Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts. Sorry.

The Heart of Chaos

Prolouge Part 3: Realization

When Yugi Muto woke up and regained consciousness, the first thing that came to his mind was: Where am I?

Slowly, he became familiar with his surroundings as his eyesight returned. He was in an orange tent that was about nine or ten inches long and two feet long. Yugi looked on both sides and noticed some odd things. On his left side, he saw a huge bundle of junk that included a robotic arm, a pair of binoculars, a tape recorder, and a supply of pickles and cheese. To his right, there was a notebook and a pen. Also, he saw something that looked like a raygun, but considering that he had blacked out for a while, it was possible that he was hallucinating.

However, one thing stood out that caught his attention. From the corner of his eye, Yugi noticed a strange sword that was shaped like a key stuck in the far right corner. In a state of shock and horror, Yugi immediately realized what that was. He immediately got up and said, "What?! What's going on?"

"Well, aren't you the early riser."

"Huh?!" Startled, Yugi looked up to see a man dressed in a black shirt, black vest, and blue shorts standing in the opening of the tent. The man also had bandages wrapping a majority of his face, and he was carrying a pencil in his right hand. "Who are you? And where am I?"

"Don't flatter youself," the man replied. "It's pointless to ask stupid questions with your last remining strength. Just lie down for a while."

Instantly, and in a flash, Yugi remembered what had happened. He had been attacked by Heartless, but was saved by some unknown stranger. "How long have I been out?"

The man pretended to take out his watch and check the time. "Oh, about 9 to 10 hours, give or take a few minutes. Not that it matters anyway."

"What do you mean?"

The man laughed and pointed at Yugi with his pencil. "Look at yourself; you're a total wreck. Face it, you'll be dead by the end of the weel. Considering how you did against those Heartless, I'd say the darkness has already consumed your mind and soul."

Yugi grimaced. This guy is really starting to get on my nerves, he thought. Though his memories of the incident were faded, he did remember that there had been about forty creatures attacking him, and he had no way of protecting himself from them. "Oh really!" Yugi retorted back. "I'd like to see you try and fight about a hundred of those little pests without a weapon. Then maybe you won't think of me as weak and spineless!"

The man smiled and shook his head. He pretended to look he was a little child and started to pretend he was crying. "It's not polite to yell at strangers, Yugi. It's very mean," The man said in the best childish voice he could imitate.

He's taunting me again, Yugi thought. I hate it when he does that! "So, are you going to tell me where I am, or do you have a nasty retort for that question as well?"

The man closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine. You're in the realm of darkness, and you were being attacked by Heartless. Of course, you were probably aware of that already..."

"Anyway," the man continued, "I found you surrounded and decided to help you. After you thanked me for saving you, you suddenly collapsed."

Yugi nodded and put a hand to his head. It was all coming back to him now, in bits and pieces. However, there was one thought that wouldn't leave his mind. For a second-and only for a second- he thought he had seen this man holding a Keyblade. Pushing the thought out his mind, he exclaimed, "But you didn't answer my first question. Who are you? And why did you save me?"

The man threw his pencil in the air and started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Still snickering, the man responded. "Oh nothing. It's just that question."

Yugi was confused. What did the man mean by that? Curious to know, he asked, "What about it?"

"Think about it," the man responded. "Doesn't it sound so...general?"

"General? What's so general about it?"

"It could mean anything. It could mean that you're asking me what my name is. It could mean you're asking me if i'm human or not. But perhaps the most interesting thing you could have meant is...what side am I on?"

Yugi's eyes widened when he heard what the man had said. "Side?"

The man twideled his pencil in his fingers as he spoke in a cheerful, mocking tone. "Why of course, Yugi. Sides. Light and darkness. They are what seperate human beings and keep us in balance. It is what keeps the universe in order. We must all choose a side. You can choose light, or you can choose darkness. One must follow one or the other: you cannot follow both."

