Birdhouse in Your Soul

[700km south of Cairo, Egypt - three months ago]

The rays of the sun glared down on a group of kids huddled together trying to share whatever shade was left. Her eyes were so dry, along with her tongue, every time she tried to speak her throat got raspier by the minute. She thought about going back to sleep and just never to wake up again. It felt right. It felt painless. It felt...

A splash of lukewarm water showered over her and three others, "Wake up!" A man ordered harshly shoving them one by one, "Whoever wants the last remaining drinking water needs to lead us inside the tomb!" He hissed.

Every one of the hostages looked at him as if he were bat shit crazy. There was fear in most of their eyes and only anger in one of them. And that was her golden eyes perceived. She wanted this to end. She was this close of dying of dehydration. What more did they want from her?

"You're fucking insane!" A guy from her group croaked out, "You know how many have died trying to get the nameless pharaoh's treasure?" The cruel man sneered and stomped over to the kids, "What if it's already been raided? What if-" he was interrupted by getting smacked with the barrel of a gun.

"One of you here posses this knowledge of this so called shadow games and you will either die out here or you can all figure out how to get me what I damn want!"

That is when she realized that she royally screwed up. Someone had figured her out and now she had others here who didn't deserve this punishment. It had happened when they were on their next expedition. They were separated from the others and went on another jeep. Then out of nowhere, they have been hijacked by these crooks and she knows damn well who they are now. They were the hunters and they are here for her and the nameless pharaoh's treasure.

"We don't know anything!"

"We're just students studying abroad! Please just let us go!"

They all froze at the sound of the safety switch being turned off from the gun, "That's not the answer to what I'm looking for."

She couldn't let this continue, "Stop! It's me!"

All eyes were on her now.

"Just leave my classmates alone! Please, I'm the only one who knows!"

The next thing she knew is that they put a sack over her head and she was in complete darkness as she felt them touch her. She tried shoving them away but they took a hold of her and dragged her. The man with a gun in his hand commanded something in Arabic which made everyone else cry out in protest. Her ears were filled with three loud shots that can almost compare to the sound of thunder crackling. For the first time ever, she was truly, deeply, frightened.

They removed the sack but it was still dark. She felt cold and realized there were inside the pharaoh's tomb. The only light source was from her captor's torches. They kicked the back of her knees so that she can kneel. A pair of hands grabbed her face and made her open her mouth. She bit down on the man's finger which granted her a slap. They forced her mouth open again and shoved the container of whatever water is left down her throat. As she was trying to swallow, she nearly suffocated and she coughed out most of it. She tried not to vomit.

"There is no escape, Sachmis."

She knew where the voice came from and she knew who it was. She shut her eyes hoping it will all go away, "Y'know how long I've been searching for you?"

He forced her to look at him, "How I miss those eyes of yours." He pulled her up from the ground and shoved her forward which just made her fall onto her knees again, "Show me where it is!"

"It's not here." She whimpered trying to get up.

"Were you the one who came here earlier?" He grabbed her by the collar, "Is that why you were prancing around in Cairo, Egypt with a fake name? Huh? You had the damn thing with you!" He grabbed her face, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Boss, look!"

They both turned to see three of the Egyptian statue heads turned to look at them. This crept the entire crew except for her and the man who had her.

"We are wasting our time here." She muttered, "if we stay here long enough they'll end up killing us."

He grabbed her hair, "No, Sachmis, you wasted both our times when you ran away from us and tried to take matters into your own hands." He pushed her forward, walking very close behind her, "Now we make it out of this together. You die. I die."

"B-boss, what about us?" His remaining men whimpered.

"I suggest you follow behind as well if you want to live." He ordered and pushed her to walk. As she neared the statues, they moved to the side and bowed to her. Her hands were bound behind and she could feel his hot breath down her neck. She was shaking as she kept walking passed the rest and they continue to bow.

"Easy as pie." His breath brushed against her neck and she felt sick. Closing her eyes trying really hard not to vomit. She stopped when she heard his men let out a horrible cry. The statues didn't stay as they were and they literally attacked and murdered them. Pulling out their weapons and attacking the rest of the bandits behind them. Stabbing through their bodies like if they were nothing.

"Help u-Ahhh!"

She rushed over but was yanked back, "We're not finished yet!"

