chapter2

As the sun rose over the Kame Game Shop, Yugi Moto couldn't help but stifle a yawn. Normally he could sleep in on a Saturday, but his grandpa really needed his help today, so he seriously needed to be on the ball.

.:. Tell me to get up, .:. he said to his other self. .:. I need you to motivate me! .:.

.:. How do I do that? .:. came the reply.

.:. I don't know.:. the boy's tri-coloured hair disappeared beneath the covers. .'re were a pharaoh, right? You must have your ways.:.

.:. I doubt I had to motivate anyone when I was pharaoh,.:. mused the spirit of the millennium Puzzle. .:. I am fairly confident they would have had to be motivated for their own survival. .:.

Yugi squinted his eyes closed tighter. .:. Not helping! .:.

A sigh. Then, .:. Get up, Yugi. .:.

Yugi laughed to himself, before pushing the sheets back and swinging his slender legs over the side of his bed. Figuring a shower would help wake him up, he shuffled into the bathroom and took a few minutes of relaxation as the hot water gave him renewed energy. After slipping into some jeans, a black button down shirt and tugging his millennium Puzzle over his head, he did his usual morning routine and went down to help his grandpa open the shop and set up some new displays.

"I'll have to go out soon and pick up some new deliveries for the new Dungeon Dice range," his grandpa said, setting out various reselected decks.

Yugi nodded, flicking through a game magazine. "No problem, grandpa. I can handle things here."

The shop remained quiet for a while, before the pace picked up not long after grandpa left. A lot of kids came in to gawk at the King of Games, and a couple of girls even asked him for his autograph, to which he stuttered in agreement before blushing to the roots of his hair.

At 1pm the crowd began to dwindle, and so he served the last of them before putting a "Back in 15" sign on the door, and went and made himself some lunch. He ate silently, wondering what his friends were up to. The Pharaoh had been relatively quiet, and Yugi concluded that he was probably searching the labyrinth that lay within the puzzle for answers of his past.

He was just about to reopen, when he came back to the front of the shop, only to discover that a customer had somehow managed to get in.

"Excuse me, Sir," Yugi said calmly. "How did you get in here?"

The figure ignored him, and continued to browse through a section of semi-rare cards.

"Excuse me, Sir," Yugi repeated, only this time louder. "I asked how-"

"I heard you the first time," the stranger said rudely, his voice a deep, guttural growl. He sneered, "So, you're the King of Games? You look taller on TV."

Finally he turned around, though Yugi wished he hadn't. On either side of his face, were three deep scars, his forehead jutted out while the rest of his face was sunken into his skull. His eyes were small and grey without the slightest hint of warmth, and where his lips should be were nothing but hollow recesses, revealing swollen purple gums. He was a tall man, perhaps even 7' and he wore a black frayed woolen jacket, and white wife beater over tan slacks. He also wore a duel disk on his arm. It was impossible to tell his age.

Yugi felt his other self tugging at the edge of his consciousness..:. Yugi, I sense a malevolent spirit resides within this man. Let me take over from here . these words, Yugi felt himself retreat into the millennium puzzle, like someone taking a back seat view of things, as the Pharaoh took the reins. His appearance changed subtly as his hair slicked slightly back and his blonde bangs grew in length. He appeared taller too. Though outwards he projected very little change, within, changes like these moved mountains. "Is this better?" Yami Yugi asked the unknown man. The man gave a grunt. "Still short. I hope your deck is taller than you.""Am I to presume you wish to duel?"

"Presume away, and the name's Talos by the way."Talos paced back and forward, his eyes never leaving the Pharaoh's frame.

"What is it you want?""Honestly I want all of civilization to burn, but for right now, your death will do just fine. So I propose a duel. Just you and me. One hour from now. That'll give you enough time to round up your little cheerleaders.""I don't need my friends to take you down!"Talos smirked, and laid a DM card face down on the counter.

"The directions are on here. Follow them to your burial site. Remember, one hour."With that he pulled the hood of his jacket down over his head and strode out the door, shouldering Yugi's grandpa on the way out without so much as an apology. Grandpa looked between the retreating back of Talos and his grandson. "Who was that, Yugi?"Yami Yugi shrugged, and silently moved to the counter, slipping the card into his pocket. He quickly seized his duel disk and deck and strode for the door."I have to go now," he murmured, and made his way out of his grandfather's shop. His grandfather's stared after his grandson, taking note of which direction he went in, before muttering to himself, "Well that was strange," his hand already reaching for the phone.

