Only one review? Aw, c'mon! You guys can be nicer than that!!

Also, I'll try to update again tomorrow, since the next chapter's duel isn't that good, and this chapter doesn't have a duel!

RER! (and don't forget the second R!)


Chapter 3: Spirit of the Pharaoh

Chris opened the door to his room and saw Sam standing in the doorway, about to open the door himself.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked. He had just gotten back from his duel with Takashi.

"To the welcome dinner, of course!" Sam answered. "Aren't you going?"

"The wha?"

Sam sighed. "You know, the welcome dinner? It's supposed to be a fancy dinner to welcome everyone to the academy, although I've heard that the Slifers only get soup, rice, and veggies, but that's not the point! Let's just go!"

"Umm… okay!" Chris replied happily. Sam led Chris down the hallway, down the stairs, down another hallway, and then stopped in front of a pair of double doors, labeled "Ballroom." The two opened the doors and stepped into the dinner. Through the center of the ballroom was a long, bare, elegant wooden table with countless chairs. There were also about 100 students already in the ballroom. Some were at the table, chatting with each other and preparing to eat, but most were scattered around the room in groups talking. The room was decorated with banners and elegant pictures of the Winged Dragon of Ra.

No sooner than when Chris and Sam soaked in the scenery they heard a bell ring, and a voice say, "All right students, take you seats, it's time to start eating!" Chris and Sam quickly took two seats next to each other and looked towards the head of the table where the voice had come from. Sitting there was a man, presumably the head of the dorm they were in, who had glasses and black, slightly spiky hair. He was wearing a Ra yellow blazer, except on the back and the breast pocket a yellow "R" was elegantly written. "Now, for those of you who don't know, my name is Professor John Levitz. Anyway, welcome to Duel Academy, and enjoy your dinner!"

"What dinner?" Someone asked. "There's nothing here!"

"Oh yes! How could I forget?" Prof. Levitz exclaimed. He clapped twice and a slot (a little longer and wider than the table) in the ceiling opened, and then a snow-white tablecloth began to descend, as if by magic. When it reached the table Chris discovered it was filled to the brim with food (except for in front of the students, which of course had a plate, a glass, and silverware). Chris—along with almost everyone else in the room—grabbed an array of different foods and began to chow down.

Two hours later, all the plates on the table were clean. Some were complaining they didn't have enough, while others were complaining they did.

"Now that I think of it, I'm glad I had that small lunch," Chris said happily. "That way I had room for all that food!"

"Speak for yourself," Sam said, holding his stomach. "I think my lunch might come back up again."

"Don't worry about it! I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Ug… I doubt that. Although I think I brought some stomach medicine, so it should be in our room," Sam said.

"If you need medicine then it's gotta be pretty bad. You sure you can walk? I mean, without, you know…."

"No."

"Well, anyway, I'll go ask Prof. Levitz if we can go to our room. I'm sure he won't mind, and then I can help you walk."

"Hurry," Sam moaned as Chris rushed off.

A few moments later Chris came back. "We can go," he confirmed, and helped same up and out of the ballroom. This time they took the elevator tube up to their floor, and made their way to the room. They entered their room and Sam hobbled to the bedroom. He soon came back with a small tablet in his hand. He poured a glass of water, put the tablet into the glass, and drank the now foamy liquid.

"Much better," Sam sighed a few seconds after he finished. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," Chris said as he checked the clock. It was 8:09 PM. "So, what did you put in that lockable drawer?" Chris asked, curious.

"Oh, just my deck," Sam answered.

"Wanna see what I put into it?" Chris asked, unlocking his drawer.

"Umm… I guess so," Sam answered, seeing as he really didn't have a choice. "What is that?" Sam asked when the say the golden box with the strange runes.

"My Grandpa gave it to me as a present for getting into Duel Academy," Chris explained as he removed the lid. "It's a puzzle, and it's also supposed to be an ancient Egyptian artifact. Maybe we can solve it together."

"Maybe…" Sam said as Chris emptied the box onto the coffee table, and discovered a golden chain he had overlooked before.

