Random talk: Man, I never knew I could get into a crossover like I am now. I swore I would never write one. Here I am, writing what is technically the sixth chapter (when taking the prologue into consideration) of a Yu-Gi-Oh/Gundam Wing crossover.

This chapter takes place during the last.

"speak" person A talking to person B (same people as past chapters)

"speak" person B talking to person A (same people as past chapters)

Chapter 5

Shadows of the Past

Wufei sighed for the tenth time in twenty minutes. He and Trowa were waiting for their contact in Kaiba Land. This contact evidently was the one who originally told the Preventers about the Rare Hunters. He gave them some of the information he had, but would only give all of it in person. Even then, Trowa and Wufei had to be the ones who retrieved the information.

The location for the meeting was unusual. Kaiba Land was a popular theme park for the area, drawing in crowds almost as large as any Disney park. Not to mention the large building just for Duel Monsters that had the odd name of Death-T. (1) With all the people there, it made identifying possible threats or who their informant could be.

At the same time, the in park café where the meeting was going to take place was ideal. Zechs, who's job was to point out anyone of interest, sat by himself on the outside part of the café while Wufei and Trowa waited inside. It helps that the café was also a popular meeting spot for that part of the park.

"Excuse me," a man said, catching both Wufei and Trowa off guard, "but I believe you boys are interested in spirits. Am I right?"

"Yes," Trowa said, motioning for the man to sit on the other side of the booth.

The man nodded as he took a seat. "I believe I should introduce myself. I'm Marik Ishtar, head of Public Relations for Industrial Illusions."

"You're the informant?" Wufei asked. It was a bit surprising someone in Marik's position to come out so freely. Instead of the suit they saw him wear at the tournament, he wore something more casual. A lavender tank-top, tan pants, and sneakers seemed out of place for him, not to mention the strange gold earrings and the kohl around his eyes.

Marik smiled. "Who better then the descendant of the one who started the Rare Hunters?" he asked, ignoring the hidden shock of the ones in front of him. "Besides, I'm not as famous as you guys. And thanks to the fact I look like my ancestor, people just think I'm some Duel Monster fanatic. Now, how about letting Mr. Marquise join us? I'm sure he would find some of this information interesting. In fact, I insist he joins us."

Wufei narrowed his eyes while Trowa showed no outward reaction. They could hear Zechs mutter to himself, wondering what was really going on. The man just walked right by him, seeming like he was just some tourist. Either he was getting rusty or there was more to Marik.

"Glad you could join us, Mr. Marquise," Marik said. "It's nice to finally meet you. I was always quite impressed with your records. One of the best when it comes to mobile suit combat, based of the data. "

"Okay, who the hell are you?" Zechs said. "You make it sound like you have quite a bit of information on me."

"Oh, not only you, but Mr. Chang and Mr. Barton here as well," Marik said calmly. "In fact, I have some on the other Gundam pilots and people that helped them. It was my job during the war."

"How is it that you still have that information?" Wufei practically yelled. A few people looked at them, curious as to what was going on. A quick glare from Wufei made them lose that curiosity fast.

"I know it is illegal to have any information like that," Marik said, "but I assure you, I'm the only one that has access to a database that stores it. Lady Une knows about the database and the fact that I have access. To be honest, I didn't expect that since I turned down her offer to join."

"You know the director?" Trowa asked.

"Oh, of course! She thought I was a double agent for OZ until the end of the war. Even then I had to tell her I was working for those old goats you boys took orders from after that whole incident. But, enough about the recent past. You're here for the Rare Hunters. I would advise you to start any recording device now."

They blinked at how blunt Marik was being. The man just said he was a traitor to OZ in front of an ex-OZ solider like it wasn't a big thing. Not to mention he was good enough to fool Lady Une that he was loyal to OZ through the war, yet here he was working for some toy company.

"My boss, myself, and Lady Une have talked about how the main mission would go. Right now, my boss should be explaining what is going on with the tournament to your friend, Mr. Winner, who would tell Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Yuy. This way, they can focus on the tournament aspect.

