Summoners
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh. It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and them alone. I just borrow this series for my evil bidding and imagination to take over. =3
Warning: This is a Yaoi, which technically means romance between two males so if this isn't your cup of tea, please use the back button. However, if you are a fan of this kind of thing, please carry on and enjoy the story. =D
Note: This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fan fic, and I haven't really finished watching the entire series, I've only seen season 1 and a bit of season 2 so most of my knowledge of the entire anime comes from the infinite source that is Wikipedia! XD
Although I have watched season 0 entirely. (And I loved it so much, shame they decided to stop that season, and that it was never released over in the US. XD)
So I humbly apologise in advance for any mistakes I make. Thankfully this is an AU, so it won't rely on the anime series' storyline. Still, doesn't hurt to be prepared. =)
PS: Is it strange that I preferred season 0's original storyline more than the storyline they had for the rest of the series involving Duel Monsters? Please don't burn me, I'm not a witch! .
I just say that because I like stories about mystical relics and the idea of the shadow games, I know they still had them throughout the main series, but I'm talking about the original idea of it in Season 0. Anyway I would recommend watching season 0, its great! =D
This is an experimental idea so I don't know how well-received it will be. But I do hope you enjoy the fan fic, this is also my first Yaoi so...please go easy on me, I can only learn so much from other fan fics. Although there are a few hetero pairings too, please look at the pairing bracket below to see.
One last thing, the cover image is not mine, it belongs to an artist from Pixiv. I can only wish I could draw that good. XD
Pairings: YugiXYami, AtemXTea, RyouXBakura, SetoXJoey, MarikXMalik and possible MokubaXSerenity (I haven't decided for this yet. XD)
Genre: Romance/Friendship/Drama/Fantasy(ish)/Angst/Humour/Family
Summary: In the Dark Ages of England, there is a hidden order of Summoners who could summon monsters from another realm known as the 'Shadow Realm'. Yugi, Ryou, Joey, Malik, Tea and Serenity were sealed away within the Millennium Puzzle by Solomon in order to save them from a man known as Pegasus. When they are freed from the puzzle, only chaos, love and Shadow Games awaits them.
Episode 1: The Order of Exodia
It was the era known as the Dark Ages in old England. The witch-hunts were on the rise ever since the act of witchcraft was enacted, causing the deaths of many who were innocent.
However, there was such people among them who possessed an ability that would brand them as witches or warlocks. To this end, the Order of Exodia was born, and those who were members of this order, were all known as Summoners.
Summoners had the power to open a doorway between their world and another realm known as the Shadow Realm. From this realm, monsters of various forms, shapes and sizes are summoned by their chosen to obey any command given to them.
The relationship between a Summoner and their spirit guardian (they refused to call them monsters) was symbolic, a spirit from the Shadow Realm is born when a new summoner is born, and their form is a reflection of one's own heart. In return for the power they give to their 'soulmate', the summoner provides them their life energy, which was the spiritual equivalent of food.
There had been those who abused this gift, seeking to dominate others, because of this, small dark cults of Summoners have formed. However, the Order of Exodia is a peaceful order, who seek only co-existence and to live their lives as peacefully as possible.
As the times in this era were hard on those bearing such gifts, the Order had to hide themselves away from the eyes of normal folk, and also to avoid getting caught by witch-hunters that would love nothing more than to burn them alive for just existing. They had given a term for normal people who weren't summoners, they were called 'Null-bloods', which meant no magic was within their blood and therefore, no connection to the Shadow Realm.
And so, they hide themselves away in a deep forest that was secluded and isolated from the rest of the world. For once, Null-bloods and their wild imaginations about cursed forests and bewitching beings worked in their favour, since no one would dare enter the forest.
From that, they were able to make a small forest village within it, allowing a community to rise and thrive.
Solomon Mutou was one of the wisest among their Order who had made it as his duty to educate their young about how to control their spirit guardians, how to summon them, how to hide their identities when blending in with the Null-bloods.
As the world outside their forest continued ever onwards with their lives, so did time within the Order of Exodia.
The sun shined brightly through the canopy of trees, allowing small rays of sunlight to peak through. Yugi, a young boy of sixteen years and dressed in a summoner robe that a size too big for him due to his...height was preparing to leave the small house that he shared with his grandfather to join his friends at the 'summoning grounds' where the young summoners were taught by none other Yugi's grandfather himself.
