DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

Obelisk the Tormentor

Shamee strode through the corridors. Yami and Téa followed her. Due to the fact that her father worked here, Sharee knew every inch of the museum. And she knew exactly where the stone tablets Yami needed to see were.

'You're sure you two wanna go through with this, right?' Téa asked.

'We have no choice, Téa,' Yami said. 'It's our destiny.'

'Right.' Shamee moved the barrier to the basement door aside. When she turned, she saw that Yami was looking at the door. 'You sense it, then?'

'Yes.' Yami stepped forward and opened the door. 'I sense something in here.'

'In the basement?' Téa asked, stepping closer.

The Millennium Eye on Yami's forehead flashed visibly, to Shamee's eyes, for a moment before it faded. Téa came over and looked. All the lights down the stairs were out so it was pitch black.

'Is this a part of the exhibit?' Tea asked nervously.

'A private part, yes.' Shamee pulled something out of her pocket and held it up. She had been aware that a security guard had been coming over and she'd pulled out Sharee's pass so he'd leave them alone. He did, grunting irritably before he turned and went on his way.

A museum pass, in this context, was something that only certain people could get. If an archaeologist, or someone in the field, was temporarily at a museum it meant the staff wouldn't recognise them. That meant it was harder to move around as necessary. So, to take care of this problem, they were often given these passes. In some circumstances, if they had them with them, family members could also gain access to these cards. Sharee's pass gave her clearance throughout the whole museum.

If she wanted to take two friends down to the basement, she could.

And Ishizu had been especially adamant that Sharee have one of these passes before she even got to Japan. Yami was the first to move down the stairs. Shamee stepped down after him and then Téa followed.

'Something down here is calling out to me, Téa,' Yami said. 'I feel that the answers we seek are near.' They stepped down to the only two exhibits down here and stopped. But Shamee walked around and stood next to the stone tablet.

'Startling, isn't it?'

Yami's eyes immediately went to one of the carvings. Téa, evidentially, was slower on picking it up. 'Check it out. It's some kind of Ancient Egyptian stone.'

'And those carvings resemble duel monster cards.'

'Yes.' Shamee looked up at it. 'This carving depicts a battle between a corrupt Ancient Egyptian sorcerer and the Pharaoh of the time, five thousand years ago. The Pharaoh…is the one on your right.'

They stepped closer to the tablet and Shamee watched the understanding come into Yami's eyes. It was about time he knew what she did and it was good to see his wits did not give way to shock. Hers nearly had the very first time. But Yami saw it and he calmly understood. Perhaps, he had already known it somewhere deep inside of him.

Téa wasn't quite so composed. 'No way! That Pharaoh guy looks just like you! Is this thing for real?'

'Oh, it's very real,' Shamee said. 'It was found in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. And all the ageing marks are accurate. There is a distinct difference between manufactured ageing and true ageing. This is one hundred per cent genuine.'

'But it's freaking me out!' Téa insisted.

'Yes,' Yami said. 'It is real, Téa. Somehow I know it is. And look, around his neck.' Yami wrapped his hand around the matching item that hung around his own neck.

'Oh, it's the Millennium Puzzle!'

'That's right.' Yami looked at the girls. 'That appears to be me, playing an ancient form of Duel Monsters.'

'Whoa.' Téa was barely heard.

Yami looked back up at the carving. 'This is exactly the kind of clue I've been searching for. But I wish I were able to decipher its meaning.' All the same, Shamee knew Yami was reading the hieroglyphics as she had when she first saw it. Yami went on, even as he read. 'Who am I duelling against in this carving?'

'Actually, that's quite simple,' Shamee said. 'Look above his head.'

Yami and Téa lifted their eyes.

'The Blue Eyes White Dragon?' Yami asked. 'That would make my opponent Kaiba, wouldn't it?'

'Yes.' Shamee looked up again. 'I suppose that's why they say history repeats itself.'

