Notes: Something just didn't feel resolved, and I ended up expanding this chapter and moving the final scene to a separate epilogue section.

Chapter Nineteen

Lector settled on one of the beds in Crump's shared room and watched his friend dig through another of the boxes taken from the shelves in the cabin's closet. "What are all these pictures?" he said in disbelief. "I didn't even realize I was that interested in drawing, but it's starting to seem like that was my passion as a boy."

"That's pretty neat, though," Crump said. "Yeah, it looks like you must've been drawing a picture a day for a while there!" He set a stack of old papers on the edge of the bed.

Evangeline picked them up and started to pore over them with care. "These are so cute!" she gushed. "And it looks like you drew the Berserk Dragon a lot, Démas. I wonder if it used to come out of its dimension all the time just to watch over the family."

"Yeah, we still don't know how the Berserk Dragon got hooked up with your family, Buddy," Crump said to Lector.

"And we may never know," Lector remarked. "It seems like that kind of family history should be preserved somewhere, but I don't know where."

"Perhaps sooner or later we'll stumble across it somewhere in this house," Gansley said.

"Are we even going to be coming back here any time soon?" Johnson wondered.

"I'm not planning on it," Nesbitt grunted.

"I think next time, we should come out there," Evangeline said. "But the way things go, you might get called out here again for some reason or another." She sighed. "Like what Mother did this time. . . ."

"Well . . . at least things are turning out better than they have other times we've been here," Crump said.

Lector had to agree. "It actually seems like I'll be able to reunite with some of the family," he said. "And it is interesting to see all of these things I drew."

"Especially the stuff you drew with you and Nesbitt!" Crump chirped.

Lector smiled. "I'm glad to be able to retrieve those things."

"They're priceless treasures!" Evangeline declared.

"I don't know if I would go that far, when I made them," Lector mused, "but they are irreplaceable."

"What's this one?" Nesbitt picked up a drawing that featured a small child riding on the Berserk Dragon while Lector observed on the ground.

Lector looked over. "I do believe that's supposed to be you being brought back to New Orleans by the Berserk Dragon," he said.

"You know, I think we really should try to ask Grandmother about the Berserk Dragon before you leave," Evangeline said. "You never know; she might just remember something important! She remembered about the Germaines being part of our family."

"It would be worth investigating," Gansley mused.

Lector nodded. "Let's visit her tomorrow," he said. "I still need to see Gabriel too."

"Oh yes, you should!" Evangeline agreed. "He's always talking about you."

"He barely even knows me," Lector said in amazement.

"You don't always have to know someone really well to know they're special," Evangeline said softly. "I didn't know you that well before all those horrible things started happening last year. But I knew I loved you very much."

"And you were there for me when the rest of the family wasn't," Lector said. "You can't imagine how much that meant to me."

"I only wish I'd realized sooner that I wouldn't want to be under Father's thumb when he treated you so cruel," Evangeline said. "I tried and failed to find out about you both when you were in that coma and when you got out of it. He always caught and stopped me. Why did I let that be the end of it?"

"You still loved the man and respected him as the head of the family, even though you didn't agree with what he was doing," Lector said. "I suppose you just didn't fully realize then how he was poisoning the family."

"I should have, though!" Evangeline exclaimed. "Hurting and ostracizing you could never be right!"

"Well . . . it's in the past now," Lector said. "We're moving on, and your love and support has meant everything to me. If coming here didn't mean seeing you, I don't think I could have made myself do it these last few times."

"Only you would have had to at least when it came to the court trials," Nesbitt remarked.

"Sadly true," Lector sighed. Having to testify against his own father was a hurtful memory he would always have to live with.

Evangeline snuggled close and reached for another picture. "I think we should take some of these to show Grandmother," she said. "It might help jog her memory."

"Couldn't hurt," Crump chirped.

Lector nodded. "We'll take the one that has the writing about the dragon being my 'imaginary' friend. And maybe this one of it bringing Nesbitt back to me."

"Say, what did Grandmother think of your being friends with 'Robbie'?" Evangeline wondered. "She seems like the kind of person who would have insisted your parents nurture the friendship."

"She was," Lector said. "She was very happy for me. But . . ." Sadness flickered in his eyes. "That was right when her mind was starting to go. She didn't stay alert and aware of things for too long after I met Nesbitt back then. If she had, I am certain she would have insisted on the families exchanging addresses and staying in touch, even though Nesbitt was too young to write yet." He smiled at Nesbitt. "Would you come with us, Nesbitt? I would like to show Grandmother the old pictures and try to explain to her that I found Robbie again."

