Notes: I fully embrace the dub's depiction of Lector as a Southerner and have a complex backstory for him as a Creole from New Orleans.

Chapter Three

Yami Bakura was in a less than amiable mood that night.

He was already annoyed in general by the appearance of the Orichalcos and its soul-stealing magic. He had just thought he was going to get his plans underway for reuniting the Millennium Items and opening the door to the afterlife, but now this new madness had to interfere. It had even drained the power of the Egyptian God Cards before those bikers had stolen them! And Bakura hadn't even been invited to California with the others. Of course, their reason for that was logical—Bakura still had a stab wound from Battle City and needed to recover. Yami Bakura had grudgingly agreed and had not followed them. Bakura would rest up, and hopefully Yugi would do Yami Bakura's dirty work for him and stop this new threat in time.

The telephone ringing in the middle of the night was a nuisance. He scowled at it, tempted not to answer. But then again, it wasn't usual for that to happen. Perhaps it was a matter of importance. He put on his best Bakura voice and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Oh hello, Bakura," came Solomon Muto's voice. Foolish old man. "I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of the night, but we're having a crisis here and we wondered if there was any chance you might be able to help."

"I wasn't asleep," Yami Bakura replied. "Tell me what it is and I'll do my best."

"Hold on a minute," came a strong Southernly-accented voice. "I'm still not so sure we should be talking to this Mr. Bakura at all. You said the other entity isn't benevolent and might only want to get Nesbitt out of the way. If he's so belligerent, he might not cooperate if we tell him not to harm Nesbitt!"

". . . Hmm." Solomon frowned. "You do have a point; he certainly wasn't cooperative when I met him."

"But if we need a magic user, we really don't have another choice," Johnson worried. "We're no match for Nesbitt in his condition!"

Yami Bakura scowled more. So the old man had talked about his existence to these people. Well, he supposed that shouldn't be a surprise, but it was irritating. And it sounded like they really did have a problem. If they were actually turning to him for help, they must be desperate. And now he wanted to know what was up.

"If you tell me what it is, I'll know whether either of us can be of any help," he said. It was fortunate that Yugi wasn't there; he would know immediately that he was talking to Yami Bakura and not the boy. Bakura would never suggest that Yami Bakura could help.

"Can you promise that the other entity won't harm Nesbitt?!" the Southerner demanded.

"Well . . . he could always say No to helping at all if he feels he'd have to hurt him," Yami Bakura said.

"If not even Yugi knows how to help us, though, how would he do any better?" the Southerner persisted.

Yami Bakura's eye twitched. "You'll never know unless you ask."

"I think we should at least run it past him, Lector," another voice spoke up in the background. "It's true that we don't have to have his help. This is just like . . . a free consultation."

A resigned sigh. "Alright."

Yami Bakura listened in growing irritation as Solomon and his new friends expounded the problem. Apparently one of the Big Five had gotten hold of the Orichalcos and now had lost his mind. His friends were desperate to get him back.

"I know it's probably a long shot," Solomon was saying now, "but we hoped perhaps your Millennium Ring could do something against the power of the Orichalcos and possibly break its control. Of course, we absolutely don't want you to do anything that could harm him."

"Well, we can most certainly try," Yami Bakura said, still pretending to be his descendant. "I don't know how much help we'd be, though. . . ."

"We don't want you to put yourself in any unnecessary danger either," Solomon said. "But if there is anything you could do to save him, we would be very grateful."

"I'll experiment and get back to you," Yami Bakura said.

"If the only thing you can do will end up hurting him, then we don't want you to do it," Lector interjected.

"Yes, of course," Yami Bakura answered.

He hung up, frowning. This was hardly what he wanted to do right now. It would be better for him to stay hidden in the shadows until this all blew over. He didn't need to attract the attention of the one behind this.

Still, perhaps if he did get involved and took down some of the proponents of this madness, it might weaken the leader and allow for his defeat to come that much sooner. It might be worth looking into at that.

A flash of light. "What are you doing?" Bakura was standing before him in astral form, frowning.

Yami Bakura scowled. The boy grew more and more rebellious and resistant to his spells. He had always tried to keep Bakura asleep when he took over so that Bakura wouldn't know about or see the things he did, but that worked less and less, especially after their time together in the Shadow Realm. That had been a strange and downright bizarre experience. He had been forced to protect the boy repeatedly against the monsters and lost souls, and at one point, Bakura had even protected him. Now that they were back in the real world, Bakura wanted more and more to know what was going on and his will was becoming quite troublesome.

"You heard the conversation, didn't you?" he grunted.

"I'm afraid I did," Bakura said. "But are you really going to try to help them, or are you just going to put that poor man out of the way?"

"I want to find out exactly how the Orichalcos works and what its strengths and weaknesses are," Yami Bakura said. "I'm going to go out and see what kinds of Orichalcos servants are about. If we happen to run into that man, I'll find out from him."

