Notes: Several of my post-series Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters stories from my Pendulum Swings verse are referenced here.

Chapter Five

Trudge looked up in surprise when the group came trouping back into his office that morning. "I thought you were going to the track," he greeted Hans. "What happened?"

"I met up with Anna, who had no idea about me being here, or the attacks on me, or that her life might be in danger," he retorted. "But you said this Valesquez person talked to them!"

Trudge stared at him. "That's what she told me! She even left a detailed report on my desk about it!" He picked it up and waved it at Hans, who reached for it. Trudge let him take it.

"This has to be a lie," Hans said as he looked it over.

"So why would she lie?" Trudge retorted.

"Do you have another explanation?" Hans shot back.

"Let's get her in here and find out." Trudge pressed a button on his phone and picked it up.

Soon Gabrielle Valesquez was being escorted into the office by a frowning blue-haired woman. Gabrielle looked unhappy as well. "What is this?" she asked. "What is it I have done wrong?"

Trudge pointed at the report. "You told me you talked to both Princess Anna and Queen Elsa and told them in detail everything that was going on," he said.

"Yes," Gabrielle said. "I was there for over an hour!"

"Then how come they don't know anything about it?" Trudge retorted.

Gabrielle wavered, looking genuinely stunned. "What?!"

"They were both upset that I was at the track and neither knew what I was talking about when I explained why and what was happening," Hans said.

Gabrielle took up the report. "That is not possible!" she cried. "Everything I wrote in here happened!"

"Then somebody here is either lying or delusional!" Trudge exclaimed. "Who is it?!"

"I can promise you, Sir, it is not me," Gabrielle replied.

"Well, I can't go around accusing royalty of lying!" Trudge growled.

"And I could see they were both sincere," Hans interjected. "They didn't know!"

Radley hung back, letting them discuss the matter among themselves. "Oh boy." He frowned, looking to his friends. "This is completely loco. What do you think happened?"

"I have no idea, unless someone's memories were altered," Kalin grunted. "Yusei told me about some of his prior enemies causing that worldwide. The Crimson Dragon protected the Signers and a handful of others, including me, but otherwise, the whole world believed things happened differently."

Radley stared at him, thoroughly creeped out. "That kind of tech exists?"

"It was probably magic," Kalin said.

"Then I really can't blame Kaiba for hating it so much," Radley said.

"That's really freaky," Billy said. "Who would have that kind of power here?"

"If Hans' enemy can do stuff like that, you wonder why he'd bother with all the 'normal' attempts on his life," Radley said. "But if it's not him, then maybe we're dealing with two separate bad guys."

"And that's not good either," Billy said.

The arguing in the room was growing louder and more intense.

"I think you'd better step in and tell them this," Radley said to Kalin. "It's bizarre and unbelievable, but maybe it makes more sense than what they're thinking must have happened."

Kalin nodded. "Stop it!" he commanded as he stepped forward.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What do you think about all this?" Trudge frowned at him. "You've gotta admit something's not kosher!"

"Yeah. But maybe it's no one's fault except our enemy's," Kalin said. He then proceeded to explain about the previous memory wipe. They listened, stunned.

"I wouldn't have believed this before," Trudge said. "But I just don't know anymore."

"The sad thing is, it sounds more logical than the other possibilities," Gabrielle said.

Hans folded his arms. "After what I went through, I have to believe it. But whose memories were changed, Officer Valesquez's or Anna's and Elsa's?"

"Maybe that depends on how powerful this person is," Kalin said. "It would probably take more strength to do it to multiple people. It would also have to be done to everyone who came with Anna and Elsa, if it was done to them."

Gabrielle looked horrified. "How will we even know if anything we think we remember is the truth?!"

"If we can catch this guy, maybe we can make him undo everything he's done," Radley said.

"But how are we going to catch him?!" Scotch exclaimed.

Hans said, "Drawing him out is still the only way I know of at this point, unless Lawton wakes up and can tell us more, and we can't rely on that. I'll go back to the track and try to put my original plan into action."

"How did Lawton even show up at the hotel anyway?" Scotch wondered. "He didn't know you were there!"

