Yay! A new story! I'm very honored that you're reading this, and I hope you enjoy the fic! Now, let's get started.

Yu-Gi-Oh (c) Kazuki Takahashi
This story (c) Me

Yugi sighed as he sat in his painfully boring history class, listening to the teacher hammer his brain with useless and erroneous facts on Ancient Egypt.

"That's not right at all…" Yugi moaned in his head. "And how did this man make this so boring? I'm sure that the actual war was way more exciting than this…"

Yugi could tell that the teacher was spewing falsehoods because of the look on Atem's face. Regardless of his formidable self-control, he looked like he had just eaten lemon-flavored peanuts. And because he was allergic to peanuts and broke out horribly in red hives whenever he ate them, this was not a pleasant expression.

"Alright, I want you to write a three-page long treatise on Ancient Egyptian war strategies and weaponry!" the teacher bellowed.

Yugi stuffed his books into his bag and hung it off of his petite shoulder. "War strategies and weaponry, huh?" Yugi asked Atem on their way out of school. "Have any ideas?"

"That was complete nonsense," Atem said matter-of-factly. "My grandfather, Semerkhet, fought valiantly in that battle himself! How could time have twisted the story so?"

Yugi smiled and shook his head. Atem was still working on speaking like a normal person. "Weapons! Dat'll be cool!" Joey said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" Tristan agreed. "It's about time we got out of that 'agriculture and family life' thing."

Atem held his head. Those two would never understand the glory of a peaceful era. "Atem, try to remember that we're not necessarily going for an accurate treatise this time," Tea chided. "We're trying to learn the text-book version."

"There shouldn't be a difference," Atem complained.

"In a perfect world, Atem," said Yugi, waving goodbye to Joey and Tristan as they went off toward their own houses.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, OK?" Tea said cheerfully, crossing the street to her brownstone apartment.

"Thank heavens for the weekend, huh?" Yugi asked, rubbing the tedium out of his wide, amethystine eyes.

"Indeed. I didn't need to know any of this information when I was going to be pharaoh," Atem said. "And frankly, I don't understand why we need it now."

"We don't, really. When are we going to use Ancient Egyptian war strategies and weaponry, anyway?" Yugi said, exasperated.

Atem laughed. "Considering our lives, I really can't say. Not many modern day citizens would assume that playing a harmless card game would save the world four times over, would they?"

"Guess not," Yugi said, giggling. "That doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"Do you want me to make dinner, partner?" Atem offered. Yugi cringed. Atem had never cooked before. Usually it was only Yugi and Grandpa who made the meals. Yugi didn't know how Atem using the stove would work out, and he didn't want to take the risk.

"Ah… I'll make it like usual, don't worry," Yugi assured him. "How about macaroni and cheese?"

Atem nodded happily. They walked inside and into the kitchen, where they decided to take a brief reprieve from thoughts of school. "Yugi?" Atem asked suddenly. "Where are you from?"

Yugi put on the water to boil and turned to Atem. "Where am I from? What do you mean?"

"Where were you born? What country are you from?" the Egyptian rectified. "All of this talk about Egypt reminds me that you've never told me much about your past yourself."

"I… come from… an island," he responded vaguely.

"An island?" Atem asked. "Which island?"

Yugi waved his hand dismissively. "An unimportant island somewhere off the coast of… Australia."

"Really? Australia? You don't sound like you come from there. How strange…" Atem said pensively.

"No! No, I don't come from Australia; I come from the island off the coast of Australia," Yugi said, even though he took care never to mention the island's name.

Atem looked down at the table. "You don't like to talk much about your past, do you?" he asked.

Yugi poured the pasta into the bubbling water with some salt and olive oil. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I understand," Atem said. But Yugi knew that Atem never could understand. It wasn't as if he didn't want to tell Atem, but it was his duty not to tell anyone who didn't find out on their own. Inwardly, Yugi groaned. They were redundant, rigorous laws that didn't apply to him and his friends. But rules were rules, and Yugi couldn't do anything about it.

Yugi dozed soundly in his cozy bed, his cotton-covered chest rising and falling rhythmically. Atem wasn't sleeping so well. For hours he had had a deep, pit-like feeling of trepidation lurking in his stomach for no apparent reason.

"For years I have trusted in my senses of dark powers and shadow magic," he thought as he lay on his bed. "Something is going to happen, like it has happened before. But what is it, and what can I do about it, if anything?"

A mysterious female voice whispered in a strange language as the wind swept up the curtains framing the open window. It was a songlike chant that had considerable power.

Atem sat up immediately. "Who are you, and what do you want?" The voice continued to murmur in that strange language. "Answer me!" Atem demanded.

"Please, save us!" it exclaimed suddenly. A dark, onyx-colored portal opened up in the ceiling, and quickly pulled the ex-pharaoh into its murky depths.

When he emerged on the other side, Atem landed hard on a bed on green grass. He sat up, rubbing his throbbing backside. Soft, blue leaves swirled mystically around him, and the quiet trickling sound of a brook sang sweetly into his ears.

"Where am I?" Atem asked himself aloud, standing up and looking around. A ways off were the sounds of a city—children laughing and playing, merchants bartering about the price of goods, and carts being pulled along cobblestone pathways.

Atem didn't know what to do. He could go toward the city, but what help could he find there? As far as Atem knew, he was pulled into another dimension by that enigmatic voice. Would the person who summoned him tell him why he was there or not?

"Half-breed flesh…" a gurgling voice muttered from behind him. Atem spun around to find a tall, mutilated man with sallow skin covered in oozing boils. He bared his rotted, pointed teeth and drooled.

Atem instinctively took a defensive posture. "What do you want?" Atem asked firmly.

"Half-breed flesh!" the creature said again. It lunged toward Atem, but the pharaoh was too fast for it. He dodge-rolled to the side and kicked the legs out from beneath the mutation. Grabbing a fallen stick, Atem didn't hesitant to thrust it through the beast's shoulder, pinning it to the ground. It howled in pain.

"Well taken, foreigner!" a voice said from the cerulean trees. "Not many civilians can hold their own again the Rashauni."

Atem turned around and saw a battle-clad man riding on a unicorn plated in armor. His eyes were fierce, and shone light-brown from beneath his heavy brows. Unruly auburn locks hung over his leather headband. "Rashauni?" Atem asked.

The rider raised his eyebrows. "You defeated one and yet you don't even know what it is? Not many people could claim such a feat."

"I'm… a foreigner, as you said," Atem said, twisting his meaning deviously. He was a foreigner; he wasn't from this dimension at all. But this knight didn't need to know that.

"Alas! I have forgotten my courtesies! I am Sern." The rider slipped off his steed and unsheathed a sword. Atem tensed and backed away. "Do not fear, foreigner. In fact, I owe you much gratitude," Sern said, cleanly decapitating the Rashauni with his blade.

"Gratitude for what, if I may ask?" Was the man going to thank him for saving his own life?

"I have been hunting that creature for many a day. It was a rogue scout sent by his people. Apparently, he got hungry," Sern joked grimly. "There are few who could fare as well as you did. Are you trained by the Guard?"

"No, my… father taught me," Atem managed. He had no idea what the Guard was.

Sern cleaned his blade on the grass and returned it to its sheath. "You would do well as a member. Do you have another trade?"

Atem shook his head. "Not at this moment, no."

"Excellent!" Sern said. "If it becomes you, we will make you one of us! It is truly an honor to guard our kingdom from ruin."

Atem smiled and nodded, although he was very concerned. What had he gotten himself into?