Nesbitt flushed. The thought of interacting with someone whose mind was often not all there made him very uncomfortable. But he supposed Lector and Evangeline would be handling the majority of the conversation, and he could see this meant a lot to Lector. So he slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'll come," he said.

"Thank you," Lector said. "I promise you won't have to talk much." While he didn't expressly know Nesbitt's feelings about this specific type of meeting, he knew Nesbitt was still extremely introverted and hated having to make conversation unless it was about machines in some form. He didn't want to put his friend on the spot in talking to his grandmother, but he did hope that seeing him would pierce through her confusion and impress upon her that this was Robbie.

Evangeline looked over at Johnson, who was sitting on the other bed with Crump and Gansley. "Oh . . . Mr. Johnson, how are you doing?" she asked in concern. "You went through so much today, and then you had to interact with everyone before you really felt ready to do it. . . ."

Johnson sighed. "Well . . . it was easier than I thought it would be," he admitted. "After all, I knew none of our friends would hurt me."

"I hope it's been okay that I've been here," Evangeline said. "I was so excited to think of being able to spend some happy times with my brother that I didn't stop to think it might make you uncomfortable right now."

"I wouldn't have invited her without checking with you first, Johnson," Lector said, "only I wasn't sure you were going to look at all when you'd already seen in the boxes last night. . . ."

Johnson smiled. "I hadn't seen in all of them, but anyway, I liked the thought of doing something relaxing with you, Lector. It's been such a stressful time for all of us. I chose to be here now, and I've enjoyed it."

"I'm glad," Lector said.

The rest of their time together continued to be enjoyable. The remaining things they found didn't answer any of their continuing questions about the family, but it was sweet and fun to see what Lector had been up to as a child. He had largely forgotten most of the things he had drawn, although there were a few pictures he had vaguely remembered about and was happy to find again among them. By the time everyone drifted into their various rooms to sleep, they were feeling happy about how the day had ended and hopeful for the future.

"Is it alright that I asked you to come with us tomorrow, Nesbitt?" Lector asked as he and Nesbitt changed for bed. This time they both stayed in the room, just turning their backs to each other for modesty's sake.

". . . It's fine," Nesbitt said. "I'm glad you want me there. I . . . I just don't know how helpful I'll be. I . . ." He cleared his throat. "I try to avoid dealing with people who aren't . . . completely there. . . ."

Lector gave a sad smile. "It is hard to think about, isn't it? Gansley was very disturbed when he first learned about Grandmother. It's very difficult to see her like she is, especially knowing how she used to be. But one thing that gives me comfort is remembering how she helped me when I was lost in that blizzard. Her spirit truly does remember what her body just can't right now."

". . . This is encouraging, I guess," Nesbitt said, "but . . . it's not like you can really communicate with her like you used to." He slipped into his tank top and turned back. "Just like you couldn't with me when I didn't remember. . . ."

Lector was turning to face him too. "I know," he sighed. "It's nice to know that I will be able to talk with her sometime in the future, but . . . it's so far away. Still, it's the only comfort I have." He went over to his bed and climbed in.

Nesbitt went to his. ". . . Will she want to talk to me a lot about . . . dolls, or something?" he hesitantly asked.

"Evangeline and I will try to keep her occupied with other things," Lector said with a smile.

xxxx

The rest of the house was gradually going to bed in waves. Ishizu had also wanted to wander the house, and Marik, Rishid, and Mokuba had gone with her. They found themselves up on the third floor, curiously walking amid the mostly open rooms.

"I can still feel the ghosts watching," Ishizu remarked as they walked.

"It's pretty creepy," Mokuba shuddered. He looked to Marik. He was curious about something, but not sure he should ask.

Marik, however, picked up on the unspoken question. "What is it, my friend?" he asked.

"Well . . ." Mokuba stared as they passed the third floor kitchen and its eerie microwaves. It always felt like the microwaves themselves were watching, so Mokuba was sure there were always ghosts in this kitchen. "I was just wondering if the underground city was haunted. . . ."

Marik shook his head. "Oh yes. There were all kinds of stories about that place. And since it was lit by lanterns and candles, it created disturbing shadows and shapes in every corner and crevice." His eyes flickered. "It was the worst possible place for someone to live who was afraid of the dark."

"It sure sounds it!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"I was terrified of some of the less-traveled corridors," Marik said. "Rishid tried to show me that there was nothing to be afraid of, but I think even he started to wonder!"

"It was a place that played on one's imagination," Rishid said. "That said, I am afraid I could believe the city was haunted by many restless souls." He didn't say more, but he was thinking of the many generations of Ishtars who had lived there and died there . . . and gone mad there.

