Chapter Seven

Joey was tense. They had been going all over town courtesy of Solomon's pick-up truck, but to no avail. No sign of Lector, or of some mad scientist either. The more this went on, the more he wanted to give up and go back. But they pressed on.

Suddenly a form appeared in the headlights and Solomon slammed on the brakes. "Good Heavens!"

"Hey!" Tristan cried as he flew forward, then back. "That's one of the Big Five!"

Yugi gasped. "You're right, Tristan! That's Gansley!"

"Oh great. So now the whole crew is back?" Tristan scowled.

"Well, hey, maybe we can get some information out of him," Joey hoped. He started to open the door.

"Kaiba," Gansley rumbled in a strangely unsettling way.

"Uh, nope, no Kaiba here," Joey frowned.

Gansley lunged, his eyes blank. "Destroy Kaiba!"

Joey jumped out of the way. "Are you nuts?! What the heck is the matter with you?! I said Kaiba's not here!"

Gansley snarled and grabbed the front bumper of the truck, shaking it with as much force as he could muster. All of the occupants screamed.

"Yugi, something is wrong!" Atem exclaimed.

"Gee, you think?!" Tristan retorted.

"No! I mean, look at his eyes. There is no life in them!" Atem's own gaze bored into Gansley, but the man never heeded or looked away.

Joey's stomach knotted. "Then . . . you mean . . . yaaaah!" He threw the door open and leaped inside. "What is he?!"

"Destroy Kaiba!" Gansley grabbed the door before Joey could shut it and nearly tore it off in his insistence to climb into the cab.

Joey kicked him back. "No way are you getting in here, you dead-eyed freak!" His eyes filled with terror, he pulled the door shut and locked it.

Atem looked badly shaken. "While I can't say for sure, it almost seems that he's acting mindless . . . or soulless."

Solomon started. "But bodies always fall into comas without souls!"

"Usually," Yugi said. "But not always, Grampa. Seto and Mokuba were awake, but they couldn't even walk without prodding. And . . . oh wow, that first time Rex and Weevil got taken, their bodies didn't fall into comas. Remember, guys?! They were standing up laughing mindlessly on the street. They even talked, repeating things that Gurimo said to them before taking their souls!"

"That was one of the creepiest experiences we've had with those two," Joey agreed. "If not the creepiest!" He cringed and recoiled as Gansley started to shake the side of the truck. "But these guys were in comas. How come they're not?! And is Lector a zombie too?!"

"Maybe he is," Yugi said. "Maybe that mad scientist found some way to wake up their bodies, but she couldn't call their souls out of the Shadow Realm."

"So she basically made living zombies?!" Joey was terrified. "Do you think they eat brains?!"

"No, they just want to kill Kaiba," Tristan shot back.

"And we'd better find him before any of them do." Solomon revved the engine and suddenly zipped past. Gansley stumbled back, giving the truck a look that was somehow both soulless and filled with malice.

Joey was badly shaking. "And somebody better warn Téa!"

Yugi took out his phone. "I'm on it."

xxxx

Duke and Serenity were just leaving the restaurant after a delicious and satisfying meal when a familiar figure came up to them on the street. "Destroy Kaiba!"

They jumped and stared.

"Duke! It's Nesbitt!" Serenity cried.

"Yeah. Only there's something seriously wrong with him," Duke frowned. He steered Serenity towards the car. "Let's get out of here. We should warn the others anyway."

But Nesbitt was not in favor of that idea. "Kaiba!" He lunged.

"Whoa." Duke flicked a die at him. "Are you crazy? Kaiba isn't here! It's just us!"

The die bounced off the man's forehead, not fazing him at all. Instead he stood, glowering at them both with empty eyes.

"Duke, what's wrong with him?!" Serenity gasped.

"I don't know, but I'm not sticking around to find out!" Duke threw open the passenger side door. "Get in, Serenity. I'll get us out of here."

Serenity hurried in and Duke shut the door before hurrying around to the other side and getting in the driver's seat. All the while Nesbitt stayed where he was, still giving them a cold look.

Serenity shivered. "It's like . . . like he doesn't have a soul. But . . . that's impossible, isn't it?"

"I don't know." Duke revved the engine and sped off. "We'd better check on David and make sure he's okay. Then we'd better spread out to the others. These creeps might be making the rounds with everyone, thinking Kaiba's with some of them."

