Crazy legal stuff: Any and all characters belonging to the Yu-Gi-Oh enterprise are solely theirs. Any statements or implications about the sexuality of the characters based on the actions of said characters in this story are confined to this story. I do not pretend to know the sexuality of any of the characters as they appear outside of this story.

Whoo, legal stuff is over! Now, for the explanation…

I'm sorry for taking so long to update the story. Finals were going on, I had a ballet recital that was coming up, homework was piling up, and I was going through a pretty rough time. That didn't stop me from writing a new chapter thingeemerbobber, however. I read it after I was done with it, though, and…lets just say I thought that my incredibly open minded English teacher would have thought it was terrible. I didn't feel that it was satisfactory at all, so I decided to take a look at the story as a whole. It felt like I was trying too hard, and in doing so I was doing work that wasn't as good as it could have been. Also there was a lack of major editing going on which contributed to the feeling. I decided that the way I started the story off was 1) unoriginal and 2) just plain odd. To suddenly jump into a story where two characters who are supposed to be on bad terms are living together just doesn't seem right, even if the situation was explained.

G-D DAMN CELL PHONE! Who on earth is calling me at 12:00 a.m.?

Aiya, alright, back to the explanation. Because of these problems, I decided that it would be best to start over, only this time begins before Jonouchi moves in with Seto. Don't worry, the story line and characters will still be here, though some of the characters may be appearing later on. Also, I don't pretend to be an expert on the written form of accents. As such, I'm going to have to pretend that Jonouchi doesn't have an accent at all. Unless someone wants to help me with it…

So, without anymore delay munches on yahk-gwa STORY BEGINS AGAIN! WHOO!

Arise Ye Heroes and Tormentors

Prologue

It is not always easy to understand why evil simply does not give up. It comes, is defeated, comes again, and is defeated again; it is a never-ending cycle. Today's heroes often prove to be the heroes of tomorrow, so why should evil return if only to face the same enemy? Why doesn't is simply quit fighting when it seems that it will never gain a permanent foothold in the world?

These questions along with many others filed though Jonouchi's brain as he sat on the pier with the gang. Dartz had been defeated, his spirit cleansed of the hatred that had occupied it for 10000 years. No party, no club, no celebration of any kind could display the tranquility that flowed through the group right now.

A little over a day ago Seto, Yuugi, and Jonouchi had both been robbed of their souls by the Orikalkos, a powerful magical substance that had first appeared on Earth 10000 years ago. Dartz, then king of Atlantis, succumbed to the power of the stone and waged a war that spread across the known world of the time. He was helped by a creature of immense destructive power, awoken by the Orikalkos itself. This creature was known as the Leviathan. Ironheart, Dartz's father, battled with his son with the aid of three legendary soldiers who Dartz had imprisoned in the bodies of three dragons: Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos. Ironheart drove back the darkness and for 10000 years Dartz waited, gathering souls one at a time until one day when a small boy put together a puzzle, a puzzle whose completion heralded the salvation and the doom of the world.

'That's the story in a nutshell' Jonouchi thought to himself. He was still in awe after all that had happened. Mai, one of his friends, had been released from the control of the Orikalkos. Rafael, Alistair, and Valon had also been released from imprisonment. Dartz had finally been defeated and the Orikalkos destroyed. Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos had been released from an imprisonment of their own and had now returned to the world of monsters to resume their protective rolls. Everyone Dartz had captured had been set free. Above all else, though, Jonouchi would always remember what it felt like to be in bondage, to have his soul torn from his body and nearly lost forever. He could never repay Yami for what he had done. If it wasn't for the pharaoh and his faith in the heart of the cards, Dartz would have succeeded, he and his friends would have perished, and the world would be held in an evil grasp that no one could escape from.

Jonouchi's head began to throb and he laid down in response. The mere thought of how he had barely escaped a fate worse than death made his head hurt and his body quake with fear. He took a few breaths and calmed himself. Then he spoke.

"Does anyone know why evil keeps popping up? I mean, we defeat it all the time, so why doesn't it just quit trying?" Jonouchi asked. The group was silent for a time, regarding his query with thought. Seto was the first to speak.

"It is not in the nature of evil to give up. Evil is a belief, a thinking system, the essence of a philosophy deeply rooted in society. Evil could no more give up than you could stop wanting to help innocent people. It is simply not a possibility." Seto's short speech was met with more silence, as Jonouchi's brain began to comprehend.

"Wait, so evil can't ever truly be stopped simply because of what it is?"

"That is correct. Evil exists in all of us. It exists in all human beings. It is a hunger whose appetite can only be satisfied by the good that exists alongside it. There is a constant struggle going on in each human, save one." The group looked over at Yami. Yuugi had retreated from the physical plane in order to try and rest his soul. Yuugi realized how lucky he was to share his body with another entity. He could rest more quickly simply because he did not have to exist as most do all of the time.

Yami was aware of the eyes that were watching him, but he disregarded them. He was the only being whose heart was pure. To defeat Dartz he had to defeat the darkness within himself, and he was the only one who had to. Now he was a breed apart, though he did not think of himself as such. What did this mean? What would his life be like now that he no longer had such a large internal conflict to deal with? 'Not now,' he thought. 'I'll deal with this later. Now is not the time to dwell on such things.'

Jonouchi propped himself up on his elbows and let his feet dangle over the edge of the pier. This place would forever be engraved in his mind. He would never forget it, not now that it bore something as critical as this. The last of the sun passed beyond the horizon and the first shades of purple began to appear. One by one the friends stood up. Seto had radioed for a helicopter roughly ten minutes ago, and it was due to arrive soon. Sure enough, the blades could be heard chopping through the air as the wind picked up. The gang looked up to see the helicopter slowly descending toward them. They quickly moved out of the way as the struts brushed the concrete, and then filed into the chopper. The helicopter almost grazed the surface of the storage units near the pier as they took off. They were off to Kaiba Corp. Headquarters and from there they were going home.

So, there it is in all its glory. It almost seems like a prologue…hmm. I wonder how that worked out. I meant for this to be more philosophical than the rest of the story because it's the beginning. The next chapter will be much more life oriented. It may be longer too, I'm not sure.

Mmmmmmmmm, yum! Food tasty!