[ Chapter 1- Downfall ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters. I also do not own 'Sora' or the song done by the piccolo (though I actually don't know what instrument it is...).

Those belong to Escaflowne. The piccolo is from the soundtrack, #9, Bird song. it's also in #2, First Vision. If you don't have the escaflowne (vision of Escaflowne) Movie soundtrack, get it!! It's a very good soundtrack, even if you don't like the show or movie.

To the ficcie~

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Chapter 1:

The sound of a piccolo went out through the night, its high yet soothing melody ringing out. It was played with a hypnotizing elegance, and in pure perfection, the notes echoed.

The night was peaceful, and the stars shone brightly upon the city, the great city of the Draconians and Atlantians... for they were mostly the same. This was Atlantis. The city of glory and perfection, a city of peace and extreme elegance.

It was silent at the hour, yet the soft instrument was played. Its player sure in his knowledge and firm at his duty, still needed something to occupy himself, so he played to help those who couldn't rest peacefully to do so.

Everyone knew who the player was.

His eyes shone like ambers, his hair golden as the sun, his voice melodic, deep, and calming. His use of the sword was credited to be of high standard, for he was the guardian of the Royal family. His name was Jounouchi Katsuya. Katsuya being his first name of course, but whether or not this was his true name or not, this is what he told people to call him, and they did so.

Jounouchi was tall and thin, handsome and very cunning. He was serious, but could also joke around, and thus, caused happiness to be in the castle and there to be a very little amount of stress on the royal family. You see, Jounouchi was almost respected as much as the royal family, themselves.

He wore a long sword on his belt, few jewels encrusted into its sheath. The blade cut with perfection, its holder a beautiful blue-colored wood. He wore a top robe (think Dartz's outfit) that was light and easy to move in. It was a light blue with gold trimming during the day, while at night he wore a dark blue with silver trimming to be able to hide in the shadows. His sash was the same as his trimming on both outfits, and his shoes simple cloth 'slippers' (Think Pharaoh Yami's footwear.).

Under his robes he wore armor to protect himself, of course, but it was hidden stealthily, and since it never got too hot or cold in Atlantis, he needn't worry about what kind of clothes or armor to wear.

Jounouchi started to hum a Draconian song; it was of a legend pertaining to their kind, yet he felt a connection with the legend as well. He has dubbed the song as 'Sora'- which means Sky. It was a haunting song, but it was beautiful as well.

Jounouchi sighed lightly as he stared out into the inky darkness of the night as he stood in front of the king and queen's room. This is where King Dartz and his lovely wife, Queen Tsuna* slept. The two loved him as a brother, and Crest-hime** thought of him as an uncle and/or older brother... he could never figure out which.

Either way he loved them all as well, even the last King, Ex-King Falcon***. Of course the old man was thought of as a grandpa to Jounouchi, but there was one thing Jounouchi always wished for...

A sibling of his own....

He sighed again, lightly staring up at the intricate design on the ceiling. Yes... he wanted his own blood relatives, yet that would never happen. You see, Jounouchi was an orphan. He had been found by a blacksmith and thus, learned how to make swords and other goods. After that he was taken in by a merchant and he learned the trade. After that a carpenter, a musician, and a painter. Then he joined the army. Yes, Jounouchi was well acquainted with several occupations, but being a guard made him happiest. He was always needed and thus, barely ever felt alone, even though there is always a point in time when anyone can get lonely.

________________

Jounouchi walked through the halls, after eating dinner with the royal family and advisers, doing patrol. After doing so, it was late at night, which was always how his evenings went. His daily schedule was Get up, eat, take the Princess out to the fields or wherever she wanted to go, visit the King and Queen, Eat lunch, speak with the former king, stand guard for the King and Queen, eat, and then patrol the castle, ending with him guarding the King and Queen's quarters until three in the morning.

With that kind of schedule, you would think Jounouchi would be tired and exhausted, but actually, his day was very leant back. The Princess normally just went in the fields to see the gardens or go horseback riding, and he just had to be by her side the whole time. This is how he got his body relaxed and kept it from exhaustion.

Jounouchi pondered the newest piece of news he had gained. Atlantians and Draconians alike were turning into monsters...

Win dain a lotica

En val tu ri

Si lo ta

Fin dein a loluca

En dragu a sei lain

Vi fa-ru les shutai am

En riga-lint

A chill ran down Jounouchi's spine as he heard a scream and a crash from the throne room. He quickly turned and ran in that direction, hoping he would not be too late in case something terrible was happening.

He stopped just as he heard the sound of a blade piercing flesh. He stopped, his breath caught in his throat as he quickly moved to a hiding place to see what had just transgressed.

