Author's Notes: See, I told you I'd continue! Sorry for scaring you like that and taking so long. Thanks for all your ideas, too. I really appreciate them! I got my inspiration back after a few of them. ^_^
I'm writing the prequel, with little Shadi (aw!), but it may be a bit boring. Hopefully not, though! And I can't think of a title for it, so suggestions would be welcome.
Aw, no, if Ankh and Shadi aren't defective, then neither is Scale. Heh, he even gets to be a hero for a while.
Fire Pendant (and anyone else), you can use Shadi, Ankh, and Scale (though Shadi's not really mine to give). Just let me know when you put them in your story so I can see and advertise for you! On that same subject, go look at my profile to see what fanfics are already out there with Ankh, Scale, and Shadi in them. Because some of the really good ones have been updated lately!
Ooh wow, now I'm getting close to 500 reviews! Eee, I'm so cool! ^_^

Ankh: Hello! *smiles* Shadi and I won't be in this chapter much, but I just thought I'd tell you that Indigo still doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Just me and Scale. In fact, she doesn't own Shadi either, so you don't have to ask her just to use him! Oh, and thank you so much for your great reviews, ideas, and support. ^_^

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Three-In-One Combo!
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""But yes, an eternity with Scale IS a long time. Although it's just as long with anyone else, and could have been longer alone.""

Yes, an eternity in Bobasa awaited Shadi and his spirits. So far it had been almost two weeks and the neighbors were beginning to remember why they hadn't been getting any sleep. Bobasa didn't realize that using the Ankh to poke at peoples' minds would be beneficial to him. So he was very surprised to find an angry mob outside the door one morning.

"Can I help you?" the large man asked, eyeing their sharp, pointy sticks.

"If you don't shut up whatever's making all that noise every night, we're going to shut it for you!" an angry man with graying hair said.

"Noise? What noise are you speaking of, sir? The nights here are incredibly peaceful," Bobasa said, smiling.

"Get yourself a muffler, you freak!" someone shouted from the back. The rest of the crowd took up the cry and started closing in, down to their last bit of patience. Someone threw a stone at Bobasa, which bounced off his shoulder.

Bobasa's eyes glinted dangerously. "You lie. And I will prove it." He reached up and took a small golden key from his tongue. He began to unlock his vest…

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"I'd rather just kill him," Scale muttered.

"But Scale, it's still not his fault…" Ankh pointed out. He suddenly looked up. "He's opening his vest."

Shadi nodded. "Ankh, if he takes you out, you can put him to sleep long enough to enter his mind and change his personality. Or cut the very strings holding his mind together if you must. If it's you Scale, escape to the Shadow Realm and get help. Your power will not work on him and he will refuse any challenges. Do not let him do any damage with either of your Items."

Scale gave an exasperated sigh, but then his eyes lit up in vengeful glee as he felt his Item being taken out. "Oh he'll get it now…" He vanished.

"Scale, no!" Ankh cried. Then he sighed and looked at Shadi. "Do you think he has a chance?"

"As much as any of us do, I suppose," Shadi said, though he looked slightly worried.

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The neighbors stared in morbid horror as Bobasa opened his best and took the Scales out. But then there was a blinding flash of light. A dark silhouette appeared, and as the light faded, the townspeople were confronted with a demonic version of their calm, quiet neighbor, Shadi. The man wore red and black robes and had a look of sadistic glee in his narrow eyes.

"Be gone, mortals!" an unearthly voice boomed as Senui laughed evilly. The townspeople stood there staring for a second before turning to run for their lives. Scale whipped around to face Bobasa, who was frowning darkly at him.

"I will kill you," Scale hissed slowly, in a low voice.

Bobasa's frown deepened. He lowered the Scales he had been brandishing and moved them toward his stomach. Before he replaced them though, Scale's eyes narrowed and he gripped his own Scales, and pulled himself into the Shadow Realm. Bobasa put the Scales back in their spot, but their spirit had already escaped.

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Scale appeared in the Shadow Realm. "Heh, sucker…" he snickered. He looked around and started walking forward. After a short while, three small monsters approached him. The Wretched Ghost of the Attic launched itself onto his head with an excited squeak followed by a purr of perfect happiness. The Lucky Trinket looked around and gave a disappointed, slightly worried trill. The Penguin Soldier looked around and then looked down with a small, sad quack.

"Oh get over it, you weaklings!" Scale spat. He quickly pulled the Ghost off of his head before it could dig its claws into his turban. He held it in both hands and looked back at the other two. "If you want to help those useless dung-eaters, you can start by finding my host's hideous body." The two monsters perked up a bit, especially the purple Penguin. They nodded and left with a trill and a squawk.

"Now YOU." Scale glared down at the content little fiend trying to snuggle into him. "You're going to be useful for a change! Stay off and pay attention." He plunked the Ghost down on the ground where it sat quivering in excitement. "Do you know where the old guardians live, you roach?"

The furry Ghost suddenly got completely still. Its eyes grew as it stared up at Scale. It gave a faint squeak and a shiver of fear, but it nervously bobbed up and down.

