Yu-gi-oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi

Three years after the defeat of Darkness, an old evil returns for a mysterious purpose

Chapter One

Lightning flashed in the sky and the wind howled.

Warren glanced out his apartment window at the stormy sky and frowned. For a moment he thought he had heard laughter. "Jiana?" he asked, "Was that you?"

His Chinese girlfriend called back to him, "Was what me?"

Warren shook his head, "Never mind," he said, staring out again, "Never mind."

A bolt of lightning struck the ground, and a dark cackle filled the air. A moment later, a figure staggered out of the darkness. He was tall, with dark blond hair and almond eyes. He wore dark clothes, black jeans and a dark shirt, under an even darker jacket.

He shook his head in confusion, where was he, who was he. He fumbled in his pockets for any form of ID or anything that could identify him. All he came up with was a deck of strange cards, each emblazoned with an image and text. He flipped through the deck, glancing at the strange images, none of them seeming familiar. He frowned and looked around. Spying a small, shabby looking building, he began to walk towards it, his gait becoming steadier with each step.

Two men stood at the entrance, dressed in cheap-looking suits, they both looked rather intimidating. But the figure was not swayed, and one of the men looked him up and down, and then frowned, spying the deck in his hands.

"Oh, you're here to duel, fine, go on in."

The figure blinked, but stepped through the open door, eager to get out of the cold rain.

He passed the foyer and descended a flight of stairs, following the rumble of excited voices. Pushing open a heavy steel door, he walked into a large, underground chamber. It was oval-shaped, with two men standing at either end, and spectators arrayed around the ring. Great monsters stood in the center of the ring and they appeared to be doing battle. Amazed at this incredible sight, the man stood there, wide-eyed and awed. Abruptly a voice sounded out, "You, did Saruyama send you."

He turned to see a short, fat balding man standing behind him, a worried look in his eyes.

"I asked you a question, are you my duelist for the night."

The figure blinked, and then something inside made him say "Yes, I am the duelist."

While he wondered why he had said such a thing, the fat man breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally, come on, you're duelling soon." With that, he led the man away, down a hallway and into a small room, where a few chairs were arrayed in front of a set of mirrors.

"I'll leave you here," said the man, "I'll call you up for your turn soon."

The figure sat down, but before he could ponder his situation, the man spoke again, "By the way, what's your name?"

The figure was confused, but something inside spoke again, "Hasam, my name is Hasam."

The fat man seemed satisfied, and walked away, leaving Hasam alone with his thoughts.

He glanced down at the cards again, and slowly, memories began to flood into his brain. He remembered these cards, he thought, they were for a game.

A game called Duel Monsters. He flipped through the deck again, this recognizing the creatures on the cards. A creature that was made of slime, an armoured demon wielding an scimitar, a machine made entirely of drills. How did he know these cards, Hasam wondered, had he once used them or was he simply mad.

He had little time to ponder this, as the fat man re-entered the room, "Hurry up, it's your turn."

Hasam rose, sliding the deck back into his pocket, and walked toward the door, wondering idly if he should go through with this or not. The bald fool obviously believed that Hasam had been sent by one of his associates, Saruyama, as a duelist. He cared not for the fool's problems, but perhaps he could regain more of his memories if he participated in this duel.

He was about to exit the room when the man spoke sharply, "Hey, wait a minute."

Hasam tensed and spun to face the balding fellow, ready to run if need be.

"Where's your duel disk?" asked the duelling manager.

Hasam frowned, he had no idea what a duel disk was. Abruptly, the image of a tray-like device with lights and slots came to mind, and without even thinking, he replied, "I left mine at home."

The manager gave a long-suffering sigh, and went over to a desk in the corner. After rummaging around for a few moments, he came with a battered looking version of the device Hasam had just thought about.

"Here," he said, handing it to the dark-skinned man, "Now get out there, my audience is getting impatient.

