Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters – Empire

Takes place after the Ceremonial Duel. Ordinary lives in Domino City were torn apart by the arrival of creatures from another world. Among the few survivors; Yugi, Yami, and their friends must fight back against the Duel Monster invasion threat to protect their world.
Rated for language, violence and character death.

Chapter One – Everlasting Peace

Songbirds chirped optimistically in the dawn of a new day, sunlight crawling through the waking city of Domino. Following the slow inching along the empty streets, Yugi Muto strolled on his path to the High School he attended. Despite his international status as the world's Duel Monsters Champion, he insisted that he would continue life as normally as possible; that said, constantly finding himself a target by various threats to the safety of the city hindered such a desire. The one thing about times in turmoil he could rely upon his friends, those that would never abandon him. They were his world, no matter what he faced; never would he even consider sacrificing them, life without them was unthinkable.

Around his neck, the Millennium Puzzle he had held onto for months into years hung at the end of a chain, once the home for the spirit of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Since those times, it had become a hollow shell, the spirit who had adapted to the name of 'Yami' over his true name of Atem had been freed to wander as he desired. "A gift from the Gods" was what the Pharaoh named it, the second chance he had been given to live as a mortal from the beings that he had protected and in turn, been protected by. He didn't attend the school Yugi ventured to each day, he knew nothing of modern knowledge outside of the card game that had brought them closer together and for him to suddenly arrive in the lives of the students, even without Yugi's status as the worldwide champion of Duel Monsters, would only disrupt the story of Yugi's life. Something he wasn't willing to do, he remained for a reason and exposing their secret was not it.

So he would help Yugi's grandfather around the store he owned, business had been improving after Yugi's fame, motivating players to visit the place of his residence, to learn the secrets from his tutor and purchase packets of cards in the hopes of building a deck worthy enough to challenge the champion one day. Yugi's eyes rose from the dull pavement when two shadows laid upon the ground caught his attention, his head rose to meet the sight of his two best friends standing further down the road, awaiting his arrival.

"Yugi!" the girl called, a hand in the air above her head waving eagerly at his arrival.

"Tea," Yugi replied, smiling at the brunette. His neck twisted slightly in order for his eyes to meet the sight of the blonde boy beside her. "Joey".

His legs started once again, forcing his body forward at a quicker pace, jogging down the street to meet with the two that towered over him. Even in his final years of education, he could still be mistaken for a child much younger, all because of his height. The boy with sandy-blonde hair smirked at Yugi in the same moment he caught up with the pair; he pushed his right hand into the pocket of his trouser, his briefcase-style bag pressed between his hip and the arm.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were going to show," he joked.

"You're the one that's usually late," Yugi protested with a smile of his own. "Albeit your attendance is high, but you should work on when you show up".

"Eh," Joey sounded, his free hand meeting with his fringe. "We haven't got long at this place left anyway; there wouldn't be much point in changing now. Maybe before I find myself a real job I'll make those adjustments to my form".

Tea gave a disheartened sigh, while Joey was the stereotype for a delinquent with his past; he had a kind heart and a good head, she wanted for him to do well despite the hindrances within his past. The blonde grinned sleepily, well aware that both students cared about him greatly, their previous battles against dark forces stood as proof enough. Without further discussion over Joey's stance towards the school, the three began their walk together, paying no attention to the students that gradually crossed their paths.

"Joey, I've been meaning to ask for a while now…" Yugi suddenly spoke towards the end of a conversation of a separate nature. "How's Serenity doing? It's been a while; I don't think we've seen her since a brief time after the Pharaoh was set free from the Puzzle".

"She's fine. I should invite her over sometime," Joey mumbled. "Though I'll have to find somewhere of my own first, I've been thinking about moving out of my dad's place for some time. The money for my part-time job may help".

"You still have that paper boy job?" Tea asked, holding back a chortle at the idea of Joey riding about the city, delivering newspapers frantically before residents would venture to a store in order to purchase one by themselves.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joey growled, shooting a dark glare at the girl.

"Nothing. You've had that job for so long, I'm surprised you've kept the teachers from finding out," Tea stated, turning her head away in the chance of the blonde disbelieving her concern.

"I may not be the smartest of students," the blonde protested, balling his empty hand into a fist. "But I'm not stupid like that".

"Could have fooled me," the brunette mumbled underneath her breath.

