Chapter Ten

Nesbitt had been silent for some time. He knew Lector was still there, sitting and watching him and no doubt looking deeply sorrowful and hurt. Nesbitt couldn't bear to see that look, so he couldn't face his friend.

They were friends, weren't they? Even though he couldn't remember, it just felt so right for Lector to be there. And the things he had said had been logical. It all fit. Why couldn't Nesbitt's memory match up with his feelings?

Something flashed in front of his mind's eye. He was dueling, and laughing cruelly as he struck Lector down with his own, brainwashed Duel Monster. Then Lector was lying in the snow, not moving, badly hurt. . . .

"NO!" Nesbitt screamed out loud.

Lector jumped a mile. "What is it?!"

Nesbitt turned to look at him, badly shaken. "How can you want anything to do with me?!" he cried in agonized disbelief. "How?!"

"Nesbitt, what on Earth is the matter?!" Lector demanded.

Nesbitt passed a shaking hand over his face. "I hurt you," he choked out. "I laughed and I deliberately blasted you with your own Duel Monster. . . ."

"Oh no," Lector said under his breath. He got up and went to the other bed. "Nesbitt, you weren't operating under your own power when you did that."

Nesbitt looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You were being mind-controlled," Lector explained. "Don't you remember what happened next?"

"You were laying there, so still," Nesbitt rasped. "I did that to you. . . ."

"You broke free of the control," Lector said. "You couldn't stand that you'd done that to me. You were in hysterics. No one could calm you down until I woke up and you saw I was going to be alright."

"And you forgave me?!" Nesbitt said in disbelief.

"Of course I forgave you," Lector frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You don't forgive easily when someone has wronged you," Nesbitt said. ". . . Wait, how do I know that?"

Lector perked up a bit. "It's not exactly what I'd choose for you to remember first, but yes, you're right," he confessed. "But it was different in your case, Nesbitt. It wasn't you hurting me! It was Yami Marik controlling you. And I haven't forgiven him for doing that to you, I can assure you."

"You're more upset about what was done to me?" Nesbitt stared at him.

"Yes," Lector said. "Just like I'm furious tonight because of what's been done to you."

A quiet knock on the door startled them both. "Come in," Nesbitt said slowly.

The door creaked open and Yugi peeked into the room. "Hi, guys," he greeted. "Sorry to disturb you, but Atem and I heard you talking and I was hoping you might know something about this?" He held up what looked like a business card.

Lector raised an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"I found it on the floor upstairs." Yugi pushed the door open and came into the room. "Whoever's stalking Johnson must have dropped it." He held it out for Lector to see.

"'The Gates of Hades'?!" Lector read in disbelief.

"Um, yeah." Yugi scratched his head in embarrassment. "It sounds like a pretty awful place, and it's not that I thought you'd ever been there, but I thought maybe you knew what it was?"

"No, but I can guess," Lector said flatly.

"I can guess too," Nesbitt grunted.

Atem sighed from the doorway. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid someone will have to go there and ask around. We must find out who is after Johnson, and consequently, the rest of the Big Five."

"Go where?" Crump mumbled, coming up behind him and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"The Gates of Hades," Lector told him. "It's some kind of club in the French Quarter. Yugi found a business card for it upstairs."

"Oh yeah?" Crump went in and took the card. "I'll go check it out."

"Someone should go with you," Yami Bakura said, abruptly appearing on the scene. "I volunteer."

"They'd be open now?" Nesbitt raised an eyebrow.

"According to the card, they open in the evening and stay open until dawn," Atem said.

Crump nodded. "Are you okay with me going, Buddy?" he asked Lector. "I was coming to take my shift. . . ."

"It's fine," Lector said. "I'd rather stay on with Nesbitt anyway."

Crump looked from him to Nesbitt. "Have you guys made any progress?"

". . . I'm starting to remember a few things," Nesbitt said.

"Yeah? That's great!" Crump exclaimed. "Do you remember Lector's your buddy yet?"

". . . Mostly I remember hurting him," Nesbitt mumbled.

"Oh." Crump winced.

