Chapter Nineteen

The butler at the Leichter manor definitely lost his composure when Lector arrived this time. "Mr. Démas . . . !" he gasped. "You . . . you're . . ."

"Not one of the undead, I assure you," Lector said coolly. "I survived the explosion. Where is my father?"

"U-Upstairs in bed," the butler stammered.

"Thank you." Lector walked past him, Evangeline walking alongside. Everyone else trailed after him, much to the butler's shock.

The door to Mr. Leichter's room was open when they arrived on the second floor. Mrs. Leichter, still at his bedside, looked up with a start. "Démas. . . . Evangeline. . . ."

Evangeline averted her gaze. "Hello, Mother."

"How is Father?" Lector asked.

"He's . . . better than he was," Mrs. Leichter said. "Right now he's just resting."

"I see you didn't tell the butler about my phone call, Mother," Lector noted.

"No, I didn't," Mrs. Leichter admitted. She stared at Evangeline with nervousness.

"Evangeline is free of the amulet's control," Lector said.

"Oh. That's good," Mrs. Leichter said, guardedly.

"And Dr. Raven has been arrested," Lector continued. "So have his employees. I'm sure they'll all be put away for a long time."

Mr. Leichter groaned in the bed. "Démas?"

"Yes. . . ." Lector stepped forward. "How are you feeling, Father?"

Mr. Leichter weakly shook his head. "I set those bombs to go off. . . . I almost killed you. . . ."

"And I'm sure the police will have a lot of questions for you," Lector said. "I appreciate that you feel terrible for almost blowing me up, but what about getting me out here in the first place just to be a target for Dr. Raven? If he had set those bombs up instead of you, and I truly had died, would you have been so upset?"

"Démas!" Mrs. Leichter admonished.

"It's a good question, Mother," Evangeline said. "I'd like to know the answer too."

"I . . . don't know the answer," Mr. Leichter said despondently. "I want to believe I would have, but I don't know. . . ."

"And don't you have something to say to your father, Evangeline?" Mrs. Leichter prompted.

"Yes, I do," Evangeline said. "But it's probably not what he wants to hear.

"I wish I could say I feel badly for blasting you, Father, but I'm afraid I don't. No matter what Démas did that was wrong, it's no excuse for the way he's been treated by you and almost everyone else in this family. I know that 'Honor thy father and mother' is important, but so is the parents honoring the children. Children should feel safe with their parents, not left worrying that they're going to be tricked and used any time they don't measure up to whatever the parents' standards are. Parents should try to help their children get back on the right path, not disown them and make them feel unwelcome in their own family!"

"Evangeline!" Mrs. Leichter exclaimed.

"Yeah! You tell 'im," Joey encouraged.

Lector looked to Joey in a bit of surprise.

"And Démas has been trying to turn his life around on his own, without anyone in the family having pushed or encouraged him to do that," Evangeline continued. "It takes a lot of courage to admit you were wrong and change for the better, especially all on your own. He should have been supported, not betrayed by his own father!

"The whole family betrayed him, really." Evangeline looked to Mrs. Leichter. "Me too. I should have moved out and insisted on being able to contact him. Instead, I let Father rule me just like he rules you and Marie and even the other kids who don't live here anymore! Well, no more. I don't feel like I can stay here anymore . . . not if you still feel the same about Démas." She looked from one parent to another.

"I . . . don't know the answer to that either," Mr. Leichter said morosely.

"I never wanted Démas to be used the way your father did," Mrs. Leichter said.

"But you felt you had to accept that it was happening, just because of Father being the head of the household," Evangeline said. "I don't care if he's technically the head; you don't just stand by and let him do something horrible to someone else you're supposed to care about!"

Mrs. Leichter looked away.

"Let's blow this place," Crump said in disgust. "I think everything that's going to be said has been said."

Lector nodded. "I suppose we may need to stay on a bit to give testimony in court, but as soon as possible, I want to go back to Domino City. That's my home now; I don't know if New Orleans will ever be home to me again."

