(AN: the first 12 chapters of this fic were made by Izumo 1489)

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I just love playing the game and reading the fanfiction.

This is the story of a boy. Not just any boy, mind you. This boy did many extraordinary things in his life, so far. This boy had solved an ancient puzzle,aided the spirit inside, and saved the world many times. Who is this amazing hero,you ask? Why, non other than Yugi Mouto.

Yugi, at the age of 16, had solved the Millennium Puzzle. With it, was given a gift of magic and a charge; to defend the world from evil. Inside the Puzzle was his spirit partner and past incarnation, Pharaoh Atem, or Yami, to some. From the beginning, these two and Yugi's friends, Tea Gardener, Joey Wheeler, and Tristan Taylor, had fought by each other's sides, and with unity and determination, fought off evils ranging from the misguided Maximilian Pegasus, to the insanity of Yami Marik.

Through it all, they remained close friends, which was all Yugi could have hoped for. He always had a warm smile and a kind word for anyone. He alone, managed the impossible and obtained the grudging respect of Seto Kaiba. (P.S. Kaiba will be tweaked slightly, based on what I know of Gozaborou's tortures) Through all his trials, even the Ceremonial final duel between him and Yami,Yugi remained a happy and pure soul. This happiness seemed asured when Yami Bakura took the Pharoah's place in the afterlife, and the, now ex-pharaoh, gained a body of his own.

Yes, life seemed great at the seeming end of Yugi's journeys as the King of Games...but not all stories truly end. For Yugi, it was only the beginning of a far darker chapter in his young, 17 year old life.

We now join our young hero three months after the Ceremonial Duel. We see inside Yugi's room, to see little change. The posters of Duel Monsters still adorn the wall. Also, the bedding and clothes are still the same, as is their placement. The walls and floor are the same, and the same person owns them. Yet, were you to look upon this room, you would think it wrong. For where you would expect to find a place of light, and a youthful spirit dwelling within, you would instead find a place of shadows, innocence long since destroyed, and a figure sitting on the bed, with a deadish quality to his eyes. What could have caused this, you ask? Such an upbeat spirit having plummeted into such a state? Well, lets take a peak in his head.

P.O.V. Yugi's

It's all wrong, all wrong. This wasn't how my life was suppose to be. I had good friends, I saved the world, REPEATEDLY! And, had settled down to live life in a peaceful manner with my friends. Where did it all go wrong? I know Yami being separate from me was new, but I thought that would pass. Maybe I should have seen this coming.

It all seemed to start when Joey and Mai started dating. Really though, given what they went through, beating around the bush probably seemed unnecessary. This, though, seemed to set off pairings nearly everywhere. Next came Serenity, who seemed content with Tristan. Next came Duke, with one of his fan girls of all people. Then came a shocker, Mokuba and Rebecca started dating! I mean at their age! Seto nearly had a heart attack! But, the worst was yet to come, cause next came what I dreaded since the keychain incident. ( Check out Yu-Gi-Oh! Manga for info! Even though it's filler XD) Tea and YAMI started going out, and that was a really hard blow for me. Now don't get me wrong, they seemed great together, still do, in fact. It's just that I cared about her too. You could say my so-called, better half got to her first. I've tried to be happy for them, I really have. But, I seem to die a little more inside with each time I see them.

That, however, is far from the worst of it. With everyone so busy, no one seemed to notice my grandpa getting ill. Since my mom left me in his care and seemingly vanished, I've only had him as my parent. When he finally was rushed to the hospital, I called everyone I knew for help. Ryou (Bakura), Seto, and Raphael come in my hour of need. The first to arrive was Ryou, a friend of mine that hadn't changed much from the time I met him, save he no longer had another spirit inside him. He always was kind, and was the first to comfort me. Seto, I call him that now, came next. He simply stood there waiting without a word, but his presence was a comfort at least. I bet Raphael's coming was the true surprise to all but myself. You see, he and I continued to keep in contact after the Dartz saga and we were good friends. He rushed over from his home near the former Paradias headquarters, to aid me in the waiting. It was two hours after he arrived that the results were posted. My grandfather died due to heart failure, he was 79, and seemed so strong. I'm not sure about the details of the next two weeks, I know Seto aided with the funeral and sent out the invitations. It was a small one, but nonetheless Seto did it. The only arrivals were myself, the three who comforted me, and Professor Arthur Hawkins, my grandfather's longtime friend.