Lector sighed. "At least it is progress."

"I guess," Crump frowned.

"Go ahead and go," Lector said. "Just be careful."

Crump saluted. "You can count on it!"

Yugi bit his lip as Crump went off to get dressed. "Do you think this is a good idea?" he worried.

"I don't know," Atem sighed. "We do need to try to find out who dropped that business card, but it hardly sounds like a good place to go."

Yami Bakura sneered. "Don't worry, Pharaoh. I should be able to successfully combat whatever devils we may encounter."

Atem shook his head. "I have the feeling that you want to go partially out of morbid curiosity."

"Well, with a name like that, how can I resist?" Yami Bakura laughed.

Atem facepalmed. "Ugh. And to think, you're the one who's supposed to lead us now?"

"I still say Dr. Raven's guide to magical objects is complete nonsense," Yami Bakura said over his shoulder while walking to the stairs.

"Sometimes I start to believe that," Atem muttered.

Yugi chuckled uneasily.

xxxx

The Gates of Hades was definitely open for business as Crump and Yami Bakura drove up that night. But unlike the images they had conjured in their minds, all of the staff was dressed as Greek mythological characters.

"I can't say this is exactly what I had in mind," Yami Bakura grunted.

"What, did you figure everybody would be dressed up as devils or something?" Crump said.

"Perhaps." Yami Bakura quirked an eyebrow as someone glided past with blue hair and skin.

"Wow, I wonder if Disney knows about this place," Crump blinked.

"Well, nevermind," Yami Bakura growled. "We need to find the manager."

"Actually, I think that was him," Crump realized. "Hey! Hades! We need to talk to you for a minute!"

The cosplayer stopped and turned. "Yes?"

"Uh . . . this is probably going to sound completely off the wall, but we found this business card dropped at the house we're staying at, and uh . . . we were just wondering if any of your staff left it," Crump babbled. "We figured somebody who'd party here must be a pretty fun person to know."

Hades cast a bored look at the business card. "What's your address?"

Yami Bakura recited it, appearing equally bored although he was really studying the man for his reaction.

It was more of a non-reaction. "So what is that? A bed and breakfast or something?"

"Or something," Yami Bakura said.

"I don't think any of my staff was out that way," Hades told him.

"Guess it must have been dropped by a customer then," Crump said. "We'll just look around. Thanks!"

They waited until the manager walked past. Yami Bakura frowned, watching as he looked around furtively and then ducked into the shadows. "That was odd."

"No kidding," Crump said. "What the heck's he doing? Maybe he's the guy!"

"Would he be careless enough to leave that business card?" Yami Bakura wondered. ". . . Or perhaps he wanted it to be found."

"Why would he?" Crump said in surprise.

"Some villains enjoy taunting their prey and leading them on a cat and mouse chase," Yami Bakura said. He started to inch towards the shadows. "Let's try to find out what he's doing."

Crump nervously followed, catching up as they entered a corridor off to the side of the stage.

The gleam of a knife pierced the darkness. "Another move and I'll pierce your fat gut," the manager hissed.

Crump went stiff. "Hey!" The knife was aimed right at his stomach.

Yami Bakura spun around, eyes narrowed. "What is this?!"

"You found me out," the man growled. "Well, I'll do anything to get even with Johnson, including killing one of his best friends in this club and saying it was a random mugging. Yeah, I dropped the card on purpose, hoping one or more of his friends would come here."

"How have you been getting into the mansion?" Yami Bakura demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Hades mocked.

"Why do you hate Johnson so much?!" Crump exclaimed. "Who are you?!"

"I'm the guy he framed for stealing a boat," was the whispered reply.

"Hey, you were trying to sabotage the company he worked for," Crump objected.

"Yeah. I'd been hired to set some bombs and blow it up. But I was so professional that there was no evidence, no proof of it at all. So Johnson made up a story about me stealing a boat to put me out of circulation. By the time I got out, no one would hire me for what I was good at. I was a joke! The only job I could get was this, playing Disney's version of the Greek Lord of the Dead!"