Hasam accepted the device and instinctively strapped it to his wrist, sliding his deck into the holster. He must have played this game often, he realized, for it was like a second nature to him.

Duel disk on his arm, he strode down the hallway, the sounds of cheering growing louder as he approached the exit.

He entered the arena at one end and glanced around the great room, shielding his eyes from the harsh glow of the spotlights. At the opposite end of the ring stood a tall man with auburn hair tied back in a ponytail. A silver duel disk hung on his arm, and his grey eyes shone with a fierce intensity.

Hasam frowned, and raised his arm, tapping a button on his disk. The machine came to life and the lights in the arena dimmed slightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's competitors are the Different Dimension Duelist, Kouji Walan."

Kouji appeared to be a crowd favourite as many people cheered at the mention of his name. Hasam narrowed his eyes at this, but remained unphased.

"And his opponent, a newcomer, the Mighty Hasam."

A few people cheered half-heartedly, but Hasam ignored them. He felt a heady sense of anticipation building in him. By the time he was done, this preening fool would be drowning in the deepest shadows.

He shook his head sharply, where had that thought come from?

But he had no time to consider, as his opponent was taking the first turn.

"I draw," said Kouji, and slammed a card onto his disk, "I summon D.D. Assailant in attack mode."

(Earth, Level 4, Warrior, 1700/1600)

An armoured woman, dressed in white appeared, she held a great sword, easily as tall as her.

Kouji set another card face down and waved his hand.

Hasam drew, and smiled, "I summon Newdoria," (Dark, Level 4, Fiend, 1200/800).

A gangly looking creature appeared, it had green hair and wore a spiked headband, covering it's eyes.

Hasam grinned at the sight of the evil beast, "Attack D.D. Assailant."

The lanky demon charged at the woman, it's hands held up high.

The Assailant affected a look of annoyance, but Kouji's eyes widened in surprise, "I activate my trap," he shouted, "Dimensional Prison."

The charging Fiend gave a sudden gasp and simply vanished into thin air. Hasam growled and fitted another card into his disk, then waved his hand.

Kouji grinned, and drew. "I summon D.D. Survivor," he said, and a tall man appeared, his entire body was shrouded in a tattered cloak, only his silver eyes were visible. "I just love this one," said the dark-haired man, "He's so dark and mysterious." (Dark, Level 4, Warrior, 1800/200)

Hasam just raised an eyebrow, and Kouji laughed, "Fine, let's see how you like him after he attacks."

"D.D. Survivor, attack Hasam directly."

The cloaked man raised his hands and unleashed a sparkling blast of energy from them. The blast slammed into Hasam and nearly drove him to his knees.

(H: 2200) (K:4000)

He gasped, but remained upright, just as the Assailant charged forward and thrust her blade into his chest. He screamed in pain and fell backwards, clutching at his torso.

Kouji began to chuckle, "You are nothing but an amateur, real duelists can take such an attack without flinching."

(H: 500) (K:4000)

Hasam felt an unnatural rage beginning to build in him, and he rose to his feet, "I draw," he shouted. He glanced at the card and flinched.

I'm giving you a gift, a hot flaming one. Keh he he he.

He gasped at the sudden thought, was he going mad? He placed the card on his disk, "I sacrifice your two monsters and summon Lava Golem on your side of the field." (Fire, Level 8, Fiend, 3000/2500)

The two dimensional monsters vanished and a massive blob of lava appeared. It resembled nothing more than a ten-foot tall molten mass, with bulbous eyes and a misshapen mouth. In front of the creature, a metal cage materialized aroun Kouji, trapping him directly beneath the flaming creature.

Hasam laughed and ended his turn.

Kouji swallowed hard, he knew what Lava Golem could do. Taking a deep breath, he drew a card and bit back a scream as the monster began melt, dripping hot molten lava on it's owner.