"Finally, the puffball has a use." Scale smirked. "Take me to them."

The Wretched Ghost's eyes nearly popped out of its head. It began shivering uncontrollably and scrunched its eyes shut.

"What's your problem, pest?" Scale asked, eyes narrowed. He crouched down and poked the monster lightly. "What, you think they can hurt you? A weakling like you WOULD be afraid. It's not like I'm going to go right up to them and hand you over!" He grinned, then gave a short snort of laughter. "Ha, as if they'd want you anyway. Useless lint-ball… I'm going to ruin their plans and kill their precious creation. So take me there!"

The Ghost blinked up at him. Its shivering slowly stopped. It quickly jumped into Scale's arms and snuggled into his chest with a weak purr, until he pushed it away again. It bobbed up and down in a nervous not, gave a short squeak, and hopped away to the left, looking back to see if Scale would follow. Scale stood up and walked after the fiend.

After walking for a while, Scale's foot caught on something and he fell flat on his face. The Wretched Ghost of the Attic quickly hopped back and gave a concerned squeak. Scale growled and pushed it away, getting to his feet and looking around for whatever tripped him so he could kick it. Upon closer inspection, he found a thick, almost transparent cord floating about an inch off the ground.

"Damn it to Osiris…" Scale muttered resentfully. "What in the Underworld is this?"

The Wretched Ghost started squeaking excitedly and hopping from one side of the cord to the other.

Scale stared at the fiend for a moment. "You know I have no idea what that means. Keep going."

The Ghost purred and resumed its hopping pace. Scale noticed that they were following the cord he had tripped over, which was growing more visible as they went. Finally they crested a hill and looked down on a large crowd of people, mostly older men. The cord seemed to lead to the group, and closer to them it split into a few dozen thinner lines that seemed to come from some of the people.

"What IS this thing?" Scale wondered out loud, looking at the cord.

The Wretched Ghost squeaked quietly but urgently. It drew in a deep breath of air and puffed up as big as it could get. Then it hopped over and batted at the Scales, squeaking three times, slowly and clearly.

Scale looked at the furry fiend, then bent down to sniff the cord. He quickly drew back in revulsion. "Oh disgusting. It smells like that huge oaf. So THIS is how they put thoughts in that big empty head…" He flicked it experimentally. "Or even if it's not, it's still some connection between those old dust-eaters and the blob." He grinned sadistically at the Ghost. "Let's destroy this, shall we?"

The small monster gave a short squeak and purred, rubbing affectionately against Scale's hands. The spirit pulled away with a disgusted look. "Quit it, fur ball!" Scale looked over the hill again. "It'd be easier to cut through where it's thinner, but I can't get that close… I'll have to saw through it here." Scale took a small, toothed knife out of his robe and put it to the cord. The knife barely bit into the cord, so Scale pressed down and sawed with all his might. The teeth in the knife were the only reason it was cutting the cord at all. "Heh, times like this, I really wish I had the Rod. Its dagger could cut through this thing like air."

The Wretched Ghost squeaked in interest.

"Oh I'll get it. I'll get them all some day. They'll see." Scale kept sawing and didn't look up. "Then I'll have the power to rule over even the Pharaoh. And the High Priest. And that damn ambitious tomb robber…"

The Ghost gave a questioning squeak.

"Sure, him too I guess," Scale said, frowning vaguely. "He's not stupid enough to really oppose me. If he'd agree to help, I'd even make him my advisor or something. I'm no good at dealing with people. That's definitely more up the green-freak's alley."

Over the hill, Scale started to hear some angry voices. He had cut through about half of the cord, and the guardians were beginning to notice and get annoyed.

"Ah, crap. They'll come see what's wrong in a minute." Scale tried to saw through the tough cord faster. "Rrg… Help me, will you!?"

The Wretched Ghost of the Attic quickly hopped over to stand across the cord from Senui. It placed its paws on either side of the knife and tried to pull the cord apart at the weak point with its sharp claws.

"Damn," Scale fumed. "Damn, damn, damn… Curse them all, and may Set devour their souls… Can't you do any better than that!? They're coming!" The angry voices were indeed drawing nearer. The small Ghost squeaked and shivered, but pulled harder.

"Move," a voice said commandingly. The Wretched Ghost of the Attic squeaked in fear and jumped into Scale's arms, knocking him back form the cord. It was a good thing too, because the next second, a long jagged sword struck the cord where he had been cutting. The cord snapped in two. Scale looked up to see a humanoid monster wearing red, with a horn coming out of his forehead, and blond hair. He had a long sword made of dragon fang strapped to his back, and held a huge jagged Sword of Dark Destruction in both hands. He was a D. Human. Behind him were two Darkfire Dragons, huge orange beasts made entirely of flames.

"Come with me," the D. Human commanded. One of the dragons slithered over beside him and crouched, allowing him to swing up on its back. Scale stood up and stuck his knife back in his belt, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! What do you want with me?" Scale demanded. He dropped the Wretched Ghost of the Attic, but it hopped up to perch on his turban. The angry mob of ghostly guardians was coming closer. Looking over the ridge, Scale changed his mind. "How do I get on that thing?" He pointed to the second Darkfire Dragon.

