In the Shadow of the Prophecy

Disclaimer - Nope, still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!...flug nuggets

Chapter thirteen - Prelude to Battle City

And I wanna believe you when you tell me that it'll be okay.

Yeah I wanna believe you,

But I don't.

when that its gonna be,

And I was too sad to be a different way.

I try to believe you,

Not today, today, today.

Avril Lavigne

CCC-

Last time --

Carmen closed the door behind herself and dropped her bookbag next to the linen closet with a disheartened sigh. Her stomach growled irritably so she meandered in the kitchen for a snack, but when she got in there an affluently-designed envelope caught her attention.

Congratulations

You have been cordially invited to take part in an exclusive Duel Monsters tournament. Come to Domino Town Square on June 22 at 9:30 pm sharp for the official announcement and details.

CCC-

I can't believe I just handed him my deck > Carmen thought how could I have been so stupid ? >. The mysterious letter rested under her palm, without her deck there wasn't much point in showing up was there? And why was she getting so depressed about this whole thing anyway? It was just a stupid card game, this was probably just life's way of telling her its time to grow up.

" Hey Carmen ," the voice startled her and she quickly slid the letter into her lap. Yugi, Joey, Te'a and Tristen were looking at her with ear-to-ear grins, it was kind of ...creepy.

" Uh... what's up ?" she asked slowly, careful not to provoke them...

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY !" they chorused brightly, setting a small rectangular 'gift' on her desk wrapped in a handkerchief. The amber-eyed girl raised an eyebrow at this curiously.

" But my birthday's not till December ," she replied blankly.

" Aw jus' opennit ," said Joey in his impatient, puppy-like way. Okay > she decided, unfolding the handkerchief slowly, What >, it was a crisp, clean ...stack of cards. No way carefully she shuffled through them, were these... really for her? They looked brand new! Zolga, Kelbek, Shining Angel, they were all there and there were new cards she hadn't seen before. " I put dat in dere ," said the blond proudly.

Why ?> " You replaced...my whole deck ?" she said with wide-eyed shock.

" Well the guys and I ... " Yugi started, blushing when she put him on the spot, " well, we couldn't replace all of it, but... we just wanted to help ,".

Two rosy spots appeared on the girls cheeks and she smiled, " Thanks ,".

CCC-

Yugi, pulled his stuff out of his locker/ Carmen looked happy, thanks for the clue in Yami / he said, strangely there was no reply/ Yami / . Still nothing. He was worried and a tad bit annoyed, it wasn't like the spirit of the puzzle to ignore him. / Yami. /

/ Huh / came the spirit's voice/ Yes Aibou / .

/ Are you okay, you seem like you were spacing out again / said his light.

/ Uh... / Yami shook his head slightly to clear it and when he was confident he replied / Yes, I'm fine. / . Yugi eyes were etched with worry, this was happening alot since that whole warehouse incident, Yami's eyes would become distant and his thoughts would lead him away. What bother him the most was that he seemed helpless to assist his other half. He was about to put all aside when he stepped out onto the porch and saw Te'a, bingo! That was it! Oh, but the spirit was gonna hate him for this.

CCC-

Yami walked side-by-side down the street with the auburn-haired girl, lost in his own musings. How his partner had managed to keep this under the guise of a surprise was baffling to him, but Yugi was right about one thing ; this supposed 'date' with Te'a did put his soul at ease.

" We're here ," the blue-eyed girl chimed, pulling him out of his reverie now that they were in the townsquare. / I never thought searching for my lost memories would take a turn such as this / said the spirit with amusement and renewed vigor / but I know I can face it / . He felt the tug in his chest of Yugi's heartfelt agreement.

Te'a looked around, there was a small crowd milling around the square, mostly teenagers like themselves, duelists, she guessed. " 'Cuse me ," said a familar voice as a kid wearing a black hoodie and jeans that were a couple sizes too big.

" Huh... Carmen is that you ?". The kid froze in her tracks and looked at them with an 'Oh-shit-I'm-busted' look. She pulled her hood back to reveal it was, indeed, their friend.

" Umm, hi ," she replied nervously, " you guys on a date, or something? Is this where we come to find out about the tournament, or did I stumble into some make-out spot ?". Te'a blushed, mortified by the girl's assessment, from her kawaii appearance it was hard to remember Carmen was the same age as herself. The spirit of the puzzle was sporting an unusually rosy face as well, slightly taken aback himself, an expression foreign to his normally smooth persona.

" Yuuuuuuu-whooooooooooooooo !" called a sly, flirtatious voice, causing the dark-haired girl to cringe at the memory. The voice's owner, a buxom young woman with long blonde hair skipped up to them and threw her arm around Te'a neck. " I know you guys missed me ," she teased in a sing-song tone.

" Mai, I assume you came for the tournament ," said Yami, growing less comfortable with the present situation by the second. Her fun cut short, the prize hunter let go of Tea.

" Yeah, I assume you received an anonymous invite as well ," she replied. The spirit answered her with a curt nod of his head.

" Hai, but it didn't say who it was from ," he said and turned to the fourth member of the group, " the same for you Carmen, I expect ,".

Put in the spotlight, the golden-eyed girl sighed and pulled her letter out of her pocket, " Yeah, me too ," she said excepting her defeat with grace, " no name ,".

# Carmen? who's she ?# Mai studied the girl for a moment, she had a feeling she should know her...aha! " I know you, you're Nicholas Seraph's granddaughter aren't you ?".

The spirit glanced at her out of the corner of his eye / Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that / he mused to himself.

" Guilty as charged, I'm afraid, I'm Carmen Seraph ," she replied with a smile, " nice to meet you ,".

The blonde looked her up and down with a scrutinizing eye, " For an urban heiress, you'd think they'd dress you better ,". Carmen blinked, had this strange lady just showed up and complimented her and insulted her in the same breath? How was she supposed to react to that?

Mai leaned forward and mussed the teen's pale strawberry tresses playfully, much to the girl's discomfort. Carmen growled under her breath and smoothed the hairs back into place.

Suddenly all the screens in and around the city turned on, their staticy screens revealing the visage of the infamous president of Kaiba Corporation...

" Greetings duelists ," he said with his typical 'I-am-god' smirk as he regarded them, " Welcome to the town of Domino. It seems you've all received your private invites and you were smart enough were smart enough to show up ," the crowd crowed excitedly, " But more importantly, welcome to my tournament ,".

To Be Continued . . .