"You're just gonna let your people die!"

"I don't have use for them anymore!" He pushed her back to the opposite direction with a growl, "Now, move!"

She shook in fright. She didn't understand this at all. Why would the statues bow to her and not let the others pass? She was going to die here in this tomb, either by the hands of this disgusting man or by the hands of an angry pharaoh.

She stopped in front of a slab and the next room had a bridge.

"I can't barely read this text." She told him trying to hold back tears. He barely looked it over and paid attention to the next room, "Keep going."

"What if there's a trap!"

"I said, keep going."

She looked at the bridge before her. She had played too many tomb raider video games to know where this was going. She looked ahead and saw the dark tomb. From the stories they had told her, if the light is shone then the treasure will wait there. Though, it seemed that the tomb was empty. There was nothing but darkness. It's gone.

"It's not here." She whispered as her eyes searched the area but she couldn't see much. As she crept closer she was finally able to see the spot where the treasure once was.

"What did you say?" He asked walking closer to her.

She pointed, "See? I told you, it's not there!"

He looked at it and then at her. The gun was facing her and she backed up towards the bridge, "I'm sick of these games and I've given you so many chances!"

"Royaru, I'm telling the damn truth!" Her head had lowered down in mercy. Her wrists were bruising as they were trying to free themselves from the rope. She was close to crying.

"You're hiding it from me!"

"I don't want anything to do with this! I'm sick of this! I want to go home!"

"There was never home for you, Sachmis!" He crept closer and she kept backing away. Soon they were in the middle of the bridge and he began to choke her, "Your place is here in this tomb! This is where your soul will rot for all eternity!"

The ground felt hot underneath their feet and the tomb suddenly began to shake. He let go of her and tried to catch his balance. She on the other hand was close to knocking on the afterlife's door. Her wrists were now free but that didn't help her from falling onto the ground. Royaru looked over to her and he growled. He raised his gun towards her so that he could finish his job but then he stopped. Behind her, towering over them, looked what it seemed to be a demon. He couldn't believe it, this was something not of this world. If it weren't for the gut wrench smell he would've thought that he was hallucinating. No, this creature had decaying flesh falling out from its skeletal featured face. The only thing that didn't look like death was the golden crown that dangled from it's head, "By the gods, it's a zombie?" Royaru shot at it but nothing happened. It just crept closer.

Her lungs were breathing evenly now and she had to wake up at the right time. Gasping another set of oxygen, she saw this mummified demon-like creature hovering over her. It's skeletal hand pointed at Royaru and it spoke this language she couldn't distinguish at first but suddenly it was as if she understood it. And by the looks of it Royaru did as well.

"Death to those who poison and destroy the sacred blood." It snarled breathing out air that smelled like death, "...shalt smite thee with great vengeance and fury!"

"What. The. Fuck." She mouthed as her eyes rolled back and she fainted at the ugly cries that Royaru made as he'd fallen to his death.

And just how it appeared it was now gone. The tomb was empty and cold. All that remains was her passed out onto the floor. Her breathing was shallow and wheezing. Suddenly, there was a soft glow hovering over her. It became a makeshift humanoid transparent being and lifted her up. It carried her over to the empty spot where it once held the millennium puzzle. There was a hand over her and a voice echoed, "It's not our time, yet."

With that she gasped awake alone in her room at Domino City, modern time. It was still dark outside. She jumped out of bed, not caring that it was three in the morning. Her breathing was becoming rapid. That nightmare of a memory was coming back to her. She never wanted to think about that place again but it comes back as a reminder of why she's here. Trying her hardest not to go into an anxiety attack she could heard the millennium scale move behind her as if the thing mocked her. She sunk to the floor and buried her head between her knees and she started crying, "Why do you keep bringing me back here..." She sobbed, "What do you want from me!"

-=-

"CAIRO - Domino City's University's archaeological team has discovered a pharaoh's tomb, dating back to the Egyptian "New Kingdom" era (1580-1314 BC)."

Yugi's eyes widened as he read the newspaper, "Wow! Gramps, they found the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh!" His grandfather came to read over his shoulder amazed by this great news, "That's how my treasure was found!"

"Hoho!" Grandpa chirped, "That's my old friend Professor Yoshimori!"

