Yu-Gi-Oh - Vampire Empire

Normal lives in Domino City were shattered when the arrival of beings from another world arrived. Amongst the few survivors, Yugi Muto and his companions must fight back the threat and protect their true target. Rated for language, violence and character death.


Chapter Two - Shrouded in Mute

Amongst the thousands of residents strolling along the streets of Domino City, the Pharaoh formerly hiding from society inside the walls and mazes of the Millennium Puzzle - Atem, commonly nicknamed "Yami" by his friends from the role as Yugi's dark side and guardian that they continued to cling to - strode in the direction of the station close to the city's core. Unlike the average day helping with whatever chores he could find at the new place of his residence, he had been assigned a mission. A childhood friend of Yugi's was returning to Domino, a girl who had travelled across Japan and back, the girl he used to call his sister; Yugi's grandfather had offered her a home in the Kame Game Shop until such a time when she would move on again. His mission was simple: meet her at the station and escort her back before Yugi learned she had arrived. And so, the Pharaoh found himself travelling to the station.

In his silence on the matter, he envied her ability to travel so much, especially across a plain like Japan. Since his awakening in the modern world, he had remained in the smallest of objects; the Puzzle. Even since his release, he had remained a practical nobody in the city of his dwelling; there was so much to this world he had been reborn in that he still didn't understand; devices he had yet to learn of, sites he had yet to see. It was as though time was passing him by again; albeit it wasn't the eternity he had spent inside the item resting after the ferocious clash in his native Egypt, but it still felt a terrible waste of time. The chance of Yugi travelling with his status as worldwide champion of Duel Monsters held a door open; they could observe the world from both around and above, just as they had during Battle City.

The memory of Battle City reminded him of the girl in question; she hadn't seen Yugi since shortly before the tournament. He was a champion across the globe, he had no idea what she was thinking and feeling about him; her childhood friend, an international celebrity in the world of games.

The sun shining over the city began to warm his back, his shadow stretched before him in the street of little activity, the new morning passing over. He was simply a humble earthly being standing on the surface of the planet, just like everyone else. After three thousands years, he was finally a simply human that could blend in, he didn't have to pass through the open door of the Puzzle, he didn't have to hide behind Yugi in society. He could be himself and no-one else. That was exactly his point before passing through those doors. To that place…

The low roaring of the engine hidden beneath the bonnet of a vehicle nearby interrupted the journey through his mind to the past. His head snapped upwards to find himself close to his destination. Time was reading almost nine, the train was due shortly. His eyes darted from spot to spot, searching for the clue to lead him through the last leg of his travels to the station. Within the first minute, he had found what he had been searching for, making his way down the path to the destination; his pace quickened in the shadowed streets beneath the towering buildings, the occasional skyscraper; all rivals defeated by the KaibaCorp headquarters.

The low structure that was the station appeared on the opposite side, a clearing lined with the same buildings as those behind and beyond. Few individuals were departing from the site, even fewer entering. Convinced that he hadn't arrived late, Yami paced towards the structure, finding himself on a platform within a few short moments. Across the length of the platform, a handful of individuals stood, eagerly awaiting their reunions with those they waited for, it felt as though he was meeting this girl for the first time despite having seen her through Yugi's eyes once before. He felt completely new to the sensation of waiting for the arrival, he couldn't feel the same sensations as those around him, those that were familiar with those that were destined to return to them.

He still stood out. He still hadn't completely blended into the world after all.

A rumbling sounded off the metal tracks laid in the decline off the edge of the platform, catching Yami's attention. He gazed down the direction of the track in which heads turned; what reminded him of a metal snake severed into pieces and placed back in the order of its body could be seen slivering down the tracks, rumbling like a runner about to pass a baton to a team mate awaiting its arrival at the station. The metallic snake grew in size, the distance between the station and it shrank. Entering the area, the wheels began to slow; a screeching from the struggle against the tracks tainted the air. It ended.

