It's my Yu-gi-oh fanfic! Woo hoo! I'll try to make it as little Mary Sue as I can possibly make it. So let's go!
BTW, this fanfic takes place in an alternate dimension that is similar to the original Yu-gi-oh. HOWEVER, they will not lead to Yu-gi-oh GX whatsoever. OK…maybe 5Ds…wait, not even 5Ds! So yeah, this is full-blown Yu-gi-oh, no doubt about that.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!
------
A long time ago, in the sandy deserts of Egypt, a great and terrible evil threatened to engulf the world into shadows. Just when all hope was going to be lost, one young and brave pharaoh sacrificed his freedom to seal this evil away into seven mystical objects called the Millennium Items. All seven pieces have their own unique mystical power, and because of that, many have risked their lives to seek out this power.
Five thousand years later, a young boy by the name of Yugi Motou completed and unlocked the power of the strongest of these items: the Millennium Puzzle, unlocking the evil that had been sealed away and the soul of the pharaoh that had been sealed with it. After countless trials and battles, he succeeded in destroying this powerful evil for good and sent the pharaoh to his eternal rest. On the side note, Yugi had inherited the title from the pharaoh and became the King of Games.
Then, two years after that day, Yugi Motou had mysteriously vanished…
------
DOMINO HIGH 3:00 PM
"Aw man…! I lost again! I must really suck at this game!"
The girl cried quietly over her desk, her blue braid streaming over her shoulder. The cards strewn over the desks fluttered gently as she sighed out in silent pain and submission.
"You don't suck." Another girl said, her red pigtails bouncing. "Tsubasa is just better than you. Heck, he's better than the rest of us."
"You don't have to say it like that, Aira." The man across from the blue-haired girl said, his metallic silver hair shining beautifully in the sunlight. "Her deck isn't all that bad. It's just that you never change your battle strategy. All you ever try to do is whittle down your opponent's life points the original way by monster attacks. You do realize that they created Spell cards that have the same effect, right?"
"Yeah…" The blue-haired girl looked up while adjusting her glasses. "But I don't have any cards like that."
"Tell you what, Rune." Tsubasa gathered up his deck. "There's a card shop just a few blocks from here. They call it the Kame Game Shop. I got most of my cards from that shop. It should work wonders on your deck."
"The Kame? You serious?" Aira leaned on the desk. "I mean, I don't have any problems with that, but isn't that old guy that run that place a little…crazy?"
"Crazy?" Rune sat up and gathered her deck. "What, like he participates in sadistic rituals or something?"
"He's in mourning, Aira." Tsubasa leaned back on his chair. "Remember? The King of Games himself used to go to that shop. Once he stopped going there, the business basically fell onto its knees. But you can't deny that he has some really good cards on him."
"Well then…crazy or not, he has cards that I need." Rune stood up. "I'm going to the Kame after school. And none of you are stopping me!"
------
KAME GAME SHOP 3:27 PM
OK…maybe someone should've stopped me.
She stared quietly at the small building in front of her. The shop had a huge sign on it that said the word "GAME" on it, but it looked more like a house than a card shop. Sighing, she hesitated before finally pushing the door open.
"Welcome!" A voice echoed from the counter. "Ooh, a young lady! What can I do for you?"
Run took a good look at the man in front of her. He was like any other old man, small and slightly hunched over with gray hair and green overalls. The front of his hair was spiked up in such a weird way that it caught her attention. What was weirder was that his eyes were a strange purple, and they were looking at her like he wanted to squeeze her wallet dry. She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Well, I'm actually…looking for some cards." She said. "You see, I have some problems with my deck and I need some advice."
"Advice, you say? Well then, let me look at your cards."
She hesitated as well before she took the cards from her case and handed it to the old man. He took it with steady hands and skimmed the cards one by one. The reactions on his face kept changing one by one, which further scared her. Finally, he gave the deck back to her, which calmed her down.
"Your deck isn't all that bad. The fact that most of your monsters are Effect type means that you have thought this deck out through." The old man said. "But it lacks proper Spells and Traps. Most that you have deal with destroying cards and raising your monster's ATK. You should focus more on cards that affect your opponents, such as the Ojama King and the Delta Attack. See? Right here."