"She has her own job to do. Now come on!" The D. Human frowned and stretched out his hand to Scale. The second dragon lunged towards the advancing guardians, making them scatter and fall back. The beast dipped her head to snap up the severed cord, gulping it down with a snap of her jaws. She gave a roar like lamp oil hitting a fire and kept wolfing down the cord. As she pulled more of it into her mouth, the guardians it came from were dragged towards her too.

"If you think I'm getting on THAT thing with YOU, you've got another thought coming, horn-head!" Scale glared at the warrior. The fiend on his head squeaked worriedly and dug its claws into his turban. The second flame-dragon was carefully clipping the lines of the cord from each guardian's ghostly Items, swallowing them one by one. When she had devoured all of that side of the cord, the dragon whirled around with a lash of her tail and started snapping up the other side of the cord. The guardians began to regroup and were advancing on Scale with murderous glares. The Ghost on his turban gave a soft squeak, then stretched up, still holding on to Scale's turban, and began squeaking loudly and angrily.

Scale backed up only one step, his eyes narrowed. He brandished the Scales at the approaching crowd. "I hope Anubis shreds each one of your souls beyond recognition." He was about to judge the whole crowd and summon Anubis, which would take all of his energy but still be worth it, when strong, sharp claws gripped his torso and lifted him into the air. He frantically struggled and started screaming curses at the top of his lungs. The Wretched Ghost's squeaking took on a frightened note.

The Darkfire Dragon carrying the D. Human and holding Scale launched herself into the air and slithered through it like a ribbon. The other dragon kept working her way down the cord, wolfing it down.

They flew for a long time, with Scale struggling the whole way. The terrified fiend on his head was hanging on for dear life. Finally the dragon began to descend. She dropped Scale about a foot above the ground and settled down to earth beside him. The D. Human swung off of her back and went over to Scale, who was standing up, rubbing his back.

"You should have ridden with me, Scale spirit. It would have been much more comfortable," the D. Human said, smiling slightly. Scale was about to start shouting at the warrior, but he heard an urgent trilling by his feet and felt something grab his robes. Looking down, he saw the Lucky Trinket and Penguin Soldier looking at him. The Penguin Soldier was nibbling on his robe.

"Get OFF!" Scale yelled, delivering a sharp kick to the penguin, making it fall over. "That idiot lump may not care if his robe's ruined, but I do! And you were supposed to be looking for his body! Go find it NOW!" The Wretched Ghost gave a sad, worried purr.

The Lucky Trinket trilled again and hopped over to the mouth of a cave that Scale hadn't noticed.

"They HAVE found it. So why don't you give them a break," the D. Human suggested, frowning. "They've done well."

Scale glared. "I'll do what I want, freak," he growled. Then he followed the two small monsters into the cave. He tried to pry the fiend off of his head, but it only let out a high squeak and dug its claws in deeper.

They walked through the dark cave, with some sort of glowing fungus on the walls lighting their way. Finally they came to a large room lined with oddly-shaped stalactites and stalagmites. In the center of the room was a pillar of bright blue-green light, and in the pillar was Shadi's body. His eyes were closed peacefully, and robes floated gently around him.

"Huh, so you weaklings can at least be SLIGHTLY useful…" Scale mused. He stuck his hand into the light but pulled back quickly. "Oh damn it to Set, that's freezing!" He glared and took out his Scales. As he stuck them into the pillar of light, it flickered and disappeared. Shadi's body fell on top of Scale, who gave a yell of protest. He quickly dropped the body to the ground. Although it no longer had Shadi's Items, it was still Scale's host body. He held the Scales, disappeared, and opened Shadi's eyes, blinking as he possessed his host's body once more. The Wretched Ghost of the Attic dropped as he entered Shadi's body, but quickly hopped over and rubbed against him. When he tried to push it away, it only hopped up on his head and settled down with its claws in his turban.

Scale got up, brushing his robes off. "Disgusting… Dead mortal…" he muttered. The Scales now hung at the body's waist. He fingered the rip in the front of Shadi's robe that Bobasa had cut to get the Ankh. "How annoying…"

Scale turned to the two monsters beside him. "Now get lost," he snarled. They gave happy trills and quacks, and left.

"And you…" Scale muttered, glaring up at the furry fiend on his head. He reached up and tried to pull it off, but it dug its claws into his turban. "Relax," he commanded. The Ghost slowly complied, and Scale plucked it off to stare into its huge eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment before Scale tossed it lightly away. "Leave me alone, hairball," he muttered. Then he clutched his Scales and transported himself back to the living world in his host's body.

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Endnote: Eh, that wasn't bad. Not the best chapter, but acceptable, I guess. What did you think? And please give suggestions for a title for my prequel when I get it posted. It's got Shadi when he was seven or eight, and Ankh and Scale are kind of there, but his father keeps them in line well, so Shadi hasn't met them yet. It'll be fun. I hope. And I guess after this I'll get Bobasa out of the way and just LET it end. *whacks the story* Die, you stupid thing! So it's still got at least a chapter or two to go…