Summery:

Long ago, in a time long forgotten, a Priest fell below his station to love a woman of peasantry. She was said to have blue eyes and hair as white as the purist desert sand. But she was slain. She was slain by none other than the Priest's father who stole from the boy his love in exchange the power beyond the young man's wildest dreams…5000 years later, in a world not yet put down to record, a seventeen year old girl is visited by a messenger of the past who bares with him, as a gift, the power that was stolen from her. This girl’s name is Kisara Clare Nogard. But nothing dies forever, neither lovers, nor villains. And as this young woman and the reincarnation of the Priest from her past are thrust into a whirlwind of visions and reality there are those who would do anything to bring this love story to the catastrophic end it suffered five millennia ago.

Chapter 1 : Power Gained and Power Drained

She walked with her head held high, trying to ignore the curious gazes that she attracted. It was the second day of September and the girl tightened her white coat around her to keep out the wind. She could not blame them; after all, she did not exactly look like the average seventeen year old. Her skin was paler than anyone else’s, almost white, but not in that unhealthy way which made people cringe. No, it was white in that shining, radiant way that made people wonder how it had gotten so fair. Her hair was just as out of the ordinary. It was white as snow and yet, at times, seemed to glimmer blue. But her eyes were what singled her out the most. They were a piercing blue. In those eyes flashed emotion, while no muscle in her body affirming it. Fear, love, hate, anger, despair, could only be betrayed by those beautiful, yet frightening eyes.

She walked down the street to her apartment, rolling her flight bag behind her. The girl had just gotten off the plane a few hours ago. Few in Domino really knew her. Her face yes, but her real name was something she just liked to keep her self. To the world, she was known as Clare.

Clare yawned a bit as she walked. It would take her forever to get used to the time change. Spain seemed so far away now. She rather danced than walked as she went down the street. She was doing small ballet moves which no one would notice. There were two reasons for this. First off, Clare did not want to get out of practice, and secondly, it kept her warm if she stayed in motion.

Unknown to the Clare, someone had been following her. It was another young woman. She had black hair, short and shinny. Her skin was tanned and her eyes were often shaded by her hair. She wore all black – black pants, black shirt, and black leather teach coat. The only thing that was of another color was the gold snake band around her head. Indeed, the only thing that was similar about the two women was they were both frighteningly beautiful. The second woman stopped and watched as Clare turned down another, narrower street, and stood her flight bag up properly. Clare then reached into the pocket of her coat, and pulled out a set of key. It seemed to take her an age to fidget with the key. When she pushed the door open it did so with a creak. It had been a while since Clare had been to this house.

The black haired woman narrowed her eyes as she watched her go inside. “So…we meet again.”

Meanwhile, Clare sighed as she let her flight bag stand right at the entrance to the living room. She was too tired to unpack right now. Clare collapse on the couch and stretched her legs out in front of her. She had turned the heater on and the soft buzzing of it could be heard throughout the house. Home. She looked around in satisfaction. It had been three years since she had last been here. It was so good to be home. Clare let her head flop back onto the back of the couch and looked up at the ceiling, but she didn’t see the ceiling. A man in a stranger turban had leaned his arms on either side of her head, and was leaning over her, and looking her in the face.

“Do not be alarmed. I am Shadi. I have come to give you what you lost 5000 year ago...”

The black haired woman felt a shiver run through her. It was time. After 5000 years, she would fulfill her vow. She would execute her revenge. She walked across the street to the house where Clare lived and knocked on the door, then waited for an answer.

Clare didn’t hear the knock. She had leapt up from the couch. She had eyes only for this strange man. Only the couch separated them. Do not be alarmed, hadn’t exactly dispelled all her fears, and rightly so. If she had known at that moment what adventure had crossed her threshold along with this stranger she would most likely have passed out there and then; not that she wasn’t going to anyway.

Clare looked over her new guest in suspicion. His skin was very tanned, as if he had spent the better part of his life in warmer climates. She couldn’t see his hair, it was under the turban, so instead Clare looked into his eyes. The second she did so she was mesmerized. There was something bizarre about his eyes, something which made shivers run up and down her spine. And then it came to her. There was no reflection there. There was no life. Clare was totally unnerved “W-what do you mean, 5000 years ago?” was all that she could whisper.

“I mean to change what happened before Kisara.”

She flinched. How did he know her name?

He continued, “Seto’s father is not here to kill you now. Seto has defeated all wars in the dueling ring. Now, you are the only one who can help him in the war of the heart. Now is the time, when neither he nor the Pharaoh is in danger from any power hungry villain.”