"Grandpa, it says that it was he who discovered it along with this other man." Yugi explained looking back at the newspaper.

"That is really good for him," Grandpa nodded having a proud smile that his friend made a fantastic discovery, "I'm going to go ahead and give him a call to see if he can let us go see it at the museum early."

Then Yugi got an idea, "Can I invite everyone else, Grandpa?"

"Of course you can!"

Yugi hurriedly gathered his backpack, "Thanks, Grandpa! I'm taking the newspaper!" Rushing out of the shop with excitement. He couldn't wait to show everyone else. He wondered how they would react. His thoughts went to Idol and that fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach made him want to sprint or gush out laughing. He remembered her interest in Egyptology and how she loved to hear his grandfather's adventures. This would definitely make her day. Suddenly, he stopped walking and looked around. "Strange." He wondered. Idol made it a habit to come by and walk with him to the bus. Maybe she had overslept? Now that he thought about it. He didn't know where she slept. She never mentioned anything on where she lived or who she lived with. A frown fell upon his face realizing he didn't know much of the girl to begin with. He knew her interests in gaming. He knew what food she liked. He knew her favorite color. He knew she was smart at math. All he knew was subtracting life points. He knew how she acted with him and his friends but... He entered the bus and looked around for a place to sit or stand. He held onto a pole and there was still no sign of the girl.

His head had leaned against the pole as he clutched the newspaper close to him. His thoughts had drifted back to that particular girl. There was something about her that just pulled him forward to this dreamlike state. His breathing became deep as these thoughts of his tempted to embrace him with open arms.

Dark Yugi had gasped feeling as he had woken up. He had no idea what happened and for this is the second time this transition happened to him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. As he calmed himself down he looked around the area a little confused. Ever since he had left the shop, he couldn't feel her presence anywhere. He didn't seemed as worried as his other half. Though, he could feel the feelings his other self had for her. Yugi wasn't aware of it and his darker self didn't think he wanted him to. It was confusing him. He didn't know if these thoughts were projecting from him or his other self. He wouldn't want to draw himself so close to her as well. Unlike his other half, he knew another side of her. Judging from all the times he had spent with her, although he didn't want to admit it, he knew very well that she was hiding something from him. She was careful at wording her words to keep him in the dark and he was fine with that for now. He didn't like it but something inside him wanted to trust her. The problem was, is it him or is it Yugi that's making him feel this way.

A bump in the road caused him to retreat back to his labyrinth of a mind and this led to Yugi bumping his face onto the pole.

"Gah!" He scolded himself for falling asleep while standing and went to grab the newspaper he had dropped. Adjusting the front cover he read the head lines over again....

"An Egyptian Exhibition!?"

His friends wondered enthusiastically. He just explained how there was going to be one held tomorrow at the Domino City Art Museum. He also got a confirmation that his grandfather's friend had sent the invite. He was pleased to know that his friends wanted in as well. Miho was already enamored at the idea. Honda agrees with her. Anzu seemed excited about it. Except for Jounouchi when they mentioned a mummy and curses.

"Don't scare him, Anzu." Yugi whispered to her as Jounouchi had grabbed a hold of him really believing that his short friend was cursed. He looked around and frowned again, "Jounouchi, have you seen Idol today?"

The thought of curses slipped away for now and Jounouchi scratched his head thinking, "Hm... No, now that you mention it." Like a light bulb had turned on in his head, "Oh! No wonder it's so quiet!"

"That's the same thing she said whenever you're not around." Anzu teased which made Jounouchi looked at her in shock, "What?! She talks about me behind my back!"

"Yugi, she probably has her hands full back at her class room." Anzu mentioned as she noticed the solemn look on his face, "From what I heard, Dr. Haner is starting his tests earlier than us."

Jounouchi made a disgusted look at the mention of that, "Feel sorry for her already."

All Yugi could do was nod but it felt like he knew that she wasn't around period. And if she wasn't in school at all, where else would she be?

-=-

Shadi remained expressionless as he observed the girl before him who kept glaring at him as she sipped her caffeinated tea, almost burning her tongue in the process. Neither of them had said anything. Shadi didn't need her to. Without the key, he can already read her.

She set her cup down and cleared her throat, "So... I assume you came all the way over here to scold me."