"What's this?" Chris asked, examining the golden chain.

"Well, we'll probably find out when we finish this. Anyway, the puzzle looks pretty complex," Sam said, inspecting some of the puzzle pieces.

"We might as well get started!" Chris said, and the two began working on the puzzle.

Sam looked up from their work at the clock, and then felt his stomach lurch. "Uh oh. I think that medicine is starting to wear off."

"Oh come on, it's 9:01!" Chris complained. "If you hadn't taken the medicine you would be fine by now! What could be wrong?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to bed," Sam said as he got up. "It'll probably be better in the morning. Speaking of which, that's when we can finish the puzzle. Sorry…."

"It's okay," Chris said. "If your stomach hurts, then your stomach hurts."

Sam went into the bathroom and about a minute later came out in his pajamas. Before going into the bedroom he asked Chris, "You coming?"

"Nah," Chris replied, fumbling with two pieces. "You go on ahead. I wanna work on the puzzle s'more."

"Suit yourself," Sam sighed as he walked into the next room and closed the door.

Chris looked down at the table and sighed. They hadn't made much progress. They had figured out how to fit a few pieces together, but not very many. Suddenly Chris saw a small pattern similar in two pieces. He picked them up and luckily they joined together. He saw another pattern, and another, and another! It finally clicked for him! Soon he had grouped every piece with at least one other. He then got to work on putting the chunks together. It was difficult, for he had no idea what the finished puzzle looked like, but soon the skeleton of a pyramid started to form. Once he realized that the pyramid was the shape, the work got a lot easier. He yawned—he was getting sleepy—and looked at the clock. 9:28 PM. I'm almost there; there are just a few more pieces. I finish them, and then go straight to bed. He quickly slid the last few pieces together and completed the pyramid. He saw the loop on the top and fastened the chain through the loop, forming a circle that he could put his neck through. However, when he turned the pyramid around he discovered a hole. Uh oh, did I lose a piece? Chris check around and under the coffee table. Finally he looked in the box and saw he had forgotten to take a piece out. This piece was a lot larger than the other pieces, and had an eye on it. Chris yawned again; he was getting so sleepy for some reason, and could barely keep his eyes open. Probably just from all the excitement and the stuff that went on during the dinner. He slowly took the piece out of the box, and pushed it into the slot of the pyramid as he lost consciousness…

Chris woke up and looked at the clock. 10:29? Must've fallen asleep while working on the puzzle. Speaking of which… Chris looked down on the coffee table to discover his puzzle was missing! He looked down further and, to his surprise, found it around his neck. How did that get there? Aw well. Chris took the puzzle off and put it back on the coffee table. Chris entered the bathroom and about two minutes later came out in his pajamas.

Hello, A deep voice said.

"Gah! Who's there?" Chris yelled, freaking out as his body pumped adrenaline into his bloodsteam as a result of the sudden fright. "Where are you?"

I'm in your mind.

"Ah! GET OUT OF MY MIND!"

Shhh… there's no need to yell. I'm in your mind, remember? You can think what you want to say.

GET OUT OF MY MIND!!! Chris thought as loud as he could.

How about we talk this over in your dreams?

My dreams? How are we going to do that? And- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BODY?" Chris thought as his body began to walk by itself. It walked to the coffee table and put the puzzle around its neck, and then began to walk to the bedroom.

I'm controlling your body. Don't worry.

Don't worry? You want me to not worry? HOW CAN I NOT WORRY WHEN THERE IS SOME CRAZY LUNATIC WHO I HAVEN'T EVEN MET SPEAKING TO ME IN MY MIND AND CONTROLLING MY BODY?

Fine, be that way. I'll talk to you again in your dreams. I'll see you then.

WHAT? NO! YOU GET BACK HERE! YOU HEAR ME! GET BACK HERE! Chris thought as his body moved towards his bed. The voice didn't reply. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU! RESPOND! JUST RESPOND ALREADY! COME ON! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! JUST SAY SOMETHING! OR AT LEAST STOP CONTROLLING MY BODY! Chris' body opened the covers from the bed, got in, and closed its eyes….

