1: The Blank Card
Joey Wheeler shuffled down a sidewalk, completely bummed out. He had foolishly lost a duel to an upstart 10-year-old and was ashamed to face anyone he knew. After all, he was the 'godfaddah of games' – he couldn't lose! And yet… he had.
"Hey, there he is!" a young boy's voice called from across the street. "The 'godfaddah of lame'!"
"Back for more, huh punk?" Joey sneered.
"Nah, I whooped you once; I wouldn't want to degrade you anymore old man," the kid replied.
"I was just playin' nice so I wouldn't trample your little feelin's, ya got dat?" he sighed. "Next time we play for reals."
"You're on," the kid agreed.
"Oh man! That kid creamed me once… how can I expect to beat him now?" the teenager groaned.
"If you need to win a duel, I can help," a female voice offered. Joey looked up into a pair of stone grey eyes framed by light blue hair.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm the godfaddah of games," he poked his chest with his thumb. "I don't need help from a dame like you."
He glanced at the girl, but found himself staring at her. She had light blue hair that was short and choppy on top while the longer bottom part was pulled into two braids. She wore a dark red shirt, teal vest, purple shorts and orchid boots. In her fingerless-gloved hand she held out a Duel Monsters card. Without thinking, he took it.
"It'll come in handy when you need it; don't throw it away, mistah godfaddah," she replied, mimicking his accent. The silver ankh on her purple studded collar glinted in the sunlight as she shifted her weight. He looked down at the card.
"Hey, this card's…" he started. His mysterious visitor had vanished. "…blank," he finished dully.
"Joey!" Yugi's voice cried in the distance.
"There you are," Téa sighed. "We've been looking everywhere for you."
"What's that? You get a new card?" Tristan asked, eyeing the object in Joey's hand.
"I think, honestly, I'm not too sure," he sighed, showing them the blank side.
"It's blank," Yugi stated.
"I know dat. Some chick with blue hair gave it to me then vanished," the blond shrugged.
"If it's blank, why don't you just throw it away? It seems pretty useless to me," Téa suggested.
"Whoa, hold on there Téa. I can't do that," he said.
"Why not?" Tristan asked. "If you can't use it, get rid of it."
"I think Tristan's right, Joey. If there's no monster or trap or magic or anything, why let it take up space in your deck?" Yugi added.
"I think there might be somethin' special about this card. I'm gonna keep it until I deem it useless," Joey nodded firmly. "Besides, I got a duel coming up later this afternoon. I'm gonna test it out and see what happens."
When five o'clock rolled around that day, Joey strode onto the battle field. He got his duel disc ready and faced the brat. The blank card was tucked safely somewhere in the middle of his deck so he wouldn't have to use it right away nor rely on it to save his skin.
"I'll go first," the kid smirked. Ten minutes into the duel, both Joey and the kid had half their life points left. Joey's eyes canned the small crowd that had gathered and noticed the blue-haired girl amidst the spectators. He thought he saw her grin when he drew his next card. At first he panicked as it was the blank one, but an image swiftly shimmered into view; a girl with blue hair and cat ears in what seemed like Egyptian style clothing stood against an orange background, small suns in her hands.
"I play Egyptian God Card Bastet in attack mode," Joey announced. The girl in the card shimmered into view on the field, her white cat tail twitching back and forth. "Attack with Burning Claw!" Bastet's black eyes flashed yellow-orange like the sun and flames surrounded her hands, which she brought together and aimed at the kid's monster.
"When did Joey get an Egyptian God Card?" Yugi asked. No one could answer him.
Fire exploded from Bastet's hands in the form of a viciously sharp claw, which sliced through the opposing monster like a hot knife through melted butter. The kid lost the remainder of his life points. He threw a fit, but congratulated Joey anyway. The blond teen tried unsuccessfully to hide a smug grin.
"That was amazing Joey!" Yugi cried.
