The King of Games

Yugi - Rasaay, Captial of Emboldor

Tel. II, Year 18 4AOS

A bard merrily played his lute outside the inn, soothing the souls of many passersby busy with matters of so on and so forth. The tavern's windows were open, eager for a scarce summer breeze to cool the dining room for the customers, many of whom were merchants, regulars from the town, and even adventurers looking for a bite to eat before setting off to loot another dungeon or explore a cave to deal with a horrible monster that lurked in the darkness deep below the surface of the earth.

But Yugi Muto made himself comfortable on the rooftop of a building, brandishing the golden 3D puzzle around his neck. Though he was a boy who looked to be in his teens, he was over thirty years old. Eternal youth was a gift blessed to his kind, The Eldori, a magical race of people dubbed as the Painted Folk, for they were born from drawings created by the Goddess of Arts and Song to live alongside Men.

"Are you all right?" said Yugi's alter ego. The spirit of an ancient king who lived inside the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. "Are you nervous about the..."

"Slifer the Sky Dragon?" Yugi asked, setting his arm over his left knee, he wanted to avoid talking about the meeting with the Senate. Somehow, despite the evidence of Rare Hunters returning and threatening the prince, things were not going to go in their favor. "Was it a wise thing to do? Releasing him? Attacking Prince Yuri like that?"

"I did what I had to do," Yami said, standing over him in spectral form. Nobody but Yugi could see or hear him. "The situation grows dire," Yami crossed his arms over his chest. "This is possibly the fourth night in a row that we've visited his dreams. Now...even the God Cards have chosen to intervene. Slifer put himself inside my deck to try and get our exiled prince to understand who he is. But I fear our enemy has somehow gotten into his head."

"Impossible," said Yugi. "We would have known if Bakura was messing around with the prince. We have an informant down there watching him, don't we?"

Yami closed his eyes and took a heavy breath. "Bakura is like a shadow in the dark. Not even those with the keenest of eyes will be able to spot him. But why Bakura hasn't made a move on Daveed for so long worries me."

"We should pick him up now," said Yugi. "If what you say is true, the prince won't be around for much longer, and Termnnia will once again be without a High King. And that's the last thing we need right now. His death is going to spark another war I tell you."

"You don't have to lecture me: I know," said Yami. "But have no fear, Yugi. My informant is keen in both eye and sword. He will notify me in case of any dangers."

"I sure hope so," said Yugi. "I find it ridiculous that the Senate has proposed this new rule. Really? The prince is never to come home unless he fulfills some sort of wishlist from House Dragonheart!? Urgh! This is madness!"

Yami looked down at the boy. "We are truly in dark times if even the Senate wishes to postpone the boy's return."

Yugi sucked on his teeth, balling his fists. "I never trusted politicians. They're lower than demons, all of them. All they care about is themselves and filling their own pockets. Hmph. House Dragonheart. So the Senate was bought out then?"

"It has. It's just as we feared." Yami suddenly smiled and it made Yugi feel better. That smile always meant hope and good news was never far away. "Kaiba is preparing some exclusive tournament in Aquarius next summer after Yuri finishes high school. He's going to do his absolute best to get Yuri in it, curse or no curse. You and I both know if there's anyone out there who can forge our prince into a master Duelist, it's him. He'll know what to do."

"Yeah," Yugi groaned as he got up. "I'll bet."

He jumped from the roof of the building, landing on his feet by the pen where the pigs and chickens lazed about. Feeling proud of his daring feat, he 'humphed' confidently and adjusted the sword belt around his waist housing his golden, gem-encrusted rapier he named Anzu. Yami reappeared beside him with a scowl creasing his face as he scorned him.

"What?" Yuri asked.

"You're going to break your neck doing that!"

Yugi laughed at his worry. "Whatever," he bragged, fixing the belts and iron plate decorations on his leather gear. "You're just mad that you ain't got the moves."