'You know that,' Yami said. 'Then do you know what this age-old game all about?'

'I'm not sure it was even a game.' Shamee frowned.

'Hm.' Yami closed his eyes. 'Just when I think I've found one answer, a thousand new questions arise.'

'I wouldn't worry about that.' Shamee turned her head. 'There's someone here who can give you some of your answers.'

Yami looked at her. Before he or Téa could ask anything, though, someone came around the corner behind them and spoke first. 'My Pharaoh, I've been expecting you.'

Yami and Téa turned. The Egyptian woman stepped forward. Shamee stepped away from the tablet and around her friends. She stood at on Yami's other side and folded her arms behind her back.

'This is Ishizu Ishtar. She's one of the Sacred Guardians.'

Yami registered the last name, but he also remembered what had been said on the matter as well.

'Yes,' Ishizu said. 'And I have uncovered many mysteries about you using the magic of my Millennium Necklace.'

Yami turned to face her properly. 'Another Millennium Item?'

'Like your Millennium Puzzle, this Necklace affords me certain powers,' Ishizu said.

Shamee nodded once. 'Ishizu can see into the distant past or the near future.'

'With it, I have gazed five thousand years into the past, to a time when evil sorcerers threatened to destroy the entire world.'

YGO

Yami was only merely shocked at this statement. He felt, though, as if a part of him had known this. The theory that had begun forming in his mind now had the means to be validated.

Ishizu went on with her explanation. 'However, there was one king who possessed a magic powerful enough to stop this evil threat.'

'And who was this king?' Yami had a feeling he knew.

'The Pharaoh who saved the world was you, Yami.'

'That's right,' Shamee said. 'And the reason I'm here is because in refused to allow you to live in a strange time alone. I stood at the Right Hand of your Throne.'

Yami wasn't really surprised that Shamee knew of this. She had, more likely than not, seen this carving as the perfect way to tell him who he was. He had a feeling she'd always fared better telling people things when she had something to work with.

'And now the time has come for you to rescue mankind once again,' Ishizu said.

'To rescue mankind from what?' Yami asked.

'The events of the past will occur once again,' Ishizu stated. 'And that same Great Evil will return to threaten us.'

Yami's mind raced. Now, not only did he have to worry about his own past but about the future of Yugi and their friends as well. 'How will I recognise this evil?'

'I know that your memory has faded, my Pharaoh, and that you seek many answers,' Ishizu said.

Yami's eyes widened.

'I also know a Duel Monsters tournament is beginning.' Ishizu turned. 'If you win it, you will find your answers.' She stepped away before she stopped. 'When you return home, you'll discover an invitation waiting for you.' She went to go again.

'Ishizu, one more thing,' Shamee called.

Ishizu knew. 'The woman and the boy in the Shadow Realm.'

'Could you tell me who they are?' Yami asked. Some part of him felt a need to know.

'To an extent,' Ishizu said. 'The woman was well-known and highly trusted to the both of you when you lived. The boy, on the other hand, was not born until after the battle that took your lives. Farewell, Pharaoh.' Then she was gone.

Téa turned her head and looked at him. 'Wow, and you were this king that saved the world five thousand years ago? That's pretty major.'

Yami turned and looked up at the stone carving behind him. Shamee was right. The person he was duelling was Kaiba. Could it be that I've got to defeat Kaiba to save the world again? He wrapped his hand around his Puzzle. Well, there's only one way to find out. I've got to win that tournament!

'Yami?'

Shamee spoke. 'I think now we should refer to him as "Pharaoh".'

YGO

Kaiba stood in the testing lab. His new duel disk system for this tournament was going to be a real step up from what he'd had before. He knew Mokuba was worried about this because of what he'd done with the programming of the whole thing. But it was only for this session and he had to be sure this actually worked.

His chief technician's voice rang over the whole place. 'All hands stand by for the final tests of the new Duel Disk System.'