"Not too bad, eh?" he grinned. "I probably oughta thank that girl for giving me that card…"
"Are you saying that the blank card you received from a stranger earlier today was an Egyptian God Card?" Téa demanded.
"I guess there's more out there than the ones Yugi has," Tristan sighed. "Right Joey?" he turned to his friend, who had vanished into the crowd of spectators.
"I can't find her. I know I saw her here a moment ago…" the blond mused, scratching the back of his head.
"It's getting late guys," Téa nodded towards the setting sun. "I better get going."
Everyone said their farewells and headed off in the directions of their homes. Joey walked home with some spring in his step, but something nagging in the back of his mind.
What was up with that blank card? Why did it show nothing one minute then a really powerful monster the next? And on top of that… why would anyone just give away an Egyptian God Card?! It made no sense! Anyone with a head on their shoulders would keep such a valuable card. Oh well… her loss, whoever she was… and boy was she interesting.
He had never seen a person with blue hair before. Pegasus had white hair, but he was old so graying hair was normal. Bakura… well, he wasn't too sure why his hair was white. He had seen people whose black hair looked kinda blue but… either she had done a wonderful job dying it or she was a genetically mutated freak. Now that he thought about it, he did recall seeing odd colors of hair dye in various stores. He shook his head and fumbled around his pockets for his key; it didn't seem to be there. He spun around in small circles, looking for it on the ground in case he dropped it.
"Looking for something?" a voice asked playfully. Joey wheeled around to find the girl with blue hair grinning at him. She was standing inside the front door, his house key dangling between her fingers. "You dropped it earlier at school. I found it when I was leaving the campus after being registered."
"You were at my school?" he asked, completely forgetting to ask why she was in his house.
"Well, yeah. I haven't graduated yet and my folks don't want me working during my adolescence. I mean, I'm only sixteen," she chuckled, wandering away inside. Joey followed her. Finally, his brain resumed normal functions.
"What are you doing in my house?!" he cried.
"She's an exchange student from America," Serenity jumped in as the two teens entered the main room. "I helped show her around the school today, so I want you to be nice to her, okay?" Joey cringed but thought it would be best if he obliged. Despite the fact that he often got into trouble and fought a lot, he loved his sister.
"Sure," he shrugged half heartedly.
"Don't just stand there, introduce yourself!" Serenity hissed.
"Um… I'm Joey Wheeler," he said, waving awkwardly.
"My name's Cleopatra von Kohlberg, but I'd prefer it if you call me Cleo," the blue haired girl replied sweetly. He grinned back, wondering why she gave him an Egyptian God Card outta the blue. Something about her was slightly kinky… he didn't much like the glint in her eyes. It was mischievous and bordered on creepy.
"Nice to meet you," he grumbled, getting a glass of water. He watched as she wandered rather aimlessly around the room before plopping on the couch, one leg drawn up near her chest. Something caught his eye and he went to investigate.
"Can I help you?" Cleo asked when she noticed him storming closer to her. Without thinking her grabbed her legs and spread them. "Excuse me!?"
"That looks like the eye on Yuge's Millenium Puzzle," Joey muttered eyeing the golden tattoo on the inside of her right thigh.
"Joey!!" Serenity cried. Joey looked up and felt his face heat up. Something hard slammed into his face and he just barely saw a flash of orchid that he just knew was Cleo's boot. "What's wrong with you?!"
"At least have the decency to go somewhere private before you force yourself on me," Cleo said in a sickeningly sweet voice, pressing her hands to her red face.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Serenity demanded, glaring.
"I'll get it!" Joey cried, lunging for the telephone which rang just at that moment. "Hello? Oh, hey T."
"I'm so sorry about that," Serenity apologized. "I don't know what came over him. I've never seen him act like that before."
"Oh, it's alright," Cleo replied. Serenity cast a confused glance. "He's a teenage boy; their brains, if they're lucky enough to have any, are most always in their pants." The blue-haired American said it with such seriousness Serenity had to laugh.