Jounouchi's eyes widened as he realized that Dartz had killed the Queen...yet... He couldn't be blamed, for she had turned into a hideous beast. Far from the beauty she had been, and thus, a tear rolled down his cheek in suffering for both of their losses. Their love had been deep- so deep that it must have been driving Dartz insane to have to be the one to have killed her.

Jounouchi watched as Dartz went outside. He followed carefully, and saw Dartz wade into a fountain of blood and take out a piece of glowing rock. When Dartz turned around and faced him, he knew Dartz had completely changed- for the absolute worst.

He took a fast intake of breath, tears streaming down his face for the cruelty of it all, and he ran.

For all the love he had been given, he could do nothing for Dartz. He *had* to find Crest-hime and Falcon.

Win chent a lotica

En val turi

Silota

Fin dein a loluca

Si katigura neuver

Floreria for chesti

Si entina

Jounouchi had run until he had reached several caves. He quickly entered, feeling drawn to the place.

He heard voices, yet the sound of breathing came to his ears.

Young one....

Jounouchi's head snapped up as he heard the voice. It was deep and full of wisdom. Who calls me from within my own mind...?

I am the one who dares to enter the sanctuary of your mind- your *being*. I am your power within.

A beast of great size appeared to him in the darkness of the cave. Its eyes glowing red, its scales black. The dragon's structure was skeletal and strong, with a hint of great wisdom and elegance.

I am the Red Eyes Black Dragon, young warrior. You are of a mere 16 yearly 'cycles' as you humans call it. I am 5000 years old, yet I fell into a deep slumber awaiting you to come. I awoke the day you were born and have been waiting patiently since.

Jounouchi was astounded and freaked out, to say the least, but he swallowed it and continued on.

Lalala.

Fontina Blu Cent

De cravi esca letisimo

Lalala.

De quantian

La finde reve

What is it that you want from me..? To tell..?

One had to be careful with dragons, for they were very easily pissed off.

The dragon laughed, I need nothing from you directly. I simply wish to become a part of you.

Jounouchi blinked and tilted his head, "Say what?"

Red eyes smirked...well... not that anyone but him would know, I will be your monster, your... 'Kaa' to put it lightly.

Now Jounouchi really had no clue what this guy was going on about until it suddenly hit him that 'Kaa' was the 'spiritual energy' of a person.**** This came from Egyptian mythology... but still...it didn't make total sense...but k.

"Um, well, I mean, you *have* been waiting for me so very *patiently*... so I see no problem in letting you become a 'part' of me. Why should I refuse...? I'd feel bad to leave you without your purpose bein' fulfilled."

Red eyes stared at Jounouchi and laughed, I like you kid. I won't mind having you as my dueler at all.

Jounouchi was confused again, and thus stared blankly while scratching the back of his head. Yes, he *was* smart... but *this* area he knew nothing of, so... he could be stupid for once.

Red eyes became serious, You will understand soon enough.

Jounouchi nodded, "Tell me."

The Red Eyes Black Dragon nodded, Your destiny is sad and somewhat cruel, as well as the unknown Pharaoh. When we join you will be put into a deep sleep, for you have no magical training and the change of spiritual energy will be hard on you. You will sleep for 10,000 years without ageing, for you must be in prime condition to serve the Pharaoh of legend. He will be kind and you shall meet him on the night of a full moon by the great Nile. At that point in time you will have gained my knowledge and your own Atlantian/Draconian abilities.

Jounouchi sighed lightly and nodded, agreeing to his fate. He turned to the stars one more time and sang the final verse to that haunting beautiful song... the last time anyone would ever hear such a song...

Win dain a lotica

En vai tu ri

Si lo ta

Fin dein a loluca

En dragu a sei lain

Vi fa-ru les shutai am

En riga-lint

...Until he awoke again....

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Takato: Hey guys. I had to re-write some of the end of this chapter :;sobs:; I had the author notes, description, and a bunch of other crap done and then AOL crapped out on me!! :;cries:;

Luckily I had e-mailed basically the whole thing except some of the Joey/Red Eyes' convo, so if it suddenly switches in your opinion, that's why. u.u0

Also, I probably wouldn't have re-written it if not for my friend in the military writing me a letter about her stay.

I calmed down while replying and giving her a very long list of Japanese...

Yes...

Anyways...

*Queen Tsuna-I don't know Dartz's wife's name... so yeah. there ya go, deal with it.

**Crest-hime- I *know* Dartz's daughter's name is christ pronounced 'Creste' but, I'm Christian and I'm very sensitive about that, so handle the name change. Also, -hime is a Japanese thingy for Princess. I believe...

***Ex-King Falcon: I don't know if Dartz's father's name was Brave Heart or what... but... you can handle the name change right? If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to janime.biz..... although right now the websites down, save it and when it's up and running check out the DOOM series. ~la.

****Kaa: I *think* that's right... I'm not researching...I'm going from memory of the manga and other fics. if I'm wrong...don't kill me...

