Notes: I wish the dub had kept that Gansley actually knew about Atem! (Although whether he thought that Atem was a split personality or a separate entity is unknown.) Seriously, Gansley doesn't get enough credit. He's awesome.

Chapter Two

It was Crump who started awake next. He jerked in the bed, disoriented as his eyes opened to the darkness of the room around him. It took a moment to process that it was his room this time and not any of the rooms at the KaibaCorp infirmary. But once he fully grasped that, he sat up and let the quilt fall from his shoulders to his lap.

"I'm really home," he whispered. "And the other guys are here too."

At the infirmary, they had all been caught checking in on each other, making sure they were all really there and alive and in their right minds. Now Crump swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up, heading into the hall. He would do that again tonight as well.

He had to smile as he looked in on Gansley. Their leader was soundly asleep and seemed very peaceful. Gansley was a deep sleeper; it took a lot to wake him. Johnson and Lector, too, appeared to be relaxed and enjoying their new surroundings.

He frowned when he opened the door to Nesbitt's room and saw the empty bed with the covers thrown back. "He's gone," he said aloud. "Where?"

It wasn't unusual for Nesbitt to wake up in the middle of the night and get a new idea he wanted to sketch out. But after Crump went through every room of the house with no success, he was worried.

"I knew something was wrong," he said in dismay. "Why didn't I keep on about that?! Nesbitt hasn't been right since we got back! I saw that, but he always denied it!" He slumped forward, gripping at the wall with one hand.

"Crump?"

He turned in surprise. Lector was standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching him in confused concern.

Crump sighed heavily. "Nesbitt's gone," he said. "Remember, I said before something was wrong with him!"

"But there wasn't anything we could do about it when he wouldn't tell us," Lector said. He frowned. "He's probably just out for a walk. Or maybe he went home to his kendo training room."

Crump took out his phone and tapped out a text. "Well, he's not responding," he frowned. "Maybe he didn't even take his phone with him."

"Nesbitt always has his phone with him," Lector said. "Or his Smartwatch."

Crump sighed again. "Lector . . . you don't still hate him, do you?"

Lector blinked in surprise. "I never hated him, Crump," he protested. "We've just never got along that well. But you and I have had our differences as well."

"Yeah, we've all had some problems," Crump said. "But it's always seemed the worst with you and Nesbitt. And I know you were mad at him for what happened in Noa's world."

Lector looked away. "We were all we had. Yes, it made me angry that Nesbitt didn't value that more. But you told me that any of us could have acted like that if we'd had a moment of weakness thinking we could finally escape. It didn't sink in at first, but then I really knew you were probably right. And none of us were in our right minds. How could I stay angry at Nesbitt under those circumstances?"

Crump managed a sad smile. "I'm glad."

Lector walked over to the window. "It is strange that he doesn't answer," he said. "This . . . whatever it is that's been bothering him. . . . You don't suppose he's angry with us for some reason?"

Crump snorted. "When Nesbitt is mad at somebody, everybody knows it!"

"That's true enough," Lector sighed. "But then what?!"

Suddenly the front door opened and Nesbitt walked in, fully determined, his eyes steel. A turquoise ring was on his finger.

"Nesbitt?!" Both Lector and Crump were staring. "Where on Earth have you been?! We were worried!" It was Lector who had spoken, but Crump nodded in complete agreement.

"Worried?" Nesbitt countered. "Why? I can take care of myself."

Crump gawked at him. "Yeah, maybe so, but we know you've been feelin' bad about something. Can't you just let your guard down enough to tell us what it is? And what's with that ring?! You're not into jewelry!"

By now Gansley and Johnson had both awakened as well and were sleepily coming to the head of the stairs. Before they could ask what was going on, Nesbitt spoke again.

"The ring holds the greatest power this world has ever known." He held up his hand, letting the ring catch the light from a nearby chandelier.

"Seriously?!" Crump snorted. "It looks like those lights we've been seein' around town!"

"That's exactly what it is—the Orichalcos!" Nesbitt's eyes gleamed. "I am no longer weak, and I want to share my power with you. If all of you join me, we'll build a new world together."

