Alright people, there is a certain girl I know (and her yami) who so
graciously allowed me to "borrow" some lines from her fic, Musings of a
Tomb Robber. So I think I should give credit where credit is due. ARGH!
CORNY! GET IT OFF!!
...Okay. I'm better now. *looks around* Bradcorh!
Bradcorh: *appears out of nowhere* Yes mistress?
O.O How'd you do that?
Bradcorh: Do what, mistress?
..Nevermind. Here, Bradcorh, *gives him a sheet of paper* read this.
Bradcorh: *reads it* Okay, then, mistress.... that's nice. *gives paper back*
-_- No Baka, read it OUT LOUD! *shoves paper back to Bradcorh* Ahem... please.
Bradcorh: Um... alright then. *clears throat* My mistress does not own Yugioh, any characters except me, Sakkira, Sakkira's father, the Millennium Brace, and the spirit harboring it, and she most certainly does not own "Musings of a Tomb Robber" by TaleneisMyYami. But she does own this fic. All but those few certain lines, that is.... *reads some more* Oh. and she thanks 'Lady Moon' and Talene for letting her use those lines. She says that they expressed it so well, that she couldn't find any other way to do it. *gives paper back* There you go mistress. Is that all?
Why don't you stay here and read with me?
Bradcorh: *shrugs* Okay. *sits down in an armchair*
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- In Domino, Japan, in Yugi's room....
Click. "This puzzle is really not as hard as I thought it would be, Yami." Click.
That was the sound of Yugi putting together a new puzzle, Yami watching behind him.
Click. "Yugi," the pharaoh said rather hesitantly, "....something is not right in the Puzzle...."
Click. "What?" Yugi looked over his jigsaw, which was already quarter-done. "I don't see anything."
"Not that puzzle, Yugi, my Puzzle," Yami said, jingling the chain around his neck for emphasis.
Yugi looked down at his own physical Puzzle. "Looks fine to me."
Yami became a little exasperated; whenever Yugi became engrossed in a game or puzzle, he was almost in a trance. He forgot anything he had been worrying about before. "I mean, inside the Puzzle."
Still oblivious to Yami's real meaning, Yugi chipped off a small corner piece and squinted inside the Puzzle. "What do you mean?"
"There is a disturbance in the... feel... of the Puzzle," Yami said, and something klunked hard into place. Yugi finally realized what Yami was talking about.
"Ohhhh...." Yugi replaced the piece and looked at his dark. "Something's wrong with an Item?"
"I believe so," Yami said quietly. "Or there is one we do not know about, coming to Japan for the first time."
"You mean there may still be one left unknown?" Yugi put down his Puzzle, staring out the window as he realized the enormity of the problem. "What if there's something... evil... going on?"
"That's what I've been saying." Yami's tone held no exasperation, but the pharaoh himself certainly felt it.
"We need to find it," Yugi said, stating the obvious. "But how?"
"I believe that it we follow the pull that I am feeling," Yami said, unsure, "then we may find it."
"What are we waiting for, then?" Yugi started to get out of his chair, jigsaw forgotten.
"Morning," Yami said sternly, although smiling. "It's your bedtime."
"Ah... great. I won't be able to sleep with that... thing... going on!" Yugi threw down the jacket he'd started to put on, and went to his bedroom door. "I'm going to let Grandpa know that we're going somewhere tomorrow."
"Good idea, Yugi. I'm going to go to bed." With that, Yami retreated to his soul room to rest.
It would be hours before either of them actually slept.
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------
"Well, here we are!" Sakkira's father said happily the next morning as their car pulled into the driveway of their new house. It was a handsome house, two stories high and four bedrooms. The outside was bricked, and when they stepped inside with their luggage, sakkira's red-and-yellow eyes sparkled as she saw that the foyer's ceiling went all the way to the roof, and a huge, sparkling chandelier adorned it. The wooden floor of the hallway was a warm tone, and the dark green carpeting complemented it and the clean white walls. Sakkira loved to cook, and her heart flew when she saw the enormous kitchen, complete with microwave, two ovens and a dishwasher. The bathrooms were equally huge, with a bathtub that went into the ground and small pipes that could make the huge room steamy in a matter of minutes. With blue-tiled flooring and white walls, the many-mirrored bathroom was a place that Sakkira was sure to be found in for hours on end.
All in all, the house was more inside than outside, and it was beautiful, at least compared to the sandy camps that Sakkira was used to. She barely remembered the house that they'd had in England, before her mother died and they moved to Egypt so her father could do his archaeology.
"Wow, Daddy, this is amazing!" Sakkira said breathlessly, eyes still roaming.
"And you haven't even seen your room yet!"
"Oh, that's right!" Sakkira hurried off and up the stairs, searching for a bedroom to see. Her father chuckled, and went off to his own bedroom. "Sakkira," he called before she got all the way up the stairs, "you'll have to go to bed at 11, okay?"
"Sure, no problem." Sakkira waved to him, and then reached the top of the staircase. Her father heard a pleased gasp reverbrate through the upper halls, and smiled to himself. Wait until she saw the black carpeting and red walls of her own room....
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- At Yugi's house....
