And So It Begins...

(Note: This picks up at the beginning of the 'Waking the Dragons' series, where Yami and Yugi are headed to the museum along with their friends. The story will run along with the plot line in the animation.)

"Alright you guys. Let's hurry up and check out this museum. I'm lookin' forward to a pepperoni pizza." Joey says, standing with his crowd of friends as they wait outside a museum. There stands with him a girl, his friend Tea, and two guys, Yami, inhabiting the body of a young boy called Yugi, and Tristan. The crowd knows of the existence of Yami and Yugi but do not actually understand their mysterious bond. Whilst Yami inhabits Yugi's body, the crowd believes they are speaking to the same person. They can not differentiate the two. One is a pharaoh of ancient Egypt that was locked away in a millennium puzzle. The other is a carefree fourteen year old boy.
It is because of the Pharaoh's past that has brought them to this particular museum. He has no memory of his life in Egypt as the pharaoh. He only knows that he locked away a dangerous game, known in those days as the Shadow Games. He searches for anything to aid his mind in the return of his memories. The museum is hosting an exhibit on ancient Egypt. One of the tablets has engraved on it a picture and hieroglyphics depicting the pharaoh.
They walk in. All over the walls are fabulous paintings and sculptures. Something from every period of time in the arts is displayed. Our group, however, goes straight to the back where the gallery for Egypt is located. However, it is closed for a few minutes. "Let's take a look around while we wait." Yugi says. He is unheard by the others, as he remains unseen. The millennium puzzle's power allows the bearer to see his partner. This is how they communicate. They must, after all. The decision of one affects the physical state of both. "Go ahead." Yami says as he enters what we will refer to as the "soul state". When in this form he remains unseen by all but Yugi. "I'm going to check out the tablets."
"Can't you wait just a few minutes to see it with everyone?" Yugi asks. "You never know. What if you have to move something?" This refers to the inability of the soul state. Unfortunately, when you are in the soul state you can not affect that which is around you. You can feel the wind on your face, but it will blow right through you rather than stop. That is but one example.
"I'll stay with you if you so wish." Yami says. "You don't have to if you don’t want to." Yugi says. The pharaoh smiles. "It is only a few minutes. As long as we get there, I don't mind."
So the group moves about the museum, marveling at the all the colorful portraits and intricate sculptures. All around them are stunning works of art. The minutes float by quickly for the others, but it seems as if every second lasts an eternity to our pharaoh. Finally, the exhibit reopens.
"Let's check out the exhibit now, you guys." Yugi says. They walk into the wing and gasp as the series of encased gold tablets glimmer before them. People move about glancing at each for a moment and then continuing on. Our group moves about, looking at each. "Please," the Pharaoh prays. "Have something here-anything here- that will help."
"Relax" says his friend as he touches the velvet ropes in front of a tablet. "It's not like anyone plans on dragging these out of here. In fact, the only other person that is actually really looking at these is that girl over there." He says, nodding his head towards a girl at the center tablet. Her back was to them, so her face was hidden.
She was about average height with long, blonde hair cascading down to the small of her back. It was apparent she was studying the tablet intently because she was vigorously writing on a legal pad. She'd been standing in front of this particular tablet for almost fifteen minutes time. Yugi walked over to her, peering at her tablet. On it was crammed all sorts of notes about Egypt. She was down to her last couple of pages. He suspected that the preceding pages looked the same.
"You must really like history if you take so many notes" he commented to her. "Huh?" she says, brushing back a shock of blonde hair that fell over her shoulder. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you were talking to me." "No problem." Yugi replies, "I was just remarking about your notes. I said you must really like history."
"Only if it's about Egypt" she says. "You know," Yugi begins. "I have a friend you might like to meet. That is, if you like the history of Egypt's pharaohs." He winks at Yami, who smiles back knowingly.
"Or maybe they' like to meet me." The girl whispers quietly to herself, looking at the ground. "Huh?" Yugi says. "It's nothing." She says, giving him a wan smile. The look in her eyes, however, betrays her feelings and gives away the fact that she meant something else.
"Let me take over, Yugi" Yami says, and they change states. "How much do you know about Egypt?" he inquires. He couldn't explain it, but a sense of familiarity passed over him, as if he somehow had met this girl before. She must have felt it too, though we can never know for sure. But what we are quite certain of is that something compelled her to look up. An expression of shock swept over her face as she stared open mouthed for a few moments at the pharaoh. It dawned on her after a few moments, and it was very clear the exact moment her mind began to function again. She promptly fell to her knees and bowed her head down towards the ground. The rest of the group of friends had at some point wandered over to the pair, which was actually a trio, and were surprised at this sudden action. But none were astonished more then our five thousand year old pharaoh at the words that soon tumbled out of her mouth.
"Forgive me, my Lord, it was not you whom I saw first."

"What did you say?" the pharaoh manages to say, breaking the sudden wave of silence and surprise in the group. "Forgive me, please." The girl repeats. "The boy I was talking to was not you. I would never show my pharaoh such disrespect intentionally."
