Ahoy my readers!! I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages. My internet had been down for nearly two months. It drove me crazy! I felt so deprived. But anyways about this chapter, it sounds like it's going to be one of those dueling tournament fics but it ain't. I can't write duels. And I don't like too. But bare with me for the next chap or two.

I hope you all enjoy! Read and Review!!!

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Forgive me Chap. 4: The return of the king

"Joey, hurry up! We're gonna be late!" Tea called placing her hands on her hips.

"Hold on two seconds!" Joey replied shoving the piece of toast in his mouth attempting to put his shoe on. Tea and Tristan shook their heads. They had come by Joey's apartment to pick him up. It was the day of the tournament and the ceremony was supposed to start in ten minutes. After successfully slipping his sneaker on and nearly choking on his toast Joey grabbed his deck of cards. "I'm ready."

"Bout time. You take longer than a girl." Tristan snickered.

"I do not. I just sort of slept in." Joey replied defensively.

"Can we go now?" Tea asked impatiently. Joey and Tristan nodded their heads and the three headed out the door.

With two minutes to spare the three reached the city square. Duelists were scattered around already picking out their first victim. Glancing around the three friends identified a few familiar faces and just as many unfamiliar. A tall blonde duelist suddenly caught Joey's eye.

"Yo, Mai!" Joey called waving his hand. Mai turned around slightly surprised, but when she laid her eyes on the three she smiled and strutted over.

"Well, well. Long time no see." She spoke with her sweet voice.

"How've you been?' Tea asked.

"Yeah, we haven't seen you since the last tournament." Tristan put in.

"I've been doing fine." She replied shrugging her shoulders. Then looking at Joey she smirked. "Ready for me to kick your butt?"

"Hah, it'll never happen." Joey laughed placing his hands on his hips. "I'll defeat ya just like last time and take the tournament."

"Beat me maybe, but taking the tournament may be a little harder than you think." Mai replied somewhat seriously.

"What do you mean, Mai?" Tea asked curious.

"Yeah, come on. I smoked the last tournament." Joey boasted.

"That was because it was only for Domino City to participate in." Tristan replied. "There weren't as many players."

"Keep talking you hair obsessed freak!" Joey growled. Tristan and him wrestled, Joey trying to mess up the other's hair and Tristan trying to push him off.

"Is there a new player?" Tea asked ignoring the two boys. Mai shook her head no.

"He's definitely not new." She replied. "But I wonder if he still has the strength to even be a decent competitor considering he's been out for so long."

"Wait who is it?" Joey asked suddenly interested. He had succeeded in messing up Tristan's precious hair.

"Yugi's back."

"What!" The three cried in unison.

"Have you seen him?" Tristan asked.

"No," Mai said shaking her head. "But I've heard some rumors that he's been seen. There's been talk that he and some other unknown duelist have been hanging around."

"So he's most likely here now." Joey stated looking through the throng of people.

"I doubt he's any threat." Tea spoke darkly. She folded her arms and sort of glared at the crowd. "Like Mai said he's been out for a long time." Mai was surprised by Tea's mood change, but shrugged it off.

"I'm still curious to see how he does." She replied.

"I wonder why he's back." Joey spoke a little distantly. He could still remember their last conversation vividly in his head. He began to feel his guilt resurface. A man in a black suit suddenly stood on a large platform that had been put up in the center of the square. The duelists fell quiet and listened for the rules.

"Good morning duelists! I welcome you! It's now time to start the tournament. Many of you are familiar with the rules especially Battle City veterans, but for those of you who are new this will be slightly different. You each must win ten locater cards. These cards can only be acquired by winning a duel. You are prohibited to trade, sale, or otherwise give away these cards or you will be disqualified. This is a battle royal so choose your opponents wisely and good luck. When I pull this trigger," The man held up a gun and pointed it into the air. "Then it is time for the games to begin. You have until sundown of the second day. Ready," he pulled the trigger and the gun went off. "DUEL!" The crowd cheered and immediately started to find their opponents.

"Well, I'm off. I'll talk to you guys later assuming you make it into the finals." Mai smirked. She waved goodbye and took off in search of a duel. The three friends stood around for a moment.

"I guess it's time to start." Joey stated somewhat distantly. Tristan slapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. Yugi probably wont even make it into the next round. Just forget about him." Tristan spoke reassuringly. Joey nodded and smiled.