"You three get the Rare Hunters' background. No offense, but my boss felt that your friends would be better at dueling. He wants them to focus on the tournament while you guys try to pin down any possible rare hunters. It's important that we find any that managed to sneak in. We want to avoid any problems that may come up."

"Ishtar-san, your order," the waitress said. The three ex-pilots assumed it was a girl due to her feminine frame and voice despite having a flat chest. She wore the café uniform of a white button down shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Her hair was white and reached the middle of her back. Warm brown eyes shined with kindness and innocents. She had a cup of coffee and a slice of chocolate cake on a tray. "Oh, you have company today."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Marik?" Marik said with a huff as the woman place the drink and cake down. "Why don't you take your break now so I can introduce you to them?"

"O-okay," the woman stuttered, a light blush started to form. Marik smiled softly as the waitress walked away.

"Why is she going to join us?" Wufei growled. Whatever respect he had for the man was now gone. He was going to let someone who wasn't involved with the mission join in on their meeting.

Marik gave Wufei a puzzled look, then burst into laughter. "You think? Oh man, wait till Ryou hears this!"

"Hear what?" the waitress said. "Oh, don't tell me they thought I was a girl… That's the tenth time this week, and it's only Tuesday!"

"We should have learned our lesson by now with Duo," Zechs muttered to his comrades. He then turned his attention back to the now known man. "I'm sorry about that. We normally can tell the difference, but-"

"It's okay," the man interrupted Zechs. "I'm used to it. Oh, my name it Ryou Bakura."

"Bakura?" Trowa repeated.

"Yes, I'm named after my ancestor who was a duelist back in the 'Golden Age' of Duel Monsters," Ryou sighed. "Doesn't help I look like him."

"It's not that," Trowa muttered. "I think I've heard it somewhere before."

"Let's get back to introductions," Marik said after taking a sip of his coffee. "Ryou, this is Zechs Marquise, Wufei Chang, and Trowa Barton. They, along with some of their friends, are helping out with the tournament. I told you about them."

"Oh, so nice to meet you!" Ryou said. "Are they the replacements?"

"No, their friends are, remember?" Marik said. Ryou nodded, embarrassed that he forgot that information. Marik noticed the confusion the others had about the replacements. "That was going to be part of my explanation. See, some of the descendants of the duelist centuries ago are some of the best duelists now. Ryou here is no exception. In fact, some of the ones qualified for the tournament already had an ancestor who was in Battle City. Actually, so many have registered, it's almost like Battle City is happening again. Heck, even my older brother and sister are entering!

"There is only one problem. We still are missing some descendants for various reasons. Today's Yuugi Mouto is still too young to enter and isn't up to the King of Games level. And despite we have a Kaiba entering, Noah is no Seto Kaiba. Then there is no known descendant of Katsuya Jonouchi that duels. My boss has taken interest in Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Winner's dueling styles. Mr. Maxwell, in fact, has a very similar deck structure to that of Katsuya Jonouchi, only with a fiend twist. (2) Mr. Winner might be just as good as Yuugi Mouto with a little training."

"You mentioned Seto Kaiba," Zechs said.

"Well, we are hoping that Kaibaman would work with us," Ryou said. "He does duel exactly like Kaiba-san. If not, Yuy-san would be our next option. I've dueled against him some time ago and there were some similarities in the style of strategies used. If Kaibaman agrees to help us, Yuy-san will be in charge of enforcing the rules in case there are some Rare Hunters who think they are above them."

"Bastards are evil in their ways, but duel with honor," Marik added.

"Oh! I have to get back to work," Ryou announced. "It was nice meeting you, Marquise-san, Chang-san, Barton-san. I guess I will see you at the tournament. Are we still meeting later, Ish- I mean – Marik-kun?" Marik nodded, making Ryou smile a little before walking off.

"Now, where were we?" Marik said.

A man in a black robe sat at a long table in a dark room, most likely underground. Several chairs lined the table indicating it was used for meetings of some kind. One could tell this man was important as he was sitting at the head of the table. There was no way of identifying who this man was for he had his hood up, keeping his face in shadows.

