PaRaDiCe: Hey guys, Nickey here! Working together with Fallen :) I hope you guys enjoy this story. We'll be switching chapters back and forth :) Um, I am having so much fun planning this whole thing out with Fallen, I'm pretty sure we're on the same page and agree with just about everything :) While Fallen did say that we're doing it 1st person view, I decided to introduce the story in the 3rd person... I hope Fallen enjoys this chapter along with you guys and is prepared to get her chapter going after this one while I get to work on another story of mine XD We do not own YGO or anything pertaining to YGO :) ^.^

Fallen: I don't know about our readers, Nickey, but I am DAMN excited to finally be getting this thing in the works! And I sure did enjoy this one when I looked over it! I hope you guys enjoy this prologue, of sorts, as much as I did! ;D

Now, there's no guarantees how often this one will be updated, seeing as how Nickey and I are both still busy with our own stories that are currently in-progress. We'll try to keep updates as regular as any other story, which should hopefully be easier, since we're doing a round-robin-type writing style (Nickey will be writing chapters in Yami's POV, myself writing Yuugi's). But still, no guarantees.

Also, Yami's Ka (Dark Judgement Dragon, for those who are wondering), is named "Oscuridad", pronounced "os-cur-ie-ad". It is Spanish for "Darkness". XD

Enjoy!

Full Summary: In a world where every human has their own spirit - or Ka - monster, adoptive brothers Ryou, Malik, and Yuugi are freaks amongst a WORLD of freaks. With power and magical abilities beyond that of an average person, they have been hidden away and sheltered their entire lives. But, when a test to find one's soulmate, known as the "Kindred Match" program, comes up with less-than-desired results, their worlds are turned upside-down. Apparent "Hikaris" to three dangerous, equally-powerful men referred to as "Yamis", they escape imprisonment by fleeing into the ruins of Old Domino City. And with the threat of discovery, therefore death, hanging over their heads by a power-hungry, maniacal warlord out for their magic, they're in for one Hell of a crash-course.

With the help of seven strange, magical items, can they triumph over the discord that has become their new lives?

Or will they fall victim to the very thing that may also be their salvation?

(Yaoi: Gem/Tendershipping, Bronzeshipping, Puzzleshipping)

(Co-written with PaRaDiCe93)

DISCLAIMER: We do not own anything within/to do with the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime/manga franchise. Those are (c) to Takahashi Kazuki, as well as Konami and any others we may have forgotten to mention. This is simply a work of fiction inspired by the original anime/manga, and is in no way, shape, or form gaining a sort of profit nor are PaRaDiCe93 (Nickey) or myself (xfallenangel13x) associated with it in any way. We do, however, own the plot of this story, and will not tolerate any form of copying and/or plagiarism.

Please respect the hard work the two of us have put into this and all of our other stories (which can be found in their respected accounts), and do not steal/copy/claim this story as your own, nor post it/use it anywhere without either PaRaDiCe93's or my own direct permission.

Also, though we respect/appreciate constructive criticism, we will mot tolerate any flaming and/or spamming within the reviews of this story.

Thank you, and happy reading.

~ Fallen and PaRaDiCe93

~ Chapter I ~

It Begins

It was a bright, blissful, sunshine-filled day in Domino City, Japan. Birds soared through the air, the skies were dappled with minimal, white cloud-coverage, and a warm, carefree air hung around the entirety of the small metropolis.

Behind a tall, wooden fence, in the yard of a small yellow house, were three young boys. One, with a mane of wildly-spiked, platinum-blonde hair and lavender eyes, ran in front of his two younger brothers. Behind him was the middle brother, Bakura. He had long, crazy white hair that reached down past his shoulders, and mischievous, russet-brown eyes. The youngest of the three had recently turned six. He was currently 'it', in their game of tag. He had wild, gravity-defying, tri-colored hair; ebony black with crimson tips, and blonde bangs framing his face, with a few streaks going back into the black part. Bright, purple eyes shone with happiness as he chased his brothers around the green back lawn, three sets of laughter bubbling into the air.

The boys' adopted mother, named Roshannai, walked out on the porch and smiled at her three boys. The children paused in their game of tag to run over and greet their mother. They loved their mom - she was always so kind to them (as a mother should be), and was always smiling. She loved her boys in return, so very much. They were her whole world. She picked up the youngest, as the shorter boy came running over to her, swinging him in the air as she did so. Yami giggled as his mother twirled him in the air, before holding him to her side and poking the tip of his nose.

