Value, Part Two    *    A Yugioh/Mummies Alive Crossover

*************

<GoldenSnake>  I lost again!

<BestDuelist>  You keep losing because you keep forgetting that defense points

are just as valuable as offense.  In order to play the game you need to use

more than simple brute force.

Heka groaned at the computer screen.  "Well, you try playing without any

hands!"  She complained, waving her tail before using it to type out a response

to her messenger tutor. 

The enchanted snake-staff had taken to online card games to help kill time and

tune out Scarab's rants.  Heka's gaze flickered towards the office door,

absently wondering if Scarab had bothered to wake up today.  Maybe he finally

did die...but after this long, she doubted it.

*************

Scary beyond all reason didn't even start to describe Scarab.  He scowled at

the mirror, daring it to crack, but just gave him his reflection.  His reminder

of failure.  FAILURE! How could one small boy elude him so well?  How can four

dead creatures defeat his armies of stone warriors like they were feeble paper

cutouts?!

Scarab wanted to commit mass murder right then and there.  Furious and

frustrated to the point of insanity, he whirled away from the mirror.  At this

point in time, Scarab was ready to sell his soul for eternal life, but he would

be granted that through gaining the soul of a pharaoh.  Rapses.  Who knew a

child would be so damned difficult to kill?  He understood the boy's basic

instinct to fight back, after all, without a soul the body dies.  But at this

point, good riddance!  Like he was going to use that soul for eternal life

anyway...it was being wasted.

The door flew open and Scarab stalked inside his office, impeccable as ever and

of course in a bad mood.  "I want Rapses!"

Heka sighed and continued to surf the internet.  "Here we go again..."

"There must be something I'm missing, some clue to Rapses' whereabouts when the

mummies can't save him!"

"Well...most children are in school during the day."

"School?"

"Yes, it's a federal law thing."

"Brilliant!  We will call all the schools and ask if the boy pharaoh is

enrolled in any of them."  Scarab sat down and grabbed a phone book. Heka shook

her head, murmuring something under her breath before returning her full

attention to the computer screen.

*************

Yugioh ended up losing track of the elaborate car he had been chasing and

leaned against a cool stone wall.  Yugi possessed a brilliant mind, but his

body was just not athletically built, which put the Game King at a major

disadvantage at this point.  As San Francisco came to life in the early

morning, more cars came speeding down the streets, insane bicyclists shaving

years off their lives with each wheel revolution, and crazy people all talking

or yelling at themselves.  It was a completely different environment than

Yugioh had grown used to.  Ever since Yugi had solved the thousand year puzzle,

Yugioh had been forced to suddenly learn about modern times.  Although he'll

never bother his gentler self with it, the Game King really didn't care too

much for this time.  The people of this time had more knowledge and

accessibility to be crueler and more evil than that of ancient Egypt.  True he

didn't have to pit magic against magic, but in some ways he felt sorry for the

fearless players when they deliberately made him punish them.

The screams...

Yugioh shook his head. The Games of Darkness were not for the innocent and he

had never once killed or drove insane someone not truely deserving his wrath.

"Hey you freak!"

A shout startled him out of his trance and the Game King turned to face a very

irate police officer. His face fell into calm impassiveness, as if he didn't

care about this person, which...he didn't.  "Are you referring to me?"

San Francisco Police Officer Vincent Solan and had a bad night with loony

clubbers and seeing this strange spikey-haired punk with chains and tight

clothes and 'stoned' expression was the last straw.  He was tired of these

foreigners and weird clothed people. Lawbreakers, troublemakers, drug

dealers--the lot of them!  This one he was determined to rough up and throw

into the slammer.  "Where are your parents?"

The boy's dark red -red? Contacts- eyes stared back at him.  "Japan."

This seemed to get the policeman even more annoyed.  "Where do you live?"

"...Japan."

"Are you an illegal immigrant?"

"No."  Yugioh suddenly remembered what his grandfather had said about a passport

keeping him out of trouble and patted down his pockets before scowling.  He'd

forgotten, Yugi still had it!

"That's it, I'm taking you in to headquarters!"

The Game King's eyes narrowed.  He had no time for this.  His aibou's happiness

was depending on him.  No one got in the way of his defending Yugi.  "Why don't

you play my game?"

"Game?"

"Yes, but it's not an ordinary game.  It's a game of darkness, a game for your

life."  As Yugioh spoke, the entire area around them faded away to darkness,

with just enough light for only them to see.  A small white ring was drawn

between them.

"Interesting..."  Officer Solan eyed the ring, about a foot in diameter, then

looked at

Yugioh. If he destroyed this brat, it would certainly make his day.  "What are

the rules?"

