-- It is night in Egypt. The cooler temperatures bring sweet relief to the sun baked inhabitants. The city is quiet, torches glowing outside on the streets, casting away the shadows. In the homes children sleep as their patents await the news from the palace.
Suddenly, a messenger runs through the streets. "He has come! The newborn king has come! Everyone is to report to the palace!" The quiet streets become filled and buzzing in the space of a few seconds. Parents rouse their children to tell them of the glorious news.
"Wake up, children" they say. "We must rush to the palace." Those who had dozed sleepily make their way out of their houses, but they quickly become filled with energy and excitement as they draw nearer to the palace. Light can be seen in all the windows.
The people push and shove, trying to get as close as possible. In every mind one thought stands alone. "He is come!" They think. "The newborn pharaoh has been born."
A figure emerges from the palace onto the balcony. In his hands is a small bundle. Pharaoh Akunumkanon steps out. The crowd hushes as he holds out a hand for silence.
"Today is a glorious day for us all, people of Egypt." He begins, his voice clearly heard. "Today is a glorious day, for we have received our fist born-and only- son. We have received your future pharaoh. People of Egypt! Look upward and hail Atemu Yami Yugi...future pharaoh of all of Egypt!"
The crowd springs to life as people shout their approval of the white clad babe held high. People clap and bow, showing respect to the future king. Festivities are planned; flutes broken out, drums played as all celebrate the joyous day.
This all matters not to the young child that is the subject of so much attention. Pharaoh Akunumkanon walks back into the palace room where his wife lays after the tiresome birth. The young prince yawns and stretches his small arms, wriggling around inside his small blanket. The father smiles as he lays down the hour old child with its mother.
"Isn't he beautiful?" she says, looking to her husband. "We couldn't have wished for a more perfect child." "That's true" her husband says. "Young Atemu will make a wonderful pharaoh, I have no doubt. May peace and prosperity occur throughout his time as king." As he looks down upon the now sleeping child, Pharaoh Akunumkanon couldn't help but smile.

"There really isn't much to tell" Alyssa says. "I know my name was Alyssa and I worked in the palace. I remember I used to help clean the front rooms and move things around, you know, from one side of the palace to the other. That's really about all of it."
"Wow. She has almost no memory, just like you." Yugi says to Yami as they sit in the living room watching the news. "Hey, maybe if you two can figure out why you both can't remember anything maybe that could help in some way."
"Good idea" Yami says. He is about to ask her the question when he is interrupted be the TV.
"And now we have been getting reports of monster sightings from all over the world." The reporter says. "So it isn't just here" Tea remarks. "Weird." "Here is a clip from a press conference held earlier today by Seto Kaiba, president of Kaiba Corporation."
The room falls silent as a picture of Seto Kaiba plays on the screen. "We've undergone a thorough investigation and now I can say that our company isn't in any way responsible for these recent monster sightings. Our state of the art equipment is working perfectly."
The clip was over as soon as it had begun and the anchorman had moved onto the next story about a recent burglary. "Well, wasn't that informative?" Tristan jokes. "Can't say I thought he'd admit to something being wrong in his precious company" Joey remarks.
Suddenly a loud crash is heard in the adjacent room where Yugi's grandfather had been working. Yugi and Yami switch states. As they enter, Mr. Mutou is found on the ground, his cards and equipment strewn about the floor. "Grandpa!" Yugi cries, kneeling to help him. "Yugi" Mr. Mutou sputters out. "They took your cards!" "What cards?" Yugi inquires, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Your...rarest cards." Mr. Mutou says. "Oh no!" Yugi exclaims. "Not the Egyptian God Cards!"
A door slams against the wall and all look up to see Alyssa running out the door. Following her, they become blinded by the glare of headlights. Her silhouette visible against the light, they hear laughter coming from four men on motorcycles.
