Quick A/N: This chapter introduces my last original characters that will appear in my story, human ones anyway. Ok, on with whatever I was saying. Magi and Khyber are Dark Magicians that could care less about Yugi. Don't tell me stuff about Yugi being Master of Magicians because in this case he isn't. Ok, on with the story.

Chapter Six: Master of Magicians

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of the forests of Duelist Kingdom, dappling the ground with ever changing patterns that could never be reproduced or repeated. Nothing seemed out of place or out of the ordinary. Even the duelist sitting idly underneath one of the towering trees seemed to be part of the ordinary. The girl was alone; fiddling lightly with the dueling glove she had been given. She was a player killer, a duelist hired by Pegasus to weed out the competitors in the tournament so that only the strongest duelists made it to the finals.

The girl sighed softly and closed her eyes, resting the back of her head against the tree trunk behind her. The wind ruffled her hair, playing with the sandy strands like a little kid. The sunlight glinted off the medallion that hung from the chain around her neck, attracting the attention of an old sea bird that had a weakness for shiny things. The sea gull dived towards the shiny thing that had caught his attention, heading blindly toward his death for when he got close to his goal he was struck in the side but something much larger then he. He felt a momentary burst of pain and then blissful nothing.

The girl opened one ice colored eye after hearing the surprised squawk. She watched as a giant white wolf shook the life out of the old sea bird and sighed. She had no fear of the canine; he was a servant of hers, though not a very reliable one. The wolf looked back at her and dropped the beaten and bloody bird corpse, panting and wagging his tail like an overgrown pup. The girl shook her head and threw a stick at the playful wolf before standing up.

The duelist's name was Danya Alexis Damall, simply called Alexis by her friends and family. She was the youngest in a family of six girls but didn't see her sisters very often; they had stayed with relatives when her parents moved to Japan from Australia. She was the typical rich brat that was used to getting what she wanted from everybody around her. Exceptionally sharp when it came to learning new dueling skills, she was a level headed duelist that wasn't one that you should mess with if you wanted a quick victory. Her father was an old business buddy with Maximillion Pegasus and she was no stranger to the island. To her this tournament was a walk in the park.

The medallion she wore around her neck was something Pegasus had called a Summoning Chip. It allowed her to summon monster from the Shadow Realm, but only the Duel Monsters found in her deck like the wolf who, in reality, was a Silver Fang she had named Dakota. Dakota was more or less her pet, a playful companion that could turn on anyone except her in the blink of an eye. She had brought him with her to Duelist Kingdom so that he could help her track down weakling duelists. So far he had been doing a pretty good job but now he couldn't seem to find any worthy players. Oh well, Alexis had other monsters at her call. She sighed and snapped her fingers, the sound seeming to echo endlessly through the suddenly quiet forest.

"You called?" asked a voice from seemingly nowhere.

"What do you wish for us to do master?" asked a second voice as a pair of armored men stepped out from the dark hole that had opened in thin air. Alexis turned to study them silently. They appeared to be twins at first glance, but closer inspection showed the differences between the two.

The first was clad in purple armor and grabbed in violet robes. He easily towered over his master and was taller then his counterpart, the second man who was in a strange sense his brother. His skin had a dark, almost tan color to it, his face framed not only by his armor but by his hair that was a darker shade of violet. He gripped a light green staff in his right hand, the magical jewel embedded in it glinting in the light that was allowed through the ever moving forest canopy. The Dark Magician seemed to radiate an aura of calmness that was contagious to most people as Alexis inspected his armor, which he held patiently still for.

"Good as always Magi." She told him, patting his arm lightly.

"Thank you Master Alexis" The magician, Magi, replied, his voice soft and warm. Alexis locked eyes with him for a second and, like any girl would, instantly became lost in the look of intense loyalty and intelligence she saw there as well as the hint of hidden power that glinted in the icy blue orbs. Alexis shook her head to clear it and moved on to the second magician.

