The dim light filtering into the window fell upon the face of the old man like a mask, making the expression upon his face look even graver than it was. His blue eyes gazed upon the man standing in front of him but did not actually see the man. He was deep into contemplation about the information the younger man had just given him.
"What exactly do you mean by 'ancient power' Severus?" Dumbledore asked slowly, his mind racing trying to figure out what type of power the Dark Lord was after. How could it be worse than the power he already held. How could any form of magic be any darker or more dangerous that what Voldemort had gained in the years since he'd left Hogwarts?
Snape shifted uncomfortably under Dumbledore's gaze, wringing his hands slightly before speaking. What he'd been told about the dark magic that the Dark Lord desired made him uncomfortable and anxious.
"The power that he is seeking has deep roots in the darkest history of Ancient Egypt." Snape said, his tone stiff and uncomfortable.
Dumbledore frowned, slipping into his thoughts once more. The Egyptians magic had been darker than any other magic in the world. He'd read of the horrors that had gone on in that land during the times of the Shadow Games. He hadn't thought any of that magic had survived though. He'd been most certain that the magic had been sealed away by the Pharaoh.
"So he's trying to gain the power of the Shadow Games." Dumbledore muttered, his lips tugging down in a frown. In front of him Snape jumped slightly at the name.
"H..How did you know that was what they were called?" He asked, his brow's furrowing slightly. Dumbledore didn't answer him but merely shook his head.
"That is not important at the moment. How he is planned to get the powers? They were sealed away over five thousand years ago."
Snape pulled a picture from out of the pocket of his robes and laid it before Dumbledore with an air of reluctance. Dumbledore stared at him for a moment before lowering his blue eyes to the picture. On the cover stood four people, all staring at the camera with little interest as if wishing for the picture to be taken quickly so they could get away quickly. Even though the boy standing in fronts hair looked as if he'd used two gallons of hair gel to keep it sticking straight into the air Dumbledore's eyes were pulled to the gold item hanging from a chain around his neck. A jolt of realization shot down his spin as his eyes found one more golden item held by someone within the picture.
"The Millennium items..." he murmured quietly, his eyes flickering upward to the tittle above the four people. He retrieved his wand from where he had placed it on the desk and tapped the letters gently to translate them. He may be able to speak Japanese but by no stretch of the mind could he read it. His brows raised slightly as he read the words silently. His lips pulled down as he realized that the tittle held the names of the people below the tittle. He didn't know what this Battle City Tournament was but he knew that the finalists of it, at least the two of them with the items, were in grave danger. Because of this picture, that had apparently found it's way into Voldemort's hands, the two with the items were going to have to fight off the Death Eaters.
He lifted his eyes to study Snape for a moment, noting the faint green tinge he seemed to have taken on. Dumbledore knew why it was there. Voldemort was going to strike quickly and without mercy on the three in the picture before they even knew what had hit them. He pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his traveling cloak. They had to get to the three of them before Voldemort had the chance.
"Where are you going?" Snape asked, his eyes following Dumbledore's movements.
"We need to get to headquarters and get some people to come with us. Then we have to go get those three under our protection quickly." Dumbledore said briskly, motioning for Snape to follow him.
"We can only hope to them before he does."
Yugi could see the look on Joey's face and felt a stab of exasperation. He knew that Joey didn't have distinct reason to trust Marik but this was a little much. Shouldn't the fact that Yugi had forgiven him enough to change the blonds mind?
"Joey! Please be nice. He said he needs our help." Yugi said, his voice leaning toward the whining side of the spectrum. He tried to make his face as pathetic and pleading as possible, anything to get the blond to go along with this.
"I don't know Yug, how do you know if we can really trust him?" Joey said, his expression faltering a bit.
"Because, if we can't trust him then we can't trust Ryou either." Yugi said, wondering slightly if logic would work on the blond.
"Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on him." Joey muttered, glaring at the door of the game shop. Yugi sighed internally, that was the most he was going to get out of the blond. Joey could be so stubborn about things like this.
"Just don't be too mean, please." Yugi asked, rubbing his face in a weary fashion. The only answer he got was a snort from the blond.