“I– I don’t understand.”

For a second the ghost of a smile flittered across Shadi’s face. “Then open your mind,” he whispered. Without another word, he stepped through the couch. As he advanced, he raised some sort of a key which had till then hung around his neck. Clare felt her back press against the wall as she tried to back away from him. But then the metal of the key touched her head and turned, as if in a lock. A door in her mind seemed to open, and power as she had never felt before or had she? surged in. It coursed through her, filling her lungs, her brain, her heart. Clare’s eyes rolled and…she knew no more.

The woman outside scowled. She could feel the power. It was the power that had first captivated the one she loved. It was the power that had torn him away from her, and into that lizards mildew-white arms. Oh no, I made a vow to destroy her, and destroy her I shall. The power will not be hers again! The woman touched the golden band which sat on her head and smiled, “Now the fun begins,” she whispered. The item began to glow and the Key's power began to fade slowly. The item that this woman possessed was an unknown item, never before seen…

Shadi stared at his key. The gold was burning hot in his hand. What was going on? Some one was trying to foil his plan! He focused all his energy into his item. Thousands of years of experience coursed through him, struggling, fighting, until…at last! The last of the power escaped into the girl’s mind, and he let the heavy door, which so many had tried to keep closed for so long, shut with a groan. Just in time too. Whatever that strange other power was, another moment and he would have had to let go despite himself.

He looked around, smirking. “I do not know who you are!” he called out with both his mental and physical voice, “but you are too late! The Blue Eyes White Dragon no longer lives in a card. The card is useless, powerless! The power has been returned to its rightful owner, and every soul of Egypt will fight to keep it that way!"

Yes, poor Seto Kaiba. He would be facing a nasty little shock the next time he dueled...

“Of coarse, another megalomaniac seeking to obtain all seven Millennium Items and gain world domination,” Shadi continued in an almost board tone of voice. “It is old Stranger. You are simply another name on that already crowded page.”

“You are mistaken Shadi, guardian of the Millennia.” The black haired woman said from outside with a sneer. She too was using the physical powers to communicate. “My path is quite a different one. I wish for the items, yes. For power, yes. But not, as you believe, for world domination.” Then the band around her head glowed black and the door which had separated her from Shadi – the outside from the inside – sprung open. The only reason she had not used this means of entry before was so that she might have the element of surprise on her side. And jugging by the look on Shadi’s face, she’d succeeded. “Its time I claimed the Millennium Key's power for myself.” Her band was encrusted will so many stones of such rarity that it must have been a truly great empire to afforded its creation. It began to glow an eerie tint of black once again.

“Magic item of days gone past
Surrender your magic and yield to me at last.
I call on thee to forsake your right
And surrender your will unto my blight!”

As she chanted, the Millennium Key that hung around Shadi’s neck began to glow and its energy drained. “Shadi, you never knew about this artifact, which is superior beyond measure to your puny Millennium Items...”

Shadi’s eyes widened. His power. The power which had been his through the millennia…it was gone. He held the key which had accompanied him through so many dangers.

Useless.

“What is the name of an item that can take the very power out of power?” he asked hoarsely, blinking at what had, until moments ago, been his treasure of treasures.

But even as Shadi asked this his brain was churning. She hadn’t merely come for the item, she’d come…for Kisara. Kisara was the rightful owner of the power of the Blue Eyes. All it had to do was get into her, even for a moment, and it would not come out again. Not unless…

Shadi’s heart filled with panic. He wheeled around, lunged to the fainted girl, and grabbed her wrist. He began to murmur a chant from the days of old. No item was needed. The scene began to blur. They were being teleported, and the only way the girl could lose the power now was through death. But they stayed long enough to hear the black clothed woman’s, who had her back to them and who had not yet realized what was happening, next few words…

The woman had turned from him to survey the room. In the words of the great English poet, Dryden, Even victors are by victory undone. It was clear that she could already see Shadi’s soul banished to the Shadow Realm where eternal darkness festers. It was clear she was already imagining Clare’s murdered body lying of the rug in her home.

“I was correct. You didn’t know of it. The first Pharaoh ever to use magic was foolish enough to create this. It looks simple enough yes but the Pharaoh’s Crown is an artifact of more power than you can dream. By simply coming here you have sealed your fate Shadi…and hers! Now, Pharaoh’s Crown, do what thou must!” She held up her item into the air and it showed a black light on her, revealing her true essence: a draconic soul whose power was darker than darkness itself. “Fool. Fear the power of the Pharaoh’s Crown!" Then she turned…to an empty room.

