"Sisters of the Moon"

By:  Yin-Yang & JanimeLee

            It was a nice afternoon as a young lady was walking home from school. She hummed under her breathe as she listened to her latest CD. The soundtrack from her favorite show, Yu-Gi-Oh! She smiled as she settled the headphones over her ears. With the music blaring loudly he didn't hear someone calling to her.

            "Cheri!" the talk red-brown haired girl ran to her best friend and tapped her arm.

            Cheri turned and took the headphones away from her ears. "Hi, Keriam!" she smiled and placed the headphones on the other girl's ears. "You've got to hear this."

            Keriam listened to the music. "That's Yu-Gi-Oh."

            "Of course!" Cheri grinned, taking the headphones back and turned off the CD player.

            "That must be the new CD you told me about."

            "That and the first DVDs of the show. Wanna come to my house and watch them?" she smiled, shaking brown and blonde streak curls back.

            "You don't have to ask me twice," Keriam winked. "I love Joey."

            "Why do have a thing for dorks?"

            "Leave my dork alone!"

            The two girls walked quickly to Cheri's house. "Mom! I'm home!" she called. "Mom?"

            "Hey, she left a note." Keriam picked the small piece of paper off the counter by the door.

            "She never puts it on the fridge where'll I see it," Cheri groaned. "What's it say?"

            "'Sorry, honey, but I got called in to work tonight. Supper's in the freezer. Love, Mom'." Keriam looked at Cheri. "What's for supper?"

            "Frozen pizza."

            "Yummy."

             Several minutes later the pizzas were set in the oven to cook and both ladies had their books on the kitchen table.  Time seemed to fly by as they worked on homework and helped on another out that they seemed the now cooked pizza. Looking up they realized that 30 minutes had passed and the food was ready. "Pizza time!" Cheri said happily as she turned off the oven and took the pie out. "Hey Keriam, how about we eat this while watching the DVDs?" She then grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "And you can say how cute Joey is over and over and over."

            The other girl blush before poking her friend in the side. "I still don't see how you can like Kaiba. He's such a creep!"

            "He is not! He just has a lot to deal with. Beside, at least we can agree that Yugi is such a cutie."

            "And Yami, too. Wouldn't it be great to have two men you adore in one gorgeous body?"

            "Oh yeah..." Cheri smiled. "Get the napkins?"

            "I'll bring the whole bag." Keriam grabbed the unopened napkin bag from atop the refrigerator, and followed Cheri into the living room.

             "Okay we got the pizza and napkins, the DVDs are there, oh! Soda!" She grinned as she dashed inside before coming back with two cans. "Okay I think we have everything so let's get this show on the road." Smiling she flipped the TV on, then the DVD player and inserted the CD. Giggling she plopped on the sofa and hit the play button.

            "Ooh goody. Gooey pizza with my best gal pal and watching our favorite show with one hot guy in leather. What more could a girl want?" she asked as she tried not to burn her fingers.

            "Being with our favorite guys in our favorite show?" Keriam said.

            "No argument there," said Cheri, taking a bite of her pizza.

            They watched the first episode with as much glee as when they first saw it on television.

            "I feel so bad for Kaiba right now," Cheri said as Exodia appeared on the screen.

            Keriam snorted. "I don't." She placed her soda on the small table before them, grinning as Exodia blasted away all three of Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons.

            Suddenly, the white light from the TV flooded the entire living room, accompanied by a high pitched noise. Cheri and Keriam screamed and covered their ears.

            "Keriam!" Cheri yelled over the noise. "What's happening?!"

            "I don't know!" Keriam shouted back. "Turn off--WHAT THE!!!!!!"

            A pair of ghostly hands reached out from the TV screen and grabbed the two girls making them scream as they were dragged into the television.

            Struggling the two friends tried very hard to break free from the hands but it was no use. Even as they grabbed on the edge of the TV screen a kind of whirlwind suddenly appeared, breaking this rescue grip and pulled them inside. Another flash of light filled the room and as it died down the girls were gone and the place was empty…

            In Domino people looked up at he sky as they noticed the clear skies going dark in a split second. It was usual but also seemed to bring a bad omen but just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared.  But the heart of the darkness seemed focused at Kaiba Corporation where two girls slowly began to wake up.

