Yu-Gi-Crow: The Remake
By GearsX
Disclaimer: The Crow is owned by James O'Barr. Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Shonen Jump.
Author's note: Welcome to part two of my dramasterpiece remake. In this chapter, our anti-hero begins his mission of vengeance on his killer but the question is, who killed him? Expect the manhunt to be filled with intense violence and raw gore. And I should warn you all about this chapter, it will contain use of drugs and alcohol. So if you are put off by this, I suggest you turn back right now. It's gonna be much darker from here on out. Let's begin the story.
Chapter 2:
Screaming for Vengeance
Three days had passed since Yugi's resurrection from the grave, and in that time, our immortal anti-hero had kick-started his campaign of violent retribution against crime. He went after the worst kind of street criminals: robbers, drug dealers, rapists, murderers, street gangs, biker gangs. He also went after boyfriends and husbands who abused their girlfriends and wives and even killed a few pedophiles. Yami Yugi would leave behind his calling card sort of speak for the police, an outline of a crow drawn in blood, which led the media to dub him "The Crow."
Due to the nature of his rampage on violent offenders, Yugi became something of a celebrity and very popular among the goth crowd. Many youths into the gothic lifestyle had painted their faces very similarly to Yugi's and worn t-shirts that bore his sketch. To the police, however, especially one Detective Michael Albrecht, The Crow was another street criminal, not a cult hero.
Yugi didn't really mind the media's little nickname for him. In fact, he liked it so much, he decided to use the name to strike fear into criminals. Fighting crime wasn't really enough for him though. Yami knew his killer was somewhere in Domino and he wouldn't rest in peace until the killer was punished. As he was about to leave to stalk the streets, a southern voice called to him, "Hello, my warrior."
"Huh?" Yugi gasped when he turned around to see a skeleton dressed in a black duster, black cowboy boots, and a black hat with a skull cane in his hand. "Who are you?"
"I forgot my real name a long time ago," the skeleton replied. "But you can call me anything you want."
"How about Skull Cowboy?" Yami Yugi quipped.
"Skull Cowboy? I kinda like it," Skull Cowboy remarked, the name apparently agreeing with him. "Skull Cowboy it is. Now, my young warrior, I came here to educate you about your new powers."
"I already know about my powers," Yami answered. "I can't be killed by anything, I can't feel pain, and I can sense people's most painful, violent memories by touching them. That it?"
"Yes but the bird also serves as a link between the material realm and the other side," Skull Cowboy added. "If anything were to happen to the crow, your powers will be gone."
"I will be careful," Yugi stated.
"I know you will," Skull Cowboy commented. "This bird is ancient. He was the pet of a powerful and benevolent pharaoh of Egypt thousands of years ago."
"What was this pharaoh's name?" Yugi asked.
"His name was Atem," Skull Cowboy answered. "That Millennium Puzzle around your neck once belonged to him too."
"What does this Atem have to do with me?" The Crow inquired.
"You will know in time," Skull Cowboy replied.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Yami Yugi asked.
"Your grandfather sent me here to watch over you," Skull Cowboy replied. "Make sure you don't get reckless."
"Reckless? What the hell are you talking about?" Yami Yugi asked.
"Allow me to show you," Skull Cowboy said, placing his cane against Yugi's forehead and created a quick flash of light.
"What did you do to me?" Yugi asked.
"Look at your reflection in the window," Skull Cowboy said.
Yugi stared into the window and noticed the make-up on his face was gone.
"The make-up . . . it's gone," Yugi said.
"No," Skull Cowboy corrected. "I simply cast a glamour on you, to allow you to walk among the living without drawing suspicion."
"Wow," Yugi uttered breathlessly.
"I will now take my leave," Skull Cowboy said as he placed his boney hands on Yugi's shoulders. "Remember, your grandfather and I will be watching over you and your friends. Good-bye and good luck."
Skull Cowboy transformed into a black mist then disappeared.
"Thank you . . . Grandfather," Yugi said tearfully and quietly. With that, Yami Yugi jumped out of the window of his room as the crow flew toward the twilight skies.
