Chapter Two: Strangers.

A/N: First and foremost, I would like to say thank you for all the reviews I've received. I never dreamed that a yu-gi-oh and northern lights/golden compass crossover would be such a popular idea. So thank you all!

Secondly, in this chapter you get meet two new people! Everyone start clapping for: Will and Lyra, from the world of Northern Lights! Yay!!! These two people are the main characters of Northern Lights/The Golden Compass, so obviously I HAD to include them. Devoted fans of Northern Lights may find this chap a little bit irritating, as it is sort of introducing Lyra and Will, and explaining about dæmons and so forth, but keep reading! I can promise you that chap 3 is FULL of action! Lyra and Will are main characters in this fic, but I will still be concentrating on Ryou, Bakura and Malik first and foremost. Especially Ryou. Yummy yummy…Okay! I'm sorry. Here's chapter two for you. Enjoy!

Nani?: what?

Bonkotsu: mediocre or common

Hai: yes

Baka: bastard

……………

"What did that girl say this place was called? Cittàgazze?"

"Ci'gàzze, yeah," Lyra replied. She stroked the soft, silky fur of her dæmon, Pantalaimon, and he purred contentedly. Like all dæmons whose children hadn't reached puberty yet, he could change into different animals at will, and at the moment he was a cat. Once they reached adulthood, dæmons lost the ability to change, and stayed in one shape forever.

Will took out his mother's credit card, and gazed at it with a sense of longing. All it would take was one cut with the subtle knife, and he could be back in his world again, with his mother. But it would also accepting that he had killed someone…In his mind's eye he could see the man falling backwards down the stairs, and the sickening crunch that followed. He couldn't forget the way the man's head was bent unnaturally to one side, and the dreadful twitching of his limbs…

I didn't mean to, he thought angrily. Besides, he broke into my house, and was threatening my mother. Will's resolve strengthened at this. He had been defending her, and he knew he would kill a hundred more men for her if he had to.

Ignorant of the thoughts that were going through Will's head, Lyra scratched Pantalaimon's back lazily. He turned into a mouse and ran up her arm, to whisper in her ear. "Are we still going to look for Dust?" he asked quietly. "Or should we help Will find his father first?"

"I dunno. We could ask the alethiometer about Will's father, I suppose. That would help us. Anyway, no one knows what Dust is, anyway. We could be the first to find out what it actually does. Hey Pan, what do you think Dust is?"

Her dæmon turned into a squirrel and curled up near her chest, trying to share her warmth, and his fluffy tail tickled her bare arms. Bringing his paws up to wash his face, he said slowly, "it's elementary particles, remember? Those people at the cocktail party said so."

"Yeah, I know," Lyra said impatiently, "but what I meant was-" She stopped as he turned into a tiger and growled menacingly. He walked forwards a few paces and snarled again. Dæmons could only go a few metres away from their human's with the exception of witches' dæmons. Lyra knew that Serafina Pekkala, the queen of a witch clan in the far north, could fly miles and miles away from her dæmon. Lyra couldn't imagine being that far away from her beloved Pan. It wouldn't seem right.

Lyra scrambled forward and put a hand on Pantalaimon's shoulder, calming him slightly. "What can you hear?"

Pantalaimon's sensitive ears twitched back and forth. "There are people nearby."

Will jumped up, alarmed. "We've been wandering this world for days, and we've hardly met anyone. Where did these people come from all of a sudden?"

"Let's go find out," Lyra suggested. Packing their bags quickly, they walked to the edge of a small wood, where Pantalaimon was waiting for them.

………

Ryou sat up, rubbing his head. "N-Nani?" Looking around, he saw that they were lying in the middle of a clearing in a forest. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and was shining directly in his face. He realised this was what had woken him up. The ground beneath him was mostly stones, with a few patches of yellowing grass trying to grow here and there, and there were a couple of interesting looking beetles trying to climb on him. Ryou shook them off carefully.

The others woke up, rubbing their heads as he had done. "Yami?" the white-haired hikari asked tentatively.

Bakura stood up and dusted himself off. "All right, I have no idea what has happened but I know that somehow this is all YOUR fault, Pharaoh."

Yami glared at him, but was distracted by Yugi snivelling into his leather jacket. "W-where are we? Aibou, we're all going to die!"

"Aww, don't worry Yugi. I'll look after you." Yami put his arm around Yugi. Bakura threw him a disgusted look, but said nothing.

Malik anxiously put his hand into his pocket to see if the Rod was still there, and in one piece. Feeling it's familiar shape, he took it out, feeling relieved. "So. Where are we? Anyone know?"

"Shadow Realm?" Bakura offered.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Hai, this looks exactly like the Shadow Realm to me."

"Are you mocking me?"

"…"

"Yarou!"

