barked at him. “Oh, and this is Borealis. So, where’re you headed this fine morning?”
“Oh, I’m just catching up with some friends,” said Téa, not keen on giving away too many details. “In fact, I think I’d better go…”
“Great,” said the young man. “I’m just… wandering around aimlessly, I suppose…”
He and the dog headed outside with her, glancing around at the nearby buildings. Téa wasn’t sure if she wanted to head to the Game Shop with this stranger in tow; what if he was a Rare Hunter?
“You know, if I had the time, I’d love to show you around town, but as it is…” She trailed off as a Dronyche Company limo pulled up alongside her. The tinted window lowered, revealing a smug Aranea Vulsor. Travencore was visible in the seat beside her.
“What happened?” she asked. “Did Kaiba decide to dump you? I wouldn’t blame him after those friends of yours crashed the party last night.”
“Why would you care…?” the dancer retorted. “It’s not like we were together at all. And you’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face after he and I both know that you were the one who knocked him out last night!”
“And what proof do you have to back up such a claim…?” Vulsor challenged.
Téa gritted her teeth, but remained silent. Of course, she was right-they’d never be able to prove it was her unless they went inside that ruined manor and got the fingerprints of whatever it was she had used to knock Seto out.
“Well, I bet your dear mother could prove you did it,” said Téa.
If she had been wanting to get a reaction from Vulsor, she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. The fair-haired woman’s eyes flashed with rage before glaring back at Téa.
“You know nothing,” Vulsor hissed. “Why don’t you ask her about how she was the one responsible for my father’s death-and how she kept it from me for twelve years!?”
Téa gasped. Madame Mystica, a killer…? No, it wasn’t possible-it couldn’t be! She had saved Seto’s life after he had been bitten by one of Aranea’s funnel web spiders!
Téa looked away, trying to collect her thoughts, and she blinked; she had just noticed that the young man and the husky who had been next to her moments ago had just vanished. But he was the last thing on her mind; she was more concerned with how they had put so much trust and faith in someone who possibly… No, she couldn’t think that! Why would she just take Aranea’s word on the matter, after they knew how devious she was? And yet, the look in Aranea’s eyes had been one of genuine rage…
The CEO didn’t wait for Téa to come up with a reply; she had ordered her chauffer to drive away as she raised the tinted window again.
Téa stood there, numbly, trying to pull together the confusing thoughts when a voice spoke from back inside the arcade.
“Wow, you sure ticked her off…” said the young messenger boy, crawling out from under a pinball machine near the door. The husky crawled out behind him. “You’ve gotta teach me how to do that…”
“Pip?” she asked. “What were you doing under there?”
“Well, I could say that I was looking for a quarter I dropped, but… I was hiding…” He indicated the limo, which turned at the corner. Borealis growled angrily at the retreating limo.
“You were hiding from Aranea Vulsor?” Téa asked. “You mean, you know her?”
“Oh, yeah…” he replied, with a heavy sigh, looking far less upbeat than before. “She’s my bride to be…”
“Oh, so you’re Vulsor’s fiancé…” Téa exclaimed. “I never would’ve guessed it was you…”
“Do I know you…?” he asked, confused.
“No, I don’t think so…” said Téa. “But I met someone yesterday who mentioned you; he said you were his brother--”
“Where!?” he asked, looking suddenly relieved. “Where did you see him!? Was he alone, or was there someone else there, too?!”
“I… Calm down, Pip; it was just him…” she said, taken aback by his sudden change of tone. “He was an investigator who was looking into a banshee sighting last night at the festival; apparently, she’s one of this Vulsor’s ancestors…”
“Oh, no…” the young man murmured. “Yeah, I know all about her; she’s partly the reason why I’m forced to marry ‘this Vulsor.’”
“You don’t want to marry her?” Téa asked, recalling what the investigator had mentioned last night.
“Are you kidding? You think I’d want to marry the Spider Woman? She refuses to have the cobwebs cleared in her manor! And besides… you know that female spiders kill their lovers… If she’s spent as much time as she has with those creepy-crawlies, there’s a very good chance she may have picked up some habits from them-including that one…” He shuddered.
“Then why are you going through with it?” asked Téa, disturbed by the thought.
“Well… it’s a long story,” sighed the young man. “She doesn’t want to let me out of it. I probably could get out of it if we took it to court, but I’m hoping if I do go along with it, it’ll help find my missing colleague and friend. But first of all, I have to find two more of my colleagues who’re supposed to be here… You said you saw one of them, right?”