"That doesn't answer the question," Bakura countered.

"I don't know the answer until I see him for myself," Yami Bakura snapped. He got up and went to get his Duel Disk and deck from the bedroom.

Bakura followed. "You pretended to be me and promised we'd try to help! If you don't give him a fair chance, I will do everything I can to stop you," he warned.

Yami Bakura scowled more. "I'm certainly not going to let him send us to be fed to the Leviathan," he said.

"Then don't get us into a situation where that is the case!" Bakura retorted.

"If there's another way, I'll find it," Yami Bakura said as he slid the Duel Disk into place on his arm.

Seeing that further conversation was useless, Bakura fell silent but stayed out, walking with Yami Bakura out of the house and into the unknown.

xxxx

Solomon sighed as he hung up the phone. That had gone fairly well, but he was also wondering if he had made the right decision. Ordinarily he wouldn't have thought of contacting a spirit who had quite gleefully knocked him unconscious, but he hadn't known what else to do if they needed someone with magic. It truly was an impossibly distressing situation.

"So . . . were we talking to Bakura or the other guy?" Crump wondered.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure," Solomon admitted. "But if it was the real Bakura, I'm sure the spirit will take over and not allow Bakura to put himself in danger experimenting with magic."

Lector sighed. "I hope this wasn't a bad idea."

"Right now, I'm afraid it was our only option where magic is concerned," Solomon said. "Although . . . I've been thinking about something. Why did Nesbitt threaten to steal your souls and then just turn around and leave? Why didn't he start an Orichalcos duel right then? He surely could have."

". . . Hey, yeah!" Crump exclaimed. "Maybe he didn't because he really didn't wanna do that to us! Maybe he was breaking free of the control then!"

"It's a nice thought, Crump," Gansley sighed. "I suppose it could have some merit."

"Nesbitt's a strong-willed person!" Crump insisted. "I'm sure he could start breakin' through the control and realize what was going on! And if he did, there's no way he'd just stand by and accept it! He'd fight back any way he knew how!"

"But . . . could that really be true?" Lector couldn't keep the plaintive tones out of his voice. "I'm the one who set him off. He was furious! How could that have broken through the control? Anger would surely make it worse!" He looked away. "And you thought I hated him too, Crump. How do I know he doesn't think it?"

Crump wilted. "Lector . . ."

Lector passed a hand over his forehead. "I'm afraid I just can't know what to believe until I talk to Nesbitt when he's in his right mind again. And the way things are, I wonder if that even has a chance of happening. Even if he started to break through the control, I'm sure it tightened its grip or he would've still been around for us to find."

"Not necessarily," Johnson intoned. "He could have fled in panicked desperation to try to keep us safe."

"And I'm thinking we shouldn't stand by and just let this mysterious spirit try to find him for us," Gansley spoke. "We should go out looking for him too."

"I was about to suggest the same thing," Solomon admitted. "I'm wondering if there's any way you could get through to him without the need for a magic user."

"I don't know," Johnson said. He hesitated. "After the way he acted, I wonder if he'd be less likely to be receptive to us than a stranger. . . ."

"We should still try," Lector said. "I . . ." He heaved a sigh. "I should apologize to him, see if that will make any difference. . . ."

"It might just make him more mad," Crump said. "But on the other hand . . . yeah, it might get through to him. We should definitely try!"

"I'll come with you and help look, if you want," Solomon offered.

Lector blinked in surprise. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "We can use the help."

"We can check the obvious places first—his home, his kendo school. . . . But he might not do the obvious." Gansley sighed.

"I'll take the house," Crump volunteered.

"We could split up, but I'm not sure any of us should go alone," Johnson said in concern. "If he really meant that threat, any of us could be in extreme danger if we encounter him alone."

"Hey, you're the one who said maybe he left to protect us," Crump frowned.

"And maybe he did. But I'm sure the Orichalcos would exercise its hold over him again," Johnson said. "We can't afford to let down our guard."

"Unfortunately, I agree with Johnson," Gansley said. "We'll split up and I'll go with Johnson while Lector and Crump are together. Mr. Muto, you can join either group."

"I will come with you and Mr. Johnson," Solomon said. He came out from around the counter. "We can take my truck and Mr. Lector and Mr. Crump can take the limousine all of you brought."

"I just hope this works," Lector worried.

Crump looked to Lector as they walked back to the limousine and climbed inside. It was obvious that the other man was still badly hurting and shaken from the encounter they'd had with Nesbitt, and Crump certainly couldn't blame him. But he also had the feeling that Lector was upset about something else as well.

"Hey, I'm sorry I said that thing about you hating Nesbitt," Crump said at last. "I shouldn't have said that. I mean, that word gets thrown around so lightly these days. People are always saying it and not meaning it."