The second didn't seem quite as calm as the first. Indeed, he seemed to be the exact opposite of his brother. He gave off an aura that consisted mainly of anxiousness. He was ready to serve his master at the drop of a dime and seemed ready to jump on her if she didn't give him an order soon. His armor, while in the same style as that of Magi, was indigo, the bands that showed were the armor connected a bright red. His sapphire blue eyes glinted in anticipation as Alexis inspected his armor. He blushed lightly as Alexis grabbed his arms to make him stand still, smiling sheepishly as she glared at him while Magi shook his head sadly.

"Khyber, when will you ever stay still?" Alexis asked the magician in a light reprimand. The blond haired magician attempted to remain still during the rest of his examination, a light blush giving color to his other wise white porcelain skin. After Alexis examined the green jewel in his staff she nodded to herself and gave him a quick pat on the arm like she had done to Magi.

"Well done Khyber. Now, I want you two to go out a find a duelist, any duelist. Dakota has fallen down on the job." The semi-vain duelist explained. Khyber glared at Dakota; the Silver Fang put his tail between his legs until it rested against his belly and slunk off into the portal that the magicians had appeared from, closing the portal behind him.

"We will not fail you Master." Magi promised then, dragging an indignant Khyber behind him, started to search for a duelist.

*The oh so wonderful time passage! ._-;*

Alexis boredly tossed her medallion up and down as she awaited the return of her two magicians. It had been an hour and still they hadn't returned. Oh what was taking them so long!? Were they no better then Dakota!? She caught her medallion one last time and was about to stalk off in the direction they had gone when they returned. Khyber was looking rather proud of himself while Magi worn his normal, impassive expression. Sometimes Alexis would have paid Magi to look a bit more animated but that had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

"I found two duelists for you Master Alexis. Someone named Joey Wheeler and a little runt named Yugi Moto." Khyber said, his voice betraying his pride at having found not one but two duelists for his master while his brother hadn't found any. Magi, as usual, took no notice of his brother's slight gloating at doing something better then him. He was older then Khyber and didn't feel the need to show off all the time. His thoughts were broken by Alexis thanking Khyber and then telling both of them to lead the way.

Khyber eagerly took charge, leading the way while Magi calmly walked beside Alexis. No words were exchanged during the twenty five minute walk and indeed they weren't really needed. The two magicians and their master had been through a lot together and each knew the other two's strengths and weaknesses. Though Magi didn't approve of Alexis' attitude sometimes, he valued her strengths and the ability to seem calm under fire. Khyber didn't like Magi's ability to be calm all the time but did value his brother for being unique and for bailing him out of trouble plenty of times while in the Shadow Realm. Alexis really didn't find any major faults or things she didn't like in her loyal companions and so she tended to treat them a whole lot better then she treated other people.

Khyber emerged at the edge of the forested dueling area just in time for the trio to witness Yugi defeat Weevil. Alexis and the two magicians hung back and watched while Yugi's friends jumped around and congratulated him, Alexis feeling the familiar pang for human friendship that soon faded away when she glanced at Khyber and Magi. Who needed friends when you had loyal Duel Monsters at your call?

"Well, very impressive...for a little runt." Alexis said after clapping for about thirty seconds. Yugi spun around to look in her direction while Joey and the others merely turned to look at her. They saw only her; Magi and Khyber had retreated to the cover of the trees.

"What did you call him?" Joey asked, his eyes burning with hatred already for the girl. Sure, Yugi was short, but why did everyone have to pick on him?

"A runt. Need me to spell it out for you? R-U-N-T." Alexis said arrogantly, crossing her arms and glaring at Joey. Joey suddenly came to the conclusion that he didn't like this girl. He didn't like her at all.

"Stop insulting my buddy here, or else you'll have to answer to me." He growled while Tristan nodded in agreement. Alexis quirked an eye brow and stared at them, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"So what if I insulted the little midget. Who are you, his mommy?" Alexis asked, egging the two on from where she stood. Scarcely three yards separated her from them and she was just beginning to poke the bears.

"Ok, that's it!" Joey growled, leaping forward in an attempt to get to her while Tea and Tristan held him back.

"Oh boohoo. A mean nasty mutt is coming to get me. I had better flee in terror." Alexis taunted, faking the act of being afraid. "But honestly, what did you plan to do to me?" she asked, getting serious again.

"Well first I'm going to rearrange your face and then I'm going to make you regret the day you were born!" Joey hissed, seething by this point in time.