"All right...I'm confused..." says Tristan. "She knows who you are!" remarks a dazed Yugi to the pharaoh. "And she can tell us apart."
"Who are you?" asks Yami, getting down on one knee. "My name is Alyssa. I worked in the palace during your reign." "Wow. No wonder she knows who you are. Hey, maybe when we're done she can tell you what she knows about you." Yugi says excitedly. "Maybe so" Yami says, rising to his feet.
"Remind me why we're here again?" Joey says. "That pharaoh on that tablet is me." Yami tells him. "Look! The engravings look like the Egyptian God Cards," Tristan remarks. "Do you know what it says?" Tea asks the girl, still kneeling on the ground with her head bent. "No. What knowledge I may have had of Egyptian hieroglyphics I no longer retain." She explains.
"What're you dong, Yugi?" Joey says, looking at the pharaoh. He doesn't realize that it is Yami he talks to. Used to this though, the pharaoh replies "I'm not really sure. I just...feel...as if I should do this." He takes out the Egyptian God Cards- Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra- and presents them to the tablet. The cards begin to glow and the group gasps as they continue to increase in brightness. Suddenly a dark light encases the cards and grips the pharaoh's arm. "What's going on?" Shouts Joey. "I don't know-" Yami says. "It feels as if some dark energy is draining the power of the Egyptian God Cards!" The lights in the room begin to flicker on and off.
"Drop the cards!" Joey shouts above the sudden noise. "I can't!" yells the pharaoh. Joey and Tristan grab his arm, trying to assist him in his plight. "Move!" Alyssa says to Tea, who, surprised, steps away. The newly found girl pulls on the cards, trying to help. The light momentarily grips her hand as they touch the cards. Finally, the cards slip out of the hand of the pharaoh. Just as suddenly as it had come, the dark light vanished, and Alyssa falls back from the sudden disappearance of whatever had been holding onto the cards. They fall out of her hand, and scatter on the ground. The group stares at Alyssa, their expressions hard to read. I'm sorry" she stutters. "I-I shouldn't have forgotten my place." At this, she stumbles to her feet and runs straight out of the exhibit.
"Wait!" Yami calls to her, chasing her down the steps of the outer building. "Please," he says as he catches hold of her arm. "I would like to talk to you."
"Why would you want to speak with me, a mere servant girl in your palace? I am not the correct status for such a thing." She says, her eyes downcast once more. "You lived during my time. Anything you could tell me, even the smallest detail, I would be grateful for." Yami says, looking at this mysterious girl who had already changed his world so much. "Then I am sorry to disappoint you, my Lord. I have no memory of life in Egypt except for a few, sketchy details."
"Man, you guys can run fast" Joey says, Tristan and Tea with him. "No, it's just you can't" his friend Tristan jokes. Looking at Alyssa, Tea asks her "Why'd you run away? We barely even said hello."About to reply, Alyssa begins to say something but is cut off by a woman' scream."We'd better check that out" Yugi says. "I agree" says Yami. "C'mon!" he shouts over his shoulder to the rest of the group. "Oh great" Joey says. "More running."
As they round the corner they all stop and stare up towards the sky where giant duel monsters are flying. More were bouncing around on the roofs of buildings. "What's going on here?" Joey says. "There's only one way to find out" the pharaoh says. "Let's pay a visit to Kaiba Corp."
"Why are we going to Kaiba Corp.?" Tea asks. "Take a look around, Tea." Tristan says. "In case you didn't notice, there's giant duel monster hologram all over the city." "I know that. I have eyes." Tea shoots back. "Then start using them! Someone's duel disk must've gone haywire." "But what's at Kaiba Corp that's so important?" she asks again. The Pharaoh looks at her.
"Seto Kaiba."
"I guess you're right. If anyone knows what's going on, it'd be him." Joey says. "That's right. Hey-where'd what-her-name go?" remarks Tristan. "She must have gone back into the museum." Tea says. "You should probably go get her, pharaoh" Yugi says. "After all, she's from ancient Egypt. If nothing else at least you'll know someone from your time."
"You're right. We'd better go find her before she leaves" Yami says. "You guys start off. I'll be right back" says the pharaoh. "Nuh-uh Yug. We're comin' with ya. We know what you're doing!" says Joey. "Besides, the more of us that look, the quicker we'll find her" says Tea. "How did you-" He began, but is interrupted by Joey. "We can read it plain as day on your face, Yugi. You take a lesson form me:...ah..." "What lesson?" asks Tea. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder if there's a brain in there at all."
"Hey! I started out good! I just forgot what I was gonna say!" Joey says, defending himself. "You guys!" Tristan interjects "If you keep arguing she's gonna get away. Let's split up." "I'll take the right wing" Tea offers. "And I'll take the left" says Joey. "I'll search the ground" says Tristan. "And I'll take the Egypt exhibit" says Yami. "Let's meet back here in ten minutes" says Tea. "Right. Afterwards we'll go talk to Kaiba."
