Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or Kingdom Hearts

Previously:

Suddenly, a Duel-Disk that seemingly came out of nowhere appeared on her arm. She drew a card - which was revealed to be Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!

At once, the image of a warrior in golden-clad armor appeared in front of me, raising a sword in his hand.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The very monster that I had scoured the world to obtain was staring me in the face. I sank to the ground in awe of this magnificent card. "It...cannot be. How did you-"

"This isn't my monster, Yugi. It's yours."

My look of awe was replaced with a confused one. "What?" I took out my deck and scanned my cards quickly. No BLS Envoy.

"That's impossible! I thought for sure I put that card in my-"

Namine chuckled. "It seems your cards aren't as loyal as you think they are, Yugi." Then she spoke in a serious tone. "Look at yourself. You have become a selfish, inconsiderate person who would rather sacrifice his monsters than lose to someone."

"That's a LIE!!" I yelled indignantly. I would never do that! My cards are everything to me! EVERYTHING! They're all I have left." Tears fell from my cheek as I muttered that last line.

"Is that so? Then how about you see how truthful those words truly are when you face me in a duel? Now...prepare to be sent to a place so gruesome, so terrifying, so mysterious, that you will lose everything you have and be reborn! YUGI! I will be the one to vanquish your evil soul away forever, where nobody will be hurt by you ever again!"

Black Luster Solder began to glow brightly. Then, he raised his sword and pointed it at the sky. At once, a piercing white light consumed me. The last thing I remember, I was screaming very loudly, my body was being stretched beyond its limits and I felt as if the world itself was spiraling out of control...


The Envoy Duel

After that, my memory is pretty fuzzy. I don't remember much of what happened after that.

That light. It just...pierced my head as if it were made of foil or something. All I remember was that I was in a duel with the witch, and then after that, I...

I...

Present Day

The Wanderer put a hand on Yugi's shoulder and patted it. "There, there. It's okay."

Yugi shook his head. "No, it's not. This was never even supposed to happen." He buried his hands in his face and started to sob. "I should be at home, with my daughter, playing hide-and seek with her. And taking her to the park." Tears started flowing from his cheeks like a waterfall. "I want my Sarah back..." Unable to compose himself any longer, the tear-stricken Yugi collapsed on the ground.

Poor guy, the Wanderer thought. It was at times like these that he wondered why he still did what he did. And every time he had to keep reminding himself: this was who he was. If he did not help the innocent, then who else could?

Who else would?

"I'm sorry. I can't help you anymore." After regaining his composure, Yugi stood up and lifted his head up to the sky. "I just want this madness to come to an end."

"Don't say that Yugi!" The Wanderer got up to Yugi's eye level. "You have to be strong! Didn't you promise me you would? I know this is hard, but remember: nobody else has to go what you went through. They can learn through your errors!" He put a hand to his bandages. "Believe me; I've learned a lot from people like you. I've seen people destroy themselves by drugs and violence, abusing theirselves and wasting their lives away. I've seen more pain and misery in this world that no person- man or woman- should be forced to see. But I had to endure it all. Because I had to. Because I had to carry their stories on after they died, so that they could remain eternal forever."

"So please!" He exclaimed as he walked closer to Yugi. "Don't shrivel up in fear and just die away! Don't let the darkness win! You can still make a difference. It is never too late to make the right choice." He picked up his pencil and held it close to his heart. "I was chosen for my task, when I could have used my powers for destruction and hate; to punish the world for all the pain it caused me. But that doesn't mean that-"

"It's not that." Yugi turned away.

The Wanderer squinted his eyes and looked at Yugi, with confusion in his eyes. "Then what is it?"

"It's just that I can't remember anything. No matter how hard I try, I just can't remember what happened to me after I was blinded by that light. Maybe it's just that I've been in this realm so long that I'm forgetting who I was. Slowly, I'm losing myself to darkness. And maybe it will never stop."

The Wanderer smiled and shook his head. "Yes it can. You can never lose yourself if you have a strong will and determination. Here; maybe this will help."

He picked up his pencil and notebook, then walked to where Yugi was, so that he was facing his front. Then he did something unexpected: he took the pencil and pointed the sharp tip on the side of Yugi's head.

"OW!" Yugi was angry and puzzled at first. "Are you trying to kill me or something?"