“Yeah…” said Téa. Then, a thought struck her. “I thought he looked familiar, though; I think I have seen him before.”
“Well, we’ve been to Domino on assignment before…” he replied
Téa nodded, understanding. She knew now that she could trust him; he was clearly trying to help them solve the case.
“You know, there’re some people I think you should meet,” she said. She knew where she would be taking him-to Yugi’s game shop.
***********************
They were not the only two heading for the Game Shop; two Egyptian brothers had just arrived in a taxi as Yugi was helping Solomon open for the day.
“Yugi…!” Marik exclaimed, his expression a mix of fatigue, worry, and a little bit of hope. Odion was beside him, his face careworn as well.
“Marik…” Yugi said, unsure of what to say. What was there to say to someone who had a missing sister he clearly cared about? “How are you holding up?”
The Egyptian boy let out a long sigh.
“It’s hard, Yugi…” he said. “I haven’t found out much, but based on what I do know… I have a feeling that all of those missing people… Well…” He swallowed hard. “They weren’t taken for ransom.”
Yugi’s eyes widened. Unbidden to his mind came the dark take of the Millennium Items-how 99 souls had been “harvested” to create them.
And now he felt ill. Could it be that there was some other ritual-one connected with the Anubis and Anput medallions? Was that why people were going missing at an alarming rate. And was it already too late for some or all of them!? No, he couldn’t think like that-those missing people had to be found alive and well!
“I’m so worried about her…” said Marik, blinking back a couple tears as Odion bowed his head, praying again. “I came here because I hoped that you would help us find her-find all of them…”
“Of course…” said Yugi. “We’ll do everything we can! The others are all on their way here; we knew you were coming.”
“Thank you, Yugi…” Marik replied, sincerely. “One can easily see the influence that Atem has had on you--”
Marik was cut off, abruptly as something large and furry appeared right in front of his face, proceeding to lick him. Marik yelped, falling over and looking up to see a husky showering him with greetings.
“Down, Borealis! Down!” a voice called.
Yugi turned to see Téa arriving with a young man he didn’t recognize. The young man was frantically calling to the husky, which merely continued to greet Marik warmly. Finally, the young man pulled the dog away, helping Marik to his feet as he apologized profusely.
“I am so sorry…” he said. “My brother is usually the only one who can get Borealis to listen when he’s in a hyperactive mood like this.”
“That’s alright…” Marik replied with a good-natured smile as he wiped his face with a handkerchief. “At least he’s friendly.” He glanced at Téa. “Hello, Téa. It’s been a long time…”
“Yes, it has…” she agreed. “I’m sorry to hear about Ishizu; I hope you find her…”
“Marik was just telling me that he wanted our help,” Yugi said. “I told him we’d be only too happy to help.”
“Oh, of course!” Téa agreed.
“Thanks…” Marik said.
“The developments that Marik has found out, few as they are, have worried us greatly,” said Odion. “He was just telling Yugi that the missing people… probably will never be seen again if the perpetrators have their way.”
“What!?” the young messenger boy asked, looking up from chiding Borealis.
All eyes turned to him.
“Are you a friend of Téa’s?” Yugi asked.
“He is now,” Téa replied. “He goes by the nickname of Pip; he’s the colleague and brother of the investigator we met yesterday… and he’s the one Vulsor wants to marry. But what’s this about the missing people never being seen again?”
“I’ll be telling everyone my theory when they arrive here,” said Marik. “I pray that my theory about the unfolding events is wrong. But if I am right, we could be dealing with something far worse than when Zorc attempted to destroy ancient Egypt.”
Only an eerie, stunned silence replied his solemn words.
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Theme: 11; Rubato
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is
Summary/Comments: Marik and Odion arrive as Seto tries to make sense of what's going on, and while Téa meets a new friend...
Cross-posted to ff.net
Seto stared at the medallion for a full thirty seconds before angrily removing it from his neck. It had to be some sort of trick! Someone had taken Roland, and then made it seem like Seto had done it under the power of the medallion!
…But who would have been able to enter Kaiba Manor, take the medallion, and then bring Seto to his office without him being aware of it…? And just the other night, he had woken up in his own office…
But wait… hadn’t his secretary just said that Roland had seen him walking?
Seto ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Was he sleepwalking? Did it have something to do with all of the work he had been doing? And Roland… what had happened to Roland…!? If Seto had been sleepwalking… was it even remotely possible that he had done something to Roland!?