"I'm here to take the millennium scale back." That was the first sentence he had spoken since he had arrived at her dorm, "It seems you haven't done your job or anything for that matter."

"No, no, no!" She waved her finger at him, "You have no idea! I have taken the job of babysitting and solving a mystery here." Sipping her tea again and nodding to herself, "Yes, you should definitely see my scooby-doo gang."

"I don't understand what you mean but only assume you are talking about solving the millennium puzzle."

Her ears perked up at that and she smiled at him, "Oh, of course I am!" Biting down on her finger she automatically decided that it'd be better for him to know that the puzzle wasn't solved.

"Then where is the millennium puzzle?"

"Obviously, not anywhere near me!" She laughed at her own stupidity, "Cause that'd be stupid!"

Suddenly, a key appeared right in front of her and she stopped laughing completely and wore a scowl. He wasn't amused, "I don't need this key to know that you are lying to me. It was obviously solved, otherwise how else would you know it'd be here."

She rubbed her forehead and sighed harshly, "Shadi, I don't feel comfortable testing the power of the millennium puzzle. He isn't aware of what it does anyways."

"So, it's a boy?" His ears perked, smirking as he watched her grit her teeth, "That's all the information you're getting out of me."

Chuckling, Shadi crossed his arms, "Sachmis, what's with this territorial attitude? After I rescued you out of that tomb and unlocked the memory of your true identity you were so eager to collect the millennium items for me. Don't forget your purpose here."

"I want to help him, Shadi." She muttered softly.

"You have no say in that matter." He rose from his seat, "It looks like I'm wasting my time anyways." He went to grab the millennium scale that rested upon the night stand, "I'll take over from here, Sachmis."

She stood up and grabbed his arm that reached for the scale, "You're not going anywhere near him."

"And you're testing my patience, Sachmis."

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" She growled, "I've been inside the millennium puzzle, you'll go insane and go through a fate worse than dea-"

He roughly shoved her back, "How could you possibly enter the puzzle's soul room? That makes no sense! As a matter of fact it's impossible!"

"I don't know what happened and if I did I wouldn't tell you!" She hissed as she regained her composure. Shaking his head, he clenched his fists, "You stupid, girl! First, you run off to take matters into your own hands and now you're prancing around with the millennium puzzle leaving a wide trail of enemies coming at you!"

"I've been handling it lately!"

"Sachmis, open your eyes! You have no idea what's going on! Don't you want your real memories back?"

She looked away from him and huffed, "All I wanted was a normal life back in California."

Shadi had his eyes narrowed and looked over to the millennium scale. After knowing what had happened to her as a child and being dragged into with those criminals then left her to die in the nameless pharaoh's tomb, he had saved her and took her to a modern day of Kul Elna. Natalie wasn't going to lie, she is grateful for the man in front of her but she was torn when he had given her an ultimatum. He had unlocked something inside of her that granted her to get in touch with her lost memories and her powers of the shadow games but it wasn't enough. There were other items out there that had the rest of her memories. A part of her has this undying need to get them back but... the other doesn't want anything to do with it. She was born weak. At the age of four after recovering from another fever they had told her that she wasn't going to have a long life span. Throughout her child hood she was forced to accept that and it made her fall under depression.

Closing her eyes to prevent any form of tears from falling she could remember how it was. She hated it. Why couldn't she be normal? The man in front of her had given her some answers but it only made her life even more confusing. Sighing she looked back at Shadi and placed her hands over the scale and with a soft tone she states, "I'll do it."

He gave her a long hard stare before he let go of the millennium scale. She held it close and sighed, "I want to do it on my terms, okay?" She then gave him a warning look, "Just don't hurt the boy."

He tilted his head to the side and then it dawned upon him, "You have feelings for him." It was more of a statement then an actual question. She just gave him an annoyed look, "If I say yes, will you agree to my terms?"

He didn't say anything but began to take his leave. As he reached the door he gave her one last look, "By the way, Sachmis, the last leading member of the hunter society is here in Domino."

Her eyes had widened and she let out a small gasp, "Come again?"

"The doctor of archaeology, Kanekura, he is now a curator and sponsoring for a Professor Yoshimori." Shadi informed her, "They had raided a pharaoh's tomb with the help of the hunters." He looked at the millennium scale, "I leave the judgement in your hands."

