BROTHERS
A Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters Fanfiction
By The Knight's Honor
I do not own YGO DM or any of the characters.
"We'll always be brothers, right?"
It had been long ago that the four most powerful forces in Atlantis befriended each other. The bond between the four friends had grown so strong, that they began calling each other "brothers." Even though they were not all related, they were as close as any brothers would be.
At the beginning, the young prince of Atlantis, Dartz, was only ten years of age. He loved to wander the streets of Atlantis, in search of an adventure. He often found himself being chased by other children, falling to the ground, and getting dirt on his royal robes. The brave little prince still adventured, no matter what happened to him.
It was a hot summer day when the prince set out once again from the castle. He had gone out to follow the faeries who usually played with him in the courtyard. He chased them playfully, unaware of how far he was straying from the castle. Soon, he found himself in a dimly lit alleyway. A sense of fear filled his body and he started to run to the light at the end of the alley, only to be blocked by a large bully. He backed away slowly, trying to stay strong.
"What's this? Has the prince come out of hiding? We heard you would be out today. You always are," the bully said.
"Leave me alone," Dartz said.
The prince found himself cornered, and soon, surrounded by four other bullies. He looked for a way to get out of the situation, but found none.
"What's wrong Dartz? Too afraid to fight, or are you just unable to get those lily-white hands of yours dirty?"
Dartz tried to run between the bullies, but found himself on the ground. The bullies began to hit and kick him.
"Stop hitting me!" he cried.
"Why should we? You're royalty, you have everything, you're poised, proper, and perfect! It's time you learned what it's like to be beaten down like a dog!"
Dartz began to cry. Tears streamed down his now dirt covered face. He reached out to try once again to scramble away, but he only managed to get a bully's foot on his hand.
"Are you afraid?" one of the bullies asked the little prince as he pressed his foot harder on Dartz's hand.
"No… I'm not afraid of you," the prince lied. He was a very bad liar.
"Hey!"
The bullies stopped hitting and kicking Dartz. The prince looked up to see three boys standing in the alleyway.
"Don't hurt him. He's the prince!"
The biggest bully walked up to the shortest of the three boys. "Who do you think you are, bossing us around?"
The small boy smirked. "I'm Timaeus, and these are my friends, twin brothers Critias and Hieremos."
"And you think you can stop us?" the bully asked.
"Of course we can. Critias, Hieremos, defend the prince," Timaeus said as he charged at the large bully.
Critias was fast. He shoved the two bullies, who were still near Dartz, out of the way. Helping the prince to his feet, Critias gave him a piggy back ride to the other end of the alleyway.
Hieremos was strong. He grabbed a bully's arm and twisted it behind his back. The bully cried out in pain. Hieremos followed Critias to the other end of the alleyway.
Timaeus had the greatest stamina. He had tackled the biggest bully to the ground and was wrestling with him. He didn't give up, even when the other bullies tried to attack him as well. Finally, when the large bully was fatigued and unable to fight, Timaeus got up.
"Critias, Hieremos, let's go."
As the four boys walked to the castle, Dartz was silent.
"What's wrong?" Critias asked, noticing the prince's silence.
"How… how did you know I was in the alleyway?" Dartz asked
"We saw the bullies go into the alleyway. Those kids never go anywhere with good intentions," Timaeus said, still looking ahead.
"You're all so strong," Dartz said, looking at his feet.
"You fared very well against those five, and you should get credit for that," Hieremos said, a grin spreading across his face.
"What happens if I run into them again?"
"We'll defend you. Generally, it's every Atlantian's duty to protect their prince," Critias said.
"And we're always there to defend those who need it."
"What happens when you three don't want to have the duty of protecting me anymore?"
"Look," Timaeus glanced at the prince, "We're not going to leave you. You can hang out with us whenever you want."
"Yeah, we'd love to have you in our group," Hieremos said.
Dartz's golden eyes watered. "Really? Thanks guys…"
Timaeus took Dartz's hand and saw that it was still bleeding. "Does it hurt?" he asked the prince.
"A little, why?"
"Hieremos, where's the flask of water that you had?"
Hieremos produced the flask and opened it. "This might hurt a little, but I promise that it will be a lot better than having a broken hand."
He poured the water on Dartz's hand. The prince flinched, but didn't cry out. When Hieremos wiped the water off of Dartz's hand, the bleeding had stopped, and his hand looked as good as new.
"You healed my hand…" the prince looked at Hieremos, "How did you do it?"
"That's the power of friendship," Hieremos said.
Dartz bid farewell to his new friends when he reached the castle. He wanted to tell his father, King Ironheart, about his day. He knew his father wouldn't like the part where he was being attacked by bullies, but perhaps he would reward Timaeus and his friends with something great.
"Dartz, where have you been? I've been looking for you."
Dartz looked at his father. "I'm sorry, father. I went out to go play with the faeries, but I got lost."
Ironheart looked at his young son, and at his dirty robes.
"So, what did this to you?"
Dartz explained the whole story to his father. He explained how he felt that he had no friends in the castle. He told his father that Timaeus and his two friends had rescued him, and that they had promised to be friends with him. He explained how Hieremos miraculously healed his broken hand, and hoe Critias had defended him so bravely.
Ironheart seemed amused by his young son's story. He asked to see Timaeus, Critias and Hieremos.
"If what you say is true, then I know exactly what to do with Timaeus, Critias and Hieremos."
When Timaeus and his friends arrived at the castle, Dartz was outside waiting for them.
"Father has a surprise for you three, although I don't know what it is…"
Timaeus patted Dartz on the shoulder and walked into the castle. Critias and Hieremos walked with Dartz to the great hall.
"So you are the three who rescued Dartz from those other kids." Ironheart began.
"Yes, your majesty. We found him on the ground. They were hitting and kicking him," Timaeus began.
"I know the story." Ironheart said, "And I thank you for being so kind to my son. Tell me, Timaeus, how old are you?"
"I'm almost fifteen."
"You should at least be apprenticed to someone by now." Ironheart said, "but I have a better plan for you."
Critias and Hieremos looked at Dartz, who shrugged.
"You will be apprenticed to a knight. You will eventually be Sir Timaeus of Atlantis." Ironheart said
Timaeus grinned. "Thank you, your majesty, but what about my friends?"
"How old are they?"
"We're almost thirteen, " Hieremos said, "We're twins."
Ironheart smiled. "Then you too will become knights."
Dartz smiled at his friends. He turned to look at his father. "May I train with them?"
Ironheart laughed. "Dartz, you're still very young. You haven't quite mastered your archery skills yet, and I'm slightly afraid to put a sword in your hand."
"We can watch out for him," Timaeus said.
"We'd like him to train with us." Critias added.
"Well then, if you promise to keep Dartz safe, then he can train with you."
"We promise."
"Thank you, father," Dartz said.
Ironheart knew that the three knights to be would do something great. He could feel it.
