A surprising Discovery

It was already dark outside by the time Yami and Emily left the game shop. The Domino museum was still open, but they had to get there fast because it would soon be closing time. When they got there, they saw that it would still be open until the next hour.

"I think you were right, Emily," Yami was saying. "This exhibit may help us find some answers. Thank you for bringing me here."

"What are friends for?"

"I don't know what's beyond those doors, but I'm ready to face it."

"We're ready to face it." And together, they walked up the stairs and entered the museum. Emily walked up to the counter to pay the entrance fee for the exhibit. The museum was large and had a lot of different galleries, but they knew where the exhibit was.

This museum's got to have some clues that can help the spirit figure out his past, Emily thought. "I'm glad you decided to go through with this."

"I have no choice, Emily. It's my destiny." They continued to walk down the hall, but Yami stopped and turned his attention to the stairwell leading to the basement. There was a sign that read: Restricted Area, Authorized Personnel Only. The door was unlocked, which was mysterious. But Yami felt like something down there was calling to him.

Emily turned around. "Why'd you stop?"

"I sense something," Yami answered and opened the door.

"In the basement?" Emily asked. Yami began walking down the stairs. Emily left the door ajar a little so they wouldn't get locked in. She looked around and asked, "Is this part of the exhibit?" Then she realized that it wouldn't be if it was in a restricted area. But then why were the doors unlocked and slightly ajar?

When they came before a large stone tablet, Emily reacted in shock to what she was seeing. "The man in the tablet looks just like you! Is this for real? It's scaring me!"

"Yes, Emily, and look," Yami was saying. "He has the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. That appears to be me playing some sort of ancient game. This is the clue I've been searching for, but I wish I were able to decipher its meaning. Who am I dueling against? What was this ancient game? Was it even a game?" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Just when I think I've found one answer, a thousand new questions arise."

They heard a voice. "My pharaoh, I've been expecting you." Yami and Emily turned and saw a woman approaching them.

"Who are you?" Yami asked.

"I am Ishizu," she answered, "and I have uncovered many mysteries about you and these ancient carvings using the power of my Millennium Necklace."

Yami gazed at the golden chain around her neck. "Another Millennium Item!"

"Like your Millennium Puzzle, this Necklace affords me certain powers. With it, I have gazed five thousand years into the past to a time when sorcerers and monsters threatened to destroy the entire world. However, there was one king brave enough to save the world from this evil threat: you, Yami."

"I was this king?"

Ishizu nods and turns to Emily. "And you, my dear, were his princess."

Emily's eyes widened. "Princess?"

Ishizu turns her attention to another tablet on the wall. Yami and Emily follow her gaze. The tablet was small and looked like what they considered to be a family portrait. There was a woman holding a bundle in one arm and using her other hand to hold the pharaoh's. "The pharaoh and his wife were blessed with a daughter. The child inherited an extraordinary power from her mother: the Millennium Star. But many evil sorcerers wanted the Millennium Star and tried to steal it. To save their only child, the pharaoh and queen sent her away. In hopes of one day finding her, the queen shattered the Millennium Star and gave a shard to her daughter."

Ishizu holds out her hand and reveals what appears to be half of the Millennium Star. "The time has now come for you to awaken and claim your destiny."

Emily felt a pain in her side. She put her hand to it and saw a faint glow. It started to illuminate brighter and the Millennium Star's other half emerged. No… no way! Emily thought. But how did that get inside of me? As the two shards came together and reconnected, the entire room was illuminated. As it died down a little, Yami saw Emily transforming. Her clothes changed into a dress, she had gold bands on her wrists and close to her shoulders, white shoes, and a light blue robe wrapped around her arms. Emily noticed the transformations as well, but to her surprise, was taking it naturally. Even when she noticed white wings had grown out of her back. Finally, the Millennium Star slowly went inside Emily's chest, straight for her heart. After that, she found herself back in her original attire and her wings were gone.

"You will come to understand the powers of the Millennium Star in time," Ishizu was telling her. "But you must protect it with your life. The time has also come for the two of you to rescue mankind."

"Rescue mankind?" Emily echoed. "Are you saying that the world is in danger of being threatened again?"

"Yes, the events of the past will occur once again and the same great evil will return to threaten us."

"How will we recognize this evil?" Yami asked.

"I understand that your memory had faded, my pharaoh, and that you seek many answers. I also know that a new Duel Monsters tournament is beginning. If you win it, you will find your answers." Ishuzu turns around, but before she takes her leave, she says, "When you return home, you'll discover a personal invitation waiting for you. Farewell, King Yami. Farewell, Princess Emily."

"Y-Yami?" Emily asked. "So that's your name. Wow, and you were this powerful pharaoh who saved the world five thousand years ago. And I'm… I'm a princess." It was going to take a while for her to get used to the concept.

Yami was just as baffled. Not completely ignoring her, he refocused his gaze on the other tablet. "But then who was responsible for trying to destroy the world?" As he saw his opponent in the tablet, his eyes widened. "My opponent looks like Kaiba!"

"You're right," she told him. "Then that means Kaiba was the ancient evil sorcerer!"

Could it be that I'm supposed to face Kaiba in order to save the world from danger again, Yugi wondered. Well, there's only one way to find out: I've got to enter the tournament and win!