It's late in the afternoon in Domino City. With her back leaning against a wall, Tea is waiting for Yugi. She's wearing a yellow crop top, a pink skirt, sandals the same color and black stockings. She feels so nervous.

'Get a hold of yourself, girl,' she inwardly scolds herself. 'You are being ridiculous.'

She doesn't know what makes her more nervous: the fact that Yugi will soon show up, moreover in his macho, Yami form, or the presence of the 12 year old, self invited guest?

'Yugi muffin is gonna arrive soon,' Rebecca small talks, casually looking around with her arms behind her back. She's wearing a red crop top, a black skirt and flip flops. Her hair is loose. For the occasion, she has replaced her glasses with contact lenses.

'Aren't you a little too young to dress like that?' Tea wonders out loud.

Rebecca turns to her. 'Look who's talking,' she retorts.

'Well, for your information, I'm 16,' Tea snaps.

'Yet you play duel monsters as if you were 5,' the blonde girl quips.

Silence. Charged silence. The two girls exchange glares.

Yugi, who is meanwhile approaching, can almost see the gag sparks shooting out of the two girls' eyes!

'Oh, boy,' he sighs and closes his eyes. 'Good luck, partner,' he says before he goes deep in his subconscious, thus allowing his other self to surface.

The taller Yugi looks forward, at the two girls looking at each other with killer eyes. He sweatdrops.

'You owe me one for that, Yugi,' he mumbles.

After some hesitation, he sighs. 'Here we go,' he whispers and starts walking over to the girls. 'TEA, REBECCA, OVER HERE,' he calls out and raises a hand to draw their attention.

Poor Yugi!

Pegasus is sitting at his private office, in his mansion. On a swivel chair. With his legs crossed. Majestically but with a grim expression.

The only source of light in the room is the lighter, whose button its owner lazily and aimlessly presses again and again. As a result, the room goes from dimly lit to dark and vice versa.

The same lighter that Pegasus used to burn to ashes one of the three God Cards, a few days ago. Obelisk the Tormentor. Believe him, guys, this hurt him more than it hurt the card! But, after long and serious thought, he had deduced that there was no alternative.

Perhaps now the ancient battle that started 3000 years ago will never truly be resolved. Perhaps the pharaoh's spirit will never be able to rest in peace. But at least the world is safe. I mean, without the three God Cards, nobody will be able to open the dark door and claim that dangerous power.

Of course, Marik and whatever possesses Mokuba will organize the Battle City tournament anyway, being unaware that the third God Card is no more. But, whatever the result of that tournament is, without the last God Card, as I said, no dark power from the ancient past will threaten the world, at least not on a large scale.

And who knows what Ishizu will opt to do? Will she participate? Will she muster the guts to try to win a duel without the help of her Millennium Item? Will she try to save her brother? Pegasus guesses that none of this is his concern anymore; he did what he had to do and that's about it.

Pegasuses thoughts are interrupted when someone enters the office. Mai!

'Honey, are you coming to bed?' the blonde woman asks, with a mixture of guilt and lust in her eyes. She's dressed in a sexy babydoll.

'In a minute,' the white haired tycoon replies indifferently, with his eyes fixed on the lighter produced flame.

Mai snorts. 'Okay,' she responds, trying not to show her annoyance, turns around and walks away, still in a sexy manner nonetheless, albeit unintentionally this time.

First, the trio went to a cafeteria.

Right now, Yami Yugi is opening his heart to the two girls. He's telling them about his inner need to discover his past. That, as much as he likes his life in the modern world, as many friends as he has got to make here, he does not belong here. Besides, this is the best for his partner too; I mean, if Yami Yugi never leaves, Normal Yugi will never truly stand on his own two feet.

Without having really been listening to what Yugi is saying, Tea and Rebecca are glaring at each other, as if to wordlessly say to each other, 'Back off, bitch, he's mine.' From time to time, one girl or the other will place her hand on that of Yugi on the table, supposedly unconsciously but actually on purpose, only for the other girl to realize it and, right away, place her own hand on Yugi's as well, trying to push away the other girl's hand while she's at it. Such 'hand battles' become more and more frequent as time passes.

However, there is only so much that even a gentleman like Yugi can take.

'OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH!' he snaps at some point and jumps to his feet, startling the two girls, who gasp. Even some people from the nearby tables interrupted their respective conversations and turned their heads.

Silence now prevails in the store.

With Rebecca and Tea still looking at him with their eyes widened in shock, Yugi closes his eyes and pinches his nose. 'I'm sorry, girls,' he says, now in a lower voice. 'But it is obvious that you cannot help me. Your mind is just... elsewhere.'

The boy leaves on the table enough money to pay for all three beverages (as a true gentleman), turns around and walks away. The place is still so silent that his footsteps resonate across the shop!

Tea and Rebecca exchange guilty looks.

Still in his Yami form, Yugi is walking on the streets, aimlessly, with his hands in his pockets and a melancholic expression on his handsome face.

At some point, he happens to be passing by Domino City's museum. Well, the sun has almost set by now, so Yugi guesses it's clos... No, wait, it's open! How... come?

Yugi stops in front of the imposing building, raises his surprised eyes and sees a beautiful, dark skinned woman standing at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance. She's dressed in a white, archaic outfit. She has a blank expression. As if she has been waiting for him.