Chris opened his eyes. He was in a room that was completely black, except for an illuminated yellow circle on the ground that he was sitting on. Chris also noticed a strange purple mist floating around. "Where am I?" Chris wondered aloud.

"In your dream," the voice said.

"What? Huh? Oh, It's you! Show yourself!" Chris demanded.

"Okay," the voice said as he stepped out of the darkness onto the circle. He seemed to be around the same age as Chris—he was about the same height as Chris. He had black shoes, blue pants, and a blue shirt (the clothes he wore during duelist kingdom). Also around his neck was the puzzle. When Chris saw this strange person was wearing the puzzle, Chris checked himself and discovered he was somehow wearing it too. The person had sharp, determined purple eyes. However, the strangest part about him was his hair. He had big, spiky black hair with a pink outline, and yellow stripes.

"Who are you?" Chris asked. "And what is your name?"

"I am the spirit who inhabits the millennium puzzle."

"The what?" Chris asked.

"The millennium puzzle. The item you are wearing around your neck. And about my name, I have been called several. Sometimes I was called Yami, sometimes even just Pharaoh. However, my true name is Atem."

"I think I like Yami the best, but wait! Did you say Pharaoh?" Yami nodded. "How come?"

"You see, this is my third 'life,'" Yami explained. "In my first life I was an Egyptian Pharaoh, who sealed away a powerful and dark sprit with my name. However, I wiped my memory so if someone tried to resurrect the demon they would not know the key to bringing him back again, which was also my name. In my second life I shared a body with the previous owner of the millennium puzzle. Together we saved the world from many different evils, including sealing the demon away again. And in the process of sealing the demon away I recovered my memory, and my name. Afterwards, he helped me pass on to the spirit world. However, when you completed the puzzle I was called out of the spirit world back to the millennium puzzle. I guess the world needs my help again. So now what is your name?"

Chris took a few moments to soak the information in, and then began laughing hysterically.

"What is so funny?" Yami asked.

"Oh, this is one crazy dream! There must have been some bad food at that welcome dinner! But my name is Chris, just for the record."

"Chris, I can assure you this is no dream. Well, right now this is a dream, but my existence is not," Yami said flatly.

"Oh yeah? Well if it isn't a dream, what is it?"

"Something that actually exists, of course."

"Okay," Chris said as he suddenly stopped laughing, "Let's say that you do exist. What do you want me to do about it? What do I need to know?"

"Hmm…" Yami thought for a moment. "I guess I need you to help me in this world. What year is it?"

"7006," Chris quickly answered.

"Another 5000 years… exactly…(from the ceremonial battle, assuming it took place in 2006)" Yami murmured.

"What did you say?" Chris asked.

"Nothing," Yami quickly said. "Anyway, I guess I should tell you about the other millennium items."

"You mean there are other puzzles?" Chris asked.

"No, there is only one of each millennium item," Yami explained. "Including the puzzle, there are seven. The six others are the millennium necklace, eye, scale, rod, key, and ring, and each millennium item has special powers. The power that they all share is to create shadow games. Th-"

"Shadow games? What are those?" Chris questioned.

"Shadow games are battles that take place in a realm known as the shadow realm. In a shadow game, the monsters used are real. Depending on how much a person has mastered their item, they can add special… 'twists' to a shadow game, which often involves your lifepoints. A common twist is as your lifepoints go down, parts of your body disappear. And then when you lose a shadow game… your soul remains in the shadow realm forever, or until somebody releases it. Usually, the only person who can release it is the person who locked you in the shadow realm.

"As I was saying, each item has other powers. The millennium necklace can see into the future and past, the eye can read peoples' minds, the scale can judge a person's heart, the key allows you to enter peoples' minds and see their inner personalities, the rod allows you to control peoples' minds, the ring can track down other millennium items, and the puzzle houses me, but can also purge evil from one's mind. All the millennium items have this eye," Yami explained, gesturing to the eye of his puzzle, "except for the millennium key. Also, all the items are this shade of gold. Do you think you've seen any?"