"Bring it on Blondie!" Alexis said, sounding rather bored with the whole thing. Joey bolted away from Tristan and Tea, charging straight for her. Alexis yawned and look boredly at her nails even though she had impending doom hanging over her head. Just moments before Joey's hand would have connected with her face she dodged and the blonde's fist slammed directly into Khyber's armor. Alexis had been luring Joey to her all along, knowing full well that Khyber was not far behind her.

Joey seemed to be frozen in time, staring dumbfounded at his fist. Khyber looked down at him then casually grasped Joey's wrist in his left hand and twisted it away from his armor. He let go of Joey's wrist and then grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him off the ground and holding him in the air over his head, his staff floating beside him. Tristan ran over to help his bud but was tripped up before he could reach the two macho blonds. When he sat up he found himself face to face with the end of Magi's staff which was aimed directly at his throat.

"Well, that took a long time. What else you got for me?" Alexis asked, leaning against a tree nearby and watching this scene in amusement. She didn't notice Yugi until he was standing beside Tristan, looking daringly up at Magi. The Dark Magician stared at the small boy before him, his face as impassive as ever.

"I don't know if my mind is playing tricks on me or not, but you're a Dark Magician aren't you?" Yugi asked of him. Magi glanced at Alexis, unsure of what to do. Alexis crossed her arms after a moment, a signal to Magi that he was free to answer whatever he wanted. He looked back at the boy and nodded slightly, the smallest movement if his head.

Yugi smiled faintly and continued to look up at Magi, making the magician feel slightly uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that Yugi wasn't afraid of him or perhaps it was the feeling of an ancient darkness and power that lurked in the youth's eyes. Whatever it was Magi wanted to be free of it, free of the boy's gaze and free of the boy's presence. Then again, he didn't want to disobey his master. He turned his gaze away from Yugi, looking over his shoulder at Khyber and Joey.

"Don't look away." Yugi said softly; something about the way he said it made Magi look back at him. "That's better. Now, tell me what your name is." Another command from Yugi, another command that Magi found himself obeying.

"My name is Magi." The magician answered, his voice soft and hesitant like that of a shy child. This was ridiculous! Magi was used to obeying Alexis and Alexis only, but now he was obeying the commands of a mere child! He tightened his grip on his staff slightly and looked, no glared, at Tristan, who was trapped beneath it.

"Magi, do not harm my friend. Please." Yugi said. Yet another command!

Magi steeled himself as much as possible, freezing every joint in his body. He would not obey this boy! He served only his master and Alexis would always be the only person he relinquished his freedom to! His was a life of serving Alexis. Ever since he had gained the title of Dark Magician he had obeyed the command of the girl.

His earliest memories were of kneeling before her when she was a mere child herself, around ten or so. She had been bullied by an older kid at school and had come home crying. Her parents were gone, out of town for the week. He had been summoned to her side when he heard her sobbing, coming freely to the human realm from the Shadow Realm by his own choice. He had towered over her then, like he did now. He could remember holding her in his arms as she cried, being the friend and older brother she never had. Magi could remember Khyber being there, but Khyber hadn't been much of a comforter back then and had stood around, occasionally asking Alexis if she wanted him to go teach the older kid a lesson. She had turned his offer down and snuggled against Magi, whose armor had been replaced by robes of rich violet and amethyst.

Another memory flashed through the determined magician's mind, this one much more recent then the other. Two days before the tournament was set to begin, Alexis had confided in Magi that she doubted herself. She had been unable to make many friends and had been told by the more popular students that it was because she was weak. Dueling wasn't a skill, it was her weakness. They had said that the only reason why she spent so much time dueling and perfecting her skills was because she was afraid to mingle with 'normal people' and 'commoners'. Her parents' wealth was during her more harm then good.

Magi had told her that she wasn't weak. After all, she could summon real Duel Monsters and control the beast-like ones when they were angered or hurt. Their respect for her was so strong that they dared not go against her. Not even the wild Blue Eyes that had broken away from his herd in the Shadow Realm obeyed her when he was in the human realm, which was extremely rare. Magi had pointed out that she was the one that had been strong enough to resist peer pressure during her middle school days and that she shouldn't start believing what others said was true now. He had been rewarded with one of her rare smiles and could physically see her self esteem improving. It was then and there that she had become determined to make the tournament hard for those who made it through their dueling opponents. Magi couldn't begin to obey Yugi now, not after what he and Alexis had been through. He wouldn't allow it!