"And where is Kaiba?" Serenity quietly asked.

"Hopefully somewhere safe," Duke muttered.

xxxx

When Bakura had cried out and the call with Téa had disconnected, they had also received a surprise appearance from one of the Big Five. Johnson had darted out of nowhere into their path, forcing Yami Bakura to slam on the brakes. But, uninterested in them, he then went to the limousine and grabbed the back bumper, viciously bouncing it up and down. Seto and Lector yelled, and the chauffeur also threw on the brakes.

"My word!" Bakura gasped, not even aware that he had ended the telephone call. "What is this?!"

Yami Bakura snarled. "I still haven't properly paid him back for what he did to you." He opened the door and stepped out, marching over to the other car without the slightest hesitation.

Bakura gasped. "Yami, wait!" He leaped out the other side, hurrying to catch up with his vengeful ancestor.

Yami Bakura grabbed Johnson's shoulder, forcing him to turn around at the same moment Seto and Lector were getting out of the limousine. "So, we meet again," Yami Bakura snarled. "And this time you're in the flesh. I will be able to satisfactorily punish you for - what." He stared in disbelief at the lifeless eyes.

"You'll have to get in line," Seto retorted. "Johnson, you're mine. . . . What." He rocked back. Now it was his turn to stare in disbelief.

Immediately Johnson raised his hands to curl around Seto's neck. "Destroy Kaiba!"

"What's the matter with you, Johnson?!" Lector burst out. "This isn't your style at all!"

"It's only his body," Yami Bakura said, still staring. "His soul isn't there."

"That's nonsense!" Seto retorted. He reached up, seizing both of Johnson's wrists. Johnson responded by trying to grab Seto's wrists and squeeze tight.

Bakura just stood to the side, gaping, not sure what to do or even to think. "But . . . how could that possibly be true?" he finally gasped.

"I don't know," Yami Bakura growled, "but if that mad scientist did it, this proves she truly is mad!"

Seto finally kicked Johnson back, sending him flying onto the trunk of the limo. "Well, I've had enough," he growled. "I don't care whether his soul is there or not; he's not getting me!"

Johnson was immediately up and tackling Seto to the ground. They desperately wrestled, rolling and struggling across the asphalt. The chauffeur, who had exited the limo to see what was the matter, just stood and gaped at the scene. Lector was also standing still, stunned beyond belief. But whether he didn't interfere merely for that reason or because of his lingering hate towards Seto was unclear.

"Yami, what are we going to do?!" Bakura exclaimed.

Yami Bakura growled. "I only see one solution." The Infinity Ring started to glow. "But I have to wait until they're not that closely together."

Seto growled in pain as he was abruptly thrown to the street. Johnson straddled him, his deadened eyes still somehow taking on a spark of sadistic delight as he once again reached for Seto's throat.

Suddenly Bakura came from the side, knocking Johnson away. "Now, Yami!" he exclaimed.

Yami Bakura wasted no time in activating the Infinity Ring's powers. "Be gone from this realm!" he snarled.

In an instant, Johnson was covered by purple fog. When it faded, he was gone.

Seto sat up. "What did you do?"

"What do you think?" Yami Bakura retorted. "I sent him to the Shadow Realm. I know that now his spirit may have the chance to reunite with his body, but I didn't see any other choice."

Bakura held a hand to his heart. "I'm sure you made the right decision, Yami." He sighed. "Are you alright, Kaiba?"

"Yes, but I know someone who might not be." Seto was up in a flash. "I have to get home, now! One or more of the Big Four might be heading there now to hurt Mokuba!"

Lector finally snapped to attention. "Then we don't have a moment to lose. Let's go!" He started back for the limo.

"Hold on." Seto grabbed his arm. "You did nothing to help me. Can I really trust that you'll help Mokuba?"

"I don't want Mokuba hurt, Mr. Kaiba," Lector said coolly. "And can you afford to take time to deal with me now?"

"No, I can't," Seto answered, just as coolly. "But if you can't be trusted or relied on where Mokuba is concerned, you will regret it."

"I understand," Lector replied.

Bakura took out his phone. "Oh dear. I hung up on poor Téa," he realized. "I'd better call her back."

"Call her on our way to Kaiba Manor," Yami Bakura growled as he stalked back to the van. "If the other members of the Big Four are around, I'll have to dispatch of them just as I did Johnson."