Crump just slowly shook his head. "You're a real nutball. I don't think I blame Johnson for doing anything he could to put you away!"

The knife stabbed closer. "Watch it!"

"Fool!" Yami Bakura spat at Crump. "Chain Energy!" He held up a card and the Infinity Ring glowed. Golden chains suddenly appeared and bound the man's arms to his sides. The knife dropped harmlessly to the floor, where Yami Bakura stepped on it to hold it down.

"Hey! What did you do?!" The manager looked to Yami Bakura with a jerk.

"A little magic trick." Yami Bakura put the card in his pocket. "As I see it, you will never want to reveal why you're so angry with Johnson, because then the police will come after you with who knows how many charges of arson or even murder for your explosions."

"It's not like you can prove any of what I just said," the criminal snapped.

"Oh, can't we?" Crump sneered and held up his phone. "We've been recording the whole show."

Hades stiffened, then snarled and lunged at Crump, who laughed and jumped out of the way.

"The instant you try anything else, we'll play this recording for the police," Yami Bakura said.

"Then you'll be sending Johnson up the river," Hades retorted. "That recording convicts him too!"

"We've got connections," Crump said, praying that was true. "Considering all the ins and outs of this case, I think Johnson might be let off the hook if he testifies against you. Lying in court's not the best policy and all, especially for a lawyer, but he probably actually saved lives by putting you away any way he could!"

Hades cursed him. "Alright, so we're at an impasse. Is that what you're saying?"

"Something like that," Crump said. "Just go back to your current life and leave us alone and maybe we'll leave you alone."

"Maybe." The bitter man's expression started to twist in a cruel manner. "But if I can't destroy Johnson one way, I'll destroy him another way. Go back and ask him about the time he called you and Mr. Gansley 'useless.'"

Crump rocked back. "What?! Now you're just grabbing at straws! He never said that!"

"Well, of course he wouldn't have told you." Hades stepped closer in spite of the binding chains. "Just go back and ask him."

Crump narrowed his eyes. "Okay. We'll do that. Not that anything'll come of it."

"And we're taking this with us." Yami Bakura bent and picked up the knife with a handkerchief. "It has your fingerprints all over it." He gave the man one last mocking sneer before they walked past him and out the side exit.

"Now that was just demented!" Crump ranted. "Why would he say something like that?! Johnson didn't even know any of us when he had contact with that guy! He couldn't know if Johnson ever said some crummy thing like that!"

"It doesn't seem like it," Yami Bakura frowned. "But don't you find his confidence odd? He insisted we go back and ask Johnson about it, as if he knew what we'd be told."

"He's just messing with us," Crump said. "Come on, let's get back."

Yami Bakura followed him to the car, not liking the nagging feeling in his stomach.

"Hey, where'd you get that cloth anyway?" Crump wondered. "You don't seem the type to carry one."

"No, but Bakura is, and he insists I take one," Yami Bakura grunted. "For once it came in use."

xxxx

Nesbitt sighed. He was tired of laying in bed, although he doubted he'd be able to get up right now without suffering a headache and possibly dizziness from the blow to his head. Lector was still there, faithfully and worriedly watching over him, and that only made Nesbitt feel worse when he didn't really remember.

"Are you feeling worse?" Lector asked in concern.

"No," Nesbitt said awkwardly. "I . . . I was just thinking. . . . I remember random things about you. . . . When you get stressed, the veins throb on your forehead. . . . You like those big popcorn tins with the three flavors. . . . You're always complaining how they get smaller every year. But I don't really remember you, or what it's like to be with you, or how I feel about you. . . ."

Lector looked away. "Give it time," he said. "You can't call your missing memories back all at once."

"I guess not." Nesbitt gripped the quilt. "But I want to remember. . . ."

And I want you to, so badly, Lector thought to himself.

A knock on the door brought them both to attention. "Come in," Lector called.

Johnson and Gansley were both standing there. "Where's Crump?" Gansley frowned.

"It's a long story." Lector started to explain.

Before he could finish, Crump and Yami Bakura came up the stairs. "Honey, we're home," Crump quipped.