"Grandpa, we're going!" Yugi shouted as he opened the door to leave. His grandfather replied, although Yami couldn't hear it, and Yugi closed the door behind him. When they got to the end of their drive, Yugi stopped. "What now?" he asked Yami.
The pharaoh paused, then said, "Yugi, let me take over for a while, so that I can get us there faster."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yugi said. He surrendered control of his body to his dark. Yami took a few seconds to feel out the direction of the tug, and then started south.
\This the way?\ Yugi asked through their mind link.
/I'm pretty sure it is,/ Yami replied. They headed south for a while, and then turned west and headed into the city. He went on a winding path through sidewalks and alleyways, until he stopped. /The signal is very strong. I can't figure out where it is pointing anymore,/ he said, a little worried.
\I have an idea,\ Yugi said. \Give me back control; I think I know where we are.\
/Do you feel the pull?/
\Yes, I do, and I think I know where it wants us to go.\
/Alright then, Yugi, I trust you./ Yugi took over, and after a few seconds of getting used to being in control again, started to turn slowly. He concentrated only on the pull of the unknown Item, to feel when it grew the strongest. There! \I've got it,\ he said to Yami. The darker half gave him a thumbs-up and Yugi proceeded to head towards a tall brick house....
He was about to ring the doorbell, when he suddenly stopped. \What am I supposed to say?\
Yami was silent. /I.... don't know..../
\Hmm.... how about we say we're her neighbors, and then we challenge her to a duel? Then we know if she plays or not.\ /Or, we could just ask her if she plays. After the neighbor thing, though./
\That sounds good.\ (A/N: Eek! I really shouldn't have given the plan away. Oh well. Too late now.)
He rang the doorbell. There was a shuffling of footsteps, then the wooden door opened. There was a young girl, wearing a tank-top belly shirt, and a small skirt. There were many bracelets along her arms, and she wore large knee-high boots. She looked down at Yugi. "Yes? Can I help you?"
Yugi started, then coughed and said, "Er.... I'm the son of your new neighbors, and they sent me over to tell you hello, and..." he trailed off, Yami saying something through the mind link about Yugi being a terrible liar...
"Why didn't they come themselves?" The girl's eyes were of two colors, red and yellow, boring into Yugi's amethyst orbs.
"Um, well.... they are having a barbecue. An exclusive one," he added quickly, knowing she might ask to come too. "Oh yes. My big brother wanted me to ask you if you play Duel Monsters."
/Good move,/ Yami said. /I take back the bad liar thing./
"Well.... no, I don't play, but my father is a big fan." She showed him her left forearm, on which was tattooed the mighty head of a Red Eyes Black Dragon. Lower down on her arm, though, Yugi and Yami simultaneously caught sight of something much more important than a tattoo.
Yugi gasped. When the girl's eyebrows arched, he erked and stood up straighter. "Er... that's nice. Excuse me, but could I see your bracelet?"
"Which one?" the girl joked truthfully. (A/N: Isn't that an oxymoron?)
Yugi pointed, and the girl pointed back, to one she wore near her wrist joint. "This one?" Yugi nodded, and the girl sat down on the front step, motioning Yugi to sit beside her. "Okay, but I'll have to take the rest of them off..." She began to strip her left arm of the many black bracelets, until there was only the one. It was silver, delicate-looking, and watch- like, with an Egyptian eye etched onto the face. "Guess you'll have to know my hobby to understand this next thing," she said. Yugi looked at her, confused. She went on. "I'm a distortionist," she said. "I can move my bones around in ways most can not. Watch," she finished, unhooking one hinge of the bracelet, and moving it up her arm. As it reached her hand, something strange happened. The very bones of her hand came together, contracting and bringing the fingers together until her hand would have fit inside a beer bottle. She easily slid it up and off her hand, and hooked the face back on. She didn't seem to notice the flash the Eye gave off as she handed it to Yugi. (A/N: The reason it flashes is because Yugi holds a Millennium item as well. Oops, another giveaway... *smacks face* Bad mouth! Traitor!)
Yugi beheld it in wonder. It was obviously a Millennium item. "Where did you get this...?" he asked breathlessly.
She shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing much. My father and I lived in Egypt for a while, 'cause my dad is an archaeologist, and he was working on tombs and stuff. He says he found this among the treasures of a nameless pharaoh whose mummy had disappeared. No one could wear it but me, though, because they were too big," she said casually.
"Egypt?!!" Yugi asked, in wonder. The girl looked at him as if he had exploded.
"Yeah.... what, are you from Egypt too? I was in Giza. You know, where the pyramids are. Man, I loved it there." She noticed his Puzzle, which was glowing slightly because Yami was feeling an intense emotion, in this case amazement. "Hey, what's that you've got around your neck?"
"This?" Yugi asked, holding up his Puzzle. It was rather a stupid question, since that was the only thing around his neck, but the girl nodded. "It's called the Millennium Puzzle. What it does is a loooong story, one you'd understand better if you played."
"Oh. Why is it glowing?"
"Well, it's hard to explain, but I think the thing you've got here," he said, looking at the bracelet he held, "is a Millennium item, too." "Huh? I mean, I know it's old, but what is a Mill... er, what does it mean?"
