DISCLAIMER: I do not own YGO. Clean and simple.
( ) - Card Statistics
Italics - Thought phrases
--- - Location change
___ - The next day
~~~ - Chapter beginning/ end
Moonshadow: Welcome to the starting. Of course you all know, I am the writer. Moonshadow.
Solomon: And I am the future character, Solomon. Contrary to belief, I am not Yugi's Grandfather,
Solomon Motou. I am just Solomon. Or, if you wish, call me Sol.
Moonshadow: Yes. Well this is the start of a very long series, so I guess it'd be kind of choppy at first.
Solomon: My friend here isn't good with his writing skills.
Moonshadow: No, its not that… I'm just not good with openings to a very extensive story.
Solomon: So what you're saying is… you suck?
Moonshadow: Ha ha ha, very funny… ::Gags Solomon and stuffs him away for later use::
Solomon: Mm m! ::Tries to get out, but can't::
Moonshadow: Guess I don't want to actually kill him, he's part of the show. Anyways, we're starting this off and seeing what happens from here. Sorry if I repeat some words, I'm not very educated when it comes to proper English.
Solomon: Mm…
Moonshadow: On a quick note before you begin to read, please excuse my bad vocabulary again. My writing skills are based off of my Role-Playing ability, so the words in these stories will be repetitive and bored. But I do hope to change all of that soon enough. So now without further ado, and with no further stuttering, I give, the Prologue. Enjoy.
Solomon: No Flames!
~~~
-Prologue-
Ra…
The evening breeze cascaded over the stone structures below and picked up in speed. As it wondered through the sky swiftly, it finally brushed against the face of a man standing along the railing of his balcony. Fair skin and an average stature basically described him, clothed with long satin shorts and a pair of sandals. That dark spiked-hair swayed gentle in the continuing wind, his long blonde bangs blew past his violet eyes and settled just above his ears. He was ornamented with jewelry of gold bracelets and armlets. Rings that symbolized his orders and responsibilities, a gold headband with an eye engraved on it was his favored piece, and an over-lapping gold plate that fit onto his shoulders and covered his chest . All parts of ornaments that truly resembled royalty, and the title of… Pharaoh.
He enjoyed his moments on the balcony, never having to worry about the pressures of keeping a great empire in prosperity, and out of the reaches of poverty. Especially the worry of the Shadow Games, and those few who always tried… attempting to gain his most prized possession… his Millennium Puzzle. That mysterious gold item that lingered from his neck by a rope, a gift handed down to him just before the passing of the previous pharaoh. It was a great honor to receive such an endeavor to part-take in, and only he was able to further please the masses of the empire.
But not now, not at that moment on that balcony, as of that second he had no worries to ponder over. All he had to do was settle down and welcome the starry night that fled across the sky above. Glittering lights of fantasy began to twinkle as he raised his head and gazed up at the sight. Something about the night just mesmerized him in such a way that it made it difficult for him to look away.
"Such an amazing sight to behold…" He said whispering to himself. Anyone else who he talked to would've just nodded in agreement and reminded him of his mediocre tasks, never really having a fascination for the night sky as he did. Though he didn't mind at all if his colleagues never shared the same interests as he did, it just gave him a sense of uniqueness. Something that only he could enjoy fully and feel comfortable with, and for that he was quite content.
---
Meanwhile, down below in the shadows cast over by the sandy walls of the town, a robed figure wandered through the vacant narrow streets and made his way over to the temple that resided just a few hundred yards away from the palace. The shadowy man glanced around his surroundings a few times, just to be sure the coast was clear of any pursuers who dared to follow behind. Seeing no one in sight, he continued on his journey and weaved his way through the network of alleyways.
Not far from the robed man was another dark shadow that went after the same location as him. This one was outfitted in a similar robe, except this one was a bit thinner in dark coloring, both their colors were a deep shade of violet. As he approached near the other, they gave a cloaked stare at each other for a brief moment, then resumed their course together. Lurking passed many sleeping houses and closed merchant stands. Only a few more streets down the road, and they would reach the temple.
---
"Excuse me, Yami…?" A man dressed in a priest's attire slowly walked over to the Pharaoh that still sat atop the balcony, watching and dreaming under the stars. This man was different from the others of course, he was the Magic Teacher to following students, and was one of Yami's most trusted colleagues… as well as friend. He wore many gold bracelets as the Pharaoh did, but the one object that separated their similarity in gold fashion, was the bright ring that was around neck. One of the seven Millennium Items that were fought over many times before, just another item that he really had no use for except in Shadow Games.
"Hm? Ah, Mahaado, how are you tonight?" Yami turned and greeted his friend warmly before shifting his attention back to the stars. He couldn't get enough of the night's magical aura that it left on him.
"I-I'm fine Yami, but we have a situate-"
"Don't you just love the way stars shine in the night, guiding people through the dark and yet still appearing so beautifully?" Before Mahaado could finish, Yami interrupted him with his obsession with the stars. A smile crept onto his face as he just stared at the glistening lights, sparkling overhead.
"I haven't had time to see them lately Yami, because there's a-"
"I think they resemble how even in the dark, a light will be there for the lost to find a way home. And that… what?" Both of them were interrupted now as the glittering stars that Yami had watched, slowly dim into the dark void of the night. The town below was plunged into absolute black as the sky dipped into the shadows and painted the skies with a tainted view. Something was going wrong as Yami's eyes widened in fear, even the moon that sat close to the earth's horizon was fading in its wonderful color. Taking its place was the dripping shade of blood itself.
