I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I only own my own characters. Reviews are always welcomed so feel free to leave one. Please enjoy! I love when I get requests to write for anime from my childhood. And as this is my last year in Uni, why not have fun with it before job searching. Also, I use the Japanese names and translated names of both the characters and the cards. For the first arc, I will also be using Toei's cards as well as some of Dulest Kingdoms cards.

Chapter 1

Amelia Brown felt like she had always been a decent person. She made sure that her younger siblings had everything they could need and were fed and clothed. She went to college without a fuss. She even worked hard to get good grades. So, she had to wonder. What went wrong?

One day she had come home after class to find everyone gone without an explanation. All their clothes were gone and the family vault had been cleaned out. She had asked her neighbours what happened, but they had all slammed their doors in her face. Amelia had thought it was odd but tried to think nothing of it. She had tried her family's phones. It would ring once before disconnecting. That's when it hit her. They had left her behind to fend for herself. She began to panic.

Amelia couldn't afford the bill payments with her meagre salary from her job at the nearby café. She used that money for her car and school supplies. Her breath hitched as tears began to slide down her face. She didn't know what to do. She was going to have to drop out of college and find a second job. She had worked so hard to get a scholarship. She wiped at her face with shaking hands and tried to calm down. She was an adult, one that was of legal drinking age at that, she could do it. She could survive on her own. She just didn't feel ready to do so.

Amelia sighed and made sure all the doors and windows to the house were secured before heading up the stairs to her room. Nothing had been touched. Her clothes were still there, her own organization system in place with all colours and patterns in their own category. She moved to sit on her bed and ran a hand through her choppy, red hair. What was she going to do? She found her eyes wandering towards a large binder sitting on her desk. Oh, her Yu-Gi-Oh cards were still there. She was surprised that one of her little brothers hadn't taken them. She got up and went to sit at the desk. She opened the binder and smiled slightly at the cards she hadn't used since she was a kid.

Black Magician and Black Magician Girl were the first two cards she had ever collected. Two boys from her elementary school had allowed her to borrow one of their decks to learn the game and she had enjoyed it. They were kind enough to give her copies of the two cards she really liked. It was strange that she was so fond of them. There wasn't anything she could pinpoint as to why she was.

"What would you two do in this situation?" She quietly mumbled without thinking.

Amelia grimaced at her words. Bemoaning to a bunch of cards wasn't going to help her. She kept the binder open as she fished her smartphone out of her front pocket to text some of her friends. She wanted them to know what was going on. She even sent a few of her professors an email to inform them of her situation. She needed a few days to figure out what she was going to do. A pinging sound informed her that one of her friends responded. They basically told her to relax and to watch some anime. She snorted at the suggestion. He would say that. She could do that before figuring out her options. She'd also search the house for something that could tell her what happened.

She got up from her desk and spared the card binder a nostalgic look. She paused when she noticed something. Black Magician seemed…contemplative. His usual expression was a frown, but this one included a slight downwards tug of his lips. She looked at the Palladium Oracle Mahad card and noticed he had a similar expression on his face. Amelia wondered if she was going crazy. Seeing things like this wasn't normal. She blinked and Mahad had changed again, as had the Black Magician. They both seemed relaxed. She looked at the Black Magician Girl and noticed she seemed amused.

"Okay," Amelia said to herself, "nice to know I've finally cracked."

She turned on her heel and went to go find a note of some sorts from her family. She missed the cards expressions becoming amused at her words. They reverted to normal when she came back with a slip of paper in her hands. She felt less stressed and horrible about jumping to conclusions. A vacation. Her parents took her siblings on a vacation. The phone had to be because of a plane. Well, she already freaked out enough and started to text her best friend about it. She could tell he was laughing on the other end by his tone as he texted. She smiled slightly, he could be such a jerk but he was a good guy when it came down to it. She yawned as she looked at the time. She was such an old lady, getting tired at nine. She sighed and plugged her phone in to charge before laying in bed and closing her eyes. She could always watch anime the following day. Maybe she'd watch the Japanese Dub of Yu-Gi-Oh, she didn't know.

Amelia's dream was strange. She looked around at the forest she found herself in and watched as a Kuriboh flew towards her before gently butting itself against her cheek like a cat. She blinked in confusion before bringing a hand up and gently patting it. The Kuriboh made a purring noise and her heart melted at the sound. It was too cute. She gently grabbed it and carried it like she would a cat. It seemed to enjoy that. It made a strange call and a few more monsters from the game appeared. Tokens, the little lamb creatures she used for a scapegoat deck. They all vied for her attention. Soon she found herself on the forest ground laughing as the furry creatures wiggled against her in an attempt to get comfortable. Kuriboh purred again and she felt a grin slip onto her face. A shadow fell over her and her body tensed, she tilted her head back to see Palladium Oracle Mahad standing there.