The four of them walked back into the house, all giggles and gleeful faces. Roshannai put Yami down as she began fixing the boys some lunch. Yami followed her around the kitchen as she walked back and forth, gathering things for their meal. Marik - the eldest brother - and Bakura sat at the table and waited for their lunch. Roshannai put the boys' plates on the table, and sat Yami up in his seat before sitting down herself. They held hands and said Grace before they dug in.

When they were finished, Roshannai helped Yami down from his chair, and the three boys went to play in the other room while she cleaned up the mess from lunch. Yami sat on the floor, idly pushing around a toy car, while his brothers crashed their own cars together. There was an absent smile on his face. Marik ended up getting his finger smashed between the two cars as he and Bakura rammed them together, causing the older to smack his younger brother playfully on the arm with a pout. The boys continued playing with their toys, Marik and Bakura running off to retrieve more cars, to do a 'carpet jam', as they called it. Yami thought that was weird - they had said the same thing when they got into the jelly and threw it on the floor. Of course, Yami got the blame for that one. Every. Single. Time. They did it.

But, he knew that, even though they picked on him a lot, the elder two would be lost without him. And that was a mutual feeling.

A knock at the door alerted everyone in the house to visitors. Roshannai dried her hands off on her apron as she walked out of the kitchen to answer it. Yami, Marik and Bakura stood up from their toys as their mother answered the door, eyes wide and curious as they tracked her progress to the front of the house. Who had come to visit their happy little home?

The door opened, revealing several men dressed in dark suits, and concealing shades over their eyes. They fidgeted, not getting good feelings from these strangers, nor from their adoptive mother as she stiffened in her posture significantly. "We're here for the children," they heard one of the men say.

"You can't have them. You're going to hurt them, and I won't allow it," Roshannai told the man. voice surprisingly calm and fluid in tone, as the smaller woman bravely stood her ground. There was no way in the Shadow Realm she'd let these despicable men hurt her babies!

Marik and Bakura exchanged nervous glances, backing up a few paces, while Yami just stood there and watched, his curiosity peaking. What children? Them? Why did these weird people want them? Where would they be going?

"We're taking the children. With, or without your cooperation," the man clarified coldly.

Roshannai kept her head turned towards the man at the door. Her voice was soft and nurturing when she spoke, but rang with authority. "Marik, take your brothers and run. Don't look back, and stay away from strangers," she ordered briskly, eyes narrowing at the people before her.

Marik's eyes widened, but he wasn't about to question his mother. He grabbed Bakura's hand and ran towards the kitchen. It wasn't until he was in the kitchen, that he noticed Yami hadn't followed them. Marik went racing back towards the living room, waving his arm at Yami to get his attention and make him run.

But Yami was frozen in place, staring at this man that was trying to get past his mother. He saw the man pull something out of his overcoat, and point it at his mother. "Either move, or I'll move you myself!" the man growled darkly.

"Yami, run!" his mother cried suddenly. A bang sounded, causing Yami to jump. The child watched with wide, horrified eyes as his mother fell to the floor. Blood was quick to spread over the carpet where her head struck. Chills ran down the six-year-old's spine as the woman stare at his with wide, frightened, hopeless hazel eyes. Wide, yet unseeing.

Lifeless.

Mama...

He felt something boil within him. Tears began to form in his dimming, heliotrope gaze.

The men at the door began approaching Yami "C'mere, little boy," one of them cooed, attempting to coax him within an arm's distance.

"STOP!" another man behind him commanded.

The strangers headed towards Yami stopped, and turned towards the one that had just yelled. "Master Pegasus?" one of them questioned uncertainly, sounding perplexed.

"Do not approach that boy," the man, now identified as Pegasus, said, his eyes staring at Yami, cautious and somewhat alarmed.

When the men looked back towards Yami, he had lowered his head, and his eyes were now hidden by his jagged, blonde bangs. "You hurt my Mama..." he whimpered, shoulders shaking softly. The two men backed away as a black, ghostly cloud became evident, swirling around the boy. "You hurt her...!" Yami closed his eyes as he lifted his head. Moisture now tracked down his cheeks, as he slowly opened his eyes. Everyone, including Yami's brothers, gasped when they caught sight of them.