Mr. Leichter gave a heavy, defeated sigh. "Then . . . goodbye, Démas."

"Goodbye, Sir." Lector turned away. Although he hoped his mother might call him back, she did not.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Crump asked Evangeline as they walked back up the hall.

"I don't know either," she sighed. "Maybe I should stay until morning, at least. . . . Give them a chance to think over what I said. . . . They wouldn't give Démas a chance, but I don't want to be like them."

"Just don't let yourself be taken in and tricked by them," Crump said in concern. "They might try to use you."

Evangeline managed a small smile. "I'll be careful, thanks." She smiled more. "I'm so glad that Démas has such good friends."

"So am I," Lector said. "And I'll be back to see you tomorrow, Evangeline."

"That's wonderful," Evangeline beamed. "I'll look forward to it."

It was only when the group stepped outside that something really occurred to Lector. He stopped, a saddened look passing through his eyes.

"Lector?" Mokuba looked up at him.

"What is it?" Gansley asked.

"I just realized," Lector said. "Evangeline isn't calling our father 'Daddy' anymore."

"Her childlike idolization of him has passed," Gansley summed up.

"And who can blame her?" Crump said.

"No one can," Lector said. "But . . . I never wanted her to lose her innocence like this."

Gansley sighed sadly and drew an arm around Lector's shoulders as they headed for their vehicles.

xxxx

At the hotel, everyone prepared to go back to their suites to have dinner. The Big Five were just heading to theirs when Lector heard someone running after him. He turned, not entirely surprised to see Mokuba.

"Are you okay, Lector?" the boy asked. "After what happened with Evangeline and seeing your parents again and all?"

". . . I don't know," Lector admitted. "It's so much to take in. I wish it wasn't real. Everything that's happened out here seems like a nightmare that doesn't end."

"I know what you mean," Mokuba said. "I always feel like that when there's a lot going on that me and Seto are involved with. . . ." He looked down. "I . . . I felt so horrible tonight . . . like it was my fault that you . . . well . . . didn't seem to be okay. . . . It always seems like people are getting hurt because of me. . . ."

That was what Lector had been afraid of. He knelt down at Mokuba's eye level. "I assure you, it wasn't your fault, Mokuba," he insisted. "You were very brave, running in to rescue your friend. He probably would have been beyond hope had you waited for Nesbitt and me to find him."

"Yeah. . . . I try to tell myself that, but I still feel horrible to have to sacrifice one friend to save another." Mokuba shuddered. "I just kept thinking how you'd been having such a rotten time and you wanted to leave and go home to make sure your friends would be safe, and then you tried to save me and got killed. . . ."

Lector sighed sadly. It wouldn't do much good to point out that he hadn't been dead; that wasn't the issue. He could have died rescuing Mokuba, and that was what Mokuba was still troubled about.

"As I've told you, you saved me, Mokuba," he said. "I was returning the favor . . . although as far as I'm concerned, I'm still in your debt. I can never fully repay you for what you've done for me, and for what that in turn has done for the others. Nor can I ever begin to pay back all the heartache and pain I've caused through the years. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted anyone else to hurt you either. But once we agreed to turn over our holdings to Pegasus, everything went downhill from there."

Pain flashed through his eyes. He had never wanted Pegasus to take Mokuba during Duelist Kingdom. Then he had learned that Mokuba had not even been Pegasus's honored guest, but a helpless prisoner. And the disasters hadn't stopped after Duelist Kingdom; he hadn't been able to do anything when Gansley and later Nesbitt had tried to vent their frustrations on Seto by going after Mokuba. He had realized with relief that Gansley had not been trying to kill Mokuba; since they were in virtual reality, Mokuba would have survived the Five-Headed Dragon's blast. But there had still been the principle of the thing, and that had been horrible. Not to mention he really didn't know what Nesbitt had planned on doing with Mokuba in Noa's world. Had Noa not intervened, Lector would have tried to get Nesbitt to turn Mokuba over to him after his disastrous duel with Seto.

