Angel of Darkness

Ch. 2: The Millenium Puzzles

"Hey Shelen!" Yugi called over her shoulder as she held up a dusty old box. Shelen tried to stand up straight but hit her head on the shelf above the box she had been rummaging through.

"Gah!" She let the small cry of pain escape then massaged the back of her head as she turned to face her sister, "What is it?"

"What's this game called?" Yugi held up the box which had bright colors slightly dulled by age and had an overly happy man that looked more like a clown that dressed like a candycane on the front as well as two small kids that were also twins, some creepy dude in the background and at the top a beaming clasic king standing in front of a castle made of muffins. The words were in English which only Shelen knew as a language that came easy to her.

"Oh that," Shelen walked over and took the thin rectangular box from Yugi's limp grip, "It says it's called 'Candy Land'. Gramps must've gotten it on a trip to America some time earlier in his life and forgot about it."

"Oh," Yugi nodded then looked at the box again, "Could we play that one to?"

"You know pretty soon this pile of ours is going to reach the ceiling." Shelen joked. She then set the box on top of a stack of other games.

"Yeah, but I can't help it! It's my name after all." Yugi replied with an innocent smile.

It had been 8 years since Yugi and Shelen had learned they were really sisters. Shelen was already playing role of big sis to Yugi but they still felt weird calling eachother sisters so they still acted like friends. Living apart from eachother helped too. At the moment the girls were down in Suguroku's basement looking through some old games he never bothered with anymore. They had quite a bit of games they had planned to play on that fateful day.

Yugi turned back to the shelf and reached up to grab another game. But she was still short for her age and couldn't reach. Shelen, who was at least a few inches taller than Yugi, stood again from where she was digging around and stood behind Yugi with her arms crossed.

"Need any help?" Shelen teased. Yugi blushed in embarrassement.

"N-No, I got it!" She declined. Shelen shook her head and leaned her weight on one leg, locking her hip in that direction. Yugi continued to try to reach the box and even jumped a few times to knock it off. She finally got it but accidentally bumped another box.

"Yugi!" Shelen dove and caught the box before it hit the ground then looked at her sister, "Be careful!"

"Sorry..." Yuig appologized quietly.

Shelen sighed and pat Yugi on the head. "It's ok, just be more careful next time."

She then looked to the box she was holding. It was a gold box, about the size of a large shoe box. It was decorated in hieroglyphics and had an Eye of Horus symbol that popped out on the front. Shelen frowned and tried to lift the lid. It wouldn't budge. She then tried sliding it and heard a click sound when she slid it to the right while pressing her thumb down on the pupil of the eye on the box.

Inside were two smaller gold boxes. Both identical to the first. But on the eye of Horus symbols on those, was a gem embedded where the pupil would be. One was a ruby, the other an amethyst.

"Yugi..." Shelen whispered, her voice barely over a whisper. Yugi looked up and saw Shelen staring at the box.

"What is it?" Yugi asked curiously.

"Look at these." Shelen picked up the one with the ruby on it and examined it after setting the larger box down. Yugi looked in and picked up the one with the amethyst and examined it.

"Wow..." She gasped in amazement.

"What do you think it says on the front?" Shelen asked.

"It looks like it says..." Yugi studied the pictures carefully, "'A treasure that is seen, but also unseen'."

"A treasure seen but also unseen?" Shelen raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

"Yeah. At least on this one." Yugi nodded, "What does yours say?"

"Something like..." Shelen read over it then her eyes widened and she looked up again.

"Well?"

"It's nothing. Just what yours said." Shelen replied.

"Ok then..." Yugi nodded. But she wasn't convinced. Shelen then went to walk back up the stairs.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Yugi called.

"Back upstairs. We were gonna play these games, remember?" Shelen replied.

"But you're bringing THAT too?" Yugip pointed at the Egyptian box.

"Yeah." Shelen nodded.

"Why? It could be something Grandpa wanted to stay hidden."

"Yugi," Shelen stopped at the steps and looked at her sister skeptically, "It's just another game. Come on, what could possibly go wrong?"

A lot more than they had bargained for, that was for sure.

...

After playing the games they had found, Shelen and Yugi went their seperate ways for the day. Once Shelen got back to her home she went up to her room and placed the gold box on her desk. She then lifted the lid and saw that it was filled with odd shaped gold pieces.

"It's a puzzle!" She realised. She then pulled out two of the pieces and examined them. She tried to put the pieces together but they didn't fit. She then smirked. A challange was just what she wanted. She never turned down a challange, no matter what it was about.

So that night, Shelen started to try to solve the puzzle, piece by piece. But she only managed to get the top put together.

"Guess it's going to be a pyramid." She muttered thoughtfully. She then placed another piece in.

...

Yugi sat on her bed, staring at the pieces of the puzzle in the box in her hands. She took out a few and tried to fit them together. After a few minutes a soft click was heard and two of the pieces slid together. Yugi became interested in the puzzle and began to try to fit more pieces in. She was able to work from the bottom of the pyramid up.

Both girls were at it for most of the night but soon fell asleep from working on their respective puzzle.

...

"Shelen," Yugi looked at her sister worriedly, "Why are you limping?"

"Don't worry 'bout it, Yugi." Shelen assured the other, "It's nothing."

Yugi nodded but wasn't too convinced especially since Shelen winced once or twice as she limped. Her bangs were hiding most of her face from view, only one eye was shoing as well as her lips and nose. The rest of her face was hidden.

"So, why are you showing Anzu your puzzle?" Shelen then asked.

"I want her to see it. It's pretty and I told her about it."

