Notes: Thanks to Animegamefanatic and ThickerThanLove for plot help!
Chapter Three
Crump flinched and cringed as the door slammed shut. "Okay then. So now what?"
"We won't get anywhere with her," Lector said. "And I can't honestly blame her. If I was in her position, and I had somehow managed to revive any of you I'd lost, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your safety, even if I was breaking the law."
Nesbitt grunted. "We're agreed on that. But that doesn't help this problem any. What do we do?"
"Let's talk to your parents, Johnson," Gansley suggested. "There's no harm in finding out if they really might know something about what's happening."
Johnson nodded. "I hope we won't wake them up," he said in concern. "But I agree, we should try that maneuver next."
They walked next-door and Johnson knocked on the door. It was swiftly opened by his mother, whose eyes went wide in delight.
"Thomas!" she exclaimed. "Please come in! And all your friends!" She held the door open wide.
"Thank you, Mother," Johnson smiled. They all trouped inside and she pulled the door shut after them.
"What brings all of you here so late at night?" Mrs. Johnson asked. "Your father's gone to bed already and I was just cleaning up the kitchen before I followed him."
"Well . . ." Johnson shifted. "Truthfully, we're wondering what's going on with Betty Anderson. We suspect she may have a missing object we're looking for, but she won't admit to it."
Mrs. Johnson's expression faltered. "Betty. . . ." She folded her arms. "Actually, Betty has been acting strangely lately. She won't come over for any reason and she's started sending for her groceries to be delivered to the house. When I've tried to ask her what's wrong, she just insists that nothing is." She frowned. "But why would she have a missing object you need, Thomas?!"
Johnson adjusted his glasses, looking uncomfortable. "The rumor is that it grants life."
His mother gasped. "Noa?!"
"That's what we think," Gansley said. "Mokuba Kaiba here saw Noa earlier tonight."
Mokuba nodded. "That's right."
"You did?!" Mrs. Johnson cried. "Betty's been grieving over her son all these years. If he's really back, that's incredible! No, that's beyond incredible!"
"We're not sure what to do," Lector said. "If this was all there was to the story, we would just let it go and figure it was her own business. But the problem is, the missing object was stolen from China and there are several people here trying to collect all the items and send them back. We don't want Mrs. Anderson to get in trouble with them, or with the Chinese government."
"Oh dear." Mrs. Johnson frowned. "That does make everything sticky. Well, I'm not sure what to do. Tomorrow I could try again to get Betty to talk to me, but I just don't know if it will work. She's been so aloof with everyone, to say the least!"
"If you could at least try, we would be grateful," Lector said with a bow.
"Then I will," Mrs. Johnson said. She sighed but smiled. "Bill will be sorry he missed you. Will you all come back tomorrow and have some pie?"
"Sounds great to me!" Crump chirped.
Everyone concurred. After visiting for a few more minutes, they left, knowing they needed to get Mokuba home.
"So . . . what's gonna happen?" Mokuba wondered. "Are we gonna tell everyone about me seeing Noa or keep waiting?"
"I think we'd better go ahead and tell them," Lector said. "I believe you, Mokuba, and I know they will as well. It's hard to say when we'll find out the full truth behind Mrs. Anderson's behavior, but I'm sure Noa is at the heart of it."
"And her being a hermit. . . . That makes it sound like Noa isn't ever supposed to go out," Crump exclaimed. "Or maybe he can't go out. Maybe that's a violation of the thing's conditions!"
"I don't think so," Mokuba said. "He seemed okay when I saw him. . . ."
"Well, maybe she just doesn't want anyone to see Noa then," Gansley said. "She may be worried about having taken the tiara and fear that Noa will suffer for it. After we take Mokuba home, there is one other thing we can do tonight—see the Paradox Brothers at their hotel suite and find out if they know exactly what the powers of the missing items are."
"That's a good idea," Nesbitt said, perking up.
"Aww, I'd like to go with you guys to hear that," Mokuba lamented. "But I really should be getting home. Seto will be getting tense."
Lector smiled a bit. "Let's go then. We'll tell you all about what we find out later, Mokuba."
Mokuba smiled too. "Okay then." Sometimes it still seemed strange that he was so comfortable being around all of the Big Five, and that Seto allowed it. But it was definitely a nice strange.
xxxx
As it turned out, others had had the same idea about the Paradox Brothers. When the Big Five arrived at the hotel suite after dropping Mokuba off, Atem, Yugi, the Bakuras, and Bakura's cat Oreo were already there.