Bakura shivered. He was very afraid they were indeed around, and he prayed that they would arrive in time to stop any other disasters.

xxxx

Now it was Téa who didn't answer the phone, either to Bakura or to Yugi. She was very worried about Bakura and everyone else, but the arrival of more customers prevented her from doing anything about it. When they finally made their purchases and left, she still didn't have any chance to get out her phone and check for messages before another person wandered through the doorway. Even though the animatronic corpse walked right into him, he didn't react. Instead, he walked farther inside, directly towards Téa.

"Destroy Kaiba!"

Téa looked up from a shelf of Halloween character cookie cutters with a start. "Just what are you . . . oh my gosh, it's Crump!" Her eyes went wide in her horror.

"What's going on here?!" Mr. Thorton exclaimed as he appeared in his office doorway. The comb was still stuck in his hair and he had traded the stress dough for rubber stress balls, which he was desperately squeezing in his hands.

"Call mall security!" Téa wailed. Crump lunged, beefy hands extended to grab for her, and she leaped over the counter. "No way!"

"Oh my goodness!" Mr. Thorton yelped. "Now see here, this just isn't done! . . . Are you listening to me at all?! Excuse me?!" His jaw dropped as Crump turned to look at him with those same dead eyes. "Oh, Heaven help us! It's a real zombie!"

Téa stared in horror. "He can't be! Zombies aren't real!"

Crump snarled, managing to get his arms around her waist and lift her up and over the counter. Téa shrieked, kicking out at him in desperation. "Let me go, you creep!"

Mr. Thorton ran over, hitting Crump on the head with a plastic cauldron. "I won't have this going on in my store, zombie or no! Do you hear me?!"

Crump didn't react to either the blow or the frantic kicks. Instead, he turned and started dragging Téa towards the door.

"Help!" Téa screamed. Her struggling only increased, but more and more it seemed like a hopeless cause. No matter what was wrong with Crump, his grip was like iron.

Several shoppers ran over as they neared the door. "What's happening here?!" one man exclaimed.

"I'm being kidnapped!" Téa cried.

"Destroy Kaiba," Crump intoned.

"What, is this guy nuts?!" the man said in disbelief. "He sounds like a robot!"

"Just please, get me down!" Téa begged. She kicked Crump again, to no avail.

The man looked to Crump. "Alright, buddy, this has gone far enough. Let the girl go or I call the police."

Crump responded by keeping one arm wrapped firmly around Téa and reaching out with his other arm to shove the man aside. He pushed with enough force that the man crashed into several other shoppers in a domino effect. Without stopping to survey the damage, he carted Téa up the corridor.

"This is crazy!" Téa exclaimed. "If you're after Kaiba, why are you taking me?! . . . Oh great. I'm trying to reason with somebody who can't be reasoned with," she muttered. She still wasn't sure what was wrong with Crump, but something clearly was. And whatever it was, was certainly very bad for her.

xxxx

Things at the Kaiba Manor had been uneventful but tense for some time. Mokuba was restlessly pacing the floor while Marik sat at the island in the kitchen and watched him in concern. There had been no word from Seto, but while Mokuba wanted to contact him and see how he was doing, he also didn't want to call at a point when he shouldn't and end up causing worse trouble for Seto.

"I can't take this anymore!" Mokuba finally burst out. "We've gotta go look for Seto, Marik! Anything could have happened! If I call him, he won't say where he is and he won't let me come help!"

"Mokuba, you're better off staying here," Marik said. "You know the last thing your brother would want is for you to walk into danger if you don't have to."

"But I do have to!" Mokuba stopped pacing and looked up at his friend with pleading, desperate eyes. "Don't you understand, Marik? That's my brother out there. I have to help him. . . ."

Marik sighed sadly. He definitely did understand. But he couldn't let Mokuba run loose in good conscience. He was supposed to protect the boy.

"You know the Big Five like to use you to get at your brother," he said, even though he hated bringing up a subject Mokuba knew well and hated with all his heart. "Seto might be safer if you're not out looking for him, since then he won't have to deal with protecting you or helping you get away from them."

Mokuba scowled. "Yeah, I guess." He looked away. Marik was right and he knew it, but he hated that too. "Why does it have to be that way, though? Why can't I help protect my brother?"

