Yu-Gi-Oh disclaimer is on Chapter 1 so read it there. I do want to mention that I made a Charmed reference in Chapter 1 and forgot to mention it. The reference to it is here too as well as a reference to Stargate SG-1. I don't own either shows. This is called 'Revelations' for good reason. A lot of background will be given, stuff that most stories do in chapter 1. If you haven't noticed, this is not most stories. There is also a budding relationship between two characters that was hinted at in 'New Duelist on the Block.' Can you guess who they are? Chapter 2 begins, now.

Chapter 2: Revelations

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"Stupid alarm," I muttered as I hit the button to shut the clock off. I dropped my face back down onto my pillow. It didn't hit me for a few moments. "Aw, nuts," I said into the pillow.

It was already 7:30 and school started in half an hour. Yesterday it took me forty five minutes to walk to school. Yesterday. I started at my new school and met four of the kindest people in the world. They considered me a friend after the first half of school that day. "Crud!" I said out loud. Here I was daydreaming about yesterday when I was going to be late today!

Wide awake by now, I got out of bed and quickly got dressed. I rushed downstairs, hoping to see that my sister was still there, but, unfortunately, she wasn't. It would have saved me a lot of time to have her drive me to school rather than to have walked. My backpack was sitting next to the door with my jacket. I grabbed them and charged out the door. I quickly checked my pocket to make sure my deck was in there, which it was, before running down the sidewalk at full speed.

As I ran, I looked for some shortcut to the school building five blocks away. I sprinted around the first corner then the second. As I rounded the second, I tripped over someone. "Someone?" I thought. "That can't be right." I turned and looked to see Yugi getting up off the ground, brushing himself off. "Yugi? Are you alright? I didn't even see you."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yugi replied. "What were you doing running to school?"

"Huh? There's only ten minutes left before it starts!" I exclaimed. "We're going to be late!"

"Didn't you know?" another voice said. I turned to see Téa smiling at me. I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh. "They delayed school for an hour this morning to do some work on the water lines. We have another hour to get there."

"Oh, well, you guys mind if I walk with you, then?" I asked. "If you don't want me to, I understand. I mean I nearly killed Yugi back there."

"No, I'm fine," Yugi responded. "I've been in worse situations before."

"Really?" I asked him. Then Yugi and Téa filled me in about Pegasus and what happened at Duelist Kingdom. "Stole your grandpa's soul? I find that hard to believe."

"It's all true. Joey, Tristan, and I were there," Téa said. "I've been meaning to ask you, Brian, where did you learn to duel like that? We've seen Yugi in some tough spots before, but that duel yesterday takes the cake."

"Well, it all started about eight years ago. I got my first deck from my uncle. It had some pretty basic cards in it. Nothing too big," I explained. "After that, I went to conventions and card shops to trade my cards for better ones. I started to use dragon monsters when I saw a poster for a dueling tournament that was to be held at the White House in the presidential rose garden. They called it The Duel of the Roses. The prize for the champion was a rare Seiyariyu card. I tried my best, but I just couldn't handle my competition and I was defeated in the first round."

"That's harsh," Téa stated.

"Yeah, but I didn't give up. I searched for another year to find the best cards I could, anything to support my dragons. The tournament came up again, and this time I was prepared. I won the tournament and took home the prize card as well as the title Duelist of the Roses. The card had changed from Seiyariyu, which made me a bit disappointed, but it was a huge upset. No one had ever expected me to place, let alone win." I paused and started staring down at the ground as we walked. This never was a topic I particularly liked talking about. "I won that tournament four more times before I moved here."

"Wow. After our duel, I knew that you were champion material, but I never suspected that you were a champion," Yugi said in astonishment.

"It's no big deal really," I said quietly. I looked up and saw that we had arrived at school. I said bye to Yugi as he walked down the hall to his classroom, then walked silently along side Téa to our classroom.

