WELCOME BACK! It feels weird to have gone so long without an update, but here we are. If you're just joining us on this adventure, welcome aboard!

This is the prequel to my first story Shadow Mages Don't Mix With Wizards. My goal is to make this story so that you don't have to read that before this. Fair warning, I am nowhere near as prepared for this story as I was for my last one, though I do have an idea where this is going. Hopefully it'll flow right.

But for now, enjoy the first chapter!

Yugi sat up in bed, yawning and stretching, glad to be home once more. It had been a couple of weeks, even if most of his memories of it came from Yami. He had no memories from the time his soul was taken by the Orichalcos to the time when it was returned. He barely remembered the Orichalcos duel itself, though he certainly remembered begging Yami to not play the card and then pushing him out of the way when he lost. Yami kept apologizing profusely for his actions during the whole debacle, but Yugi held no grudge and patiently reminded the spirit of that every time guilt threatened to overtake him.

And then there was that tournament that Kaiba basically blackmailed them into competing in. Even a well screened tournament such as that had managed to attract more danger than Yugi cared for. At least it was all over now.

'Sleep well?'

Yugi smile at the corporeal spirit that had appeared at the foot of his bed as he slipped the Puzzle over his head, 'I did. How about you?'

'Very well, thank you.'

'It's so good to be home,' Yugi said cheerfully, staring at the grey sky outside that promised rain. Even the weather couldn't dampen his spirit right now, 'Wasn't sure how'd we make it if it wasn't for Kaiba.'

Yami scoffed, 'He only brought us home for his own benefit.'

'Still, we should be grateful he actually followed through. We could still be stuck in America right now.'

Yami huffed, not wanting to be thankful to Kaiba for anything. Yugi shook his head good naturedly at the spirit's stubbornness towards their long time rival and got dressed for the day. Hopefully it would be a day to relax and hang out with his friends. They already planned to get together this afternoon.

'We could have gotten Pegasus to bring us home if we had tried,' Yami said.

'Do you trust Pegasus or Kaiba more?' Yugi asked, causing Yami to sulk. Kaiba had proven himself a more worthy duelist many times over and would be the one to trust if given the choice, but Yami still didn't like putting up with the billionaire if he didn't have to.

"Yugi!" his grandpa called from downstairs, "There is a phone call for you!"

"Be right there!" he called back. "Who would be calling this early?" Yugi wondered to Yami as he walked towards the door.

'It's not so early,' Yami chuckled, pointing at the clock on Yugi's nightstand which read 8:30, 'You slept in by your standards.'

"Oh," Yugi turned back to look at the clock, not having checked when he woke up. The question still remained though.

'Maybe it's Ishizu with more information about the tablet,' Yami mused, picking up Yugi's wonderings.

It was plausible. The Egyptian exhibit at the museum had run its course and the Ishtars had moved the relics back to Egypt that meant that now they either had to go to Egypt to retrieve Yami's memories, or Ishizu would have to find a way to bring the tablet back to Domino City. However, they weren't expecting to actually hear anything for a week or so.

Not wanting to keep whoever it was waiting any longer, Yugi started back towards the stairs.

'Yugi, look,' Yami's suddenly tense voice stopped him.

Yugi turned to see light shining from the bag where he kept the Millennium Items and felt dread settle in his stomach. An Item reacting suddenly like this did not bode well. Digging through it, he found the source of the light: the Millennium Necklace. As his hand closed around it, the room around him faded, replaced by darkness and seven shadowy figures, each clearly wielding a Millennium Item which glowed brightly.

Another figure, without an Item snuck up behind them, ready to strike. However, before it could, the figure with the Rod spun around and threw the first into the jaws of a monster that emerged from the Shadows. Surprisingly, rather than a sense of wrong or evil, there was a sense of justice.

The darkness faded to reveal a thriving city. Yugi and Yami watched in amazement as the city was built up and torn down time after time. All the while, the seven figures stood still, seemingly unaffected by the years passing by.

Finally, the Puzzle shone brighter than either of them thought possible, blinding them temporarily. When the light died down and they were able to open their eyes, they found the vision had faded and they were back in Yugi's room.

"What was that about?" Yugi asked breathlessly, staring the Item sitting innocently in his hand. Yami was just as speechless as he too stared at the Necklace. Was it a vision of the past, or the future? What did it mean?