"You can keep the moves," Yami scorned. "I want our bones intact."

"You're no fun, Spirit," said Yugi. "Man, I don't know about you, but I'm going to get myself a burger."

"Again?" Yami said shaking his head in disbelief. "You had two earlier today."

"Nah, those were sliders. I want a triple-decker! With bacon, lots of cheese, and..."

"All right, all right, go!" Yami grumbled. "But don't come crying to me when you end up looking like King Forrest."

"Were I that gluttonous," said Yugi.

He heard something and stopped. A group of boys, Eldori; just like him, were blocking his path. They looked rather young, and their hair was styled in odd shapes and colors. They wore uniforms from a local Dueling school near the heart of the city where the best players in the country studied to be masters so they could fly to the East and compete in the Kaiba Dome to become legends.

Someone must have told them Yugi was around, for they had smug looks on their faces. Of course, they would. A win against Yugi Muto, the Undisputed Champion of Termnnia, would not only grant them fame but fortune and immortality.

"I told ya he was around," said a snobbish-looking youngster with gelled blond hair, no doubt the leader of the group. He pushed his gold glasses up the bridge of his nose and walked towards Yugi with his hands in the pockets of his blazer. "We challenge you to a Duel, Yugi Muto," he said. "And we won't take no for an answer."

"I have business to take care of," Yugi replied, trying to control his anger.

The boys were still young, however, they seemed well-bred and educated enough to have been taught some manners. They were being very rude to him. The other boys formed a circle around Yugi and morphed various states of jewelry from buttons, their wristwatches, and earrings into academy-issue Duel Disks, contraptions used to conjure monsters from their cards.

No manners indeed, Yugi thought with a scoff. Looks like I'm going to have to teach them some.

"I'll go first," the boy with the gold glasses, named Jonathan, said as he drew. "The fame I shall achieve when I beat you, Yugi, will be glorious. They say that if one does beat you, they can have anything they want. You know, I've had an eye for Princess Alexandra von Klause. The House of Dragonheart will practically beg me to marry her after I beat you."

Yugi rolled his amethyst eyes. Being the World Champion, it came as no surprise that his foes would start monologuing about the rewards they would gain should they beat him. "Just go," he said. "Less talking and more playing. I've got somewhere I've got to be."

"Yes," Jonathan sneered. "I completely agree." He then bragged about how he was an honor student at the school, showing off the gold badge pinned on his chest. He ran a D/D/D Deck, much like the one that the legendary Duelist, Declan Akaba used. On his first turn, his monsters swarmed the field. In no time at all he had the likes of D/D/D Abyss King Ragnarok, who was in the Pendulum Zone. D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried (ATK/2800), D/D/D Gust King Alexander (ATK/2500), and D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh (ATK/1800).

"Bet you didn't know I could Link Summon, did you?" Jonathan sneered.

Yugi sighed. "I've seen it before, kid. I'm not a novice. Link Summons are the new trend these days but don't think it'll give you an advantage over me. In fact, I'll take you down with a little old-school summoning technique. Watch. I draw!" – Yugi examined the card and smiled – "I play the Spell Card, Fusion Dispatch! I choose a Fusion Monster and then I can Special Summon one of its materials to the field. I chose, Gaia the Dragon Champion, now I can summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

The iconic monster from Yugi's Duelist Kingdom days appeared before him. The purple stallion reared on its hind legs and whinnied. Its rider, the legendary Gaia, raised his red lance in the air and grunted.

ATK/2300 DEF/2100

Jonathan slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Gaia the Fierce Knight, huh? That card is ancient. He won't stand a chance against the might of my Different Dimension Daemons!"

Yugi smiled. "If I were up against the REAL master of the Different Dimension Deamons, those words might mean something. But I'm not. You're just a poser with a lot of mouth. And my Gaia the Fierce Knight is not alone. He's never alone. I'll show you what I mean but first, I activate the spell, Set Rotation. It allows me to add a Field Spell face-down to your field spell zone and mine. Now, I flip my card over. Behold! The Field Spell, Galloping Gaia!"