No longer purple, but a violent red.

Slowly, the crimson eyes began to glow, the whole iris turning into a burning, bloody red. Yami's small hands suddenly tensed, before sprouting into ebony claws. He began to grow scales along his tan flesh, as his whole body changed shape. His nose and mouth grew longer, almost like a dog's muzzle, as his nose changed to nostrils at the end of a long snout. Spikes appeared around the head of the slowly-changing child, scaled wings sprouting from his back, adorned with spikes. He groaned, and fell forward onto all fours. A long, serrated tail curved out from his backside, with spikes down the center and on the tip of the new appendage. Across the creature's chest was a bizarre pattern breaking to solid black of titanium scales, golden and shining in the design of what appeared to be a set of scales, with a strange eye staring out from its center.

"He's Merged with his Ka!" someone shouted in panic, as the new-formed dragon let out a loud roar, launching itself towards the men in the doorway.

The men ducked as the dragon flew over top of them with shouts of shock and bewilderment. It landed on a railing that surrounded the porch, and bellowed once again in anger. A black cloud appeared from the dragon's back as it snarled, and went barreling through the air, destroying anything and everything in its line of sight.

"Get that dragon!" Pegasus commanded, sending one man to capture the two other children, who were frozen in terror within the living room. The corpse of the children's young mother was ignored, as he stepped over it, and took pursuit with his team.

The men launched at the dragon, but were too slow, as the young creature flew up to the roof of the house. It roared once again, and sent balls of vibrant fire in all different directions, the unintentional targets exploding on impact. It reared up as one of the suited men raised a gun to it, and leapt down towards him, talons slashing into his chest. Grief, anger, and a thirst for vengeance was bright within the winged reptile's fiery gaze, as it launched itself up into the air, and took flight.

People were running and screaming from the tantrum the young dragon was throwing. They ran for cover from the fireballs, attempted to escape what they had named the 'Black Ring of Death', when the dragon roared. Its voice was filled with such power, that when released to the skies, an ebony ring of sure energy shot away from it in the form of a shock-wave. When hit with the Ring, the body was drained of its life-force, instantly turning into a skeletal form, and fell to the ground. The buildings rumbled and shook, before crashing to the ground in nothing more than heaps of rubble.

It was dark - not that welcoming dark that you could get lost in, like when falling asleep. It was the scary kind of dark, one that you could feel another presence in; you knew it was there, but you didn't know where. Yami was scared - he didn't know where he was. He had shut his eyes tightly once he started feeling that... sinking feeling in his chest. All he knew, was that he had been swallowed up by the darkness. There was no light, only black nothing.

He heard a growl off in the distance, and finally willed his eyes to open. He blinked a few times, not sure what was going on. It was so dark, so scary, and he didn't understand what was going on. All he knew was that his mother was gone, and he was terrified. A tear ran down Yami's cheek and he collapsed down to a floor he hadn't known was there. It looked like water, as the floor rippled from the impact of his teardrop.

Yami heard a rumble, and turned towards the sound. A dragon, just a bit bigger than he was, came flying down towards him. He flinched, but calmed slightly as the reptile lighted down by his side, and wrapped itself around him, laying its head on his lap. Yami reached out a hand to pet the dragon, loving the feel of the its scales. He hugged the dragon's head tightly as he continued to cry.

Do not cry, little one, a voice suddenly whispered.

Yami started, looking up with wide eyes. "Wh-Who said that?" he muttered, turning his head from side to side, but wasn't able to see anyone else. His attention turned back towards the dragon, whose head was still resting on his legs. "W-Was that you?"

Indeed it was, child. My name is Oscuridad.

"Hello, Oscuridad... I'm Yami."

The dragon let a chuckle ripple from its thick throat. I am aware of who you are, Yami. I am your Ka.

"My... Ka?" the child echoed vaguely, tilting his head to one side in curiosity.

You will understand when you are older little one, the 'Ka' answered patiently, a strange, reptilian smile spreading across its slender muzzle.

"Aw..." was the muttered answer. Yami hated it when people said that! "Well... where are we, Oscuridad?"

We are in your heart, Yami.