"Hi," She lamely greeted and his amused smirk caused her cheeks to heat up in embarrassment.

"It seems you are the child we were looking for," He quietly muttered and she made a strange face.

"Aren't we technically the same physical age?" She muttered, "Wait, I'd be a year older than you in that case."

"Please pay attention," Mahad sighed and she tried to give him what he asked for.

It was hard to do so. She was having a really weird dream. She was surrounded by Yu-Gi-Oh monsters and talking to one of her first anime crushes. Oh, she had liked Yami or rather Atem as well but she had a soft spot for the priest that sacrificed himself. She watched as he gave her an unamused look. Oh, she was supposed to be paying attention. At least he wasn't as bad as her mother, the woman would've been yelling already. His expression seemed to soften a bit and he knelt next to her.

"I am here to send you on your way," He informed her.

"Can I take Kuriboh with me?" She asked and Kuriboh gave a sound that showed it agreed with her as it nuzzled into her hair.

"Kuriboh may accompany you," Mahad sounded amused by her request.

"All right, do your thing Magic Man," She grinned up at him.

He sighed at that. He wasn't used to the women of the twenty-first century, and he'd never really been called magic man before. The woman on the ground grimaced at her own words and he watched as she sent him an apologetic look before being distracted by a very happy Kuriboh. She happily hugged the ball of fur and got a claw stuck in her hair. Her expression was childlike. He almost felt bad for what he was about to put her through, but a law of prophecy must be obeyed. This one had been new, and he disliked it due to its rewriting of an event already passed.

"Are you all right, Mahad?" Her concerned question brought him out of his thoughts, it had been a while since someone called him by his name.

"Yes," He nodded and she gave him a dubious look before slowly dislodging herself from all the lamb tokens, apologizing at their sad sounds.

"As I said, do what you've gotta do," She told him, "I'm just a little worried if it's got you this worked up."

"You speak as though that fictional story about the pharaoh gave such insight into people you'd never know," He pointed out as he stood up.

"That's fair," She said with a slight frown, "but you also seem to forget about first impressions, it doesn't seem like a lot would cause you a lot of upset."

She was observant, that would help her. She was giving him a thoughtful look before it turned in to one of patience. She was waiting for him to do what he had to do. Kuriboh was doing the same. He caught the other monsters eye and knew that it would protect her with everything it got. Her cards, they all remembered her. Most of the cards that dealt with the people intertwined with the pharaoh remembered their users. Jounouchi and Yugi were well-liked through the world of monsters. Anzu was as well, but she didn't duel as much so the connection was slim as was Honda's.

"I'm afraid I don't have much time in this form," He informed her and she blinked, surprise on her features.

"Right," She said, "is this from always temporary, even though it's an actual card?"

She had to choose them to get overly curious. He huffed out a short breath and she looked embarrassed by her sudden interest. He took that chance to do the magic he needed to. It would tire him for a while, even in the afterlife, but it was needed. He pressed his lips to her forehead and he could feel her temperature skyrocket. Set said he could never do that to a girl, it was oddly satisfying to prove the other man wrong. He stepped back, slipping something into the pocket of her hoodie when his spell took hold. She was looked at him with wide eyes and a beet-red face. It was endearing, even as she shrunk before his eyes. She grew younger and her hair slowly travelled to her shoulders in heavy thick curls.

"Good luck," He told her and she went to say something but vanished before his eyes, Kuriboh went with her.

He turned his attention to the lamb token and noticed their sad expressions. It was like a punch to the gut. He found it hard to hold their gaze, and he was usually unbothered by the sight of cute things. He returned to the afterlife and found relief in the rough spun tunic and gold bands. Mana entered his quarters and gave him a concerned look, he must've seemed oddly tired compared to usual.

"Is something wrong?" Mana asked him, her older voice continued to throw him for a loop.

It didn't matter how long he was around her, the young girl he had taught magic to was no longer small. She had grown into a fine magician and stood proud in her garbs of office. He stood up straighter and tried to mask his fatigue.

"I am fine," He answered.

"I see, you went and sent her off to start the prophecy," Mana said with a teasing expression on her face, "did you embarrass her as usual?"

"I did nothing of the sort," He smoothly informed her and she gave him a slight pout, she knew when he was fibbing and couldn't believe him.

Amelia woke up to a gun being pointed in her face and a growling Kuriboh. She stared at the barrel and her eyes crossed, seemingly uncaring about the possibility of being shot. She felt something dripping from her hair and she looked to see icing dripping from it. She was confused for a few seconds. Cake? Where had she been sent where there was cake? Was there any left for her or would she be shot for asking? She'd probably end up shot, that was her luck.