The doors holding the passengers inside like captives opened up, allowing them to spill onto the platform, others exchanging their places, entering the carriages for a new destination. Yami's head turned from doorway to doorway, unable to identify the girl he was waiting for, his memory of the meeting slightly hazy, it didn't help. Couples left, groups left. The platform was emptying and he was running out of options, his head turned to the right-hand side of the platform. Someone was emerging from the bustling crowd. She looked familiar, it must have been her; hazel hair falling to the slim waist, walnut eyes that matched Joey's in colour. The formerly baffled once-king stepped towards her, noting the smile that came to her expression, neither said a word until the distance between them had shrunk severely.

"You're Yami, aren't you?" she inquired.

He nodded simply, delaying his words for a number of seconds before his verbal question rose to his throat again. "And you're the girl Yugi's grandfather offered to stay at the Game Shop" he stated bluntly; if she knew the name his friends still used, then there was no doubt she was the one.

"I'm glad to meet you" she replied bowing. "My name's Vicky. Though you may have heard through Yugi the last time we met".

"I did" he answered with a nod. "I'm sorry we couldn't have met before. I've been eager to learn what Yugi was like before I arrived in hi life. All I know is around the span of his possession of the Puzzle. Otherwise, I'm afraid I don't really know anything else".

"I can tell you whatever you want to know, Yami" Vicky replied, laying a hand upon his shoulder lightly.

She smiled at his lack of knowledge about those he cared about, understanding that he was in a difficult position, especially with the rate the world around them was evolving. He returned the expression for a moment. Before either could end the moment of silent amity; the ground beneath them began to tremble vicious. Cries of terror around them rose into the air; the atmosphere had instantly converted from one of joy in reunions and pleasure in harmony to unknown surprise and terror over the tremor. The quake only intensified, throwing Vicky against Yami's chest, he gripped her arms tightly to avoid losing her in the trembling earth's fury, threatening to damage the city and strip lives.

As quickly as it began, everything became still.

"I suppose that's what Japan gets for being on the edge of the 'Ring of Fire'" the girl muttered, staring at the ground.

Realising that she and Yami had gotten much closer during the tremor, her face flushed a bright red before pushing herself back, leaving his bubble of personal space.

"I - I'm sorry, I never meant to trouble you there. Nor invade your personal space" she stammered, eyes darting from place to place upon the platform.

"It's fine. Seems this place wasn't struck too hard, there isn't any structural damage it seems" Yami stated, gazing around the walls surrounding them, others were mimicking the novice examination. "Perhaps we should get back, we should check if Yugi's grandpa is alright".

The girl nodded briefly, her cheeks quickly reverting to their original shade. She kept her case by her legs, the wheels beneath allowing the small case to roll behind her when the pair began to walk. Both fell silent; while eager to learn about each other, the timing was simply improper, blame fell upon the unexpected quake. Within the first moments of leaving the station, Vicky's eyes had risen to the sky, a hand shooting to grab Yami's arm. Feeling the sudden clutch, he froze in his steps, looking back at her; colour was beginning to lack in her skin, staring towards the sky ahead of them. He followed her line of sight; suspicion consumed his thoughts about what could unnerve the girl after only a few moments back in the city. His eyes fixed themselves upon the same sight; a void in the sky. What looked like a miniature crimson plain, black paths trampled into its form. Something unlike anyone had seen before, at least in the moment of discovering the void, he could finally feel like everyone else.

"What on earth is that?" the girl behind inquired.

"I've no idea" Yami muttered. "But I really wish it hadn't have shown. Not today, not now…"


--Domino High School--

Tea and Ryou dashed back into the classroom, Destiny behind them, entering for the first time during the morning hours. All three began to pant furiously, catching the attention of not only the targeted trio, but the others also chattering without a care in the world. Yugi stood from his desk, raising an eyebrow at the state of the three, shocked that they had rushed throughout the school building to return to them, his earlier suspicions about a monthly occurrence had been dashed relatively quickly.

"Tea, Ryou? What's wrong? You guys look exhausted" he stated.

"Yo, Destiny" Joey added, raising his hand for the lilac-haired girl. Even if something had occurred to panic the three to race to the classroom, he felt a duty to greet those he cared about. It wasn't her fault she hadn't been present before, he didn't want her to be overlooked. No-one protested nor gave him a glare of attempting to shatter the stern aura about.