"We'll whaaat?!" Crump could only gape at his normally level-headed friend. "Nesbitt, what the heck's got into you?! Did you join some cult or something?!"

"The Orichalcos is divine," Nesbitt replied. "It takes away weakness and grants strength."

"And what else does it do?" Johnson finally spoke. He came down the stairs, with Gansley following close behind him. "What's happening when those lights go up all over town?"

"The Orichalcos is weeding out the strong from the weak," Nesbitt said. "It claims souls to feed to the Great Leviathan. The beast needs that power in order to remake the world."

Lector's stomach twisted. "And you would join something like that?!" He ran over and gripped Nesbitt's upper arms. "We all promised Mr. Muto we were turning our lives around! We promised we were going to be good people! I have no desire to get involved in something like this, and normally you wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole! Nesbitt, what happened to you?!" He stared helplessly into the younger man's dark brown eyes. What he saw looking back at him was a cold stranger. Shaken, he let go and stumbled back. "Nesbitt . . ."

"I just decided to finally do something about myself," Nesbitt said. He clenched his fists and looked away. Finally a bit of humanity flickered in his eyes again. "I . . . I couldn't stand being so weak. . . ."

"Nesbitt, you were never weak!" Johnson protested.

"I was!" Nesbitt boomed. He looked back to Johnson with a jerk, the anger and self-hatred flaming in his eyes. "I know myself better than you do. And you've been weak too! You always break under pressure! How can you stand there and say I'm not weak?!"

Johnson wavered to hear his insecurities flung in his face, but he quickly recovered. "Because you're stronger than me!" he cried.

"That's impossible! I was the weakest link in our group!" Nesbitt looked down at his ring. "But now I'm the strongest."

Gansley came closer, staring up at him in dismay. "Nesbitt . . . if we'd only known you were so unhappy . . ."

"You'd what? What could you have done?" Nesbitt snapped. "There's nothing any of you could have done! I had to fix myself by myself. The Orichalcos has done more for me than any of you ever could!"

Crump especially looked slapped in the face. Lector flinched.

"Oh, is that so?" he countered. "Then wouldn't you say the Orichalcos fixed you instead of you fixing yourself? You didn't even give any of us the chance to try to help you! You didn't trust us even after all the years we've known each other! Why was that, Nesbitt?! None of us ever betrayed you! You're the one who did that to us!"

As soon as the words were out of Lector's mouth, he realized he had made a mistake. A dark, flaming aura shot up around Nesbitt, engulfing him as he screamed in rage. Turquoise exploded from his body, blasting all four men halfway across the room.

"So, that's your final answer then?!" Nesbitt's voice was rough and harsh, filled with an unheard-of evil. "You're rejecting my offer? I'll make sure all of you are sent on to power up the Leviathan! And I'm taking your hypocritical, judgmental soul first, Lector! You always hated me! Now you'll see it was always mutual!"

The front door slammed hard enough to vibrate through the entire room. For a moment the Big Four didn't move, couldn't move, more shaken emotionally than physically.

Finally Crump sat up, trembling as he looked to the others. "Are you guys okay?!" he exclaimed. "Gansley?!"

Gansley groaned, groping for the edge of a nearby chair as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Incredibly, nothing is broken," he said.

"Speak for yourself," Johnson exclaimed. He had also leaped up and now he was staring at Lector. The Southerner hadn't moved and was instead just staring blankly up at the ceiling, looking absolutely shattered. The anger that had fueled him moments before was completely gone.

"Lector?!" Crump scrambled over to him. "Hey! Come on, you know that wasn't really Nesbitt talking, don't you?! He'd never act like that in his right mind! That Orichalcos thing just really did a number on him!"

"The Orichalcos?" Lector mumbled.

Crump nodded. "I never believed in magic before, but there's no science that could do what Nesbitt just did!"

"It doesn't seem so, does it," Gansley grunted.

Lector finally stirred, rolling onto his side. "Even if it's responsible, it probably took the feelings Nesbitt had deep in his heart and brought them out," he said. "I thought things were getting better between us. But maybe he's hated me all along. Maybe that's what's been bothering him! I never hated him . . . I didn't. . . ."