Natalie's lips began to form a smirk, "That is the only good thing you have told me today." And with that he was gone and she cradled the scale in her hands, "Ammit." She called out getting the demon's attention, "I think revenge is on the menu tonight."

"Sachmis, the museum doesn't open till tomorrow."

Natalie sighed, "Fine."

"Can we still judge mortals tonight?"

"No."

Natalie rubbed her temples and stared out the window, "How lucky Yugi gets some arrogant, insane ancient spirit that can hardly communicate with him and I'm stuck with some man-eating hag."

"Sachmis!"

[Sunday - Domino City Museum of Arts]

Yugi stood next to his grandfather with a frown displaying on his features. He had his hands tucked in the pockets of his school uniform pants. Yesterday, after school he went ahead to visit Idol's classroom. To his dismay, she wasn't at school at all and nobody had any contact information whatsoever. It was like the time that happened with Jounouchi all over.

"Look, Yugi!" His grandfather snapped him out of his thoughts, "Your friends have arrived!"

Yugi looked over to see Honda, Jounouchi, Miho, and Anzu walking towards them while waving. He smiled over to them before muttering, "Yeah... but not all of them."

"Ah, we made it!" Jounouchi grinned sporting a what appeared to be an old letter-man jacket. Anzu noticed a missing Idol and looked over to Yugi, "So, you didn't find her?" She whispered to him and he only shook his head.

"Are we ready to go inside?" Honda asked seeing an eager Miho but grandpa replied looking around the crowd of people, "Hold on, we are waiting for my friend."

Jounouchi on the other hand eyed Yugi, "School clothes on a Sunday?"

"Is that weird?" Yugi tilted his head, not seeing anything wrong with it.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Mutou-san!" It was a man who looked to be in his late forties. Yugi's grandfather's face lit up at the sight of his old friend, "Professor Yoshimori!"

The professor had a guilty expression as he approached the group, "I'm sorry I didn't write you.."

"I'm just as guilty!" Grandpa Mutou waved it off, "Anyway, thanks for inviting us." He then turned to the others, "Everyone, this is Professor Yoshimori!"

"Pleased to meet you all!" The professor waved with a friendly smile as everyone else returned the gesture. Honda gave him a look of admiration, "You are the one who found the king's tomb, such a talented person."

Miho's eyes brightened, "That's so cool!"

Grandpa Mutou noticed a shorter, stout gentleman walked up next to his friend, "And this man...?" He asked and the professor looked to see he had forgotten about the man, "Oh, yes!" Then he introduced, "This is the superintendent of the museum and the sponsor of the excavation and this exhibition."

"Kanekura's the name," The larger man grinned, "Welcome to my museum."

From afar, Natalie appeared with her black and gold attire that she hasn't worn since the night she met the spirit of the millennium puzzle. She arrived to Domino Museum hidden and in a good distance away from the man she had been eyeing. She smirked feeling one step closer. Now she had to wait to get him alone. Her eyes caught on to Yugi's gaze and she froze ducking a bit. It didn't seem that he noticed but he was still staring in her direction with a confused expression. A half-smile appeared on her lips as she watched him curiously. She wondered if the spirit senses her presence.

"Mutou-san, you said that your grandson solved the millennium puzzle?" Professor Yoshimori spoke up and then his eyes wondered to the boy next to Grandpa Mutou, "Ah, Yugi-kun."

Yugi deterred his eyes away at the mention of him name and then suddenly his neck was yanked forward, "Can it be? The rumored millennium puzzle!" Kanekura clutched at the puzzle greedily you can practically see him drooling. Yugi wanted to move his head away but the man wouldn't let go of his puzzle.

"Kanekura-san is a special art dealer," Professor Yoshimori informed, "You can trust his eyes."

"Um..." Honda intervened noticing how Miho couldn't contain anymore excitement, "more important, let's hurry and see the mummies." At the word of mummy, Jounouchi absentmindedly took a few steps back.

Kanekura then begged to Yugi to display the millennium puzzle at the exhibit. Natalie's ears perked and she peered closely again. Yugi looked a bit hesitant, not sure whether to give the man the okay or not. Natalie didn't realize she was shaking his head, if only she was there but she couldn't let Kanekura see her yet. She bit down on her lip, disgusted at the man begging a sixteen year old boy for the millennium item that they've been searching for years.