Sora translation:

Done by Van and Sora from the movie...

In the dark-ness

The dragon wakes.

The dragon awakens.

To a heart that is

numbed with cold

the dragon takes.

With you at

my side the

dragon sleeps.

On dragon

wing your

wishes will

leap.

lalala...

your wishes can

bring forth a destructive future.

lalala...

or you can

bring salvation.

In the dark-ness

The dragon wakes.

The dragon awakens.

To a heart that is

numbed with cold

the dragon takes.

-Source, AnimeLyrics.com

Review or die!!! :;laughs like Bakura from the Japanese version:;



Chapter 2- Waking and Destinies pt 1
I apoligize for any confusion last chapter... Red Eyes Black Dragon was supposed to have Bold and Italic text as his voice, and thus I didn't put quotations on it... Well, for me, FF.net happens to have fun taking that kind of thing out... I'm sorry about that guys...

I also apoligize for gramatical errors... I did not proof read this, I only spell checked it.... If anyone would like to be my beta reader, please say so and give me your e-mail and SN for AIM/AOL if you have one....

I have no other messenger's because I just got this computer back, and yeah... you know how fun it is to re-intall EVERYTHING!?

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" Fight for the dream!!"
____________________________

VOICE
________
Deliver the end of this seriousness
I become entangled in the bottom
of enthusiasm as is
_______

It called throughout the air. A piercing roar like none ever heard before. The roar of an Egyptian monster.

But wait.... what was going on....?

Jounouchi slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a hut. Looking around he saw a few clay pots and some blankets. He coughed, finding his throat really dry. It was a new feeling... Being in a dry hot sticky land...

Atlantis was *definitly* better then this.

Suddenly a young boy came into the hut. he seemingly lived alone, and yet was able to support himself. How this was, he wouldn't know. The boy had raven black hair, and his eyes were a grey-ish purple.

He seemed innocent enough, considering he had a bowl of water, *clean* water at that.

The boy smiled, "You're finally awake."

Jounouchi nodded, looking down finding his clothes to be the same. A little worse for wear, but in extremely good condition considering they were now over 10,000 years old..... Wait a second... he could understand this kid's language!!

"Uhm..." Jounouchi coughed, "Where am I...?"

The boy smiled, "You're in Cairo*"

Jounouchi sighed lightly in relief. That meant he would be able to meet the person he needed to in time, "Where did you find me...?"

The boy blinked, "I found you in the valley of the Kings. That place is very sacred, I'm surprised you weren't dead by the time I found you. You've been unconscious for a few weeks."

Jounouchi blinked, "I have...?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah. Oh! Before I forget, My name's Mokuba. I'm an adopted brother of the high Priest Seto."

Jounouchi nodded, "I am Jounouchi Katsuya, but just call me Jou, alright?"

Mokuba nodded, "Ok." He then laughed lightly, "I better go get Priestess Ishizu and ask if she could maybe get you some clothes so that you can blend in. Where are you from..?"

Jounouchi's demeanor saddened, "A lost land... that's all I can really say."

Mokuba nodded, understanding somehow, "Well, here's some water and there's food over in the corner. It isn't much, but don't worry. I'm getting more today. You can stay here as long as you wish."

Jounouchi nodded and Mokuba left the 'hut', leaving Jounouchi to think to himself.

The main question was...

How'd he *get* here...?

______
Running out of magazines to page through
Losing the dream is unacceptable
A poor television channel
Everything and everyone is late for fame
_________

Jounouchi sighed as he left Mokuba's hut after explaining that he would be heading for the palace. Mokuba let him go, knowing he wasn't going to plot against the Pharaoh.

It had been four whole days since Jounouchi had awoken in Mokuba's hut. He loved the kid a lot, and felt as though he were a good companion, almost family. But for now, Jounouchi had to go to the Nile.

It was a full moon and becoming close to midnight....

Would he get to the palace's grounds and to the Nile in time...?

_________________________

The unusual dream of fame looked like
it surpassed on the home front

______________________

Pharaoh Atem yawned as it was late, and having had a very frustrating day, he had the right to be as such. His guard, a female with passionate violet eyes and long *blonde curly hair* to go with her sexy look. Now, for an Egyptian, having hair was very scarce, so have *blonde and curly* hair is baffling, just as much so as his *own* haircolors. ...Who's hair almost looks like a 5 point star anyways..? It's unbelievable what happens *these* days.

His guard figure was slim, but well built and strong. She was his *best* soldier. No one could beat her or outclass her in any job in his army. She was a bit expressive of her opinions too... many a times has she pissed of Priest Akunadin with her antics. Everyone else found it funny.

Go figure the old man doesn't like her. Even his adviser, *Shimon* liked her!