The morning classes dragged on. I didn't pay too much attention to the lessons, pretending to look at my books. When I was called on, I half-heartedly stood, gave the answer, and sat back down. I wondered if I should have even told them the truth. "Maybe I should have lied to them," I thought to myself at lunch. "But, these are my friends. Why should I lie to them?"

A sharp poke jolted me from my thoughts. "You've been awfully quiet ever since this morning, Brian. You want to talk about it?" Téa asked me.

"No. Talking about my past just brings back memories. Most of them are…" I started. I realized that all four of them were looking at me. I forced back a tear that was forming in my eye. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"Forget about it," Joey said. "If you don't wanna talk, we don't need to hear it. Cool? So, how 'bout we come over after school? You know, take a look at your card database and stuff."

"Database? I didn't know you knew that word," Tristan said playfully.

"Okay, sure," I said, trying to be cheerful.

"Oh, we don't want to impose on you. Joey just has a hard time controlling himself," Yugi added to the conversation. I looked over at Joey, who was having a private argument with Tristan.

"Yeah, I know. Still, around four sound alright?" I responded. Everyone agreed just as the bell rang. I was in a better mood for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, I considered walking home with Yugi and Téa, but I decided to go by myself.

"Sis, I'm home," I called out when I got in the door. There was no response. Then I found a message on the answering machine saying that she would be working late tonight. "Looks like I'm on my own," I said to myself. I laid down on the couch with my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. A few minutes later the door bell rang. I snapped my eyes open and sat up. "Who could that be? It's only 3:15," I asked myself.

I opened the door and standing there, much to my surprise, was Téa. "Téa? You're early, what are you doing here?" I asked her.

"Well, you see, I've been worried about you," She replied. "Since this morning you've been kinda distant. Yugi noticed it, too. I thought that you might think it would be easier to confide in one person instead of four."

"I guess I should tell someone. I owe you at least that much," I told her as I let her in. We sat down on the couch I was lying on earlier.

"What do you mean? You don't owe me anything," she said. I could see confusion, worry, and sadness, among other emotions, in her eyes. It was too heart wrenching to look at her, so I focused my attention at my hands, which were laced together in my lap.

"You'll understand when I tell you," I said. "What I told you this morning wasn't the entire story. Far from it actually. My experience in the tournaments was the highlight of my life," Téa was still confused, so I continued. "When I was little my mother became an actress and my father opened a major corporation. At first, it was nice. It seemed like nothing had changed, they were still there to take care of me and be, well, parents. After awhile my parents made a lot of money and moved us into a mansion with maids and butlers and everything. But my parents claimed that they had more and more work to do and I saw them less and less. Eventually, they never came back. They just sent money to keep everything running. They didn't even come to see me on my birthdays and they forgot most of them."

"Is that what's been troubling you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "There's more. You'd think that with your parents so famous, that everyone at school would want to be your friend," I let out a short laugh. "That wasn't the case, though. I got my deck for my 7th birthday and I was so excited that I was always looking at my cards in my free time. Very few people liked Duel Monsters, and those who did, didn't show it. They laughed and made fun of me, so the only friends I had were my cards. Sure, I made three or four friends during the tournaments, but it was only once a year that I got to see them. And my sister always had better things to do than hang out with her kid brother. Then I came here and met you guys. You're the best friends I've ever had," I finished, fighting the urge to start crying.

I looked over at Téa, only to see tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry for crying. It's just that was the saddest story I've ever heard," she said, locking her blue eyes on mine. Then she threw her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'll never let that happen to you again, Brian. Never," she whispered in my ear.

"Thank you, Téa, for listening to me," I said to her as she pulled away from me and wiped her eyes. "I feel a lot better. I guess I just needed to tell someone." The door bell rang, again. "Hm? That must be Yugi, Tristan, and Joey."

I got up and opened the door. Sure enough, there was Yugi, Tristan, and Joey. Joey let out a long whistle. "Whoa, nice place you got here. Téa wasn't home, so we don't know…" he stopped when he saw Téa looking over the back of the couch. "Hey guys, check this out. I found Téa." He started to giggle.