"Alright, let's go!" Joey said excitedly pointing down the street. Tea and Tristan smiled and followed Joey happy that he wasn't fretting. But truthfully deep down inside he was feeling a bit afraid. What if he saw Yugi? What would he say? He had a feeling Yugi was going to make it all the way to the top no matter how long he'd been out of dueling. And he was pretty sure they were eventually going to meet up.

Yugi leaned against a tree somewhat hiding himself from the other duelists. He smirked when the gun sounded and the duelists began to take off. He scanned his eyes across the city square trying to locate a specific man.

"Are you ready?" A man next to Yugi spoke. He was dressed all in black leather. His hair was straight reaching just below his shoulders and was the color of dying coals.

"More than ever." Yugi smirked. "I guess I'll see you at the end, Arthur."

"Maybe, just be sure you're careful they haven't been playing fair lately." Arthur replied.

"I'll watch my back." Yugi walked off in search of his victim.

It was about three hours into the tournament and already Joey was exhausted. He had fought four duels already (winning each one of course) and was now resting on a bench. Tristan was sitting next to him drinking a soda; Tea had taken off a while ago after Joey asked her if she'd pick up Serenity. Joey sighed and stared up at the clouds. The thought of seeing Yugi again made him worried and slightly excited. Nobody knew what became of him after he left Domino. He wondered what the kid had been doing.

"Wanna go watch someone else's duel?" Tristan asked slurping up the last remnants of his pop.

"Sure, it'll give me a break." Joey replied standing up and stretching. The two stood up and walked around the streets in search of a good duel. They past a few that were of little interest and stopped to see the end of another. They walked for about fifteen minutes with they heard loud gasps up ahead. Jogging forward they were met with a crowd of people huddled around two duelists. They pushed their way through in attempt to see who it was. When they finally reached the front of the crowd they themselves gasped in shock. It was Yugi.

"So you're the King of Games, huh? Think you can suddenly come back and still have what it takes to even be referred to as a duelist? You're old news!" The opponent, whose name was John, cried.

"Well, then shut up and prove it." Yugi replied calmly. He was dressed in blue jeans with several holes and a black shirt with sleeves ripped off. A black armband wrapped around his left bicep and he wore his normal black collar around his neck. Joey and Tristan stared at him in disbelief. Something about him was entirely different.

"I'll squash you like a bug you punk!" John challenged.

"Then hurry up and do it so we can move on." A man from the crowd replied with a bored tone. Joey and Tristan turned to him and figured it must be that unknown duelist Mai was talking about. He had ashen gray hair and was wearing entirely black.

"You stay out of this!" John barked. "I'll go first! I play the black dragon and use the spell card summoning flames to increase his firepower. Then I'll play this card, which covers my dragon in a special suit of armor raising his defense and attack points by three hundred. He's now impervious to all magic effects. Finally I play one face down card." The crowed ooh'd and awed at the spectacle.

"John's got this duel in the bag, there's no way Yugi can top that." One of the spectators spoke. The people around him nodded. This duel was over before it even began.

"How's that for starters?" John boasted. Yugi wasn't even paying attention. He was staring somewhere off into space. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Are you gonna duel or just stare at the clouds?"

"Oh, you mean you're finally done." Yugi asked mockingly. John growled in anger.

"Yeah, I'm done and I just whipped out the biggest strategy you've ever seen!" He yelled.

"What did you do?" Yugi asked making the other duelist even angrier. The crowd laughed at how John was reacting.

"I just buffed up my dragon to 2800 points using two different spell cards! All your magic attacks wont work meaning half your cards are useless!" Yugi looked at him confused.

"That's it?" He questioned. John nearly exploded.

"Yes, that's it!!" Yugi smirked and shook his head. "What? What's so funny?"

"I was expecting something a little more challenging." Yugi replied.

"Oh, yeah? Well then show me what you got!"

"Very well." Yugi drew his card and smiled. He looked up at John, his eyes darkening. John shifted uneasily as he waited in anticipation. "You want a strategy? Then I'll give you one. I play the Black angel and use her special ability allowing me to play her sister card the White angel for only 1000 life points." Two angels appeared on the field one with black wings the other with white. "I then use this spell card pot of greed so I can draw two more cards. I now use Riageki to get rid of your black dragon." The black dragon disappeared. John stepped back in horror as he was left wide open. Then smiling he narrowed his eyes. He still had his trap card. "I then play this card which allows me to play one more monster. So I play Kuriboh."

"That little thing? You were on a role until you played that!" John scoffed.