"Darkness is NOT all bad! YOu don't have to just have light or darkness. In fact, you cannot."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because darkness is half of every human being. You cannot have one without the other; they are intertwined together, both dwelling in the same heart. You said all this yourself, so why did you say that you cannot follow both?"

The man threw his pencil in the air and caught it. Laughing, he replied. "Did I say that? That's funny, I was really trying to say was that you can't follow good or evil. Your choices are what make you light or dark."

Something strange happened after that. The man's eyes turned red, and he crushed the pencil in his hands. Yugi couldn't put his finger on it, but something had happened that changed the man's tone completely. "Of course, you would know all about choices, wouldn't you Mr. Muto?"

Yugi's eyes filled up with fear and terror. "Choices?"

"You've been making choices that have impacted the world quite some time now, Yugi. Think about it; what choices have YOU made?"

Yugi didn't need to think for one minute about what all he had done to his world; he already knew. Whether is was endangering his friends or losing his loved ones to a demonic beast, those villains had always been after one person: Yugi. He did not respond to the man's questions, for he was afraid to hear what else he might say.

"Shocked, are you?" The man continued. "Well, this only proves my point. How can you ask me who I am, when you don't even know who you are?"

Yugi couldn't take it anymore. Raising his head, he bellowed, "No...you're lying! How can it be true? I would never endanger my friends or family!"

"But you did, Yugi. You did hurt someone in your family. Your daughter, Sarah-that is her name, I presume- was hurt because of your actions."

Yugi's eyes widened. How much does this guy know about me? Is he a stalker, he thought. It was pointless to ask how the man knew, so he simply said, "If that's what you want to believe. But what's your point?"

The man ignored him and went on. "What would she think if she saw you now? Wouldn't she be ashamed?"

Yugi didn't reply. He simply nodded and looked down with shame.

"Good. I thought so. And for less confusion, I am known simply as the Wanderer. Sorry for taking so long to tell you that."

Yugi finally snapped. He had had enough with this guy messing with his head, so he looked up and exclaimed, "What's the point of asking me all these questions? The darkness is gone now, trapped in this realm for eternity! It won't bother me anymore!"

The man took out another sharp pencil and flung it at Yugi's forehead, leaving a small bleeding gash

Yugi screamed and grabbed his forehead. "Oww! What the hell was that for?"

"For being a wimpy idiot, you dope." The Wanderer became angry once again and frowned. "You need to think realistically about this. Don't forget; you're also in this realm and he could come back for you anytime!"

Yugi shook his head and replied, "If I have to stay in this realm for eternity in order to keep him from my family and friends, well then so be it! I will fight him until one of us dies!"

Then something odd happened. The Wanderer started to laugh uncontrollably. Eventually, he was kneeling on the floor laughing.

Yugi grimaced. This joker still isn't taking me seriously, he thought. What is wrong with him? Too tired to yell at him, he simply said, "I must have missed the joke."

The Wanderer stopped laughing and got up to his feet. A big grin on his face, he replied, "You are the joke, Muto. You and your little pathetic race. All you humans think about is war and destruction. I guess it's true what people say about you."

"What do they say about me?"

The Wanderer pointed one finger at Yugi and exclaimed, "You've lost your light."

He walked out of the tent suddenly, with Yugi following him. Apparently, the Wanderer had camped out on a cliff, but Yugi could see nothing but pitch black ground below him. Reaching in his knapsack, the Wanderer pulled out his duel disk and placed it on his arm.

"What are you doing?" Yugi was confused. Was this guy really going to duel him. But why would he even bother dueling me if I'm weak as he says? Besides, I don't even have my Duel Disk with me, so this whole thing is just pointless. "Are we going to duel?"

The Wanderer nodded. "For being the King of Games, you haven't lived up to your reputation. You need to be a man for once and face your darkness head on! If you really think you're capable of that, then you should have no problem defeating me in a duel!"

Yugi backed away slowly. "But I don't have a Duel Disk! I can't duel you!"

"Use this." The Wanderer threw a black Duel Disk in Yugi's direction. Yugi caught, activated it, and placed his Deck in the slot. Heart of the Cards, guide me. Make the Wanderer see that I am capable of defeating the darkness, Yugi thought.