"And I don't think it was coincidence," Hans said. "He must have been brought by whoever did that to him."

"Which means relocating didn't do one speck of good," Trudge said in disgust.

"What do you think this guy is?!" Scotch wondered, his eyes wide. "Some creepy sorcerer or wizard?!"

"Maybe," Kalin said.

"Anna and Elsa need to be warned about this," Hans said.

"I'll take care of it myself this time," Trudge growled, "and I'll go with several officers."

"Let's hope he won't decide to make all of you forget," Hans said.

"Since it's looking like magic's involved, maybe it's time to contact Yugi and the others for help," Radley said. "They met so many nutjobs. Maybe they'll have some ideas on who this is."

Kalin nodded. "It's worth trying. Yusei and the others might have some thoughts too. We should have a big meeting and all discuss it together before you go out to the track." He looked to Hans.

Yusei was coming in right then. "Discuss what?" he asked. "Sorry I'm late; I ran into a problem at work and couldn't get away."

Trudge sighed. "It's a really long, messy story."

"It looks like the guy who's after Hans and Lawton has magic!" Scotch burst out.

Yusei stared. This was going to be a long story, alright.

xxxx

The third time, Hans sensed there was something wrong and looked up just in time to see a heavy crate suspended by a crane starting to fall. Just as he started to dive out of the way, Lawton lunged and tackled him away from it.

"Three times is just too much," he said in frustrated, angry disgust.

"One time is too much," Hans countered. He looked back at the sound of the crate smashing to the pavement. Of course, there was no sign of anyone operating the crane.

"This family of yours," Lawton began. "Would they really do nothing to help you if we told them what's been happening?"

"My father wouldn't want any bad publicity," Hans said. "There was plenty of that when I was sent home in disgrace. If we threatened to tell the press . . . and to reveal my true identity . . . there's a slim chance he might help. Or he might just decide to have us both quietly silenced before we could do anything."

Lawton stared at him, for a moment looking like he was trying to work out if Hans was dead serious. Then, abruptly, he turned away. "That's out then," he growled. "I'm not taking chances with someone like that."

"He's not someone you want to cross," Hans agreed. "Maybe it's time to go to the police."

"No!" Lawton exclaimed, spinning around again to face him. "The police stay out of it!"

Hans frowned. "Is this really about bad press? I'm starting to think you have other reasons for wanting to avoid contact with the police."

"And what if I do?" Lawton growled.

"I know we agreed not to question each other's pasts and to just focus on our shared future, but that was before someone started pulling out all the stops to kill me," Hans said. "Solving it ourselves isn't working. I have a right to know why my manager won't let me try to bring in someone else to help."

Lawton was silent again. "I'll find someone to help," he said. "Just not the police."

"A private detective then?" Hans asked.

"Maybe," Lawton agreed.

Hans folded his arms. "I've known you for almost a year, and yet sometimes it feels like I don't know you at all."

"You know enough," Lawton said. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"But how will you always stop it?" Hans retorted.

Lawton didn't reply. He just walked off.

xxxx

To Sector Security's relief, this time the conversation with Anna and Elsa was able to happen. They listened attentively to the full news and explanations of what had been happening, and by the time Trudge left, the royals of Arendelle and their friends were very confused and concerned.

Anna was pacing the floor. "So Hans was telling the truth," she said. "Someone's really trying to kill him! What are we going to do?!"

"Anna . . ." Elsa sighed. "We don't need to do anything. The police are handling it, and we have the royal guards if anyone really does come after us." And they had Elsa's powers too, of course. While she certainly wouldn't want to freeze anyone except as a last resort, there were plenty of other things she could do to keep them safe.

"I know, but . . . it doesn't seem like the police are doing much of a bang-up job," Anna said. "Hans' manager was hurt and people's memories were erased when the police tried to talk to us last night!"

"We should just stay out of it," Elsa quietly insisted. "Anna . . . you're not worried about Hans, are you?" She frowned, studying her sister.

Anna's shoulders slumped. "I don't know. . . . I mean, I don't want him killed! But . . ." She turned to look at Elsa, the conflict crashing through her eyes. ". . . What if he really was telling the truth about being mind-controlled into going after us?"