"Does anybody still live there?" Mokuba wondered. "I remember you said everything seemed deserted that time Yami Marik was torturing Yami Bakura down there. . . ."

"Strangely enough, there actually are people who live there," Marik said. "Even though the mission of the Tombkeepers was fulfilled and they didn't have to stay, they were so used to it and considered it home that they didn't want to leave."

". . . I guess that makes sense," Mokuba said slowly, although he didn't really think it seemed sensible at all. "Kind of like how Evangeline doesn't wanna leave here even though it's really creepy."

"Yes, it's like that," Ishizu said.

". . . Do any of you ever miss it?" Mokuba asked. "I know Marik doesn't, but what about you, Ishizu and Rishid?"

"It was a horrible place," Rishid said. "There are more upsetting and sad memories than happy ones. Still . . ." He sighed. "There were times when we all bonded there and those moments are very precious to me. I miss when it felt like home and I was happy there. Once our mother died, it was never the same."

"There are things I miss," Ishizu said, "but I am not sad to have left. We didn't belong there. The mission of the Tombkeepers was very brutal. Now that we are away from that life, I wonder how so many of our ancestors believed it was good and right for that horrific ritual to take place. We had documented all the times when an Ishtar went mad from the pain and torment, yet we didn't make the connection that it had to stop."

Marik stood in the doorway of the bathroom and gripped the doorframe. "I wonder a lot where Father is now, and if he still doesn't get it or if by now he regrets how he acted and how he treated Rishid."

"I hope he does," Mokuba said. "But I guess it's hard to say. Gozaburo is still filled with hate."

"Sometimes death does not clear one's mind," Ishizu agreed.

Mokuba peered around Marik at the bathroom. It was painted in yellow and was strangely laid out, with two diagonally connecting rooms. The one Marik was standing in front of had the toilet and the sink. Through the other doorway was the bathtub and another sink.

"I don't think we ever really looked at this place before," Mokuba said. "I wonder why they built it at a weird angle like this."

"I wonder if it sends people to alternate realms, such as the one on the second floor," Rishid remarked.

Marik stepped back. "Let's not find out."

Even as he moved, the two sinks suddenly came to life and water gushed from the faucets into the basins. Within moment, both were at the point of overflowing.

"What do we do?!" Mokuba yelped. "Do we try to turn them off?!"

"I think it would be wiser to move as far away from them as possible," Rishid declared.

Ishizu looked reluctant to leave the mess, but she didn't protest as they all drew back from the doorway and into the hall. When they were far enough away, both sinks shut off as abruptly as they had turned on. The basins were filled to the brim.

". . . Should we tell Evangeline about this?" Mokuba wondered, his eyes wide.

"She'll have to know," Marik agreed. "But let's not tell Joey."

". . . Yeah," Mokuba said. "Let's not." He sighed. "I guess this means the ghosts are still gonna play pranks and stuff."

"Perhaps we should leave this floor altogether," Rishid suggested.

Ishizu nodded. "I suppose we should." She walked to the end of the hall and turned back, looking towards the playroom. Evangeline had mentioned the ghosts particularly seemed to like that room, and she could definitely feel presences there now.

Mokuba grabbed at Marik's hand. He had wanted to try not to show he was afraid, but it was impossible. The house was every bit as creepy as it had been before. The only thing he could be grateful of was that there wasn't the feeling of anything outright evil, just mysterious and mischievous.

"I guess the ghosts come out more the later it gets," Marik remarked. He squeezed Mokuba's hand. "Let's go."

Ishizu was about to agree when she took notice of a door in the wall that she didn't remember them ever going through before. "Just one moment," she said. She opened it and it gave a loud creak as it opened and displayed old wooden steps going downward.

"I don't remember seeing that before," Marik said in disbelief.

"We didn't," Ishizu said. "I wonder if that means the ghosts hid it from our eyes before." She cautiously stepped forward, peering down the steps. "These may lead into the servants' quarters."

Marik looked curious, but at the same time he didn't want to do anything potentially dangerous when Mokuba was with them. "Do they look rickety?" he had to ask.

"They don't, but looks could be deceiving," Ishizu said. She placed her foot on the top stair. "It seems very sturdy."

". . . I guess there's no chance that the ghosts opened this up for a good reason," Mokuba said. "Like maybe they finally trust us because Evangeline's gonna tell everyone the truth about the families, so they're letting us see another of the house's secrets?"

"Probably not, but it's an interesting theory," Marik mused.