A ring of red and black fire surrounded them. Jonathan sniggered. "I don't think so, Yugi! My Cursed King Siegfried will negate the activation of your spell. Heh, heh, heh. So much for that!"

Seigfried held out his armored hand and formed a white glyph that muted Yugi's spell and canceled its effect.

"No harm done," said Yugi. "I now use the card, Spiral Fusion, and summon Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

A flaming portal opened above Yugi. From it, Gaia flew out on top of his flaming red dragon. His armor was wider and was made of solid gold. Yugi's smile grew wider upon seeing the flaming dragon rider above him.

"And since I used Spiral Fusion to summon him, Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion gains 2600 attack points."

"WOW!" shouted Jonathan. "He has 5200 attack points!"

"And I'll use his effect!" shouted Yugi. "But first, from my Graveyard, I activate the effect of my Cursed Dragon - Curse of Dragon!"

"No!" shouted Jonathan. "I don't know what you're planning from there, but your strategy won't come to fruition. I use the spell, Designation from the Grave. This card will now banish your Cursed Dragon! Still think you can win."

"I do," Yugi said with a smile. "I can still use the effect of my Gaia. He allows me to add Spiral Spear Strike to my hand. But first, I summon Artillery Catapult Turtle!"

Another one of Yugi's Duelist Kingdom monsters returned, this time with a sleek new design and effect. The turtle grumbled as it was rendered to the playing field.

"And then," Yugi continued, "I activate Spiral Spear Strike! Then, I sacrifice Bombarding Catapult Turtle to special summon Soldier Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

A fiery glyph morphed behind Yugi. From it emerged Gaia's newest form. He was a tall, armored giant armed with a golden trident. His black and gold cape waved elegantly in the wind. The sun shined on his armor, making it flash like a radiant star. He spun his staff and forced D/D/D Gust King Alexander into defense mode.

ATK/2600 DEF/2100

Soldier Gaia charged and attacked D/D/D Gust King Alexander. Thanks to Spiral Spear Strike, all 'Gaia the Fierce Knight or Dragon Champion' monsters could inflict piercing damage, meaning even if a monster was in defense mode, the opponent would still take damage to their Life Points. Sky Galloping Gaia got to work at once, destroying Cursed King Siegfried. Then, Gaia the Fierce Knight galloped into action and jabbed his saber into D/D/D Abyss King Gilgamesh's chest for more damage.

"Nice playing with you, boys," Yugi said, taking his leave after his quick victory. The boy who arrogantly challenged him slowly collapsed to his knees and started sobbing as his friends surrounded him to calm him.

After a short walk, Yugi stopped in front of the Blackwing Inn and listened to the hubbub coming from the inside. He heard many voices and the sound of music booming through the thick wooden door. Yugi pushed it open and the noise increased twofold.

The merry sounds of a lute, drums, and fiddle blasted from the corner where the tavern's band played by the hearth. Dancing to the music on a stage lit up with candles was a girl with soft reddish-brown hair tied into long pigtails with little white bows that had bells attached to them, jingling as she moved along with the music. Her lovely green eyes were large and full of purity, and her skin was the color of buttermilk. She donned a bodice corset of engraved leather with frilly white sleeves and a small skirt that showed off her ruffled undergarments which caught more of the crowd's attention than her lovely dancing.

"Is that Serenity?" Yami asked. "What's she doing performing in a place such as this? I thought she'd be teaching at the university."

"I don't know," Yugi replied with a blush.

"Yugi!" called one of the tavern's bar maidens.

"Téa," Yugi replied happily. His face turned an even brighter shade of red as he admired her racy barmaid outfit. He gulped, pulling the collar of his cape. "Um...I see you're here, too." He croaked timidly.