Nesbitt rolled his eyes. "Did you find out anything?"

"Oh yeah." Crump sobered, his voice hardening. "Plenty."

"I'll get everyone together so they can all hear this," Yami Bakura volunteered.

As he walked off, Crump took a deep breath and stepped closer to Johnson. "This guy we found said some weird stuff," he said. "He told us to come back here and ask you about some time when you called me and Gansley 'useless.' I know it's garbage and all, but . . ." He trailed off. Johnson had gone sheet-white.

"He . . . he said that?!" Johnson cried.

Gansley stared at him. ". . . You really said that about us?" Hurt filled his eyes.

Nesbitt and Lector were staring in shock. "How could you say that about them?!" Nesbitt exclaimed.

Johnson shrank back, shaking, reaching to adjust his glasses. "I . . . I didn't mean it," he protested. "It happened in Noa's world. He was going to kill us all. . . . I had to say something to calm him down. . . . I . . ."

"And just what if he'd decided to off me and Gansley because of what you said? Huh?" Crump advanced on Johnson, eyes flashing.

"I . . ." Horror filled Johnson's face. "I never thought he'd decide to do that. I swear . . . !"

"Crump, calm down," Gansley ordered. "This is exactly how our enemy wants us to react! A more important question is how this person even knew about something that happened in Noa's world!"

"Who cares?!" Crump snapped. "The only thing that matters to me is that he wasn't lying!"

Johnson looked pleadingly at Crump. "When I thought I was dying and might say something I'd regret about something unkind I'd done, you said that you'd try to think of it as being in the past," he said. "You asked me if it was something I'd do again and I said no, that I couldn't!"

"And that was what you were worried you might say?!" Crump glowered at him. "I didn't know then that it was something targeted at me specifically! And Gansley?! He's our leader! You said something that disrespectful about him?! How can I trust anything you're saying now?! How can any of us?!"

Johnson choked, backing up out of the doorway. He gave the others one look of utter devastation before he turned and ran.

"Johnson, come back!" Lector yelled after him. He ran to the doorway, but somehow, mysteriously, Johnson was already gone.

"We have to find him," Gansley exclaimed. "In his state, who knows what could happen to him!"

"Little weasel's just gone off to sulk somewhere," Crump said bitterly.

"You know that's not true," Gansley retorted, his voice stern.

"His heart is broken." Lector ran into the hall. "Johnson?!"

Nesbitt started to struggle out of bed. "Johnson's been in a bad state ever since we came here. Someone's been driving him into despair. I'm going to help look."

"You shouldn't get up," Gansley frowned.

"I'm alright," Nesbitt growled.

"Let's split up and each take part of the estate," Gansley directed, pointing with his cane. "Nesbitt, if you insist on going, then go with Lector and search this floor. I don't want you trying to stumble around alone. Crump, why don't you look outside?"

"Fine," Crump snarled, and stalked off. He was too angry and hurt to be concerned at the moment, but Gansley was the leader and he would respect that decision.

Something felt wrong as soon as he got outside. The air was cold, but not a normal, pleasant cold. It was dark with an almost tangible darkness, like the Shadow Realm. Even though Crump really didn't like using the cliche, it felt downright evil.

His anger started to fade a bit. Johnson really had looked heartbroken. . . . And it had been so long ago. . . . And as Crump himself had said, they had all done things not so fitting for their friendship at some time or another. . . .

"Johnson . . . ?" he called tentatively.

He walked ahead through the grass. He could hear the water of the fountain now; he was almost to the garden and that creepy pool.

The pool?

Memories of Evangeline's story about the siren in the pool sent him forward in a panic. What if it was true?! "Johnson!" he yelled.

He rounded a corner and ground to a halt. There was Johnson now, walking directly towards the pool. And there, hovering above the surface, was a strange, wispy figure with long, blonde hair and a dress that almost melted into the foam of the water. . . .

"Johnson, what the heck are you doing?!" Crump screamed. He started running again. "You can't get in the water with her! You'll drown!"