"It's only for one day, right?"

Natalie fell over at the sound of Yugi's voice, not caring if her face was full of dirt. She looked up to see Kanekura thanking Yugi a thousand times as he took away his puzzle. The girl growled as she pulled her hair in frustration, "Yugi, this is Kaiba all over again." She got up and walked to the back of the building to find Kanekura's office.

Once inside, she felt the lingering presence of the millennium puzzle and ended up on the floor of the actual exhibit. Her eyes didn't pay no attention to the amount of people in the room but they scanned at all the artifacts that were there. She didn't realize that there was a little girl running over to her, "Look mommy!" Natalie felt a tug at her sleeve and found a laughing child, "Look a real Egyptian!" The little girl exclaimed pointing at her. Natalie blushed a bit and shook her head at the child's silliness, "Uh, no kid, just a tanned Californian." She then exposed her lighter skin tone shoulder, "See? Farmer's tan."

The kids eyes brightened yet again, "An American Egyptian!"

Natalie rolled her eyes then she forgot about the clothes she is wearing, which didn't really made much sense. She looked like she was cosplaying an assassin in broad daylight with her hood and face mask down, cause wearing it would only draw more attention.

"Akane!" Natalie assumed the mother of the child shouted her name, "Leave the foreigner alone!" The child that had her sleeve let go and pouted but as she was about to run to catch up with her parents she waved her a good bye. Chuckling, Natalie kept walking till she froze at the sight of the millennium puzzle being on display.

Her hands smacked her cheeks in frustration, "Oh, no... Look at you." She circled around it, "Out and about for the whole world to see."

She could almost hear the dark spirit call out to her but she ignored him. Natalie went a few feet away and pretended to be intrigued by the weapons case as she heard Kanekura nearby. He was accompanied by a white, bearded man in a suit wearing these expensive looking rimmed glasses that shouted "douche bag".

"Mister Kanekura, this millennium puzzle is great!" Natalie arched a brow at his weird accent, "I will gladly give you a satisfying transaction."

Kanekura chuckled, "You have your eyes set on high." Natalie, on the other hand, scowled then heard Yugi's voice from a distant. From what she could see so did Kanekura, "Erm.. How about we negotiate the payment in my office, ten minutes before closing time."

"Yes, yes." The foreigner agreed and walked away from the puzzle with Kanekura. Anger took over Natalie and she stalked the man. If she had to wait till closing time, then so be it.

As the gang had left around four thirty and everyone else at the museum. The foreigner had lured his stalker to the outside of Kanekura's office, one and probably the last of the leaders from the old hunter organization. As the foreigner was about to knock, a growl echoed through the hall. The man froze and looked around the area to see if he heard right.

"That's strange... Almost sounded like a lion's..." He gasped as a figure made its presence known from the dark portion of the hallway. A scream traveled up from his windpipe but before he could even make a sound, the airway was blocked. He fidgeted trying to escape as his eyes widened more. There it reflected fear and a pair of golden eyes. Another hand covered his mouth while the other tightened its grip around his neck. Soon the man's eyes rolled back to his skull and his body stopped responding. He was dropped to the ground and Natalie walked over him to knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Mister Kanekura cradled the puzzle in his hands, excited for his next transaction. Though, when the door had opened the figure standing at the door way was not who he had expected. Ever. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her bug eyed, "Y-You! Impossible! You're dead!"

"Funny you'd mention that, wanna hear how I survived?" Natalie teased, "Hell, I got a nickname now: Sachmis."

Kanekura shook his head, "You weren't supposed to know! Royaru was supposed to kill you after he got the information to get this!" He waved the puzzle around which pissed her off.

"Well newsflash, Royaru died in that damn tomb and I'm here to end the hunters!" She threatened crushing a non-existent object as she formed a fist in front of him.

He stared at her in silence before howling in laughter, "You stupid, naive girl! You think this group will die just because Royaru or myself will be gone? YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

She crossed her arms clearly not amused, "Enlighten me."

"Oh, no, no, no..." He chuckled, "I'm not about to give you that information, little girl, you can't hurt me! I'll just call the police and-"

"And what? I'm a missing child for eight years and you are the only one to blame!"

