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Lost and Found

Branson removed his hand from Robbie’s face as Karl held Robbie against the inside of the truck. Branson blindfolded Robbie and tied his hands behind him. Karl scooped Robbie up and laid him down on the metal of the truck. Branson tied Robbie’s legs.

The little boy panted heavily, his body shaking, bound, and helpless.

Karl looked at Aria, the little girl sleeping quietly on her stomach. He called up to Panik. “The girl is out cold!”

“The boy?”

Robbie swallowed hard as someone gagged him.

“Was it necessary to grab the boy?” Branson asked.

Panik grinned. “We couldn’t risk the boy alerting anyone until Aria was safely in our custody. Besides, I can feel his panic now.”

Robbie curled up in a protective ball, unable to struggle.

**********************

Diane read the preliminary report on Aria’s blood. She highlighted specific chemicals in her blood which could not be identified. What were these chemicals? Why were some of the girl’s genes mutated?

Diane was impatient to examine the little girl further. Branson carried Robbie under his arm. Karl carried the unconscious Aria over his shoulder.

Diane rushed to Karl and turned Aria’s head.

She touched Aria’s cheek delicately. “Amazing! She looks like a human child, but everything in her blood suggests she’s not completely human. She’s so beautiful!” Diane opened Aria’s eyelids, finding her pupils dilated. “Put her in room B-3. That sedative will keep her asleep for a few more hours.”

Diane moved in front of Robbie. “Why did you pick him up? Is he her brother?”

“No. We didn’t want him squealing about Aria’s kidnapping.”

Diane ran her fingers through Robbie’s short, black hair. “He doesn’t know where he is or how he got here?”

“No,” Panik said proudly. “He has no idea where he is. He couldn’t see how we got here.”

“Perfect. We have no use for him, though. Dump him somewhere. I don’t care where you put him. Make sure his body is never found.”

********************************

Umi ran along the pier, his bare feet pattering across the wood. He had abandoned his white tank top against his father’s orders, and ran in the warm breeze with only his cut-off jeans. He spread his arms and threw his head back, running.

“I’m flying with the seagulls!”

A tiny cry of a bird stopped his play. The baby bird was limping and he couldn’t flap his wings to fly.

“What’s the matter, little sea-friend? Are you hurt?”

The bird screeched in response.

“It’s your wing?”

Umi picked up the bird and stroked its head gently. “Don’t be afraid, little friend. I won’t hurt you.”

The bird relaxed in Umi’s hand. Just like his father, Umi was close to becoming Dr. Doolittle. Umi could speak to animals and they would respond back to him. Mako was surprised his son had inherited his gift.

Umi lifted the bird’s wing and noticed a gaping wound. “Poor little birdy!” Umi found a sail and cut some material from it with his pocket knife. He tied the material around the bird’s wing. Umi kissed over the bandage. “Is that better, my friend? I have to put you somewhere that mean cat won’t get you again.”

Umi picked up the bird gently, cradling it to his chest. He looked around and found an area over a pile of crates that would be a good place for the injured animal.

He climbed up on the crates and put the bird on the ledge. “There we go, little friend. Stay here for a while and let yourself heal. I’ll come back tonight to feed you.”

Umi jumped down when he heard something bang against the crate he was standing on. Umi stopped and looked around. ‘Bang!’ the sound happened again. He stepped up to the crate he was standing on and he heard crying and another ‘Bang!’

He knocked on the crate and heard someone scream from inside the crate.

“BY NEPTUNE!” Umi gasped and ran away to the houseboat where he lived with his father.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

“Umi Aquarius Tsunami, where is your shirt?” Mako Tsunami asked.

Umi grabbed his father’s wrist. “Daddy, there’s someone trapped in a crate on a pier and they’re crying and…and…and…..the crate is nailed shut!”

Mako’s eyes widened. “Great Neptune! In a crate?”

Umi nodded and Mako grabbed a crowbar. He followed his son to the crate, now silent.

Mako wrestled the crowbar under the crate that had been nailed shut.

“We’ll get you out of there!” Umi screamed at the crate.

Mako wrestled the crate’s lid open and he pulled the lid of the crate off. He found a child with his legs and arms bound by rope and his mouth had been gagged.

The child’s face was red from lack of air. Mako reached in and untied the child’s limbs.

“You’re safe now, little one.”

When Mako untied the child’s arms, he felt the child wrap his arms around him and shudder. The boy’s eyes were wide as saucers.

Mako picked up the trembling boy out of the box.

Umi cocked his head to the side. “That looks like Robbie from my class!…It is! It’s Robbie! I wonder what he is doing so far from home.”

Mako tried to put Robbie on the ground, but Robbie refused to release him.