"Yugi. Joey. Tristan" the brunette listed, taking a moment to catch her breath before she dared continue. "You guys have to come with us. Something weird's going on".

Tristan raised an eyebrow, while he was used to strange phenomenon happening around the city on account of the strange presences that members of the exclusive community possessing knowledge of the truth would call "yamis", the result of the Ceremonial Duel was meant to be the end of everything. The end of being targeted, the end of evils arising from their shadows. The end of Yami, even still he remained upon the earth for reasons unknown to him.

"Are you sure you're alright, Tea?" he asked sceptically.

"You're asking for it, Tristan" Tea growled viciously. "Destiny was the one that noticed it; you're going to doubt her?"

Tristan's jaws came together hearing the protest, he had nothing to say; Destiny wasn't one to lie. None of them were. His delusional hope for peace couldn't stand against whatever evidence was to be presented before them. He sighed, rising from the chair he sat upon backwards, ready to see the root of the new threat against them, he felt they must have been getting used to the dark forces following their moves; striking at the most incontinent times. The two companions followed his rise, rushing through the stunned students that remained dazed, silence hung about the room; Yugi halted in front of Destiny.

"What's going on?" he asked the lilac-locked girl.

"It's difficult to explain" she sighed, wishing she could mould the situation into words. "It's best if we show you, I can't really describe it very well".

The petit teen nodded his head before he dashed into the corridor; the female duo rushed after him, retracing the steps they had taken in order to alert those that needed to be. The trio of males they had left behind quickly followed, Ryou doing his best to recite the appearance of the void in the sky, failing to work his words into something they could mentally illustrate. The students that had stood in silence gradually pursued the group; flooding into the corridor, which in turn, attracted the attention of others. Many of the students insisted to their friends that they would seek the cause of commotion, ordering them to stay behind and continue as usual, blending into the growing body of students following those that had seen the unusual occurrence.

Yugi, who remained at the head of the flood, threw the doors open; the calls of students relaying rumours between each other gradually died when the light of the sun poured into the corridor. Yugi stepped onto the open grounds, his eyes rising to the source of panic, the place where many eyes continued to stick to. His mouth opened in shock just as many of those around who witnessed the opening for the first time, Joey whipped his head around to meet Ryou and Tea.

"What the hell is that?" he bellowed.

"We have no idea. That's why we came back to alert you" Ryou answered meekly.

"Everyone wants to know, no-one has an answer" Tea added, rubbing her arm nervously. Her eyes didn't lock with the blonde's.

"As always; it only means trouble" Yugi sighed, refusing to take his eyes from the occurrence. "Just the inside is enough to give that impression; blood-red and black. It's almost like those colours are describing the nature of whatever it is. That it's only going to bring chaos, blood, all it's going to do is disrupt our lives until a time when we can fight back. Maybe not us alone, but everyone".

"Yugi…" the brunette girl muttered, her clenched hand resting against her chest. He hated each and every time an evil would rear their ugly head, this time was no exception. He felt more aggrieved than normal, this was supposed to have ended already.

"Hey man, it's okay" Tristan mumbled, laying an easy hand upon Yugi's shoulder. "I bet this isn't meant for us, maybe it's just some megalomaniac trying to seize the Items again".

"They wouldn't have been here had it not been for the Pharaoh coming back. How would they know the Items still exist?" Yugi protested, words void of any emotion, his argument lacked the fury that his friends would have expected in the face of a new evil. "Even if they were after the Puzzle…or just Yami, then we'd have to jump in. We have a bond, we have a duty to protect each other in these times. You know that just as anyone else would".

"I know…" the brunette sighed, eyes rising to meet the phenomenon once again. Merely the sight of something so sinister and shrouded in mystery hanging directly over their district of the city sent a chill down his spine; all before it's reason for existing could be made clear.