"Yeah?" Tristan chimed in as he poked his head in the door. "Hey, how long have you guys been here alone?" Both Tristan and Joey wore wide grins.

"Don't worry, Tristan. Nothing happened," I informed him. "She's only been here a few minutes, anyway." A short time later, Tristan and Joey were huddled around my laptop exchanging excited gasps while looking my card data. Yugi, Téa, and I were watching TV a few feet away from them. Then something cut in on the show we were watching. It appeared to be some sort of press conference.

Some woman, dressed like an ancient Egyptian, was talking about an exhibit at the museum. She said her name was Ishtar, or something. What really caught my eye was the symbol on her necklace. I wasn't sure but it looked familiar. I thought about it for a little bit, then turned to ask Yugi and Téa. That's when it came to me. The pendant around Yugi's neck! That's where I had seen the symbol. "Yugi, let me see that a sec," I said pointing to the object.

"What? My Millennium Puzzle? Why?" He asked.

"That," I pointed at the woman on TV. "Look at her necklace. It has the same symbol as your puzzle." She was still talking about her Egyptian artifact exhibit.

"Hey, he's right," Téa added. Then she showed one of the slabs and mentioned Duel Monsters.

"Duel Monsters in ancient Egypt?" Yugi questioned. The door bell rang again.

"Man, I gotta take that thing down," I stated as I got up. My comment drew a giggle from Téa. I opened the door to see a mailman standing there with a package. I signed off on it and closed the door. "That's strange. It's from my uncle. I thought he was off on a dig somewhere," I said as I sat back down next to Téa.

"Says here it's from a Dr. Daniel Jackson," Yugi read. "He's related to you?"

"Yeah, he's my uncle. I didn't think he knew where I was living," I said. "I wonder what it could be?" I carefully opened the box and found a letter inside on top of a pile of packing material. I read the letter to myself. "Says he found a couple of things on his dig that he thought I'd like." I dug through the packing material. I found a tablet that was inscribed with hieroglyphs. "I don't understand what this says. I've never seen these patterns before."

"You can read hieroglyphics?" Joey asked me. He and Tristan had snuck up behind me.

"Well, sort of. My uncle taught me some of the symbols and told me that different dialects have slightly different symbols. These, on the other hand, are like nothing I've ever seen before." I explained. I couldn't decipher any of it, no matter how hard I tried.

"Maybe you could take it to someone at the museum. They might be able to figure it out," Yugi suggested.

I nodded. If anyone knew what this was it would be someone that had a connection to the new exhibit. "Hey, what's this?" Téa was looking in the box, then she pulled out a gold bracelet. She drew a deep breath. "Wow… it's so beautiful."

"Huh. Let me see it," I said as I gently lifted it from her hand. "It's probably another artifact. It looks brand new, though." Then I gasped. It had the same symbol that was on Yugi's puzzle and Ishtar's necklace. "Guys, I don't feel so good all of a sudden." I was getting light headed and I felt my body start to collapse.

"Brian? Brian!" Téa's cry was the last thing I heard before I slipped into darkness.


"…an?…Bri…Brian?" A voice was saying my name and a hand was gently shaking my shoulder.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw Yugi kneeling over me. "Yugi? Is…is that you?" I asked.

"Not exactly," He responded. "I'm the spirit that resides in the Millennium Puzzle."

"In the puzzle?" What was he talking about? Maybe I was still groggy and I hadn't heard him right.

"Yes. I sensed the power of the Shadow Realm around you. When I told Yugi, he got worried and told me to follow you," came the response.

I sat up and looked around. I wasn't in my house anymore. Or at least as far as I could tell. I couldn't see more than ten feet away from me, it was too dark. "Shadow Realm? Is that what this is?" I wondered. Then I felt a cold chill run down my spine. "Where's Téa? And Tristan and Joey? Where are they?"