"But you meant it, didn't you, Crump?" Lector replied. "You really thought I hated him. . . ."

Crump's shoulders slumped. "I don't know what I thought," he said honestly. "I know you guys haven't got along well, and . . ."

Lector turned away, but not before Crump saw the sadness and hurt in his eyes. ". . . You were so adamant that Nesbitt doesn't hate me," he said. "Do you really think so, or were you just saying that to try to make me feel better?"

"I've talked to him about you before!" Crump said. "He's frustrated with you a lot, but he's never said he hates you!"

"Maybe he wouldn't say that to you, since he knows you like me," Lector said. "Occasionally Nesbitt can use tact."

"He doesn't hate you!" Crump insisted in dismay.

Lector sighed, staring out the tinted window at the night. "What could have ever got him so upset that he would turn to a dark magic force for answers and comfort?" he said sorrowfully. "I just don't understand."

"I've gotta agree with you on that, Buddy," Crump said. "I don't get it either. He's been hurting so bad, and he's convinced he's weak . . . but what even makes him think that?!" He scratched his head. "You don't think . . ."

"What?!" Lector looked to him with a jerk.

"Would he really feel that bad about the mess in Noa's world?" Crump wondered. "I never thought he did, or would, but . . . that's the only thing I can come up with why he'd feel weak all of a sudden. . . ."

Lector frowned. "It doesn't really sound like him," he said. "He had no shame there about what he did."

"Yeah, only none of us had much, if any, shame about what we were doing!" Crump countered. "We were lost in our own darkness and so scared of being stuck there forever. It was only when we could really see things clearly again that we started being horrified about it."

"But Nesbitt's a logical person," Lector said. "Wouldn't he recognize that?"

"He always talks about machines bein' better than people," Crump said. "I get the feeling he wants to be more machine than man. Nah, if he really started thinkin' about how he messed up, I think he'd be pretty upset at himself for failing his self-imposed goals."

"But upset to this extent?!" Lector exclaimed.

Crump frowned. "You wouldn't think so, would you. Well, then I got nothin'."

Lector passed a hand over his forehead with a despondent sigh. "If we could figure this out, we might know how to help him," he said. "I am just at a complete loss. Crump . . . do we really know him that well?"

"You and I have known him for over twenty years," Crump said. "You'd sure think that in that time we'd be able to come to understand a lot about him!"

"I just keep feeling like we're missing something," Lector said. "Something isn't adding up. If we really knew him as well as we think we do, it seems like we'd be able to make sense out of this!"

"Well . . ." Crump blew out his breath as he pondered the problem. "We know he loves tech, he thinks machines are the ideal, he hates people and emotions, he's asexual and aromantic, he's a Gundam and Star Wars fanboy. . . ."

"Is that it?!" Lector exclaimed. "After over twenty years, that's all we know about the man?!"

Crump was still ticking things off. "He's a fifth Dan rank in kendo, so he's real good at that, he rides motorcycles, he's reckless and impulsive, he's prideful, he blunders into things. . . . You know, for someone who hates emotions, he sure uses them a lot at the wrong times."

Lector ran his hand down his face. "I cannot believe this," he said in dismay. "I could tell a lot of things about you, Gansley, and Johnson—not just facts about what you like or what you do, but real things about who you all are as people, glimpses you've shown me into your true selves. And I could tell good things about all of your feelings, not just the bad!"

Crump paused. ". . . I know he's embarrassed to like things if he thinks it's not something he should like," he said. "One time I walked in on him watching the mecha battle in a Magic Knight Rayearth episode. Oh boy, you should've seen him when he realized he'd been caught watching a magical girl anime! Deer in the headlights expression, grabbing for the remote, fumbling all over to pause the DVD and turn the TV off. . . ." He chuckled. "It was kinda endearing, actually. He's not as tough as he wants people to think."

Lector's eyes flickered. "I remember one time when we were in the middle of a terrible argument right at KaibaCorp. Someone from the promotions department came along and was furious that I had rejected their marketing campaign. They wouldn't listen when I tried to explain why and instead started spouting off a series of racist slurs at me. Before I could even respond to that, Nesbitt punched him in the face."

"Yeah?" Crump had to smile.

"I thought Nesbitt might gang up against me with that person, since he was having problems with me as well," Lector said regretfully. "Instead, he wouldn't have any part of it. I don't know that it was about me personally, though. He told me later that racism is another of humanity's weaknesses and another reason why machines are better. He probably just hates racism in general and not racism against me specifically."

"He's a funny guy," Crump said. "And yet you can't deny he does make some good points. But I think it probably was about you personally as well as in general."

"It's a nice thought, at least. Nesbitt never wants to bear his soul to us," Lector said. "But some of it comes through anyway."

Crump nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. And that's pretty special."