"Shhh! Relax..." The Wanderer was calmer than usual. It was sort of eerie to Yugi. The Wanderer's voice became more quieter, almost in an angelic sort of way. Then he began chanting:

"I call upon the people of the stars! Grant me powers from afar! Arouse the slumber of the sacred beast, so that pain and suffering shall cease! With the Tools of the Creator of All, light shall rise and darkness shall fall! I call upon... THE POWER OF ESSENCE!!"

Then Yugi noticed something extraordinary begin to take place. A white aura started to form around the Wanderer, growing exponentially by the second. Then the Wanderer started screaming at the top of his lungs. At once, the aura lifted from his body and started gathering into one. It started to mold into a more solid form, as it swirled around in the air in a giant circle. When it was finished, Yugi almost gaped at the resulting substance: a shapeless mass of white energy that just hovered around in one place.

"Hmmm..." Yugi wondered. "Where have I seen that before?"

"This substance is what is known as Essence. You may find it familiar because it has the same appearance as the substance shown on the card Ectoplasmer. Coincidence? You wish."

The Essence then split into two parts. One part headed for the pencil in the Wanderer's hand, and the other headed for the Notebook nestled safely in his arm. The Essence fused into the two items, and they both started glowing with a white aura, the same one that the Wanderer had been glowing with earlier.

Yugi was awestruck. "That is amazing? You have powers?"

The Wanderer nodded. "That is correct. With the power of the Essence, I can do anything. You see, the Essence is the creative force that resides in all living things. Like energy, Essence is neither created nor destroyed; it is simply passed on from one living thing to the next. It even exists in Duel Monsters; that's why it has a similar appearance to ectoplasm. "

"But I've wasted enough time. My real purpose is to find the memory you can't remember. So let's get a move on."

The Wanderer eyes then glowed white, as he searched for the memory he was looking for. When he finally found it, he removed the pencil from Yugi's head. A white strand of Essence began pouring out of Yugi's head and followed the tip of the pencil. Then the Wanderer opened the Notebook to where he had left off and allowed the pencil to hit the paper head-on. He then began to write feverishly, writing page after page, without a single moment wasted.

A blank look appeared on Yugi's face. "What did you just do?"

But the bandaged man did not reply. In fact, he did not even acknowledge the other man's existance. He just continued writing, not stopping whatsoever.

When the Wanderer was finished, his eyes reverted back to their usual color. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"I took your memory away and put it in my Notebook. Now take this," he said as he handed the Notebook to Yugi, "and read everything you see on the paper. This is the duel that happened between you and Namine in its entirety. And one more note: I am able to take memories from people you have a connection with, such as family, friends and villans. All you have to do is mention their names, and when I write them down, I can show you selected memories at any time. Do you want to read that first? Or would you rather show me a memory of a loved one?"

Yugi shook his head. "Not yet. Let me just read this first."

The Wanderer nodded. "I understand. Proceed."

Yugi opened to the first page and began reading...


Ugh...Where am I?

As I started to regain consciousness, I realized that something wasn't right here. The setting had changed considerably. Instead of lying on the cold, dark surface of the Abandoned Dorm, I instead found myself sprawled over a white marble floor. After I regained my eyesight, I got up and almost gaped at what I noticed before me:

I was standing in a white room in an unknown place.

Hmm...no. That wasn't the right word to describe it. It felt more like a hallway of sorts. A white hallway in an unknown place. Yes. That was more accurate.

I turned around, scanning my surroundings more closely. There was a golden door behind me, but it appeared to be locked. Great. My only escape out of this strange place was locked.

Then again, this was nothing compared to all the crap that I've been through. But then again, I've never exactly had my daughter kidnapped by a teenage witch, been forced to go to a school of teenagers who were being taught how to play a children's card game properly just to go to a haunted-mansion-like dorm where a bunch of kids disappeared and rescue a mystical artifact that somehow found its way into a part of civilization that wasn't a musuem or an art gallery, only to be trapped by that same witch who was somehow able to use one of my own cards to transport me to this white hallway by blinding me with a white light.

Welcome to the bizzare and creepy world of Yugi Muto. Please slap yourself in the face on the way out.

I put a hand to my forhead and sighed, trying to remember what exactly had happened to me earlier. Then it came back to me:

Namine.

Card.

Sarah.

Duel.

Danger.

Then I noticed a staircase staring me in the face. "At last! I'm free!" Without thinking, I sprinted across the hallway towards the only beacon of hope left.

Of course, as I've learned over the years, nothing is as easy as you think it is.

A dark portal appeared on the top step, and Namine emerged from it, a smile on her face.