Yami Yugi fixed his duel disk over his wrist and slotted his deck into place before glancing over the DM card. He noted the written directions would lead him to a secluded batch of old abandoned warehouses, and his back went rigid with the thought..:. There's every chance that this could go bad, .:. Yami warned his counterpart..:. Yeah, .:. Yugi heeded, and Yami noticed a worried tone to his voice, before he added honestly .:. I'm not liking the way this is going either. .:. It took perhaps forty-five minutes for the Pharaoh to reach his destination. Rather than risk the chance of coming face to face with one of his friends, he had deliberately taken alternate routes that would take him around several places that the gang regularly frequented. With every step closer, dread had settled deeper into the pit of his stomach. He was sure Talos meant serious business. Each scar, each gaping hole that had stared back at him in his grandfather's shop had been a testimony of just how far such a man was willing to go. He couldn't once again put his friends in danger. Especially around such a maniac as this.

The streets surrounding the warehouses were deserted, and each of the Pharaoh's footsteps perforated the eerie silence that had settled over the grounds. Should he call out? he wondered. Surely his position had been compromised from the very first step he had taken into this hell. He decided to risk it."Talos?" Yami's deep voice echoed back at him, and his brow furrowed. He advanced further into the pits of hell, pushing his way through one of the desecrated building doors. Layers of dust and grime from years of neglect lined the walls, and the strong pungent odour of rodent urine and faeces mixed with stagnant water hit him so strongly that he found himself doubling over from an aggravated gag reflex. He might be a pharaoh, but he was still human!As he stood there, his free hand clasped over his mouth as he struggled to breathe, and his eyes burning from the stench, a lone figure stalked out from behind an office separator.

"You're early," it Yami managed to find his voice, despite the persisting urge to vomit up Yugi's lunch. "I can't duel in such conditions," he said honestly. Talos' menacing laugh shot back at him. "The King of Games has a problem with a bit of mess? Guess the Pharaoh isn't used to the squalor most of his peasants were subjected to when he reigned."Yami gritted his teeth at the word "pharaoh". So this man knew his true identity, did he?"Tell me," the scarred man mused. "what's it like living the high life? Never having to lift a finger to get that what you want. 'Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you'. A whole verse dedicated to men like you. Men who ignore their countries' cries. Men who only take, never to give in return. Men like you.""It wasn't like that..." Yami found he was trying to convince himself, more than the menace before him. "No?" Talos taunted. "Oh, that's right. You can't remember. All those lives that you destroyed and you can't even remember one of them. How... sad."Yami felt his anger rise, as the noxious gases that surrounded him clouded his judgement. "Say what you will, Talos," he spat vehemently. "You asked me here to duel, so let's get on with it! Let's duel!"

With that the air changed as the two men glared at one another, their movements mimicking each other as they slid their duel disks into place and two holographic emitters sprung free. Their life points climbed to 4000 a piece, and they each drew 5 cards. "Your move, Pharaoh," Talos a slender finger over the Duel Monster design, Yami pulled the first card from the top of his deck. As he looked at the card, he was surprised to see the familiar emerald gaze of his newly acquired "Shapeshifter". So surprised in fact that a gasp leapt from his lips. Talos grinned manically at the sound. "Problems in paradise already?" Looking over the rest of his cards, Yami felt it difficult to ignore the other man's mocking tone. On his first draw he had managed to pull 3 trap cards, and 2 magic cards. The Shapeshifter was currently his only monster. As far as he could remember, that had never happened to him before. But he had faith in the heart of the cards, and so he laid the Shapeshifter down in defense, and set the trap cards "Spellbinding Circle", "Shift" and "Soul Shield". With that, he ended his knew that Talos would show him no mercy in this duel, and he was quite right. As soon as he slapped down a magic card called Novox's Prayer, performing a rite to summon Skull Guardian (2050/2500) to the field, Yami knew he would have no choice but to defend this turn. Talos quickly gave the order for his monster to attack the enemy's face-down card, which caused The Shapeshifter to be revealed on the Pharaoh's side. Her long dark locks spiraled down her back, her hands and feet bound into place by shackles of the same unknown text characters as on her card. Unable to move, all she could do was keep her determined emerald gaze on the fast approaching onslaught of foe Skull Guardian. But Yami was not ready to give up his monster yet. He would need her if he wanted to summon a stronger monster next turn. Using his quick thinking wit, the Pharaoh quickly enforced the use of the Spellbinding Circle, rendering Talos' monster useless and saving his own. "Lucky," Talos muttered, before slapping two cards down and ending his turn.