"The rules are simple."  Yugioh held out his hand, showing a pair of

jagged-edged marbles that resembled jacks almost.  "You must drop these from

one hand together and land in the circle, but it must be from a height of no

less than one foot.  You may use any angle you like to get the pair in the

ring, just follow the rules."

Officer Solan almost laughed.  This was too easy!  He just had to get those

rocks in the line and he won.  "Alright."

"Then, who goes first?"

"I do."  He took the objects and held them ready.

Yugioh smiled.  "Game start."

The man held the twin objects out with his right hand and dropped them over the

ring. 

They clattered against each other and rolled out of the ring a ways.  From

above, a gigantic version of the marbles fell towards them.  Yugioh didn't move

even to flinch as they landed hard on the ground, almost falling on Officer

Solan, whom had moved out of the way just in time.

Yugioh let the dust settle before moving to retrieve the smaller pair.  "A

valiant effort."

Vincent Solan snarled at him.  "What's going on?"  Then his eyes traveled to

look beyond Yugioh, to find themselves in an even larger ring at a twenty foot

diameter.

"As I said," Yugioh spoke up eerily.  "This is a Game of Darkness.  The further

these jacks are from the ring, the closer the larger ones fall towards us."

Vincent glowered and made to take the jacks away.  "That was just practice, now

this is my real turn!"

The Game King almost laughed, but shrugged and tossed them over to the

American. 

Vincent crouched low and held the pair out at the minimum height.  Even if he

lost getting them inside the ring together, he could angle them so the larger

pair would squash that kid.  Carefully he released the pair to fall.

Only one landed in the ring.  The large falling jack missed Yugioh by a foot. 

Still...  "I won!"

"No."

"What?!"  He glared at Yugioh across the ring.  "I got in."

"They must both fall in together."  The Game King countered, scooping up the

pair for his turn finally.  Now he would show this man how it was done.  He

held the two in his left hand, one closer to his wrist and the other to the

tips of his fingers, letting them fall with a small flick of his wrist.  They

clattered against each other in midair, landing perfectly just inside the

circle.  "Now...I will be on my way."

Officer Solan drew out his gun.  "This game is stupid, I'll get rid of at least

one of you punks!"  He kicked aside the jacks, heading for the Game King.

Yugioh felt that small pain in his heart, but knew it had to be done.  The eye

of Ra flared to life on his forehead in gold.  "You've broken the rules.  The

Gates of Darkness are open."  With those words, Vincent Solan was suddenly

alone in the dark.  He turned, trying to find where Yugioh had gone, when the

sounds started.  Falling objects.  Heavy falling objects.  He screamed when the

unseen edge of one sliced his arm wide open.  Fear filled him and he ran,

trying to get away as the unknown kept falling towards him.

Yugioh watched from a street corner as a crowd appeared around the officer,

screaming and running from things only he could see.  The Game King clutched

the golden pyramid in both hands, the golden eye of Ra fading from his

forehead, taking the magic with it.  He closed the dark ruby gaze of his normal

eyes.  he had never felt this kind of...of..regret..at the consequences of the

games before Yugi had solved the puzzle and granted him a second soul.  He had

learned much from Yugi, especially compassion.  His other self was just too

valuable to lose, he had to help him.

The Game King turned and walked down the street as Officer Solan rushed into

the street in a panic...

He tuned out the horror behind him.

*************

Scarab scowled down at the city below as if mere looks would force it to do his

commands.  "How can there be no school that is teaching Prince Rapses?"

Heka was sorting through her cards, not looking at him.  "Well of course not! 

he has a modern name, like how you use the name 'Stone' when doing things

publicly.  He would be a fool to go around using 'Pharaoh Rapses'."

Scarab was about to throw an angry retort at her when the sudden use of magic

-Egyptian magic- alerted them both.  "Was that Rath's doing?"  He wondered,

staring down from the balcony, scanning the city streets.  "No..it was

different, powerful..."  His eyes caught the brilliant eye of Ra an instant

before it vanished.  The boy he was regarding had to be no more than fourteen,

maybe younger.  His hair was wild and spiky black with red edges and his long

bangs a golden color.  The clothing was a loose blue uniform jacket, tight

black jeans, a shirt compose of chains and belts, with a single wide black belt

around his neck.  What really caught his eyes was the gold pyramid hanging from

a chain around his

neck.  It too had the eye of Ra on it.

Scarab had to know more about this boy, and something told him this boy could

be an alternative to Rapses, and this one had no guardians. "Shabtis, bring me

that boy!"

*************

To Be Continued...