Return of the Kings

Chapter 35

The next day when Atem awoke he noticed Yugi's bed was empty. It was still very early in the morning; not even the sun had reached the base of the Pyramids yet. He must have slept well, Atem smiled at the thought. He stretched wide and instinctively moved to place the Puzzle around his neck only to find it missing from beneath the pillow. It wasn't knocked off, it wasn't in sight... where was it?

Panic gripped him as he searched. He kept it close by and the chains wrapped around his arm while he slept so he knew if it were to be taken but somehow it was just gone. Yugi was going to be furious with him if it was taken... they couldn't complete the ritual without it and even then, this was his puzzle... where was it?!

"Joey... Joey!" Atem pushed him awake until he groaned and sat up slowly.

"What?" He moaned.

"The Puzzle's gone. I can't find it!" Atem said quickly, his voice cracking under stress.

Joey woke up quicker, pushing sleep aside to look towards Atem's bed.

"What? Where did you take it off last night?"

"I put it under my pillow and wrapped the chain around my arm but I can't find it!"

"Where's Yugi?"

"I don't know, he's been gone before I got up not too long ago. Joey please you have to help me find it before he realises it's gone!"

"Okay bud... hang on." Joey said. He reached under his pillow too for the rod only, when he threw the pillow away he stared in horror at it's disappearance too.

"How? I ... how?!" Joey mouthed in horror.

"The rod too?!"

"Crap.... What do we do?!"

"Lets find Tristan and Tea... maybe theirs are missing too." Atem suggested.

Tristan and Tea's room was opposite theirs so slipping in was easy enough, particularly when they left their door unlocked. They were still sleeping, naturally, their room even darker than their own. They split up to gently wake one of them each, stirring them awake as quickly and as calmly as they could to not provoke any screaming.

Once they woke they told them their items were missing.

Tea bit down a shriek when she touched her neck to find the necklace missing and in her drawer so was the eye and ring. Tristan's scales and key were gone too.... They were stolen... all of them!

"How did they get the necklace though? I can't have slept through someone taking it off!" Tea said in dismay. "Someone was that close to me while I was asleep?" Her face went pale at the thought.

"Guys... all of them are gone... we have to tell Yugi. There's no way we can find them all without him knowing."

"Is he awake?" Tea asked.

"Yes... I haven't seen him yet this morning." Atem shook his head no.

"Oh he's going to be so pissed." Tea complained.

They went downstairs to the cafeteria but found it empty, Joey checked the bathroom but he wasn't showering. The hotel owner said he hadn't seen anyone come down yet ... where could he be?

"I doubt someone stole Yugi too without us knowing." Joey joked weakly when Tristan rushed back inside, his eyes wide with terror.

"The cars gone! Someone took the car!"

"What?!"

A thought occurred to Atem then, an instinct, like a message left behind for him he was just seeing. Yugi took the items, he took the car, slipped out before daylight and has gone to resurrect Bakura... but why would he do it alone? He knows they were in support of this and he knows he'll need their help to bring him back to town... unless it wasn't Yugi that did this but Bakura. Bakura could of taken the opportunity to take everything when they were all asleep, including Yugi and put him away into his mind without him noticing... that was the only explanation.