Yugi sighed. "Before I say anything, I need to know: how much do you know about Duel Monsters?"
"Oh... well, I know the rules and stuff, but I don't play because I don't have any cards, and we were all saving for this move."
"So you know how to play, right? And you've watched your dad or whoever duel?" She nodded, and Yugi smiled. "Good. That makes it a lot easier to explain. Do you know the origin of these monsters?" Yugi dug his deck out from his pocket, showing her his cards.
"Er... someone named Peggy something, I think... Oh, you mean their ancient origins!" she added, when Yugi had obviously showed that that was not what he meant. "Yes, I know. My father worked in tombs, remember? So I got to see all the best stuff," she said happily, in the same tone one would use when referring to a heaping plate of bacon. If one likes bacon, of course.
"Wow," Yugi said, awed, "I really would like to go there."
"I got to see the legend of the pharaoh, the God Cards, blah blah blah..... all kinds of stuff like that." Her eyes were shining. "I loved Egypt... I really wish Daddy hadn't made me move... I'm moving back there someday."
"That sounds like fun, but tell me their origins."
The girl, who was barely older than Yugi, sighed. "Ho boy, here we go." She took a deep breath, and began. "Millennia ago, there were games in Egypt called the Shadow Games. No one really knows how they got started, but back then the monsters were real, and they came from a place called the Shadow Realm. It was not a good place to be if you weren't a monster, but when someone lost a Shadow Game, that was where they were sent. Then, a pharaoh who obviously had enemies-- his name was erased from the records-- saw that these Shadow Games were destroying the world, so he locked their power away, but he had to seal his and others' souls into strange items that no one on the dig team has found. There was... hmmm... I think there were seven: a round one, a scale, an upside-down pyramid, a key-looking thing, a rod, a thing that looked like a dreamcatcher, and a necklace. Keep in mind, though, these were only inscriptions that I saw on the stone. I couldn't really read it, but these guys could draw! I mean, they were artists!"
"A really good inscription, though," she continued, looking at the boy who was staring at her in rapt awe, "was the one of the pharaoh and his cousin Seth. Seth had a big dragon coming out of a freaky-looking hole, and the pharaoh had a person in armor. It was my favorite one. I heard that everyone in this city can trace their origins to ancient Egypt, so we moved to Domino instead of anywhere else. That way I might feel a bit more at home."
(here I had a picture of the ancient scriptures, but unfortunately no pics allowed, so blah.)
(this is what I had under it.) The priest Seth (Atemu's cousin) and the pharaoh Atemu in what appears to be a Shadow Game. You can see the Blue Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician coming out of the Shadow Realm. I can't tell what Seth's other card is, but I see Gaia the Fierce Knight on the side. On the top there is a picture of the Millennium Puzzle, as well as what looks to be the other items. Bwahaha, but they're missing one, ne?
This also means that Yugi and Seto Kaiba are cousins. (slight shudder) creepy... Note the resemblance of names: Seth- Seto. O_O
"Well, it seems you know a lot more than most people," Yugi said after a long, awkward silence in which Yami was raving unintelligently about how could this girl know so much, she knows just as much as HE does....
"Yeah... well, my dad does work in tombs and such," she said, shrugging.
"What is your name, anyway?" Yugi asked.
"My name is Sakkira," she said, smiling. "So you say this is a... Millennium, was it?... item? That's... weird. To think I've had it all this time, and not knowing what it was... okay, I still don't know. What do these thingies do?"
Yugi looked at his Puzzle. "Perhaps someone can explain it better than I." He looked up. "Don't mind if I go away for a few minutes, do you?"
"Er..." Sakkira didn't know quite what to say. "Guess.... not...."
"Good. Hope you've seen a lot, because this is going to be strange." He smiled, and then did that corny thing where he screams "YUGIOH!!!!!!" and then transforms. (A/N: he he he....) Before Sakkira stood a taller person than the boy who had stood there a moment before. His eyes were narrowed, and his eyelashes long. Her mind immediately jumped to visions of people from her past. He's Egyptian! she thought, her mind working furiously. How had he done that? And why was her bracelet suddenly trembling and growing hot in her hands?
"Hello, Sakkira." The boy, no, man, had a deeper voice than... the other one. "I am not the same person you've talked to, in case you're wondering."
"Then..... who are you?" she asked hesitantly.
"I do not know my name, but I am a 5,000-year-old spirit who resides in the Millennium Puzzle." He brought up the Puzzle for emphasis. "I lived in Egypt, and there I ruled as pharaoh." He felt the need to explain no longer. Her eyes widened.
"You're the nameless pharaoh who locked away the power of the shadows!!" she said, awestruck. He nodded.
"As far as I know, that is true. Millennia inside of the Puzzle has erased most of my memory, but by Ra, you look so familiar...."
"Umm... kay," she stuttered. "As far as I know, I'm not related to anyone you know, Pharaoh-san. I was born in England, I just moved to Egypt when I was eleven."