--KaibaCorp--

The chattering of nervous employees had spread throughout the building, rising up from the reception to those that travelled through the elevators, provoking a nervous woman to approach Kaiba's office. She stood before the large closed doors, taking several deep breaths in the hopes it would calm her nerves. The attempt failed. Hesitantly, her knuckles beat the door with the same movements of cracking the shell of an egg. From the other side, the faint noise of Kaiba's blasé voice sounded. Her shaky fingers wrapped themselves around the handle presented before her, pushing down and allowing the doors to separate. Kaiba's eyes didn't rise to face the arrival of the employee, he simply continued typing as though he had yet to acknowledge her existence in front of him, standing between the towering doors.

"What is it?" he inquired.

"Um…well…" the woman quivered anxiously. "Word has spread about an unnatural phenomenon outside. Some of the employees wonder if perhaps a fault may have occurred in a duellist's Duel Disk to create the illusion. Others have mentioned it reminds them of a few of the Duel Monsters creatures, or that it may have been a Field Magic card; like that 'Yami' card that fills the field with shadows".

"Hm…" Kaiba sounded, twisting his neck in order to gaze out through one of the window hanging behind him, just to humour her.

What he didn't expect was for her to be speaking words of truth; hanging partway across the city was indeed a void of darkness, unlike anything he had witnessed before. His eyes narrowed, filled with the greatest of abhorrence towards the existence of such an occurrence.

"Today of all days…" he hissed.

He rose sharply from his throne-like seat, causing the woman to tremble at such a sudden rise. He stormed across the room, slowing once in a radius of propinquity, his cold eyes laid upon her.

"You can leave, I appreciate you informing me of this" he stated bluntly, any gratitude he spoke of remained absent in his tone.

The woman bowed quickly before he passed her. The nerves that continued to grasp her instructed she wander in the opposite direction, she obeyed. They strode in opposite directions, the future would refuse the paths to cross again.

Kaiba paced into the open elevator, doors sliding soundlessly behind him. The descent was as slow as always, what was meant to be calming in the rush of the working day simply aggravated him, he had to see what was happening for himself; before the media would swarm upon his company's base having strolled to the same conclusion as the employees the woman had spoken of.

The doors that had locked him into the small space eventually opened, revealing the large reception, individuals passing through the doors, standing at the desks, making their way to their assigned positions. None of it mattered, the director of the company passed it all like he were pacing along a street surrounded by strangers, none of them mattered to him. The sunlight hit him once he passed through the doors, eyes fixed upon the void he had seen from his office the many floors above the ground. It was doubtful a single Duel Disk could cause such a result, even if someone had played the Field Magic card in question, it wouldn't have risen to such a height nor have developed into such a large space. He stepped forward; it had nothing to do with him, but he was going to ensure his brother's safety. He wasn't going to go back on his word, nothing was going to dislocate his promise.

Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Eyes were on him, eyes of residents familiar with the incident following Battle City in which the blame had fallen upon himself and Kaiba Corporation as a whole, the belief that the Duel Disks had faltered once before was being reignited by the new incident; he wasn't going to suffer again, his company was going to pull through this new challenge and prove it's innocence from both occasions. No-one would doubt him again, Mokuba wouldn't stand believing his elder brother abandoned his word, he had carried out an - at the time, outrageous - pledge once before, this vow was nothing compared to it, he wouldn't break his word over something so easily done because of something strange appearing. His sapphire eyes narrowed hatefully; eyes were fixed upon him, words would travel between mouths and ears; rumours, unconfirmed suspicions would rise, he'd have to face gruelling questions from the media the instant he would set up a press conference if need be. But the issues regarding his image were of little importance beside his brother, his only remaining family, all that remained of the time he felt loved, of the declaration that he would build the theme park he designed in the orphanage for his brother and the struggle to get to the position to make that desire a reality. He wouldn't fail because of someone else's doing again.


--Domino High School--

The students remained gazing at the void hovering over them, none could predict the cause nor the reason for it's presence, the sun would eventually move into its reach, shadows spread across the city as though an eclipse were taking place. Yugi's brow furrowed anxiously, certain he had figured out the intention of its showing. He glanced over his shoulder to the worried faces of his friends, all excluding Ryou remained gazing up, each baring an expression of confusion or worry. His eyebrows fell, infuriated by the incident, he inwardly questioned what harm lied in waiting for his graduation to pass and target him when those he cared about weren't going to be standing by his sides physically.