Yami knew that this was a duel that would push his belief in the heart of the cards to the limit. As he gripped the next card in his deck, his eyelids fluttered closed. .:. Heart of the cards, hear me now... .:. came his whispered prayer. .:. Help me to defeat the darkness in this man's heart and restore the light! . his hand came away with his prized Summoned Skull, a smile graced the Pharaoh's lips. He'd done it! All he had to do now was sacrifice The Shapeshifter, and he'd have a monster on the field strong enough to contend with Talos' Skull Guardian. His faith had saved him once again. But as his hand slid over the Shapeshifter's card, a voice within him protested. .:. Protect her, .:. it said..:. I can't risk losing this duel, .:. he fought back. .:. Just a few more turns. You won't lose. .:. Whoever this voice belonged to, it wasn't him..:. Yugi? .:. the Pharaoh queried hopefully, afraid that he might be losing his mind..:. It's not me... .:. came his kindred spirit's reply. .:. But I hear it too. Maybe you should do what it asks.:..:. NO! .:. Yami begrudged hand shook as he tried to tear the card off the disk by its edges. Realising that he couldn't do it, he clenched his fist before ending his turn. Catching the odd display, Talos shook his head gravely. "You're losing it, Pharaoh... Going mad from all the countless lives you've ruined!"Fuming, Talos drew from his deck before revealing a Beastly Mirror Ritual card that he had placed face down on the field on his last turn. This card caused Fiend's Mirror (2100/1800) to be summoned next to his Skull Guardian. Yami felt for sure that summoning ritual monsters was a huge part of Talos' dueling strategy. But as Fiend's Mirror concentrated its attack on The Shapeshifter, all Yami's focus went to revealing his next trap card, Soul Shield. Though it stopped the creature in its tracks, it came with a hefty penalty of half of the user's life points. Watching as his life points hit 2000, Yami gritted his teeth. If only he had sacrificed The Shapeshifter, he could have been watching Summoned Skull mopping the floor with these two monsters right now.

Talos' folded his arms in front of his chest, as his gaping orifice of a mouth opened with mechanical laughter. He was really enjoying this! "This is your best? Had I know it was going to be like this, I wouldn't have spent all this time stacking my deck with high powered monsters. I could've stacked it with Kuribohs and watched you finish yourself off for me!"Normally he would have given a speech about how not to judge a monster by the number in the attack slot, but with the suffocating mephitis that was depriving him of clean oxygen and the strange voice that kept him from listening to his voice of reason that told him he would lose the duel if he didn't sacrifice the one creature he had on the field, he really wasn't in the mood for speeches. Drawing his next card from his deck revealed his most favoured ally: the Dark Magician. But it needed two sacrifices and he only had one on the field, and then he couldn't even sacrifice her! His two magic cards were equip cards for dragon and spellcaster types and seeing as the Shapeshifter was a Dark Warrior, the cards were completely useless. .:. I should sacrifice the Shapeshifter now... .:. Yami reasoned with both the voice and Yugi. .:. She'll be defeated next turn anyway. At least if I sacrifice her now, her efforts will not be in vain. voice was silent for a moment. .:. One more turn. .:. came its quiet yet unwavering sighed softly. "I end my turn."Here it comes, Yami thought to himself. Talos seemed to know the end was at hand too. He didn't bother drawing a card, but instead sent his Fiend's Mirror into the fray, blasting a cosmic ray from the mirror's centre. A blinding light engulfed Yami's side of the field as the attack hit its mark, causing both duelists to shield their eyes. Blinking back the spots that lined his vision, Yami's heart thudded in his taut chest as he looked back in the field, certain to find absolute devastation. Instead he found the Shapeshifter, standing tall and looking at her foes menacingly. His eyes fell on her attack, and he stumbled a bit as he read the numbers. Her attack now stood at a whopping 4150, while her defense was a rock solid 4500. Looking over at Talos' monster gave another shock to Yami's heart. Both of his monsters had had both their attack and defense reduced to zero. One attack now, and he could finish his opponent off. And that's exactly what he would do.

"Shapeshifter, attack Fiend's Mirror and end this duel!" Yami screamed, his lungs burning from his need to breathe fresh air. The Shapeshifter sprinted over to the selected foe, and slammed her fist into Fiend's Mirror, causing it to shatter into a million tiny shards, taking with it every last life point that Talos had. As the duel came to a close, Talos uttered a few begrudging words, before slumping face first into the stench ridden floor.