"And there you found this," he said, holding up the silver bracelet. "I believe it is called the Millennium Brace. Most of these items has a spirit residing within them, just like I reside in the Puzzle." He held the Brace out for her to take back. She slowly took it, looking into the Eye in wonder. "Put it on." She obeyed, and looked at Yami for further instructions. "Just hold still... this may look a little scary, but it won't hurt." He held a hand over the face of her silver Item, and she looked at his crimson eyes. Who was this?
Was it really the nameless pharaoh she'd heard so much about?
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- *Inside the Brace*
What is going on?! The pharaoh? Is he here? It's so dark. I can't see.
Ooo. A light. Wasn't there some rule or something that said to stay away from those kind of lights?
It's so bright! Aghh! So bright! It hurts! Close eyes now. Okay. Eyes closed. Doesn't hurt anymore. Ahh.
*Are you here?* A voice? So familiar. How to answer? Er....
*Who are you?*
*I am called Yami; who are you?*
*My name is Nakte. I shall serve my pharaoh until death's death. Can I help you?* I almost wish my temple-trained mouth had not said these words so quickly...
*No, but I can help you* Ahh!! The light, it's getting so big! Stay away! Can't run, too dark! Erghhh!!!!
*Don't kill me with that!*
*I can't kill you, you're already dead*
*Dead? Is this the underworld? Where's the pharaoh? I must apologize for my belayed return, I--*
I am cut off. *This is not the underworld, and the pharaoh...* He pauses. *You're talking to him.*
*Pharaoh A--* I can't say any more. What the heck? *A.... A... eeee!! Pharaoh-sama! I have forgotten your name! How embarrassing! Please remind me. It must have been a long time since we've met*
*Think it's embarrassing, do you? Try it when you are the pharaoh who has no name*
I have...absolutely nothing to say. *Pharaoh-sama...?!!*
*Yes?*
*What shall I call you?*
*You have two options: call me what my hikari calls me, 'Yami', or call me by the name of the body I share, 'Yugi' *
Yugi? *Why would I call you a game?*
*Just be quiet for a moment. I will explain everything later, just hold still*
Eeee... the light! Make it go off! I've lived in this dark thingie for Ra knows how long! No reason to stop now!
The light is enveloping me... Must... resist... erk! Too late, I think!
Mm... it's warm in here. Huh? Warm? It's warm! And I haven't had a body in how long?! Oh. That's why it's dark. Eyes need to be opened. Yes. Opened now. Good. (A/N: I couldn't resist copying from 'Musings of a Tomb Robber'! It is such an excellent fic, and after all they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!)
"...Pharaoh-sama?" Ahhhh!! The LIGHT!! "Ackk!! It's too... bright!!"
The pharaoh's hard, strong voice cuts through the blinding pain. My eyes are watering. "Keep your eyes closed. You will get used to it." Get used to it?! This crap is worse than the glare of the Nile in the noonday sun!!
Suddenly, there's a small voice in my head. \...Hello?\ A female voice. Sounds friendly. I try to answer.
/Huh...?/
\Can I have my body back?\ Little voice in my head.... small.... erghh, the light hurts...
/I don't know how to give it back./ So, this isn't my body? Shame. Eh, feels too young to be me anyway...
Eyes stopped watering. Better. I open my eyes, squinting at the pharaoh. "Where... are we?"
"This is called Domino. The nation is called Japan."
"I knew I wasn't in Egypt! Why have I left the banks of the Nile, Pharaoh- sama? Was I summoned?"
"Nakte..." The pharaoh looks grim. Uh oh. "Five thousand years have passed. Everyone you know is dead now, and the body you are inhabiting at the moment is that of your reincarnation, Sakkira."
"REINCARNATION?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes indeedy. Gomen Lady Moon and Talene for the plagarism. -_- I tend to imitate people when I like what they do. (draw, write, etc.)
Bradcorh: I don't think she will mind.
Oh, you're still awake.
Bradcorh: This was interesting! why would I sleep? Besides, I don't think I can sleep, unless the spike-haired boy and the pharaoh give me more of that turpentine-tasting potion... *sticks tongue out and makes the same face he made in TMM* Blech. It was disgusting. Never drink that stuff, mistress.
Don't worry, I won't. anyway, Bradcorh, how do you like it so far?
Bradcorh: This is good stuff, mistress! It gets funny too! *smiles*
Bradcorh, just because I'm your mistress doesn't mean you have to lie.
Bradcorh: I'm being honest! Honest to Ra!
Alright then, but only because you are just so cute when you're trying to persuade me to believe you.
Bradcorh: *looks put out* -_-
Just kidding, Bradcorh! I believe you! *Bradcorh smiles.* Anyway, review! More up soon! (By the way, this fic will be much longer than TMM.)
Bradcorh: Uh, hey, mistress.... Am I going to be in another story?
Hmm... that's a good idea! Somebody give me a vague plot, and if I write it, I'll put your name in it somewhere! ^_^.... ^_^'....-_- No one's going to do it, huh Bradcorh?
Bradcorh: To be perfectly honest, I don't really think so, mistress....
Ah that's alright! if no one gives me a good idea, then I'll just cook up one of my own! How's that sound?
Bradcorh: Sounds good to me.