"It could be true," Ishizu said. The explorer and preserver of history in her made her long to go down the steps and see exactly where they led. But she didn't like to do something potentially dangerous either. And she wondered if Evangeline and Angelique should be the first to go down the steps. Still, since the door hadn't been visible before, it might close up again if they went away to get the other girls.

"What seems to be down there?" Marik asked.

"It's a spiral staircase," Ishizu said. "It looks like there are at least two landings from here, and they lead in different directions." She debated with herself again before at last making up her mind. "I'm going to see." With that she started down the stairs.

"I'm not sure this is wise," Rishid said in concern.

"You and Mokuba stay up here," Marik agreed. "We shouldn't all go." He followed after Ishizu.

"Be careful!" Mokuba exclaimed.

The feeling of the ghosts watching was definitely present on these back stairs. They went down to the first landing and stood there, looking around. "So, one can either get off here and go to what is presumably something on the second floor," Ishizu mused, "or they can keep going down."

"Yes, and there are two different directions on the second floor," Marik said.

"How strange this all is," Ishizu said. "Evangeline showed us the servants' quarters, but I don't remember an old staircase like this being what was used in them."

"And if the ghosts for some reason really are letting us see this area, why?" Marik looked around with his hands on his hips. "What are we supposed to be seeing?"

Ishizu turned and stepped off the landing, walking in the direction that seemed like it might take her someplace new on the second floor. Marik chased after her, gazing in disbelief at the new sights around them. "More rooms?!"

One room in particular seemed to draw Ishizu towards it. She walked over, stepping into an old bedroom. It felt welcoming, yet sad. She stood there, gazing around the lovely space until her eyes hit upon the nightstand next to the bed. When she went over, the drawer popped open, revealing a diary.

"What's that?" Marik asked. He caught up as she was lifting it out and opening it.

"It's not in English," she said. "But judging from the date and the name, I wonder if it could be a servant of either the bride or the groom in that fateful marriage." She closed it and looked up. "Someone wanted me to see this, perhaps the original writer. Let's take it to Evangeline or Angelique and maybe they can translate it."

Marik nodded. "Alright. But I still wonder why the ghosts would suddenly be helpful . . . especially after they just got through pulling a prank."

"There are so many ghosts here. This one most likely wasn't involved with the prank," Ishizu said.

They made it safely out of the wing and up the stairs. When they were back at the top and reuniting with Rishid and Mokuba, the door remained open. It continued to as they walked towards the main stairs.

"Well, this is encouraging," Ishizu said. "Perhaps us learning the truth of the families' continuing connection truly has made at least some of the ghosts more open."

Marik still looked skeptical. "Let's hope."

Downstairs, Evangeline was helping herself to a snack as she chatted with Angelique. Both girls looked up as the small group entered. "How was the house?" Angelique asked.

"Fascinating," Ishizu said. "The ghosts opened a hidden door on the third floor and guided us to this." She held out the diary.

Evangeline took it in amazement. "What . . ." She opened it and started to skim through the entries. "Oh! This is written by the maid of the Leichter bride!" Her eyes flickered with sadness as she read deeper into the book. "It tells about the tragedy on the roof and how her mistress just couldn't recover from it. Then she discovered she was pregnant. Fearing the Germaines would try to forcefully take the child from the grieving widow, she hid the pregnancy and her sister volunteered to pretend he was her boy." She slumped back. "So the connection wasn't buried to be cruel to the Germaines or exclude them from the family fortune," she said softly.

"What a sad tale," Ishizu said. "You definitely needed to have this part of it before going public with the families' connection."

Evangeline nodded. "I want to go see these new rooms for myself. Do you think the ghosts will let me?"

Ishizu smiled. "I believe so."

xxxx

Evangeline didn't sleep much that night, occupied with the new exploration of both the rooms and the diary. But she was still bound and determined to go through with all of her plans for the day. The next morning after breakfast, Lector, Nesbitt, and Evangeline set off for the nursing home with several of the old drawings as well as the brooch with a Berserk Dragon carved into it. Along the way, Evangeline told of last night's find.

"Well, everyone was certainly right that the house hadn't given up all its secrets," Lector remarked.

"And it probably still hasn't!" Evangeline exclaimed. "Before you leave, Démas, I want to show you the new rooms!"

"I would like to see them," Lector smiled.

"So has your opinion on the family changed again?" Nesbitt had to wonder.

Evangeline sighed. "Oh, I don't know. . . . It's starting to sound like there really were wrongdoings on both sides. What an awful situation it must have been for that poor mother, fearing her child would be taken away by her husband's family, and then only getting to keep him because of pretending he was her nephew. . . ." She shook her head. "I'll make sure to tell everything I've found when I hold my press conference."