"DUEL!!" Both the Wanderer and Yugi cried.

Yugi: 8000
W: 8000

"My move!" The Wanderer drew. Looking at his card, he grinned. "This card will be handy. But for now, I'll summon Giant Rat (1400/800) in attack mode! " The blue rat appeared onto Wanderer's field, armed and ready. "Then I'll play two cards face down. Your move, coward."

Yugi scowled as he drew. "My move! Now prepare to see one of the most powerful monsters you will ever see!" Yugi grinned and held up the card in his hand. "I summon Valkerion, the Magna Warrior! (3500/3850) By discarding all three Magnet Warriors from my hand, I can summon this all powerful monster to my field!" Yugi sent his three monsters to the graveyard. Grinning, he declared, "Now attack with Magnet Slash!"

"Not so fast, King of Shame! I play Wall of Revealing Light!" The Wanderer revealed his face down. "By paying Life Points in multiples of 1000, every one of your monsters whose attack points are equal to are less than the paid amount cannot attack me! Looks like your Magna Warrior should be called a Magna Loser!"

Yugi sighed. "Well you're not out of the clear yet. I play one card face down and end my turn." I have to keep stalling him for a while, so Mirror Force ought to keep him on the run for a while, he thought. "Your move, creep." (A/N: I copied that from Robocop. Just thought it sounded cool."

W: 4000
Yugi: 8000

"It's my move again! And I draw!" The Wanderer drew. "Oh, by the way; call me creep again and I'll throw a hundred pencils at your forehaed and choke your windpipe. Now I summon Thousand Eyes Idol (0/0) in attack mode!" A strange creature with many eyes appeared on his side of the field. "Now I'm ordering my Idol to attack your Magna Warrior! Go; use Thousand Energy Wave!"

Thousand Eyes Idol opened all of its eyes and lauched blue beams from every one of them at Yugi's Valkerion.

Yugi was suprised and taken aback. "But why would you attack me with a monster with 0 attack points! You'd just lose even more Life Points!"

The Wanderer smirked. "Then go ahead. Counterattack with your Magna Warrior and reduce my Life Points."

Yugi nodded. "Very well: I shall. Valkerion! Counterattack with Magnet Fury!"

Valkerion blocked the beams with his sword and lauched his sword at Thousand-Eyes Idol's center. The monster was split clean in half and vanished.

W: 500
Yugi: 8000

"Ha! That was utterly pointless! And you said you'd teach me a lesson! Please! I don't see why you would delibrately ram your monster into mine. Unless..." He realized what the Wanderer's true intention was, but it was too late to stop him.

"...I still have one final trick of my sleeve, Yugi," the Wanderer finished. "Behold as I activate from my hand, Inferno Tempest!"

Yugi was unable to breathe. Inferno Tempest was one of the most hard-to-play cards in the game, but also one of the most powerful. The last time he had encountered such a card was when he and Kaiba were faced against Anubis, the god of the dead. Anubis had used this card to devastate their decks and rendered them powerless. Had he and the Pharoah not used Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon at the last minute, they would have been dead instantly.

Now, he was forced to relive that moment here, in the realm of darkness. As the Wanderer activated the card, Yugi was reminded of all the horrible things that had happened on that day, when he and his friends were put into utter danger.

"Recognize this card, Yugi? It's the same card Anubis used against you in that duel with Kaiba. "

The Wanderer laughed and pointed at the sky. "And now it's going to seve a new purpose: to help you find your light!"

"To refresh your memory, let me explain what this card does. When I take 3000 or more points of damage from one battle, this card activates. It removes from play every card in our decks and graveyards. So basically," the Wanderer finished, "you're pretty much screwed!"

Yugi's eyes widened. This meant that his only means of winning his duel were gone. His monsters-no, his last remaining friends- would be removed from him all at once. Dark Magician, Celtic Guardian, Dark Magician Girl, and even the 3 God cards would all leave him; alone and with no pretection.