The supervisor's voice reached him. 'As you've requested, Mr. Kaiba, we've removed all safeguards from the computer.'

'You're crazy if you go through with this, Seto,' Mokuba insisted. 'If the safeguards are turned off, the monsters in this duel could really hurt you.'

'Enough whining.' Kaiba slid the duel disk on. 'Let's go!' He extended his arm and the duel disk activated, swinging around and clicking into place. Lifting his arm, he looked at the device. I invented this new duel disk system. And I'll be the one to test it. I have to make sure the Kaiba corporation tracking system is working perfectly. It traces all KaibaCorp duel disks, allowing me to keep an eye on every duel in the tournament. And I can't afford any screw-ups. But, more importantly, I want to test the power of my new Egyptian God Card. If I'm going to use it to destroy Yugi and reclaim my rightful title as number one duellist in the entire world, I need to make absolutely sure it's as powerful as Ishizu claims. She may have bored me with her hocus-pocus nonsense about the past but she was right about one thing: Yugi and I will face each other again. And this time, with a deck full of rare cards, I will be victorious.

In front of him, the machines activated. The computer opponent was lowered into the lab. As that happened, he got a report. 'We've updated the computer's hard drive to your latest tournament rules.'

Kaiba smirked.

'I'm setting skill level at max. We're ready to begin at your command.'

'Seto, are you sure you wanna go through with this?' Mokuba asked.

Kaiba didn't respond. He pulled his deck out and loaded it into the duel disk. The life points appeared on the screen. Kaiba had raised the life point count up to four thousand. He thought back to what Ishizu said: 'Beware, Kaiba. Obelisk might be too powerful for you to control.'

Powerful, huh? Well, there's no way I'd know how powerful an Egyptian God Card is until I see it with my own two eyes. And the best test of Obelisk the Tormentor's strength is against the might of not one, but three of the most powerful dragons in all of Duel Monsters. 'Three on one may seem unfair but if Egyptian God Cards are as powerful as Ishizu claims, Obelisk should destroy them.' He smirked and then called out to his staff in the observation box. 'Let's go!'

The Duel Robot turned on. Kaiba held his arm out and the hologram projectors shot out of the duel disk, stationing and establishing a perimeter for the field. They activated. The Duel Robot drew its hand. 'With my new portable projectors, there's no need for oversized duelling arenas.' The Robot's life points appeared on the screen above the card-holders. Kaiba drew his own cards. 'It's time to duel.'

The computer interface activated. 'Draw card. Accessing duel database for optimal battle.' One of the cards was taken into the machine. 'Set monster card in defence mode.' A hologram of the card appeared on the field.

'I'll play this card face-down.' Kaiba pulled a card from his hand and laid it on the field. A hologram appeared in front of him too. 'Next I summon the mighty Battle Ox.' He laid it down in attack mode and it appeared on the field with a roar. 'Destroy his monster. Axe Slam Attack!' The Battle Ox charged and brought its axe down on the face-down card.

The card was destroyed but came back together and revealed what it was.

'Oh no! Cyber Jar!'

'Monster: Cyber Jar. Special effect 1: Destroy all monsters on field.' The blast shot out of the Jar's eye and the Battle Ox shattered. The Jar disappeared. 'Cyber Jar special effect 2: each player summons up to five monsters onto field.'

Kaiba gritted his teeth and drew the cards.

'Set two monsters onto field.' The two monsters in question appeared in front of the Robot. Both were in the form of face-down cards.

Kaiba went for closer. 'I place four monsters on the field.' They all appeared in front of him.

'Analysing new tournament rules.' The face-down cards took on their monster forms. 'Must sacrifice two monsters to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon.'

'What?' Kaiba drew back. He hadn't been expecting that. He didn't have Obelisk in his hand yet!

The Robot's two monsters turned into purple energy and merged together. Then, with a bright flash of light and an almighty roar, the Blue Eyes was descending onto the field.

