Scales of Destiny

Authors' Note: Thank you to all who have reviewed. We're glad that you like this story; we've worked very hard on it. We hope that more people will review as time goes on. Toxic has also drawn some AWESOME pictures to go with the story. Find them at Please comment on them in your reviews. Please and thank you!

Story Summary: The Millennium Scales have been passed from Shadi to another worthy of holding them. But as soon as she receives the mysterious Scales, she starts having bizarre dreams about things that happened thousands of years ago. Each dream ends with the same soothing voice and calming face. Can she meet this mysterious stranger in Domino City?

Chapter Summary: Yami begins discovering his ancient past. In the meantime, Shizuku visits a mysterious antique shop, and while browsing through the items, a mysterious face appears in one of them.

Chapter Three

A Shrouded Face

Yami sighed inwardly. If he chose to reveal the secrets of his past, it would change Yugi's Destiny as well. Since he was just a Wandering Spirit, confined to whoever owned the Millennium Puzzle, he would not be able to be with his love if she was reincarnated.

'What are you waiting for?' Yugi asked impatiently.

"You do know that this will affect you as well," Yami answered as he returned to his thinking once more.

'I don't care. This will be just a whole other adventure for us.'

"Right," Yami smiled as he slowly held the three Egyptian God Cards in front of the tablet of him and past Kaiba. He could feel a force creeping through his body that felt much like static electricity. The window that held the tablet shattered, sending shards of glass towards him. Yami could feel the glass pieces fall next to him, but none ever touched his pale skin. The static-like-energy made its way to his head, and all though he couldn't see it, a brilliant Eye of Ra was glowing on his forehead. Yami felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, and when he could hold back no longer, he fell into the blackness.

:-:

As consciousness slowly faded back into his groggy head, Yami looked at his surroundings, finding them much different than the museum.

He was in Egypt. The pyramids in the background gave away the location immediately, and by the fact that some of them were only part-way built, he guessed he was in his time, 5,000 years ago.

He heard a grunt and turned around sharply. A cloaked figure was walking towards him. Yami didn't even bother to address the figure, for he knew he was merely a ghost in one of his own memories.

The cloaked figure stumbled, his foot tearing the hood down and revealing his face. A younger Yami looked back through him before hurriedly covering his face. By the only slight amount of jewelry, Yami realized he had been sent to the time before the Shadow Games, when he was a young Prince of fifteen, right before he became Pharaoh.

He followed his younger self, trying to remember what would happen before he saw it in front of him, but his mind was a blank. A big, brawly man towered over the Prince as he spoke in a low voice that was lathered in stupidity.

"The Pharaoh charges for wanderers to enter this village."

"Is that so? I have not heard of that law," the Prince said as he smirked underneath his hood.

"You doubt the directions given to me by the Pharaoh himself? I shall make you see the truth!"

"Oh no, the big bad slave driver's going to teach me a lesson," Prince Yami retorted in a voice dripping with sarcasm. The smirk was wiped from his face as the man pulled out a dagger and traced a line on the Prince's arm with it.

"That was just a taste. You should see what we do with slaves that have tongues. You don't know? We cut them out," the man sneered as he moved closer to the Prince, contaminating the air between them with his nauseating breath.

"No, please," came a sweet and distressed voice from behind both men. Both Yamis and the slave driver turned toward the source to find a petit girl with long ebony hair and bottle green eyes. "I will pay you all of my wages if you do not harm him," she said as she threw a bag of coins in their direction. The man released the Prince and ran off with the coins jingling in his pocket.

"I'm sorry, I will find a way to pay you back," Past Yami said as he tried to stop his wound from bleeding.

"There is no need. Come, I will clean your wound," she said in her light, feathery voice as she gently guided the Prince toward a small hut. "There is no need to hide your face; you may remove your cloak."

"I'd prefer it on," Yami answered equally as politely as he tightened his grip on his cloak around him. The woman gently pulled up the sleeve of his cloak and pressed a cloth to it.

"You have much jewelry, and such a beautiful painting," she said as she noticed the intricately painted tattoo on the Prince's shoulder. "My name is Zuka Tomuu. Do you wish to tell me yours?"

"Many call me Yami," the Prince answered as he winced from the salve Zuka had placed on his cut.

"Have you not heard? The Pharaoh is ailing, and has given the throne to his son Atem once he passes to the next world."

"Oh?" Yami asked, though he already knew.

"I have never seen Atem, but I am told he is very handsome, and has a large knowledge for magic. It must come from reading hundreds of scrolls. How I wish I could read."

Past Yami stared at her, speechless, as she continued healing his wound.

"Stranger Yami, what are you doing in this small village? Surely a young man such as yourself seeks adventure else where."

"I do. But my Destiny has been laid before me in stone, and though I may not like it, I have learned to except it and put forth all effort possible," the Prince said as he winced once more.

"You speak such beautiful words and put a smile on my face. Tell me, where are you from Stranger Yami?"

"Not far."

"Your wound will heal itself sooner if you apply this salve that every night. Please allow me to accompany you to your home," Zuka asked as she mixed more salve.

"I'm alright. You do not need to come with me."

"Please, Yami, how else will I ever be assured I will see you again?" Zuka asked sweetly as she pulled gently on Yami's cloak. The simple tug pulled his hood down, revealing his face and the crown on his forehead. She squealed quietly before falling to her knees and bowing before him. "My Prince, forgive me."

"You need not knell. We are equals," Prince Atem smiled as he guided her into a standing position. Her eyes stayed focused on the ground.