Mahaado was now left speechless after the events taking place, when he continued to try and inform the Pharaoh of the problems that were ensuing in the town, he was stopped quiet as the skies and lands were dumped into the sea of darkness. But soon realizing that this could be the result of the situation he tried to tell Yami about, he struggled to pull his mind back into its body and finish his report, "Yami! There's a Duel taking place in the Shadow Temple!"
He stood there silent for a moment himself, all he could focus on was the trouble that was taking place up in the sky. Though the instinct of being in command and taking into consideration all other's opinions seeped through that barrier of fear and confusion. He swung himself around and shifted his horrified expression to face Mahaado, "What??"
"Someone informed me of this and I thought it would be best if I came and told you personally," As he spoke, he had the urge to just glance over and stare blankly at the blood red moon that lingered off in the horizon. There were forces happening that none of them could comprehend.
"That's bad news, we've got to get over there, Now!" His feet jolted into action as he ran off the balcony and dashed down the flight of stairs off in the corner of his room. Running past a person that steadily made their way up, but politely sliding past them as he realized it was Mana.
"Wait Yami!" Reaching out a hand, gesturing him to slow down, he felt that it was of no use anyways for he already was down the stairs and out of earshot. So he turned heel and decided to follow after him. Just as he did, he was stopped immediately upon reaching the stairs by a pair of arms that swung out in front of him. "Huh?"
"And just where do you think you're going at such short notice?!" Mana glared at him frustrated. She was the apprentice to Mahaado and was more than eager to learn the priest's magic, but when one of them doesn't show up for a lesson, she's isn't too thrilled to see them running around the palace. "I waited for an hour waiting for you to show up, and you never even made an appearance to say 'Hello'!" That hat with a rough edged plate, resembling that of a magician's hat, covered part of her dazzling emerald, infuriated glare.
"I'm sorry Mana, but the lesson will have to take place some other time. Something bad is going to happen, and its my duty to see that the Pharaoh isn't harmed," He pleaded to Mana and pushed her arm out of the way. Getting a strong feeling that he was going to be far behind Yami by the time he got there.
"Huh? Do you need me to help?" She was stunned by his look and his voice, it wasn't like him to have a face full of worry. Usually he was stern and had a facial appearance to match, but this time… its seemed like he'd seen a ghost.
He trailed down to the bottom of the steps while she asked and already ran off into the distance and out the palace doors.
"Hey! Hm… some nerve…" Folding her arms, she acted even more furious at her teacher, then wondered over to the balcony to get a better view of them leaving. "Why was the Pharaoh in such a hurry anyways?" It didn't occur to her the reason until those emerald eyes shifted away from the bottom and over to the sky, gasping in shock at the sight to behold, "…Oh my…"
---
Running like the sun wasn't going to come back, Yami rushed across the cold sands that stuck in his sandals and tried to make his way frantically for the temple that seemed so close. The buildings and walls surrounding him crawled, as if they were closing in on him, ready to crush him between their rough surface. But that couldn't get to his mind now, illusions couldn't distract him from the temple in front of him. The building that he ran toward as fast as he could, yet no matter how much he ran, he just felt it growing further away from him. And as he continued trying to effort his way to the temple, the quicker the buildings seemed to grow closer. So close soon enough, that he could feel his breath brushing against the sandy façade. It was now hopeless for him to get to the temple, or even escape the tightening squeeze of the buildings. His lungs were slowly giving out and he had difficulty filling them with air again, as if exhaustion and the walls were finally taking its toll on his body.
The last thing he saw was the image of a tall, golden figure rising above the temple's rooftop. It towered high into the sky and was shrouded in darkness from the shadows of the black sky, all that could be seen from the beast was its powerful legs and mighty arms. Pillaring wings of stone and a boastful torso stretching out to flare dominance over the kingdom's denizens. Echoes of a blood-curdling roar rung through his head, bellowing a shriek of utter delight in his death.
And the face… the face of a monster. It was small compared to its massive body, but looked like the skull of an ultimate pharaoh, a creature that existed as the ruler over all others. That shady face of the monster flashed a small grin at the sight of Yami's crippling lungs losing their will to live on. Until slowly… the sight of the beast slowly faded into the shadows of his mind, and his eyes finally closed.
-End.
~~~
Moonshadow: Originally, I was going to let the whole situation run through, but I came to think that it might give away too much all at once. So instead what I'm planning to do is trail you along, give this story a bit of a cliffhanger appeal to it.
Solomon: In other words, your going to run out of ideas, and then throw these things in to fill in empty space. Right?
Moonshadow: Argh… no, not right. In fact, its completely the opposite. I just want to add a bit of suspense to the plot. That's all.
Solomon: Uh huh, yeah, whatever.
Moonshadow: In any case, I'm going to start off previews in the starting of the actual chapters, popular to many other animes. Course I won't give away the story plot again, just a taste of the next episode to get the readers and reviewer's minds wondering.
Solomon: Well why don't you start off the previews now, it'll save time?
Moonshadow: Not right now, it'll ruin the moment.
Solomon: Oh yes, Yami getting crushed by the weight of his desperation.
Moonshadow: ::Gags Solomon:: Why don't we wait until your part before letting you talk, okay? Anyways, this Prologue would've been longer, if I had given this more thought… but I can only do with what I have at the moment. Though let me reassure you folks, the real chapters are going to be a bit longer and a bit more expansive, so brace yourselves.
Solomon: Mm m! ::Gagged::
Moonshadow: Oh yes, and this Prologue was "Hot off the Press", so it may look like crap for a while. Up until I get the time to revise it. Knowing me, I'm one to rush the through the completion of one chapter, only to begin on the next.
Solomon: Hm mm.
Moonshadow: Starting, Chapter One: Dread of the Past.