Yami would have liked to revel in the fact that he had just won a duel by the skin of his teeth, but at that exact moment three figures came tearing through the entrance, grabbing hold of him and steering him away from the derelict scene and into the sunny morning air. One of the three pressed a bottle of water into his hand -though he couldn't tell who it was- and he gulped it down. He was bone tired, but on the whole he was pretty happy. Just being able to breathe in actual oxygen was enough to make him smile. Turning his attention to the three people who had dragged him out, he wasn't surprised to find his friends Joey, Tea and Tristan all looking at him worriedly. "How did you know I was here?" he queried, knowing they couldn't have found him without the directions that were still in his pant's pocket."Ya kiddin'?" Joey laughed, slapping him playfully on the back. "Gramps rang me the moment ya'd gone. An' den I rang the gang. We've been followin' ya since ya took da long way 'round Domino Pier. Course we lost ya for a few blocks dere.""You really had us scared," Tea chimed in."Yeah, dude." Tristan grinned. "Next time you're gonna fight So-Chunky-You-Can-Carve-It, you'd better tell us."A deep laugh sounded in the Pharaoh's throat. "I don't think we have to worry about a next time," he said, looking from one friend to the next. But as his gaze lingered on each friend, he couldn't help but notice that not one of them looked at him. In fact all their attention was glued to the door behind him. The door they'd all just exited through. As the spiky youth's head slowly turned around expecting to come face to face with the shrunken skull of Talos, a startled sound passed between them all. "Oh man!!!" Tristan began, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull."What is dis?!" Joey added, pointing a stray finger at the enigma."Don't come any closer!!!" Tea finished, using the boys as a human shield to hide behind..:. Yami? .:. Yugi murmured, his voice cracking as fear set in. .:. Why is the Shapeshifter standing in that doorway, when the duel ended five minutes ago? .'s eyes flickered over his duel disk to scan the remnant of the card the once contained the Shapeshifter. Instead he came face to face with a blank background. It was true. The Shapeshifter had left the confines of her card, and was now walking around like she was flesh and a swift movement, she seized her card from Yami's duel disks and without a second thought tore it in half, causing everyone's mouth to fall agape. "Never again," she muttered to the wind.

She looked at the group, then turned around and was about to leave but Tea gathered up enough courage to step out and take a hold of the person's hand. Shocked, the now human girl stopped in her tracks and looked at Tea.

"I'm Tea and this is Yugi, Tristan and Joey. And may I ask where would you be going exactly?" Tea asked.

The person looked down to the ground and sighed.

"I am not sure" came her answer.

"Why don't you stay with one of us?" Tristan asked looking at her.

"I-I am not sure if I sh-"The girl answered looking unsure of her self but Tea cut her off.

"Come on you haven't got nowhere to go and this place can be very dangerous" She said.

The Shapeshifter looked at the group, taken aback by these people being so nice to her.

. what's wrong with her? She looks like she's going to cry.:. Yugi asked.

Yami looked at her, her eyes were shining like she was going to cry.

"Why are you all being so as you put it… Nice to me?" She asked sounding like a confused child.

Joey came closer to her and smiled gently at her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Coz ya new and ya don't know dis place. Why?" He replied looking her in the eye.

"Because no one in the spirit world was" She answered as she allowed tears to fall down her cheeks. Then she patted her cheeks gently and looked at her now wet hand.

"My face is leaking" She said then looked at Joey. "Why is that?" She asked.

Joey took her hand into his free hand and smiled at her as she looked at him.

"Ya face isn't leaking, ya crying" He said.

She looked at him in confusion. "Crying? What's crying?" She asked.

"Ya do it when ya sad. It tells people around ya dat ya sad" Joey explained.

She looked at him and tilted her head to one side deep in thought. Then she shook her head. "This is…is…how do you put it-"

"confusing" Yami finished her off. "Yes that's it" She said.

Joey laughed and nodded. "Ya will get used to it" He said. This made her smile and say. "I guess I will"

They laughed a bit. "So where do you want to stay?" Tristan asked.

"I-I'm not sure" She answered. "You can stay with me. Come on I'll show you there" Tristan declared happily. "Nu-huh, she should stay with Tea since she's a girl. Right Tea?" Joey stated looking at a now happy Tea.

Tea nodded. "Right come let's get go everyone!" Tea said steering the other four out of the place and towards the Kame Game Shop.

When they got there, Tea, Yugi and Tristan all entered. Joey was about to but he noticed the Shapeshifter looking at the ground felling extremely uncertain. Joey lifted her chin up and their eyes locked on each others. "C'mon it's gunna be alright ya know" He said taking her hand back into his. She began feeling strange, her heart was beating very quickly and her knees felt like jelly. They entered the shop and walked over to the others at the till.

"Why hello there who are you young lady?" Yugi's grandpa asked. The five youths were silent thinking about what to say.

"She's my sister Vikki. Vikki say hi to Yugi's grandpa" Tristan said quickly.

The Shapeshifter, now named Vikki waved shyly before hiding behind Joey, making him chuckle and took her to the other end of the shop to talk to her. Tristan laughed. "Sorry about that Vikki's can be a bit shy when she meets people" He said rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's fine Tristan. I know how she feels. I used to be the same" Yugi's grandpa said laughing slightly.

They all looked back at Joey and Vikki, who were still talking.

. Joey's calming her down. She seemed a bit nervous about what was going on earlier don't you think.:. Yugi said.

. she did seem to be a bit nervous but Joey's has calmed her down quite a lot.:. Came Yami's conclusion.

The 2 came back and Vikki looked more calm and happy than before.

"Dere she cool now aren't ya Vikki?" Joey said looking at the brown hair girl next to him.

"Yeah that's right" She answered with a smile.

The six of them began talking before Tea that Vikki staying with her for a few nights and they left