Shadi blinked. The scene had altered considerably. The room they were now in was smaller than the one they had left. It was also the color of sand – a lovely texture. He looked up and saw Ishizu Ishtar standing right across the room by the door. It seemed as though she herself had just entered. Shadi and Clare were in Ishizu’s office in the Domino Museum. Shadi sighed. Kisara was safe...for now.

Shadi shook as he hoisted himself off the floor. The strangers last words Fear the power of the Pharaoh’s Crown! still rung in his ears. Kisara was still unconscious.

Kaiba had better fall in love with her for all the trouble this is getting us into. “Hello Child. It has been a while,” he said as Ishizu walked up to him and offered him a hand to help him up. He took it gratefully. Ishizu Ishtar was the daughter of a Tomb Guardian. Her family had guarded the Pharaoh’s tomb for centuries, awaiting the king’s return. She was the leading Egyptologist in Domino. Looking at Ishizu one might have thought that Egyptians had not died out. Her black hair was done up in a typical Ancient Egyptian fashion. Elegant eye shadow also hinted at her origin. Ishizu had bright green eyes and carried herself with such dignity and grace that she really did seem from another culture entirely.

Ishizu looked first at Kisara who’s form was still lying on the ground, and then at Shadi. “What happened?” she asked, her voice full of concern. “What went wrong?”

The first time Shadi had appeared like that in her office, half a year ago to negotiate how to bring Kisara and Seto together, she had screamed in horror. He couldn’t blame her. After all, he had been there the day Marik, her younger brother, had killed his own father. But past differences were buried now…for the good of the future.

Shadi shook his head. “A woman with some sort of all powerful new Item decided to try and massacre us as I returned Kisara her power. It’s funny, but I’m sure I’d seen her before somewhere. It seems caution is the thing now. Have you called for the Pharaoh? He’s the only one of us Kaiba will even speak to. Kaiba won’t believe him about Kisara, but he’ll hear. And that’s all we need right now.”

“Yes I have contacted the Pharaoh. He told me that he would speak to Kaiba, but was unsure of the out come. For everything to be set right Kaiba must believe in his ancient heritage. A task that isn’t easy. Here, help me get her onto the couch,” the two lifted the girl onto the sofa. She was unnervingly light.

“It’s true,” Shadi said glumly, fluffing up the pillow under Clare’s head, “and it isn’t going to be made any easier when his greatest rival comes walking up to him and tells him that, 5000 years ago, half way across the world, he was in love with a girl that contained the spirit of his favorite duel monster card. What he will be forced to believe is that his precious Blue Eyes card hasn’t an ounce of power left in it. Does the Pharaoh wish to see her?’’

“He will arrive with Kaiba or without Kaiba.” She sat down and placed a wet cloth on Kisara's forehead.

A groan was heard. Kisara was waking up...

Shadi mopped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his robe. It had been a very nerve racking half hour. “The last thing we need is for Kaiba to hate her for the loss of his card before he even meets her.” he bent over Kisara and took one of her hands, “How do you feel?” Shadi was, to say the least, worried. He hoped that the charge of power had not been too much for her mental capacity.

At that moment the office door swung open without so much as a knock. Two men stood in the door way.

“Wh-what’s going on?” Clare’s eye-lids flickered open. She sat up on her elbows, shakaly, then slowly turned her head looking in turn at everyone in the room. Finally, her gaze landed on one of the men in the doorway. Seto Kaiba.

Their eyes locked and, if nothing else, power shone from both of them. The power of ice shone from Seto Kaiba’s eyes, while the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon shone from Clare’s. They stayed like that for several moments. Seto Kaiba had eyes blue as Clare, but unlike hers, they were hard as iron. His hair was a dark brown and later on Clare wondered if he had brushed it with the help of a ruler. It seemed ridiculously straight. Another thing about Kaiba was his height. He was taller than all the men in the room, and toward in the door way, radiating such an arrogant air that in the first moment, Clare felt quite wrong footed. But a moment was all that it lasted.

Kaiba had always been able to stare down his opponents. But there was something in this girl’s eyes, so mighty and yet so familiar, that finally, without even realizing he was doing it, he looked away. Who is she? he wondered with distaste.

“So, what’s all this about?” he said coldly, surveying the occupants of the room, but avoiding Clare. Behind him someone whom Clare recognized as Yugi, the World Champion of Duel Monsters, came in and closed the door.