Duke Devlin had finished his shift as a convenience store clerk for the night. He had been working that dead-end job for about two years but for a time, Duke had dreams and ambition. He wanted to create a game that would rival Duel Monsters in terms of popularity, a game he called Dungeon Dice Monsters. Duke was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and Duel Monsters and thought it would be awesome to combine the two games into one. He spent almost a year of his life creating the game and submitting it to various companies that distributed dice and card games but he received rejection letters that said Dungeon Dice Monsters wouldn't sell in the game market.
As Duke was about to give up on his dream, he met Yugi and challenged him to Dungeon Dice Monsters. Yugi beat Duke at his own game, but he praised him for creating the next big game. Thanks to Yugi, Duke regained his confidence and was about to submit the game to Industrial Illusions, one of the biggest gaming distribution companies out there. But sadly, that happiness was short-lived.
When he got word of Yugi and Solomon's deaths, Duke became depressed. His creative drive was gone thanks to his friend's death. Because of the murders, Duke became an alcoholic and a drug addict. Every week for the past year, he spent his paycheck on booze and drugs. Yugi's friends tried to get him to rehab but he refused. They cut off contact from Duke but he didn't care.
Duke stopped at the package store and bought himself a party pack of Smirnoff then stopped at the corner to buy some heroin. He bought some baggies of the drugs and some syringes from two drug dealers and paid for them. Little did Duke knew, a crow was watching him from the telephone pole.
"Duke," Yugi murmured sorrowfully at what had become of his friend as the bird flew off.
Duke arrived at his home sometime later, placing his box of vodka on the table. He grabbed his zippo lighter and spoon from the kitchen, then sat down on the couch in the living room, poured the powerful drug into the spoon, and flicked open his zippo to light it. He cooked the heroin until it melted into a yellowish fluid. Duke set down his lighter and grabbed a syringe off the table to fill it with the cooked drug, stabbed the needle into the vein in his arm, and injected the heroin into his body.
"Oh, fuck yeah," Duke uttered in a stoned voice as he pulled the needle out of his arm. "I could use a drink."
Duke opened up the box and grabbed a bottle of Smirnoff. He cracked open the bottle and slugged the alcohol down his throat. Duke slammed the bottle on the table and was about to prep another round of heroin when he found the syringes and drugs missing.
"What the hell?" Duke exclaimed. "Where's my drugs?"
"You don't need them," a voice replied. "They're only bringing you down."
Through a drug-induced haze, Duke saw a figure holding his baggie of heroin and his syringes. "You better give me back my drugs or I'll hurt you."
"Try me," the figure replied, though Duke heard only a distorted voice that his drug-addled senses interpreted as a taunt.
Duke lunged at him but the mysterious stranger moved aside as Duke fell to the floor. "You retard, I paid good money for that dope."
"And it's killing you," the figure retorted. "Eating you alive from the inside out."
"Who the fuck are you?" Duke asked as he got up.
"Someone who remembers how much potential you still have," the figure replied.
It was then Duke realized who the dark stranger was. "Yugi? There's no way you're him. He's dead."
"Dead, yes. Still walking, though."
Duke was overwhelmed with shock. "Dude, it's nice see you again. I'm sorry but I'm feeling so wired right now."
"It's ok. I can take care of that."
Yami Yugi grabbed Duke's left arm and squeezed the heroin out of him. The heroin dripped onto the carpet as Duke said, "You're hurting me, man."
"Better than letting the drugs kill you slowly," Yugi whispered as the last few drops of heroin oozed onto the floor. "Tell me who sold the drugs to you."
"I don't know," Duke said. "My mind's kinda hazy."
"Allow me," Yugi said as he placed his hand on Duke's head.
Yugi felt a quick surge through his body. In the flashback, there were two drug dealers selling Duke the heroin. One was a green-haired kid wearing a green jacket with an insect on it, wore yellow insect themed glasses, black shorts, and green sneakers. The other dealer wore a green jacket over a tan shirt, khaki pants, and black shoes. Yugi shrugged off the flashback after removing his hand from Duke's head.
"I'm going to find those two dealers and punish them," The Crow growled murderously.
"You're going to kill them?" Duke asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," The Crow replied. "Either way, they've sold their last drugs."
Using his dark powers, Yami Yugi burned the baggie of heroin and syringes into pure ash and blew the ash away. "I know you're much better than being a drug addict and an alcoholic, Duke. Go back to achieving your dream of being a game maker. I know Dungeon Dice Monsters will be very popular, you'll see. See you around."