"Oh my," A masculine voice said, the pitch a bit dramatic.

"I'm sorry for dropping in like this, but can someone tell me what's going on?" She asked, the barrel of the gun pressed against her temple.

"Mr Crocketts, please put away the gun," The masculine voice said and the man in front of her hesitated for a few seconds, "I believe the young lady was brought here for a reason."

Amelia was on edge at those words. She turned to see who was speaking while Mr. Crocketts did as asked. Pegasus J. Crawford sat at the end of a long table with a glass of wine in his hand. She wondered if this was intentional on Mahad's end or magic placing here where she would flourish the most. Her mind wasn't going to focus on the fact that she was talking to anime characters, it would do so later but paying attention seemed more important.

"So, what happened exactly?" She asked as she got up from the table to face Pegasus without craning her neck back.

"You fell onto my table, my dear," He happily informed her, though his tone held suspicion.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," She said and he gave her a look at the genuine apology, "I don't think it was intentional."

He sipped at his wine and she felt sweat beginning to collect on the back of her neck. She was trying not to curse Mahad for this because he had seemed like a very nice guy, but she didn't know who to blame. She hadn't even thought about the possibility of refusing this entire situation. Kuriboh latched onto her shoulder and she watched Pegasus grow intrigued by him, but Mr. Crocketts seemed unable to see him. She felt more sweat gathering when Pegasus gained a calculating look to his singular eye, she didn't like it.

"Why don't we go to my office and have a small discussion, my dear?" He asked, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

She nodded and he elegantly stood up from his seat. She had trouble keeping up with him due to her much shorter legs. In fact, she was having issues trying not to trip over her feet. She hadn't been short in years, having a final growth spurt at seventeen. It did allow her to guess how old she was in physical terms. With the length of her hair and tattoo on her arm and piercings, she had to be sixteen. That tattoo had been one of the few times she had allowed her cousin to practice her craft the other being when her ears had been pierced in multiple places. She wouldn't show it around, the Anubis tattoo had almost given her mother a heart attack while her grandfather said it was "rad". It was easy to see which family member she took after in the personality department.

"Why don't you tell me your name, my dear," Pegasus said as they walked down a long hall.

"Amelia Brown, sir," She told him, "I really am sorry for dropping in like this."

His mouth twitched in amusement. Amelia wasn't trying to make jokes, but she'd take what she could. He needed to be in a charitable mood, she knew that much. It was how she dealt with richer customers when they came in for coffee on her shifts. They always tipped nicely after her friendly service. She had bought some new make-up from her larger tips when she started working. She was torn from her musings when he opened the door to his office. There were a lot of reds and purples. She would've gotten a Gryffindor aesthetic from the room if it wasn't for all the Egyptian decorations. A bust of Nefertiti stood in one corner and she knew that it wasn't the real deal. She sat in one of the chairs across his desk as he took his spot behind it. She saw a small statue of Khufu being used as a paperweight. It was interesting. Not much of his home or hobbies had been shown in either Manga or Anime. To see all this gave weight to Mahad's words.

"You seem to have found yourself pulled into a game that's over your head," Pegasus informed her and her attention snapped to him and he watched as her wide eyes narrowed at him.

"I have, but that hasn't been something to deter me before," She agreed and she watched as he pulled out a gaming mat and some cards.

"You are familiar with the game duel monsters, yes?" Pegasus asked and she gave a small nod, "I'm quite curious as to your ability, Miss Brown, and willing to offer you a deal if you can beat me."

"If I can't you wouldn't tell me what it was, correct?" She asked as he handed her a deck and she waited for him to cut it.

"Perhaps," He confirmed.

Pegasus watched as she gently set her cards down and waited to see how he played the game. He drew five cards and she did the same. She looked at the title of the cards. They were all mythological monsters. Gorgon, Harpy, Minotaur, Cyclops, and Pegasus. They were good cards with decent attack points and defence points but not ones she was familiar with. He quickly explained the rules and she relaxed a bit. One Summon per turn, one spell or trap from the hand per turn, one monster effect from the hand per turn, and one special summoning from the hand per turn. They started with two thousand life points and she watched as a small counter appeared on his desk. It was in the shape of a cartoon rabbit.

"I shall go first, placing Hitotsu-me giant in attack mode," Pegasus said as he placed the card down and she noted the vastly different art, "I end my turn."

She drew a new card as per the rules and barely glanced at it before placing the monster down.

"I place Gaia the Darkness Knight in attack mode and move to attack your Hitsotsu-me giant," She said and he removed his card from the mat and his life points went down.