Elsa sighed. "I'll admit it's possible. It would be foolish to deny it altogether. But after what he did, can we really believe him?" She clenched a fist at her side. She hadn't felt she could ever forgive Hans for leaving Anna to die in that cold room. But if he truly had been controlled, then he was a victim too and the true villain was still out there.

. . . That was a terrifying thought. Who could have possibly wanted to control Hans into betraying Anna?

"I don't know," Anna said softly, bringing Elsa back to the present. "But . . . he tried to tell us about us being in danger now, and that's really true. . . ."

"Well, I still wouldn't trust him," Kristoff said as he came back into the room after visiting Sven. "He could be using something real to get in with you again with a lie."

"Why would he?" Anna frowned.

"Maybe because he realizes what he gave up now that it's too late and he wants to try again," Kristoff said, biting into a carrot.

"I'm not going to fall for any of his tricks," Anna insisted. "But what if he really is telling the truth? Then it's not fair that we've all turned against him." She sighed. "I just wish we could know. . . ."

"I wish we could too," Elsa admitted.

"Maybe we can," Olaf said innocently as he followed Kristoff into the room.

"How?" Kristoff frowned.

"Well, why would he be so worried about Anna knowing the danger if he doesn't care?" Olaf said.

"That's what I was thinking," Anna admitted.

"I wish it was that simple," Elsa sighed.

Was it? She just wasn't sure. When it came to Anna's safety, she felt she couldn't be too careful.

"I think I want to talk to him again," Anna said.

"Alone?" Kristoff frowned.

"You guys could be there," Anna said. "I know you're worried." She smiled.

"Maybe he'd be more likely to show his true colors if you talked to him alone," Kristoff said. "Or if he thought you were alone. He'd probably put on airs if we were there."

"Maybe," Anna said. "I want to see what would happen. I think I owe him that, when he might be telling the truth."

"That Officer Trudge said something about everyone having a big meeting to talk about what's happening and how to fix it," Kristoff remembered. "We could all go to that, and maybe you'd find a point to talk to Hans privately."

Anna perked up. "Yeah! Let's do that! . . . Uh, where are they having it?"

"The Kaiba Mansion," Elsa said. "It's owned by some local businessmen."

"Great! Let's go!" Anna headed for the door.

Shaking her head in gentle amusement, Elsa got up to follow.

"Yeah! We get to visit the Kaiba Mansion!" Olaf gushed. "I wonder what it's like!"

Kristoff shrugged. "Big, with fancy furniture."

"Ooh, like home!" Olaf decided.

That brought a slight smile. "Probably," Kristoff said. "I'm sure it's smaller than the castle, but the same principle."

"It'll be fun anyway!" Olaf said. "I love seeing new places!"

Elsa chuckled a bit. She had to wonder what these Kaibas would think of such a group coming to visit.

xxxx

With such a large group, it definitely seemed the only possible place to discuss matters was at the Kaiba Mansion. Mokuba was more than happy to welcome everyone in and show them to the sitting room for their meeting. Seto, who was not happy at all to hear of more possible magic-related problems, excused himself to work in his home office.

Joey rolled his eyes. "He never changes."

"At least he funds our missions with his tech," Tristan said.

"Okay," Yugi said when everyone was settled and Hellos had been exchanged. "So, let's get down to business. Mokuba filled me in on some of what's up, but why don't you guys tell the rest?"

Hans elaborated on the details, telling of each attempt on his life and when and where they happened. Radley, Kalin, and Scotch chimed in once the setting moved to New Domino City.

"So now that something really weird happened to the police's memories of telling Anna and Elsa, it looks like maybe this guy has magic!" Scotch finished.

"Do any of you know anyone who would be capable of altering memories?" Radley asked.

Yugi looked worried. "There's definitely magic items that can do that," he said. "The Infinity Ring can . . . but of course it didn't."

"So instead of telling us who didn't, who could've?" Virgil grunted.

Yugi sighed. "That's . . . not an easy question to answer," he admitted. "It seems like most of the ones we know who could do it probably didn't. Dartz would have no reason to."