'Now, I'm in trouble. The duel robot already mastered my new sacrifice rules to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon. If it attacks now, it's all over.'

'Opponent has card face-down. End turn.'

The Duel Robot didn't attack because it thinks my face-down card is a trap, intended to destroy the Blue Eyes White Dragon. 'A big mistake!' He grabbed the card and flipped it up. 'I sacrifice a monster to summon Dragon Seeker! In defence mode.' The Hitopsumi Giant was sacrificed and the Dragon Seeker appeared on the field in his place.' Dragon Seeker's special effect allows him to destroy one dragon instantly when it switches from defence to attack mode. On my next turn, that Blue Eyes is history. He smirked.

'Analysing Dragon Seeker. Processing countermeasures.' The Robot drew. 'Set one card face-down on field.' The card appeared. 'Summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode.'

'What?' Kaiba demanded.

The Lord of Dragons appeared on the field. 'Lord of Dragons special effect: protects dragons from all magic, trap and monster cards. Dragon Seeker's effect negated.'

'If I can't destroy the Blue Eyes White Dragon, at least I can protect myself.' Kaiba raised his duel disk. 'I switch all my monsters to defence mode.'

'Processing battle strategy. Playing magic card Flute of Summoning Dragon.'

Kaiba ground his teeth, apprehension stirring.

The flute appeared on the field and the Lord of Dragons grabbed it. He brought it to his lips and blue, letting the sound ring out more like a horn. 'Magic effect: summons two dragons from hand onto field. Selecting dragons. Processing. Summon two Blue Eyes White Dragons.'

'There's no way!'

But the other two Blue Eyes White Dragons appeared on the field beside the first one.

Three Blue Eyes.

The Robot's face-down card flipped up. 'Playing magic card, Polymerisation. Fuse three Blue Eyes into Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon.'

Kaiba's gut clenched. 'No!' He watched the three Dragons morph into his ultimate beast.

'Analysing tournament rulebook. Fusion monster cannot attack on same turn it was created. Must end turn.'

The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared. Kaiba stared at it. This was it, his ultimate beast up until now. It'd been what he'd tried to beat Yugi with. It'd been the strongest thing his deck could produce, with a destructive power of 4500. And now all of that was aimed at him. Kaiba smiled bitterly. 'Just great.'

Mokuba's voice suddenly came over the speakers. 'Get of out there, Seto! Shut down the duel!'

Kaiba glanced over at his little brother.

'Seto!'

Kaiba looked back at the monster. So, this is what it's like to face fear. This must be how Yugi felt when he stared into the eyes of my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon at Duellist Kingdom. Kaiba remembered the stoic face and the steely determination in his eyes, the countenance of a true champion that he only ever saw when Yugi duelled. It was so…intimidating. He came close to bringing it to its doom but, in the end, even Yugi couldn't defeat the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. So…if I'm to defeat him and reclaim my title as the Greatest Duellist in History, I must beat the monster that even Yugi couldn't defeat. His eyes narrowed. Prepare to face the end. 'It's time for my final test.' Kaiba drew. 'Now, I'll see what an Egyptian God Card can do!' He smirked when he saw he'd drawn the correct card. 'Obelisk the Tormentor, I summon you by sacrificing three of my monsters!' He slammed the card down onto the disk. Two of his activated monsters and the one face-down all disappeared. Their energies combined and flew up into the air. Electricity crackled and there was a blinding flash. The Egyptian God, Obelisk the Tormentor, rose up with a deep growl and towered over the battlefield. 'Obelisk the Tormentor, let's see how powerful you really are.' Kaiba pointed. 'Now, I offer you my two remaining monsters.' Obelisk reached out and wrapped his hands around both of them. 'Absorb their power to increase your own.' Lifting them up, they glowed brightly before disappearing altogether.

Obelisk's attack power began climbing off the charts.