They enter the museum once more, each going into their respective areas. Yami was glad to receive the Egypt exhibit. If he remembered correctly, she'd had a notepad earlier and had forgotten it in her sudden flight.
"Now if I was an Egyptian girl from thousands of years ago, where would I be?" Yugi joked. “How about peering out from behind a statue?" Yami says, pointing at the girl standing behind a sphinx and trying to see around the corner. Quietly he sneaks up behind her. The Pharaoh reaches out a hand and taps her on the shoulder.
Surprised, she jumps and turns around. "Hello there. We meet again." He says. "My Lord." She says, beginning to bow again, but Yami reaches out a hand to stop her. "I really wish you wouldn't do that" he says. "It is not proper for one to stand in the presence of the pharaoh." She says. "Nor is it my place to even speak. Having broken one rule, I prefer not to break another."
"But if you are invited to, then you should" Yami says. Softer, he asks her "Why did you run away?" "I did not see any reason to stay." Alyssa replies. "I haven't anything to tell you." "Sure you do" the pharaoh replies. "I told you we'd talk later. Now C'mon. We've got places to go."
"I'm afraid I don't understand." Alyssa says. "We need to fix what's going on. You saw what happened outside with the duel monsters, didn't you?" "Well, yes," she begins. "But-" "So we're going to talk to Seto Kaiba. He's the only one with the technology to make holograms this big all over the city." Yami says.
"But why am I coming?" she questions him. "Because if I don't take you with us, you'll run off again and there goes our little chat about Egypt." "I've told you I don't know anything about it. I have no memory of my days there" she repeats. "You have a pad full of notes. I saw it earlier. That's better then what I have." He says. "What do you mean?" she says. "Yami sighs. "I know very little about the time I lived in Egypt. I know I was a pharaoh. I know I helped save the world. That is about all I know, however. You and I are in the same boat in this way. Do you see now, why I am so eager to speak with you?"
"I guess..." she stutters. "Hey pharaoh!" Yugi shouts. "Ten minutes is up. Time to go." "Right" answers Yami. "Let's go" he says to Alyssa, taking her hand. "Everyone's waiting outside."
"But- Oh, all right..." Alyssa says, giving in and allowing herself to be led outside. She couldn't place why, but she wanted to be near the pharaoh. Maybe it was because he was right when he said they were in the same boat. She never would have guessed that he couldn't remember his own ancient life. Maybe it was because she needed a friend that could understand what it was like to be in the dark about your own life. Whatever it was, she didn't want to leave in her heart. Her mind told her that she shouldn't be doing this-that she was breaking every code that dictated social status. But something else told her to stay.
"Oh good, you found her." Joey says as they walk down the steps. "Try not to run away again, okay? We can't go looking for you all day." Tristan says. "Yeah, I mean, it's not like we bite or anything. Well, that is to say, most of us don't" Tea says glancing sideways at Joey. "Yeah, well, I still think we need to keep an eye on her or else she'll slip away again." Joey says. She looks up to object to this, but he flashes her a smile and winks and she knows he's only kidding.

"What's wrong with the system?" "Is Kaiba Corp responsible for the recent monster sightings?" "How long will it take to fix these problems?"
"People, please, quiet down." An official looking man says to the crowd of reporters anxiously waiting for news from the head of Kaiba Corporation. "We will release a statement later. Right now everything is under investigation."
"When will we know?" "We want answers!" "The customers have a right to know!" More and more angry questions and accusations come from the reporters. Their questions go unanswered, however, as the man calls security out to help with all the ruckus.
"Wow. Kaiba Corp is under siege." Joey says as he, Yami, Yugi, Tristan, Tea, and Alyssa look at the chaotic scene. "It looks like we won't be going anywhere soon if it's Kaiba we want" declares Yugi. "Let's go home" "I agree" Yami says. Turning to the others, he says "Let's all go home. Nothing more is going to happen here. I guess we have to wait along with everyone else." "I guess so." Tea says. "We probably wouldn't have gotten much out of him even if we did see him," Tristan remarks.
"I guess I'd better be on my way then if there's nothing more to see" Alyssa says, trying to slip away. "Nonsense" Tea says pulling her back towards the group. "You have to come back with us. Yugi's grandpa has this really awesome duel monsters shop. Wait 'till you see it!" "Besides, I still want to talk to you about Egypt, even if you don't remember it" The pharaoh adds as she begins to protest.
"Actually, if you want I'll just give you my notes." She says. "What? Yami exclaims. "I wrote things down hoping they would trigger a memory." At this her face falls. "But it didn't. I only need the first few pages. You can have the rest right now."
She moves to tear off some of the pages. "That's okay." Yami says. "You're not getting out of coming with us." She sighs. "Well...then I guess we'd better get going if I'm going to be out of your hair before dark."
"Perfect way to think!" Joey shouts, waving his hands in the air. "The faster you get there, then the faster you can leave." "That doesn't sound very optimistic" Tea says as they start off.