"We're in a place that they can't get to. It was hard enough for me to find you here," the Spirit tried to explain.

"How do we get out then?" I questioned him.

"Sometimes you can't get out. That is, until the Shadow Realm is done with you," he said ominously.

Now I was getting scared. Who is this? Can I even trust him? Seemingly able to read my thoughts, the Spirit said, "You can trust me. You've been aware of my presence for awhile, have you not? Ever since your duel the other day. Am I right?" He was. I had noticed it during the duel. It all made sense now, I thought Yugi had two personalities, but in reality he two spirits. Then I thought of what Yugi and Téa had told me earlier. Everything they said about Pegasus and the events at Duelist Kingdom became more and more believable.

"Alright, well, what now?" I asked as the Spirit helped me to my feet. "Can we look for a way out?"

"I don't see why not," he replied. "I think I see something over in that direction."

I looked to where he was pointing. It looked like a building of some sort. It was too far away to be sure. I did recognize torch light, someone had to be there. "North it is, then," I said dryly.

"North? How can you tell?" he asked. He sounded really confused.

I shrugged. "I can't really. I don't even know if north exists here," I said. At least the conversation was calming me down a bit. As we got closer to the building, its form became more clear and surprisingly familiar. We got to the temple and climbed the tall staircase in front. The inside of the temple threw me for a loop. I recognized windows, pictures, and writings, I knew it all.

"I've seen this before," I said to the Spirit. "My uncle uncovered this temple on a dig. He showed me pictures of it during one of his visits. Wait, these symbols make sense. In the pictures, they didn't mean anything, but…they were reversed."

"Are you certain?" he asked.

"Yeah…" I replied. I started reading the text on the wall. "Dark Magician, Buster Blader, Luster Dragon…Duel Monsters. These are the names of Duel Monsters!"

"Monsters in your deck," a deep voice came from behind me. I turned to look and saw an older version of myself. He looked just like me, same hair, same eye color, everything except he was older and seemed to be stronger, more like a warrior.

"Who are you?" the Spirit demanded.

"I could ask the same of you," the stranger said. "I am Skarra. Keeper of the Temple of Abydos, Royal Guard of the Pharaoh, and the spirit that resides in the Millennium Bracelet."

"Millennium Bracelet? Such an item doesn't exist," my companion said. "Shadi told me that there are seven Millennium Items and a bracelet wasn't one of them."

"While I am surprised you know Shadi, he doesn't know everything," Skarra claimed. "One item was hidden from all of the guardians, even the keeper himself. An eighth item was hidden in the Temple of Abydos and I was appointed to protect it."

"You mean in ancient Egypt?" I asked. "If that temple was in Egypt, how is it here?"

"To help protect the item, the temple was constructed in the Shadow Realm with a mirror of it in Egypt." Skarra explained. "The only way to get the item was to decipher the glyphs on the altar in the real world. They are instructions to get to the Shadow Realm and retrieve the Millennium Bracelet. It was safe, until someone accidentally found the temple and solved the mystery."

"My uncle…" I started.

"Fortunately," Skarra responded. I gave him a confused look. "You are destined to hold this item, Brian. I met Daniel Jackson and sensed his connection to you. I told him to send you the Millennium Item and a slate that had the instructions to get here. From your presence here, I see that you solved the riddle."

"Actually, I didn't solve it," I informed him. "I was just pulled into this place all of a sudden."

"That is a problem," Skarra told me. When I asked him why, he told me something I didn't want to hear. "Without following the instructions to get here, your soul was removed from your body. It will be hard, if not impossible, to send you back."

"No…" I said under my breath. "No…that can't be. Téa said…she said…"

"Téa? What does she have to do with this?" the spirit asked me.

I just shook my head. I didn't want to tell anyone about my feelings for Téa, not just yet. "Skarra, are you sure there's no way back?"

"No, there is a way. But it is a gamble," Skarra replied. "If it doesn't go exactly right, your spirit will be lost forever and the world will fall into darkness."