'Obelisk, attack now. Show Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon why you're known as "the Tormentor". Obelisk, Fist of Fate!' The God moved, his fist glowing as he brought the punch into the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. With that one strike, the Ultimate Dragon was destroyed and the Duel Robot overloaded, crackling with electricity as the life points dropped to zero.

'System error. System error. Power overload. Danger. Danger.' It exploded, leaving nothing but a fiery mess.

Kaiba looked at the card in his hand. 'Incredible. If this is the power of one card, with all three Egyptian God Cards I will be unstoppable. I will defeat Yugi and reclaim my title as the number one duellist.' The thought of finally defeating Yugi Moto made Kaiba throw his head back and laugh.

YGO

Ishizu had been right.

After seven o'clock that night the Pharaoh, Shamee and Téa walked down the street. Shamee had driven them in Sharee's car and parked it a few blocks away from the meeting spot. Her reason stated was "the traffic's gonna be worse than a sandstorm". Walking along now, the Pharaoh had to agree with her.

'The invitation said the tournament would be announced tonight,' Téa said. 'Ishizu was right.'

The Pharaoh stopped, as did the girls, and said, 'I don't know if everything she said is true but I do know this: I must enter and win this tournament in order to fulfil my destiny.'

They were all silent for a moment before Téa said, 'Just promise me you'll be careful, Pharaoh, cause I'm sure there's still danger ahead.'

'Yes, whoever's after the Millennium Puzzle is still out there.' He reached down and pulled his deck from his belt. 'But you must trust me, Téa, this deck has never let me down before. As long as Yugi and I stay connected to one another I am confident that we can use this deck to win this tournament, unlock the mysteries of mine and Shamee's ancient past and realise our destiny.' Inside his head, Yugi smiled.

Outside, Téa smiled too and nodded. 'And you can count on my help.'

The Pharaoh smiled, but only for a moment. He heard the cackling laughter of Marik Ishtar. From the way Shamee's head turned and her face darkened, she heard it too. Both of them looked around.

'Hey, what's the matter?' Téa asked. 'Is everything okay?'

'Yes, Téa,' Shamee said. 'Perfectly.'

The Pharaoh nodded once. 'It was nothing.'

Shamee suddenly grinned. 'Hey, it's Mai!'

'Huh?' Téa asked. She followed Shamee's gaze and then looked back at the ancient Right Hand. 'I don't see her.'

'Give it a moment.'

'Hey, Yugi! There you are!'

The three of them turned around. Mai, just as Shamee had said, was running towards them.

'I know you guys missed me!'

'It's such a shame we don't hang out more often,' Téa said.

'Yes.' Mai got Téa in a head-lock so she was forced to bend over. 'It is, isn't it?' She seemed to be enjoying annoying Téa too. 'You're looking snazzy, Téa. Is this a date?'

Shamee sniggered.

'We're just friends, Mai.'

'Ugh!'

The Pharaoh was having trouble keeping up with modern day humans. 'I assume you've come here for the tournament.'

'But of course.' Mai finally let poor Téa go. 'I presume you got an invitation also?'

'Yes, I did. But it didn't say who it was from. Do you know who's hosting this tournament?'

'I have no idea. It's a mystery.'

'I know,' Shamee said. 'Kaiba.'

The three of them looked at her.

'Why would Kaiba host a tournament?' the Pharaoh asked.

'It has to do with the three God Cards.'

'The what?' Mai asked. 'I've never heard of the God Cards.'

'I wouldn't expect so.' Shamee cast her eyes around. 'Better be quiet about it though.'

The Pharaoh, Téa and Mai did the same thing. Téa was the only one who looked around wildly. The Pharaoh and Mai had focus though. The duellists around them were mostly quite…annoying to be mild. They could clearly see Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood. Mako Tsunami was also among the people around them.

'This is beginning to look like Duellist Kingdom all over again,' the Pharaoh said.