"Hello," Atem greeted them. "You had the same idea?"
"That's right," Gansley said.
The Paradox Brothers didn't mind. "You have asked about the last two magical items," said Para. "The first is the crane tiara, the bringer of life."
"The other is the fox whip, the deliverer of strife," said Dox.
"That doesn't tell us enough," Yami Bakura growled.
"Bringer of life?!" Atem exclaimed.
"Is it like the Infinity Ankh Shadi had?" Yugi wondered. "He used that to revive Alister when he was killed stopping the Neo-Orichalcos, but there were conditions for using it. . . ."
"Every fifty years, the crane can bring back three," Para said.
"But be warned! There is always a fee," Dox added.
"To revive one, it must in turn take," Para said.
"A crop, a building, or even a winter's snowflakes," Dox concluded.
"It causes a drought, in other words," Atem frowned. "Or destroys a building that may in turn kill many inside. . . . What a dangerous and deadly device."
"There is always a price for magic, Pharaoh," Yami Bakura said. "Sometimes that price is forcing the bearer to always be ready to save the world. Sometimes . . . it's something like this."
Bakura was just staring in open-mouthed shock. "How can you tell how many it's been used on within the given time period?" he asked.
"The crane's eyes and pendant will alight," said Para.
"As one by one, the chosen ones' life signs burn bright," said Dox.
"So those gems glow to indicate the number of times it's been used," Atem said. "But it doesn't have to be kept for the people to live?"
"No," said Para. "They are free to pass it on, once they have made their choice."
"And if they can live with the invoice," said Dox.
Bakura still seemed overly interested. "Do they choose the price or does the tiara choose for them?" he wondered.
Yami Bakura shot him a Look. He was getting a bad feeling about this.
Oreo meowed and nuzzled Bakura. He held her close, but wasn't distracted from waiting for his reply.
"They can choose from several fates," Para said.
"And if they cannot, the tiara itself will designate," Dox said.
"I see," Bakura said softly.
". . . What about the other item?" Gansley cut in.
"The item of death causes great woe," said Para.
"It kills whomever you want, but you must give up your own soul," Dox added.
"Well, that's creepy," Crump said. "What good is it then?"
"You might be surprised," said Para.
"But there are those willing to pay the price," Dox finished.
Crump shuddered. "Okay, I'm gonna have nightmares tonight."
Atem looked at them closely. "Do you know anything about the locations of either item?"
Lector sighed. "We don't know," he said guardedly.
The Brothers also studied them, unconvinced.
"While you may not be certain, we can see you suspect," Para said.
"It would be wise to tell us, regardless of whom you wish to protect," Dox said.
"And what will you do if we relay our suspicions to you?" Gansley asked.
"As to that, we are not sure," Para said.
"We will need to hear more," Dox finished.
Nesbitt growled. ". . . We think a woman used it to revive her kid," he said.
Yugi gasped. "What?!"
"Then she has nothing to fear," Para said.
"We will simply take her tiara away from here," Dox said.
Lector gave a slight bow. "We would like permission to try to talk with her again ourselves," he said. "If she understands there is no danger to her or her son, I am sure she will give up the tiara peacefully."
The Brothers exchanged a look before replying.
"We will grant you this," Para said.
"And hope this is information that Vivian Wong will miss," Dox finished.
Nesbitt's expression twisted in disgust. "That's true. If she found out, she'd probably try to use that to bribe Lector into bed."
"It wouldn't work," Lector said.
"Of course not," Gansley said. "But you shouldn't have to deal with it anyway."
Johnson looked to the Brothers. "We will talk to her again in the morning and report our success to you," he said. "Hopefully we'll be able to bring the tiara with us."
"We will await your report," said Para.
"And hope that your success will not instead abort," Dox said.
The group soon left. Yugi, Atem, and the Bakuras all looked varyingly shaken and disturbed by the exchanges.
"Who do you think got revived, guys?" Yugi demanded as they got into the elevator.
"Mokuba saw Noa outside my house tonight," Lector said. "He begged Mokuba to forget seeing him and then escaped in a cab. He must be worried about his mother, maybe thinking she'll get arrested for having stolen merchandise."
"One does wonder how she would have obtained it," Atem mused. "Was the man from the museum a friend of hers, perhaps? Or did she buy it from him?"