"Yugi!" Solomon called again, jolting him and Yami out of their daze.

"Coming!" Yugi called back distractedly, heading for the door again, still staring the Necklace. He padded downstairs to the kitchen where the phone was waiting for him. His grandpa must have left it to attend the shop. Yugi grimaced at his own lack of courtesy, comforted slightly at Yami's silent reassurances.

He picked up the phone as he slipped the Necklace in his pocket. "Hello?"

"Hey, Yug!" the person on the other end greeted enthusiastically, "Did I wake you? You're usually up by now."

"Hey, Joey," Yugi smiled, easily recognizing the voice and mannerisms of his best friend, "I was up, I just…" he hesitated, debating on whether or not to tell Joey that the Necklace had given him a vision. "I got distracted for a minute," he settled on, hoping Joey wouldn't question it too much. "What's up?"

"I'd be distracted all the time if I had a spirit living in my head too," Joey laughed, "I don't know how you do it."

Yugi chuckled, glad that his friends were taking Yami's confirmed existence so well. Of course, they knew about the Pharaoh from everything that happened in Battle City, but it wasn't until recently that it really hit them that Yugi and Yami were separate people.

"It's not so bad," Yugi replied with a bit of teasing towards Yami, "But you didn't answer my question."

"Right," Joey said, suddenly getting more serious, "You have all of the Millennium Items, right?"

"Last I checked," Yugi answered with a worried glance at Yami who shared his concern, "With the exception of the two Shadi has. What happened?"

"It might have just been my imagination," Joey started, "But I ran into Bakura, not the evil spirit guy, when I was getting snacks for us today. I could have sworn I saw the Ring around his neck again."

With a nod of permission, Yami took control of Yugi's body, "From what I understand about the Ring, is that it chooses its master and goes to them whenever it wants. That's how it kept finding its way back to Bakura and allowing the spirit to take over. But as far as I know, the spirit inside was destroyed by Malik's dark side during Battle City."

"You think the Ring just got bored?" Joey asked incredulously. If only he applied those critical thinking skills to his school work.

"Perhaps," Yami allowed, "We will double check what we have and talk with Bakura if necessary."

"Do you think the evil spirit could come back?" Joey asked concerned.

"...I suppose it's possible," Yami hedged, "We've certainly seen stranger things, but I think it's unlikely. You shouldn't need to worry about this anymore. We will take care of it."

"What kinda friend would I be if I let you tackle something potentially dangerous like this on your own?" Joey asked in his usual jovial manner.

"A smart one," Yami joked back, though there was underlying honesty in his voice.

"I'd rather be stupid," Joey retorted. Both Yugi and Yami knew he meant that with ever fiber of his being. "Don't tell Tristen I said that. He'll mock me for weeks."

Yami chuckled, "Sure. Stay dry and we'll see you this afternoon."

"Oi, Yugi! What's this I hear about Bakura maybe having the Ring back?"

Tristen's first words as he entered the Muto residence were not ones Yugi had expected to hear. Yami scowled in his spectral form at Joey who came in right behind him looking sheepish.

"The Ring is upstairs in my bag," Yugi assured them, ignoring Yami's irritation, "Joey probably just saw Bakura wearing a necklace or something."

"Well that's a relief," Tea sighed, "For a moment, I thought we weren't going to get a break from the crazy."

"I'm personally hoping the crazy never shows its face around here again," Joey declared, holding up the bags he brought, "By the way, here's the food."

"You didn't have to, Joey," Yugi said.

"Yes he did," Tristen jumped on the blond, "He can't go five minutes outside a duel without eating."

Joey turned to grab at Tristen for that but missed. The two boys ended up on the ground wrestling it out, all while throwing insults at each other.

"Boys!" Tea tried to break them up, though she was beyond used to it by now.

"Let them work it out of their system," Yugi chuckled at their antics, though he was careful to keep his distance lest he be pulled into it. "Maybe they'll behave the rest of the day."

"Oi!" Joey's voice protested from somewhere in the pile of arms and legs.

The two boys managed to get themselves untangled and they all made themselves comfortable in the living room. For hours they just sat and talked about anything and everything unrelated to the trials they had just gone through. Yugi revelled in the normality of it all. It was nice when they could pretend they were just normal teenagers who didn't just get done with saving the world...again.