Marik laid a hand on his shoulder. "When you're older, I'm sure you'll have that chance," he said. But he knew it wouldn't be much of a comfort to think of a time as vague as "when you're older." No child liked hearing that statement, including him in the past.

"I want to protect him now, Marik!" Mokuba exclaimed. "The Big Five all hate him so much! Lector too. He still hates Seto, I mean. Who knows what'll happen with any of them?!"

"If Lector truly cares about you, he should know he can't hurt your brother," Marik said. "And I doubt he could have reformed out of the Shadow Realm's darkness if the darkness in his heart still had a great hold on him."

"I want to believe that," Mokuba said softly. "You don't know how much I want to believe it. But part of me still wonders how much I can trust Lector where Seto's concerned." He leaned back. "In any case, there's the others. They could all be back if Lector is."

"That's true," Marik agreed. "I'd be more worried about the rest of them than . . ."

He trailed off as the window suddenly shattered and the alarm went off with a wail. "Kaiba!" Nesbitt yelled as he stepped through the broken glass.

Mokuba's mouth dropped open. "Hey! What the heck are you doing in here?! You can't just bust into somebody's house, even if they used to be your boss!" He reached for the phone. "I'm getting the security guards right now!"

"Destroy Kaiba!" Nesbitt responded. He swept the phone away from Mokuba, allowing it to clatter to the floor.

Marik immediately snatched his wrist. "You won't be destroying anyone," he vowed. Then he caught sight of the look in Nesbitt's eyes. He rocked back, nearly letting go of the dangerous man. "What on Earth?!"

Mokuba gasped. "Something's wrong with him!"

Marik frowned. "Maybe he's still under the effect of whatever drugs they were pumping into him at the KaibaCorp Infirmary."

"Whatever it is, I don't like it!" Mokuba proclaimed. "Especially how he's just standing here looking through you!"

"Destroy Kaiba," another voice intoned from the broken window.

Marik jumped a mile. "Now what?!"

Mokuba turned to look. "It's Gansley!" he yelped.

Marik stared. "Are there any more behind him?!"

"I don't think so, but two of them are bad enough news without more!" Mokuba exclaimed. "And he's got the same dead look in his eyes that Nesbitt has!"

Nesbitt suddenly kicked Marik in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into the island. "Destroy Kaiba!" He reached for Mokuba.

"Oh no you don't!" Mokuba darted out of the way. "Marik, are you okay?!"

"Fine," Marik growled in wounded pride and frustration. He leaped up as he caught sight of something Mokuba didn't. "Look out!"

"Huh?" Mokuba turned, just enough to see Gansley reaching for him through the open window. He jumped aside. "What are we going to do?!"

"I'm wondering where security is!" Marik exclaimed. He judo-flipped Nesbitt over his shoulder. "The alarm went off; they should have been here long ago!"

"That's true." Mokuba's eyes widened. "And it's weird Velma hasn't come in all upset and screaming."

"Weird? I think not." A new voice entered the conversation, and a tall, blonde woman stepped into the room through the shattered window. Gansley soon followed.

"Who are you?" Mokuba frowned.

"I'm Dr. Alice Portman," was the smooth reply. "I've taken care of the security guards and that flighty maid. Now you're at my mercy, and that of these two soulless men."

Marik fell back. "Soulless?!"

"Just what are you going to do with us?!" Mokuba demanded. He was shaken by the announcement as well, but at the moment, he was more worried as to what his and Marik's fate would be. It couldn't be good.

"I haven't decided yet," Portman said. "But you will both be coming with us, of course. I'm out to break Seto Kaiba emotionally. Let's see how he will react for his brother and his brother's best friend to be taken captive."

"No!" Mokuba cried in desperation. He ran for the nearest doorway, Marik following close behind.

"You won't get away with this," Marik insisted. "We both know this house's twists and turns and you don't."

"True," Portman sneered, "but you can't hide forever."

"We can hide as long as it counts." Mokuba dashed into the hall and pressed a secret panel before Portman could catch up. By the time she did, Mokuba and Marik had both disappeared inside and the wall had closed up again.

"Find them," Portman ordered the Big Two.

"Destroy Kaiba," Gansley rumbled. He and Nesbitt each set off in a different direction.

Portman stood and watched, her arms folded against her chest. "Soon, Seto Kaiba," she mused. "Soon."