"Boss," another man in another robe walked into the room. "Our source has confirmed the prize is to be Seto Kaiba's deck."

"Perfect," the leader said. "You know the plan. Contact the Neo Domino sector and tell them to get ready. I want everything finished when I get there or else. Failure isn't allowed in this gang."

"R-right, boss!" The man stuttered before making a hasty exit.

"Soon, I'll have its power in my grasp," the leader muttered. "I will make them all pay for ruining my family name!" Maniacal laughter can be heard all over the base.

"The Rare Hunters were formed to locate three all powerful cards that is said to only be a legend," Marik started his story. "Obelisk the Tormentor, Osiris the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra were three of the rarest cards. They were so powerful that only one of each card was ever made. They were also called the three Egyptian God cards. Supposedly, only a select few could even use the cards. There is a story that the leading female duelist of the time, Mai Kujaku, couldn't properly summon the Winged Dragon of Ra when she had control over the card.

"They had another goal. There are these seven items called the Millennium Items. Created back in agent Egypt of the time of pharaohs, it is said each item has certain ability. One could read minds, another could control people, and there was even one that could see into the past and future. It is said that a village full of thieves was slaughtered just to make the items."

"You expect us to believe that these magical items exist?" Wufei said. "Magic doesn't exist in the first place."

"Oh, the items aren't around any more," Marik said. "They were needed to send a pharaoh's spirit to the afterlife, or so the story goes. I can understand why you don't believe me, but I assure you that I am telling you all the facts I know. If you would like proof, there is a tablet in the park's museum that you might find interesting. Not to mention that so many people believed in their power that they tried almost everything to get them, even murder.

"Back to the Neo Rare Hunters. I had limited access to their database thanks to my ancestry for a while during the war. Back then, it was fairly small with only 30 members. Yet, no one knew who the leader was, might still be that way. For some odd reason, they were already keeping taps on potential elite duelist. Their system was based off the person's ancestry or natural abilities. They even had some information no one should know. What you should be concerned about is that they had data on all you pilots even before Operation Meteor. The only one who made any sense was Mr. Yuy."

"Explain," Zechs said. "Heero is a great pilot, but keeping track of him due to a card game? Duel Monsters was still unknown to many people."

"That's right, not everyone knows about it," Marik said, looking off to the side. "I'm sure you know that Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were not born as Kaibas. When Seto was age 10 and Mokuba age 5, Seto managed to beat Gozaburo Kaiba in a chess match, making the man adopt both of them. Before that, they went by the last name Yuy. In essences, the Yuy family is related to the Kaiba family."

On the outskirts of Neo Domino City at an abandon military base, a group of men sat on various crates, barrels, whatever that could hold their weight. Most of them were talking amongst themselves except two. One was on a lap top while the other was playing with a yo-yo that had sharp spikes that retracted right before he caught it. For the most part, they looked like wannabe Yakuza thugs.

"Hey, boss-man!" the one on the computer shouted. The room became quiet; all listening to what the man had to say. "Just got an email from HQ. Big Boss-man gave us the go on the preparations."

"Finally!" the man with the yo-yo exclaimed, gray eyes shined with excitement. "You know what to do, boys. We have three months to get the supplies and set it all up. Less since he might want to come and double check everything. Remember! We may do this because of our leader ask it of us, but we shall get our revenge!"

A tan woman with long black hair stood in front of the Duel Monster Museum of Kaiba Land. She wasn't wearing a uniform that would be found in the amusement part. Instead, she wore a simple, long tan dress with long sleeves along with tan shoes. It reminded many of something from Egypt. Her blue eyes would shine as she smiled at the children who ran inside the museum.

Her vision shifted towards a group of three men. The same men her younger brother had a meeting with a few minutes ago. It was not chance Marik brought up the tablet during their discussion. If history was to repeat itself, history had to be explained.

"I see you found your way here," the woman said. "I am Ishizu Ishtar, Marik's older sister. I have closed off the tablet room so no one would disturb. If you would follow me…"

"How did you know we were coming?" Trowa said.

