NOTE: Now this chapter is going to leave the Misha character for a bit.

Chapter 15: Deep Understanding

Well with the Duelist Kingdom Tournament over life for Yugi and friends had returned to its normal pace, well except for Kaiba issuing a $10,000 reward for anyone who had any information on Misha's whereabouts. But there was one thing that Yugi still couldn't shake from his mind, and that was Misha's Bracelet. He knew there was something familiar about it…but what?

"Why is that bracelet so familiar to me? I mean I haven't seen it before in my life…but then why do I remember it."

"Yugi…what's wrong?" The Spirit of the Puzzle asked, Yugi looked at him and answered, "I'm just thinking about that Bracelet Misha had, there's something familiar about it…but I can't figure out is what."

"I know, I've had the same feeling towards it too…but that along with my past remains a mystery. But one name keeps popping into my thoughts when I think about it, 'The Machine Empire'."

"The Machine Empire, sounds like something fierce." Yugi said.

"Seeing what Misha could do with that bracelet I don't doubt it, because since we saw it I have a strange feeling we're being watched…as if some evil eye is gazing upon us as we speak."

That night Yugi had probably one of the most frightening dreams in his life, he was in a stone tower of some make, standing in front of him was a person wearing a light blue trench coat, the person said, "Seek out Lukyan Dakarai, Yugi Moto…seek him out."

"Why, why should I seek him out?" Yugi asked the stranger.

As the person drifted away he called out, "Because he knows about it, he knows what it is."

Yugi awoke with a jolt, didn't know why he had this dream…but he knew one thing was for certain, he had to find this Lukyan Dakarai.

That morning Yugi checked the phone book, and to his surprise there was one Lukyan Dakarai in town…hoping this was the one he quickly wrote down the address. He then headed out the door.

When he got there he gave a knock on the door, a voice with a bit of a Russian accent to it yelled, "GO AWAY, I DON'T WANT WHATEVER YOU'RE SELLING…JUST LEAVE!"

"Um, I'm not supposing a Lukyan Dakarai lives here?" Yugi asked, suddenly the door opened and a voice from inside the house said, "Come in, I'm in the library…that's the room upstairs first door to your right."

Yugi entered the library; sitting in a chair facing the window was a man with black hair that was starting to grey. He wore a sort of formal attire. The man looked at Yugi and asked, "Okay kid, what's your story?"

"I just want to talk to you; it's about something you might know about." Yugi replied. Lukyan looked out the window and said, "I was an archeologist when I was in my prime young lad, I've been buried alive in abandoned kingdoms, bitten by snakes, and nearly eaten alive by wolves…you'll have to be more specific."

Yugi nodded and said, "Okay, let me rephrase what I just said…I need to know if you've heard of 'The Machine Empire'."

At that moment Lukyan gave Yugi a mixed look of being angry and terrified, "W-w-whe-where did y-y-y-yo-you hear that name?" Lukyan asked. Yugi shrugged and replied, "I don't know…but it sounds familiar to you."

Lukyan nodded and said, "33 years…that's how long it's been since I found it, since me and my team uncovered it…there's a story behind it, are you sure you want to hear it?"

Yugi nodded, Lukyan then closed the door to the library and said, "Okay…where to begin, where to begin…I think my story is in order now."

"It began when we were studying a temple on the border of Egypt and Libya, we'd found writing on the wall dating back 5,000 years…it depicted that at the time of this writing, if we were to go west 70 more miles…we would come across the Machine Empire, or possibly it's ruins…well it took about a month, a month and a half. But six other archeologists and I had gotten clearance from the Libyan government to excavate an area of at least ten miles around the area where the writing had said to look, at first we knew that maybe we'd find the remains of this kingdom…but within a week we found a lot more…probably more than anyone was supposed to know."

"We found that this kingdom was more technologically advance than any around it's time, while the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Kings of Greece were still in the Stone Age and Bronze Age…The Machine Empire was already in the Iron Age, we found this out when we uncovered at least about 17 gears, one being the size of a large coffee table. It was incredible, but just incase we sent pieces of the gear to labs around the world for Carbon-14 dating, and wouldn't you believe it, the gears were over 5,000 years old. But that wasn't our most amazing discovery, the one that still baffles me is the discovery we made out on the edges of the site, at first we thought it looked like a cryo-genetics tube or something out of a science fiction novel. But when we dug deeper and uncovered the upper half of its body…we realized that we may've been up and over our heads."