"Uh… nope. Can't say that I have. But I have a question: do all the items house a spirit, like your puzzle does?"

"No," Yami answered. "Only the millennium ring housed a spirit. And he was defeated long ago, with my previous owner. Anyway, I want to know some things about the world today. I'll tell you the names of people and places, and then tell me if you've heard anything about it, okay?"

"Sure," Chris replied.

"Okay, Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, or Tea Gardner?"

"Um… nope. Although Joey Wheeler seems a bit familiar to me."

"Duke Devlin?"

"No."

"Mai Valentine?"

"And who would she be…?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Who is your valentine?" Chris asked.

Yami looked puzzled for a moment, but then realized the confusion. "Oh! I see what you mean!" Yami laughed. "That is her name."

"Her first name is 'My?'"

"Yes, M-A-I," Yami explained.

"Oh, again that seems a little familiar."

"Yugi Moto? Seto Kaiba? KaibaCorp?"

"Who hasn't?" Chris burst out. "KaibaCorp is the biggest business in the world and in history!"

"It's become the biggest company in history through making duel monsters?"

"No," Chris explained. "They still make duel monsters, but now they make just about everything else! Computers, power tools, furniture, refrigerators, just about anything! And Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba are known as the two greatest duelists in history! Well, Yugi being the first and Seto being the second."

Yami smiled. "So Yugi did do well without me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you know about Yugi? Like his history, and what he did?"

"Of course! I took a whole elective at school one year about Yugi!"

"So then you know about Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, KC Grand Prix, and the Orichalchos?"

"Uh… everything but that Orichalchos thing," Chris replied.

"Well, Yugi Moto was the previous holder of the millennium puzzle, and in all those tournaments I greatly helped him in his duels. Actually, I dueled most of the duels for him!"

"So all those amazing duels were… you?" Chris asked.

"Yes."

"Oh my god! This is just like the equivalent of meeting Yugi! I can't believe I yelled all those things at you before! I'm so sorry! I should have recognized you! Please forgive me! You can stay here in my mind as long as you want!" Chris yelled quickly, rapidly shaking Yami's hand.

"Umm… thank you," Yami said, gently pulling his hand out of Chris' grasp. "Also have you heard of Industrial Illusions or Pegasus?"

"Well, Pegasus, of course. I'm a duelist; I have to know who made duel monsters! And I think Industrial Illusions is a branch of KaibaCorp, the branch in charge of making duel monster cards."

Hmm… so Kaiba bought Pegasus over… or maybe they just merged their companies together. But still, why was I called here? What evil could be mustering that requires my presence? And why this boy, Chris? I was paired with Yugi so he could teach me friendship and I could teach him courage. But what do I need from him and what does he need from me?

"Is everything okay?" Chris asked, noticing Yami's silence.

"Oh, yes," Yami said, faintly smiling. "Thank you for your concern. Anyway, I will leave you to the rest of your dream. Thank you for the information." Yami slightly bowed his head as the circle below them dimmed to nothing and the room went pitch black.

Chris slowly opened his eyes and looked at his alarm clock, which read 7:29. Almost immediately, it switched to 7:30 as the alarm went off and Chris, just as quickly, turned silenced the alarm. Chris looked at Sam's bed and saw that he was not in it, and that the bed was already made. Goody two shoes… Chris thought as he smiled to himself. He then remembered his strange dream and looked down to see the millennium puzzle. Yami, are you there? Chris asked his mind.

Yes I am, Chris, Yami replied.

So it wasn't a dream…

No, it was not, Yami said, and Chris thought he heard a bit of a chuckle mixed in there.

Well, I gotta get ready for school, Chris told Yami as he got out of bed. It's the first day of classes!

What school do you go to? Yami questioned.

Duel Academy.

Duel Academy? Yami repeated. What's that?