"That is the best way," Lector agreed.

It was a pleasant day, and as they arrived at the nursing home, Grandmother Leichter was sitting peacefully on the grounds, enjoying the gentle breeze through the trees and the birds flitting between them. When she saw the trio coming, she perked up.

"Démas!" she exclaimed. "Evangeline! Hi!"

"Hello, Grandmother," Lector smiled.

"How are you doing today?" Evangeline asked.

"I'm good!" Grandmother Leichter beamed. "Oh, and you brought Robbie!"

Nesbitt rocked back. "Huh?!"

Lector was stunned too. "You . . . you know?" he stammered.

Grandmother Leichter gave a firm nod. "Robbie." She smiled. "You found him again!"

"Y-Yes," Lector stammered. He sat down next to her at the table.

"But . . . how did you know?!" Nesbitt said in disbelief. "I mean . . . I'm not a kid anymore. . . . I don't look like I did then. . . ."

Lector doubted Nesbitt would get a straight answer, although he was certainly curious too. And from Evangeline's wide eyes, she was dying to know.

"You're still the same in here." Grandmother Leichter took Nesbitt's hand and placed it over his heart. "You love Démas!"

"Y-Yeah. . . ." Still baffled, Nesbitt looked to Lector, who just shook his head with a faint smile. That was probably the best explanation they would get until she could talk to them on an adult's level again.

"I used to draw pictures of us together," Lector said. "And I also drew this dragon a lot." He took out one of the drawings of the Berserk Dragon. "Do you know why?"

Grandmother Leichter's eyes lit up. "Oh! The guardian dragon! He protects us."

"Then you do know about him!" Evangeline exclaimed. "Do you know why he first started protecting us, Grandmother?"

"We needed help," Grandmother Leichter shrugged. "He always comes to look after us and goes back when he's sure we're okay. We all see him, but . . . then we forget."

"When we're older, we stop seeing him?" Evangeline supplied.

"We all forget," Grandmother Leichter said vaguely, staring off into the distance.

Evangeline looked to Lector. From her eyes, she clearly wondered whether to tell the woman what had been discovered about the family the previous night. Lector honestly wasn't sure. He had the feeling she wouldn't understand, but on the other hand, maybe her spirit would process it even if her body couldn't.

Finally Evangeline looked back. "Grandmother, do you know about the Leichters and the Germaines being related?"

"It's a secret," Grandmother Leichter said. "Shh! Your daddy will be angry you told."

"It's not a secret anymore," Evangeline said. "I'm telling everyone!"

Grandmother Leichter beamed. "Yay!"

Encouraged, Evangeline took out the diary Ishizu had found. "This tells about why it was kept secret," she said. "We found out about the horrible thing you saw on the roof and why it happened."

A shudder. "That was scary."

"Yes, it sure was," Evangeline said softly. "And it wasn't supposed to happen. It was an accident. They were married, a Leichter and a Germaine, and they were arguing. But she never meant for him to fall! This tells how she never got over it. And they had a child, a boy. She was afraid that her husband's family would try to take him away, and her sister said she'd pretend it was her son. That way, no one would know he was a Germaine and he could stay with his mother. Do you understand, Grandmother?"

Grandmother Leichter looked like she was considering all that she was being told. "That's sad," she said at last.

"It really is," Evangeline agreed.

Lector relaxed. It hadn't made her visibly upset, as their mother would have told them it would. And he had the feeling she did understand.

They visited for a while longer but didn't learn anything else. As they headed back to the car, however, they felt encouraged and buoyed up by the experience.

"It was nice to see Grandmother again," Evangeline smiled.

"I still don't understand how she recognized me, though," Nesbitt said. "I mean, it's not like I'm the only one who cares about you." He looked to Lector.

"No, but I suppose when you think about it, nobody else has exactly the same hair color as you and the same features as you," Lector said. "Even as a child, you had that dark brown hair and thicker eyebrows. Maybe somehow she just put it all together and it made perfect sense in her mind."

"I guess," Nesbitt said slowly.

"Although honestly, I think it was more that she really did sense our deep friendship," Lector said. "Each friendship is different, and I know ours really made an impression on her all those years ago." He smiled a bit. "But I know such 'illogical' reasons still don't make a lot of sense to you, Nesbitt," he playfully added.

Nesbitt grunted. "No, they don't. And I don't understand the logic behind them at all. But . . ." He gave a gruff smile. "That doesn't mean I don't like it."

Lector smiled too, and laid a hand on Nesbitt's shoulder as they walked.