"Natalie, you are out of your jurisdiction. Domino City's police won't do jack shit for you! You're a thief, a compulsive liar, and a murderer! Who are they going to believe? You? A juvenile delinquent?"

Natalie slammed down the millennium scale on his desk which stopped him from antagonizing her. He looked at the item as if it were a product and stared at her in shock, "Where did you get that?"

"A disciple of Anubis entrusted me with this item as a second chance to redeem myself and to retrieve that millennium puzzle."

Kanekura brought the millennium puzzle closer to him, "This isn't yours to claim, little girl."

"I don't think you are in any position to make that sort of claim." Natalie sneered, "It's game time." She paused for a minute replaying what she said. She was starting to sound like her dark companion. Kanekura just gave her a puzzled look, "What game?"

"A shadow game, in which I will weigh your sins with the millennium scale."

He scoffed at her, "You're a load of crap, little girl!"

Ignoring his comment, she continued, "It's time, Kanekura, this is your final judgement." She pulled the feather away from her hair and placed on one of the dishes of the scale, "I'm going to give you three questions. Answer truthfully and we shall see if your heart weighs more than the feather."

"Fine, then."

"A little girl holds the power of the shadows and has great knowledge pertaining to the millennium items stored dormant deep within her memories. She also has a short life span, would you murder her parents in a fire and steal the child away or would you let her live a normal life?" Her voice got deeper as she finished the question. Her golden eyes were burning right through his skull. He knew what she was talking about and the scale shook and weighed down. He didn't need to answer because the event had happened eight years ago. It was insanity, he thought as he watched the scale move on its own.

"Next question!"

He stared at the girl, realizing this was the real deal, "No, stop! Listen to me, I had no idea who you are! It was Royaru, you see! I was only in it for the money!" Natalie only smirked and continued.

Meanwhile, Yugi had been sitting down outside the museum watching the birds fly by every once in a while. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him to go inside. Obviously, he felt worried about the millennium puzzle since he'd never been separated by it for long. Though, the thoughts of the puzzle and Idol kept flashing through his head. It was as if he was seeing images through a person's eye. It was strange. Maybe he had to check his watch again. It read four fifty-five. Seems like a good time to get the puzzle now. Maybe then he would finally feel at ease and look forward to see Idol tomorrow at school.

The dish that weighed Kanekura's heart was close to reaching the table. The room was getting darker and colder by the minute.

"Kanekura, I have to say... I'm kinda glad in a way that you exposed me to this lifestyle." Natalie chuckled as she swiftly took the puzzle away from Kanekura's hands. She stared at them as if they were filthy and she smirked watching her annoying demon friend made its appearance. Kanekura's chair began to shape shift. He looked around it as he squealed feeling two claws holding him down, "What's happening to my chair?!" He looked up to see a set of jaws grinning down at him.

"If it weren't for this lifestyle, then I wouldn't have met such fantastic friends." She purred as she caressed the puzzle, "That is Ammit." She looked at the chimeric beast, "Ammit, this is an old friend Kanekura."

Drool began to cover Kanekura's face as he tried to shake himself free and Natalie spoke again, "Last question, did you trespass on the lands of the Gods for your profit or only to behold their radiant treasure?" She snarled waving the puzzle around his face. Kanekura began to scream, "Natalie!" He begged, "Please! Stop child! I'll give you anything you want! You could live a happy life! You could own anything!"

Natalie held a hand up to stop Ammit for a moment and she perched herself onto the desk wearing a hopeful look on her face, "You really mean it, Kanekura-san? A happy life?" Her voice sounded so high and soft like a little girl's. The same voice he had heard all those years ago. He nodded constantly with hopeful eyes, "Yes, Natalie, become my apprentice! Together we can take back the hunter society and we can find all the millennium items! You like that, right?"

"Gee..." She stared off blissfully before her voice became dark and sarcastic again, "What a life to live everyday remembering how you robbed my child hood away!" She hopped back away from the desk and nodded to Ammit seeing as the dish dropped completely.