Yugi had offered to help his grandfather who had gone ahead to the summoner grounds much earlier, but he reassured his grandson that he was fine. His Grandfather was his only family remaining, his mother and father had been killed by witch-hunters who had found out about their secret and was sentenced to being burned at the stake.
He had been very young when this happened so he couldn't remember their faces at all, his grandfather had been raising and taking care of him for all these years since then, Yugi only felt it was right that he did everything in his power to help his grandfather out whenever he could.
Just as Yugi was ready to leave, a lone furry little ball of brown fluff with two pudgy feet and small little claws climbed up (with much effort) to the wooden table. It had the biggest round eyes ever and gave a small little mew, getting his favourite human's attention.
"Oh, hello there Kuri." Yugi greeted with a bright smile at the tiny creature. This was Kuriboh or 'Kuri' as Yugi affectionately named it, a small spirit from the Shadow Realm that strangely didn't have an owner, Yugi felt so bad for the little thing that he begged his Grandfather to let him keep it.
After much pleading and using the 'puppy dog eyes of doom', Solomon eventually caved in and allowed Yugi to keep the spirit, even though Yugi had already had Dark Magician as his Spirit Guardian. Thankfully, due to Kuri's incredibly small form, it didn't require that much life energy from Yugi, just enough to keep him content and happy.
Needless to say, Kuri absolutely adored Yugi and refused to leave his side, so it would often follow Yugi whenever he left the house. Normally summoners were not allowed to rename their spirit guardians, it was thought to be inconsiderate and rude to their soulmates but since Kuriboh didn't have an owner, the rule didn't apply.
Yugi knew right away that behind those adorable big eyes was a mischievous little imp, Kuri had always been so clingy, he would always find the tiny spirit hidden inside his small soft leather pouch, it still amazed Yugi how Kuri can be so stealthy yet deceivingly cute at the same time.
"I get it, you want to come to the Summoning Grounds too. Fine, you can come." Yugi opened the pouch which Kuri happily jumped inside. "I'm sure you would have found a way to follow me even if I did tell you to stay." Yugi rolled his eyes at Kuri.
The small Kuriboh simply closed his eyes with happiness and gave a content mew. With Kuri in tow, he opened the front door and exited the house.
Once the door was closed, he was tackled by a certain brunette.
"Morning Yugi~!" Tea greeted cheerfully as she hugged her childhood friend. She was also wearing summoner robes that seemed to fit her body frame perfectly.
"T-Tea, did you really have to ambush me as soon as I leave the house?" Yugi blushed a bit at the close proximity, especially since Tea's face was not too far from his own.
"Heh heh, sorry." Tea apologised before releasing her hold. Next to her was her own Spirit Guardian, Happy Lover. It was small yellow ball of light with small four angelic wings. Two around the top half of its head and the other two acting almost like legs. It also had a heart shape in the middle of its head. It was a very cute spirit, since Spirit Guardians reflected the heart of their chosen Summoner, it revealed what Yugi had already known about Tea for a long time.
Tea was a sweet and caring girl with a hint of a tomboyish side who had known Yugi since they were very young, despite popular belief by most of villagers of their small community, there was nothing romantic between them, no matter how well they got along. Tea proudly took on the self-proclaimed role as Yugi's elder sister. She was technically only a few months older but who was Yugi to burst her happy bubble?
And to Tea, she always been very protective around Yugi, with his parents been killed by Witch-Hunters and with her being an orphan that was taken in by the Order, she had secretly wanted a younger sibling to dote on.
In the very beginning it was just her and Yugi, but their circle of friends gradually got bigger as they got older and met new summoners, and since Yugi was such a pure-hearted boy, it was only natural that he attracted other people to him, or at least to Tea it was.
"Joey and the others are waiting at the Summoning Grounds, I think we're learning about how to control our emotions today. Somehow I get the feeling Joey's going to struggle with that." Tea told Yugi, as they started to make their way across the small forest village.
"Why would Joey struggle to keep his identity as a Summoner from outsiders?" Yugi asked naively.
"Yugi, you know Joey as well as I do. He's not exactly...calm." Tea sighed hopelessly.