“Let’s get him back to his parents, little minnow.”

“He lives by Aria’s house! She showed me once! I can show you!”

Robbie trembled as he whimpered. “M-M-M-Mommy.”

**************************

Miranda and Daniel sat at the table with their financial books in front of them. They had Aria and Robbie’s snacks waiting for them for when they were done playing.

“Do you think we could afford another child, Daniel?”

“I don’t see why not. We do have to put away more money for Robbie’s college fund. The little soldier is growing up quickly, you know.”

Miranda closed the file in her hand. “I’ve been able to stretch the food bill pretty well.” She grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We should start a college fund for the new baby, too. We started one for Robbie when you found out you were pregnant. Maybe we should do the same for the next bundle of joy.”

Miranda nodded. “That could work.”

They heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” Miranda called from the kitchen.

Ryou and the others walked into the house. “Miranda! Sorry we’re so late!” Ryou apologized as he came into the kitchen with the others. “Aten had to stay at the hospital and we had to bring him some of his toys.”

Daniel sat back. “How did the little guy do?”

Marik nodded. “He’s doing fine. He’s still a little groggy from the anesthesia. They’ll keep him overnight to make sure his body doesn’t reject the pacemaker or to prevent infection.”

Miranda sighed in relief. “We can bring Robbie over tomorrow to see him. That should make him feel better. In speaking of Robbie, he’s been outside playing for a long time.”

Daniel called out for his son. “Robbie!”

No answer.

Miranda opened the basement door, thinking Robbie had gone downstairs for his army men dolls again. “Robbie?”

No answer.

“Maybe he’s still outside with Aria,” Daniel and Miranda went outside calling for the children. “Robbie!”

“Aria!”

No answer.

Miranda’s hand started to shake. It wasn’t characteristic of Robbie to play far from the house.

Ryou ran outside with Bakura. “Aria! Baby Girl!”

Marik turned to Daniel. “Did they go outside and play together?”

Daniel nodded, looking around nervously for his little boy. “I picked them up after school and they wanted to play outside, so we let them.”

Bakura and Ryou ran to the sidewalk and looked around nervously.

“Aria! Aria!” Ryou cried out, his voice full of mother’s panic. “Aria! Please!”

Bakura’s hand went slowly to his forehead as he felt a wave of panic and fear flood the mindlink between he and his husband.

Marik and Malik joined them at the sidewalk. “Aria Kanika!” Malik called loudly, his voice resonating through the suburban neighborhood.

Miranda ran to the sidewalk, her entire body shivering. “Robbie! Robbie!”

Marik looked down the block and gasped. “There!”

Marik ran down the block, pursued by the others. Miranda saw Robbie’s red scooter laying on its side. “ROBBIE! OH GOD!”

Ryou looked around, his body tensing further with no sight of Robbie or his little girl.

Malik looked around. “I’ll check around the corner!”

Miranda picked up the scooter as Daniel approached them on his crutches. “Robbie never leaves his toys unattended outside!”

Marik put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Ryou ran to his backyard and returned to Bakura.

“Bakura! What if we lost her? She knows better than to run off on her own!” Ryou tugged on Bakura’s shirt, shaking his yami.

“We’ll find her, Ryou. Don’t worry, love.” Bakura said, stroking Ryou’s hair. As Ryou looked into his yami’s eyes, he could see the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. Bakura was always one to try to hide his real feelings. The mindlink between both parent flooded with worry and fear that Aria was gone…that their daughter had disappeared into oblivion. Bakura turned to Marik.

“Marik, watch over Ryou. I’m going to try the park nearby. They may have run off there.”

Bakura kissed Ryou’s lips quickly and dashed off to the park.

Miranda took the scooter and walked home, followed by the others silently. She took the toy around back and sat at the edge of Robbie’s sandbox.

Daniel, Marik, and Ryou saw her running her fingers through the sand. Ryou walked up to her and she lifted both of her teary eyes up to look at her friend.

“I’m sorry, Ryou. I should have kept a closer eye on her.”

Ryou sat beside her and wrapped his arms around Miranda. “I just hope they’re both safe, Miranda. I don’t want to think about……oh gods!”

Ryou buried his face in Miranda’s shoulders and failed to hold back the tears.

Malik ran into the backyard. “No trace of Robbie or Aria! I looked everywhere!”

They heard a knock on the front door and the doorbell ring. “Hello! Mrs. Morgan! Anyone there?”

Miranda gasped and ran to the front door with Ryou. She saw Aria’s friend, Umi, and his father. Mako Tsunami had Robbie cradled in his arms.

Miranda and Daniel rushed to Mako and Robbie. Miranda cradled Robbie against her chest and carried him into the house. The crying woman held her son as she sat in a chair.