"You'd think you would be, right? Well, it seems that God isn't on your side after all."

I was enraged. I had had ENOUGH of this girl's taunts. "Where am I? And why am I here?"

Namine shook her head. "Still haven't learned manners, I see. No matter; it's not like it makes a difference any more."

"What do you mean?"

Namine spread her arms out wide. "Welcome to Castle Oblivion, where to find is to lose and to lose is to find. You'll not leave this place as your were, Yugi."

I growled and activated my Duel Disk. "Well, you're not gonna leave this place alive!!" I drew a card and placed it on my Duel Disk. "Come forth: Dark Magician! (2500/2100)"

At once, my trademark monster appeared in the sky, twirling his staff above his head, and subsequently pointing it at Namine's heart. "Hit her with Dark Magic Attack!!"

Dark Magician was about to charge his familiar attack, but just as soon as the ball of energy began forming, it vanished.

"Wh..What?" I took a few steps back, shocked at what had just happened. "How can this be?!"

"I should think it's obvious. The minute you set into this castle, your monsters forgot every spell and ability they knew." Namine's Duel Disk reemerged on her arm and activated. "And the only way to reclaim their power is to accept a ritual."

I was confused at first. "Ritual?"

"A ritual," she continued, "that will not only test your strength as a duelist, but also serve as a test of your character. It will be a challenging fight that will push you to your limts; you will find yourself doing things that you never dreamed of doing. Your deck will be shaken to its core, and you'll find yourself relying on just more than your Heart of the Cards mumbo-jumbo. If it comes down to it...you may end up sacrificing your own soul for victory."

"And what exactly is this ritual called?"

"I thought you'd never ask. You will participate in the ritual known as the Envoy Duel, a clash between light and darkness to see which is truly worthy. Should you achieve true victory, you will be considered worthy, and I'll let you go."

I smirked. "So all I have to do is win? That sounds easy enough. Let's do it."

"It's time to duel," we declared.

Both of our Life Points were set at 8000. I chose to go first.

"My move!" I drew my card. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in Attack Mode!" My elf swordsman appeared in a battle stance, ready for action. "I end my turn."

"Good! Then I draw!" Namine smiled. "Now I activate Future Fusion! When I activate this card, I select one Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck, then send the Fusion-Material Monsters to the Graveyard. After 2 turns, the monster is then summoned. Then this card stays on the field; if it is removed from the field, the monster is destroyed. But I'm not too worried about that."

I grimaced. "This doesn't look good."

"I choose Cyberdark Dragon. And I send Cyberdark Keel, Cyberdark Edge and Cyberdark Horn to the graveyard." She took the three aforementioned cards and placed them in the Graveyard. Then Namine played her next card. "Behold my Graceful Charity! Now I draw three cards and discard two." After she drew and discarded, she placed two cards face down. "Now I summon Bountiful Artemis (1600/1700) in Attack Mode!" An angelic monster with the appearance of a spinning top entered the playing field. "Now attack his monster! Spinning Top of Destruction!"

Bountiful Artemis started spinning around and around, heading straight for my monster. My Guardian was impaled by the Fairy-type monster's sharp wings and was sliced into two before being destroyed.

"No! My guardian!" I yelled in despair as my Life Points went down to 7800. "You'll pay for that!"

"I'm sure I will," Namine said in a bored tone. "That ends my turn."

I drew my next card with haste. Oh, no, I thought. I don't have a single powerful monster to summon. Guess I better stall for time. "I place two cards face-down. That's all."

"How pathetic, Yugi. And to think they actually call you the King of Games?" Namine shook her head. "You couldn't even get a single monster on the field. That's just sad."

"I'm NOT PATHETIC! I JUST GOT A BAD HAND, THAT'S ALL!"

"Whatever." She drew her next card. "Artemis, attack his Life Points directly!" Bountiful Artemis beganto spin towards Yugi...

At that point, one of my face downs went face up. "Not so fast! I activate the Trap Card, Zero Gravity! Now your monster goes to Defense Position!" Sure enough, the top monster covered itself with its wings and crouched down in front of Namine. "Looks to me like you're done!"

"Not so fast! I play one card face down. NOW I'm done." Namine did a curtsy and smiled sweetly.

God, was that girl pretty. I almost wanted to-

I instantly slapped myself back to reality. I had to get my head straight if I wanted to win. "My turn." I drew. "I pass. There's nothing I can do." I ended my turn. There was nothing in my hand that I could play. It seemed like I was going to lose after all.