His mind raced, desperately seeing some answers. Well, first of all, he had to find Roland. Roland would be able to tell him exactly what happened… assuming Roland wasn’t too badly hurt… or perhaps even worse…
A yell from the phone in his hand brought him to reality; he had forgotten that Mokuba had still been on the line.
“Seto, what happened?!” Mokuba’s voice yelled in a panic. “I just got a call from the secretary on the other line-she told me that Roland saw you, and--”
“Disappeared; yes, I heard…” said Seto.
“But what were you doing out there?” Mokuba asked. “You didn’t say anything about going to work that early…”
“I wasn’t aware of it, either…” Seto muttered.
Mokuba stared at the phone in horror.
“Seto… what does this mean!?”
“I wish I knew…” Seto replied, shutting his eyes and trying to focus. If he had been somewhere of his own volition, he should be able to recall fragments of what happened. Assuming that he wasn’t the one responsible for Roland’s disappearance, who was? Had they been planning to take him, only Roland ended up thwarting their plan? And there was the all-important question: what if Seto hadn’t been there of his own volition?
The young CEO growled in frustration, refusing to believe that he was being mind-controlled. He glared at the medallion in his hand. True, that detective last night had warned him about it, going on about dangers, but Seto certainly didn’t believe in any of that!
“Seto…” Mokuba was saying over the line. “You were at that dinner party last night, weren’t you? The last time you woke up in your office that morning, it was just after you got off the phone with that head of NightWing Enterprises…”
Seto blinked. Yes, he had spoken to von Krolock that night, and he had also seen him in person the previous night. Could it be that von Krolock was somehow hypnotizing him into aiding him with this plot about the disappearing people? Could he be the reason behind Pegasus’ disappearance? Well, he’d just have to have a word with him and get some answers…
“You might be on to something, Mokuba…” said Seto, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll be looking into that.”
“Be careful…” his brother pleaded.
Mokuba sighed as Seto said his goodbyes and hung up. Something terrible was happening to his elder brother-he just knew it! And even though Seto would probably be furious, Mokuba knew he would have to go to the ones he knew would be able to help: Yugi and his friends.
********************************
Téa had not slept well that night; her nightmares had been filled with visions of Bandit Keith pursuing her through a maze of realistic holograms. She had gone through a door that hadn’t truly been a door, but had, in fact, been Arkana’s magic cabinet, which closed and locked behind her. All had gone dark, the mad magician’s laugh ringing in her ears…
It was at this point that she had awoken with a gasp. She breathed out a sigh of relief and suppressed a shudder as she reflected on how real the dream had seemed…
She hardly ate anything that moment for breakfast; her appetite had been diminished by the nightmare. But she did eat a piece of buttered toast before heading outside to calm her nerves.
She had gotten up early; most of her friends wouldn’t even be out of bed yet. And the Game Shop wouldn’t be open yet. With another sigh, she decided to stop by the arcade; perhaps a round or two of the dancing game they had in there would serve as a nice morning pick-me-up. And this early, she’d probably be the only one in line.
And she was right; there was only one other person in the arcade-a young man, who was completely absorbed in one of the pinball machines. He didn’t give her a glance at all; he was too into his game. Beside him, a year-old Siberian husky sat, waiting for him to finish. Téa wasn’t sure that dogs were allowed in the arcade, but she decided not to ruin his fun.
She started a one-player game and began to dance her way through it. Ah, yes… it was definitely working to calm down her nerves. She was in her element… where she belonged… And in spite of how the Rare Hunters tried to shatter her dream, she knew that she could not let them make her quit dancing. As long as she kept dancing, she would be beating them, and that was essential to her spirit.
The young man, finishing up his pinball game, began searching his pockets for more quarters when he finally looked up and saw Téa dancing. He blinked, finally retrieving a quarter, and briefly glanced back at the pinball machine before glancing at the second-player stage on the dancing game.
Shrugging to himself, the young man deposited the quarter in the second-player stage and began to dance. Téa smiled at her opponent, who started out strongly, but found himself unable to keep up with her. Five minutes in, he gave up, the husky giving him an amused look.
“Okay, I surrender!” he yelped, leaping from the stage. “Uncle! You win!”
Téa smiled at him again as her screen displayed the “Level Clear!” sign.
“You started off pretty well…” she said.
“Yeah…” the young man mused. “But I’m no dancer; I’m just a lowly messenger boy…”
“I actually am a dancer…” said Téa. “I’m Téa Gardner.”
She extended her hand, and the young man took it, kissing it.