It's a ballet school, Chris joked. What do you think it is? It is this huge island in the ocean that is a school where students learn to duel. There are several Duel Academy's in the world, however this one is the first one made and is owned by KaibaCorp. And since it's the first one, it's just called 'Duel Academy', while the rest are called different things. Like the one that is Duel Academy's main rival is called North Academy. Other people own the other academies. He left the bedroom and saw the bathroom door was closed and had the light on, so he assumed Sam was in there doing something. On the coffee table, Chris saw his PDA was blinking with the exclamation point again. He picked up the PDA and saw it was from Chancellor Casatos. Why would he message me? Chris wondered as he played the video.

"Hello students," Casatos' face on the screen said. "I'm sure you are anxious about your classes, but as some of you have probably noticed, none of you have received a class schedule! Tomorrow will be your real first day of classes. Today you will be able to choose your classes. In your kitchen area, you should find a slot and an adjoining tray. Whenever we need to transfer papers to you students, it will come out there. Right now, unless you've taken them already, there should be booklets that will give you all the information you need. Also, throughout the day teachers will be giving information about their classes in their classrooms, so if you have any questions go and ask them. You will be able to enter the classes you wish to take on your PDA, but please make sure you get them in before 9 PM. Tomorrow when you wake up you should have your confirmed class schedule on your PDA. Have fun! Oh, and if you aren't content with any of your classes, you will have a month to change. However, once this month has passed your schedule will be finalized and you will not be able to switch classes, unless under extreme circumstances." The message ended and the PDA turned off.

Chris went to the kitchen area and sure enough, there was a slot with a tray and two booklets. They had been wondering what that was for earlier. Chris took one of the packets and started leafing through it, looking at the requirements and all the different classes he could take. He picked out a few classes he knew he wanted to take, looked at some he might want to, and crossed out the ones he knew he would hate. After a little bit he got ready and went to some of the demonstrations the teachers were giving. Afterwards, he knew what he wanted, and his class schedule looked like this:

Start Time—End Time Name; Description

8 AM—8:55 AM General Dueling III; In General Dueling you will learn the basics about dueling, and also about cards and decks in general. There are four levels, with I being the easiest and IV being the hardest (it is required for all students to take at least one General Dueling Class).

9AM—9:55 AM Card Art and Origins; Analyze the art used in cards, and also from where the ideas for the cards originated.

10 AM—10:55 AM Creating Cards; Learn how to create good, balanced cards! Using your own made up cards, you will be able to duel other students against their created cards. At the end of the year you will send your created cards to Industrial Illusions, where they might become actual cards!

11 AM—11:55 AM General Academics II; Learn basic academics and such. We will cover english, math, history, and science. There are three levels with I being the easiest and III being the hardest (it is required for all students to take at least one Academic class).

12 PM—12:30 PM Lunch; All students have lunch at this time. You can get free food from the cafeteria located at each dorm, but there are also several restaurants located throughout the campus that have better food, but cost money.

12:30 PM—12:55 PM Study hall; All students have study hall at this time. This is a free period in which you can finish your lunch, work on your homework, or go to teachers for extra help.

1:00 PM—1:55 PM Deck Analyzing; We will look at student's and sample decks, and figure out their strengths and weaknesses (mostly through dueling!). We will also learn about many different deck types in the process.

2:00 PM—2:55 PM General Duel History; Learn about the most famous duelists, such as Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba, and Jonathan Kabzulo. Also learn about the ancient origins of duel monsters (it is required for all students to take at least one history class concerning Duel Monsters).

3:00 PM—3:55 PM Duel Practice; Do you just love dueling? Then this class is for you! We'll be dueling against each other every class just for the fun of it! However, we will also be monitoring the duels and looking at the card combos played and the reason why the losing deck lost and the winning deck won. So again, if you love dueling just for dueling, then this class is for you!

Chris smiled as he submitted his schedule to the mainframe. He sighed. He had finished all this and it was only around 3:30. He decided to go explore the academy even more. He made sure to grab deck before he left his room. He was in need of an adventure….


Yeah, kind of a dull chapter, and the next one isn't that much better :-( But don't worry! Chapter 5 is really good:-)
Next Time: Incandescent Ordeal