"If we can get her to understand there's no danger, she may tell us," Gansley said.
"So wait, Noa's alive?!" Yugi gasped.
"He left footprints in the snow," Lector said. "And we went to see Mrs. Anderson and she was very belligerent, to say the least."
"She was definitely hiding something," Nesbitt grunted.
Bakura hesitated, shifting his position in the elevator. ". . . Um . . . if we get the tiara back and see that there are still two available slots . . . would it be too terrible if I used it to bring back Mother and Amane?"
Yugi and Atem both stiffened in concern. "Bakura," Yugi exclaimed.
"Eh. You can't blame the boy," Yami Bakura grunted. "I could tell he was tempted. Who wouldn't be?" He looked to Bakura. "The question I have is, could you live with whatever destruction you might cause by their revival? Would they want to be revived that way?"
Bakura bit his lip. "I . . . don't know. If the tiara gives me options, I could pick what sounds the least horrible. What if there's just some old abandoned warehouse to choose? Surely it wouldn't be so awful or selfish to let something like that be destroyed in exchange to have them back. . . ."
"I doubt it would be that simple, unfortunately," Atem said. "Your choices would probably be more along the lines of a building full of people or perhaps causing a drought on an area that desperately needs the moisture."
Bakura clenched a fist. "Well, at least I could find out!" he suddenly snapped, uncharacteristically angry.
"But what if the tiara won't let you back out if you decide you don't want to use any of the options?" Yugi exclaimed. "What if it insists on going ahead with the deal and choosing for you?!"
Bakura turned away. "Maybe if you'd ever lost anyone to death and not got them back, you'd understand how I feel, Yugi."
Yugi guiltily looked down. "I do understand, Bakura," he said. "I wanted Atem back so badly, but I just kept telling myself it was for the best that he'd gone on to the afterlife. That was the only way I could deal with it. If I had ever once thought he wanted to be with me more than he wanted to be there, I probably would have done what Duke did for David and searched for some way to get him back."
The elevator stopped and everyone filed out, heading into the cold winter's night.
Bakura looked up, staring into the snowflakes descending from the overcast sky. "I never had a way to get them back before," he said softly. "I feel I will always regret it if I don't at least investigate this possibility."
Atem sighed. "Then you must make your own decision. I only pray it will be the right one."
Bakura managed a smile. "Thank you."
Yugi looked at Atem with worry, but didn't protest.
The groups went their separate ways, shaken by all they had learned—and unsure what to think of Bakura's desires. No one could blame him, but the fact that this object could be so dangerous was more than a little frightening.
xxxx
Bakura didn't speak until he and Yami Bakura were back in their van and heading for home. "What do you think, Yami?" Bakura asked. He held Oreo close to him as he stroked her fur. "You didn't forbid me to use the tiara. . . . And I know you understand why I would want to, probably more than anyone else. . . ." He bit his lip. "It's selfish of me, though, isn't it? I mean, you lost absolutely everyone! I should let you use it. . . ."
"No," Yami Bakura said gruffly. "Who would I bring back? My sister Amunet? My mother? My father? If there are only two slots, one of them would have to stay behind. They have been together for three thousand years. I wouldn't want to split them up."
"Oh." Bakura looked down. "That's true. . . . I didn't think about that. I should have."
"But if there are two slots, you could get back both of your lost loved ones," Yami Bakura continued. "No, Bakura, I won't forbid you to use it. But Yugi and the Pharaoh made excellent points. You must think very carefully before you do something like this. You need to consider everything that could conceivably go wrong and if it's worth the risk. And then, if you feel it is, you should do it."
Bakura leaned back, staring out at the falling snow. "Is that how you lived your life, Yami?"
Yami Bakura grunted. "Somewhat, until Zorc got hold of me. After that, I fell into madness and wasn't thinking clearly at all."
Bakura sighed and looked down at Oreo as she snuggled close, striking up a motorboat purr. "I don't know what to do," he said softly.
"Then wait to decide until we get hold of the tiara," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps by then you'll know."
Bakura slowly nodded, but he had to wonder if he would sort it out even by then.
xxxx
The news quickly spread to all of the group about Noa's apparent return. Everyone was stunned, but knowing how Noa had tried to make up for his wrongdoings, they were also happy and hopeful for him and his mother.
"He's lucky his mother cares about him," Duke muttered when he saw Yugi's text. "Mine would never go through any of that for me. She just left me with my revenge-obsessed dad and ran back to Japan."
