IV.

My notes: Okay…I'm going to assume people like this story. I'm glad!!! But I keep getting so much inspiration. I can't believe I'm still typing…..poor hands…do you think you could give me a break?.....no? Alright you're the boss..

Oh yeah..one other thing, you guys think I'm actually good at this? Thank you very much. I'll have to do something for all of you….



Yami stared down at the grass he was sitting on. Silver Fang lay down beside him, while the Mystical Elf folded herself gently to the ground. He had not liked the news that she had told him. This changed everything. If things went back to the way they had once been than the world of his Light…

No! He couldn't even think it. All the kids who played Duel Monsters would be unleashing magic and creatures that they did not know how to control! That was the reason they had been sealed in the first place. He shuddered, remembering the battles, the devastation. Never again.

//Yugi will not have to go through with that. I promise//

"So, how do I ensure that this realm is brought back to peace and how does the Celtic Guardian fit in to all of this?" Yami was still a touch confused about that part. He remembered the Elf swearing his loyalty to him as the Pharaoh long ago. He also dimly remembered his surprise at seeing the sword.

:Celiian, or the Celtic Guardian as you know him was the first of the creations of this realm to change tradition and open up new paths and strategies. It was also because he swore his loyalty to you and you excepting it that changed everything.:

The mystical Elf nodded. "Young Celiian had heard of you, the King of Games and was determined to fight for you, he knew that in traditional methods he was too weak to even be considered a Card, so he learned a new tradition, the sword and the way of the warrior. Here the stronger monsters are the duelers. If they can capture another strong monster than they gain possession of their Card. You have two tasks ahead of you. One, to return the heart of cards to this realm and two," Here she gazed sternly at him and took the card that was lying at Silver Fang's feet, "Not to get caught yourself."

Yami nodded. "So where is Celiian now?" She pointed at a before unnoticed path. He looked down it and could dimly make out a village of sorts. "He's there?" He turned back to the Elf but she was gone. He looked at Silver Fang, one eyebrow raised. He shrugged.

:Thus is the ways of the elves:

They walked side by side, Yami's card placed in his own deck and Silver Fang still activated. They had reached the edge of the village and Yami gazed in amazement at all the elves. They were in every colour and all were tall and graceful. They all also had long hair.

:You had better return me to the deck. If you need me, I will come. But if you don't then trust another card:

Yami turned to Silver Fang and placed his hand on the great furred neck. "Thank you, my friend." He took the card out of the slot and returned it to his deck. He watched as Silver Fang vanished and then turned his attention back to the village.

If he just walked in, he would be noticed immediately. He wore all black, whereas they wore brightly coloured clothes of all make and colours. He sighed, how was he suppose to find Celiian.

"Are you a card, or a dueler?" He whipped around to see a young green haired elf. She had on a bright pink dress and kinda reminded him of Tea.

"A dueler and I hope to stay that way." She nodded at this as if it was the only right answer. Who knows, maybe it was.

"You're looking for someone, aren't you?" He looked at her sharply and nodded. "It's Celiian, isn't it?" His eyes narrowed. She laughed at his look. "Don't worry, I'm a friend of his and you look exactly like the person he describes from his dreams. He seems to love you." Yami blushed.

"I don't think he loves me, quite that way." She looked puzzled and walked around him. She stopped when she was in front of him again and reached up to feel his skin and his hair.

"Why wouldn't he? You're handsome and the same height, although he would grow taller, so that might be a problem." She pondered this for a moment and then cried out in delight. "It wouldn't matter! He wants to be a card and you are a dueler so he could be your card."

Yami was still blushing. "I think I'll just talk with him and see what happens, okay?" She looked at him weird, but shrugged.

"You had just better be careful. There are a lot of duelers that come here and quite a few of them wouldn't mind you in their private collection." Yami couldn't take any more of this, so he quickly changed the conversation back to its original topic.

"So how do I find Celiian?" She pointed back the way he had come. He's in the forest, but only a Dark Gray could take you to him."

"A Dark Gray? But how do I find one?" He looked back and found her gone. "Elves…" He sighed and walked back in the forest, unaware of the eyes that watched him from under a helmet of Dragon bones.



"A Dark Gray? I don't recognize that card." Mai sounded confused and Yugi didn't blame her. It wasn't a particularly powerful card and was seldom used and for some reason, it was hard to get a hold of. He was about to answer when Bakura beat him to it.

"Dark Gray is a beast card. It is hard to come across and is good at hiding within a Forest environment. I remember coming across the card at one time. It says it has rarely been seen by mortal eyes."

"Hey Yugi, you ever seen the card? Yugi!?" He dimly heard Joey calling out to him, but he was tired. He slumped over and would have fallen if it weren't for a pair of blue clad arms that stopped his fall.

"He's growing weaker. Whatever Yami has to do, he had better hurry up. He may be sustained by the shadow realm but Yugi has nothing to draw upon."

/Yami…I need you to hear me. Don't fight it…/



He whipped quietly by Yami's ear and he was sure he had heard his light's voice carried on it. It hurt him to think about his light here, but he knew it was most likely the only help he would get, so he tried to listen.

'Don't fight it…'

Yami was confused at that, but…

//Whatever you say, my Light//

He continued on, looking for the elusive creature. He recognized the name of the card and had a vague idea of what it looked like. But how to get it? He needed something that would be able to maneuver easily, preferably fly, but that wouldn't seem intimidating. He pulled out his deck. He knew there were cards in there that would help him, cards that had been placed there when he had been Pharaoh.