"Wait, our you telling me you found sort of creature buried in the sands?" Yugi asked, Lukyan nodded and said, "I still have a picture of it, and every time I look at it I still feel amazed." Lukyan pulled a box out of the desk that was in that room and took a picture from out of it, he then walked back over and handed it to Yugi, Yugi looked in amazement at the photo. Lukyan and a dozen other people we standing in front (and some were standing on) of what appeared to be the upper half of a Barrel Dragon. Lukyan looked at Yugi's amazed look and said, "Yes, that thing is real…I didn't believe it myself either 33 years ago, but if this kingdom was as advanced as it was I could imagine that they must've believed the sky was the limit." With that he continued his story.

"But it wasn't until we had found another temple buried under some 20 feet of sand did we find out what this metallic creatures' purpose was, we found in the kingdoms' last recorded records that there had been a large battle 5,000 years ago against one of the Egyptian Pharaohs and the Count of the Machine Empire. But after the battle the rest of the records were destroyed, so we didn't know who had won or what losses they had suffered. But it got more interesting when we found out more about this 'Count'. We discovered that he had in his possession a few items of great magic and power…but the most powerful of these was actually a bracelet, which the Count wore on his wrist at all times."

"When we compared our notes with notes of other archeologists in Egypt, we found that if these items were ever reunited with the bracelet…it would unleash a wrath of darkness and chaos on a worldwide scale…then they started to happen."

"They…what do you mean by they?" Yugi asked.

Lukyan continued: "The day after a man came to our site, he was dressed as a swami, but spoke perfect English…he kept warning me and the other archeologists about this place, he kept telling us stuff like: "This place bears an curse, leave now while you still can." Or "Dare not disturb these ruins anymore my friend, or you will pay dearly."…when we didn't listen he looked back at us and said, "This place protects itself my friends, be careful for you our now in great danger.""

"Then accidents started to happen, equipment failures, rooms and other things collapsing on their own…and sandstorms that seemed to last for days on end, it was with that that we had to stop…after that we went our separate ways, but one of the archeologists…a man named Shakar Etharei took what would have probably made my story true."

"What did Shakar take with him?" Yugi asked, Lukyan looked at him…then out the window as if he thought something was watching him, then said, "He found one of the Count's items, a circlet made of silver with the Counts' symbol on it. I think he's kept it to himself all these years…I'd have to call him some time."

"Well thanks for your time…I really should be going." Yugi said.

"Before you go, I wish to ask why you were so interested in my story." Lukyan asked.

"Because I think I might have seen the Bracelet of the Count." Yugi replied.

Lukyan's face suddenly went dark, "Then I am to give you a message to whoever bears it now, the Bracelet will call all the other items of its make to him…even now it calls them, it seeks them out…it is looking for them and whoever possesses them. Bearer be warned for the Bracelet is not only seeking out the items, but is seeking out and calling any evil, any darkness that might help it complete its task."

While walking home Yugi then started thinking about what Lukyan had said about the Bracelet, "If what Dakarai said is true then where ever Misha is…that's where the items will follow."

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE OUT AT SEA…

Misha had had just about enough of the ocean, he'd set up a rope as a fish line and had tied a bologna sandwich to the end that was in the water. "Now I know how that old man in 'The Old Man and The Sea' felt." Misha thought to himself, being stuck out there was not a pleasureable thought. He then saw something out on the ocean, just barely near the horizon…at first Misha thought that the ocean current had carried him back to Duelist Kingdom, but when he saw it was moving against the current he got up and danced around shouting, "A SHIP, A SHIP, A SHIP, OH THANK THE DIVINE I'M SAVED!" Misha then started hurrying around the boat as if looking for something, when he finally found what he was looking for he took out a flare gun and said, "Let's hope these flares still work." He fired one off, and slowly he saw the ship changing it's direction…heading for him. "YES, I'M SAVED!" Misha then started to do a bit of a belly dance going, "I'm finally going to get off this boat, maybe the crew will take me back to dry land." When the ship was about a hundred yards away, Misha saw a few guys in black robes standing at the bow of it looking down at him, "If they don't kill me first." He thought to himself, a scared look on his face.