Yet, as tired as he was, he was also very energetic surprisingly. It also seemed to him that something was pulling him towards the Nile, and the Puzzle felt it too.

His mind became made up and he turned to his guard, "Mai, please go get some clothes to disguise ourselves. We're going for a small midnight stroll to the Nile."

Mai blinked at his suddenness and smirked, "Yes your *Heigness,* your *wish* is my command!"

Atem just laughed lightly and then gave her a serious look, "I'm not *that* bad as to deserve your sarcasm!"

Mai winked, "Everyone is my dear Pharaoh. Even *you*."

Atem rolled his eyes and Mai walked off.

Yes... tonight shall be an interesting one indeed...

His jewelry glinted faintly in the night, his red cloak giving him a powerful sense of royalty. Even though normally purple was worn for royalty, he felt the color to be boring at times, and sometimes changed which type of 'cape' he wore.

Mai finally came back after dressing herself, and then helped Yami into his disguise.

_______________________________

You give up the ball not for yourself
but a flame

________________

Jounouchi was becoming increasingly nervous as he finally reached the Nile, keeping a good 5 feet distance away from the shore of it. He pulled the hood of his cloak up so that He would not be seen well in case someone came that wasn't the Pharaoh.

He had gotten as much information out of Mokuba as he could about the Pharaoh.

Everything he had said only proved that this Pharaoh was the one who would leave an immortal legacy...

The Pharaoh *he* was to serve under.

Talk about pressure.

Slowly, he heard the galloping of horses coming in his direction. He quickly focused in that direction, posing in a guarded manner, just in case.

Atem narrowed his eyes and saw a figure ahead. "Mai?"

"I see him my Pharaoh. Should we go up to them..? They seem to be waiting for someone.."

Atem nodded his head, "Yes, I believe that this could be the person who I've been led here to see..."

Mai blinked, "Led..? Howso..?"

The Pharaoh sighed, "He is pulling me to him through his strength. He has very awkward magical energy..."

Mai nodded, letting her horse slow down so that she was slightly behind the Pharaoh as the stopped by the cloaked the figure.

Pharaoh Atem looked down to Jounouchi, "Who are you and what is it that you are doing on the Palace grounds...?"

The figure had relaxed a few moments earlier and simply stared up at the disguised Pharaoh, studying him. "I am of lost regions. A region that has not been heard of nor from for 10,000 years."

Atem and Mai blinked, wondering what to make of all of this.

"If I might ask, who are you..?"

The Pharaoh became slightly defensive, but kept his calm, "I am the Pharaoh. These are my grounds and so I have right to be on them. This lady is my most trusted guard Mai."

The figure nodded, "Would you please come off of your horse..? I'm.. getting a cramp in my neck from having to look up for so long."

Mai huffed lightly and came off of her horse, followed by Pharaoh Atem.

Atem then walked over to Jounouchi until he was about 4 feet away from him, "Reveal yourself to me and give me your name, so that I will not feel threatened by you any longer, for I know you are no foe of mine."

Jounouchi smirked and closed his eyes, removing his hood and cloak. He then looked at the Pharaoh with his shining amber eyes, "I am Jounouchi Katsuya, high guard of the long lost King of Atlantis. I can prove this by the King's seal on my ring which I still wear, and my foreign clothes. Now, you reveal yourself to me so that I may know I am not threatened and you are who you say you are."

Atem smirked and removed his cloak, as did Mai, "Here is your proof of my leadership." He then raised his hand to show a ring with the emblem of the Pharaoh.

Jounouchi nodded, "You are who you say you are, and I have waited in a deep sleep for your arrival, Pharaoh Atem."

Atem blinked in slight astonishment, for he had not told this stranger his name, "I found out your name by a supposed adopted brother of one of your High Priests."

The Pharaoh nodded, "Mokuba then."

Jounouchi nodded.

The Pharaoh smiled, "I am glad to meet you, Guardian Jounouchi. Simply Call me Yami, for my close friends call me as such. It also keeps them from getting in trouble with my council."

Jounouchi nodded and then knelt on the ground, "I, Jounouchi Katsuya, would like permission to become a Guard to help protect you, my great Pharaoh in whatever might come your way."

Yami nodded, "You may, but only if you can defeat my personal guard Mai Kujaku who is standing before you tomorrow at midday."

Jounouchi stood up and looked at Mai, and then to the Pharaoh, "I accept!"

__________________

The dull corner of the room game-soft
Now you're finished with no fame

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*Cairo- I have NO idea if that's right... I'm going from memory :;sobs::

Takato: Anyways, this is part one of this small 'epic' of this fic. It's only 2 chapters long. Uhm.. I need to find someone who's be able to write a fight scene between Mai and Joey for me ::lol:: Otherwise that's my only problem for next chapter.

To be continued...

[ End of Chapter 1 ]