//The heart of the cards is not big and powerful, it is small and strong//

He grasped the first card that came into his hand.

"The Petite Dragon. Perfect." It was able to fly and had low enough attack and defense points that it shouldn't be able to scare off the Dark gray. He grinned and activated it. A little yellow worm type Dragon appeared, it's wings easily supporting its small body. Friendly green eyes stared back at Yami.

"I need your help, little one. I must find a Dark Gray, but I have no wish to harm it. I just need its help. Can you find me one? If you come into any danger, call for me and I will send you a protector." The little dragon squeaked its assent and took off in the forest. Yami sat down by a tree to wait. Now that he had the time he could try to figure a few things out.

First, he needed to stay away from the more powerful cards. That he could deal with. Second, he needed to show the Celtic Guardian that any tradition was true as long as it is a path freely chosen. That might be hard. If what the little elf had said was true, than Celiian, practically worshipped him. Not good at all. He sighed. Third, he himself must understand the loyalty and trust that has been placed within him as well as Yugi.

//I always thought that I controlled the powerful cards and Yugi controlled the weaker ones, that he wasn't up to the to the challenger the powerful ones called for. But I was wrong. Yugi understood them and worked with them. That is why I am having such a hard time now.//

He sighed. The last problem he had was the task of staying out of the grasp of the Fiends and Lord of Dragons. If they ever got a hold of him, they could use the power of his mind crush to deal with most enemies and they could use his deck. They could also use his light…

No! That would not happen. A rustling in the bush was all the warning he had before he was attacked. He whipped around as claws hit him hard. They weren't meant to harm just to disable. It worked. He fell hard and looked up. It was a Lesser Dragon, but for all that it's name said, it could still do damage. He needed help and fast!

The dragon roared at him and he heard laughter coming from behind it.

//Speak of the Fiend..//

The Lord of Dragons walked out from behind the dragon and smiled at Yami, in a way that he did not like.

"You impressed me the last time we fought and I must say that as a Card you are very powerful indeed." He walked over to Yami who dared not move with the Dragon towering over him. The Lord stopped in front of him. "As a dueler you are quite wonderful as well, but I prefer to see potential fully tapped and the only way to do that is to make you a Card, my Card." He reached towards Yami and he could feel the magic trying to pull him from the deck. No, it couldn't end this way, but he was growing weaker and weaker. With all the Dark energy he couldn't fight back, not without his Light!

Suddenly a little ball of yellow streaked by and hit the out stretched hand, ruining the concentration of the spell. Yami was released in time to hear a triumphant squeak. He looked up and saw before him, the Petite Dragon, who it seemed would defy his proper Lord to help Yami. The Lord spoke something at his small friend, but the Dragon ignored him. This made the Lord angry and he called upon his lesser Dragon.

//No you don't! I said I would protect him and I will//

He didn't know what caused him to pull the next card from his deck, but he didn't care at the moment. A friend was in trouble and there was no way that he was going to let anyone be hurt for him! He pulled out his own card and activated it, sending himself into attack mode along with his dragon.

This surprised the Lord but not Petite. He just came up beside Yami and together they were ready to fight. Yami called upon his powers and attacked the Dragon, it was equipped with the Dragon Treasure, just as he thought it would be.

"Petite! Use your speed and steal the treasure for yourself, once that's gone I can destroy it." Petite nodded and sped towards and behind the dragon swiping at the glimmering crystal ball the Dragon guarded. Yami knew he had succeeded when the Dragon let out a roar. He attacked again and had the satisfaction of seeing the Dragon destroyed. The Lord knew he had been beaten again but wasn't going to give up without a fight.

He was about to call upon another Dragon, when suddenly the forest around them was filled with a low growl. Thousands upon thousands of emerald eyes gleamed out of the forest at the Lord. He didn't know what was out there and wisely decided to retreat, but not without glaring at Yami and the Petite Dragon. Yami smirked and his small friend squeaked as the Lord disappeared. Then he turned to se his saviors. Only one remained it seemed and out of the forest a small, sleek goat- like creature emerged. It was entirely gray except for the beautiful emerald eyes.

:You would risk yourself, Dueler, to save a friend. You are the one Celiian seeks. I will take you to him, but you can not make it on foot:

Yami knew whom he needed, but didn't even get a chance to call. Silver Fang appeared beside him as Petite rested around his wrist and disappeared back into the deck for a well-deserved rest. Yami turned to Silver Fang who gave him a grin. He grinned back and got on. Together they sped off behind the Dark Gray, deeper into the forest. It wasn't till they were deep within the forest that he realized exactly what he had done when he had used his card. If he been destroyed in battle, than no one could ever have his card, but it would free his deck.

//I think my Light would have wanted that if there was no other choice//



"I knew Yami was gutsy, but even I didn't expect him to risk himself!" Kaiba's words just about described everyone's feelings about the duel they had just watched. Everyone's but Yugi. He was grinning, tiredly yes, but still grinning. He was proud of his Yami and it showed as another layer was added to the broken puzzle.

Those who had dueled against the teamed souls only know realized what they had truly been up against. They hadn't just been fighting the Heart of the cards. They had been fighting the soul.

The one part that had scared them was when Yami started to grow weaker, they could see him flicker in and out of existence and it had reflected in their young friend here. But they had held on and when Yugi pleaded for Petite to come, the danger had passed. It seemed that Yugi still had some influence even with them completely separated.

/Yami. You are learning. Just because you are Dark doesn't mean your evil./

He looked down at the puzzle.

/Soon I will be able to join you again./