"We have to save him, Crump." Lector's voice cracked. "I don't know how we're going to, but we have to!"

"We're going to," Crump insisted. He squeezed Lector's shoulder. "We're not gonna go back until we save our buddy."

". . . Or unless we lose to him." Worry flickered in Lector's eyes. "What if he really gets one of us into an Orichalcos duel, Crump?! What then?!"

Crump set his jaw. "Then we just havta hope that we can get through to him like we must've tonight," he said.

"Only that's not a solution either if someone's soul will always be sacrificed," Lector said. "I can't watch that happen to Nesbitt if he decides to offer himself up to save us!"

"We could try to force the duel to end in a draw," Crump suggested. "Maybe then the thing couldn't take anybody's soul. But that's all I've got. I dunno what else there'd be to try."

"And it's very difficult to make a duel go the way you want it to," Lector said.

"Then we'll also just havta hope it doesn't happen," Crump said.

"I most certainly do," Lector sighed.

xxxx

Johnson was very tense. Nesbitt most certainly hadn't been at the kendo school, and somehow he doubted that the wayward man would be found at his house either. Aside from that and checking the rest of their homes, he had no idea where to look.

"He could be anywhere," he said in discouragement to Gansley and Solomon.

"I know," Gansley frowned. "And he may be where he thinks he won't be found, if he really did run to protect us."

Johnson hesitated. "Gansley . . . do you think Nesbitt really cares about us?"

Gansley shot him a Look. "You don't?"

"I didn't say that," Johnson exclaimed. "Actually, I think he does. I mean, he wouldn't have to stay with us now that we're back in our bodies. He could go off and do something else if he wanted, maybe find some other company that would like his weapon designs. He always says he doesn't think any company would take him now, that he's probably blackballed all over the city, but I don't think that's the only reason why he's stayed. I think he honestly wants to be with us. I just wondered if you'd gotten the same impression."

"I have," Gansley said. "There's also how he came to us tonight wanting to share his power. Even corrupted by this evil force, he wanted us to be together."

"You're right," Johnson gasped. "And then when we objected, it's no wonder he got so angry. It probably felt even more like a betrayal when he wasn't in his right mind!"

Solomon looked thoughtful as he continued to drive. "I definitely think you're on to something," he mused. "To be honest, he sounds like a special person."

"He is," Johnson said softly.

"I suppose that's how all of us feel about each other," Gansley said. "Especially after what we went through in cyberspace. We were all we had. We could have broken down and started hating each other, but instead we stayed together in spite of our foolish arguments. At first it was because it was the most logical business decision we could make, but then it became something . . . more."

"You know a lot more about friendship than you may think you do," Solomon said. "Once we find Nesbitt, I'm sure you'll figure out what to do."

"But when will we find him?!" Johnson moaned.

"Hopefully soon," Solomon said.

xxxx

Yami Bakura was always meticulous and thorough. He had looked up pictures of Nesbitt on Bakura's phone before leaving the house, so it wasn't surprising to him, then, to suddenly see the missing man standing on a street.

"There he is," he said to Bakura before starting over in the most casual of manners.

Bakura bit his lip and trailed after him. He definitely felt uneasy about this meeting.

Nesbitt looked over, his expression dark and unrelenting. "What do you want?" he barked.

Yami Bakura stopped in front of him. "You're the missing member of the Big Five, are you not? Your companions are looking for you."

"They all betrayed me," Nesbitt rumbled. "I gave them the chance to get in on this with me and they spurned me! I hate them all, but especially Lector." He clenched his fists. "He's always hated me too. He wanted to be rid of me!" The turquoise aura flowed over and around him repeatedly like a ring traveling over the top half of a bubble. The anger and hurt in the air was absolutely palpable.

"It's not up to me to decide whether he did or not," Yami Bakura said smoothly, "but it would seem he wants you back now."

"I'm not going back until I'm good and ready to take his soul," Nesbitt replied.

"What do you say to dueling me then, if you're not ready?" Yami Bakura said.

"I have no interest in you," Nesbitt retorted.

"I'm a strong Duelist," Yami Bakura told him. "I'm even a magical Duelist. Just think how you will prove your strength if you defeat me. Perhaps your friends will even awaken to the true realization of what the Orichalcos is and come back to you."

Bakura stiffened. "Don't do this!" he snapped at Yami Bakura. "It's cruel!"

Yami Bakura didn't answer. He wanted to gauge just how strong a hold the Orichalcos had over the man. And judging from how Nesbitt immediately perked up, even the Orichalcos couldn't completely mask Nesbitt's true feelings.

"Alright," he said. "I'll duel you. But I warn you, this won't be like any duel you've ever had before."

Yami Bakura just smirked. "I'm quite sure I can manage." He raised his arm with the Duel Disk and let it snap into place. "Let's get down to business."