"Then multiply." John paled. " I now place one card face down. So how's that for a strategy?" Yugi smirked dangerously. The crowed stared in disbelief. "Now, all my monsters attack his life points directly." The cute little fur balls rushed at the duelist along with the giant angels with their spears. John smiled and pressed the button to reveal his face down card.

"Well, I play a trap card which negates your attack." John replied happily.

"You think so, well I play mine as well which cancels out your trap card." Yugi smirked. The trap stopped and the monsters continued their attack. John yelped as the monsters surrounded his body. His life points immediately dropped to zero. "I believe you lose." Yugi replied as the monsters disappeared. John was lying on the ground unconscious. The crowd cheered for the Game King's victory. Yugi walked over and retrieved his prize. "Better luck next time." Then he and the ashen haired man began to walk away. Joey and Tristan stared after them wide eyed.

"That was amazing! He wiped out that guys life points in one turn!" A man said as he and another were walking away.

"Yeah, I've never seen such a strategy! It was so complex and…and like perfect!' The other replied. The crowd walked off still gabbing about the duel.

"Yugi really is back." Joey whispered.

"Yeah, and it looks like he's reached an all new level." Tristan replied shocked.

"Let's go talk to him!" Joey suddenly ran towards his old friend.

"What?! Are you crazy?" Tristan asked perplexed as he watched Yugi and the other duelist walk off somewhere in the distance. He grabbed Joey's arm and pulled him back.

"No come on! I want to see what he's up, too."

"Why?"

"Just come on!" Joey took off again and Tristan could do nothing but follow. "Yugi!"

"Oh no." Yugi whispered. His face paled as he recognized the voice.

"You know him?" Arthur questioned.

"Just keep walking, I don't want to deal with him right now."

"Hey, Yugi! I know you can hear me! Quit walking away!" Joey yelled. Tristan was following close behind. Yugi and Arthur stopped. Yugi turned around and glared dangerously at the two causing Joey to skid to a stop about a yard and a half away.

"What do you want?" Yugi growled. Joey opened his mouth to talk, but he really didn't have anything to say.

"What did you do to that poor guy?" Tristan suddenly barked. "The guy's out cold!"

"Well then I must have knocked him out." Yugi replied flatly. His voice was cold and harsh. Joey put a hand on Tristan's shoulder holding him back.

"Why have you come back?" Joey questioned.

"For my own reasons." Yugi replied. He turned around and began to walk off.

"Hey, hold on! I'm tryin' to talk to ya!" Joey yelled angrily he went to run after his ex-friend but the ashen haired man stepped in the way.

"Yugi, take off I'll handle this guy." Arthur replied.

"It would be my pleasure." Yugi answered and continued walking.

"Hey! You're not apart of this!" Tristan growled.

"We have business to take care of and we don't need you to get in the way." Arthur shot back darkly.

"You wanna bet! I'm gonna talk to him!" Joey yelled making his way around the man. He lunged after Yugi, but his body suddenly stopped in mid air. Yugi turned around again his eyes filled with anger.

"Back off Wheeler if you know what's good for you." Yugi seethed. There was something glowing underneath his shirt.

"What's going on?" Joey questioned confused.

"Stay away if you don't want to get hurt. There's more going on than you understand." Yugi replied quietly.

"Hey, let him go!" Tristan yelled. Arthur shot out his hand and blasted Tristan back a good yard.

"Tristan!" Joey cried. "You jerk what's gotten into you!"

"None of your business. Now stay away." Yugi replied sternly. Joey stared at him angrily, but he noticed a glint of fear cross Yugi's eyes. The object inside Yugi's shirt stopped glowing and Joey fell to the ground with a thud. He was then suddenly flung backwards but this time not from Yugi. "Arthur that's enough."

"I don't know if it is." Arthur replied darkly. "I still need four more locator cards."

"Arthur lets just…"

"Get back to your mission!" Arthur barked. Joey watched as Yugi slightly flinched. Mission? What was he talking about? "I'll take care of him you go find our target!" Yugi hesitated for a moment, but then nodded his head. He gave Joey a final glance and walked away.

"Who are you?" Joey questioned angrily.

"My name's Arthur." He replied. "And I challenge you to a duel." Joey slowly stood up. He glanced at Tristan who had been knocked unconscious and then back up at Arthur.

"You're on." Joey replied. Arthur smirked and activated his disk.

"Four locator cards."

"Fine. Then it'll only be two more to reach the finals." Joey activated his duel disk and stepped back readying himself. Arthur pulled an object out from underneath his shirt. It was a necklace with a diamond shaped pendant attached to the end. It started to glow with an eerie light. "What's that?"

