The crowd moved along the street slowly. Cars quickly drove by, stopping every now and then to allow people out from their insides. It seems like a normal day.

Something tells me it isn't... The kid thought. He slowly made his way down the street, hands in the pockets of his blue pants. With each step the golden pendant on the chain around his neck would gently tap against his stomach, a constant reminder of danger to come. He went through the crowd, not really noticing the people accidentally bumping into him and mumbling their "sorry"s as they hurried along. He was too caught up in his own thoughts that wandered through that multicolored spiky head of his.

His magenta eyes stared blankly at the ground before him. The feeling in his gut intensified as he walked. He knew something was going to happen today, but what, he didn't know.

The phone call he had gotten earlier that morning kept playing over in his head. It was the only reason he had left the house so early and was heading to where he was.

"Yugi, phone." His grandfather had called to him. Yugi had groggily pushed his covers aside and grabbed for the phone on his nightstand.

"I got it." Yugi called at his door. He picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

'Yugi?' The voice on the other end asked. It belonged to a woman and it sounded a bit anxious.

"Who is this?" Yugi asked, still half asleep. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

'It's Ishizu Ishtar.' The woman had told him.

Yugi's eyes widened as he recognized her voice. The sleepiness drained from him. "What is it?"

'It's hard to explain.' Ishizu uttered. 'But, I wish to meet with you.'

"Ok, where?"

'At the Kaiba Corp. Building, twenty-ninth floor.' Ishizu told him. 'Be there in an hour.' Then she hung up.

Yugi sighed, thinking the whole thing over, the Millennium Puzzle tapping against his chest.

What could Ishizu be so worried about? He wondered as he sidestepped a fast walking woman and her baby stroller. He slightly tilted his head to watch her go past, not noticing him.

"Hey, Yugi!" Some called from behind him.

Yugi froze, then slowly turned on his heel, looking through the crowd for a familiar face. When he saw the messy blonde head of his friend running towards him he smiled.

"Hey Joey." Yugi said as his buddy stopped before him. Joey panted a bit, then straightened and smiled.

"Where are you going in such a daze?" Joey asked him, running a hand through his hair. "I've been yelling at you for fifteen minutes now."

Yugi blinked at him. "Really? Oh, sorry Joey. It's just I've been thinking."

"Bout what?" Joey asked, his face flickering with concern.

"Ishizu called me today." Yugi informed him. "She wants to talk with me. I think something might be wrong."

Joey gave a nod of understanding. "I hear ya. How bout I come with you?"

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah. I got nothing better to do." Joey said with a slight shrug. Yugi grinned.

"Thanks." Yugi told him.

Joey clapped him on the shoulder. "No problem, man."

Yugi turned and led the way. Joey walked with him. They chatted as they went, passing the time. Eventually the conversation dropped and Yugi slowly sunk back into thought. After a few moments of silence, Joey spoke.

"So, where're we going?" He asked, looking down at his zoned out friend.

Yugi blinked, coming back to reality. He froze and turned to Joey. "Huh?"

"Where are we going?" Joey repeated.

"Oh, uh..." He peered around. Then, ever so slowly, his gaze made it's way up the building they stood before. "I guess, here."

Joey spun and stared at the large tower. "Here?" Joey asked, looking back to Yugi. Yugi nodded. "But, this is the Kaiba Corp. Building."

"I know." Yugi told him. He went past Joey and entered through the automatic glass doors. Joey followed.

"But, why are we here of all places?"

"This is where Ishizu told me to meet her. On the twenty-ninth floor."

Joey said no more. He gazed around, a bit of hatred in his eyes. Yugi tried not to chuckle. It seemed just the fact that he could be in the same building as his worst enemy put Joey on edge.

Yugi stopped before the elevator. He pressed a button and heard the 'ding' of his command registering in the machine. The metal doors opened and they stepped inside. Yugi pressed the button labeled '29'. He noticed that was the highest floor. The doors closed behind them and they could feel the elevator start to rise. Joey tapped his foot, annoyed by the elevator music. Yugi smiled in spite of himself.

"At least we get the whole elevator to ourselves." He mumbled. Joey huffed.