"I'm just wondering, but if Brian had the directions to get here in his world, shouldn't the instructions to get back, be here in the Shadow Realm?" the spirit of the puzzle asked.

"I'm afraid not. If the instructions were followed, I would be able to take him back using the Millennium Bracelet," Skarra objected.

"What were those instructions to get here anyway? What did I have to do, exactly?" I asked.

"You had to have the cards listed here in the temple, all of them, in your deck. You also needed to be with a loved one, someone you cared about enough to want to go back to. Then, of course, you needed to hold the Millennium Bracelet," Skarra told me.

"Then I did follow the instructions, I just didn't know it," I said excitedly. "I never translated the tablet. I did everything I needed to by fluke."

"Interesting. Then I should be able to take you back to your body," Skarra told me. "But you'll end up like your friend, Yugi. I will reside in the Millennium Bracelet. I will be able to talk to you using my mind and you can do the same with me. Of course this would have happened regardless of whether you had figured out the tablet or not."

"Okay, as long as I can go back and be with my friends," I said, very much relieved. But how does he know Yugi? "Uh, spirit of the puzzle? Well, first off do you have a name?"

"I'm sure I do. However, I don't remember my past," he replied. "Yugi has tried to help me before, but to no avail."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," I said to comfort him. "Anyway, could you fill in Yugi about what happened here? Well, except for what I said about Téa. I don't want anyone to know…yet. Not until I sort it out for myself."

He smiled. "I understand. You tell them when you're ready." I thanked him and he closed his eyes and began to fade away, back to the Millennium Puzzle I surmised.

"Okay. What does a guy gotta do to get out of this place?" I said, half jokingly.

"Just close your eyes and let go of your mind," he said. I gave him a funny look at first, but then I nodded and complied with his directions. "Open your mind!" It was the last thing I heard before my consciousness faded again.


Voices. I heard some voices. I kept my eyes closed for awhile to try to ascertain where I was.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had a thing for, Brian." Was it Tristan? It sounded like him.

"Yeah? So what if I do?" It was a girl this time. It must have been Téa.

"Anyway, it's good to see that my little brother finally has a girlfriend." Laughter followed that one. But was it Paige? I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on my back looking straight at the ceiling.

"Hey, I think he's waking up," I heard Joey say. Then Téa's smiling face popped into my sight. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said. Just then, I realized that Téa was clutching my hand between hers. I sat up and she eased her grip on my hand but didn't let go. "We were all so worried about you."

"You gave us quite a scare, kiddo," my sister said as she put her arm around my neck. "From what I hear, Téa here stayed by your side the entire time." I looked at Téa and smiled. That made her blush a little.

"Thanks, you guys. Listen, I've been through a lot today, I need a break and some rest," I told them. "And I've got some things to think about. I'll be fine, I just need some time."

"Well, sleep tight, little brother," Paige said. She then stood up, mussed my hair, then went upstairs.

Then I stood up and saw my friends out the door. Joey and Tristan were the first out. They got to the end of the sidewalk, then one of them said something I couldn't hear and they both started cracking up. Yugi was the next one out, he stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned back to me. He told me that he knew what I was going through and we could help each other out. I agreed with him and he trotted down the walk, out of sight. After Yugi left, Téa took hold of my hand once more and stood with me in the doorway.

"Brian…I care about you a lot. More than I ever thought I would," she started. Her eyes met mine, this time there were no tears. "If you ever need someone to talk to, to comfort you…just ask me. I'll be there."

"Thanks, Téa. I'll do the same for you," I told her. Then I pulled her close to me and gave her a big hug, which she returned without a second thought. We held it for quite awhile before we broke it apart and said goodbye. I stood in the doorway watching Téa until she was out of sight, which is when I finally shut the door.

I walked past the couch and picked up the Millennium Bracelet. My Millennium Bracelet. Things were about to get a lot more complicated. I could feel it.