"Just something to give this duel a little more edge." Arthur replied. "Yugi doesn't like to use it against normal duelists only on our target. But I don't care who I'm dueling. It never hurts to gain a little practice." The ground surrounding the two turned purple. Walls of the same color protruded from the ground and began to box them in. Memories of the shadow games crossed Joey's mind and he began to panic. "Let's duel."

Tristan groaned and opened his eyes slowly. What hit him? Sitting up he glanced around for Joey and the two men. "What the hell?" He was staring at the giant purple box. Standing up he walked over and examined it. "Joey?" He called. He cautiously touched his hand against its surface. It was cool and solid. Tristan pressed his ear against the purple wall and listened. Roars and screams were heard on the other side. He jumped back in fear. The first thought that came to his mind was the Shadow Games. "What have you done Yugi?"

"I haven't done anything." Yugi sighed. Tristan swirled around and found the man sitting in a tree.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Keeping watch." He replied. He was swinging his legs back and forth. Tristan growled angrily.

"What have you done?" Tristan shouted. "Where the hell is Joey?"

"I told you I haven't done anything and Joey…Joey's in there." Yugi pointed toward the purple box.

"What?!" Tristan ran to the wall and banged helplessly on the side calling Joey's name.

"There's nothing you can do until the duel is over." Yugi replied quietly. He was staring sadly at the object.

"How long have they been in there?" Tristan demanded.

"About half and hour." Yugi answered. "They'll be done here pretty soon."

"Are they going to be alright?"

"Depends on the victor." Yugi replied shrugging his shoulders. A coughing noise was heard to the side. The two men looked to their right to see a man with long brown hair leaning against the tree. "Kazuma!" The man looked up and smiled weakly.

"Hey." The man coughed again and gripped the tree to support his body.

"Who the heck are you?" Tristan questioned angrily. The two ignored him as Yugi hopped out of the tree. He grasped the man by his shoulders and stared at him worriedly. Tristan could here them whispering, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Yugi glanced back at the purple swirling box and then back at Kazuma.

"Is Arthur in there?" The man asked weakly.

"Yeah, but he'll be fine." Yugi stated calmly. Gently he supported the man and began to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tristan yelled. "What about Joey?"

"He got himself into this mess he can get himself out!" Yugi barked back. Tristan watched as the two disappeared. He turned back to the duel and kicked the box frustrated.

'Crap!' He thought. 'Joey better make it out or I'm going to kill Yugi!'

Yugi set his friend down on the ground next to a wall in the alley. Kazuma was wheezing pretty badly. Yugi knelt beside him and touched his forehead.

"Did you take your pill this morning?"

"I'm all out." Kazuma replied smiling weakly.

"What! Why didn't you say something? I would have gone and refilled it yesterday!" Kazuma shook his head.

"We haven't eaten a decent meal in three weeks. There's no reason to waste the money on me."

"If I thought it was a waste to buy you your medication we never would have been in this situation." Yugi growled. "Give me your bottle."

"No."

"Kazuma…" Yugi spoke warningly. He held out his hand. Kazuma stared at it defeated. He reached into his coat pocket and took out his pill bottle and handed it to Yugi.

"I'm sorry."

"None of this is your fault. We'll refill your medication and if we win this tournament then there should be an extra few bucks in our pockets. There's nothing to worry about."

"But…you…Yugi you haven't…" Kazuma sighed. Tears brimmed his eyes. "It is all my fault, Yugi. If it weren't for me you never would have been stuck in this mess. You could have been living nicely with a family by now." Yugi smiled gently and touched his friend's shoulder gently.

"Maybe, but you would have been dead and I never would have made such a good friend." Yugi replied. Kazuma looked up and Yugi hugged him gently. "We're almost paid off. And once we are we'll get out of here. We'll take off and start all over again."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now lets finish off these duels, buy your medication, and get out of here."

"JOEY!" Tristan yelled again at the box. Still nothing happened. He was growing more and more concerned with each passing moment. What was he supposed to do? He growled and kicked at the box furiously again and again.

"Now what do we have here?" Tristan whirled around to see four men dressed in white robes with blue trimming.

"Who the hell are you?" Tristan growled suspiciously. The tallest of the men with long brown hair that reached to the middle of his back walked forward. He didn't answer, but stared curiously at the box.

"The games have begun." He spoke distantly. "Tell me who's in here?"