Alright then, people, remember to click the little blue button down there, and flames will be used to warm these frigid fingers!
...Okay. I'm better now. *looks around* Bradcorh!
Bradcorh: *appears out of nowhere* Yes mistress?
O.O How'd you do that?
Bradcorh: Do what, mistress?
..Nevermind. Here, Bradcorh, *gives him a sheet of paper* read this.
Bradcorh: *reads it* Okay, then, mistress.... that's nice. *gives paper back*
-_- No Baka, read it OUT LOUD! *shoves paper back to Bradcorh* Ahem... please.
Bradcorh: Um... alright then. *clears throat* My mistress does not own Yugioh, any characters except me, Sakkira, Sakkira's father, the Millennium Brace, and the spirit harboring it, and she most certainly does not own "Musings of a Tomb Robber" by TaleneisMyYami. But she does own this fic. All but those few certain lines, that is.... *reads some more* Oh. and she thanks 'Lady Moon' and Talene for letting her use those lines. She says that they expressed it so well, that she couldn't find any other way to do it. *gives paper back* There you go mistress. Is that all?
Why don't you stay here and read with me?
Bradcorh: *shrugs* Okay. *sits down in an armchair*
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- In Domino, Japan, in Yugi's room....
Click. "This puzzle is really not as hard as I thought it would be, Yami." Click.
That was the sound of Yugi putting together a new puzzle, Yami watching behind him.
Click. "Yugi," the pharaoh said rather hesitantly, "....something is not right in the Puzzle...."
Click. "What?" Yugi looked over his jigsaw, which was already quarter-done. "I don't see anything."
"Not that puzzle, Yugi, my Puzzle," Yami said, jingling the chain around his neck for emphasis.
Yugi looked down at his own physical Puzzle. "Looks fine to me."
Yami became a little exasperated; whenever Yugi became engrossed in a game or puzzle, he was almost in a trance. He forgot anything he had been worrying about before. "I mean, inside the Puzzle."
Still oblivious to Yami's real meaning, Yugi chipped off a small corner piece and squinted inside the Puzzle. "What do you mean?"
"There is a disturbance in the... feel... of the Puzzle," Yami said, and something klunked hard into place. Yugi finally realized what Yami was talking about.
"Ohhhh...." Yugi replaced the piece and looked at his dark. "Something's wrong with an Item?"
"I believe so," Yami said quietly. "Or there is one we do not know about, coming to Japan for the first time."
"You mean there may still be one left unknown?" Yugi put down his Puzzle, staring out the window as he realized the enormity of the problem. "What if there's something... evil... going on?"
"That's what I've been saying." Yami's tone held no exasperation, but the pharaoh himself certainly felt it.
"We need to find it," Yugi said, stating the obvious. "But how?"
"I believe that it we follow the pull that I am feeling," Yami said, unsure, "then we may find it."
"What are we waiting for, then?" Yugi started to get out of his chair, jigsaw forgotten.
"Morning," Yami said sternly, although smiling. "It's your bedtime."
"Ah... great. I won't be able to sleep with that... thing... going on!" Yugi threw down the jacket he'd started to put on, and went to his bedroom door. "I'm going to let Grandpa know that we're going somewhere tomorrow."
"Good idea, Yugi. I'm going to go to bed." With that, Yami retreated to his soul room to rest.
It would be hours before either of them actually slept.
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------
"Well, here we are!" Sakkira's father said happily the next morning as their car pulled into the driveway of their new house. It was a handsome house, two stories high and four bedrooms. The outside was bricked, and when they stepped inside with their luggage, sakkira's red-and-yellow eyes sparkled as she saw that the foyer's ceiling went all the way to the roof, and a huge, sparkling chandelier adorned it. The wooden floor of the hallway was a warm tone, and the dark green carpeting complemented it and the clean white walls. Sakkira loved to cook, and her heart flew when she saw the enormous kitchen, complete with microwave, two ovens and a dishwasher. The bathrooms were equally huge, with a bathtub that went into the ground and small pipes that could make the huge room steamy in a matter of minutes. With blue-tiled flooring and white walls, the many-mirrored bathroom was a place that Sakkira was sure to be found in for hours on end.
All in all, the house was more inside than outside, and it was beautiful, at least compared to the sandy camps that Sakkira was used to. She barely remembered the house that they'd had in England, before her mother died and they moved to Egypt so her father could do his archaeology.
"Wow, Daddy, this is amazing!" Sakkira said breathlessly, eyes still roaming.
"And you haven't even seen your room yet!"
"Oh, that's right!" Sakkira hurried off and up the stairs, searching for a bedroom to see. Her father chuckled, and went off to his own bedroom. "Sakkira," he called before she got all the way up the stairs, "you'll have to go to bed at 11, okay?"
"Sure, no problem." Sakkira waved to him, and then reached the top of the staircase. Her father heard a pleased gasp reverbrate through the upper halls, and smiled to himself. Wait until she saw the black carpeting and red walls of her own room....
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- At Yugi's house....
"Grandpa, we're going!" Yugi shouted as he opened the door to leave. His grandfather replied, although Yami couldn't hear it, and Yugi closed the door behind him. When they got to the end of their drive, Yugi stopped. "What now?" he asked Yami.