"Kanekura, there is no truth in you. There is only greed for power..." She looked down at the puzzle in her hands and then back at him, "Your judgement has been reached." And with that Ammit hoisted Kanekura up and welcomed him with open jaws. Natalie placed her back against the corner and closed her eyes shut upon hearing the screams. She didn't realize that she had been crying. She fell to the ground and held the puzzle closer to her. Though, that didn't stop the screams or the sounds of Ammit tearing flesh.

"I'm a monster." She whispered as her tears had fallen onto the puzzle. Then Ammit let out a large belching noise and crawled over to Natalie. Her frontal lion paws stumbled trying to carry it's massive crocodile head. The other half of Ammit's body wobbled side to side like a hippo. Ammit gave her a grin, satisfied with her meal.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sachmis."

Natalie ignored the demon and held onto the puzzle tighter as if the item had a place for her own salvation. If only she could hide away into that cold and crummy labyrinth.

"Sachmis, Shadi told me not to reveal a portion of your real memories till you were ready."

By now, Natalie's sobs had subsided and she looked at the beast, "What are you talking about?"

"The millennium key is what revealed your identity as Sachmis."

"So what?" Natalie scoffed, "After Shadi probed my head with that stupid key, almost everyone that barely knows me refers me to that." She placed the puzzle onto her lap and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "I don't even know what the fuck that means!"

Ammit chuckled as it crawled over to the desk to grab the scale by it's mouth and wobbled over to Natalie, "Then let me show you."

Natalie gave the demon a frightful look and backed away...well pushed herself more against the wall, "Wait... What are you doing?" Her eyes then wondered over to the eye of Ra that was on the scale and then a blinding light flashed the room causing Natalie to flinch.

Shadi wore an expressionless face as he heard that his pupil had done what she was intended to. Pleased with that he took his leave after deciding that she should hang on to both the scale and the puzzle. They are safe in her hands anyways, he thought. Though, the thought still remained as to who solved it in the first place. Natalie had told him about finding the boy but she didn't say much as to who he is. Shadi's eyes narrowed at her behavior. She was obviously hiding the boy from him. The question was, why? Suddenly, a set of footsteps echoed and Shadi thought it was Natalie but the sounds are coming from ahead of him.

There he spotted a boy wandering aimlessly while talking to himself, "This museum is like a maze!" Shadi overheard as he made his way in front of the boy. Yugi stopped jogging and stared at the man in confusion. He rubbed the back of his head wondering if the Egyptian man would know where his puzzle was at. He doubted it, but asked anyways, "Um, have you seen the director? He promised to return my puzzle." Yugi made an enlightened upside down triangle with his hands, "It's shaped like this."

Realization hit Shadi like a wrecking ball and inwardly gasped, "Could this be the boy that Natalie was hiding from me?"

"I guess you don't know?" Yugi frowned seeing as there was no response from the man. Shadi on the other hand was still taken aback at the thought that this boy was the one who solved the millennium puzzle. This little boy now possesses the same power as he and Natalie. Right? He had to know. He looked around to see if Natalie was around. He had to break his promise. He needs this boy's information, it's the only way.

Yugi was feeling a little uneasy at the silence. This man hasn't said anything but just stared at him. Yugi didn't know whether to feel scared or concerned for the Egyptian man who he caught crying earlier, "Maybe he really is crazy...

Shadi, then had his eyes closed and concentrated on his millennium key, "I will use this to peer into the boy's mind room." The key fidgeted and released itself, pointing at Yugi. Before Yugi could react or even flinch, the key flew at him and stopped right in front of his forehead, granting Shadi access. Shadi walked through the flashing light and stopped to see two rooms separated by a hallway. He stopped for a moment not understanding how this came to be. Never ever had he come by an individual who had two mind rooms. It was impossible. Could this be the real reason as to why Natalie was hiding this boy? Shadi walked further to investigate more and looked at the opened door. This room contained nothing but scattered toys on the ground. Like a child's untidy room. It was nothing but innocence and purity. Not a wicked thought to be seen. Shadi's eyes then roamed over to the other door that was closed. This entire wall seemed out of the ordinary. Like a tumor attached and growing onto the opposite wall. He approached the door to continue to observe. Then it creaked open which surprised Shadi. The room then revealed the boy looking back at him.

"Hmmm...." Dark Yugi looked at Shadi in curiosity, "A visitor." He smirked, "Do come in, if you have the courage, the game is already set up."