Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Chronicles
Part One: "Power of a Millennia"

Written by Ray Garcia


	Do you know about a game called Duel Monsters? You know, that game based
 on the anime "Yu-Gi-Oh!"? Well, some friends and I thought it was only a game, too. Little
 did we know it would be an adventure......

	"Ha! Beat that!" I said, as I summoned my Buster Blader. "2600 Attack points plus a 
total of eight Dragons on the field making it's attack power 6600! You lose this turn!"
	"Uh, wrong!" Bobby said, discarding his Kuriboh. "As a matter of fact, you lose
 your next turn!"
	"You can only save your Reaper of the Cards for only one turn!"
	"Not if I have this!" Just then, he drew his final card: Right Leg of the Forbidden One. 
He then summoned Exodia, giving him an automatic win. "Oh, I was sweating bullets here!" he said.
	"I should have known better. Every time you're on the brink of death, you summon Exodia." 
It was always like this. Bobby and I were the best duelists in our group of friends, but I could never beat him.
You see, Bobby's strong suit are card games, from Poker to Magic to Yu-Gi-Oh!. But I didn't care; sometimes,
 I found a lucky break and beat him. But then he likes to say that I'm the best and he can never win. It
 irritates me, but I know it's only a joke.
	As I gathered up my cards and reshuffled my deck, I asked Bobby "So, are you going to
 trade your Flame Swordsman or not?"
	"No way!" he said. "Not only is it my only one, it also a first edition!"
	"Damn it!" I said. But I shook it off and put my cards in my backpack as I left for school.

	Even though I'm in college, I still play Duel Monsters. Very few play, but I don't care. It's 
something I like. But I don't play at all while I'm at school, so basicallly, I'm very bored. In class, all I 
think about are ways to come up with a kick-butt strategy to power up my cards. But today was going to be different. Way different than I would ever guessed.
	As I got off my bus, I was looking at the ground, as I was tired. Suddenly, something caught
 my eye. In the distance, I saw a faint glimmer, kind of like a gold color, sticking out of the ground. I walked
 over to it to see what it was. It looked like a gold ring, so I pulled it out. It was so deep in that I was knocked
 down when I got it out.When I saw what it was, I was amazed. No, shocked. It couldn't be......could it? What I
 held in my hand had five gold arrow markers, a triangle with an eye on it in the center, and a rope tied on
 the top.
	"Is this....the Millennium Ring?" I asked myself. I didn't believe it. "It can't be. The Millennium
 Items aren't real. I'm....I'm hallucinating. It's because I'm tired." I pinched myself. It hurt. I was awake. And the
 Millennium Ring was still in my hands. "Yes! It true! I really have the Millennium Ring!" I ran into the 
bathroom and did my best to wash the dirt off. Even though there were still flecks of dirt on it, it looked a
 lot better than before. I was about to put it around my neck, when it hit me. Doesn't the keeper of the 
Millennium Ring have an evil alter ego? If I put it on, would I become evil as well? Then I figured that as long
 as I don't activate it, it won't turn me evil. After all, I had no clue how it worked in the first place.

	The rest of the day went by pretty quick. After class, I went outside and pulled out my deck. 
Somehow, I felt like I was stronger. Maybe because I found a new combo. Maybe it was the Millennium 
Ring. Or maybe...
	"What are you doing?" It was Marie, one of my friends from high school that went to college
 with me.
	"Nothing. Just looking at my cards," I said.
	"Where did you get that?" she asked, pointing at the Ring.
	"I found it in the dirt by the bus stop," I answered. "I cleaned it off. Doesn't it make me look like 
Bakura?"
	"No......You don't have long, white hair," she said.
	"Yeah....well, at least I have the Ring," I said.
	"How do you know if it's real?"
	"I never heard of any of the toy companies making Millennium Items. Besides, it looks too
 perfect to
be manufactured. And I know no one here made it, because I've been wearing it all day and no one said
anything. Besides, not many people here play Yu-Gi-Oh!, let alone make something from it."
	"That's true. So anyway, are you going to teach me how to play?"
	"Are you sure you have time?"
	She thought about it. "Yeah, I have time."
	"Okay," I said. "Sit down, because this is going to take a while." After about an hour of 
explaining monsters, Magic, Traps, Fusions, and Rituals, she started to get the hang of it. "It would be
 better if you had a deck. Tell you what; I'll make you a deck. It won't be that strong, but you will get to
 learn more easily than from using my deck."
	"Okay. Well, I have to get to my next class. I'll see you later." As she waved at me and left, 
I looked down at my new Ring. I still couldn't believe that I had a real Millennium Item. Did that mean that
 there were more? If so, who had the other six?

	That night, I dreamt I was dueling alongside Yugi. We were dueling both Pegasus and Shadi.
 After Isummoned Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Yugi used his Polymerization card to fuse that and his Black Luster Soldier to create the Master of Dragon Knight. After we won, he took me somewhere to talk to me.
	"Ray, I know your are a strong duelist." he told me.
	"Thanks, Yugi," I said.
	"But you must learn to control your Shadow Powers."
	I looked confused. "What do you mean?"
	"I know you possess the Millennium Ring. You see, there is an evil spirit in your Ring; but if
 you can keep your cool, focus, and trust in yourself, you can control the magic of your Ring."
	"But how do I use the Ring?"
	"Believe in your abilities as a duelist." Yugi smiled. "If you can beat Pegasus and Shadi, you
 can do anything if you believe."
	"But I had you there."
	"True, but if not for your Ultimate Dragon, we could have never summoned the Master of Dragon 
Knight." Yugi placed his hand on my shoulder. "You can do this. Trust me."
	"O-okay. I'll do my best." I said. Yugi beamed at me.

	The next day, I was to meet Bobby at the card shop to buy some more Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. 
I heard there was a first edition Dark Magician there. When I got there, I almost ran the other way: two
 guys in masks were holding up the clerk and Bobby.
	"Hand over all your valuables!" one of them said.
	"But-but all I have are cards!" Bobby said, fear clearly in his voice.
	"If you have no cash, then we're blowin' your head off!" the second one said. As he cocked
 his gun, I felt a strange urge in me. Like I had to do something, and I had to do it now.
	"STOP IT! LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!" I screamed as I ran in to shove the two. One of 
them pushed me down and held his gun up to my face.
	"See? This is what you get for bein' a hero!" he smiled coolly. Just then, bright light filled the 
room. It was coming.....from my Ring! As I stood up, I felt the magic of the Ring empower me. Just then, I changed. 
I was now wearing a black overcoat and my shoes were now archaic style boots. Even
my voice was different.
	"What are you going to do now?" I said. I guess I had the same dark look in my eyes like Yugi's 
because they were both shaking.
	"What the hell are you?!" they asked, terrified.
	"What am I? Someone standing up to your coward ways." I raised my hands into the air and
 closed my eyes. "Bobby, you and the clerk also close your eyes. MEMORY ERASE!!!!" A blinding light
 filled the room again as the two robbers fell to the ground, silent. When I opened my eyes, the two were unconscious, but alive. 
"These two will be punished for their crimes now." Bobby got up. He looked at me in disbelief. "What the 
hell happened to you? Where did you get such power from?"
	"From this." I said, holding up my Millennium Ring.
	"No way!" He said. "How does it feel....with your magic, and..."
	"Strange, yet familiar." I said. "I never felt like this, but I can relate to it."
	Bobby had a smile forming. "How about we duel? I never played against a Millennium Spirit
 before!"
	I smiled back. "Okay, then. IT'S TIME TO DUEL!"


To be continued in "Part Two: The Key to Winning"