"What was that?" Joey snapped, glaring over Yugi's head at her.

"Nothing. Nothing," Tea replied, holding her hands up defensively.

"Break it up, you two," Yugi commanded, his eyes darting from one to the other. "You don't want to wear yourselves out before the day even begins".

Joey moaned in protest, turning his eyes from the brunette girl. With his carry case under his arm, he held back the urge to fold his arms over his chest; instead, he focused his mind elsewhere, a chance to change the subject once again. Something that he and Tea couldn't clash over.

"Hey, Yugi," he eventually began.

"What's wrong?" the undersized teen inquired, glancing up at the blonde.

"I was thinking, this weekend…" Joey replied, his eyes hovering above the end of the road; the corner that would lead them towards the building of their education. "Maybe we should go to that tournament Duke's hosting".

"The tournament at the Black Crown Clown?" Yugi mumbled. "Sure. Grandpa let his grudge against Duke die after that Dungeon Dice Monsters incident. I'm glad Duke could rebuild the place. He won't mind me heading over there; I could do with looking for a new challenge".

"Yeah, because I can still whittle down your lifepoints," Joey proclaimed smugly. "I still count as a challenge".

"That may be the case, but you still can't win against him," Tea added with a light giggle.

"Hey!" Joey yelled, showing Tea his fist over Yugi's head threateningly.

Yugi chuckled uneasily; the two clashed over many things, arguments in the mornings was nothing new. The one thing he was relieved about was that Tristan Taylor – a friend of Joey's, even when they would bully Yugi in the weeks before the birth of their friendship – wasn't about to provoke the disagreements further. It wouldn't be long before the trio met with not only him, but the others they called friends. The days that Yugi knew he would miss once everyone graduated and moved off in their own directions.

-KaibaCorp-

Seto Kaiba's fingertips soared from one key to another across the keyboard of the laptop placed atop the large oak desk he sat behind. He had no time to focus on trivial, he was still working hard to improve his company's reputation; they had to soar over the rival companies he faced. The gaming industry was a tough market, there was always something coming up, electronic or otherwise. His latest ambition was incorporate the card game of Duel Monsters into a virtual world, much like he had been aiming for shortly after Duellist Kingdom. An online virtual world where players could meet each other in the fantasy world and battle with Duel Monsters much like their partners instead of simply card forms to unlock holographic projections. Improvements were planned for the Duel Disks he had created, anything to push the device to a new level, to attract more attention and prove how ingenious his creation was. They would learn. They would understand. They would remember.

"Seto?"

The voice had broken his train of thought, derailing the process he had been typing into words before him. His eyes rose to meet the sight of his younger brother standing at the centre of the large doorway, neither a smile nor a frown could be seen in the boy's expression. Kaiba's obsession with his company was as it had been since the days he had been starting it up as a gaming company. It was something the prepubescent brother had become used to, but that never eliminated his concern for his elder sibling, he was going to run himself into the ground eventually. The thought of it alone sent a chill to the boy's core.

"What is it?" Kaiba inquired, keeping his tone within the radius of monotonous ambiences. He rested his chin on the edge of his wrist, the hand hanging in a limp fashion beneath the bridge.

"I'm heading off now," the boy stated timidly. Every time he met with his brother in the office, he was working intensely on something, it made him worry about interrupting, hoping he was never going to break an important plan working within Kaiba's mind.

"Alright then," Kaiba replied. "Be careful".

Mokuba's eyes dropped to the floor, while he had been given such words; there was no emotion behind them. It was like his brother didn't mean them – they were hollow statements lacking the compassion of having each other around. It hurt that he wasn't spoken to in the way he had once. He missed the days before everything became complicated, before he found himself standing between his brother and his stepfather. Kaiba noted the fall of his brother's eyes mentally, fiddling with a pencil lying uselessly beside his laptop; he hesitated before opening his mouth again.

"Hey…" he sounded, catching the younger's attention. "How about tonight…we do something together, something you want to do?"

"Really?" Mokuba called. His eyes lit up and his hands rose as enthusiastic knuckles.

The elder Kaiba nodded his head leisurely, enough to convince Mokuba that he was, indeed, promising something he would stick to – he was a man of his word, after all. The edges of Mokuba's mouth rose sharply into a wide smile, beaming in a way that he would never expect so early in the day.

"Alright, but you're not going to get out of it, no matter what I choose!" the boy called, pointing his finger at his brother.