Robbie clutched onto her tightly, his body shaking and covered in a thick layer of sweat.

Daniel noticed Robbie’s wrist was swollen and pulled back the sleeve. The skin on Robbie’s wrist was bruised and red. “Oh, son!” Daniel went to the kitchen for a wet cloth as Ryou kneeled by Miranda.

“Robbie, where is Aria? Was she with you?”

Robbie buried his head in Miranda’s chest and cried.

“Robbie, baby, please, was Aria with you?”

Daniel took Robbie’s wrist and touched the red areas with a cloth. “Where did you find him?”

Bakura came into the house and stopped suddenly at the door. “Robbie?”

Mako turned to Bakura. “I didn’t even know he was missing!”

“Where did you find him?” Miranda asked over the sound of Robbie’s whimpering.

Umi stood by his father. “We found him nailed in a box on a pier. I heard him and called my daddy!”

Miranda clutched Robbie close to her. “My poor little Robbie!”

Bakura turned to Marik. “The pier? By your houseboat?”

Mako nodded. “Yeah. Pier 21.”

Marik gripped the Millennium Rod tightly. “We have to go to the pier. Aria may be there.”

Ryou grabbed Bakura’s jeans. “Bakura, let me go with you!”

Bakura shook his head. “You should stay here with Miranda. She’s going to need help with Robbie.”

Daniel ran his fingers through Robbie’s hair. “I can handle these two.”

Malik went to his yami. “That is a large pier! Are you sure you don’t need help?”

Marik took Malik’s shoulders. “Malik, someone needs to stay home in case Aria shows up at home. Ryou, it may be best for you to stay at home in case the hospital calls for Aten.”

Mako fingered the keys to his car. “I can take Bakura and Marik to the waterfront. That won’t be a big problem.”

Bakura kissed Ryou again on the cheek. “Go home and wait for me, love. I’ll be back.”

Ryou sniffled and hugged his husband. “Bring her home, yami.”

Marik kissed his husband on the cheek. “We’ll bring her home, Malik.”

Bakura threw open the door. “Nobody grabs my daughter and lives!”

Bakura and Marik left. Ryou and Malik turned to Miranda and Daniel. Robbie continued to hold onto his mother tightly. Ryou swallowed hard. If Robbie was returned in the condition he was in, what was happening to Aria?

“Call me if you need help with Robbie, Miranda,” Ryou said calmly.

Miranda rocked her little boy, who was slowly drifting into sleep. “We’ll be fine, Ryou. Thank you for returning my son to me, Mr. Tsunami.”

“It’s no problem, miss,” Mako blushed. “Anytime I can be of service, just ask.”

Ryou and Malik returned home holding hands, worry flooding their faces. Ryou ran to the phone and called the one person in the city who could flood the streets with the largest search party possible: Seto Kaiba.

[Seto Kaiba.]

Ryou wiped his eyes. [Seto? Aria is missing! We’ve checked all over the neighborhood!]

[WHAT?!]

“Seto, she’s gone!” Ryou cried. “I can’t find her anywhere!”

[Where was she last?]

“Miranda was watching her and she and Robbie went out to play. Robbie was returned, but he’s somewhat catatonic! He won’t speak at all! Umi said he was nailed inside a crate on Pier 21.”

[The waterfront? Okay, Ryou, don’t worry. My ‘Public Relations’ Department will be out there looking for her immediately. Is Aten okay? He wasn’t around at the time, was he?]

“No, he’s in the hospital. They want to make sure his body doesn’t reject the pacemaker.”

[Keep me updated on Aten’s condition. I’m going to send my men out to look for Aria, Ryou.]

Ryou covered his mouth, his tears running down his face. Malik came up to Ryou from behind and wrapped his arms around Ryou’s waist. “Please find my little girl, Seto. Please.”

[My men won’t rest until she is found. I’ll keep you updated on what my men find.]

Seto replaced the phone on the receiver and pushed a button on his intercom. “Donny, come into my office immediately.”

Donny walked calmly into the office. “Yes, Mr. Kaiba?”

“Aria is missing. Your men are going to look for her.”

Donny’s eyes widened. “Aria is gone?! My men will find her, sir.”

“Ryou said that Robbie was found by the waterfront on Pier 21. Get the men into the city, onto the waterfront, and find her no matter what it takes!”

Donny bowed reverently. “Yes, Mr. Kaiba! We’ll find her.”

“See that you do. The person who finds her will be handsomely rewarded.”

Donny ran out of the office, determined to find the lost little chibi.