"Oh Buddy . . ." Crump knelt next to him and reached to grip his shoulder. "He doesn't hate you either! I know he doesn't! He's just . . . really lost right now. . . ." He drew a shuddering breath.

Lector sat up. "Lost is an understatement. He's going to steal souls to feed to some giant sea snake!"

"No, he's not, because we're gonna stop him!" Crump cried.

"And just how are we going to do that, Crump?" Gansley pulled himself to his feet. "If he's truly endowed with some sort of dark magic force, what on Earth do we have that can compete with that, especially with Yugi in California?"

"Well . . ." Crump gave a helpless shrug. "We could talk to his grandpa, maybe?"

"And we did all that research on Yugi and the others," Johnson mused. "There's that other boy who's a friend of theirs who wasn't with them in their virtual reality experiences. Bakura, is it? He has some kind of a magical object similar to Yugi's."

Gansley slowly nodded. "Yes, that's right," he said. "Perhaps Bakura didn't go with them to California either. We should look into that."

"So you see?! There's stuff we can do!" Crump stood and grabbed for the landline phone on the end table. "Nesbitt wouldn't let us help him before, when we tried. But we're sure as heck gonna help him now!"

Lector finally stumbled to his feet as well and just stood by, watching Crump get the number of the Turtle Game Shop from the seldom-used phone book and start punching in the digits. He was still reeling and he was sure his expression showed it. Nesbitt had completely shattered his heart. He still wasn't convinced Nesbitt didn't hate him. But more than that, what devastated him the most was the thought that somehow this was his fault. He and Nesbitt weren't close, but he had thought they at least respected and trusted each other in their right minds. Instead, it was Lector's angry, hurt words that had tipped Nesbitt off the scales moments earlier.

I should have controlled myself better, he thought in dismay. Gansley was right that Nesbitt and I are too alike in some ways. We both have bad tempers, even if it's different things that set us off.

And Crump was right that Nesbitt had been acting out of sorts ever since they had been restored to their bodies. They had all noticed, but none of them had been able to figure out why. Nesbitt had always insisted he was fine and didn't leave them any room to pursue the line of questioning. Was he right that they couldn't have helped him if they had known?

Lector bowed his head. Oh Nesbitt. . . . What happened to you and why wouldn't you let us help you through it? Now look what you've done to yourself, and what you're going to do to others!

Nesbitt had always been a strange man, reclusive and hard to get to know. He closed himself off on almost every topic except machines. He loved technology and had gotten into many arguments with Lector on why machines were or were not better than people. Lector had never really understood Nesbitt's manias, but the brilliance of the man had caused him to keep Nesbitt on even when he had been so frustrated as to want to fire him. Then he and Gansley had mutually chosen Nesbitt to be on the board of directors when Gozaburo Kaiba had left it up to them to pick the other members. Being on equal ground had enabled Lector and Nesbitt to start understanding each other at least somewhat better, although they still had problems. And now . . . now Nesbitt was suddenly hard to understand on a whole other level.

It was impossible to stop some of the darker thoughts from going through Lector's mind. Did they really know Nesbitt well enough to know that this wasn't something he would do? Maybe he had always been a stranger to them. He didn't like humanity as a whole. Maybe something like this was the next step. . . .

Lector clenched a fist. No! Crump was also right that Nesbitt wasn't in his right mind. Whatever this Orichalcos was, it was evil and it was what had warped the man they knew into a complete stranger. But . . . there had to be a way to get him back, didn't there?

The thought that they couldn't was so devastating, it felt like Lector had been punched completely through his body.

Crump hung up the phone, drawing him back to the present. "Mr. Muto doesn't know a whole lot about the Orichalcos, but what he knows isn't good," he announced. "He's gonna try to call Yugi and find out more. He said for us to come right over."

"That's very good of him," Gansley said in some surprise. "I'll admit I thought he might not want anything to do with us."

"I guess he realized I really meant it when I was worried about Nesbitt on the phone," Crump said. "Let's go." He looked to Lector. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Lector considered the question and shook his head. "Only if we can save him," he said quietly.

Crump gripped his shoulder. "We're gonna," he insisted.

"And what are the odds of that, Crump?" Lector asked as they all headed for the door.