"Thanks, old friend," Duke said smiling as Yugi left.
In the back room of an abandoned Playstop store, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood were counting up all the money they had collected from all the drug sales of the day. They placed the cash into a sorting machine and wrapping them with paper bands.
"How much cash you have left, Weevil?" Rex asked.
"Just a couple of thousand bucks to go," Weevil replied.
"We bring the cash over to the boss," Rex said. "Afterwards, we hit the strip joints for some fun."
"I like the way you think," Weevil said. "The girls will be crawling all over us like flies on shit."
Suddenly, a crow flew into the room and landed on a chair. Weevil and Rex stared at the bird as it cawed to them.
"Why is there a bird here?" Weevil asked.
"Um . . . uh . . . I don't know," Rex responded.
"He's here because of me," Yami Yugi said coldly as he stepped out of the shadows.
"I heard of you," Rex said. "You're the psychopath wreaking havoc in the city."
"Psychopath? He looks like a reject from KISS," Weevil scoffed. "What's the matter, Gene Simmons didn't accept your invite?"
The Crow didn't respond.
"All joking aside, time to give you a buckshot enema," Rex said as he grabbed a sawed-off shotgun and aimed at Yugi. He fired the shotgun into Yugi's head, blowing a good chunk of his face off. The Crow collapsed to the ground while a pool of blood formed around his body.
"And stay down, asshole!" Weevil shouted.
But Yugi wasn't gonna stay down. His powers reassembled his skull back into one piece. The Crow got up with his eyes glowing blood red and the mark of the crow flashed on his forehead.
"What the fuck is he! A zombie!" Rex screamed in panic.
Yugi snickered. "Am I rotting? Do I hunger for your flesh?"
"Hit him again!" Weevil ordered.
Before Rex fired another shot, The Crow snagged the gun from Rex and smacked him in the gut with the gun's butt. He aimed the shotgun at the two dealers as he said, "All the money you collected represents all the lives you destroyed. Tell me who you work for and I'll spare your lives."
"W-we work for some dude named Seto Kaiba," Rex sputtered, pure terror of this black-clad demon in his voice.
"Seto?" The Crow repeated.
"Yeah, he was selling the drugs out in the streets," Weevil added.
"Did he commit any murders last year?" The Crow asked.
"He told us he killed a kid and his granddad sometime last year," Rex replied, desperate to say anything that could save his life. "But he didn't say who they were. We weren't even there at the time."
"Now you're gonna let us go?" Weevil asked with pathetic hopefulness in his voice.
"About that?" Yugi remarked, his eyes glowing blood red again. "I lied. Your deaths will be a message to the man who murdered my grandfather and me!"
"Shit!" Rex shouted.
The Crow placed the gun behind his belt and grabbed a handful of syringes from a box on the table. "Victims, aren't we all?"
He stabbed Weevil in the chest and stomach with the syringes as Rex ran for the door. But The Crow grabbed Rex Raptor as he growled, "Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
"Lemme go, you retard!" Rex shouted.
"No," The Crow said before snapping Rex's neck, killing him instantly.
Yami Yugi dropped Rex's carcass to the floor. He pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket and sliced his right index finger open. He traced his crow outline nears the bodies of Weevil and Rex before leaving the Playstop store with his bird following him close behind. Twenty minutes later, Michael and his team were at Playstop, investigating the crime scene. Technicians were transporting the bodies out of the store, taking pictures of the crime scene, and examining the evidence.
"That sumbitch," Det. Albrecht muttered viciously. "Swear to fuckin' god, that gothic bastard's gonna be the death of me."
"That Crow character struck again, Det. Albrecht?" an officer asked as he stood next to Det. Albrecht.
"Yeah, Sgt. Corvis," Michael replied. "We've been working ourselves ragged over this case."
"And we have yet to identify The Crow killer," Sgt. Corvis added.
"My father would've rode my ass about this if he hadn't retired last year," Det. Albrecht grumbled half-wistfully.
"Well, your father was kind of a hard-ass," Sgt. Corvis remarked.
"Yeah, I hope I don't pass it down to my kids," Det. Albrecht commented. "Who were the vics?"
"Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, sir," Sgt. Corvis replied. "They were known drug dealers. There was a warrant for their arrest for drug trafficking."
"They won't be headin' to the slam anytime soon since they are in body bags now," Michael said.