            One of the girls groaned as she lifted herself to her knees, rubbing the small of her back as he winced. "Owwie… What did I land on?" Cracking an eye open she blinked then turned white. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out except a very small and weak sounding squeak.

            "K-Keriam..." Cheri managed to get out.

            "I am in pain right now," her best friend answered, "I do not want to move."

            "Could you at least open your eyes, please?" asked Cheri.

            Keriam slowly blinked her eyes opened and found herself looking at a high dome-like ceiling with lights hanging from the metal supports that were in a criss-cross pattern. Slowly sitting upright, Keriam rubbed the back of her head and looked around. "Oh my..." she rose to her feet and turned around looking at the large room they were in. She couldn't believe it. "No way..."

            Cheri got to her feet. "Keriam, this is it. We're in Domino City Dueling Stadium!"

            "How did we get here? No wait, don't answer that."

            "But I still don't get it... the TV never did anything like that before!" she slowly spun in a circle then pinched herself. Frowning she pinched her friend.

            "Ow! hey what was that for?" she asked, rubbing her arm.

            "Just making sure we weren't dreaming.

            "Oh really, Sherlock?" Keriam snapped then sighed and looked around. "This can't be happening. It's impossible."

            "Well, we're here," Cheri said. "And we've watched Yu-Gi-Oh since it started and we've downloaded a lot of pics..."

            "'A lot' is an understatement."

            "By the way, where did you find that pic of Joey in a toga?" Cheri asked.

            "Don't you dare mock my Cesear Joey," Keriam narrowed her eyes, "especially when you have that fanart pic of naked Kaiba posed like the David Statue."

            "There's nothing wrong with art."

            "Penchan7 gave him a longer--"

            The sound of the metal door being unlocked caused the two girls to stop and turn. "Oh no!" Cheri whispered.

            "Move it!" Keriam hissed as she grabbed Cheri's hand. They ran behind one of the large concrete columns.

            "I'm glad you got out of work early," a young boy's happy voice reached them.

            Mokuba? Keriam thought, and then her eyes widened. Uh oh... if he's here then that means-

            "The meeting went quicker than I had expected," the voice of a young man, rough, demanding, yet faintly underlined by anguish, answered.

            SETO! Cheri smiled brightly and started to look around the pillar.

            Keriam pulled her back. "Don't you dare!" she hissed quietly through her teeth.

            "I have to see him!" Cheri pleaded.

            "He'll have us arrested for breaking and entering."

            "Says who? We can just make up some story about being new here and stuff! Please?? If it was Joey you'd be wanting to see him too!" She looked at her, flashing her soft brown eyes at her in what nearly everyone called her Bambi-gaze. "Pleaze??"

            Keriam hated that look Cheri now had. It always worked even when they were children. "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm going to make you regret it for the rest of your life."

            "I'll be careful. Don't worry."

            I always do after you say those last two words, Keriam thought.

            Cheri peeked out from their hiding place. She had a good view of half of the area. Kaiba was standing at the board, shuffling his deck. Fortunately, Mokuba was down at the other end and couldn't see her.

            Oh pleeeeeeease take your coat off, Seto, Cheri thought.

            "Are you done oogooling?" Keriam whispered.

            "I'm waiting for him to take his coat off."

            "Let me guess, you want to see if that pic captured his butt correctly."

            she turned and mad a face at her before looking once more. Oh man he is so handsome! I think I'm in love... she thought dreamily she didn't realize she was edging farther out that she was losing her grip. "Oh oh oh!" she called out, failing her arms as she tried to regain balance but fell and dragged Keriam with her.

            Seto's head snapped up as he heard something. We should be the only ones in here, he thought to himself as he looked around. "Who's in here?" he called out in a demanding tone.

            "Now we're in for it," the other girl said as she struggled to stand.

            "Um sorry?" she grinned sheepishly but hearing footsteps they only had one option left. Run the hell outta here.