Mokuba shook his head. "That's all over," he said softly. "I forgave you, Lector."

"But I haven't forgiven myself," Lector replied. "I wonder if I'm little better than my father, or what I thought your brother was like. All the times you become collateral damage during so many of our schemes. . . ."

"You never wanted that," Mokuba said. "And your dad just coldly wanted to throw you away. You never felt like that about me. Seto didn't either," he felt he had to add.

"No, I . . . we didn't," Lector said, and Mokuba smiled at the acknowledgment of Seto. "But I'm going to be soul-searching about this for a long time."

Mokuba hesitated. "You know, I've wondered something. When we were all in Noa's world, I was the only one nobody wanted to duel. I probably knew more about dueling than Tristan or Serenity, but nobody challenged me even though Duelists were the ones wanted for the tournament! Why?" He stared into Lector's eyes. "Was it because of you?"

". . . Yes," Lector admitted. "I convinced the others not to duel you. I didn't even want you there, but I should have known you'd come."

"And did you ever think what would happen to me if you trapped Seto somewhere?"

". . . I did. Since I felt he wasn't good for you and only used you, I was going to adopt you myself," Lector said. "Not that you would have accepted me under the circumstances."

"No, I wouldn't have. But . . . even when you were really twisted, you always cared about me," Mokuba said softly. "It's nice to know that."

"That's true," Lector agreed. "But it doesn't make up for everything I did that hurt you."

"Well . . ." Mokuba hesitated, then leaned in and hugged Lector. "Just remember that it's over, that things are different now. And . . . I love you. You know, speaking of adoption . . . I wish . . . I wish you could have adopted both Seto and me instead of Gozaburo. . . . I've wanted to tell you that for a while. . . . I wanted it years ago, after Gozaburo started acting like such a jerk, but Seto didn't go for it. He felt we had to stay with Gozaburo to have the best possible position in life. And . . ." He looked down. "By that time, he didn't trust Gozaburo or anyone else. He didn't think things would be any different with someone else."

Lector stared at him, stunned. If he had adopted them in the first place instead of Gozaburo, that might have changed everything, in a positive direction. The boys would have been safe with him. Seto never would have been brainwashed and abused and turned into the ruthless creature Lector had despised so much. The other Big Five members would have been like their uncles. They would have been a strange but happy family. Maybe the others would have even abandoned their crooked practices much sooner.

But it never would have happened. Children had always made him uncomfortable and he never would have visited an orphanage to put on a false front of enjoying their company. What he had started to privately wish, however, was to have known about the abuse before it got so serious that it turned Seto cold and ruthless. Mokuba didn't even know about most of the abuse at all. Lector supposed Seto had kept quiet out of fear of Social Services separating the brothers once they got involved, and fear that Mokuba wouldn't get into as good a future as he had by being an heir of Gozaburo Kaiba, but had Lector known, he would have insisted on adopting both boys. They would have stayed together. And if Gozaburo had been arrested for child abuse, he would have been dismissed from his position as CEO of KaibaCorp. Lector might have taken over, as he had wanted, and the boys would have still had a good future.

It was all a moot point, though. None of it had happened, and thinking on it was pointless.

". . . I wish I could have adopted you both too," he said at last. "I love you, Mokuba."

He hugged Mokuba close, then released him and straightened. They went to their respective suites, casting a Goodbye look to each other before vanishing inside.

xxxx

After their late dinners, most of the different groups decided to attempt sleep. Many of them were not sure, however, that sleep was possible any time soon after such a night.

Crump watched Gansley worriedly as he started to unfold the daybed. "How are you feeling, Buddy?" he asked. "For real, no trying to pretend you're okay."

Gansley paused. "I . . . don't know," he had to admit. "It's all so overwhelming. . . . We've gone through one thing after another ever since we betrayed Gozaburo to take over KaibaCorp. Our lives haven't gone right at all since then, except for one thing—how much closer we've become through all our trials. And it seems like the universe has nothing better to do than try over and over to split us up by harming us." He gripped the quilt. "I thought maybe now we would finally get a reprieve from our suffering, and then that demon had to show up and taunt us. When he threatened more harm, I just couldn't take it anymore. Especially after all that we've been through tonight. . . ."