Then Namine drew. "My move. And do you know what time it is? It's time for my Cyberdark Dragon (1000/1000) to take the stage! Arise, my monster!"

At once, a hideous machine-like dragon rose above Namine and let out a ferocious yowl. The yowl was so powerful that it unleashed a powerful gust of wind that almost blew me off my feet.

"Like it? Then you're gonna love this! You see, for each monster card in my graveyard, my Cyberdark Dragon gains an additional 100 ATK!" Cyberdark Dragon's attack immediately shot up to 1400. "Now attack, my monster!"

I smirked again. "Not so fast! Again! Reveal Spellbinding Circle! Now I'm gonna trap your monster and prevent it from attacking me!" A magic circle emerged out of nowhere and clung itself onto Cyberdark Dragon's neck.

"I won't let you do that! I play the Spell card Mystik Wok! Now I can Tribute my monster and gain Life Points equal to its ATK or DEF. And I choose his attack points!"

Cyberdark Dragon disappeared from the field, and so did my Spellbinding Circle. However, my namesake card remained on the field meaninglessly, while Namine's Life Points rose up to 9400. "Now my Bountiful Artemis attacks! Spinning Top of Destruction!"

Bountiful Artemis started spinning towards me again, when I put my hand in front of my face and declared: "I got three words for you, Namine. Ain't. Gonna. Happen."

I sent a card from my hand to the graveyard. "By discarding Kuriboh, I can make all Battle Damage from one attack go down to 0!"

A brown fuzz-ball shaped monsters appeared in front of me, blocking me from Bountiful Artemis's attack.

I sighed. "Guess it's my turn, then. I draw." I smiled at the card I had just drawn. "I may not be able to beat you yet, but your Artemis is going down!" You see, I had it all figured out. The card I had drawn was Premature Burial. If I played this card now, it would let me summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guard back to the field in Attack Position. Then, I could use the Black Pendant card in my hand to power up my monster by 500 points, enough for him to crush that Bountiful Artemis and put a dent in her Life Points. After that, it would be difficult for her to summon a monster to destroy my monster. Obnoxious Celtic Guard couldn't be destroyed in battle by monsters with an ATK of 1900 or more. And since my Guard's power would be 1900, there wouldn't be a single monster in her deck that could send her to the graveyard. This could help me stall her until I drew the right cards to help me get the upper hand. It was the perfect start to the perfect victory.

Or so I thought.

"I activate Premature Burial!" Even though my Life Points went down to 7000, I was still smiling. "By paying 800 of my Life Points, I can summon one monster from my Graveyard in Attack Position! So come forth, my-"

"Hold it right there, hot shot! I activate Magic Jammer! By discarding one card from my hand, I can negate your card and destroy it!" I watched in horror as my card was destroyed, along with my hopes of winning this duel. Then I noticed something strage happen.

Bountiful Artemis began glowing very brightly. "What's going on?"

"That's just the ability of my Bountiful Artemis! When someone plays a Counter Trap Card, I draw one card!" A card appeared in Bountiful Artemis's hand, and he flung it at Namine, which she happily caught. "That ends your turn. And now my turn has begun. And along with it, so has begun the end of you..."

Namine drew. She chuckled. "Well, well. I think my monster has waited long enough to attack you. So let's get on with it! Bountiful Artemis, attack with Spinning Top of Destruction!! And this time, you've got nothing to protect you!"

Bountiful Artemis resumed its trademark spinning move and knocked me to the ground, as my Life Points went down to 5400. Then he jumped into the sky and started pounding into my stomach with its large top. I yelled at the top of my lungs. The pain was too much to bear. It was almost like I had been hit by a thousand jackhammers at once.

I slowly rose up, clutching my stomach as I did so. After a while, I moved my hands away from my stomach and resumed my original stance. "Is that all you got," I managed to force out of my throat.

"No, Yugi. This is just the beginning. Now I set one monster on the field and activate Monster Reincarnation. By discarding one card, I can bring a Monster card back to my hand. And I choose...Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin (2300/2000)!"

I gulped. Great. Now she had a powerful monster in her hand that she could potentially summon next turn. "Now I end my turn."

I drew my card, hoping it would be a good one. "I draw." I closed my eyes as I held the card face-up in front me. I wanted more than anything for the heart of the cards to guide me one last time. Slowly, I opened my eyes...

To be continued