It had been a month since the sisters had found the puzzles and there were only a few pieces left to the puzzle. Yugi wanted to take hers to school to show Anzu, their childhood friend, the amazing puzzle. Shelen though, didn't seem too thrilled about her puzzle anymore. She still enjoyed solving it and was only a few pieces away from doing so, but something was holding her back. Some nagging feeling telling her to leave the puzzle unfinished. She wasn't sure whether she should listen to her instinct or to listen to her heart.

"Yeah, I guess that's fine." Shelen shrugged, "But I'd be careful. Those idiots, Jonouchi Katsuya and Honda Hiroto will probably take it from you if you give them the chance."

"They're not THAT bad, Shelen!" Yugi defended, "Yeah they take my lunch money, my bag, and sometimes try to get me to hit them but they're just trying to get me to toughen up is all."

"They try to get you to fight?" Shelen looked at Yugi with a raised eyebrow. Yugi nodded.

"I am going to kill HIM." Shelen growled.

"Please don't!" Yugi giggled nervously.

...

After school Anzu, Shelen, and Yugi sat around Yugi's puzzle box. Anzu was actually rather impressed. After they had to leave, Yugi went on ahead and Shelen stayed behind. She stood by the entrance of the school with her hands in her pockets and leaning most of her weight on one foot. A frown was on her face. Suddenly a bigger person stood only feet away from her. She glanced at him and her frown turned to a form of a pout. She still looked bored and annoyed but her bottom lip was jutted out a bit.

"I didn't think you'd actually stay again." The other person said as he walked up to her, a smirk on his ugly face. Shelen glared at him.

"I'm not doing this for your entertainment, Ushio," She spat, "This is for Yugi."

"Right, right." Ushio waved a hand carelessly in dismission. He then grabbed her arm roughly, "Now, I ran into a kid earlier that bumped me and didn't appologize but a teacher was around so I need something to vent my anger out on."

"We had a deal, Ushio." Shelen reminded him, "Do whatever you want to me and you leave Yugi alone."

"Yeah, I know." Ushio grunted, "Now come on."

She followed him casually behind the school. Getting ready to feel a world of hurt.

...

When Shelen got home she limped up to her room, ignored her dad's worried look, and collapsed on her bed. She winced as one of her fresh bruises hit the soft mattress. She was lucky this time he didn't give her a broken rib.

"Man...The things I do for Yugi..." Shelen muttered. She then got up and walked to her desk. She needed to do some homework. She was about to start when the puzzle caught her eye. There were only a few pieces left maybe it wouldn't hurt to try to finish it before bed. She continued to place pieces into the puzzle. Piece by piece. Second by second. Getting closer to comleting her goal. But when she was to the last three pieces, she collapsed from exaustion and the pain in her head. Leaving the puzzle to lay there. Unfinished.

...

The next day Shelen woke up to someone tapping on her shoulder. She looked up to see a cute cherubic face with large amethyst eyes looking at her with a small smile. Shelen yelped and jumped up, only to hit her still bruised hip against the desk, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Shelen!" Yugi cried, "Are you alright?"

"Nng..Yeah...I'm fine." Shelen gave a weak smile. Yugi still looked concerned but dismissed that thought when she remembered why she was there.

"Shelen!" Yugi repeated then held up a complete puzzle tied to a sturdy chain, "I finished it!"

Shelen's eyes widened in amazment.

"You complete it?" She gaped.

"Yup." Yugi smiled proudly, "It took all night then this morning but I finished it!"

"That's awesome!" Shelen praised, "Say, why don't we go celebrate with Anzu!"

"And Jonouchi and Honda!" Yugi added. Shelen stopped smiling.

"What?" She looked at Yugi blankly.

"Jonouchi! He and I are friends now!"

"When?"

"After he helped me get away from Ushio. He stopped me from getting too far from home then was about to beat me up but Jonouchi saved me."

Shelen froze at this and stared at Yugi blankly. Hundreds of thoughts swirling through her head. She then sat back down and held her head in one hand on the desk.

"Yugi." Shelen was quiet.

"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked, getting worried.

"Go ahead and hang with your friends alone. I have...Things to do."

"O-Ok." Yugi nodded. She was still worried for her sister but didn't question further. Once Yugi was gone, Shelen stood and punched the wall closest to her, her bangs hiding her eyes from view. When they were revealed they burned with hatred and fury.

"That bastard." She growled, "We had a deal!"

She would make him pay for breaking his promise to her to leave Yugi alone. He would pay dearly! She grabbed the last three pieces to her puzzle and walked downstairs. She placed the pieces in as she went and got to the last piece. She stared at it. Remembering the real words on the Egyptian box. She grit her teeth and shoved the last piece in her pocket before going down the the cafe to releave her anger and think reasonably.

If it weren't for Jonouchi, Yugi would have been seriously hurt. She was saved and now had Jonouchi to help her. There was no reason to murder someone for not fullfilling the deed he claimed to do.

"Damn...I'm too kind hearted to carry out my threats..." she muttered. She then pulled out the last piece to her puzzle. The one with the Eye of Horus on it. She sighed and placed the piece in the puzzle. Suddenly it started to glow as well as the ruby on her choker necklase. A sort of beam of red light hit the eye coming from the ruby. Then the puzzle began to grow.

...

Yugi had gone with her friends to the arcade then 'Burger World' to get used to hanging out with people. She had been in the bathroom and had the puzzle she was using as a necklase sitting lamly on the counter as she washed her hands. Suddenly the pendant began to glow and so did her amethyst on her choker. A purple beam of light hit the eye on the puzzle coming from the amethyst itself. Then the puzzle began to grow.

Neither girl knew what they had just unleashed. They had solved the twin puzzles of the princes of Egypt. They had awakened the spirits of the puzzles. The Millenium Puzzles.

And so it begins. Yes, I have Shelen take a beating again in this story and I had to make what happens happen differently. We will learn more about the spirits in the next chapter.