"Hey, if you hadn't flipped, I probably would have," Crump said. "It was the last straw and he knew it."

"But you finally stopped me," Gansley remembered.

"For you, not him," Crump said. "When you just kept at it so hard, I got worried. But I might have gone at him even harder."

Gansley sank onto the daybed. ". . . Have I really been a good leader?" he wondered. "I led us into so much misery and chaos, and then I couldn't get us back out. Everything I tried just sank us deeper into debt."

Crump sat next to him. "Everything we did was always a group decision," he insisted. "You never tried to seize control or flaunt your power. We all agreed."

"But I should have known better than to try at least some of what we did," Gansley said, staring off into the distance. "In the end, it was Lector who realized we were getting nowhere."

"Lector was always better than the rest of us," Crump said. "I dunno why he liked us. . . . Nah, I do. He always saw the good in us. He didn't like a lot of what we were doing, but he liked us."

"And we were a bad influence on him." Gansley sighed. "He was always the honorable one, but when we lost that duel to Yugi and Joey, he refused to give back what he thought was Tristan's body out of bitterness."

"Maybe it wasn't bitterness so much as it was frustration and wanting to help us all get out of Noa's world," Crump said. "Okay, so we had some pretty twisted plans for how to get out, but Lector was always rooting for all of us to make it. He never tried to be self-serving about it."

"As far as I know, we were all trying to help each other," Gansley said. "Even Nesbitt tried . . . before he thought he'd acquired a body and could get out himself. Sometimes I wonder . . . would any of us have been any different in his position?"

"I dunno," Crump frowned. "I like to think so. . . . And Nesbitt really figured he would have regretted leaving us, if he'd made it out. I think if any of us had a self-serving moment, we all would've regretted it in the end."

Gansley nodded. "And I suppose it really doesn't matter now. We know we wouldn't do anything like that anymore, even if we would have in the past." He laid down on the daybed. "I think I'm going to try to go to sleep."

"Okay." Crump got up. "We probably all should. . . . Hey, maybe tomorrow we could really enjoy a Mardi Gras parade or something."

"Perhaps," Gansley said.

Crump hesitated a moment before blurting, "And come to me or any of the others if you need to talk. Don't keep it all inside."

Gansley smiled slightly. "I'll keep that in mind. Goodnight."

"Night." Crump headed for the bedroom.

Johnson was waiting for him there. He looked up from where he was sitting on one of the beds, seeming awkward and unsure of what to think. "How is he?" he asked when Crump entered.

"Gansley?" Johnson nodded. "I think he's okay. Still kind of struggling a bit with how to feel, but that's understandable."

"I don't know how to feel either." Johnson stared down at the emerald ring. "Mostly about this saving the world idea. Do you think it's over?"

"Until the next crisis comes along," Crump shrugged. "Which . . . could be any time." He grimaced.

Johnson sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of. Actually, I handled it alright, even though it was a strange experience. But I'm worried about Lector. None of us really considered what, exactly, would happen when he used the power of his ring. As soon as I saw those strands of darkness, I knew it was going to go over poorly for him."

"No kidding," Crump said. "It'll take him a while to be able to deal with that, I'm sure."

"I wish I could switch rings with him," Johnson lamented. "Do you think that would be allowed?"

"You're asking me?" Crump snorted. "I'm all for it, but who knows what the creepy magic guy would think."

Johnson took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'd do it if I didn't worry it might backfire on Lector, since he's apparently supposed to use the element of Darkness. But that's such a cruel irony after what Khu did to him!"

"A lot of things on this trip have been cruel ironies," Crump said. "And then every now and then it makes sense, like me getting locked in a freezer and finding out what it really feels like."

"I still don't like that that happened to you," Johnson retorted.

