Chapter 2

During the whole drive back to Minerva's house, Yugi couldn't stop thinking about the dream he had back at the hospital, "Who was that man? And what did he mean about 'being betrayed by the friend that I value the most'? Could he mean... No! He couldn't have! Impossible!"

"We're here!" Minerva's voice chimed in. Yugi looked out the window at his new home as they pulled into the driveway. It was a nice-looking, white house that appeared to be able to house a lot of people. As he walked through the front door, he heard the familiar laughter of his long time friend.

"Anzu!" he exclaimed as he ran through the door. He saw his friend chatting with a tall, thin guy with dark blue shoulder-length hair and purple eyes, and was wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and blue tennis shoes.

"Hey, Yugi! Long time no see!" Anzu greeted him with, "Didn't think I'd see you here!" She turned towards the dude that she was previously talking to. "Hey, Jake! Come meet a friend of mine!"

The man walked over towards Yugi, "Oh, your name's Yugi? Nice to meet you. Jake T. Madigan's the name!" he turned towards Anzu and said to her, "He's cute, is this a kid you babysit or something?"

"I'm 17 years old, goddamn it!" Yugi shouted, voice searing with anger. "How rude! Treating me like I'm some sort of retarded child!"

"Really?" Jake responded, "Because my brother's 10 and you look to be about the same age as him..."

Suddenly, three more familiar voices came into earshot. "Hey, little buddy! Didn't think we'd see you here!" Yugi turned to see his three other closest friends.

"Jonouchi! Honda! Ryou!" he exclaimed, running towards them and greeting Jonouchi with a hug.

Then two more people walked into the room. One was a young boy who stood at about the same four-and-a-half foot height as Yugi, with neck-length lavender hair and orange eyes, and was wearing a long-sleeved dark gray shirt and blue jeans. The other was a short (but not as short as him), thin woman with reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing a purple top and a denim skirt.

Minerva turned to Yugi and said, "Let me introduce you to my very best friend," gesturing towards the woman, "Yugi, this is Hestia."

The lavender-haired boy turned to Yugi and said, "Hey, Yugi. I'm Cole. I see you've met my older brother Jake." Then he glanced down at Yugi's Puzzle, somehow seeming to know that it was magic. "Can you show me the magic of that pendant? I can sense a strange energy from it."

"Oh, yeah," Minerva brought up, "I've been wondering what was so magical about that thing!"

"Okay, I'll show you." Yugi turned his mind into his Puzzle, "Let me introduce you to my new friends."

The Puzzle started glowing. The light continued to grow until it had completely consumed him. As the light faded, it became clear that a new person had appeared in Yugi's place, about a foot taller, very similar, yet different. Almost like it was an adult version of Yugi.

"Hello," said the man. He spoke with a deep, commanding, much more masculine-sounding voice, compared to Yugi's childish, high-pitched, feminine-sounding voice.

"Yugi..." said Minerva nervously. "Is that you?"

The man said in reply, "No, I'm not Yugi. I'm the spirit that lives inside the puzzle that he wears around his neck, I just use his body to function in the physical world."

"Then, who are you? What is your name?" Hestia chimed in.

"I don't have a true name per se," the man replied. "Just call me Yami."

"Okay then..." Minerva responded apprehensively. "Does this man really protect Yugi? I sense an evil power within him. I shouldn't just trust him just because Yugi does. Something just doesn't seem right..."

After showing Yugi to his room, Minerva sat in her room, contemplating her situation. She needed to talk to spirit guide Sapphyra about this.

"I need to talk to you, Sapphyra..." she mentally called out to her guide. The ghost of a woman with long white hair, sapphire-blue eyes, a kind face, and wearing a long, midnight-blue robe appeared before her.

"What do you need to talk about?" said Sapphyra.

"I've got a bad feeling about Yugi..."

"Why? He seems to have a pure heart."

"I mean the other one, the one who lives in the Puzzle. The one who calls himself 'Yami'."

"Oh, I see. Your completely right. He evil. He's got a history of it."

"What do you mean, a 'history'?"

"Let me tell you something that he doesn't want anyone – especially Yugi – to know."

"Okay."

"About 100 years ago, his soul had been sealed inside the Puzzle when his body was killed. He had been accused of the murders of several young boys before his death, but being in the Puzzle didn't put a stop to his murder spree. He uses his hosts' bodies to kill other children, before eventually murdering the hosts themselves." Sapphyra declared.

"That's odd," Minerva replied, "Yugi said that Yami protects him. Why would he protect him if he planned on killing him?"

"That's all part of the manipulation." Sapphyra stated "He pretends to be their friend, gains their trust, before ultimately leading them to their deaths. Gaining power through any means necessary is all a game to him."

"Gaining power? How does he accomplish that?"

"He basically functions like a spiritual vampire towards his victims. He drains them of their spiritual lifeblood – their prana – before killing them violently. He gains magical power from it. His out-of-body victims he drains of prana instantly, but his hosts, he drains gradually, making them physically ill."

"So he's a psychic vampire?"

"Not exactly. A vampire requires blood or prana for sustenance, whereas he consumes it simply to gain power. He is a demon"

A knock at the door.

"I'll be right there," responded Minerva. Perhaps it was Yugi at the door. Maybe she could explain everything to him and possibly convince him to give up the Puzzle.

She opened the door and froze. It was the man he had just discovered the true evil of. It was none other than Yami.

"Whataya want?!" Minerva said sternly.

"Can't I just stop by to say hello?" he snorted, "I get the feeling that you don't trust me."

"Really? Because I don't! Now fuck off!"

As she was closing the door, something suddenly stopped it before she could latch it. She took a closer look. He was holding it open with a knife! She froze in her tracks as he walked into the room holding the knife.

"That's unfortunate. I really wish that you did..."

As he came closer to her, she mustered up some courage and piped up, "I know your history! I know how truly deplorable you really are! And I won't let you get away with it!"

"Let's just see you try!" he retorted, "I've been getting away with my whole life and afterlife! What makes you think that you can stop me?!" He set down the knife on her dresser. "I dare you to try and fail to save little Yugi!" he said as walked out of the room.