"They've all turned against me," Johnson spoke. Even though he was clearly in a trance, the anguish still slipped into his voice. "I knew if that ever got out, it would be the end." He stepped into the water. "I'm all alone now. . . . It doesn't matter. I deserve it. . . ." Then he fell down far enough that the water filled his mouth. He didn't notice or care.

Crump kicked his shoes off, sending them flying in all directions, and set his phone on the edge of the fountain. "Johnson! Snap out of it!" he bellowed.

The siren looked up, her eyes flashing with rage. Then, even as Crump was about to dive in, she changed, morphing into a beautiful young girl in a bikini. "Just leave him," she whispered. "Come play with me. You know you want to."

Crump stared. Even as he looked, his free will started to disappear. Marian Francis from school, so many years ago. . . . She was so beautiful. . . . And unlike in school, she was actually interested in him. . . .

Johnson fell completely under the water. It bubbled where he'd gone down.

Crump shook himself out of his trance. "No!" He leaped into the water and grabbed the semi-conscious body of his friend. Then he was desperately swimming back to the surface, clawing at it with his free hand. He could feel the siren's rage and anger, but there was nothing she could do when she had no hold over him.

They broke through the surface and Crump dragged Johnson onto the shore. For one terrifying moment Johnson was very still. Then he started coughing and choking, spitting up the water he had swallowed. Crump turned him onto his side so he could breathe easier. But before he could figure out what to say, Johnson rolled onto his back and stared up at him. "Crump? . . ." The awe and disbelief in his voice shredded Crump's heart. "You saved my life. . . ."

"I'm so sorry, Buddy," Crump rasped. "I was so shocked and hurt I wasn't thinking clear, and now you almost died because of me!" He sobbed, taking Johnson in his arms. "I almost killed you. . . ."

Stunned, Johnson slowly returned the hug. "I'm alive because of you," he protested. "I didn't think any of you could ever forgive me if you knew what I'd said. . . ." He shut his eyes tightly, tears leaking out.

"I didn't think we could either," Crump said. "Or me, at least. That was just stupid. Everybody forgives you, Johnson! We've all done crummy things in the past. And hey, you probably really did save our lives when you got Noa calmed down." He hugged Johnson close.

Johnson cried. "I've been so afraid you'd all leave me, and then the siren played on that. . . . I felt so lost and alone. . . ."

"Crump?! Johnson?!"

They both looked up with a start. Gansley was coming towards them, moving as fast as he could despite his cane and his bad legs. Lector and Nesbitt were running over from another direction.

"What happened?!" Nesbitt demanded.

"Johnson got bamboozled by the siren," Crump explained, his heart heavy. "She's real! She almost drowned him because I hurt him so bad. . . ."

"From the looks of things, you got him out," Gansley observed, noting how drenched they both were.

"He did," Johnson said.

"You were both hurt," Lector said quietly. "It couldn't have been easy, finding out what Johnson said about you in the past."

"But that's no excuse," Crump protested. "I almost got my buddy killed. . . ."

"Let's go back in the house and you can both dry off," Gansley said. "Maybe you'll be feeling a little better once it sinks in that you saved him, Crump."

"And he overcame the siren," Johnson suddenly realized. "He must have. . . . She'd never just let him rescue me without trying to get him. . . ."

Nesbitt looked to Crump in surprise. "What did she try to trick you with?" he asked.

"Guess," Crump grunted. He got to his feet, bringing Johnson up with him.

"A very fetching young lady," Lector determined. He found Crump's shoes and brought them to him.

Crump nodded. "Somebody I had a crush on in school. She almost snagged me for a minute there," he admitted. "But then Johnson went under and I snapped out of it. No pretty girl is worth my friend's life."

Gansley gruffly smiled in approval. "Well said, Crump."

Notes: Thanks to Harry2 for the suggestion of mentioning Ouija boards last chapter, and Crescent Blue for suggesting the siren appear to Crump as someone he had crushed on in school. The idea of Lector liking those popcorn tins is because I saw an interview with his voice actor, Tom Souhrada, who likes them.