The Artist

Chapter 1

Yugi and company were out for a walk along the beach. Yami, in his shade form, walked with them. But nobody beyond their little group could see him. Yami had figured out how to become solid, but he couldn't do it if he got a certain distance away from Yugi and it took a lot out of him. In his shade form, however, he could easily keep up with his friends, talk with them, or just listen. He enjoyed the smell of the sea, the salty wind in his face, and the cries of the seabirds above him.

Just then he heard, or smelled, or maybe sensed it. Yami froze.

"Yami-kun? What's wrong?" Yugi asked, noticing it first.

Joey blinked, stopping to face Yami. Tristan and Bakura turned their attention to Yami and Tea wore a concerned look.

"Somebody… I know it sounds crazy, but I can sense that somebody in the immediate area is in trouble." Yami looked first left, then right.

Then, from the bushes they heard a groan. Yugi pelted over. "You were right Yami." He turned the girl over. She had long, messy black hair. She wore a blue tank top, blue cargo pants, even blue sneakers. A white dueling gauntlet, currently empty of starchips, was worn on each hand. They weren't the single row gauntlets of an ordinary duelist. These were the double row gauntlets of an Eliminator. On the right hand, a golden double mask was embroidered. On the other, a patch of a Japanese Flag had been carefully and lovingly sewn. Around her neck was a set of dog tags, a card shaped locket like the one Seto wore and… "That's a Millenium Item!" Yugi cried, jumping back.

"Looks like an Eliminator, only the gauntlets are the wrong color." Tristan observed.

"It's the Millenium Crystal!" Bakura cried. "I've heard about it. The Millenium Crystal allows it's holder to mimic the powers of any other Millenium Item. There's a spirit in it too. That might be why Yami sensed that she was in trouble. Her spirit was probably trying to call for help!"

"Sounds iffy to me." Joey commented. "I wonder what sort of monsters she uses."

As if sensing the proximity of help, the girl began to moan. "…Valentine… get… Valentine…"

"Valentine? As in Mai Valentine?" Wondered Tea, curiously.

"Maybe she's a friend of Mai's." Yugi suggested. "Well, we'd better do what she says. Joey, you have Mai's number right?"

"Yeah, I'll call her right now." Joey reached for his cellphone. He dialed.

On the other end, Mai had just finished off an exhibition battle against Weevil Underwood. After such a battle, it was considered courteous to share refreshments and talk for awhile, usually about tactics, or monsters, about who or what new cards were coming out, and the world in general. She was therefore relieved when the phone rang.

"Mai Valentine speaking."

"Mai, it's Joey, we've got a bit of a problem. We found a girl with a Millenium Item unconscious on the beach. She's kinda delirious, but she keeps moaning, 'Get Valentine…'"

Mai froze. 'Please tell me that Nya-san didn't get into trouble again.' "Does she have dogtags?"

"Yeah."

"What do they say?"

Mai heard a scramble on the other end. "They say 'Omen of History,' whatever that means."

"It's a trap card that she uses. That's Nyassa, she uses Dragon Cards and Burn Type Magic Cards. She also has a Millenium Item. It sounds like she's been hurt. I'll be over as fast as I can, but there's only room for her, Yugi, and one other in my car. I'll bring Tea along, my mother's a doctor who specializes in Millenium Item inflicted injuries. She knows Nyassa, that's probably who she was calling for. Give me the location."

Joey paused, before giving her their location. "How long until you can come over?"

"I'm at Domino Convention Center. I was just finishing up an exhibition duel against Weevil. I kicked his ass, but I was still stuck following courtesy."

Joey let out a noise of disgust. "What kind of courtesy?"

"Food and chatter. I'm actually glad you called me. It gives me a chance to get away." Mai chuckled. She could just picture Joey rolling his eyes in disgust. "I'll be there in ten minutes. See you soon."

Then she turned to Weevil. "An emergency's come up. I need to go. Catch you at the next tournament Weevil."

"I'll look forward to beating you." Weevil said with a disgusted sniff. He took a bite of one of the cookies that had been served as refreshments and strode off.

Mai was on her way out when she nearly collided with Seto. "Well well well Valentine, where might you be off to?"

"Yugi ran into one of my friends, she was injured badly. We think it has to do with Millenium Magic, since my mom knows quite a lot about the Millenium Items we're bringing her to my mother. If you've got a car you're welcome to come along for the ride."