"My heart?"

Yes. Your heart. Everything will make sense ,in time. Go to sleep ,little one - you'll need your rest when you have awakened.

"Oscuridad?"

Yes, Yami?

"Why is my heart so dark?"

As I said before: everything will reveal itself in time. Now rest.

Yami yawned, suddenly feeling very tired "Okay, Oscuridad... Goodnight." Yami laid his head on Oscuridad's front claw, breathing quickly falling into a rhythmic pace.

A smile crossed the young dragon's face. Goodnight, Yami. Oscuridad wrapped himself around Yami to keep him warm as he slept.

Outside, Yami's dragon had taken complete control of his body. The young hellion was in the midst of a rampage, drawing its energy from the reserves of his master's pain, confusion, and anger. He had blown up buildings, set fire to everything in sight, attacked dozens of people, and caused his brothers to be captured. The winged beast was very angry.

Someone he and his master loved had been taken from them.

Roshannai.

Another, booming shock-wave shot from his jaws as he gave a keening bay. He began to feel weak, and tired. Oscuridad landed clumsily on a pile of concrete and rubble, letting out one final roar, before he collapsed.

The men from the house - who had been tracking the boy-turned-dragon since the beginning of his rampage - ran over to the pile of rubble they had seen the beast land on. In place of the black-scaled terror, was the boy from earlier. Small, innocent-looking, and vulnerable. Yet, responsible for the destruction of a city, and possibly hundreds of casualties. His clothes were ripped and tattered, and he looked a little beat up, but other than that, he seemed to be fine. "Get the collar on him, now!" Pegasus ordered curtly, looking frazzled and wary.

"Yes, sir!" one of the men said, as he ran over, and snapped a metallic collar around the sleeping boy's neck. There was the noise of a machine coming to life, giving a soft buzzing noise for a moment, before falling silent. Small, pinpoint spikes sank into the child's flesh, setting up a connection with his mind. The collar had a lifeless light at its front over the boy's throat. Pushing a small button with a pin, the collar's light turned on in a bright red hue, meaning it was activated, and held the child's monster within him.

The men picked the boy up, and put him in the back of a van with his siblings. Marik and Bakura panicked when they saw their unconscious brother on the floor of the van.

"Y-Yami?" Marik asked from across the van. He didn't get any closer, due to the fact that, just minutes ago, he witnessed his brother transform into a monster.

"I-Is... Is he dead?" Bakura asked, afraid of the answer. A red light illuminated from the other two boys' necks, as well, showing that they, too, had a collar on. The men weren't taking any chances of another outbreak like that.

"I-I don't th-think so," Marik stammered as he moved closer to his youngest brother. Slowly, Marik reached out to touch Yami. His hand landed gently on the side of Yami's face, the touch fleeting and hesitant. "He's still breathing," the blonde whispered with relief.

Bakura scooted over by his older sibling, looking down at their unconscious party member. "What do you think that was earlier, Marik?"

"I dunno. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Those strangers... said he destroyed a lot of Domino, and... k-killed a lot of people..."

"What's gonna happen to us Marik?"

"I dunno" Marik whispered. He looked over at his younger brother and wrapped an arm around him after seeing how scared he was. "It's okay. I'm going to protect you guys."

"Wh-What if Yami turns into that dragon again?"

Marik looked at his youngest brother, a glint of fear in his eyes. "He won't hurt us 'Kura. Yami loves us. If he were going to hurt us, he would've done it by now."

"I hope you're right, Marik..." Bakura whispered, leaning his head over on his older brother's shoulder.

Me too 'Kura. Me too... the usually-energetic blonde thought silently. They rode on in silence, not sure of where they were going, but happy that they had each other.

Whatever awaited them, the three of them would face it together.

Nickey: Well that took forever :D lol this is where Fallen takes over ;) Enjoy writing next chapter and reviewing over this chapter Fallen! :) *waves* Until next time everyone! Goodbye! :)

Fallen: Thanks, Nickey! It's gonna be fun! I think I'll make it in third person, just so it fits Yami's first chapter. Then, we can give into the first-person goodness I promised in my Teaser I posted! XD

Until next time, guys! I'll try to get that chapter written up soon, but you all know how I can be... *hides*

Don't forget to review, and tell us what you think! ^^