"Who would?" Crump quipped. "Except maybe our hated enemies.

"How are you doing, by the way?" he asked.

Johnson started. "I'm alright," he insisted. "I'm glad Lector didn't have to see me catatonic . . . but I'm sorry you and Gansley did. I know how it was hurting you. I heard everything you said; I . . . I just couldn't make myself speak. . . ." He shook his head. "It was just too horrible. . . . Lector lying there, and me unable to revive him. . . . I couldn't handle it after everything else. . . ."

"You really freaked me out, that's for sure," Crump said. "But I know you were grieving over Lector. And . . . well, I'm just glad you did end up coming out of it. Even though I'm sorry about the reason why."

"Nesbitt. . . ." Johnson sighed. "It's good that he's sharing the other room with Lector. Hopefully that will help him."

"I hope so," Crump said. "But I also hope you'll be okay."

"And I hope you will," Johnson said. "You've been trying to shoulder people's pain too."

"But I've been trying to talk out my own, unlike Gansley was . . . until tonight." Crump looked weary.

"Hopefully we'll all be okay," Johnson said. He laid down. "I'm going to try to sleep, if I can."

"Sleep sounds pretty good to me too," Crump said. He reached and turned the light off before laying down on the other bed.

xxxx

Lector wasn't quite sure what to think about anything. He supposed he should talk one on one with all of the others, but he couldn't guarantee that he would even know what to say if he did. He knew he didn't feel comfortable wearing the amethyst ring if there wasn't danger that required it, so he slipped it off and placed it on the nightstand. His hand trembled slightly as he did.

Nesbitt was watching his every move. He seemed awkward but silent, not sure what to say yet possibly wanting to talk. And Lector was sure that he needed to talk with him, after the way he had broke down because of thinking Lector dead. Yet on the other hand, Lector wasn't sure what to say that he hadn't said already, so he wondered if it was better to stay quiet.

"Are you alright?" Nesbitt asked abruptly.

Lector started. "Why wouldn't I be?" he slowly asked. "Well . . . I'm still upset about most of my biological family, of course . . . but otherwise . . ."

"I saw how you looked when you tried to use that ring and darkness came out of it," Nesbitt said.

Lector looked away. "I should have known that's what would happen, but I wasn't thinking about it at all. Yes, I must admit that was extremely troubling for me." He stared at the ring. "I don't know if I have the strength to use it. . . ."

"Maybe you won't have to again," Nesbitt said. "If you do, we could always switch rings." He held up his. "You said yourself that you can be good at Fire. And we know I'm a dark person. I'm sure we could wield each other's rings with ease."

"That is tempting," Lector admitted. "I suppose we have until the next magic-based crisis to think about it. The way things go, I'm sure there will be another."

"You're probably right," Nesbitt said in resignation.

"More's the pity," Lector muttered.

". . . You've never really talked about the darkness," Nesbitt said, looking both awkward and guilty now. "If you want to . . ."

"I don't know," Lector brusquely interrupted. Then, sighing, he looked away, his shoulders slumping. He was grateful for the consideration. ". . . It was the most terrifying experience of my life. It took me in . . . swallowed me whole . . . and then I was part of it. All I could think of were all the things that had hurt me—my family, Gozaburo, Seto, my own foolishness . . . and right then, the rest of you. Thinking that you'd all abandoned me was what I couldn't take after everything else. I couldn't stop thinking about it and being upset about it. That was the one thing I thought I'd never lose—your love."

"And that was why the darkness took you," Nesbitt whispered in sickened horror. "None of us thought you couldn't resist its pull. . . . None of us realized that you would see it as a betrayal, because we felt you'd betrayed us. Then it was too late. . . ."

"My love for Mokuba finally brought me back to myself," Lector said. "I remembered how he tried to save me, even after all I'd done."

"How did you ever trust us again?" Nesbitt wondered.