"That I am," Téa replied. She was holding up a tray with fresh drinks and a plate of freshly cooked turkey. "The guys are over by the window booths. I'll be with you in a moment; my shift is almost over."

"Thanks, Téa," Yugi said, stretching the collar of his jerkin. "Uh, what's an esteemed member of the Senate like you doing working in this place?"

Téa winked. "Ah, what's a little extra coin here and there? Besides, Mai opened this place up. It's the least I can do for bringing me to Emboldor in great style. Have a seat and I'll be right with you, okay?" She patted his shoulder as she walked away.

Yugi looked back at the stage to see the girl dancing to a different song. The girl grabbed the hem of her skirt, teasing the customers with a bit of skin and the lacy garter around her thigh. Yugi smiled, and blushed into an even darker shade of red, recognizing the girl as Serenity Wheeler, the sister of his best friend Ser Joey Wheeler the Black Dragon Knight.

Serenity clapped her hands wowing the patrons of the tavern who gathered around the stage throwing gold coins and a few Star Chips at her feet as they begged her to dance some more. Sitting in their own booth by a window were four familiar figures whom Yugi quickly identified as his friends. Two of them were playing cards, and the others were watching the game with great anticipation.

Ser Joey Wheeler; Captain of the Royal Guard, and his friend Ser Tristan Taylor; Commander of the High King's Special Security Forces. They were playing a round of Duel Monsters. A prize pool of a few rare cards, a sack of silver coins, and a pile of sparkling rubies were handsomely laid beside the playing mat, eagerly awaiting the winner of the match. The other two were a young man and a woman. Duke Devlin, son of the Thane of Devlinshire and Chamberlain of the High King, was helping himself to a tankard of ale by the window. The warm afternoon sunlight made his green eyes glimmer like emeralds, and his spiked, black hair turned a shade of gray in the bright light.

The woman, a golden-haired beauty with eyes of amethyst, was Mai Valentine, Duchess of the hold of Purple Rose in the Kingdom of Gardenrealm and, according to Téa, owner of the tavern. She held onto a mug of ale that was barely sipped and still foamed. She took one more sip to see if she could develop a taste for it but cringed when the bitter-sweet beverage went down her gullet. She made a face of disgust and pushed her mug away. She coughed and focused on the match at hand.

"I warn ya, Tristan," Ser Joey growled. "You take one peek at my sista, and we'll settle dis wit swords instead 'o cards, capiche?" He looked at Duke, who did his best to keep his eyes on everything else but Serenity on the stage. "Dat goes fer you, too, Devlin. Just because I let Serenity hop on da stage like dat, does not mean I approve."

"You have to admit, she's earning a bit of gold up there," said Mai. "She has the men of this place wrapped around her little finger. And it looks like she's having fun."

"Ey!" shouted Joey, snapping Tristan out of his hypnosis. "It's yer move. C'mon already, play something."

"Okay, I will," said Tristan. "Try this on for size. My ace of spades, The Cyber Commander, and I'll boost his power with the Spell-Card, Machine Conversion Factory."

"Yeah, dat aint bad," said Joey, looking at the cards in his hands, wondering what to play next. "But wait till ya see dis. I summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

He set the card down with a loud smack on the table.

"Ouch!" Mai said with a laugh. "Sorry, Tristan, but you're finished."

"Nyeh-ha-ha-ha!" Joey laughed. "Yeah! Yer Cyber Commander is scrap metal. And dere goes da rest of yer Life Points."

"Weak, dude," Tristan groaned, picking up his cards and watching Joey scoop up every coin he wagered in the match. "Best two outta three!"

The music had died down as the song ended, but as quickly as it faded, the band played another tune. Serenity had grown tired and bowed, thanking the patrons for enjoying her show. She bent down and started picking up the coins and Star Chips. She added them to a sack tied to her leather belt where she kept a jeweled dagger in a scabbard decorated with useless ornamentation.