"I'll promise you right here then," Kaiba replied, the corners of his mouth curving slightly into a modest smile.

Mokuba nodded vigorously before rushing down the corridor, calling his farewell for the day once again to his brother who remained at his desk, ready to continue filling his office with the tapping of keys filling the room incessantly. He had raised his brother's hopes; he was determined not to let him down. Not this time. His fingertips met the keys laid out before him once again, tapping the necessary sets in order to continue materializing his plans before his eyes.

-Domino High School-

Yugi and Joey chatted leisurely at their desks; Tea leant against the desk beside Yugi's. There was yet to be any sign of their companions, Tea's eyes darted between the doorways into the room, her mind beginning to veer the possibility that they would remain absent from the building throughout the day, she sighed. It wasn't like so many of their group to be missing for so long. She turned back to Joey and Yugi who continued to discuss the tournament planned to happen close to Yugi's home, the same competition Joey had brought up at the time Yugi had united with them.

Ever since the Ceremonial Duel that was said to end their battles with darkness, Tea had been trying to decide between with of the two 'Yugis' she really felt for beyond friendship. She had never been sure after seeing both willing to lay their lives on the line for those that truly mattered to them, a noble aspect of them both that she admired. Since the time she had been saved from the convict holding her at gunpoint during her time working at Burger World by the then-unknown spirit, she had felt affection for her mystery saviour, certain Yugi hadn't been the one to step up and rescue her. Since that time, beyond the time when she had learned the truth about the other half of Yugi hiding in the shadows, she had divided her feelings for them both, unsure whether she could choose or not. By the end of the Ceremonial Duel, she believed she had chosen the Pharaoh from another time, another world; once he had moved on, she was certain she had moved to the real Muto. She was rocked with the return of the other-worldly presence of the Pharaoh, her decision thrown into turmoil.

She was determined to stick by her choice; she had to remain loyal to the Yugi she knew. No matter what heart was trying to persuade her to do, she had to be loyal. For once.

Yugi's raised voice brought her back from her reminiscence of her heart's indecision, Yugi's hand waving in the air over his head provoked her to gaze over her shoulder, seeing both Tristan and the white-haired transfer student, Ryou Bakura, entering the room together, both seeming to have been talking about a subject they both enjoyed, smiles upon their faces. Tea smoothed her face from the expression that she had been snapped from her dazed expression, sinking into her own world, modelling it into a warm smile.

"Good morning, you two," she spoke.

"Hello, Tea," Ryou replied, bowing graciously. Tristan only raised a hand to accompany his greeting, turning to the blonde beyond her. Tea shook her head; it was only to be expected from the guy.

She listened to the pair greeting each other, gripping the other's hand tightly, turning her mind back to the days when they would fight for pleasure in their years of middle school, Joey more notably with his former gang. Ryou's hand on her shoulder snapped Tea out of her thoughts prematurely, her head snapping around to meet his gentle face.

"Tea, would you mind if we stepped outside?" he inquired. "I'd like to speak with you outside".

Tea simply nodded without words; keeping her back to the boys behind her; she proceeded away before Ryou could even begin to follow, catching Yugi's attention who watched her, unsure how he was supposed to react to her strolling away without saying anything, without looking back. Did she merely have to relieve herself?

"Tea? You feeling okay?" he voiced, grabbing both Joey and Tristan's attention and turning their heads to the girl.

"I'm just going to talk with Ryou outside," she replied, still avoiding the urge to gaze over her shoulder at them, causing Yugi to raise an eyebrow.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but her behaviour was off. For reasons he couldn't be sure of, maybe she was simply starting her period. He shook his head, throwing the thoughts of the girl's private matters from his focus; he would have to trust the brunette as he always had. He turned his head back to the two laughing in front of him, his eyes fixated on Tea as she vanished in the body of students that had gathered in the room, Ryou following her, their shadows slipping from the room and beyond Yugi's sight. He smiled slightly, even if something was wrong with Tea, at least she was turning to someone. Even if she couldn't turn to him, bearing the brunt of the problem alone was never something he wanted for her. He cared for her.