"Prince Atem, had I known it was you I would have held my tongue."

"You do not need to ask for forgiveness. You have committed no wrongs."

"It is against the Pharaoh's Law to treat a Royal as a commoner."

"You have not treated me as a commoner, but as a person. You are . . . different," Atem smiled again.

"Pardon me, my Prince, but would that difference be good, or bad?" Zuka asked as she moved her eyes to his face.

"It is perfect," Atem whispered as his lips briefly brushed her cheek.

:-:

Yami sat bolt upright. It was over. The vision that told him of his true love, a woman that had been named Zuka Tomuu, was gone.

"You have your memories back, Pharaoh, and soon Destiny will lead you and your beloved together," Ishizu said as she helped Yami to his feet.

:-:

"Wow, this mall is awesome!" Shizuku smiled as she stared in awe at some of the shop windows.

"I know, there's a lot of neat stuff here," Tèa agreed.

"The first thing on my list is a Duel Disk," Shizuku said as she walked into a small game shop.

"Should we really be shopping here? What about Mr. Motou?"

"I got a good look at his shop while we were there. Good place to buy Duel Monsters cards, but no Duel Disks," Shizuku clarified as she walked up to the cashier. "I'd like a Duel Disk, please."

"Sorry, all out. Those things have been flying off the shelf since Battle City. Tough luck, princess," said the man behind the counter as he fiddled with a GameBoy.

"Come on there's gotta be at least one left! Kaiba Corp's been shipping out those things thousands at a time!" Tèa argued.

"Sorry, can't help you."

Shizuku's face turned red from pent up anger, and Tèa could hear her counting to ten under her breath.

"There's a Duel Disk in the display window. I'll pay extra for it."

"Can't. Display use only."

"She's going to pay you extra! Just take the deal and wait for another shipment so you can put one in the display window," Tèa said angrily.

"Whatever. I'm on my break right now, so you'll have to wait," the cashier said as both Tèa and Shizuku demonstrated classic anime falls.

:-:

'So, what're you thinking about?' Yugi asked the ancient Pharaoh, though he already knew.

"Zuka was so familiar, as if I'd seen her before. But where?" Yami answered.

'Her eyes reminded me of Shizuku's, but then again, there's lots of girls with green eyes, and we don't even know if Zuka's been reincarnated.'

"Thank you for those inspiring words, Yugi," Yami said dryly as he retreated into his Puzzle to explore his new memories.

"Tèa said that she and Shizuku were on their way to the mall, maybe they're still there," Yugi said to himself as he walked towards the mall.

:-:

"I'm glad that he finally decided to hand over the Disk," Shizuku smiled as she attached her new possession snugly on her arm.

"Now what?" Tèa asked as she fell in step with Shizuku.

"My parents are nuts over antiques, and there's an antique shop over there."

"Do they own their own shop?" Tèa asked as they headed for the antique store.

"Nah, they're just obsessed over the stuff."

The antique store was small, but filled to bursting with some of the oddest things either girl had ever seen.

"This is an odd antique shop," Shizuku whispered as she browsed past a table and chair set with curved and clawed feet.

"It is not an antique shop; it is 'Kiro's Amazing Oddities'. I am Kiro," said a short, plump man with a heavy Indian accent as he walked up behind Shizuku.

"These sure are some odd little, well, oddities," Shizuku remarked as she looked at a music box that played the funeral march.

"Dees tings come from all over de world. Over here is Egypt, and over dere is Endia, and over dere . . . ." Kiro droned.

"Ooh, let's look at the Egyptian stuff. I'm half Egyptian on my dad's side," Shizuku said happily as she walked near the Egyptian oddities.

:-:

Yugi felt completely and totally lost within the mall. He had no idea where Shizuku or Tèa would be.

"A little help would be greatly appreciated," he muttered to the Pharaoh.

'How am I supposed to know where they are?' Yami answered as he opened another door within the Puzzle.

:-:

"This is kind of interesting," Tèa said as she lifted up a porcelain vase with the lid of an Egyptian God.

"Ooh! I know what that is!" Shizuku said excitedly as she walked toward Tèa. "During mummification, embalmers would remove the organs and put them in one of those jars."

"Okay . . . eew."

"What's this?" Shizuku wondered as she approached a dusty cloth that obviously had something hidden underneath. When she removed the cloth, she was met with a pair of dusty old scales, in desperate need of a polishing. He used a sleeve of the jacket she was wearing to polish the front of it. As Shizuku examined it in the light, she could have sworn she saw a face reflected behind hers, but when she turned, no one was there.

'Creepy,' she thought as she carried them to the counter.

"Tsk. Tsk. A poor choice. Dere are many other, more amazing oddities to choose from," Kiro frowned.

"I want this one," Shizuku said confidently as she handed him the correct amount of currency.

"Did you buy something?" Tèa asked as she came up behind Shizuku.

"Yeah, just something creepy."

"Hey, I think that's Yugi. Maybe you can duel him. The way you thrashed Joey, you might be able to give Yugi a run for his money," Tèa said as she pointed out a relieved Yugi. He walked towards them.

"Hi guys. What're you doing in a place like this?" he asked as he looked around the bizarre collection surrounding him.

"There's some Egyptian stuff that I wanted to look at. Nothing much," Shizuku said nonchalantly. She leaned down and whispered in Yugi's ear, "Confidentially, I think that Kiro over there, is a little on the off side." Yugi smiled at Shizuku's joke, and he could feel the Pharaoh's laugher radiating off the Puzzle.