"Sooner or later, The Crow will be identified, sir," Sgt. Corvis said.
"When I found out who he really is, I'm taking him downtown," Michael said.
At a local nightclub, Seto Kaiba was watching the news about the Underwood/Raptor murders. He sucked down some whiskey as John Fletcher spoke about the death of Kaiba's two dealers.
"What a shame," Kaiba said to himself. "They were my two best dealers in this city."
Mokuba came into his brother's office. "Hey, big brother."
"Mokuba, what brings you here?" Kaiba asked.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing," Mokuba replied.
"Everything's fine, little brother," Kaiba said while smiling. "Just fine."
"You sure, big bro?" Mokuba asked. "Because you haven't been sleeping that well lately."
"You know how working late at a nightclub is," Kaiba replied.
"Uh-huh," Mokuba assented, though by his tone his older brother could tell that Mokuba didn't believe him quite as readily as he had when they were younger.
"Look, I want you to head on home to bed," Kaiba said. "I'll be there soon, all right?"
"Sure, Seto," Mokuba conceded. "Try to enjoy yourself, ok? Later." He turned around and left Kaiba's office in the nightclub.
But Seto wasn't enjoying himself. He was still haunted by the memories of the Mutos' deaths for the past year. Seto hadn't slept too well because of the nightmares he had about that tragic day. He even had a nightmare of seeing Yugi Muto staring at him in the darkness with a crow on his shoulder. An ominous warning perhaps? Seto knew The Crow was looking for him and hearing about the deaths of Rex and Weevil had him on edge.
Maybe I shouldn't have killed the old man and his grandson after all, Kaiba thought, a twinge of remorse infringing on his thoughts.
Oh, no. You were justified in killing that boy and his grandfather, a dark voice said to Kaiba.
"Who said that?" Kaiba asked.
Let me show myself, my friend, the voice replied.
A black-cloaked man appeared out of nowhere in Kaiba's office. When he pulled back his hood and revealed his face, the man appeared to be of African descent with jagged markings below his eyes and both sides of his mouth.
"Who are you?" Kaiba asked.
"My name is Judah Earl," the dark man replied. "I've come to help you with your crow problem."
"My crow problem?" Kaiba repeated. "How do you know about that?"
"I've been watching you for some time," Judah replied. "Your two best dealers have been killed and you've spent the last year in a daze of paranoia, scared someone's gonna figure out what you did and punch your ticket. It's why you've been putting so much away, you want your little brother, the only source of light left in your life, to have a life after that dark avenger out there does you in."
"What did I do to him?" Kaiba exploded, the year's worth of repressed guilt and paranoia finally getting the better of him.
"You killed him and his grandfather over a lousy card," Judah replied stoically.
"How's that possible?" Kaiba asked, realizing from Judah's statement just who The Crow really was. "People don't come back from the dead! This is reality!"
"You're not familiar with the legend of the crow," Judah said. "It was said when a man dies a violent death, his tormented soul can't enter the afterlife. The soul is returned here to earth to resolve his torment, often in the form of a most bloody vengeance upon those responsible for his death."
"Vengeance . . . you mean Yugi Muto is back from the dead . . . and he's coming for me," Kaiba concluded, more stoically this time.
"Yes, but I'm giving you an opportunity to end his campaign of revenge," Judah offered. "Give you the power to destroy The Crow himself."
"If it keeps him from killing me . . . fine, do it," Kaiba growled.
"Very well," Judah responded. He walked toward Kaiba, placed his hands on Kaiba's head, and transferred a portion of his power into him. Judah pulled his hands back after the transference was done. "Now you have the power to destroy The Crow."
"When do I get to kill him again?" Seto asked, his veins pulsing with evil power, visible as hellish cords of dark red light shining on his skin.
"When you and he have your final confrontation," Judah replied. "To get him, you must attack his friends, especially the woman he loves."
"With pleasure," Kaiba sneered darkly.
At home, Tea watched the news about the deaths of Weevil and Rex on her television set, the news anchor John Fletcher describing how the events unfolded.