(H: 500) (K:3000)

Kouji glanced at the card, then shrugged, "Your monster matters not, fool, you have nothing left to protect you, you're finished." Lava Golem opened it's mouth to belch fire, but suddenly shrieked in apparent agony. Hasam's face down card lifted and suddenly Lava Golem was screaming as a spiked torture wheel hovered above it, exerting a deadly influence over the creature.

"What did you do?" Kouji demanded, and his opponent grinned in a way that made him look quite deranged.

"I activated my Nightmare Wheel trap card. Now your Golem can't move, and you will lose 500 life points every time my turn begins." He began to chuckle again.

Kouji growled and placed another monster in defense mode and set a card face down.

Hasam drew and Kouji suddenly felt as if a thousand nails were being driven into his skull, and he heard the Nightmare Wheel turn.

(H: 500) (K:2500)

Hasam looked at his hand, then set two cards face down, and waved his hand.

Kouji frowned, and then screamed as Lava Golem dripped on him again.

(I: 500) (K:1500)

He gasped as he drew a card, and then grinned, "I sacrifice Lava Golem and summon Divine Knight Ishzark. The molten monstrosity vanished and was replaced by a knight dressed in fancy white armor, whose visor covered his eyes. He held a sword similar to the D.D. Assailant's, and held it up in a threatening manner. (Light, Level 6, Warrior, 2300/1700)

Kouji breathed a sigh of relief, and pointed at his opponent. Ishzark charged forward, and skidded to a stop as a massive blob of slime appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

Hasam laughed in a high-pitched tone, "I activated Metal Reflect Slime." (Water, Level 10, Aqua, 0/3000)

"What is that?" gasped Kouji

Hasam grinned, displaying bright white teeth, "It's both a trap and a monster with 3000 defense points."

Kouji hissed in surprise, and then glanced at his remaining cards, "I end my turn."

Hasam laughed and drew a card, "It's time to end this, I summon Melchid the Four-Faced Beast," a demon wearing four different masks appeared, each one diplaying an evil smile. Hasam then switched cards on his disk, "And now I sacrifice Metal Reflect Slime and Melchid the Four-Faced Beast to summon the Masked Beast Des Guardius." (Dark, Level 8,Fiend, 3300/2500)

Melchid and the protoplasm vanished and were replaced by a large demon. Standing ten feet tall, it had orange skin, sharp claws and wore three masks on it's upper torso, it had no visible face. Hasam gestured, and his face-down card lifted, revealing a cloaked man praying in a graveyard. He then slid one more card into his disk, and a dark necklace appeared on the the demon's neck, it's single black opal shimmering in the light.

"The Black Pendant's dark magic raises my monster's attack power by 500 points," crowed Hasam. (3800/2500) Then he pointed at the Divine Knight, and the Masked Beast charged forward, it's sharp claws gleaming. Ishzark stood his ground, even as the Masked Beast swung it's talons and split the warrior from another dimension in half.

Kouji screamed as his life points dropped to zero.

(I: 500) (K:0)

There was silence in the arena for a few moments, and then the announcer's voice rang out, "Your winner, Hasam!"

There were no cheers, just the shocked murmurs of the crowd and the agonized groans of Hasam's fallen opponent.

After a moment, the holograms vanished and Hasam spun on his heel, he had no desire to remain here, this duel had brought back some faint flashes of his past, he could recall another opponent. A blonde woman, busty and vivacious, her face twisted in the sweetest terror. And he could recall a single name, Mai.

Hasam strode out of the arena, Mai, he thought, that was the key to his past.

In a dark room, a tall figure rose from his meditations.

"It worked," he said, seemingly to no one.

There was a swooshing noise, almost as if a wind had blown through the room, except the chamber was completely sealed, with no doors or windows open.

"It will take time for him to recover his power and skills."

The air swooshed again, and the figure bowed his head, "I understand," he said, "I will accelerate our plans." He rose and left the dark chamber, there was work to be done.