            "Seto?"

            "Just stay there, Mokuba," he said. "Whoever you are, you better have a very good reason for being here."

            Keriam pulled the back of her shirt neckline up so that it covered her hair. Cheri did the same. When Seto's footsteps halted, the two girls nodded to each other then sprinted out from behind the pillar.

            Seto yelped as two figures suddenly appeared and raced out the door into the streets. he ran to the door and looked outside but the two were gone.

            Mokuba appeared next to his brother. "What's going on?"

            "I don't know," Seto put his hand on Mokuba's shoulder. "Let's get out of here. I know I promised to help you practice duel monsters but I want to know how those two got inside."

            His little brother nodded. "Okay, Seto."

            Cheri and Keriam ran aimlessly through the streets. Finally, the two tired out and ducked into a well-lit ally. They sat on the ground, leaning against the wall of a small building to catch their breaths.

            "I hope you're happy," Keriam grumbled.

            "K-Kinda..." she panted and waved her hands, "But hey, he is really way cuter in person." She grinned and leaned her head back, taking several deep breathes. "Oh man... now what do we do?"

            "You're asking me? Let me think... well first, let's see w hat we have on hand." Nodding they emptied their pockets. "Okay so we got our wallets, half a pack of gum, lots of lint, and... why do you always carry a paper clip?"

            "Because they're fun to bend. Look, I can make a hanger!" Plucking it from her hand she began to mess with it. "See! Now if I had a pencil I could make the little hook."

            "… You need a hobby." Cheri stuck her tongue out and twisted the paper clip into a funny pin hten stuffed it back in her pocket. "Okay well let's see how much money we have."

            "Okay." Peering through her wallet she sighed. "Um I still got my paycheck. I didn't have time to spend it yet. You?"

            "Cashed mine yesterday," said Cheri. "We need to find a place to stay tonight, and then figure out how to get home."

            "Sounds like a plan." Keriam stood up and looked at the building. This looks familiar, she thought and looked up. "Hey, I think this is the Mutou Game Shop."

            "Really?" Cheri jumped up and walked out of the ally. "Hey! It is!"

            Keriam walked up beside her. "How do you like that."

            "Let's go in!"

            "You're nuts."

            "Come on, Keriam," Cheri grabbed her arm, "it'll be interesting to look at the cards. There might be a Flame Swordsman or perhaps a Red Eyes Black Dragon--two of Joey's favorite Duel Monster cards."

            "Well, since we have time to kill..." Keriam said as her best friend dragged her into the store.

            "Wow..." Cheri marveled at all the toys and games that lined the shelves. "How do they keep everything in here?"

            "May I help you?" a gentle voice asked. The girls looked towards the counter as Mr. Mutou walked into the show room, the curtain swaying slightly behind him.

            "We're just browsing," Keriam answered.

            "You sure do have alot of nice stuff," Cheri whistled.

            Mr. Mutou chuckled. "Thank you very much," he said. "Do you play Duel Monsters?"

            "No, not yet."

            The elder man nodded. "Well, if you ever need any help, just stop by and I'll give you some tips."

            "Thanks!" Cheri smiled.

            They continued to look through the store, finding games that were familiar. After some time, the jingling of the bells on the shop door sounded new arrivals.

            "Hi, Grandpa!"

            "Heya, Gramps!"

            Keriam almost dropped the game box she was holding when she heard the second voice.

            "Ah, Yugi. Joey. How was school?" Mr. Mutou asked.

            Cheri looked at her friend and smiled, lightly nudging her in the side with her elbow. "Hey Keriam, you're drooling."

            The other girl blinked and swatted at her, scowling lightly. "Shut up."

            "Same as always." Yugi noticed the two girls and smiled at them. "Hi there, I'm Yugi."

            "Um hi. I'm Cheri and this is Keriam," the brunette said with a smile. Oh he is so cute I just want to hug him! Ack no must resist! she thought to herself.

            "My name's Joey. So do you girls come here often?" he asked with a wink. Keriam just about melted.

            "This is not a pick-up scene!" Mr. Mutou whacked Joey's head with a rolled up newspaper.