Her attack had been 2300 against 1200. That gave him 1100 damage and brought his life points down to 900. She didn't like the idea that she could win against the creator. It was like he was barely playing. Then again, the early rules for the game were constantly changing. She could've gotten lucky on that end.

"Oh my, you seem to have a problem paying attention, my dear," Pegasus said as he noted her wandering attention, "I do hope I'm not boring you."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of getting lost in thought," She apologised and he was once again baffled by her genuine apology.

Kuriboh stared at the creator of the card game as the older man, though in technical terms Amelia was mentally older than him by one year, placed a card face down. It lightly grabbed onto the hoodie of the woman it had chosen to follow and she spared it a glance. She was worried about it, and it adored her for that. It wanted her to keep her attention on the duel and win. She drew a new card at the start of her turn and looked at it. Black Magician, and he looked ready for a fight. She wondered just how much of Mahad was in his monster cards. There seemed to be enough to allow him to change its expressions.

"I place Gorgon in attack mode, but move to attack your face down with Gaia the Darkness Knight," She informed Pegasus.

His mystic elf was revealed and she blinked. She was going to win? No, he was letting her win. She finished the duel by attacking with Gorgon with its 900 points. It was a victory, but one that felt unwarranted. She felt like she hadn't earned her win. It left a sour taste in her mouth. Kuriboh rubbed against her cheek, feeling her dissatisfaction.

"You have the makings of a formidable opponent," Pegasus complimented, "I should revamp these rules again so it's a fairer game."

"The rules of a game will always be changing as more ways to fight are added," She agreed her voice showing her slight discontent, "I wonder what you'll change."

"Well, my dear," Pegasus said getting her attention with his tone, "that shall be both our jobs, after all, I seem to have found a competent heir."

Oh, that's what he was playing at. She was quiet for a few seconds as he happily explained what that entailed. She'd no longer be Amelia Brown but Amelia Crawford. Amelia bit the inside of her cheek for a few seconds before realising that this was a good thing. It gave her the chance for financial stability and the ability to move around with little to no issues. She'd have a bodyguard to take her places, but they wouldn't hover constantly. It was good, yet she was a bit uncomfortable dropping her family as she had. She hadn't even thought about asking Mahad what she needed to do, she just did. She could she'd slap herself for being such an idiot. Her need for escapism was a problem. She turned her attention back to Pegasus as he moved his hands around as he spoke, he was a very animated man. If it wasn't for his future actions, she could see herself being good friends with him. They both enjoyed cartoons, though her tastes laid in Japanese animation.

"I'll have Miss Margret show you to your room," Pegasus said and a woman with short brown hair entered the room with a slight bow.

Amelia knew when she was dismissed. She followed Miss Margret to a room and she was left to her own devices. She ran a hand through her hair and found it lacking its usual kinks from her curls. Amelia looked around for a mirror and found a door instead. She opened it and faltered at the sight of a walk-in closet. It wasn't what she had been expecting, honestly, she didn't know what Pegasus did with his castle-like home. She found a wall-length mirror and noticed that her appearance was familiar, but changed. Seeing herself in the style of Yu-Gi-Oh was so strange. She brought a hand up to her hair and pushed it back from her face. It hung over her left eye in a very familiar fashion. She sighed and tugged at the zipper on her hoodie. Her tattoo still looked the same and she was pleased by that. She felt something heavy in her pocket and she pulled it out. A gold bracelet stood out against the pale skin of her palmas her mind slowly figured out where it came from.

"He makes it hard not to fall for him," She muttered as she easily clasped the gold bracelet around her wrist.

It was easily placed what time period it came from. It was a new kingdom hinge bracelet, with a scarab decoration on it, that looked more like a cuff. So she could easily place it at 1479-1425 B.C.E. That was the eighteenth dynasty and had to have been nowhere near Mahad's place in time. Either that or he was around in the first millennium, and it would place him there. She'd have to ask him next time she saw him if she ever would. Kuriboh picking up a large sun hat and placing it on its head caught her attention and she smiled at the sight.

"Looks good on you," She complimented and Kuriboh let out a sound of thanks as it moved around the room, looking at everything.

Amelia turned her attention to some drawers in a search for pyjamas. She was oddly exhausted. She brought a hand up and rubbed at her eyes. Her body was starting to react from the excitement she had been through, it didn't help that she had been in the first stage of sleeping when Mahad sent her to Pegasus. She found a pair of pyjamas and changed into them. Black was always a good colour and one of her personal favourites. She climbed into the king-sized bed and found the silk sheets to be a bit much, but oddly comfortable. Kuriboh quickly joined her and snuggled up to her under the covers. She smiled at the happy duel monster before sleep took her for a second time.