Crump's grip tightened. "100%."

xxxx

Outside in the darkness, Nesbitt gripped at his heart as he stumbled down the street. He didn't understand any of what had just transpired. He had spoken, but . . . the words weren't his. The thoughts weren't his. The threats were definitely not his.

Only they were, of course. What was he thinking? It wasn't as if the Orichalcos had a mind of its own. It was just a stone. He had accepted its power and he had become stronger. Everything he had said and done in there proved it.

But that wasn't strength! It wasn't what he had wanted when he had accepted the Orichalcos! It was the opposite of what he had wanted! The realization of what he had been saying and doing had terrified him into turning and running away, but now he just felt dizzy and sick. The merciless force was trying to get hold of him again.

"What's . . . what's happening to me?" he gasped. "Why . . ."

The turquoise-haired man was suddenly there again, standing on the grass to the side of the sidewalk, his hands behind his back. "Why didn't you begin your mission, Mr. Nesbitt?" he asked in some irritation. "Why did you leave without capturing even one soul?"

"I . . ." Nesbitt looked over, blinking at him through the haze over his mind. "I wanted them to join me. . . ."

"Yes, but they didn't," was the impatient reply. "You were supposed to take them down if they wouldn't agree."

"But . . ." Nesbitt stopped walking and drew a shuddering breath. "They . . . they're my friends. . . . You said this power would make me into a better friend to them. . . ."

"And what could be a better friend than someone who remakes this treacherous world into the Paradise it once was?"

Nesbitt hissed in pain. The Orichalcos symbol on his forehead was absolutely throbbing. And his heart . . . his heart just kept hurting so much. . . . The harsh words they had exchanged at Crump's house. . . . Was that why?

"If they're not there to enjoy it with me, what's the point?" he rasped at last. "I . . . I love them. . . . Don't make me do this to them! Please . . ."

"You made your own choice to accept the Orichalcos and all that comes with it," the man told him.

"I accepted it because of what you told me!" Nesbitt burst out. "You didn't even say anything about stealing souls until after I said Yes!"

A frown crossed the ageless features. "I can see you're still fighting against the Orichalcos even though you have accepted it. I hadn't expected that seeing your friends would start to break through to you. I certainly didn't have this problem with Ms. Valentine. I wonder what the difference is. In any case, I will have to do something about it."

Nesbitt took a step back. "What are you going to do?!" he demanded.

"Only to open you up to the full experience. I need you at your full strength in order to become one of my most valuable warriors, as I promised you you would be."

"But this isn't what I even signed up for!" Nesbitt countered. "I want out of this deal! Who are you?!"

"My name is Dartz," was the smooth reply, "and unfortunately, this deal is one-way. You've already made your choice. Now you must live with it." Again he touched Nesbitt's forehead. The Orichalcos symbol burned brightly, casting a green beam up into the sky. "Ms. Valentine had no problem focusing on only the negative about her friends. Perhaps you merely need . . . more encouragement."

Nesbitt fell to his knees, a chilling scream tearing from his lips. Again the dark aura enveloped him. When it faded this time, there was no trace of humanity in his eyes.

"Now then," Dartz said, "what are you going to do?"

Nesbitt slowly got to his feet. "The others betrayed me, especially Lector," he said darkly. "Now they're all going to pay."

xxxx

Solomon was wide awake and waiting when the Big Four pulled up in front of the Turtle Game Shop. He mentally counted those who had come and frowned to himself. "Oh, so Nesbitt is the quiet one who barely spoke this afternoon," he remarked as he opened the door for them. They all trouped inside.

"Nesbitt has never been very sociable," Lector said. "But he's also not the type of person to do something like this! I didn't even know he believed in magic!"

"He doesn't," Crump said. "That just goes to show how bad he was feeling!" He looked to Solomon. "Something's been bothering him for days now, but he won't talk to us about it. Apparently it has something to do with feeling he's weak."

Solomon nodded. "I finally reached Téa and she says the Orichalcos definitely seems to prey on people's weaknesses." His eyes clouded. "A friend of theirs has also fallen victim to its evil."