The pharaoh paused, then said, "Yugi, let me take over for a while, so that I can get us there faster."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yugi said. He surrendered control of his body to his dark. Yami took a few seconds to feel out the direction of the tug, and then started south.
\This the way?\ Yugi asked through their mind link.
/I'm pretty sure it is,/ Yami replied. They headed south for a while, and then turned west and headed into the city. He went on a winding path through sidewalks and alleyways, until he stopped. /The signal is very strong. I can't figure out where it is pointing anymore,/ he said, a little worried.
\I have an idea,\ Yugi said. \Give me back control; I think I know where we are.\
/Do you feel the pull?/
\Yes, I do, and I think I know where it wants us to go.\
/Alright then, Yugi, I trust you./ Yugi took over, and after a few seconds of getting used to being in control again, started to turn slowly. He concentrated only on the pull of the unknown Item, to feel when it grew the strongest. There! \I've got it,\ he said to Yami. The darker half gave him a thumbs-up and Yugi proceeded to head towards a tall brick house....
He was about to ring the doorbell, when he suddenly stopped. \What am I supposed to say?\
Yami was silent. /I.... don't know..../
\Hmm.... how about we say we're her neighbors, and then we challenge her to a duel? Then we know if she plays or not.\ /Or, we could just ask her if she plays. After the neighbor thing, though./
\That sounds good.\ (A/N: Eek! I really shouldn't have given the plan away. Oh well. Too late now.)
He rang the doorbell. There was a shuffling of footsteps, then the wooden door opened. There was a young girl, wearing a tank-top belly shirt, and a small skirt. There were many bracelets along her arms, and she wore large knee-high boots. She looked down at Yugi. "Yes? Can I help you?"
Yugi started, then coughed and said, "Er.... I'm the son of your new neighbors, and they sent me over to tell you hello, and..." he trailed off, Yami saying something through the mind link about Yugi being a terrible liar...
"Why didn't they come themselves?" The girl's eyes were of two colors, red and yellow, boring into Yugi's amethyst orbs.
"Um, well.... they are having a barbecue. An exclusive one," he added quickly, knowing she might ask to come too. "Oh yes. My big brother wanted me to ask you if you play Duel Monsters."
/Good move,/ Yami said. /I take back the bad liar thing./
"Well.... no, I don't play, but my father is a big fan." She showed him her left forearm, on which was tattooed the mighty head of a Red Eyes Black Dragon. Lower down on her arm, though, Yugi and Yami simultaneously caught sight of something much more important than a tattoo.
Yugi gasped. When the girl's eyebrows arched, he erked and stood up straighter. "Er... that's nice. Excuse me, but could I see your bracelet?"
"Which one?" the girl joked truthfully. (A/N: Isn't that an oxymoron?)
Yugi pointed, and the girl pointed back, to one she wore near her wrist joint. "This one?" Yugi nodded, and the girl sat down on the front step, motioning Yugi to sit beside her. "Okay, but I'll have to take the rest of them off..." She began to strip her left arm of the many black bracelets, until there was only the one. It was silver, delicate-looking, and watch- like, with an Egyptian eye etched onto the face. "Guess you'll have to know my hobby to understand this next thing," she said. Yugi looked at her, confused. She went on. "I'm a distortionist," she said. "I can move my bones around in ways most can not. Watch," she finished, unhooking one hinge of the bracelet, and moving it up her arm. As it reached her hand, something strange happened. The very bones of her hand came together, contracting and bringing the fingers together until her hand would have fit inside a beer bottle. She easily slid it up and off her hand, and hooked the face back on. She didn't seem to notice the flash the Eye gave off as she handed it to Yugi. (A/N: The reason it flashes is because Yugi holds a Millennium item as well. Oops, another giveaway... *smacks face* Bad mouth! Traitor!)
Yugi beheld it in wonder. It was obviously a Millennium item. "Where did you get this...?" he asked breathlessly.
She shrugged. "Oh, it's nothing much. My father and I lived in Egypt for a while, 'cause my dad is an archaeologist, and he was working on tombs and stuff. He says he found this among the treasures of a nameless pharaoh whose mummy had disappeared. No one could wear it but me, though, because they were too big," she said casually.
"Egypt?!!" Yugi asked, in wonder. The girl looked at him as if he had exploded.
"Yeah.... what, are you from Egypt too? I was in Giza. You know, where the pyramids are. Man, I loved it there." She noticed his Puzzle, which was glowing slightly because Yami was feeling an intense emotion, in this case amazement. "Hey, what's that you've got around your neck?"
"This?" Yugi asked, holding up his Puzzle. It was rather a stupid question, since that was the only thing around his neck, but the girl nodded. "It's called the Millennium Puzzle. What it does is a loooong story, one you'd understand better if you played."
"Oh. Why is it glowing?"
"Well, it's hard to explain, but I think the thing you've got here," he said, looking at the bracelet he held, "is a Millennium item, too." "Huh? I mean, I know it's old, but what is a Mill... er, what does it mean?"