"And maybe even if it is someone we know, they've got some new magic we don't know about," Téa said in concern.

"What if you make a list of all the bad guys you know of and then systematically list where they are or what happened to them?" Radley suggested. "That might give us a starting point, at least."

"Works for me," Joey shrugged. "Mokuba, you got some grub around? This is probably going to take a long time."

"I'll have some sandwiches brought in or something," Mokuba said, and got up to go to the kitchen.

"Do you think Trudge was able to really talk to Anna and Elsa this time?" Scotch wondered.

Hans sighed. "We can only hope."

xxxx

Writing the list definitely took a long time. Every time they thought it was done, they remembered someone else and added to it. It was exhausting and exasperating.

"I knew we tangled with a lot of bad guys, but this is ridiculous already!" Joey complained.

"Hey," Tristan said as he looked over the latest edition of the list, "I don't see that voodoo guy from New Orleans on here."

"What voodoo guy?" Mai asked.

"The one who locked Kaiba and Crump in the freezer and put me and Joey in the cemetery," Tristan said.

Joey shuddered. "Man, that is one adventure I'd rather just forget about."

"So what was his name?" Kalin asked.

"He called himself Dr. Raven," Tristan said.

Scotch jumped. "Raven!?"

Radley's eyes widened. "Could that have been what you heard Lawton say, Scotch? 'Raven' instead of 'Raisin'?"

"Maybe!" Scotch said.

Yugi quickly added him to the list. "I wonder what happened to him. The last we heard, he was still in prison. I kind of forgot all about him."

"So let's call Evangeline and see if she knows!" Joey said.

Lector took out his phone. "I will do just that."

"What in the world would Lawton be doing getting mixed up with a voodoo witch doctor?" Crow wondered.

"If he's your enemy, you are in grave danger," Atem said to Hans. "When he was after us, it was when he believed we were hampering his attempts to get hold of an amulet that would enable him to rule the world."

"Of course," Radley sighed. "Why do these loco people always want to rule the world?"

"Because everybody wants to rule the world?" Scotch quipped.

"I don't," Virgil snorted.

"How would we have such a thing?" Hans said in disbelief.

"It would have to be a different object now," Atem said. "We still have possession of that amulet, which I'm sure he knows. And if you have another one, it's probably an accident. Maybe." He frowned. "Lawton did have possession of such an object at one time, but it was broken."

"Oh, wonderful," Hans sighed. "Something else I didn't know about him."

They came to attention as Lector spoke with his sister Evangeline on the phone. She was delighted to hear from him and happily greeted everyone there, to which they all replied. Then Lector got down to business.

"I am afraid this isn't strictly a social call," he said. "We're wondering if you've heard what's become of Dr. Raven."

"Dr. Raven," Evangeline sighed. "Oh, he got out of prison a long time ago. Tried to see Angelique, but she'd have none of that. We don't know what he's got up to now. He's not torturing us, that's all we know. And thank goodness for it!" Then she paused in realization. "Why are you asking about him, Démas?"

"We're wondering if he's causing trouble for a race car driver and his manager," Lector said. "There's been a number of attempts on their lives. Most recently, his manager was badly stabbed and poisoned. He said something that may have been 'Raven.'"

Evangeline gasped. "That's horrible! If it was him, he must be up to all his old tricks again."

"That's what we're afraid of," Lector said.

Velma the maid suddenly appeared at the doorway. "Excuse me, but we have some more guests for you," she announced. "Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle and their friends."

Everyone stood out of respect as the royals entered. Kristoff and Olaf followed, with Olaf beaming and waving Hi to everyone.

Scotch looked absolutely starry-eyed. "Can I have your autographs?! And a group picture?!"

"Sure!" Olaf chirped. "I love pictures! And Anna taught me how to read and write!"

Elsa was a bit amused in spite of the seriousness of the overall situation. "Maybe after we talk about what's happening," she said. "We'd like to know everything you've concluded."

"Of course," Hans said. He looked amazed but hopeful that they had actually come. Although he wanted to talk with Anna as she hoped to with him, he would wait.