"Earlier tonight, The Crow murdered two drug dealers," John said. "Seventeen-year-old Weevil Underwood and eighteen-year-old Rex Raptor were found dead at the backroom of a closed Playstop game store. The two dealers were wanted for drug trafficking in Domino and questioning for the murders of Yugi Muto and his grandfather, Solomon Muto. The vigilante murderer left behind his calling card at the scene. This latest death might be tied to the string of violent murders over the last three days, including the deaths of rapists Richard Vetch and Maurice Myers. Now the DCPD is issuing a $200,000 reward for any information leading to The Crow's capture."
Tea shut off the TV, unable to take any more, when she heard a knock on the door. She went to the door and opened it to see Tristan standing in front of her.
"Hey, Tristan," Tea greeted her friend. "What brings you here?"
"Had to talk to you," Tristan replied. "Mind if I come in?"
"Sure," Tea answered as Tristan walked into the house.
"Have you been following the news as of late?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, I have," Tea admitted.
"I think you should know something," Tristan said, sounding as though he was steeling himself to say something he feared would not go over that well with his friend.
"I already know what you're going to say," Tea replied, taking it out of his hands. "About Yugi."
"You do?" Tristan wondered.
"Yes. I know it was him," Tea confessed. "He was the one who saved me from those two men who tried to rape me."
"I heard about that," Tristan responded. "He killed them."
"When I saw him, he looked so sad," Tea continued. "He ran away from me before I could thank him."
"The media is making him look like a monster," Tristan said. "He's practically doing the entire city a favor by killing those scumbags and this is the thanks he gets."
"I know he's not a monster!" Tea exclaimed. "Yugi was a sweet and kind boy. The media has no right to demonize him like this!"
"It seems you care about him . . . a lot," Tristan said before he came to an epiphany. "Tea, were you in love with him when he was alive?"
Tea blushed upon hearing the question. "Well, I . . ."
"I think you were," Tristan deduced. "Remember when you and Yugi went to the school dance and you didn't have the guts to tell him how you feel?"
"Yes, I do remember," Tea replied. "I wanted to tell Yugi how much I loved him but I was too afraid that he wouldn't feel the same."
"Perhaps this is your last chance to tell him how you feel," Tristan mused aloud. "If Yugi ever comes to you again, tell him how much you love him."
"I will," Tea decided. "Thank you, Tristan."
"No problem," Tristan said, smiling. "Look, I'm gonna fly. I'll see ya later, Tea."
Tristan walked out the door, hopped on his bike, and drove on home. Tea watched Tristan drive off as a crow landed on a tree branch in the yard. She stared at the bird as it stared right back at her. Using the crow's vision, Yugi looked at Tea from the roof of another house.
"Oh, Tea . . ." Yugi murmured sadly.
The Crow yearned to be with Tea and his friends but he didn't want to put them in the path of danger. It was then Skull Cowboy appeared. "I see you care for that girl," the skeletal watcher remarked.
"Skull Cowboy," Yugi greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Kaiba is aware of you now," Skull Cowboy replied.
"But how?" The Crow asked.
"An evil sorcerer named Judah Earl has appeared," Skull Cowboy said.
"I never heard of him," The Crow protested.
"But he does know you," Skull Cowboy continued. "For the sake of your friends, you mustn't expose your identity to them. Remain in the shadows at all costs."
"I cannot be The Crow all the time," Yugi objected. "I want to see them again."
"You won't and you can't," Skull Cowboy ordered. "A man named Eric Draven nearly failed his mission because he gave in to his loneliness. It's for your own good and theirs, Yugi."
"I'll play it your way for now," Yugi conceded. "But I will not stop protecting them, and I will find a way to make it so I can be with them one last time." With that, The Crow jumped from the rooftop and disappeared into the night.
The wind whipped at Skull Cowboy's coat as he looked out into the night sky. "Foolish boy. He has no idea what he's up against."
To Be Continued . . .
End note: Chapter 2 is now finished. A new villain has entered the game and he has some big plans for our undead anti-hero. Judah Earl was the main villain from The Crow: City of Angels. In that movie, he was a drug lord responsible for the death of a mechanic and his son but in this story, he's an evil sorcerer hell bent on destroying The Crow, and he has teamed up with Seto Kaiba to make that happen. What is Judah's connection with Yami Yugi? Well, that answer will come in the near future. In the next chapter, The Crow reunites with his friends and a romance between him and Tea begins. It will be a little break from the ultraviolence and raw gore. Until next time, enjoy the second chapter of my dramasterpiece remake and have a Happy Thanksgiving.