“Enchanted…” he said, softly.
Téa just smiled, admittedly slightly flattered.
Careful… her mind told herself. Flattery was how you got yourself involved with those Rare Hunters…
She pushed the thought aside; she didn’t want to become as cynical and distrusting of everyone like Seto was! She had to believe that this young man was on the level.
“And you are…?” she asked.
The young man blinked.
“Well…” he said. “My friends call me Pip sometimes… short for Pippin-we have a Lord of the Rings thing going on sometimes…”
Téa blinked. They called him that “sometimes”? A thought prodded her mind: did he have something to hide? His friendly nature was something she had seen before in Aurus.
“Well, it’s certainly nice to meet you, Pip,” she said, managing a smile. There wasn’t much sincerity in her words; she wasn’t about to trust him.
“Likewise…” the young man replied. He blinked as the husky barked at him. “Oh, and this is Borealis. So, where’re you headed this fine morning?”
“Oh, I’m just catching up with some friends,” said Téa, not keen on giving away too many details. “In fact, I think I’d better go…”
“Great,” said the young man. “I’m just… wandering around aimlessly, I suppose…”
He and the dog headed outside with her, glancing around at the nearby buildings. Téa wasn’t sure if she wanted to head to the Game Shop with this stranger in tow; what if he was a Rare Hunter?
“You know, if I had the time, I’d love to show you around town, but as it is…” She trailed off as a Dronyche Company limo pulled up alongside her. The tinted window lowered, revealing a smug Aranea Vulsor. Travencore was visible in the seat beside her.
“What happened?” she asked. “Did Kaiba decide to dump you? I wouldn’t blame him after those friends of yours crashed the party last night.”
“Why would you care…?” the dancer retorted. “It’s not like we were together at all. And you’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face after he and I both know that you were the one who knocked him out last night!”
“And what proof do you have to back up such a claim…?” Vulsor challenged.
Téa gritted her teeth, but remained silent. Of course, she was right-they’d never be able to prove it was her unless they went inside that ruined manor and got the fingerprints of whatever it was she had used to knock Seto out.
“Well, I bet your dear mother could prove you did it,” said Téa.
If she had been wanting to get a reaction from Vulsor, she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. The fair-haired woman’s eyes flashed with rage before glaring back at Téa.
“You know nothing,” Vulsor hissed. “Why don’t you ask her about how she was the one responsible for my father’s death-and how she kept it from me for twelve years!?”
Téa gasped. Madame Mystica, a killer…? No, it wasn’t possible-it couldn’t be! She had saved Seto’s life after he had been bitten by one of Aranea’s funnel web spiders!
Téa looked away, trying to collect her thoughts, and she blinked; she had just noticed that the young man and the husky who had been next to her moments ago had just vanished. But he was the last thing on her mind; she was more concerned with how they had put so much trust and faith in someone who possibly… No, she couldn’t think that! Why would she just take Aranea’s word on the matter, after they knew how devious she was? And yet, the look in Aranea’s eyes had been one of genuine rage…
The CEO didn’t wait for Téa to come up with a reply; she had ordered her chauffer to drive away as she raised the tinted window again.
Téa stood there, numbly, trying to pull together the confusing thoughts when a voice spoke from back inside the arcade.
“Wow, you sure ticked her off…” said the young messenger boy, crawling out from under a pinball machine near the door. The husky crawled out behind him. “You’ve gotta teach me how to do that…”
“Pip?” she asked. “What were you doing under there?”
“Well, I could say that I was looking for a quarter I dropped, but… I was hiding…” He indicated the limo, which turned at the corner. Borealis growled angrily at the retreating limo.
“You were hiding from Aranea Vulsor?” Téa asked. “You mean, you know her?”
“Oh, yeah…” he replied, with a heavy sigh, looking far less upbeat than before. “She’s my bride to be…”
“Oh, so you’re Vulsor’s fiancé…” Téa exclaimed. “I never would’ve guessed it was you…”
“Do I know you…?” he asked, confused.
“No, I don’t think so…” said Téa. “But I met someone yesterday who mentioned you; he said you were his brother--”
“Where!?” he asked, looking suddenly relieved. “Where did you see him!? Was he alone, or was there someone else there, too?!”
“I… Calm down, Pip; it was just him…” she said, taken aback by his sudden change of tone. “He was an investigator who was looking into a banshee sighting last night at the festival; apparently, she’s one of this Vulsor’s ancestors…”
“Oh, no…” the young man murmured. “Yeah, I know all about her; she’s partly the reason why I’m forced to marry ‘this Vulsor.’”