'You can say that again,' Mai said. 'There certainly are a lot of familiar faces in this crowd. Most of whom I'm not too happy to see.'

'Hm.' The Pharaoh looked at his Right Hand. 'What about these God Cards?'

'Right.' Shamee folded her arms and spoke in a quiet voice. 'A while ago, but I'm not sure how long, Pegasus created three ultimate Duel Monsters cards: the Egyptian Gods. They were the most powerful ones he ever created but there was a slight problem. During their creation, all involved in the production died.'

'All of them?' Téa demanded.

'Except for Pegasus, yes.' Shamee scowled at her feet. 'People started whispering about there being a curse on them. Pegasus is even said to have had a dream about the cards falling into the wrong hands and the world being destroyed.' She looked around at her friends. 'Pegasus took all of this very seriously – hard to believe, I know – and called Ishizu Ishtar to hide the cards away. She did, but two of the cards were stolen. She had to run to retrieve the third one.'

'The Rare Hunters?' Mai asked.

'The what?' Téa's eyes were like saucers now.

'Like treasure hunters, except for Duel Monsters.' Shamee was familiar with them. 'They steal rare and valuable cards and either sell them on the black market or keep them for themselves. They're almost impossible to catch.'

'I see,' the Pharaoh said. 'That's why Ishizu brought her Egyptian exhibit to this city. She wanted to lure the Rare Hunters into a trap so she could get the cards back. To do so, she illuminated Kaiba to the existence of the God Cards. Perhaps she even gave him the one she managed to retrieve to give him added incentive.'

Shamee grinned. 'That's what she told me.'

'Ingenious,' Mai said. 'Although is it really a good idea to give Kaiba a God Card?'

Before anyone could answer, the screen of the building they were standing outside flashed on, illuminating the whole street. All of the duellists spun around and looked at it.

Yami's eyes narrowed. 'Kaiba.'

YGO

Shamee stared up at the screen. Much more of him than I wanted to see. That'll do.

'Greetings, duellists. Welcome to the town of Domino.' And Kaiba's face was taking over every public screen. 'But, more importantly, welcome to my tournament.'

'I don't know which is bigger,' Mai said. 'His ego or his melon on the big screen.'

'Let's hear what Kaiba has to say,' the Pharaoh muttered, more to himself.

'I see you each received your private invite to KaibaCorp's very exclusive Duel Monsters Tournament, and you had enough brains to show up here tonight.'

Ego.

'Being that you are all elite duellists, I've added special rules to my tournament just for experts. For example,' the screen flashed to a device he had on his arm, 'you will duel using these new, improved duel disks.'

Around them, duellists muttered in appreciation.

'Another new rule that I designed for the tournament is that before each duel both players must ante up their rarest card and the loser of the duel forfeits his card to the winner.'

The Pharaoh's eyes narrowed. 'Forfeit my Dark Magician?'

Mai wasn't too happy about it either. 'That means losing even one duel can ruin my deck.'

'But I think we all know what that rule's for,' Shamee said. That was so Kaiba could legally claim the God Cards, if he won.

'My competition will make Pegasus and his Duellist Kingdom Tournament look like a joke.'

Around them, duellists called out again, this time in excitement.

There was suddenly a consistent strong wind that could only come from one thing. Shamee was the first to spin around and look up. The Pharaoh was quick to follow and then all the others. Kaiba was hanging out the doorway of a helicopter, like a character out of a bad action movie.

Drama queen. Shamee wouldn't disagree with her there.

The Pharaoh scowled. 'Kaiba.' There then ensued some kind of staring contest that only their group of four and Kaiba were even aware of.

Kaiba raised his hand, pointing theatrically despite the fact he was in an airborne helicopter. 'Don't forget to register and pick up your duel disk because exactly one week from today, my Battle City Tournament begins!'

'You're on, Kaiba!' the Pharaoh called.

For anyone asking what the Millennium Bandanna is, that was explained in Part 1.