"Oh yeah." Rune leaned forward. "It only works if those three Ojamas are on your side of the field, right? Wouldn't that mean that I would need a card that protects against monster attacks, like Mirror Force and Negate Attack?"
"Oh ho ho! You don't have to limit yourself to just those two cards!" The man chuckled. "Here, these two cards are a better combination. They're a little harder to pull off, but it will work if used correctly."
"Hm…Marshmallon and Marshmallon Glasses…Oh yeah, that is a good combo!" Rune remarked. "But…hm…come to think of it, I'll take these two cards. I'll see if there're any others that I'll need. Hold on a sec."
The old man watched quietly as the young teenager skimmed the shelves for any clue or hint of a combo that would be useful for her deck. Every now and then she would pull out her own deck and compare the cards there. She grabbed a few cards and compared them, muttering slowly to herself.
No way! He has the Unity Spell Card! She remarked. This will work WONDERS with my White Magician Pikeru card! Why do people stop coming here? This place has the best cards on the face of Japan, if not the world over!
"You know…you remind me of my grandson."
"Eh?" Rune looked up from her search.
"My grandson." The old man smiled. "He's a duelist, just like you. One of the best, I might add. Four years ago, he left home, never to return again. He would always be so addicted to his cards, willing to waste all of his money to do the best."
"Your grandson?" She sighed. "Oh…I'm sorry."
"He'll come around sooner or later. He'll need to get the publicity off his deck!" He laughed.
"His…deck?" Rune blinked.
"Yes. You see, since he's so popular, his cards have been the most sought-after objects in the dueling world!" The old man smiled. "The most popular card would have to be his Dark Magician. It's his most attached card."
"The Dark Magician…isn't that a Normal type?" Rune turned to him. "He does realize that it's a pretty vulnerable card if it doesn't have an effect on it."
"That's why the game has Spell and Trap cards!" The old man laughed. "There're a lot of people out there that are working for the money, so I should warn you: the true copy of my grandson's Dark Magician has a little stain near the ATK symbol. I never really knew what it was, but it was the only indication that the card was really his."
"A stain…got it." Rune dumped her choices on the counter. "I want all of these please."
She quickly paid for the cards and tried her best to store them away in one of her pockets. After a few failed attempts, she sighed with relief, grabbed her bag, and headed out toward the door. She stopped and turned around.
"By the way, my name is Rune. Rune Washiku."
"And my name is Solomon Motou. But you can call me Solomon."
"Solomon…right."
------
DOMINO BOARDWALK 4:49 PM
OK, replace this card with this card…um…I'm not taking out this card, no way…hm…making card decks is hard.
She walked quietly through the streets, the sun streaking orange and yellow in the sky, signaling the end of the day. Few people were on the boardwalk at the time, so she had all the time in the world to walk home.
Poor Solomon…losing his grandson like that. She paused. Whoa…don't tell me that I'm gonna be like that when I grow up. Maybe I should take a break or something.
Before she knew it, a small breeze blew from the ocean, and a pulse erupted in her ears. At the same time, a thin figure flew through the air. An illegible whisper echoed in the wind, and her arm darted out through the mysterious barriers, grabbing the image in the air. Everything snapped back into reality, and her arm lowered down to her eye level.
It's a Duel Monsters Card. She blinked. Whoa…the Dark Magician!
She suddenly had the thought to search for the mysterious stain that Solomon was talking about. Staring at the ATK symbol, she nearly gasped. There was a strange black mark erupting from the box. It was too small for it to be a blood stain. She dismissed it to be an ink stain.
This…is definitely the card that Solomon was talking about… Rune gasped in her head. Wait! That would mean that this is his grandson's card! I…I should probably head back and show him. Mom shouldn't be home for another hour or two, so maybe I could…
She turned around and began heading back to the Kame.
Who…are you?
She froze. Freaking out slowly, she darted her head around. There was no one that seemed to be looking for her, just the few people that would be walking on the boardwalk with her. She found herself cringing a little bit.
On second thought…the Kame won't be moving anytime soon. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I should hit his place first thing tomorrow.
------
SOMEWHERE ELSE…IN A MYSTERIOUS LOCATION. 4:38 PM
"No…impossible! You lost him?!"