"I'm not sure I did trust any of you fully until you all sacrificed yourselves for me," Lector said. "But the seed of trust was planted when I saw how genuinely saddened all of you were at the thought of my leaving you all behind. I didn't want to believe everything was all over. Johnson acknowledged that we'd all made mistakes and he wanted there to be trust again. I wanted that too." He looked morosely at the ring. "I've forgiven all of you. But I don't know if I can ever get over being absorbed by the darkness enough to feel I can wield that."

"We'll switch rings," Nesbitt insisted. "We're not our ancestors; we're not bound by the rings they chose."

"Thank you," Lector said quietly.

". . . Last night you asked me about my family, Lector," Nesbitt said suddenly. That seemed such a lifetime ago now. . . . "I didn't want to tell you then, but I do now."

Lector regarded him in surprise. "Go on," he encouraged.

Nesbitt sighed. "They're all still alive. . . . They haven't abandoned me and I haven't lost any of them. . . . Actually, I had a completely normal and happy childhood and life in general . . . until I hit puberty."

Lector winced, suddenly realizing where this was going.

"All of you figured out that I'm asexual and aromantic," Nesbitt said. "My family never did. When I was supposed to start getting interested in sex and romance and girls and I just didn't, they started to get worried. At first they thought maybe it was just a delayed reaction. But it never came. Then they thought maybe I had other romantic interests and was repressing it, but I was never interested in boys, either. I've never had a sexual urge. I don't know what it feels like. I don't want to know. And I'm not interested in forming any kind of a romantic relationship, even one without sex. I've never been attracted to anyone.

"My family kept trying to figure out how to force me to be 'normal.' I can't count the number of relationships they tried to push me into. Finally I just had enough. I told them it wasn't going to happen and that until they could accept me as I am, I didn't want to have any contact with them. And I left." Nesbitt sighed. "None of them have tried to contact me, so I can only assume that means they still can't accept it."

"I'm sorry," Lector said quietly. "That must have been so difficult for you."

Nesbitt nodded. "You can't imagine what a relief it was to find that all of you figured it out without me saying anything and none of you were bothered by it . . . although Crump doesn't understand it in the least."

"We all respected your life choices," Lector agreed. "Even Crump. And even though I'm not opposed to the idea of a romantic relationship, I'm not looking right now. I'm happy with my life the way it is. I would be angry if someone tried to force a relationship on me."

"Anyone with sense would be," Nesbitt grunted. "I don't like talking about my biological family or the problems we have, but thinking you were dead and experiencing what it really is to lose someone I love made me reconsider. I didn't want it to be secret from you."

"That means a great deal to me," Lector said.

"I'll admit, I didn't think I would ever care deeply about anyone," Nesbitt said. "But I discovered that I do."

"And any true love is just as deep and beautiful as a romantic love," Lector said.

"Yes," Nesbitt agreed. "Of course I care about my biological family, but I was never really that close to any of them. I was always distant, preferring machines since I could understand them. So I suppose what I really meant when I said I'd never cared about anyone before I met you and the others was that I'd never cared so much. Maybe I would have gotten that close to my biological family if that trouble hadn't happened."

"You probably would have," Lector said. "But I am honored that you feel so close to us." He hesitated. ". . . And very sorry that you had to suffer so much because of thinking I was dead."

Nesbitt flushed. "If you ever wanted to think I'm a fool, there couldn't be a better time for it," he growled. "People don't pretend to be androids to lock their pain away."

"There are many different ways that people try to lock their pain away," Lector retorted. "You may have found a particularly creative way to do it, but you are certainly not the first. And when you never realized before just how much you care, it's understandable that the sudden grief would confuse and frighten you into trying to hide from it."

"I guess," Nesbitt grunted. "In any case, it's . . . nice that you see it that way. I wish I hadn't behaved like that, but it's . . . comforting that you don't see me as an idiot for it."

"I never thought anyone would care about me so deeply that they wouldn't be able to handle my 'death,'" Lector said. "I'm horrified that I caused so much pain for all of you, but I am glad to know that I am thought of so highly." He laid back on the bed.