Lumis and Umbra, who were staying late to do inventory, looked at each other with awkwardness. Neither knew what to say to Duke and thought it better to stay quiet unless he addressed them. They did, however, go to another part of the storage area to talk with each other.
"I certainly can't imagine a mother caring as much as that boy's does," Lumis remarked, bitterness creeping into his voice.
Umbra's expression darkened. Lumis had told him many horrible things about his home life, including his apathetic parents. When Lumis had been in a coma during Battle City and Umbra had been asked about his family for permission to discontinue life support, Umbra had said he was Lumis's only family—both because it had really seemed to be true and because he had wondered if Lumis's biological family would have cared enough to keep the life support going. He hadn't wanted to trust them after what he had been told.
"Do you think yours would?" Lumis broke into his thoughts.
Umbra gave an uncomfortable shrug. "I don't know." Umbra's family was wealthy. But they had wanted to plan his life out for him and when he had said No, they had disinherited him.
Lumis sighed. "Oh well. None of that matters now. We have each other and that's enough."
Umbra nodded in agreement. He was satisfied. Although he couldn't deny there was a part of him that wondered what it would be like to have a parent like Noa's mother, willing to even use a dangerous magic object to save him regardless of the consequences.
And from the way Lumis's eyes flickered, he really wondered too.
xxxx
Mokuba took a deep breath as he headed for Seto's bedroom. He wanted to let his brother know he was here and to say Goodnight, and he was still debating the Noa issue. He supposed he really couldn't or shouldn't put off telling Seto about it, although he still dreaded it. Maybe it wouldn't go over too badly . . . but Seto and Noa had never made peace, so Mokuba was understandably nervous.
Part of him wondered why Noa hadn't tried to approach Seto during the last time he had come around as a spirit. Noa had visited almost everyone else. But maybe there just hadn't been time and Noa had figured he and Seto would need a lot more of it to even try to clear the air. Whatever the reason, the problem still remained unsolved.
Mokuba quietly pushed open the door. "Seto?"
Seto was laying in the bed with his laptop. He turned to look at Mokuba. "You're back later than I thought Lector would keep you," he remarked.
"I know," Mokuba said slowly. "Something kind of happened and . . ." He trailed off. "Seto, have you been working?!"
"I'm just doing a few things," Seto said. "Mostly checking emails. They stack up fast."
"But you're still getting better," Mokuba protested.
"I hate laying around doing nothing," Seto said. "You know that."
"Yeah . . . but I don't want you to get sick or something," Mokuba said.
"I'll be fine. I'm going to sleep soon. What was it that happened?" Seto looked at Mokuba with a scrutinizing eye, wishing he could just know what was going on in his brother's mind.
Mokuba shifted his position and bit his lip. "Um . . . well, we found out what the other two magic items do, and I think someone already used one," he said.
Seto kept looking at him. "Do I want to know?"
"Probably not, but you'll find out anyway," Mokuba said. "One of the items can grant life, and it . . . kinda looks like Noa's mom got it and used it to bring Noa back. . . ."
Seto went stiff in the bed. "What?!"
"That's not a bad thing, though!" Mokuba exclaimed. "You know Noa's changed. . . . I'm sure he won't try anymore to get KaibaCorp away from us. . . ."
Seto slowly tried to will himself to relax. "No, I don't think so either."
Mokuba watched him carefully. "You're not mad, are you, Seto?"
"I don't know what I am," Seto retorted. "Naturally I'm not jumping for joy, but I suppose I'm glad for his mother's sake."
Mokuba nodded hopefully. "Gozaburo really treated Noa rotten. And he got killed so young. He really deserved another chance to live."
"Well, apparently he's got one now," Seto grunted. "He'd better not waste it."
Mokuba smiled. "I don't think he will. Especially once he knows his mom will be okay."
Seto sighed, opting not to comment further on the matter. "You'd better get to bed," he said instead. "You've had a long day and I imagine tomorrow will be busy. We'll probably be caught up all the more in this magic nonsense around town."
"Yeah, probably," Mokuba said. He came over and hugged Seto. "Goodnight, Big Brother."
Seto had to smile. "Goodnight, Kid." He hugged Mokuba close.
They each had a great deal to think about as they settled into their beds. But eventually their thoughts drifted into pleasant dozes for them both and they slipped to sleep until morning.