            Yugi and Cheri laughed as Joey rubbed his head and Keriam winced.

            "Oh, don't forget, Grandpa," Yugi said, "Joey and I are spending the night at Tristen's house. I need to get some stuff."

            "Alright," Mr. Mutou nodded.

            Yugi ran upstairs to the apartment and into his bedroom. He felt Yami stir and then the Pharaoh appeared sitting on his bed. He did not look happy. "What's wrong, Yami?" Yugi asked.

            "There's something," the spirit began, "about those two girls. They're not bad or anything like that but I feel that they are not from here--from this dimension. And yet their presence here is very important."

            "Really? That's strange." He frowned a bit. "But they seemed perfectly normal."

            Meanwhile, back downstairs Cheri was asking tips on how to construct her own deck from Mr. Mutou while Keriam was chatting with Joey. She had always wanted to build her very own deck and duel and here, she was getting tips from the same person that taught Yugi everything! It took everything she had not to squeal in utter joy. She had decided to buy some starter packs and after paying for them opened her first pack up.

            "Oh wow, Keriam look what I got!" she turned to her friend and showed her her first cards. "I got a Protector of the Throne and this Ritual Card, Performance of Sword! Ooh and look at this one! Goddess of Whim. Wow she looks like Mother Earth or something."

            "She does," Keriam said and looked at the display case. "Whoa! Silver Fang!"

            "You like wolves?" Joey asked.

            "She loves the entire K-9 family," Cheri grinned. No wonder you like Joey; he is referred to as a 'dog'.

            Keriam bought the card and placed it in a protective sleeve and plastic holder. "Thanks alot."

            "Anytime young lady. Any questions or such please don't hesitate to ask."

            "Actually... can you tell us of a hotel nearby or something? We're um kinda new in town," Cheri said with a meek grin. She just hope they didn't ask any questions.

            "What about your parents?" Mr. Mutou asked.

            "We, uh, took a little trip without them," Keriam said.

            "They know you're here, right?" Joey asked.

            "Not yet, but we will call them," Cheri said rather quickly.

            "There's a small hotel down the street from here," said Mr. Mutou. "It's reasonable."

            "Thanks again. Bye."

            "Bye, Mr. Mutou," said Keriam. "Bye, Joey."

            "Have a good day, girls."

            "Yeah, we'll see you around," Joey called after them.

            Cheri and Keriam left the Game Shop and started walking down the street.

            "Ha ha, I got to talk to mine," Keriam sang.

            Cheri glared at her. "I don't like you."

            "Deal." She tapped her nose then laughed when she swatted at him.

            "Hey Keriam, does this mean we have to find jobs here? And what about school?"

            "... Hey let's take it one step at a time. Look there's the hotel." Nodding to her they jogged to it. Speaking with the manager they were able to get a small but furnished room. Now they had to get a paper and look for jobs. But since their stomachs were rumbling they decided to grab a bite to eat. They didn't eat much except the pizza and who knew how long ago that was.

            Walking around they finally entered a fast food place called Burger World. Cheri stared at it before sighing. "And here I was hoping for a McDonald's. Oh well...  burger is a burger. Oh oh Keriam look!!" she grabbed her arm and nearly pulling on it pointed to a sign on the window. 'Help Wanted'. "Let's apply now!!"

            Keriam nodded. "Well, our money problem is almost solved." She looked around and walked over to a girl who was cleaning off the tables. "Excuse me?"

            The girl looked up. "May I help you?"

            Keriam glanced at her nametag: Tea. "Where are the job applications?"

            "Up front next to the soda machine," Tea said.

            "Thank you." Keriam walked over to the soda machine and took two applications and two pens. One down, one to go, she thought as she walked back to the table. "Here, she handed an application and a pen to Cheri.

            "Thanks." Looking at it she frowned and filled almost everything in but some stuff she left blank. Reading it over she sighed and rubbed her nose. "Keriam, can you check this for me?"

            "Sure." Taking it she checked it out and nodded. "Looks good to me. We can always tell the manager the phone number later."