The elevator slowly moved on. To Yugi's surprise it never stopped to let others on.

That's weird... He thought.

What is? A voice in Yugi's head asked. In his mind's eye everything around him went dark and the form of an older version of himself appeared from the shadows.

There's no one getting on the elevator. Yugi told the spirit that lived in the puzzle around his neck as well as in his mind. This is a big business building, the elevators should be packed...

That is a bit odd. The yami uttered. But it really isn't anything to be worrying about.

But, now that I think about it, Yugi said, his finger going to his chin as he thought. The lobby was pretty empty, too. Maybe something's going on...

Perhaps. Yami told him. Put I don't feel any reason to be alarmed.

Yeah... Yugi uttered. Yami slipped back into the darkness and everything cleared within his mind's eye. He blinked, realizing he was back in reality.

As they rose past one the floors the electronic numbers above the doors slowly went up. Yugi watched it, counting along. Finally they were at the twenty-seventh floor. For some unknown reason Yugi's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt cold all over. Around his neck the eye on the Puzzle glowed faintly.

"Yug?" Joey asked, worry in his voice. He watched as Yugi's eyes widened. His eyes were transfixed on the number above the door.

The elevator lurched, then stopped, the lights going out. The only light was the eerie green glow from the digital numbers above the door. 27.

As Yugi stared at the numbers his ears began to ring. Something powerful echoed on the other side of the door. His heart hammered in his chest. His pupils dilated, almost blocking out the entire iris of his eye.

But as soon as the power had shut off it came back on. The elevator came to life around them, then it slowly began to rise.

"Whoa..." Joey uttered. "That was weird."

Yugi didn't hear him. Already he was at the control panel of the elevator. He pressed the button for 'Emergency Stop'. The elevator stopped again and Yugi pressed the 'Open Doors' button.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked as Yugi went to the doors and anxiously watched them open.

"Damn it..." Yugi uttered as he looked at the plastic covering the elevator doorway. He grabbed at it and pulled, ripping it from the wall.

Joey stepped back away from Yugi. "Man, are you loosing it or something?"

"Maybe..." Yugi mumbled in response. He stepped from the elevator that was a tad higher than the rest of the floor. Joey ducked and climbed out after him.

They looked around them. The place was deserted. Plastic, wires, tools and what not where scattered everywhere.

"Looks like their remodeling." Joey noted.

Yugi gave a slight nod and continued to peer around. The pounding in his ears increased, and the temperature continued to drop. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

"You ok?" Joey asked, peering down at him.

"Yeah." Yugi lied. He looked up at Joey. "Aren't you cold?"

"No, should I be?"

"Yes, it's freezing in here."

"Not really, no."

Yugi just blinked at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but a gently breeze rustled through his hair. He turned around and stared down the empty corridor. His eyes landed on something.

"What in the-?" Yugi began. He raced over to the object on the floor and picked it up, turning it over in his hands. As soon as his hands enclosed around it the humming in his ears stopped and the temperature returned to normal.

Joey went over to him. "What is it?" He asked, gazed at what Yugi held.

"It's a book." Yugi muttered. "But what could it be doing here?"

"I don't know." Joey said. His eyes ran over the book. "Too bad we can't open it and see what's inside. There's a lock." He pointed at the hunk of metal on the side of it.

Yugi nodded and ran his hands over the leather cover. He blinked. Are those jewels embedded in it, or coal? He couldn't tell in the faint light.

Obsidian. Yami uttered within Yugi's head. Yugi gave him a quizzical look through his mind. It's a semiprecious stone. Yami informed him. Yugi gave a slight nod.

Yami crouched down and eyed the book. A slight recognition wavered in his eyes.

Do you know it? Yugi asked. Yami looked up at him, confused. The book. Do you recognize it?

Vaguely. Yami mumbled. But from where, I don't know...

Yugi sighed and stood, book in hand.

"Can we get out of here?" Joey asked, looking around. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, we can leave." Yugi said. He tucked the book under his arm and followed Joey back to the elevator. Once inside Joey turned the thing on and they continued to rise up the last two stories.