Shadi stepped forward, still holding Clare’s hand. “I think that, for Kisara’s benefit, I must quickly tell the story with which the rest of us are acquainted all too well.” He turned to Clare and, in short, told her of the Pharaoh who ruled over Egypt 5,000 years ago. He told her of the seven Millennium Items (but said nothing of the Pharaoh’s Crown) that had been created for the seven advisors who served the Pharaoh, and how the power of the Shadow Games had been sealed in these items. With every word the smirk on Kaiba’s face became more and more obvious.

Clare on the other hand, let Shadi’s voice wash over her. Why should she believe him? It was ridicules, all of it, and yet… “But–but what does any of this have to do with me?” she finally stammered when Shadi paused for breath. She was still very weak, and every muscle in her frame was on fire as if she had over exerted them. But some reason she was beginning to feel as if, somewhere she’d known all that the turbaned man was telling her, and yet there was something missing…some one.

Shadi smiled, then without a word, pointed at Kaiba. “Look! Do you know him? Have you ever, in as much as the vaguest of dreams ever seen him!?”

Clare glanced briefly at Kaiba, then shrugged. “I used to go to Domino Middle School, till I went abroad three years ago. He was a grade above me, him being eighteen and me seventeen now. Other than that I’ve seen him on TV, the stock magazines, on posters in Dueling supplies windows…”

“I mean in another place,” Shadi cut her of. “Another time, another–”

“–Let me guess,” scoffed the CEO, for that was what Seto Kaiba was. He was the CEO of the largest Duel Monsters corporation in the world. “This Kisa-what-ever-you-called-her is another reincarnation in your little charade . What’s her role? The unknown step sister of the third cousin of the servant who washed Yugi’s feet?”

Clare felt a strong pang of annoyance. It was bad enough that everyone was calling her by a name that only her immediate family and one close friend knew, but the fact that some one was insulting it was intolerable. “It’s Clare if it’s all the same to you Seto.”

Ishizu cleared her throat loudly. The last thing they needed at this moment was for Kaiba and Kisara to have a row. “No, Kaiba,” she said calmly, ignoring the glaring contest the two were having at the moment. “Kisara is–” she had been planning to say your love, but somehow the present atmosphere didn’t suggest that the statement would go down too nicely. “–the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.”

It took a few moments of silence for Kaiba to really realize how totally ludicrous this statement was. Once he did, he could not stop laughing. It wasn’t a very pleasant sound. “And who– who’s brilliant idea was that? Was it yours Yu–Yugi?” He was almost chocking. “No, of course not! You’re too intoxicated with this story to even consider that it’s just a bunch of lies! It was you Ishtar! You and your ability to foresee destiny. Did it come to you in a dream, or were you just board and thought you’d ‘misread’ some squiggles on a rock for your amusement?”

Clare ignored him. Instead she turned her head sharply so that she could look up at Shadi in the eyes. “But what happened? What did you do with that key?” She said all this quietly but every word was heard, even over Kaiba’s now dying fit of laughter. Had Kaiba ever paid any attention to the other gender he might have noticed that Clare really did look very beautiful right now. There she was, lying on the couch, her hair cascading over the pillows. And even in her weakened state, the fire of curiosity and wonder burned in her eyes. Well, Kaiba may not have noticed, but Yami – the man standing beside him in the door way – certainly did.

Shadi smiled sadly at Clare. “Your power Kisara. I was returning it to you. The explanation as to why you lost it is simple enough, but the explanation to the explanation is one that is so fantastical that, Kaiba in particular, might simply refuse to believe it.”

Kaiba was not used to people talking about in third person while he was in the room. But Shadi’s last statement was too tempting. “Might not believe your explanation? Has no one here been listening? I don’t believe any explanation that you freaks can think up!”

Shadi took a deep breath to steady himself. Being with Kaiba in one room for half an hour really could tax the nerves. He then took Clare under the arms and helped her sit up. Ishizu also stood up and said she would make Clare a cup of coffee. Shadi then gestured to the couch and two arm chairs, all of which had been draped with camel bags. “All I want is another hour of your time Kaiba, hear me out and do with the information as you see fit.”

“You mean to remember it as nothing but a particularly boarding board meeting from the moment I get out of here.” Kaiba crossed the room and, to Clare’s slight annoyance sat down on the other end of the couch from her. Ishizu went to the other end of the room and began to boil the coffee. Yami, who had not yet said a word, gave Shadi an encouraging smile, sat down in the other chair.

It was the fist time that Clare got a good look at this other person. He had rather long hair which was a mixture of yellow, crimson and black and was spiked upward. Around his neck he wore some sort of upside down pyramid on his neck, just as Shadi wore his key.

Shadi merely stood there for a moment, gazing at the wall behind his listeners. This is it, he thought. About 5000 years of work are about to be put to the test…