Yugi sighed. "Before I say anything, I need to know: how much do you know about Duel Monsters?"
"Oh... well, I know the rules and stuff, but I don't play because I don't have any cards, and we were all saving for this move."
"So you know how to play, right? And you've watched your dad or whoever duel?" She nodded, and Yugi smiled. "Good. That makes it a lot easier to explain. Do you know the origin of these monsters?" Yugi dug his deck out from his pocket, showing her his cards.
"Er... someone named Peggy something, I think... Oh, you mean their ancient origins!" she added, when Yugi had obviously showed that that was not what he meant. "Yes, I know. My father worked in tombs, remember? So I got to see all the best stuff," she said happily, in the same tone one would use when referring to a heaping plate of bacon. If one likes bacon, of course.
"Wow," Yugi said, awed, "I really would like to go there."
"I got to see the legend of the pharaoh, the God Cards, blah blah blah..... all kinds of stuff like that." Her eyes were shining. "I loved Egypt... I really wish Daddy hadn't made me move... I'm moving back there someday."
"That sounds like fun, but tell me their origins."
The girl, who was barely older than Yugi, sighed. "Ho boy, here we go." She took a deep breath, and began. "Millennia ago, there were games in Egypt called the Shadow Games. No one really knows how they got started, but back then the monsters were real, and they came from a place called the Shadow Realm. It was not a good place to be if you weren't a monster, but when someone lost a Shadow Game, that was where they were sent. Then, a pharaoh who obviously had enemies-- his name was erased from the records-- saw that these Shadow Games were destroying the world, so he locked their power away, but he had to seal his and others' souls into strange items that no one on the dig team has found. There was... hmmm... I think there were seven: a round one, a scale, an upside-down pyramid, a key-looking thing, a rod, a thing that looked like a dreamcatcher, and a necklace. Keep in mind, though, these were only inscriptions that I saw on the stone. I couldn't really read it, but these guys could draw! I mean, they were artists!"
"A really good inscription, though," she continued, looking at the boy who was staring at her in rapt awe, "was the one of the pharaoh and his cousin Seth. Seth had a big dragon coming out of a freaky-looking hole, and the pharaoh had a person in armor. It was my favorite one. I heard that everyone in this city can trace their origins to ancient Egypt, so we moved to Domino instead of anywhere else. That way I might feel a bit more at home."
(here I had a picture of the ancient scriptures, but unfortunately no pics allowed, so blah.)
(this is what I had under it.) The priest Seth (Atemu's cousin) and the pharaoh Atemu in what appears to be a Shadow Game. You can see the Blue Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician coming out of the Shadow Realm. I can't tell what Seth's other card is, but I see Gaia the Fierce Knight on the side. On the top there is a picture of the Millennium Puzzle, as well as what looks to be the other items. Bwahaha, but they're missing one, ne?
This also means that Yugi and Seto Kaiba are cousins. (slight shudder) creepy... Note the resemblance of names: Seth- Seto. O_O
"Well, it seems you know a lot more than most people," Yugi said after a long, awkward silence in which Yami was raving unintelligently about how could this girl know so much, she knows just as much as HE does....
"Yeah... well, my dad does work in tombs and such," she said, shrugging.
"What is your name, anyway?" Yugi asked.
"My name is Sakkira," she said, smiling. "So you say this is a... Millennium, was it?... item? That's... weird. To think I've had it all this time, and not knowing what it was... okay, I still don't know. What do these thingies do?"
Yugi looked at his Puzzle. "Perhaps someone can explain it better than I." He looked up. "Don't mind if I go away for a few minutes, do you?"
"Er..." Sakkira didn't know quite what to say. "Guess.... not...."
"Good. Hope you've seen a lot, because this is going to be strange." He smiled, and then did that corny thing where he screams "YUGIOH!!!!!!" and then transforms. (A/N: he he he....) Before Sakkira stood a taller person than the boy who had stood there a moment before. His eyes were narrowed, and his eyelashes long. Her mind immediately jumped to visions of people from her past. He's Egyptian! she thought, her mind working furiously. How had he done that? And why was her bracelet suddenly trembling and growing hot in her hands?
"Hello, Sakkira." The boy, no, man, had a deeper voice than... the other one. "I am not the same person you've talked to, in case you're wondering."
"Then..... who are you?" she asked hesitantly.
"I do not know my name, but I am a 5,000-year-old spirit who resides in the Millennium Puzzle." He brought up the Puzzle for emphasis. "I lived in Egypt, and there I ruled as pharaoh." He felt the need to explain no longer. Her eyes widened.
"You're the nameless pharaoh who locked away the power of the shadows!!" she said, awestruck. He nodded.
"As far as I know, that is true. Millennia inside of the Puzzle has erased most of my memory, but by Ra, you look so familiar...."
"Umm... kay," she stuttered. "As far as I know, I'm not related to anyone you know, Pharaoh-san. I was born in England, I just moved to Egypt when I was eleven."
"And there you found this," he said, holding up the silver bracelet. "I believe it is called the Millennium Brace. Most of these items has a spirit residing within them, just like I reside in the Puzzle." He held the Brace out for her to take back. She slowly took it, looking into the Eye in wonder. "Put it on." She obeyed, and looked at Yami for further instructions. "Just hold still... this may look a little scary, but it won't hurt." He held a hand over the face of her silver Item, and she looked at his crimson eyes. Who was this?
