Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...wish I did, then I could appropriately use the phrase "Screw the rules I have money" (LittleKuriboh, The Abridged Series). Anyway; enjoy the story!

Full Summery: My first multichapter fic exploring a different scenario of the final Yu-Gi-Oh arc in which Atem defeats Yugi in their final duel with eachother forcing his spirit to remain linked with Yugi's and solidifying the prospect of Atem being bound to the Millennium Puzzle for another five thousand years.

One year after that fateful duel, things get interesting again when the barrier between our world and the Shadow Realm is shattered, allowing both good and evil spirits to pass through. This meshing of worlds also sees the returning of Zorc who intends to finish what he started five thousands years ago in the modern world.

Atem must unite with friends, old allies, and in a weird and ironic twist of fate, must work together with the greatest enemy of his past: the Thief King, in order to stop the Dark One's destruction of the earth.

AN: Rated T for language, violence, sexual themes, and dark qualities.

Italicized equals thoughts

'Italicized with single quotation marks equals thought speak'

Italicized+Bold equals Dream Sequence

Chapter I

Recurring Nightmares

Trust in the heart of the cards…the heart of the cards… Doesn't he ever shut up! Seto Kaiba was sitting at his desk, head in his hands, reliving his last duel with Yugi Moto. It had been unsuccessful; like the previous one, and the one before that, and the one before… hell, pretty much every single duel he'd had with that kid had ended in bitter failure.

And he blames his undefeated winning streak on "the heart of the cards". Please, these cards are merely pieces of paper, nothing more. Living creatures have hearts. People? Sometimes. But never cards. Although, the fact that he has a severe split personality disorder might contribute to his delusions. He believes he's possessed by the spirit of a five thousand year old pharaoh who—get this—used to play Duel Monsters in Ancient Egypt for God's sake! This "heart of the cards" could just be the rantings of a lunatic. But as much as I'd love to blame it all on a mental issue, he is the King of Games and I'm just another loser with his pride wounded.

Seto rubbed his aching head. He'd been over and over this dilemma a million times and was still no closer to an answer that could restore his title or his pride. He glanced out the window and sighed as he saw the last rays of the sun slipping away; illuminating the grandeur of his estate as they sunk beneath the horizon. Great, another day wasted. Seto looked with distaste at the unfinished paperwork that cluttered his desk. He seriously considered going to bed and leaving it for tomorrow but he quickly pushed the thought aside as he recalled the dream that had been troubling him for the past few weeks.

It wasn't the usual "defeated-again" dream. Those, though unsettling, he could handle. But this was more realistic; it was more like a vision than a dream and a disturbing one at that. It had been getting more vivid and terrible each time. Even worse, it almost seemed to support Yugi's insane theory. He pushed the thoughts away, not wanting to think about it any more than he had to. No, he wouldn't play that game tonight, he'd stay up and finish these documents. Besides, he wasn't that tired…

sssSsss

The hot Egyptian sun beat down on the back of his neck...

Oh no not again…

He saw a tall slender girl with light skin and extremely long ice blue hair running towards him. She called out to him and he felt a shiver run up his spine. He glanced over to where he knew the dark figure would appear but as always, the space remained empty.

The girl had reached him and he felt her hands around his. She began to talk to him in a fast worried voice but he wasn't really listening. He had seen this moment so many times he knew every word, every feeling, everything… and there was nothing he could do to stop or prevent any of it. Now he felt his mouth forming words that he had never intended it to. Damn he hated this. He hated having no control. All he could do was watch as it all happened.

The ground underneath their feet began to shake and he felt himself pull the girl away from the collapsing temple—or whatever it was—behind them. They escaped the tumbling stones only to come face-to-face with a dark figure draped in shadows. The only thing Seto could see clearly was the glittering Millennium Eye—the exact same one Pegasus had owned—embedded into the left side of his twisted face. Seto felt fear and anger that were both his own and yet completely alien as he put his arm protectively around the girl.

The dark figure only laughed; a laugh that made Seto feel cold despite the desert heat. It became clear by the blood thirsty look in his eye that he meant to kill.

Before Seto could react, the girl had pulled free of his grasp and was now standing protectively before him. He saw a strange aura of light surround her, her hair blowing violently by an unfelt wind, and in a blinding flash it was no longer the beautiful girl standing foolishly between him and the dark shadow, but the fierce snarling form of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

The dragon gave a tremendous roar and it shot a powerful blast of white lightning crackling across the hot ground. Seto shielded his eyes from the bright flash as the attack crashed into its destination, an attack that would have demolished even the most powerful of opponents, yet the dark figure remained unharmed. The dragon snarled angrily and proceeded to throw everything it had at the strange shadow until finally her strength was spent. It then began to tremble, and once again it took the form of the girl. Seto reached out a hand to steady her shaking form but she stubbornly shook it off, and firmly stood her ground.