"Me? The obscenely wealthy Seto Kaiba? Have a CAR? Of course I have a car, and a license! I've got an Escalade. I'll follow you."

"That's good, my car can only hold four, so I'll need somebody to take a few of the gang with me." Mai replied. "Follow me." She ran out.

Mai arrived five minutes early. "Tea and Yugi are coming with me. The rest of you are riding with Seto. Yami, can you return to the puzzle for the duration of the ride? We don't have enough room for more than four people in my car."

They climbed in, carrying Fera carefully to the back seat. No sooner than Yugi had buckled himself and Nyassa in than Mai was off at top speed. "Woah!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Sorry about that. When I say that this car is a whip I mean this car is a whip!" Mai said happily.

Tea let out a cry of joy. "This is fun!" She giggled. "Mai where did you GET this car? It's so cool!"

Mai smirked. "I won it in a duel! It was easy. The jerk who owned this thing didn't appreciate it at all."

Tea rolled her eyes. "The whole world isn't Duel Monsters you know."

"I know, but most of it is!" Mai grinned. "Hang on tight!" She whipped around a corner. Yugi noticed absently that Seto's Escalade was having a hard time keeping up with Mai's Convertible. "Yes, I know I'm speeding but this is kind of an emergency."

After about a ten-minute drive they pulled up at a large house. A sign out front read, Dr. Marina Valentine, M.D. and Ph.D.

A woman in blue jeans and a t-shirt with a doctor's white coat came running out. "Mai dear what… OH!" She blinked as she faced Yugi and company. "You must be Yugi. I've heard so many nice things about you. And that means that you must be Joey." She shook each of their hands. "What's on your mind?"

Tristan scooped Nyassa up in his arms. "We found her delirious on the beach, calling for you to help her. We figured we'd better bring her."

"Oh dear, yes. Poor Nyassa. I'm her doctor anyway, so I would see her regardless. Thank you for bringing her in." She lead the way inside to the infirmary and the nearby hospital beds. "There. Let's see." Mai's mother took her pulse, clucking like a mother hen all the while. "Pulse is faster than normal. Temperature normal, so we know that it isn't a fever. Elevated blood pressure… Delirium though… interesting…" She thought for a moment, before opening one of Nyassa's eyes.

Yugi froze upon looking into that unconscious eye. The pupil and iris were contracted almost to invisibility. It was as though he were looking into a sphere of pure white, with streaks of red, irritated veins and nerves shot through them.

Mai's mother jumped back as well. "Well well well…" She said after a pause. "I think I have the culprit. Ever hear of the Millenium Rod?" She asked the assembled teens.

"I have." Seto said, nonplussed. "What does that have to do with this Nyassa person?"

"The Millenium Rod's power is to turn people into mindslaves. Symptoms of its use include a narrowing of pupils and irises, elevated pulse, higher blood pressure than normal. But no fever. A sign that it has been fought back is a delirious state similar to that induced by a high fever."

"But how was she able to fight back?" Yugi asked.

"Only a person with another Millenium Item is able to hold back such a spell. Natural resistance to it's effects is rare, but it does happen. Nyassa is the keeper of the Millenium Crystal, known also as the Shadow Bridge. To explain, there is a set of replacement Millennium Items called the reflection items. Their job is to replace the Millennium Items if they are ever destroyed or fall into the wrong hands. The Millennium Crystal and it's holder are supposed to keep the Millennium Item Holders from fighting with the Reflection Item Holders in a Shadow Game."

"Makes some sense." Bakura said thoughtfully. "But if it's that powerful, why hasn't she showed up before now?"

"Because traditionally, the Shadow Bridge has no contact with the Millennium Item Holders whatsoever." Mai's mother explained. "That's why she hasn't shown up."

"How long will Nyassa be out of things?" Mai asked worriedly.

"Probably until sometime tomorrow. You should probably call her band and tell them what happened to her. They'd probably be very worried by now."

"Nyasssa has a band?" Joey asked, brightening. "Alright! When she's well enough, I wonder if she'll sing for us!"

"She might not. Nyassa hates being nagged to sing by random people off the street. She might not take kindly to your request. Nyassa sings because she enjoys it. When she's been up for a few hours and had some coffee, she'll probably be singing better than a nightingale. But for now, she needs rest and quiet." Mai's mother chivied them out.

Yugi looked worriedly at the pale figure in the bed before the closing door blocked his view.