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know that he would have that much power to escape the cage…"
"I'm always surrounded by fools! Don't you realize that he is the key to our plan?! Without him, the last four years would've been meaningless!"
"Forgive me, sir. I will search for him right away."
"You better, slave! Bring me the key! Bring me Yugi Motou!"
------
RUNE'S BEDROOM 8:19 PM
So this is the well-sought Dark Magician Card. Looks really used up.
Rune stared quietly at the card in front of her. She was lying stomach first on her bed, the Dark Magician card lying on her pillow. The card didn't do anything special like she thought it would, but it did feel a little…bizarre. Like there was someone there that was staring right back at her. She adjusted her pajama sleeve.
"So you're the Dark Magician, huh?" She whispered. "You have an original owner, right? I don't know anything about him, but I think I know someone that might have some form of connection to him. His name is Solomon Motou, and he's the owner of the local Game shop a few blocks from here. Unless he's lying to me, your owner has to be the grandson, right? Sorry, I don't really know his name."
She grabbed the card and rolled over onto her back, the card held up by her outstretched hand.
Wow, Rune. You're talking to a freaking CARD. What's gotten into you? This isn't like you. She sighed. Oh well. Guess it has something to do with having a rare card in your possession. I should probably hide this…
She sat up and grabbed her thigh pack, containing her deck. She stared at the window for a few seconds before sliding the Dark Magician into her pack and placing it at the head of her bed. She found herself smiling.
"Well then…good night, you guys. Hope you don't mind the new camper."
She rolled over onto her side and fell right asleep. A few seconds, the card deck began to glow a soft yellow. A shadow of a young boy erupted onto the wall.
Grandpa…?
------
3:42 AM
Eh…? Where the heck am I?
She sat up from her bed, realizing that she wasn't in her room. Instead, she was in a fancy room, like a room that was in a castle. And she was wide awake. Grabbing her card pack and strapping it around her thigh, she peeked through the bedroom door.
This way…
She nearly froze. She had to gather herself so that she wouldn't pass out.
I'm right here…
OK…I'm dreaming. She thought. Well, if I'm dreaming, then that means that I can't get hurt! I can go without hesitation!
Despite the pep talk, she had to force herself out of the bedroom and walk toward the source of the voice. It kept repeating the same phrases over and over again, and it was echoing off the walls as if there was no indication where it was coming from. Finally, she found a wall in front of her. It had a gigantic Egyptian eye on it. Almost immediately, she reached out to it.
"Don't touch it. You might enter the Shadow Realm if you do."
She freaked out, backing away from it. Turning around, she saw a young man staring back at her. His outfit was a school uniform, which made her question whether he goes to her school at all. His purple eyes were staring back at her, yet they didn't look murderous.
"Uh…what do you mean by that?"
"That symbol…it's a protection spell. Unfortunately, it doesn't know you that well, so you might fall victim to it."
"Well…this is just a dream, so I should be fine even if I do touch it, right?"
"That's what you would think. But you can actually die if you touch it."
Oh, that is just great. "Who are you, anyway? And what are you doing in my dream?"
"I am the Dark Magician. And as for your second question, I can't answer that."
"Dark Magician? You don't look like the Dark Magician on the card."
"I inhabit it. It's my body."
O…K…I think I'm going crazy. "So you're the Dark Magician, even though it doesn't look anything like you?"
"I know it sounds confusing, but yes, I am the Dark Magician."
"Huh. Well, do you know your original owner? Anything about his physical appearance at all, like height, eye color…hair?"
"What do you mean?"
"Um…OK, never mind. Come to think of it, do you know a man named Solomon Motou?"
"…Grandpa? You know him?"
Grandpa? Is this card seriously referring to himself as that guy's grandson? "Wait…so you do know him?"
"Of course I know him. I trust him with my life."
"Well, that's good. I'm going back to his shop tomorrow to return you, since I think you're actually his card, so I hope you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind…thank you…"
------
And that's the end of the first chapter! OK, I have to say the sad part: since I'm no Duel Monsters fanatic, I will focus on a different style of Yu-gi-oh dueling. Anyone who's ever played Duelist of the Rose or Forbidden Kingdom will have an idea on how that would work. I hope you guys don't mind!