“You don’t want to marry her?” Téa asked, recalling what the investigator had mentioned last night.
“Are you kidding? You think I’d want to marry the Spider Woman? She refuses to have the cobwebs cleared in her manor! And besides… you know that female spiders kill their lovers… If she’s spent as much time as she has with those creepy-crawlies, there’s a very good chance she may have picked up some habits from them-including that one…” He shuddered.
“Then why are you going through with it?” asked Téa, disturbed by the thought.
“Well… it’s a long story,” sighed the young man. “She doesn’t want to let me out of it. I probably could get out of it if we took it to court, but I’m hoping if I do go along with it, it’ll help find my missing colleague and friend. But first of all, I have to find two more of my colleagues who’re supposed to be here… You said you saw one of them, right?”
“Yeah…” said Téa. Then, a thought struck her. “I thought he looked familiar, though; I think I have seen him before.”
“Well, we’ve been to Domino on assignment before…” he replied
Téa nodded, understanding. She knew now that she could trust him; he was clearly trying to help them solve the case.
“You know, there’re some people I think you should meet,” she said. She knew where she would be taking him-to Yugi’s game shop.
***********************
They were not the only two heading for the Game Shop; two Egyptian brothers had just arrived in a taxi as Yugi was helping Solomon open for the day.
“Yugi…!” Marik exclaimed, his expression a mix of fatigue, worry, and a little bit of hope. Odion was beside him, his face careworn as well.
“Marik…” Yugi said, unsure of what to say. What was there to say to someone who had a missing sister he clearly cared about? “How are you holding up?”
The Egyptian boy let out a long sigh.
“It’s hard, Yugi…” he said. “I haven’t found out much, but based on what I do know… I have a feeling that all of those missing people… Well…” He swallowed hard. “They weren’t taken for ransom.”
Yugi’s eyes widened. Unbidden to his mind came the dark take of the Millennium Items-how 99 souls had been “harvested” to create them.
And now he felt ill. Could it be that there was some other ritual-one connected with the Anubis and Anput medallions? Was that why people were going missing at an alarming rate. And was it already too late for some or all of them!? No, he couldn’t think like that-those missing people had to be found alive and well!
“I’m so worried about her…” said Marik, blinking back a couple tears as Odion bowed his head, praying again. “I came here because I hoped that you would help us find her-find all of them…”
“Of course…” said Yugi. “We’ll do everything we can! The others are all on their way here; we knew you were coming.”
“Thank you, Yugi…” Marik replied, sincerely. “One can easily see the influence that Atem has had on you--”
Marik was cut off, abruptly as something large and furry appeared right in front of his face, proceeding to lick him. Marik yelped, falling over and looking up to see a husky showering him with greetings.
“Down, Borealis! Down!” a voice called.
Yugi turned to see Téa arriving with a young man he didn’t recognize. The young man was frantically calling to the husky, which merely continued to greet Marik warmly. Finally, the young man pulled the dog away, helping Marik to his feet as he apologized profusely.
“I am so sorry…” he said. “My brother is usually the only one who can get Borealis to listen when he’s in a hyperactive mood like this.”
“That’s alright…” Marik replied with a good-natured smile as he wiped his face with a handkerchief. “At least he’s friendly.” He glanced at Téa. “Hello, Téa. It’s been a long time…”
“Yes, it has…” she agreed. “I’m sorry to hear about Ishizu; I hope you find her…”
“Marik was just telling me that he wanted our help,” Yugi said. “I told him we’d be only too happy to help.”
“Oh, of course!” Téa agreed.
“Thanks…” Marik said.
“The developments that Marik has found out, few as they are, have worried us greatly,” said Odion. “He was just telling Yugi that the missing people… probably will never be seen again if the perpetrators have their way.”
“What!?” the young messenger boy asked, looking up from chiding Borealis.
All eyes turned to him.
“Are you a friend of Téa’s?” Yugi asked.
“He is now,” Téa replied. “He goes by the nickname of Pip; he’s the colleague and brother of the investigator we met yesterday… and he’s the one Vulsor wants to marry. But what’s this about the missing people never being seen again?”
“I’ll be telling everyone my theory when they arrive here,” said Marik. “I pray that my theory about the unfolding events is wrong. But if I am right, we could be dealing with something far worse than when Zorc attempted to destroy ancient Egypt.”
Only an eerie, stunned silence replied his solemn words.