"My brother told you about the tablet. It was only a matter of time for you to come here. You wish to see evidence that what Marik said is true." Ishizu turned around and walked into the building. She didn't even turn around to see if they were following. She knew that they would.

"You see, long ago my family protected the tomb of a 'nameless' pharaoh. Tomb keepers, if you will. This task lasted for 3000 years until after the events of Battle City. It was shortly after the tournament that the pharaoh's soul was able to move on to the afterlife. This is the condensed version, of course.

"The reason for bringing you here is to show you the real origin of Duel Monsters. It is the only way we could hope that you would actually believe us. There is one tablet in particular that I would like for you to pay attention to. It is of the pharaoh and one of his loyal high priests in a duel. I'm sure you may recognize several things."

The three ex-pilots remained silent. Things already sounded like something out of a fantasy story or something. Spirits of ancient Egyptian pharaohs playing Duel Monsters with magic? It just wasn't possible.

The group reached a room with only two entryways. Several stone tablets lined the walls, each displaying something relating to Duel Monsters. One tablet stood out from the rest. Two human figures stood face to face, both wearing ancient Egyptian clothing. One of them had spiky hair with what looked like the Dark Magician above him. The other seemed taller and had a Blue Eyes White Dragon above him.

"Is this the one you want us to look at?" Wufei asked when he reached the tablet. "I don't see how this pertain to us."

"Remember what I said a few minutes ago?" Ishizu said. "This tablet depicts the nameless pharaoh, who is now known as Atem, dueling one of his high priests, Seto. I suggest taking a closer look before you say another word."

All three knew that tone. It was calm and even, yet they knew that they wouldn't be able to leave without at least looking at it again. Wufei got closer to the tablet, hoping to find something that was hidden while Trowa and Zechs stood back to see the whole picture. It was Zechs who was the first to give any sign of realization.

"Is that?" Zechs whispered. "It can't be…"

"What is it?" Wufei growled in annoyance.

"Heero?" Trowa muttered, noticing the same thing Zechs did. Wufei's expression turned to one of shock when he, too, noticed that the taller figure looked like the former Wing pilot.

"That is the high priest," Ishizu said. "A few years ago, I found a diary belonging to my ancestor, Isis Ishtar. In it, she described the events of Battle City. One event, in particular, was of her meeting with the priest's reincarnation. To be precise, Seto Kaiba."

The soft melody of a piano filled the lounge of the hotel. The crowd grew as the player went from song to song. Even those who worked at the hotel stopped to hear the mysterious player. But no matter who tried to start a conversation, the player paid no attention. No one was aware of the internal conversation taking place in the mind of the player.

"I've never seen Quatre that upset. Thanks…"

"I have no regrets. I got to see him, thus I am content. If he doesn't like it, too bad."

"You don't have to deal with him."

"Yet. He's getting closer to the truth. He will figure out within a week of returning back to the manor."

There was silence in the player's mind. Both voices had a lot to think about. Several songs later, the player glanced at a nearby clock and noticed that it was almost 4 o'clock.

"The others should be back soon."

"Give Winner a few more minutes to cool down. Like you said, we have never seen him so upset. I do not want to deal with this mess awhile longer. You don't know how bad it was the first time."

TBC

(1) Death-T was something from season zero of Yu-Gi-Oh. Back then, the Kaiba brothers were bad guys and not just antagonist. (For those who don't know, antagonists include both bad guys and rivals. That means they aren't necessarily evil, just oppose the main character.) In it, Kaiba created 5 levels to try and get revenge on Yuugi and his friends, mostly trying to kill them.

(2) I am going to have Duo use a chance deck only with more fiend type monsters. It just suits him along with it will help with this idea I have.

Random talk: Dude, I think that was the longest chapter I've ever written. Yay me!

As for the piano thing… Yeah, that's because I've been listening to Rain and Storm from my .hack soundtrack a lot. On repeat…

Rubi-chan, over and out!