The blade could burst into flames with just a thought as well, thanks to its fire enchantment. Serenity called her dagger, Luthia, after a dearly departed friend of hers. She used the dagger as a means to keep the rowdier men away, and she was not afraid to use it if they got too touchy with her. Thankfully, since this estate housed a more polite and well-bred clientele, Serenity had no problems.

She finally joined her friends at their table once she was done collecting her coin. Beads of sweat fell down her delicate face. Her body glistened and her face peachy-pink with exhaustion.

"Hello, Yugi," Serenity greeted the boy. She took a handkerchief from the table and rubbed it on her chest to wipe away the sweat. "How are you?"

"Looks like you were having a good time," Yugi replied.

A soft giggle came out of Serenity's lips. "Yeah, it was a blast." Serenity looked at the mug of ale Mai had left unfinished. "You going to drink that, Mai?" she asked.

Mai shrugged and pushed the tankard towards her. Serenity picked it up and chugged down the drink with two or three mighty gulps. Ale spilled from the corner of her mouth and poured down her neck and chest. Joey glared at Duke and Tristan, to make them gawk elsewhere.

"How can you drink that piss?" Mai asked. Serenity slammed the tankard on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"It's an acquired taste," Serenity responded, followed by a timid burp. "'Scuse me," she said.

Mai burst out laughing and playfully patted Serenity's backside. "My little baby bird, when we get back to Domino, I'm treating you to an apple martini. It's so much better than this swill these Western Folk drink."

Yugi rubbed the back of his head, feeling rather sad for Mai. She spent most of her life in the bustling neon-laden streets of Domino City. No doubt she wanted to leave the middle-aged culture of the Western Lands and return to flatscreen televisions, shopping malls, cell phones, and holographic technology.

"Hey, Yuge," Joey said shuffling his deck. "So how did it go with our friend? You know...our future ruler."

Yugi sighed, rubbing his Millennium Puzzle. "It was worse than I thought," he said.

Serenity gasped. "What happened? Is he okay, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded. Téa joined them moments later and rested her arm on the top of the booth where Yugi sat. "Did he do it?" she asked. "Was the Pharaoh able to get through to him?"

Yugi gave a weak gulp. "It was even worse than I thought, guys,"

Joey grunted. "Yuge, c'mon. Ya gotta tell us everything."

—Bakura's Report—

And so they've brought him at last. I watched them as they delivered the boy to the doorstep of the orphanage. Yugi and all of his little friends have come to say goodbye to the prince. The best part about all this is...they have not a clue that I'm here. No doubt Yugi and his friends believe that I was killed in the battle of Karad-Antha after the boy destroyed Anubis in his sleep. Our mission to destroy the Celtra and the Eyar was a success, but its thanks to that boy in that bundle that I am here in this plain and boring world. But I wonder what madness would have driven them to put Prince Daveed in there.

An orphanage? Yugi. You are such a naïve fool. So many families on this island with great wealth to match that of many of the kings of our world, and you put the Prince of Termnnia in an orphanage. While I can see the intent in this little scheme; putting Daveed in a place where the Sisterhood would least expect it and then pray a family takes him and disappears, there are a lot of flaws in this little flim-flam. I've already exploited it. Hopefully, Denethon and his girls don't find out. He is so wrong. Killing the boy would be a tragic waste.

There is great power in him, why can't he see that? That power was devastating enough to have killed our supposed 'invincible' leader, Anubis. Perhaps, with a little influence, I can get the boy to come with us. That will be hard to do, considering Denethon's assassins are scouring the dimensions looking for him. Marik can only hold them back for so long. Our Millennium Items are strong, but I fear they are no match for the power of an Eyar. While Marik hides the boy's presence from the Sisterhood, I will do what I can to watch and raise him in my own way.

Yugi has failed to see that he practically delivered the prince to me on a silver platter.