Was it really the nameless pharaoh she'd heard so much about?
---------------------------( (o) )----------------------------- *Inside the Brace*
What is going on?! The pharaoh? Is he here? It's so dark. I can't see.
Ooo. A light. Wasn't there some rule or something that said to stay away from those kind of lights?
It's so bright! Aghh! So bright! It hurts! Close eyes now. Okay. Eyes closed. Doesn't hurt anymore. Ahh.
*Are you here?* A voice? So familiar. How to answer? Er....
*Who are you?*
*I am called Yami; who are you?*
*My name is Nakte. I shall serve my pharaoh until death's death. Can I help you?* I almost wish my temple-trained mouth had not said these words so quickly...
*No, but I can help you* Ahh!! The light, it's getting so big! Stay away! Can't run, too dark! Erghhh!!!!
*Don't kill me with that!*
*I can't kill you, you're already dead*
*Dead? Is this the underworld? Where's the pharaoh? I must apologize for my belayed return, I--*
I am cut off. *This is not the underworld, and the pharaoh...* He pauses. *You're talking to him.*
*Pharaoh A--* I can't say any more. What the heck? *A.... A... eeee!! Pharaoh-sama! I have forgotten your name! How embarrassing! Please remind me. It must have been a long time since we've met*
*Think it's embarrassing, do you? Try it when you are the pharaoh who has no name*
I have...absolutely nothing to say. *Pharaoh-sama...?!!*
*Yes?*
*What shall I call you?*
*You have two options: call me what my hikari calls me, 'Yami', or call me by the name of the body I share, 'Yugi' *
Yugi? *Why would I call you a game?*
*Just be quiet for a moment. I will explain everything later, just hold still*
Eeee... the light! Make it go off! I've lived in this dark thingie for Ra knows how long! No reason to stop now!
The light is enveloping me... Must... resist... erk! Too late, I think!
Mm... it's warm in here. Huh? Warm? It's warm! And I haven't had a body in how long?! Oh. That's why it's dark. Eyes need to be opened. Yes. Opened now. Good. (A/N: I couldn't resist copying from 'Musings of a Tomb Robber'! It is such an excellent fic, and after all they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!)
"...Pharaoh-sama?" Ahhhh!! The LIGHT!! "Ackk!! It's too... bright!!"
The pharaoh's hard, strong voice cuts through the blinding pain. My eyes are watering. "Keep your eyes closed. You will get used to it." Get used to it?! This crap is worse than the glare of the Nile in the noonday sun!!
Suddenly, there's a small voice in my head. \...Hello?\ A female voice. Sounds friendly. I try to answer.
/Huh...?/
\Can I have my body back?\ Little voice in my head.... small.... erghh, the light hurts...
/I don't know how to give it back./ So, this isn't my body? Shame. Eh, feels too young to be me anyway...
Eyes stopped watering. Better. I open my eyes, squinting at the pharaoh. "Where... are we?"
"This is called Domino. The nation is called Japan."
"I knew I wasn't in Egypt! Why have I left the banks of the Nile, Pharaoh- sama? Was I summoned?"
"Nakte..." The pharaoh looks grim. Uh oh. "Five thousand years have passed. Everyone you know is dead now, and the body you are inhabiting at the moment is that of your reincarnation, Sakkira."
"REINCARNATION?!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes indeedy. Gomen Lady Moon and Talene for the plagarism. -_- I tend to imitate people when I like what they do. (draw, write, etc.)
Bradcorh: I don't think she will mind.
Oh, you're still awake.
Bradcorh: This was interesting! why would I sleep? Besides, I don't think I can sleep, unless the spike-haired boy and the pharaoh give me more of that turpentine-tasting potion... *sticks tongue out and makes the same face he made in TMM* Blech. It was disgusting. Never drink that stuff, mistress.
Don't worry, I won't. anyway, Bradcorh, how do you like it so far?
Bradcorh: This is good stuff, mistress! It gets funny too! *smiles*
Bradcorh, just because I'm your mistress doesn't mean you have to lie.
Bradcorh: I'm being honest! Honest to Ra!
Alright then, but only because you are just so cute when you're trying to persuade me to believe you.
Bradcorh: *looks put out* -_-
Just kidding, Bradcorh! I believe you! *Bradcorh smiles.* Anyway, review! More up soon! (By the way, this fic will be much longer than TMM.)
Bradcorh: Uh, hey, mistress.... Am I going to be in another story?
Hmm... that's a good idea! Somebody give me a vague plot, and if I write it, I'll put your name in it somewhere! ^_^.... ^_^'....-_- No one's going to do it, huh Bradcorh?
Bradcorh: To be perfectly honest, I don't really think so, mistress....
Ah that's alright! if no one gives me a good idea, then I'll just cook up one of my own! How's that sound?
Bradcorh: Sounds good to me.
Alright then, people, remember to click the little blue button down there, and flames will be used to warm these frigid fingers!