"No!" Magi declared, his eyes glowing like burning embers.

"Leave my friend alone. Please Magi!" Yugi begged, ignoring the look of anger blazing in the magician's eyes.

"Leave me alone! I won't listen to you!" Magi hissed defiantly, his body almost shaking with confusion and frustration. Yugi flinched slightly but other then that didn't give any ground in this matter. He was used to bullies and knew that standing up to them was the best thing to do.

Sure enough after a few minutes Magi withdrew his staff and stormed off to stand beside Alexis, his body shaking in mental distress. Tristan got to his feet and stood beside Yugi, watching as Alexis said something to Magi. As for Khyber he still held Joey a foot off the ground, ready to send him on a one way trip to the Shadow Realm Graveyard. Revenge was a trait of this magician, evident in the way he seemed to be enjoying himself.

A blur of white darted out from the tree line, slamming at full speed into Khyber and sending both the magician and Joey flying. Joey scrambled to his feet and backed away from the magician, watching as the white blur became a snarling wolf that was attempting to maim Khyber. Khyber threw the wolf off of him, getting to his feet and knocking the wolf aside with is staff as it lunged at him again. The wolf yelped as the staff was brought down hard on its back, sending it stumbling to the ground. Khyber was about to take out his anger on the wolf when two words made him freeze.

"Don't kill!"

That simple, two word phrase made Khyber forget about his anger for the moment, like all commands from his master did. As he lowered his staff and turned to watch her walking towards him he felt his heart fill with an almost possessive love for the one who he had sworn his loyalty to. In a way it drove him to the brink of insanity; his master was true example of a goddess trapped in a girl's body. She represented everything he couldn't have, even if he hadn't been a Duel Monster. He gazed down at her intently while she glared up at him.

"What have I told you about committing senseless acts of violence!? You are making me look like an amateur who can't even control her own monsters!" Alexis proceeded to more or less scream.

"It was Dakota's fault! If he hadn't..." Khyber trailed off as he saw the icy embers that where the eyes of the girl that stood before him, anger and malice predominant.

"No more excuses Khyber! Dakota isn't responsible for his actions, but you are! Why can't you be more like Magi!? At least he listens to me!" The fed- up blonde shouted. Khyber stared at her silently, his mind numb from the shock of having his brother's name thrown in his face like that. He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out.

For the first time in his life he didn't know what to say. He had always seen Magi as someone to respect, but now he felt an odd burning sensation in his chest and realized that he hated his brother. He shot a contemptuous glance at Magi, who was standing nearby with a placid expression. Momentary confusion and hurt darted across the older's face as his gaze locked with his brother's. Khyber had never looked at him that way before.

"What's going on?" Tristan asked Joey. Joey shrugged and elbowed him to be silent. A thick blanket of tension had fallen over the little forest clearing, making it hard to breathe. Anger and hurt feelings clogged the air, most of which seemed to radiate from Khyber. It was as if years of hurt emotions and resentfulness was coming out full force. Yugi found the edges of his vision growing fuzzy and dark as a cold feeling swept through those assembled in the area.

Feelings of terror and hopelessness followed in the after wave coldness as the sun was suddenly blotted out by a dark cloud. Tendrils of black shadows erupted from the cloud, lancing out in graceful arches that molded themselves in the framework for the purple red and black blanket that was oozing its way over them. Pain shot through every nerve, clouding the mind and throwing everything out of focus. Distantly Yugi was aware of Tea asking where they were, her voice heavily laced with fear and the effort to keep from blacking out due to intense pain that seemed to be growing with every labored breath.

"You're in the Shadow Realm" a now familiar voice said from behind them. Painful as it was the group turned to see Alexis standing with her back to them, seemingly unaffected by the pain that was being inflicted upon them. "Watch what you do and say. You are in a brand-new world and the rules here and very different. I suggest you start learning them now."