The discussion resumed and the group explained the conclusions they had come to. Olaf studied the list in all concentrated seriousness while Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff were visibly concerned by the information on it.

"So your main suspect is this voodoo guy?" Anna said. "How will you find out anything about him?"

"My sister doesn't know much, but perhaps his cousin Marcel will know more," Lector said. "She gave me his number to try."

"We could also try to get a copy of his criminal record and find out if he's been arrested again for anything," Kalin said.

"If he's followed us here, he could be anywhere in the City," Hans fretted. He got up. "I should really go to the hospital. I haven't been there at all since . . ."

"Of course," Atem said kindly.

Hans looked to Anna. "Anna, may I speak with you before I go?"

Anna blinked in surprise. "Oh . . . um, sure." She got up too. "I can walk with you to the door. . . ."

Elsa looked wary, but she allowed them to walk out without a fuss. Kristoff looked even more ready to protest, but he held his tongue.

Hans waited to speak until they were in the hall. "I'm . . . glad you came," he said awkwardly but sincerely.

"Yeah. . . . I thought we should," Anna said. "We're in this too. We should know what's going on."

"I agree." Hans hesitated. "I know it's no doubt still hard for you to believe, but those hours with you when we first met . . . they were the happiest I've ever been. I was honest when I told about my home life not being happy. Even though our circumstances were different, that actually was something we had in common."

"I'm sorry," Anna said. "You're sure it's not just a misunderstanding, like it was with me and Elsa? I mean, those years were still awful and really lonely and everything, but all along she was just trying to protect me. She was so afraid of hurting me again with her powers. . . ."

"It wasn't anything like that in my family," Hans said. "The most I'll give is that I suppose for at least some of them, it was just seen as teasing to them even though it wasn't to me. But I know that with some others, they truly don't like me. The ones who pretended I was invisible for those years saw it as a cruel game. And the way they acted when they started acknowledging me again made me wish I'd stayed invisible to them."

Anna frowned. It was so easy to believe everything he said. But . . . was it for real or just lies? She still wasn't fully sure.

"That's awful," she said at last. "It must have been nice to get away from all that with your manager. . . ."

"It was," Hans said. "He's not really the kind of person you can get close to, and I don't think he even cares about me, just the money, but he's never treated me poorly."

". . . That still seems terrible if that's the best relationship you can have," Anna said. Then she looked chagrined. "I'm sorry, I'm always blurting out what I shouldn't! I know you must be worried about him and he's in the hospital and all. . . ."

Hans smiled faintly. "I love that you speak your mind," he said. "And you're right, I guess it is terrible. And it's over now anyway. He's this escaped criminal everyone's been looking for, so if he recovers he'll be going back to prison."

He faltered at that. If. . . . That was a cold word. At first he had thought he had stayed away from the hospital because they weren't close and he could do more by trying to solve the mystery away from it. But maybe it was also because he didn't want to see Lawton in that state . . . because he didn't want to accept that the one time he had had peaceful stability in his life was ending. Of course he would be looking for another manager, but would he even find one? No one else had wanted to take a chance on him before. Now that it would be public knowledge who he was, there was even less likelihood of that.

"What did he do anyway?" Anna asked.

"From what I understand, he bullied and cheated and tormented his way into a position of power in this small town near here, nearly killing several people along the way and cruelly betraying his trusting older brother," Hans said. "And afterwards, he repeatedly targeted those who brought him down and nearly killed some of them again."

Anna stared in shock. "That's . . . that's horrible," she gasped.

Hans nodded. "I shouldn't want anything more to do with him after learning all of that, and yet . . ."

"Yet what?" Anna asked.

"I feel like he deserves the chance to explain himself and to tell me whether his feelings have changed at all or not," Hans said. "He has never behaved abominably with me or anyone around me. What I've heard about his past . . . that just isn't the person I've come to know. And . . ." He sighed. "Even if he's an unrepentant madman, I still care about him."

Anna took a moment to process that. "Then you should go to him," she said at last, laying a hand on his arm.

He smiled, deeply touched by the gesture. "Thank you, Anna. I will. And I hope I'll see you later." He opened the door and the police guards on the porch came to attention.

"You will," Anna said softly as he left.