"We should get back inside" he stated. "We don't want to be late for class having already gotten here some time ago".

"Yugi…" Ryou muttered, noting the strange attitude Yugi was taking to the occurrence, ordinarily he would have spent more time than anyone pondering the intention and evaluating what the type of threat they would be facing was likely to be. Instead, without Yami to consult through their minds, he was determined to hide away, to avoid whatever threatened their standard lives. It was as though he was the one to have changed through the events following the Ceremonial Duel, in ways that hadn't been displayed at that time, ways dormant until the present.

"I don't know about you, but this is way more interesting than whatever pointless they think will be helpful in the future" the blonde towering over Yugi stated, his mouth curved into a grin.

"How can you be taking this so lightly?" Tea inquired. "How can you be sure this isn't the first stage to something dangerous?"

"Not everything that looks bad is bad, not everything is going to try and bring an end to the world" the blonde protested.

"Someone's optimistic" Ryou stated beneath his breath.

"Someone's got to be. You're all so suspicious sometimes" Joey chuckled, folding his arms over his chest.

"We're just going by our instincts Joey, we're just worried" Yugi stated, turning from the group. "I'm heading inside, I don't want to be out here if that thing wants to strike us at any moment. We don't know what power it has, the devastation it could cause. I'd rather be safe than sorry".

The petit student proceeded away from the group, the only individual who seemed to have even considered returning inside the building. Tea gave a sigh, watching him disappear through the doors, beginning to question whether she should follow him. Before she could dive into her mental debate, she felt a hand on her arm, following the source to Destiny who stared at her equally worried.

"Maybe we should follow him. I'm worried about him, he's not taking this like he used to" she stated. "Something's wrong, maybe not with him, but this thing seems to be affecting everybody, no-one's really behaving like their usual selves. Ryou told me about differently you were acting before we met up. Maybe its to do with what that thing is"."Perhaps. Eventually, the teachers will do what they can to drag everyone back inside. Strange thing hanging over our heads or not, they're here to educate us and that's what they always want to do" Tea sighed. "We should go before they try to herd us in like animals".

The lilac-haired girl nodded, turning from those accompanying her, she began to make her towards the doorway into the building. Tea remained close by her, calling over her shoulder to the others they departed from that they were returning to the building, following Yugi's steps. Passing through the doors, they removed their outdoor shoes and placed them inside the shoe lockers they each possessed, shutting away the shoes they had walked to the site in through the morning and fitting the replacements on their feet. Yugi had travelled far enough to have vanished from their sights, Tea sighed.

At that very moment, the floor beneath them began to tremble, shaking them violently; cries and yells of the students outside poured into their ears. Destiny clutched Tea's arms in an attempt to keep them from the force winning over their bodies and bringing them to the ground. Neither screamed in the terror they felt, closing their eyes tightly and keeping as close to each other as they could, their legs bending to spread their weight across a wider area above the ground. The shaking lasted for a couple of minutes before, after what felt like an eternity; it finally subsided. Destiny gave a sigh, straightening herself to avoid sinking to her knees out of relief that nothing had happened to the building around them. She glanced through the glass panels in the doors, none of the students she could see had been injured from what she could see, the distance between them. She gave another sigh before racing past Tea who watched without a clue as to what she was meant to do.

Her legs sprang to life after the moments of numbness, rushing after her friend. The intentions of her colleague were unknown to her, she brought everything down to her hope that she was hoping to meet with Yugi, see how he was doing after his retreat into the building, to the sudden quake that had rocked the city.

"Yugi!" she cried, hoping he was nearby, that he voice could reach him.

Perhaps Destiny had been onto something important in her observations, that the void hanging over was affecting everyone in subtle ways. It was already straining their approaches to the rise of a new evil, the first wave of something ready to tear them apart. Terror ran through her, chilling the blood that ran through her veins. A new era of evil with a new approach; could it really be a deadly combination ready to end their lives?


Next time

Lurking in the shadows no more; the product of the void hanging over Domino finally rears its head, threatening the existence of human life in the city. Friends will become enemies; allies will stand on opposite sides. Who will escape the onslaught? No-one knows… Chapter Three - "Eruption of Chaos".