With nothing but his Magna Warrior, Yugi knew that this was the end. This is the duel that would send him away forever. And he would never again see his friends again...

The Wanderer smiled and took out every monster in his deck and threw them away. Then the cards vanished into thin air.

Yugi watched in shock as all of Wanderer's monsters disappeared. "What...what was that?"

"I may have forgot to mention that any card removed from play in this dimension will be scattered across this realm. They will not return until the user is dead or until the user escapes this dimension, whichever comes first." The Wanderer frowned again and became serious. "So say goodbye to every worthless monster in you Deck and Graveyard, you fool! Forever!"

Yugi began to cry. The thought of losing his cards was too unberable to handle. He had lost his wife, his daughter, and his friends...those cards were the only things of any value he had left. Reluctantly, he emptied his cards out of his deck and graveyard.

Sighing, he held them close to his heart one last time. My friends...I'm sorry for this. I have no choice.

Sobbing, he threw his monsters into the open black air. One by one, each one of them evaporated and mixed with the black air of nothingness, scattering into the darkness. As the cards drew farther and farther from him, Yugi felt as though they were screaming and yelling as much as he was inside.

Now Yugi had nothing left. No monsters, no friends, and no support; the great King of Games was beat. He sank to his knees and sobbed. "Now there is nothing for me but darkness. I guess I must fade away for eternity...it must be my fate."

"Well then, that settles it."

The Wanderer deactivated his Duel Disk and placed it in his bag. Supirised, Yugi looked up to see the Wanderer walk up to him and hold out his hand in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

Yugi now saw something that he had not expected to see in the Wanderer's eyes. He saw pain and sadness where he had been expecting joy and victory. Also, he noticed a tear come down the Wanderer's cheek. Is he...sad? But why would he be? All of my monsters disappeared; he should be happy! Yugi thought.

The Wanderer sniffed and wiped the tear away. He said, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to take away your monsters. But it had to be done."

"Why?"

"I needed to make sure that you truly were succumbing to darkness. It's a key part of the job. A duel can tell so much about a person; it tells us who they are and how stong and wise they are a person, not just as a duelist. But more importantly," he continued, "it tells if the person is stable or not."

"Stable?" Yugi didn't get it. So this was a test to see if he was strong enough?

"Yes. You see, I lied to you. All that light humor and crude jokes were a ruse to get you angry and riled up. People who are corrupted by darkness are more reckless and take needless risks."

The Wanderer then took the card in Yugi's hand and showed it to him. "See this card? What's its name?"

Yugi took a moment to realize what the card was. "It's Heavy Storm," he said in humiliation.

"Correct," the Wanderer noted. "If you had used this before you summoned your Warrior, you would have destroyed my two cards, including Inferno Tempest. Doing so would have saved your monster's lives (Though it may not have saved yours; I still could have beat you without those cards in my deck) But you made reckless actions due to the tauntings I did, so you didn't do so properly."

Yugi shook his head and replied. "Well, that doesn't prove anything. People get annoyed by taunting all the time; anyone could have done the same."

The Wanderer sighed. "No, you're not getting it. If you hadn't been corrupted by darkness, you wouldn't have made a stupid move. If you hadn't let you emotions get the better of you, you'd have seen the Heavy Storm in your hand. Did you see it?"

Yugi thought to the beginning of the duel, when the Wanderer had called him a coward. He remembered feeling very angry and evil at that moment. Then he thought of the card he drew, and then he realized...

"The first card I drew was Valkerion the Magna Warrior. I was so angry at being called a coward that I didn't even look at the rest of my hand. Heavy Storm was at the end; I didn't even look at it: the darkness is in my mind had corrupted my thought process.

Realizing what he had done, he looked down and cried again. "W..What have I done?! I've killed them! I got rid of the only things that gave me hope and happiness. No, my cards...gone. They're all gone!" He instantly grabbed the Wanderer's vest and cried, "What is the matter with me? Where is the Yugi I known...gone."