And, indeed, as it turns out the next moment: 'I have been waiting for you, pharaoh,' the woman says, closes her eyes, places her palm on her chest and bows, in a manner that I'm not sure whether is modern Japanese or ancient Egyptian. 'My name is Ishizu Ishtar.'

In a dark, unidentified room, Marik is standing in the shadows, with the moonlight coming in through the window being the only source of light that renders his figure somewhat visible. Another, taller figure is standing next to him. The latter's face is completely concealed by a hood.

Yami Mokuba enters the aforementioned room. 'Everything is ready, fellows,' he cries, rubbing his hands together in excitement. 'Soon, a giant screen showing my face will fly above Domino City and the Battle City tournament will be announced.'

'Will you, too, participate?' Marik asks.

'I don't know,' Yami shrugs. 'In any case, here are eighteen locator cards so that all three of us will be in the finals if it is needed.' The 12 year old boy produces eighteen transparent cards.

Marik chuckles. With his arms crossed and his back leaning against a wall, he turns his head to the man next to him. 'Did you hear that, Odeon?' he says. 'We already are in the finals. Without having to duel at all at the first round!'

Odeon removes his hood, revealing his bald, tattooed face. 'On your command, Master Marik, I will crush any enemy that stands between us and our goals,' he says, closes his eyes, places his hand on his chest and bows.

'As if you had any other choice,' Marik chuckles threateningly.

Odeon takes a sad expression. No, come to think of it, he had this sad expression all along. He is not afraid or upset or offended because of his master's words. He's just sad to see his brother like this. The blond boy may act cool, as if his spirits were high, but the truth is that, deep down inside, Marik is a mess of sorrow, frustration and hatred, hatred of others as well as of himself! And he has been like that since he was a little child. A poor child whom life was cruel to.

It pains Odeon to know that his brother will probably remain like that forever, that there is nothing he can do to help him. Even this condition, though, is preferable to his... other self. An evil entity whose existence Marik is unaware of, but Odeon is totally aware of. A being dwelling in Marik's subconscious. A being whom Marik is sharing his body with, unbeknownst to the latter. A being born of the evil generated in Marik's heart as a result of years of abuse. The being who, years ago, murdered their father!

That's why Odeon must stay by his brother's side and keep doing his bidding. To prevent that other self from resurfacing. Because, as wrong as the things Odeon has to do for Marik are, they are a lesser evil compared to what that other Marik is capable of. For the sake of the world, he must not let that demon wake up again!

Night. Yami Yugi is gazing at the horizon, with his elbows resting on a bridge railing.

'So, how did it go?' Normal Yugi asks him in his mind.

'I don't want to talk about it,' the other Yugi replies.

Those things that Ishizu maiden told him earlier about a battle that raged in Ancient Egypt 3000 years ago and almost destroyed the world. And that stone tablet she showed him. All those things confused him more than they helped him.

'Hey, Yugi,' a shy, female voice interrupts his thoughts.

The lad turns around and sees Tea and Rebecca.

'We have been looking for you,' Rebecca says.

'Look, we're sorry about before,' Tea lowers her eyes and strokes her nape, blushing a little. 'We promise that, if you give us another chance, we will listen to you.'

'Thanks, girls,' Yugi melancholically leans his back against the railing. 'But, at the end of the day, you cannot give me the answers I seek.'

Rebecca takes a determined expression. 'You need no answers, boy,' she says and gives him a friendly punch on the shoulder. 'What does it matter who you were or what happened a bazillion years ago? Now you are here, with us, and that's all there is to it. Enjoy your life with us.'

'But I don't belong in this world,' Yugi tosses his head back and sighs.

Tea takes hold of Yugi's head and moves it, thus forcing him to look at her (she can't believe she has become that daring!) She looks him seriously in the eye. 'You belong where you feel you belong,' she says.

Yugi smiles at her, tentatively.

Rebecca unintentionally ruins that moment with her pre teen spontaneity. 'It will all work out great, guys,' she cries, claps and bounces cheerfully. 'Tea will be dating you and I will be dating the other Yugi. It will be so much fun!'

Yugi and Tea both blush big time. Oh, Rebecca!

That moment, Yugi steps away from Tea and takes a concerned expression.

Tea raises an eyebrow.

'What's wrong, Yug?' Rebecca asks, moving a lock of hair away from her eyes.

Yugi has just noticed that a crowd has gathered around here. Among this crowd, there are a lot of old acquaintances of his. And I'm not referring to the kind of old acquaintances one would be happy to see again, mind you! Weevil Underwood. Rex Raptor. That zombie guy Joey fought (was his name Bonz or something?) Most of them are staring at Yugi, with their eyes full of vengeance.

The two girls direct their gaze towards where Yugi is looking and gasp.

'What are all those freaks doing here?' Tea wonders out loud.

'Aren't most of those guys famous duelists?' Rebecca scratches her head. 'I have seen photos of them in magazines.'

Suddenly, helicopter sounds are heard. Mokuba's face appears on a giant screen. 'GREETINGS, DUELISTS,' his voice resonates through the city. 'It's time to officially announce that the Battle City tournament shall commence in a few days.'

Yugi gasps. So that's why all those duelists are here. They were expecting to hear the official announcement. And Yugi just happened to be passing by? He can't believe this! His dueling instincts are incredible!

Author note: I regret to inform you that it will probably be a long time before I update again. I need to rewatch the Battle City Saga to remember some stuff and decide on some details as to how exactly that saga will play out in my story. Also, most importantly, there is stuff in real life I need to sort out. So... farewell.