"Those don't belong to you!" she shouts. "I said give them back!" "And what'll you do if we don't, eh?" One of them says with what sounds like an Australian accent. "I wouldn't want you to know. You shouldn't have nightmares. They deprive you of sleep and make you do stupid things."
"It's okay" Yami says, coming up behind her, laying a hand on her arm. Immediately the tension disappears. "Those don't belong to you. I suggest you give them back."
"Ah! There' our pharaoh!" One of the others says. "If you want to get your cards back" says one with a dark voice "All you have to do is beat us in a duel." He is apparently the leader, and he laughs as he turns around and drives off.
"Câ'mon, Yugi" says Joey, fists clenched. "We're getting' those cards back!" They rush off after the troublesome gang. "I notice that you don't mind running now, Joey." Tea says between breaths. "This is important. That doesn't go to say that I don't wish we had a car though."
They arrive on the roof of a small building, having noticed one of the bikes parked outside of it. Cautiously they step out into the open. "Where are you?" Yami calls out. "I'm right up here!" Shouts a man clothed in a gray, hooded robe. A strange stone glows around his neck. He is perched on top of a crane, but jumps down when the group arrives. The fall is long, but he somehow manages to leap down without hurting himself.
"I've been waiting for this day, pharaoh." says the figure. "Today is the day we duel- and I shall soon have your soul to feed the great beast." "I have no idea what you are talking about" says the Pharaoh. "But I do know one thing. Those cards are not yours. Now give them back!"

"And I will, but only if you win. But most likely you will lose this duel, as well as the god cards. Most importantly, I'll take your soul." taunts the hooded man. "Enough talk!" the pharaoh cries. "Let's duel!"
They hold up their arms as their duel disks become activated. Yami's opens up to be a normal, standard duel disk. The stranger's, however, is of a different hue, and rather than the normal shape, it opens out like a sickle. Panel after panel slides into place, forming the strange shape. But a strange duel disk was not all this stranger possessed...
And we soon find out too. It is only a few turns into the duel when our stranger draws a mysterious card. He looks up and smiles, chuckling to himself. He believes that he has already won. Of course, his good humor is not yet known to the group.
"What's so funny?" Our good pharaoh asks, eager to keep this duel going. After all, the Egyptian God Cards are at stake. The stranger ignores him, of course, continuing on in his mirth. "I'm afraid I missed the joke" Yami repeats.
"You are the joke, pharaoh." The hooded man says. "You are- and the thought that you could even win the duel. For now I play...the Seal of Orycalcos!"
A large, green circle forms overhead as the man places the strange card. A special slot pops out of his disk- there so the card may be played. It descends, and as it reaches the ground it spins, lines forming a star in the middle, one that closely resembles a pentagram.
The circle stops spinning.

-- Evening has fallen over the desert sands. Wind blows, scattering the dunes. People make ready for sleep, others beginning to leave their jobs to relax after a hard days work.
But not everyone is sleeping. Not everyone is leaving.
"Now, Obelisk, destroy it!" shouts Atemu Yami Yugi, no longer an infant. He has seen eighteen summers pass and stands just a little taller then average height. His hair is spiked and black, with pink on the edges. His bangs fall to the side of his face, blonde. There are two other strands that run parallel to the ground, and yet a few more that make their way towards the points of the spikes.
His amethyst eyes do not blink as the beast before him takes out that of his opponent. This does not worry either side though, for this is merely a game, a shadow game; the Pharaoh's favorite kind.
"Well done!" and "Good match!" is shouted to him from the sidelines. Our king is not just the King of Egypt, but the King of Games as well. He has successfully defeated his opponent, his friend, and his royal advisor.
"A splendid game, my Lord." says Karov, the loser in the fight. "But I have to say I get better every time." "You do." Atemu replies. "I'll have to watch out or pretty soon you'll be beating me." At this everyone laughs. The pharaoh has never lost a game, even playing against the finest adversaries when playing for the first time. It was his gift, the blessing he possessed.