Marik had contacted Yugi two days ago saying that he needed to speak to him immediately. Something about the items and the tombs. It gave him a feeling of dread he thought about it. He had a feeling that something big was about to happen, whether he was ready or not. It had only been a few weeks since Battle City and he'd hoped that everything had gone back to normal.
With us nothing is ever normal.
Yugi glanced to the side to see the Pharaoh's spirit form siting next to him behind the counter of the game shop. He had to agree. Ever since he'd solved the puzzle and met the Pharaoh nothing had been the same. First Pegasus tried to steal it from him, then the spirit of the ring, then Marik and his Yami. With them things just went from weird to weirder. If he never saw the shadow realm again in his life it would be too soon.
His attention was pulled from his thoughts as the door of the game shop opened to reveal Ryou. Yugi brightened slightly at the sight of his friend. He felt a little bad for the boy, he'd drawn the short stick when he'd been given the Millennium Ring. The poor boy had to deal with the murderous spirit that resided within it.
"Hey Ryou, what's up?" Yugi asked happily, waving slightly to the other boy.
"Marik called and said that he needed to talk to me, that it involved the items. Said to come here." Ryou said, sounding slightly nervous and Yugi couldn't blame him. The last time he'd had any real contact with Marik[or his Yami for that matter] he'd been sent to the shadow realm for a while.
"He told me the same thing. He should be here any minute now." Yugi said with a slight frown. It had to be serious if Marik had called Ryou into this. Yugi let himself slip into his thoughts once more as Ryou turned to talk to Joey.
"What do you think Marik wants to talk about Yami?" Yugi asked, wondering if the Pharaoh would have some sort of thoughts on the matter.
Yugi glanced over at his friend out of the corner of his eyes. The Pharaoh looked as if he was deep in thought himself. He looked slightly worried and it made the feeling of dread in Yugi's stomach grow. If the great Pharaoh was worried about something then it had to be serious.
"I don't know Yugi but I have a feeling that what ever it is we will be able to handle it." Yami said after another few moments, giving a reassuring smile to the younger boy. Yugi smiled back hesitantly and glanced back toward Joey and Ryou, whom were comparing decks and talking strategy for some new tournament that was coming up.
"Are you going to enter, Yugi?" Yami asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.
Yugi shook his head slightly. He had no intention of entering any tournaments any time soon. The only people he would be dueling for the next few months would be Joey and, maybe if he didn't annoy him too much, Kaiba.
"Nope, I've had enough tournaments for a while between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City." Yugi responded with a mental chuckle. Yami nodded before their eyes were pulled to the door once more as Marik rushed inside, closing the door quickly behind him.
He looked as if he'd run the whole way to the shop. His hair was out of place and he gasped for raggedly breath as he leaned against the door. Yugi slid from his seat to rush toward the other male as did Ryou and Joey.
"Marik, what's wrong?!" Yugi asked the blond as he approached.
"I don't know if I was followed so we're going to have to be quick about this." Marik stared as he fought to catch his breath. "Someone's after the items and they know we have them." He said, grabbing onto Yugi's shoulder for support.
SE: Okay this is /another/ pet project of mine that I've wanted to write forever! It took me a while to get around to writing it because I wanted to read most of the Manga and such. I, unfortunately, only got through the first series then found out that the website I was reading it on didn't have most of Yu-gi-oh:Duelist uploaded. ;___; I decided that I'd start writing it and hope that my knowledge from the Anime would be enough to get me though most of this....
Bakura: So....you're going to wing it? That sounds like /such/ a good idea!
SE: -squirts with spray bottle- What did I tell you about the sarcasm Kitty?
Bakura: Just get on with the next chapter.
SE: I'm not done with it yet! I still have half of it to write along with most of the third chapter for the Naruto/Yu-gi-oh crossover.....Anway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter when it's finished. I'll most likely have it posted tomorrow night. I'm currently on Mardi Gras break so I have time to write.
Bakura: You get a week off of school to part and get things thrown at you by drunk people?
SE: Yep, that's why I love living in Louisiana...-waves goodbye- See you next chapter!