"If he bothers you, don't hesitate to tell me," the brunette chuckled. Cleo nodded, a small smile playing at her lips. Joey bothering her was the least of her worries at this point in time. She had larger issues to deal with. When he was ready… then she'd let him know. For now, however, she had to keep it a secret. On the other hand… perhaps she should tell him. Oh, if only she knew where the Pharaoh lived! She knew that he was present in this world… but she just did not know where!
"I have to go now. Thanks for helping me Serenity," Cleo waved as she made to leave the house. After she was safely outside, she ran all out down the street to the apartment she was sharing with her family. In the empty hallway, she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"Bastet…" a male voice acknowledged her. She felt herself glowing with a golden light and knew she was changing. She felt her cat ears and tail grow from her human body, saw her hair change color to the dark blue streaks and her braids grow. Even her outfit changed, as it was easier to move about in that attire: a strapless top that covered her chest and nothing more, and a skirt that was really a long strip of fabric tied around her waist and knotted at her right hip. Skimpy, yes, but perfectly normal for where she had come from. She walked towards the voice and inside the dark apartment.
"You groped her?!" Tristan cried, standing up.
"I didn't mean to, and I didn't actually grope her," Joey protested hotly on the other end of the line. Tristan took his cordless phone up to his room and shut his door. Oh, he wanted to hear more of this.
"What'd you do?" he asked.
"Well, she's got this tattoo on her leg that looks like the eye on Yugi's Millenium Puzzle, only I had to see a close up to be certain," Joey replied, though his voice was a bit muffled.
"Really? Where is this tattoo?" Tristan asked.
"It's uh…" Joey hesitated. "It's on the inside of her right thigh…"
"Uh-huh, sure," Tristan grinned. "I gotta go, see ya…" he sang against Joey's protests. He hung up and smirked to himself. "I hafta say that I wanna meet this Cleo person."
"No, I have not yet found the location of the Pharaoh, nor has Jabari awakened," Cleo reported. "I start school tomorrow; I should be able to find out more there."
"As you will, Bastet," a male voice replied. She bowed and left the room, her eyes adjusting to the bright light outside in the living room. Her skirt fluttered as she paced the length of the room.
How was she going to find the Pharaoh? If she waited until he showed himself, things might get far out of hand… yet she had no idea where to look. Naturally, she had followed him on television, but his exact location was difficult to pinpoint. And Pharaoh Jabari… how would she awaken him? He was vital to the plans, but awakening a dormant spirit was not her area of expertise. Isis could do that, or Ra, though she doubted he'd do such a menial task himself when he had so much more to deal with. Nekhbet, even, but her current whereabouts were unknown.
Actually, for most members of the Ordinance, their whereabouts were unknown. And that was a big problem for Cleo.
"Pharaoh, can you tell me more about the Egyptian God Card Joey used today?" Yugi asked the Pharaoh's spirit.
"As I've said before, my memories are not too clear. It seems that there are more God Cards out in the world than the three we possess. What I do remember is the monster in the card, Bastet," the ancient king replied.
"What kind of monster is she?" Yugi asked eagerly.
"Not monster, Yugi, god. Bastet is the Egyptian cat-goddess of the sun. The memories are not clear, but I faintly recall something regarding the supreme sun god Ra, and that Bastet fell under his jurisdiction. She is a very powerful being, but why she is here I do not know."
"Something bad is gonna happen, isn't it?" Yugi asked.
"I cannot say, but I think it best if we be on our guard. I will try to remember more about Bastet," Atem said firmly. Yugi nodded.
"Where are you, Pharaoh?" Cleo asked absently, gazing out the window at the blue sky. "We need you help… the Ordinance can't do this alone." Her tail twitched behind her nervously.
A/N: hey, well here's a new story i got the idea for. it's yu-gi-oh, obviously. i'm not to familiar with the cards and characters so bear with me. i'm not sure if i'll continue this or not. whatever, you know?...