The sky finally decided to dump rain over the city, so they stayed in the living room watching whatever they could find on television.

"That looks amazing!" Joey exclaimed as the trailer for the newest alien movie played.

"It looks predictable and unnecessarily violent," Tea argued, arms crossed in disgust.

Tristen waved her off, "It's a guy thing. Right, Yug?"

"I don't know," Yugi said hesitantly, "It seems like this theme has just been run into the ground lately. Aliens come, nearly destroy the world, the world is saved at the last minute through some highly improbable means. It's becoming redundant."

"So it's a tie," Joey groaned before getting a mischievous look in his eye as he glanced at Yugi.

Yugi pretended not to notice, wary of whatever Joey might be planning. "It's not something that can be decided in a vote," he argued, "It's simply a matter of opinion."

"Sure it can," Tristen said, sharing Joey's look, "We need to know who's right here."

"And we know who can break the tie." The two boys pounced.

"Eep!" Yugi squeaked as he was tackled, knocking over the chair he sat in.

"Let us talk to the Pharaoh," Tristen grinned as they pinned the small boy down, "We want his opinion."

'Well?' Yugi asked silently.

'Might as well,' Yami sighed good naturedly, 'At the very least I can get them off of you.'

Yami quickly took over, "You can just ask you know," he said with a raised eyebrow. Joey and Tristen recoiled in shock, though Joey less so and managed to keep him pinned. What did they think was going to happen? "You don't have to tackle my hikari any time you need to speak with me. In fact, I prefer if you don't."

"Who?"

'They don't know about that yet,' Yugi reminded Yami from his soul room.

'Should we tell them?' Yami asked uncertainly. Bakura's and Malik's dark sides did not paint his existence in a good light. Would his friends be able to look past that? Or would that suddenly explain to them the 'real reason' Yami played the Seal back then?

'Only if you want,' Yugi assured, trying to ease the anxiety threatening to break through the Pharaoh's composure.

'I'm not sure I want to see their reactions,' Yami admitted, 'Not after what happened in California.'

'They won't hold that against you,' Yugi said, 'They've seen too many of your actions to know you are not like Bakura's or Malik's yamis.'

The phone ringing brought Yami back to the present. 'Twice today?' Yugi asked bemused. Joey let Yami up so he could answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Pharaoh?" the voice on the other end recognizable in a heartbeat.

"Ishizu," Yami greeted back, "Is something wrong? Yugi and I weren't expecting to hear from you for a week or so."

Joey, Tristen, and Tea had their undivided attention on the conversation from the moment Yami identified the caller. They were just as eager to help Yami get his memories back as Yugi was and Ishizu held the tablet to do that. Tea more than any of them as she had been there when Yami found the first clue about his past.

"Are you alone?" she ignored the question, "What I have to tell you needs to remain secret."

Yami glanced at his friends, sensing Yugi's hesitance to keep anything from them. 'Let's hear it first,' Yugi suggested, 'We can tell them later if we need to.'

"Hold on," Yami told her, walking into the kitchen and closing the door behind him. He ignored the concerned looks the others were giving each other at his behavior.

'Should I go to my soul room?' Yugi asked.

"It's just Yugi with me now," Yami told Ishizu.

"Good. This concerns him as well. It actually concerns everyone with a link to Egypt or an Item," she rambled.

"Ishizu, what's going on?" Yami asked concerned, Ishizu never rambled. Whatever her news was, it had to be big.

He heard her take a deep breath before saying, "Malik and I were doing some research and discovered a hidden chamber, forgotten by the line of tomb keepers. Inside, we came across a scroll, many scrolls in fact, that talked about Shadow Mages."

The vision ran through Yugi and Yami's minds. "Shadow Mages? People who…"

"Use the powers of the Shadow Realm?" Ishizu finished for him, "Yes, they are."

Yugi heaved a sigh, 'Great. More people bent on world domination. Can't we ever catch a break?'

"Who are they and how do we stop them?" Yami asked, resigned to saving the world once more.

"...That's what we need to talk about…"

And we're off on a new adventure! I know there's not a whole lot of build up to the introduction of the Shadow Mages, but they're kinda the whole point of this fic and we have a lot to get through.

Updates may take a bit longer for this story than my last one, but I'm going to try to keep my every-other-week schedule. No promises.

Thanks for reading and please review!