Ryou hurried to Tea's side in the crowded corridor, the ambience about her was one much unlike her, like she was worrying. She was the one that encouraged her friends, had it come to the point where she was the one needing comfort and encouragement? Ryou shook his head briefly, dislocating the thoughts, he couldn't jump to conclusions; it only led to trouble. This he knew first hand, all because of one object. Silence hung between the pair until they stepped out of the doors, standing in the open grounds where many students had gathered with their friends before a day of classes would separate them and influence silence until the times they could meet between classes. Ryou guided Tea to the other side of the steps, gripping her arm firmly; when he didn't release her, she gazed up at him, noting the concern that flashed in his eyes.

"Ryou?" she asked, oblivious of the aura she was giving off. "Is something the matter?"

"That's why I brought you out here. I was going to ask you that exact question," Ryou muttered. "I get the feeling something's bothering you, I also have the impression Yugi caught onto it as well".

"I- It's nothing," Tea protested, her cheeks flushing a pale crimson. "I was just thinking back about some things. Honestly, there's nothing wrong. I was just thinking about how thrilling those times were, even with the constant danger we found ourselves in. Makes a normal life desirable. And at the same time, pretty boring. But I'm glad we could live onto these times".

Ryou smiled at Tea's words; if she was putting on an act, she was a very convincing actress. His eyes locked with hers, a security measure to avoid being played by her response, he found nothing to doubt; her eyes were honest, as were her words. His smile widened slightly, relieved to hear that nothing was truly troubling her, too embarrassed to ask if something had happened on a personal matter. His face flushed a deeper shade of red than Tea's cheeks which had returned to normal, passing the blush over to him.

At the moment when silence had intervened once again, another group of students had entered the grounds. Amongst them, a girl with lilac hair hanging to her waist. Her eyes caught the sight of Tea and Ryou together, quickening her pact across the grounds, raising a hand in order to signal that she had arrived and recognized them amongst the gathering students.

"Tea, Ryou!" she called, her voice faintly reaching their ears. Their heads turned simultaneously, smiles forced into their expressions at the sight of her.

"Destiny," Tea stated contently.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here quicker," the girl replied, her chest rising and falling at a faster pace than usual, her cheeks flushed from her rush to the school in order to avoid tardiness. "I was sorting out some matters before I left and lost track of time whilst doing so. I didn't want you to think I wasn't coming. But I didn't want to spend more time delaying myself simply calling you to tell you that. It would just be making my time worse and I didn't want you guys to worry if I couldn't make it on time".

"Calm down, Destiny. It's fine," Tea chuckled.

The shadow of a cloud passing between the sun overhead and the position the trio stood in hovered over them, the brunette girl turned back to the only male in her company.

"Ryou, I don't want Yugi to worry. We've got enough happening at the moment. I mean, aren't exams coming soon?" she added, continuing the conversation in which Destiny had no place.

She craned her neck back, her eyes soaring far beyond the roof of the school and to the sea of blue covering the earth's side of the atmosphere. Ryou's words became muffled, unimportant sounds when her eyes met the sight of blood red hanging directly over her. Her eyes widened in shock, seeing a mass of crimson hanging in the sky, black trails running through the bizarre area in the endless firmament hanging over the city beyond.

"Tea… Ryou…" she sounded, colour draining from her skin at the sheer sight of the unnatural phenomenon.

A moment without a response passed before the words of their acknowledging her voice reached her ears; whether it had been the first time they had tried or not was something beyond her knowledge. Whether they had gazed up at the void over them or not was something she wasn't aware of. Going by the assumption they hadn't, she pointed up to the void. Out of her sight, they gazed up; staring in disbelief, mouths hanging open at the sight above them. Destiny was the first to remember she could utter words, opening her mouth without her eyes parting from the space.

"It looks like a tear," she sounded. "In the sky? What the hell could have caused that?"

Next time

The void above the city begins to gather attention. While the students attempt to resume their usual timetables, the rest of the city watches in awe, desperate to know what the tear means. The truth they seek is one that is best remained shrouded in mystery. Chapter Two – "Shrouded in Mute".

The fic is being rewritten partly due to not having beyond what was uploaded and partly because the original version was trash, four years does wonders in improving. The plot will change and the flow has altered, so old reviews may not match the situation, but this seemed to have been liked by enough people to keep it up. The two OCs still exist, as made clear in the form of Destiny, didn't have the heart to take them out, this is the only fic that exists with them in that I've decided to work on recently. The scene changes from The Neo-Domino Purge have been adapted as they work pretty well for me. Thank you for reading, please review.

- CuteYami, 7th April 2009