"A friend of mine and some guy named Arthur." Tristan replied still suspicious.

"I see. It seems as if our friends are here." The other two men laughed wickedly. "Surround the box."

"Hold on who the hell are you?" Tristan asked again leaping in front of the man.

"My apologies this must be strange to you. My name is Scry. These other two men are Felix and Hikaru. Don't worry we're not your enemies."

"Then tell me what going on and if my friend is going to be alright." Tristan demanded.

"It's a long story best to not be told in the open. As for your friend…only time will tell." Scry and the other two surrounded each side of the box. They stood there patiently waiting for it to fall.

"This man named 'Arthur' what does he look like?" Felix asked curiously. Felix was largely built with giant muscles that were clearly evident through his clothing. He had black hair and a black mustache.

"He was about this big," Tristan raised his hand to the approximate height of the man. "And he had ashen colored hair."

"Anything else?" Hikaru asked.

"There was something glowing underneath his shirt." Tristan replied. He noticed Scry smile.

"When the walls come down I want you to grab him." Scry ordered his comrades. "Remove the necklace and take him to head quarters."

"Yes, sir." The two replied in unison. Tristan stood there in complete confusion. What the hell was going on?

There was a low rumbling noise and the purple box shook. Voices suddenly could be heard from the inside and Tristan was relieved to make out Joey's. The box disappeared.

"That's what you get you scumbag!" Joey yelled shaking his fist. The other duelist was on his knees threatening to loose consciousness. The three men in white rushed forward and grabbed the fallen duelist by his shoulders. Arthur looked up and cried out. He struggled with all his might to get away. Hikaru reached down and snatched the necklace out from under the duelist's shirt and snapped it off. Felix knocked the man on his head and Arthur fell unconscious.

"Joey!" Tristan called. Joey turned around confused at the spectacle before him and was relieved to see Tristan awake.

"Yo, what da hell is goin' on?" Joey questioned confused.

"I have no idea." Tristan replied.

"Well, I'm impressed." Scry spoke. The struggling had stopped and Felix and Hikaru were holding Arthur up by his arms. "We've been after this criminal for months now and you finally caught him."

"Criminal? What are you talking about?" Joey asked.

"He's part of a lowly society called the 'Shadow Guards' (AN Sorry for the cheesy names.) An awful society whose goal is to gain absolute power."

"How?" Tristan asked. It all sounded too much like the millennium items.

"With these." Hikaru held up the necklace that had been wrapped around Arthur's neck. Its glow was gone. It had a red diamond shaped rock on the end. "These rocks can give what ever power you desire and if you were to gain all fifteen you'd be invincible."

"Fifteen! You mean there's more of these?" Joey asked bewildered. He then remembered the glow from Yugi's shirt. He had one two. Was he one of the bad guys?

"Fortunately, we have eight but that still leaves seven that the other society has." Felix spoke.

"What society are you guys, then?" Tristan asked.

"We call ourselves the Purifiers." Scry replied proudly. (AN once again sorry for the cheesy names.)

"What do you guys do?" Joey questioned.

"Our goal is to gather all the necklaces and keep them from the evil side. We want these for the good of humanity unlike our rivals." Scry walked forward and took the necklace from Hikaru. He then presented it to Joey. Joey stared at him as if he were crazy. "Your impressive skill as a duelist and the capture of this man has gained my approval. Will you become a part of our team?"

"What? Hold on? I'm still confused!" Joey said jumping back.

"We are always looking for new recruits. The Shadow Guards have killed a number of our members already and we're afraid they might gain the upper hand. I'm begging you. Help us in our quest. Your skills are the best that I have seen in a long time."

Joey scratched his chin and looked at Tristan. A mound of thoughts went through his head. Should he accept? Yugi flashed through his mind. He had a hard time believing Yugi would join the wrong side, but the flinch of fear he had seen made him question if it was his choice at all. Maybe if he joined he could talk to Yugi again. Perhaps even regain their friendship.

"Alright, I'll join."

"What?" Tristan yelped.

"Good. Then here." Scry handed Joey the necklace. "Welcome to the team."

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Alrighty then. I know it sounds like it's going to be a dueling fic but it's not trust me. I just had to bring certain people together. Interesting stuff will happen I think next chapter. Not sure but stick with me! Please, death and revenge and possible gore will commence here shortly.

Hope you liked this chapter even with its cheesy names. Thank you for reading and Review if you have any comments. Good, bad, or even ideas are all very nice.

Thank you for reading!!!

-Tragedyluver