They exit the underground stadium that was specially made for these events. Indeed, if you were to look at Egypt's area and other buildings, you would notice this was strange, and how difficult this must be. But when a pharaoh says to get something done, you get it done. And so, the stadium was somehow created underground.
They step out of the long passageway stairs onto the ground floor of the palace. His friends cluster around him, still discussing the Shadow Game. After a few more minutes they decide it's time to leave and, slapping him on the back with another round of "Good Job" 's they leave, headed off to their own homes. They do not live far though, as they are wealthy themselves, and tell him they will see him again tomorrow. The pharaoh nods his head, smiles, and wishes them goodbye.
Tired from the duel, the pharaoh walks to his room. It takes energy and skill to summon these monsters, not to mention it is hard work. He passes by a room, but slows down for a moment, walking back. There is a mysterious melody echoing out of the room.
Actually, this room has another door in it, one that leads to the outer balcony of the palace. From there you can see a view of the city stretched out, a million torch lights little dots glowing in the distance. There are benches for people to sit on spaced out along the balcony.
On one of these benches sits a girl. Her back is to our pharaoh. Her long, blonde hair is a waterfall of golden sunshine in the firelight. Her dress is plain and white, with short sleeves. She is playing a strange instrument that resembles a large shell. There are holes where her fingers touch, the head of the shell able to spin. One long branch sticks out. This is where the air is blown in. It comes out through holes left uncovered and through a small slit at the end. She is still oblivious to his presence.
"That's a lovely song" the Pharaoh says, leaning against the door frame. "You play it well." Her notes have stopped, not aware she has an audience. "Why, thank you." She says. Turning around, she begins "Actually, I- oh!"
Now that she is fully turned around she can see who it is she speaks too. Immediately she gets on her knees, bowing her head at his feet. So suddenly did she do this that it made the pharaoh straighten up in shock.
"Please- forgive me, I- I did not know it was you I was speaking to." She stutters stumbling over her words. "I would have shown the proper respect had I known you were the pharaoh. I- I apologize, my Lord."
"It's okay, take it easy. No big deal" He says, slightly embarrassed by this action. Eager to get off the subject, he bends down and takes the shell out of her hand. "This is a rather strange instrument. I haven't seen it before, much less heard it played." "That's because I am the only one I know of that can play it." She replies. "Really?" the Pharaoh says, interested. "Where did you get this?" "I didn't" she says. "You didn't buy this?" he questions. "Then how did you get it?"
She hesitates. "I saw it in a dream." She tells him. "I saw what I needed to do to make it. I found what I needed and created it myself. That is why no one else has one or can play." "Surely if you taught someone they could. Do you mind if I try?"
"Of course, my Lord." she says, her head still down. The pharaoh picks it up, looking at it, trying to get his fingers to look as hers did. Figuring he had it close enough, he tried to imitate the way she'd moved it. All that came out were a few squeaks, a meep, and a squawk.
She begins to laugh a little at this. "Well, no one does it right on the first try." The pharaoh says, slightly embarrassed. At this she stops. "I'm so sorry- I- I didn't mean to insult you. Of course no one gets it right on the first try-I- I was being silly. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" "You know you don't have to worry. I'm not mad." The pharaoh says as she begins to rush into another apology.
"Thank you" she begins, breathing a sigh of relief. She is interrupted by another voice, however. "Breaks over!" a voice shouts from inside the building. At this she looks up, slightly. "I'm afraid that I must return to work now, my Lord. Unless, you would rather have me stay." She adds in a voice that once more shows her uncertainty about what she should be doing.
"It's okay." The pharaoh replies. "I wouldn't want you to get into trouble." She stands, still looking at the ground however. "Perhaps we can talk of this again sometime." The pharaoh says. "Yes, perhaps." She replies, filled with doubt. He wouldn't be asking and she knew it. He hands her her shell. "Have a good night." He says, as he leaves to go to his room for the evening.
As he does so, she sees his cape swish along after him. She glances at the shell in her hands and sighs. "Well...back to work."