The Wanderer closed his eyes and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I cannot answer that. You must find that out for yourself. Now come with me to the tent; it's time to explain my purpose in this world." Helping him up, the Wanderer took the even wimpier Yugi back to the tent...


When they got back, it was dark...or at least, as dark as a place like this could get. Originally just a purple/black combination, the sky was now completely pitch black. Nothing could be seen for miles, not even the faintest bit of light. Except for the fire outside the tent.

The Wanderer had placed Yugi in the tent again; this time he had put a heating pad on Yugi's forehead and placed a bandage where he had struck Yugi with a pencil. He woke up to see the bandaged man offering him some tea in a blue mug.

"Here. Take this. It'll help calm your body."

"Um...thanks." Yugi took the tea and slowy drank some of it. Then he put the cup down and lay down again. He was suprised about the Wanderer's sudden kindness, and he was almost afraid that it wouldn't last.

"So how are you right now?"

Yugi put a hand to his forehead. "I seem to be okay now. A bit drowsy now, but I'll manage."

The Wanderer smiled. "That's good." But then his smile vanished, and he took out his notebook. "Now it's time I told you the truth."

Yugi winced. Truth? What truth? So far, everything the Wanderer had said was a suprise to him, and he had no idea what this bandaged man would say next. "What is it?" He asked.

"Yugi, before I tell you the rest, there's something you need to know."

"Yes?"

"You have to be strong. Be as brave as you can be. Can you do that?"

"Um...I guess." Yugi was unprepared for what the Wanderer had to say next.

"I want to hear your story about how you came to this world and what happened to you."

Yugi immediately sat up straight and looked at the Wanderer with wide eyes. "Share my...story?"

"Yes Yugi...I want you story."

Yugi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why would this man want to hear his story?

"You're probably thinking about why I want to hear it. Well here's the reason:

I've seen darkness corrupt the minds of people, making them do terrible things and hurt their loved ones. My loved ones have hurt be due to darkness. Then one of them died, so I vowed to make a pledge: I would cronicle the lives of all who succumb to darkness and write their stories in a collection.

"But why?"

"Why? I'll show you why..."

The Wanderer took out a book and handed it to Yugi. "'The Dark Cronicles: Volume 1?'"

"Yes. This a collection of stories of darkness. Go ahead; check it out."

Yugi skimmed through the book. Page after page, he saw heartbreaking stories of many innocent lives. Some had commited suicide because their lovers had loved someone else. Others were killed by their spouses to get their money. Yugi put the book down and sighed.

"It's amazing how evil people can be. No wonder you wrote down their stories. I feel as though I want to help the characters in this book, even though it's impossible ..."

The Wanderer smiled. "Good attitude, Yugi. That's what answer I was expecting from someone like you."

Then he got up and opened the tent door, revealing the pitch-black darkness. "If only people were as open as that darkness, they'd realize how unneccesariy it is to follow darkness."

He turned back to Yugi and looked at his book. "With that book, and many others, I want to convince people about the darkness and why it is important to keep a balance between light and dark."

"When people realize this, the darkness will go away. Small things lead to big things, and big things lead to catastrophes. Whatever happens, my readers should eventually be kind to other people, and those people will be kind will kind be to others, and THOSE people will be kind to others, and so on and so forth. Basically it's a chain of human kindness that will eventually eradicate all darkness from the world. Then-and only then- we can be at peace."

The Wanderer walked over to Yugi and held out a hand. "So what do you say? Will you help me in this mission?"

Yugi grasped his hand and replied, "Let's do this..."

It seems that Yugi had decided to help our little wandering friend. But just what is it that haunts Yugi? What-or who- could have sent him in this realm of nothingness? And will he ever escape this realm and return to the people he loves? Find all this and more in the first chapter of HOC!

Again, PLEASE R&R! PLEASE! I know people read this fic, but nobody reviews. I'm really desperate; criticism is what I live for! Please help me, and I promise this fic will be very exciting later on! Just keep reading, and you will not be disappointed! At least, I'll see what I can do!

Wanderer, out!