I found out later, that my so called friends never paid mind to the messages I left them on that night. I also found out their invitations for the funeral were all returned to sender! Even Yami, who was in Tea's apartment at the time, the one I always counted on with my very soul, let me down. Now I'm in my room, deciding what to pack. Raphael has offered to take me in, and I accepted. No one knows I'm going, no one seems to care save a choice few. Right now I'm looking at my few treasures.

The first is my dueling deck, which has been my lifeline for sometime. But now it belongs to him, it seems foreign in my hands, he'll probably ask for it tomorrow. Or just take it, that's more his style these days. I guess I know the true loyalty of my deck now. Next, is my Millennium Puzzle, or should I say, the ex-pharaoh's puzzle. Finally, is the one item that I hate the most. It's that blasted matchmaker keychain! Somehow, I've always had it in my pocket, secretly hoping it would ring while I was near Tea. As if she carried hers after the fad was over. Well, that's ancient history now. It's time to move on with my life and get

stronger. (AN: Does that not seem evil Orichalcos line or what?) Raphael said he has the cards from Dartz's old hangout, minus the Seal of Orichalcos, such a pity. Regardless, I'll star over and make a new, loyal deck, that will make that partner of mine wish he'd never crossed me. He now lives the life I should have had, dancing in the light. Meanwhile I'm left to fester in the darkness. Well, with a well-placed tug here, the Puzzle is in pieces. No more magic tricks from my soul buddy! Hehehe. Now the so called Pharoah won't have is oh so special powers anymore. That plastic trash I won't even touch any more!

And as for the deck...

End P.O.V.

As Yugi overlooks the deck, four shining cards float to him and three Legendary Knights (AN: Critias, Timaeus, and Hermos. For information on these cards, look them up on . even though they're cards from a filler arc, they are actually pretty badass) take form. "Greetings, master Yugi," Timaeus, Knight of Atlantis, addresses him.

"What are you doing here?" a very confused Yugi inquires of the knights.

"We know your deck has abandoned you for the Egyptian Atem," Critious stated matter-of-factly.

"Then I suppose you're here to rub it in my face," a decidedly downtrodden Yugi mutters.

"No," Hermos answers," we are here to join you as part of your new deck."

This, understandably, shocks Yugi into silence, which the knights use to explain their actions. "While it is true Atem may hold sway over most monsters in your deck," Timaeus explained, " We are monsters that can sense who would be best to wield our power."

"And might I add," Heilmos added, "that pharaoh is too arrogant and doesn't need us as you do." To this Yugi looks up at them meekly, almost hurt.

"What my fellow knight meant," Critious said glaring at his brother knight," was that the pharaoh has proven himself unworthy of our power since the threat of the Leviathan has passed. Only you, who's true strength of heart has never wavered, is worthy of our abilities."

"We existed before Egypt, you see," continued Timaeus, " so we hold no preconceptions of the pharaoh's 'greatness'." He said with a quoting gesture. This got a small laugh from Yugi at least. "That and his performance when I was in his service was abismal to say the least," Timaeus added with a wink.

Yugi can only stand still as tears stream from his eyes. Next he runs to the knights and hugs them with considerable force, sobbing. The three merely hold him 'till he calms down, and appear in their dragon card forms. They then zoom into Yugi's open hands, along with the spell to transform them into their knight forms. Yugi, then with all his belongings packed, and cards in hand, rushes to the car. He looks back at the empty game shop, whose contents were stored at Raphael's Mansion, with mixed feelings. So many happy memories are there, yet so much pain there is too. Still he turns, and gets into the car, with tears falling still from his eyes. However, one thing is certain to the young man.

What is past, is past...

and the future is begining now!

End

(AN: Well, after MUCH correcting the 1st chapter is completed (well, redone at least) I will not be changing much about Izumo story structure, so prepare Tristan, Tea, Joey, and most of all Atem, for a lot of bashing. Atem will remind those of you of a certain douchebag ('cough uchi-ass cough') so if you don't like it, well not much I can do haha. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!)