Nesbitt turned out the lamp and laid down as well. "I never did understand you," he said, "and I know you've felt the same about me. When we first met, I was irritated by your Southern manners. But I soon found out you weren't one to mince words if you were upset about something. We have that in common."

"That's true," Lector said. "And in any case, we don't need to have a lot in common to care about each other."

"I didn't think that at first," Nesbitt gruffly admitted, "but I know better now."

Lector smiled a bit in the darkness. "We both do."

xxxx

Most of the rest of the group was still gathered in the Kaiba brothers' suite. Some were dispersing, wanting sleep, while others remained, still trying to sort out all that had happened that day.

"You know, I feel really bad for Evangeline," Serenity remarked. "I can't imagine what it would be like to realize that you couldn't trust most of your family. It was horrible for Lector too, of course. . . . I guess I especially sympathize with Evangeline because she's so young. Maybe I kind of see myself in her. And she doesn't seem to have the same kind of support Lector has with the other members of the Big Five. . . ."

"It's really tough," Duke admitted. "A lot of us have come from messed-up families, but we always knew they were messed-up. We didn't think they weren't and then find out otherwise."

"I don't really know what any of us could do in a situation like that," David said. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to find out my family is like theirs."

"Nothing you could do could take away that pain and that feeling of betrayal," Seto agreed.

"That's true," Téa said quietly. "But we could just offer support, and be there for both of them. . . ."

"We should," Yugi nodded.

Bakura petted Oreo as she walked on his lap. "Sometimes that's all one can do," he said. "But sometimes, that's what's needed most."

Oreo meowed.

Yugi looked to Atem. Was this a good time to reveal what they had discovered in the encyclopedia?

Atem wasn't sure any time was good, but he supposed it was better than some. "Bakura," he said, addressing Yami Bakura, "we learned something about the Infinity Items from a book Dr. Raven had on magical objects."

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Learned professors couldn't discover anything, but some voodoo witch doctor had all the answers?!"

"Well . . . not all the answers," Yugi said, "but something important that we weren't expecting. . . ."

Atem heaved a sigh. "According to the entries for the Infinity Items, the . . . Infinity Ring is considered the 'leader' of the Items, the same as the Millennium Puzzle was for the Millennium Items."

Yami Bakura gawked at him. "What?!"

Echoing exclamations came from many of the others in the room.

"So wait, he's the leader?!" Tristan said in disbelief.

"Such responsibility," Ishizu commented.

Bakura was too stunned to speak.

Yami Bakura wasn't. "This is inane," he spat. "When I wanted such power I didn't have it. Now I'm trying to live without it and I have it? Only the Ring won't let me unlock it?!"

"Perhaps you have it now because you're worthy of learning how to wield it without Zorc's poison," Atem said. "There must be a way to make the Ring work more in harmony with you."

"I most certainly don't know what that way is," Yami Bakura growled.

"But you'll find out, Yami," Bakura said, finally finding his voice. He smiled, reaching up to lay his hand on Yami Bakura's wrist. "Every little while you discover a new power the Ring has. Eventually you'll learn them all. Even that angel Kasumi told you you're doing well."

Yami Bakura grunted. "Yes . . . she did, didn't she." He picked up the Ring in both hands. "Well, hopefully no one will regret this."

"They won't," Bakura insisted. "I believe in you."

Murmurs of agreement went up through the room. Yami Bakura just stared at them all, stunned.

"They're not afraid for you to lead them," Atem smiled. "Nor am I."

"You're not upset that I'm stealing your thunder?" Yami Bakura retorted.

"I wouldn't say you're stealing it," Atem said. "Although you're right that I'm finding it hard to get used to. I never thought this would happen, even after you received one of the Items. But . . . I am willing to do what is necessary to help humanity, even if now that means serving you." He held out a hand.

Yami Bakura stared at it for a long moment before he took it, grasping firmly. "You're swallowing your pride and affording me a great deal of trust."

"You've proved you deserve it," Atem said.

Bakura beamed, proudly.

Oreo meowed.