The heavy amount of swirling dust that filled the air, caused by the massive onslaught the Blue Eyes had unleashed, made it impossible to tell if her relentless attacks had had any effect. All they could do… was wait. They both looked on with growing anticipation as the dust began to dissipate. Seto prayed that this time the clearing air would reveal that the evil man had been destroyed, wiped off the face of the earth by the sheer force of The Blue Eyes' attack. But Seto knew he was standing there, evil grin still plastered on his face. This time will be no different.

Even as these thoughts crossed his mind they became a horrible reality. A crackling dark blast of magic struck the girl, knocking her to the ground. And Seto clearly saw the face of their attacker materialize through the haze. One eye of blood-red locked with his own, while the other looked deep into his soul, and he found he couldn't move, trapped in place by the merciless stare.

The thing in front of him began to mutter a spell and Seto felt an uncontrollable fear grip him as he realized now he really was going to die. With a demonic hiss a wicked black dagger flew from the figure's dark hands aiming straight for Seto's chest. He closed his eyes; bracing himself for the attack. But instead of feeling the icy sting of the dagger he felt the brief brush of soft hair on his face and he breathed in the sweet aroma of…

"KISARA, NO!" he shouted as the twisted black object pierced her chest.

The spell broken, he caught her falling body in his arms, unable to accept what had just happened. "Why Kisara, why?"

She only smiled at him weakly and reached up, her smooth hand brushing his face before falling limply to dangle at her side.

"Kisara? Kisara, wake up," he whispered shaking her. "Kisara, please don't leave me." Her face remained motionless as the crimson stain on her chest began to spread. "Kisara… I love you." He felt a tear roll down his cheek, saw it fall onto her beautiful upturned face. She was gone.

"Stupid girl; thinking she could save you by sacrificing herself. But now her power is yours as it should be. Now the throne of Egypt is in your grasp. Take it Seto! Become Pharaoh!"

Seto didn't look up, still staring into the girl's now empty face. His voice shook as he spoke "I-I want nothing to do with you or your empty promises of power. You are nothing more then a play thing to both the Thief King and the Dark One."

The dark shadow let out a disappointed sigh. "It is a pity that you have chosen the wrong path. But if you will not take the power...I shall take it for you! Now two will die today instead of one!"

Seto felt an anger—stronger than anything he'd ever felt before—boil up inside of him. "You're right, two will die today," he said his voice still shaking voice as he lowered Kisara's limp body slowly to the ground. "But the second won't be me, it will be you, Father!" Seto leapt forward pulling a dagger of his own as he charged. Then with all the strength he could muster, he plunged it deep into Aknadin's chest.

The man gasped in pain and fear as death began to clutch at him with her cold bony fingers. Losing his balance, he fell forward onto Seto who was still holding the dagger mercilessly in place..

Seto tried desperately to push the shifting mass of shadows and flesh that had once been his father off. But while the man fell backwards, the shadows that had enveloped him seemed to cling to Seto, seeping into his skin, sinking deep into his very soul. Seto screamed, falling, writhing in pain, to the ground. Then it all went black and he felt completely numb.

Suddenly the dream changed. He was no longer blinded by the shadows. He clearly saw his three Blue Eyes cards, and a fourth, ripped in two.

This was different, he'd never seen this before…

And then he heard Kisara's voice calling out to him: "Seto…Seto…"

"Seto wake up!"

He jerked awake, and stared up at a concerned Mokuba.

"Are you okay Big Brother? I heard you shouting all the way from my room."

Seto shook off the remnants of the dream and looked hurriedly around as he tried to regain his bearings. He realized that he was still in his dimly lit office. Glancing down he saw with annoyance that the paperwork that had been neatly stacked was now strewn about in an unorderly mess on his desk and all over the floor. Plus, it was still unfinished. Seto sighed as he pulled a wrinkled, rather important report off his sticky face. "Yeah I'm fine Mokuba. It was just a dream."

His younger brother looked unconvinced, "You haven't really slept well in weeks and…" he hesitated, "…well you look sick. Maybe you should uh, stop working so hard. Get someone else to do it…or something."

Seto shook his head at his brother, "Really Mokuba, I'm fine. And anyway, you know I'm the only one smart enough to do this stuff. I wouldn't even trust those idiots with cashing a check."

Mokuba smiled at his brother's exaggeration. He knew his brother had every kind of financial expert available to fill out his paperwork, even if he checks every scrap of paper they touch. He just overworks when he's upset.

"Look, you just go back to bed, I'm almost done here anyway."

Mokuba gave him a skeptical look.

"Go on. Really, I'll be done in a few minutes."

Mokuba left reluctantly and Seto began the task of organizing the papers again, thoughts of the dream still running through his head.

sssSsss

AN: Hope you enjoyed. Please R&R. ConCrit welcome.

-Asiera