Disclaimer: Own Yugioh? Me? Ha! Nope. Good try, though.

THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH

Yugi's dreams had been getting stranger and stranger.

For a long time, they had been about the Pharaoh in the Afterlife. He had gotten small glimmers of how he was.

At first, he had been very pleased to see how the Pharaoh was getting along. He had seen him enter through the gate, greeting his Guardians, then he had seen the Pharaoh and Mana embracing—as time went on he saw more of Atem and Mana.

Perhaps the Pharaoh had been sending these to Yugi in what was left of their mind link, doing it subconsciously, in his dreams. Maybe it was an automatic thing, trying to reassure his friend that all was well.

But it was possibly by accident. Perchance, there could be a small remnant of their previous link that sent thoughts or images to one another automatically because that was what it was supposed to do. Whatever remained still retained their connection.

He saw the Pharaoh and his father playing Senet, Pharaoh and Mana swimming, dancing—he got a small clip of the Pharaoh walking along a corridor, peering in vases. He saw a lot of the Pharaoh and Mana: sitting in a tree, lying on the ground beside one another and looking up at the clouds laughing, playing tag.

It gave him a sense of joy to know that the Pharaoh was happy. It helped him keep moving.

As time went by—six months, to be exact—he saw other things.

A man disintegrated by darkness, and the horror on the Pharaoh's face. The Winged Dragon of Ra, overshadowing the form of the Pharaoh. And a man in rags shouting something to Atem and his Sacred Court in what appeared to be a dungeon.

He also saw what appeared to be a wedding—a wedding for Atem and Mana.

Then he saw Slifer, and the Pharaoh chasing a man on a black dragon. The last image he had seen in the last few nights came with a string of mumbled words: Dark Realm. Veil. Soul Collectors. Darkness. Evil power. Hamon—Black Soul Dragon. Have to stop him. Can't let him get hurt.

The second 'him' was said differently than the first, and that was why it felt emphasized to Yugi.

The image it came with was the Pharaoh, staring off into space with an expression that was familiar to Yugi. It was the confident expression people had come to associate with Yugi himself, but it had started with the Pharaoh.

Yugi could never make sense of it all. The voice was an identifiable one: deep, but it was quiet and more of muttering than anything. It had taken him a good three nights to figure out each word, and he still had yet to understand it.

At first, the dreams had brought him happiness.

Now, all they brought him was worry.

Alrighty, peoples! The sequel to this is actually called DARK CRUSADE, previously called Return of the Pharaoh. I suggest you read it ^o^

-Anevay