"Bonkotsu baka!"

"How-how dare you! I am the Pharaoh! Therefore you will address me with respect, you puny common little Thi-"

"Both of you, uresei!" Malik hissed. He cocked his head to one side like a dog, obviously listening hard. "Someone's coming!"

The group tensed, and everybody huddled a bit closer together instinctively. "I'll go have a look," the Egyptian offered. When no one tried to stop him, he got up and walked towards the surrounding vegetation. Parting some bushes revealed…

"Aaaah!"

"Aaaah!"

Malik stepped back to reveal a boy and girl standing in front of him. Hi attention, however, was focused not on them but on the very large tiger next to them. The Ring and Puzzle glowed for a second as the two yamis quickly returned to their respective items. There was a moment of tense silence as the two strange groups stared at each other.

Without realising it, Will's hand had gone instinctively to the subtle knife in his belt, as he gaped at the people in front of him. They were teenagers, like him, probably about sixteen or seventeen. The boy nearest him had messy, dark blond of a similar shade to Lyra's, and it hung about his face untidily. His blond hair contrasted sharply with his dark skin, and he was wearing gold jewellery on his arms. But it was his eyes that unsettled Will the most. They were a deep purple, and there was a flicker of irony in them as he stared calmly back. He had the look of someone who knew how to take care of himself.

Looking past him Will could see two other boys, also with unusual appearances. The taller one was pale and skinny; his white hair had a tint of lavender in it and hung down in spiky bangs. His eyes were a gentle brown, and at first glance he seemed quiet, almost timid. But as their eyes met he thought they flashed red, just for a moment. A strange necklace hung around his neck, with five gold points similar in design to the darker boy's earrings.

The last one was small, probably only coming up to Will's shoulders at most, and his hair was even more unusual, as it stuck out at peculiar angles, and was various shades of blond, red and black. He also wore a strange necklace around his neck, but it was shaped like a 3-D triangle. A pyramid, Will thought, remembering his maths lessons. What peculiar people. He felt slightly unsettled. And they have weird eyes.

………..

Malik's violet eyes ran over Will and Lyra, to rest finally on Pantalaimon. His gaze took in the two missing fingers on Will's left hand, and the way he held the knife with the easy grace of someone who knew how to use it. A dangerous enemy, that one. The girl standing slightly behind him had similar hair to his own-dark blond, unkempt. She met his gaze with determination, and the tiger at her side growled menacingly, but made no move to attack.

…………

Will stepped forward, hands outstretched in a gesture of peace. "Hello," he said cautiously. "I don't know if you speak English, but my name is Will Parry. This is my friend Lyra Silvertongue, and her dæmon Pantalaimon." He waited for an answer.

The tri-coloured boy whispered something to one of his companions, casting nervous glances at Will as he did so.

"Ryou-kun?" Yugi murmured in Japanese. "English people say their surnames after their first names, don't they?" He had studied English keenly at his school but had never thought he would ever use it. His friend was half English after all, so he would know.

"Hai.. So introduce yourself as Yugi Motou, not Motou Yugi."

"I thought so. Huh, English is a bizarre language."

Ryou shrugged, and raised dark eyes to the boy in front of him. "Um, hello. My name is Ryou Bakura. And this is Malik Ishtar and Yugi Motou."

"Hey! I wanted to introduce myself!" Yugi protested.

"Whatever. No need to spaz out about it."

The Puzzle holder gave him a blank look. "Spaz?"

Ryou groaned and mumbled a few choice Japanese words under his breath.

"Oh, that."

Lyra stepped forward in barely concealed curiosity. "Excuse me for askin' but where's your dæmons?"

"Demons?" Yugi echoed. He looked slightly confused. "We don't have any demons."

Will tried to explain. "A dæmon is your soul. It takes the form of an animal. I en't from her world, so I en't got one, but in her world everyone has a dæmon. Have you got one?"

There was a silence during which it was obvious the boys were thinking hard, then Yugi said slowly, "Is a dæmon like a y-"

Ryou interrupted him. "No, we don't have dæmons either," he said calmly. Pantalaimon looked at him, then changed into a wildcat and leapt into Lyra's arms.

"You all have dæmons," he said quietly. "I know you do. Inside you."

The three boys openly gaped at him, as he changed in the blink of an eye into a small brown moth, and fluttered around Lyra's head. Will found their astonishment quite amusing, but gave no sign of it. When he spoke, it was in a friendly tone. "We've got a fire and food nearby. Would you like to join us for the night?"

Ryou met Malik's eyes with a questioning look, and Malik shrugged.

"Okay."

…………

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I eat reviews for breakfast. With ketchup. That's why I'm so tall. Actually, no, I lie. I'm only 5" 4." Which is probably quite short for a 15-year-old, but there you go.