            "True... I'll take them up." Getting up she took the forms and turned them into the manager. The manager was a young man who looked them over.

            "Alright then young lady, it looks like you and your friend have jobs," he nodded to her.

            Cheri couldn't believe it. They got the jobs! "Um thanks alot, we really appreciate it!"

            "How soon can you begin work?" he asked.

            "As soon as you need us."

            "Be here tomorrow morning at nine and we'll talk."

            "We will," said Cheri. "Thanks again."

            Tea watched as the brunette quickly ran over to her friend, and judging by the looks on their faces, they had been hired. Good, Tea thought, we need all the help we can get for this weekend.

            "We have jobs" she smiled and was practically bouncing in her seat. "Now, what are we going to do about school? Should we just work full-time or try to enroll in the local high school?"

            "Well," Keriam started, "if remember correctly about that website, Domino High doesn't permit students to work during the school year. But they can be a little lenient if things are going tough for the student." Like Joey, poor guy, she thought. I can relate somewhat.

            "How about when we talk to the manager tomorrow we can ask if he knows that the school will let us work," said Cheri.

            "Okay, and watch what you say when we start working."

            "I won't shoot my mouth off."

            "That's not what I'm talking about," Keriam cupped her hand on the side of her mouth. "Tea Gardner is behind you."

            "Where?" Cheri blinked. "How far?"

            "Cleaning the tables," answered Keriam. "I don't think she can hear us if we keep our voices low."

            "You know, this is just too weird. Why are w here? What's the point?" Cheri sighed and rested her chin on her arms, feeling slightly depressed. "I miss mom. Hell I even mss school."

            "Hey don't worry," she said softly and reached over, rubbing her shoulders. "Everything will be alright, you'll see."

            She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. and on a good note, Seto didn't really see us so we have nothing to fear from him."

            Far away from Burger World, in the basement of an abandoned building, three men stood in the middle, looking at each other with dark gazes. The symbol of an octagon with eight different stars at the points embroidered on the backs of their robes and tattooed on their left hands.

            "It worked," the taller one spoke.

            "Now we can retrieve the Millennium Items," said the one to his left.

            "And kill Malik, Ryou, and Yugi," said the third.

            "First we must capture the Sisters of the Moon," said the first one. "They are the keys."

            Cheri suddenly developed a shiver as she looked around. "Oh I just got this really creepy feeling, Keriam."

            "Really? What kind of feeling?"

            "Being watch or something." She frowned and slowly stood. "I think w should head to the hotel."

            "Yeah, now that you mentioned it," Keriam stood up as the feeling began with her, "good idea."

            The two girls left the restaurant and quickly went to the hotel.

            "Hey I just thought of something."

            "Hmm?"

            "When exactly are we in the series? I mean what has happened so far?"

            "... That's... a very good question. And we can't ask anyone or people will think we're weird." They sighed as they opened the door to their hotel room and went inside, locking the door behind them. Cheri smiled as she plopped face first on the bed and sighed deeply. "Man I have missed sleeping so much..."

             "Don't get too comfortable," said Keriam. "We've gotta go shopping for clothes."

            "I can't believe I forgot about that," Cheri rolled over, "but I need a nap. This day's just been too stressful."

            "Get some sleep. I'm going to find the ice machine."

            "Okay. Be careful."

            Keriam nodded and took the ice bucket from the desk. She left the room and locked the door, placing the key in her pocket. Keriam walked down the hallway towards the elevator. One of the elevator doors opened and two young men stepped out with two translucent copies right behind them. Keriam stopped short.

            Malik and Ryou with their darker personnas Marik and Bakura.

            "Can we help you?" Ryou asked gently.

            "Uh... do you know where the ice machine is?" Keriam asked nervously.

            "Two floors up to the right of the elevator," Malik said.

            "Thank you." Keriam pushed the up button as they started down the hall. The doors soon opened and Keriam walked in. She paused, looked out down the hall to the four standing by a door as Ryou pulled out his key.

            Marik turned his head and narrowed his eyes.

            Keriam gasped and quickly went into the elevator. she let out a loud sigh when the door shut. "I don't need this..."