"So what can we do?!" Crump exclaimed. "There's gotta be some way to get past this!"

"I'm not sure what to do," Solomon admitted. "They don't know how to help their friend either."

"Not even Yugi's magic helps?" Johnson frowned.

"Apparently not," Solomon frowned back.

"Then I suppose that other boy, Bakura, wouldn't have any luck to that effect either," Gansley said.

"It wouldn't hurt to ask him," Solomon said. "But say, how do you know about Yugi's magic anyway?" He closed one eye and squinted at Gansley.

"I've done extensive research," Gansley said. "I also know about the two Yugis."

"Well, well, you have been busy," Solomon remarked. "Not even Seto Kaiba has been that observant. Or if he has, he denies it." He chuckled.

"Nevermind about this!" Crump exclaimed. "Can we call Bakura now?!"

"It's the middle of the night," Solomon said in disbelief. "I know it's hard to remember sometimes, but they're just kids. Bakura has school tomorrow."

"I do hate to impose," Lector said, "but I'm afraid I feel like this problem is much more critical than school. This Orichalcos madness can't be left unchecked, and with poor Nesbitt using it, we're all desperate to stop it and save him."

Sadness flickered in Solomon's eyes. "Well, what I do know about the Orichalcos isn't good," he said. "It's not just a stone, but also a Field card that can be played during a duel. Once someone is in an Orichalcos duel, the loser will always have his soul taken away. And as for the Orichalcos users themselves, there doesn't appear to be any way to break the control it has over them. They have to accept it in the first place for it to work on them."

Lector slammed his hands on the top of the glass counter. "I won't believe there's no hope!" he cried. "I can't believe that Nesbitt is lost to us forever! There has to be a way to save him, just like there was a way for us to get back to our bodies when we thought it impossible!"

Solomon's look was still sad, but he smiled a bit. "You have the same determination as my Yugi," he said. "He never gives up on any of his family or friends. Yugi always finds the way to triumph when the odds are against him. I believe that if you never give up either, you will also triumph."

Gansley grunted. "The way Yugi triumphs is by drawing exactly the right cards when they're needed."

"That's only part of it," Solomon insisted. "The real reason Yugi triumphs is because of love. I can see that all of you love your friend very much. And perhaps that will give you the edge over the Orichalcos."

Lector bowed his head. A friend . . . not just a business partner. We progressed beyond that some time ago.

"Yes," he said quietly. "You're right, Sir. We . . . I . . . love him dearly. No matter what he's done, he's still one of us. He's still worth fighting for."

It's strange to say this. Usually I turn against someone who's turned against me. But I don't have the heart in this case. Does Nesbitt truly think I hate him? I am still angry and hurt that Nesbitt didn't come to us about what was bothering him and he went to these extremes instead. But . . . I feel differently about him than I did about Seto Kaiba. I still love him. I still want to fight for him. And I don't believe he deliberately turned against us, as Mr. Kaiba did. This dark force did it to him.

"Under all this crazy talk and freaky new power is a good guy," Crump said. "Hey . . . does he even know he's our friend? I mean, we've told him, right?!"

"If not in words, then certainly in actions," Gansley said.

"But when we find him again, we should tell him outright," Johnson said. "Nesbitt isn't known for always being able to pick up on things if they're not spelled out in his face."

Solomon gave them all a kind smile. "I'll call Bakura now, if you'd like," he said. "But I should warn you that unlike with Yugi, the other presence inhabiting Bakura's body is not a benevolent one." He grimaced, his eyes flickering with the memory of a past encounter.

Johnson grimaced too. "Would he still help us?"

"I believe so, if it would suit his needs," Solomon said. "However . . ." He hesitated again. "He may think that the only solution is to force Nesbitt into an Orichalcos duel and cause him to lose."

"That isn't a solution!" Lector burst out. "We can't let anything happen that could cause him to lose his soul!"

"I quite agree," Solomon said. "But if you're looking for another magic user, I'm afraid he's all we've got."

The Big Four exchanged worried looks with each other before Gansley spoke again at last. "We'll have to see what he says," he said. "But if that's the only solution he can come up with, we're not interested in his help."

Solomon nodded. "I will call him." He lifted the receiver.