*****************************

Marik crawled on top of a crate and looked over the pier. The wind blew his blond hair around and made it looked disheveled. Bakura climbed up on the crate, his white spiky hair blowing in the breeze behind him.

“This pier is huge! Where do we start?”

Mako looked down at Umi. “Little Minnow, go home while we look for Aria.”

Umi shook his head. “No, daddy. Aria is missing! She’s my friend! Can’t I look for a little while?” Umi’s blue eyes widened and he smiled. “Please???”

Mako sighed. “Okay. You can help until the sun goes down. But, you have school tomorrow. When I tell you to go inside, you go inside. Okay?”

Umi nodded. “Thanks, daddy!”

Marik and Bakura looked in wooden barrels and opened crates. Mako jumped into the water and swam along the pier, looking for Aria’s body. Umi checked the neighboring ships for Aria.

The searching continued past sunset. Umi was taken home and tucked into bed. Marik let Mako stay home with Umi. He didn’t want Umi to be left alone on the houseboat.

The lights on the pier lit the docks and the water. Marik and Bakura split up and searched the next pier.

Bakura opened crates and prayed to Osiris that his daughter was safe. He ran into a warehouse on the pier and searched the place from roof to basement. He ran back outside and checked the two ships tied to the dock and returned outside to wait for Marik.

Bakura’s body wavered as the pier seemed to move under his feet. He collapsed onto his hands and knees as a spell of dizziness knocked him off his feet. He coughed hard as he kneeled on the pier. His body shivered from a wave of pain that hit his stomach.

“I….can’t stop……..must……..find…….Aria.”

Bakura covered his mouth as he coughed violently. He removed his hand and he went pale at what he saw.

A pile of dust remained on his hand. Bakura blew on his hand and the dust floated into the wind.

Bakura collapsed on his stomach. “I…have…to find Aria……my baby……girl.” Bakura closed his eyes as a wave of nausea hit him.

Marik checked another pier. He checked the ships and the crates. He checked a bar on the pier. Nobody in the bar had seen or heard about the little girl. He checked the upstairs rooms and couldn’t find anything but closed doors and people moaning in pleasure. Marik grinned and decided to return with Bakura to enjoy the drinks and the company of the men and the women.

He left the bar and stood on the dock. He raised his Millennium Rod to the ocean and the water receded a few feet. Marik was looking for evidence that Aria wasn’t at the bottom of the water. It was then that he praised his item for its power over the elements. He lowered the Rod and the water crashed onto the docks.

Marik leaned on a crate beside him as weakness seemed to overwhelm him. He fell to his knees and panted at the energy necessary to tap into the power of his item.

Marik sighed in defeat and returned to the pier where Bakura was searching. He found the other yami laying face-down on the pier.

The blond yami kneeled beside his former lover and helped him sit up.

“Ishtar….did you find her?”

Marik hung his head. “No. I couldn’t find her.”

Bakura’s bottom lip trembled and he buried his face in Marik’s chest and cried. “My little girl……where could she be?”

Marik stroked the white spiky hair gently. “We’ll find her, Bakura.”

“I don’t want her to be hurt, Marik. I don’t want my daughter to be hurt like Aten.”

Marik closed his eyes tightly as a wave of memories flooded him. He didn’t know what to do if Aria’s innocence was being violated just like Aten’s had been. Aten was two years old when his innocence was taken. The last thing Marik wanted was to hear that Aria had been condemned to the same fate at eight years of age.

“We’ll find her, Bakura. Besides, her Shadow Powers will keep her safe.”

Bakura wiped his eyes and snuggled into Marik. “True, but still…..we have to find her.”

Marik helped Bakura to his feet. “Let’s go home, Bakura. Our Lights are probably worried sick about us.”

Bakura hung his head low and sobbed. “I failed you, Ryou.”

*******************************

Diane opened up the door with one of her assistants. The little girl was still laying on the floor. Her tiny fingers twitched in her sleep. Her eyes shifted in REM sleep.

“I wonder if Panik sedated her too much like the mutt.”

Diane looked at the Boarder Collie sitting by Aria. It licked her hand and whimpered. She kneeled beside the girl and measured her pulse. It was normal.

She ran her fingers through the girl’s spiky hair and her eyes slowly started to open.

“She’s starting to wake up! Sedate her! We can’t have her become conscious or we will never be able to control her!”

The assistant removed a needle from his pocket and injected more serum into Aria’s arm. The child fell limp on the floor again.

“We will begin experimenting on the child tomorrow. We will do an EEG to monitor her brain wave activity and study her skeletal structure. Time to go home and relax. Tomorrow, let the fun begin.”

The doctors left the room and slammed the door behind them. The lock on the door clicked.

The dog sitting by the unconscious child let out a little whimper and licked her hand.

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