"That's...true." Yugi sweatdropped as he admitted it. One of their other friends, Joey Wheeler was one of the more rebellious and reckless youths, but he was also very loyal and devoted to his friends, despite his less than eloquent way of speech, he was good-natured. He was the epitome of 'happy-go-lucky'. "I'm sure Joey knows when to keep quiet, especially if it's about being a Summoner."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just a bit worried, he does tend to say some rash things when he gets heated." Tea smiled softly. She then noticed in the corner of her eye in Yugi's pouch that Kuri was in there. "Hey! Is that Kuri? How are you, little guy?" Tea waved.
Kuri gave out a happy mew, happy to see one of his favourite human's friends.
"I know I shouldn't keep bringing him, but even when I double-check before leaving the house, he somehow manages to sneak into the pouch." Yugi laughed sheepishly.
"Maybe you should stop bringing the pouch?" Tea smirked.
"Tried that, it didn't work, Kuri just stalked me all the way to the Summoning Grounds." Yugi sighed.
"Look at it this way, at least Kuri will always be able to find you if you ever got lost in the forest." Tea teased.
"Very funny Tea." Yugi rolled his eyes playfully.
The duo continued their small talk all the way to the Summoning Grounds with Happy Lover following its master's lead.
Meanwhile at the Summoning Grounds, Yugi and Tea's remaining friends were already waiting, along with some other youths who had their own little groups they conversed with.
The rest of the group that made up their circle of friends was Joey, Ryou, Malik and Joey's little sister Serenity. They were all wearing summoner robes as it was custom to wear these garbs during their lessons.
They all had unique guardians, Ryou had Mystical Elf, an enchanting blue-skinned female elf, incredibly devoted to her Master and her desire to protect him from all danger. She was standing next to her Master with the grace of a princess.
Serenity was busy stroking the feathery body of her Spirit Guardian, Faith Bird. A beautiful blue bird that was the size of a human being. The most defining feature was the very long tail feathers that curled a bit at the ends.
Malik's spirit guardian was Winged Dragon of Ra. A giant majestic Dragon (it actually looked more like a bird, but that's what the spirit called itself) that glittered like gold, it was so huge that Malik didn't want to summon him yet since he could fill up the whole Summoning Grounds by its size alone. He called it Ra since his full name was way too long.
And Joey's Spirit Guardian, Red Eyes Dragon, was another who was too large to summon on a whim, much to Joey's annoyance, but he respected Master Solomon's wishes, who so happened to be the Grandfather of his best pal, Yugi.
Joey was pacing the ground, getting a little worried about Yugi and Tea's lateness, usually, it was Joey was barely on time.
"Joey, I'm sure they're fine. You're overreacting." Serenity tried to reassure her older brother.
"I'm not overreacting! Just a little concern, that's all." Joey countered.
"With the way you're pacing that patch of dirt, you'll probably make a hole in it soon." Malik narrowed his eyes playfully.
Ryou was the first to notice Tea and Yugi who had finally arrived at the Summoning Grounds.
"Morning everyone, sorry that we're a little late meeting up." Yugi greeted them all.
"Yugi! Tea! Morning to both of you as well." Ryou smiled softly, he was always the shy one of their group, even beating Yugi's own shy nature, but he's gradually managed to come out of his shell since joining their group.
Unlike most, Ryou was originally an outsider, but when his summoner powers awakened, summoning Mystical Elf, his parents had accused him of being a warlock and more or less disowned him. Ryou had ran away in order to stay hidden from the Witch hunters who had been passing by his village and knowing how his parents now hated him for being a 'thrall to Satan', he ran in fear of what they would do to him. However, five years ago, he found sanctuary and a new place to call home after Solomon found him while he had been out on one of his secret outings.
Through him, he met Yugi and other people just like him. He owed everything to Yugi's grandfather and to Yugi as well, who had been the first to warmly welcome him and had since then been an invaluable friend to him.
Malik had a somewhat similar past, he came from a very distant land called Egypt. It was a scorching and vast land rich in history, when he first arrived here, his body took months to get used to the new climate. His whole family was murdered right before his eyes by bandits who raided the town they lived in. That was when he first awakened as a Summoner and unleashed Winged Dragon of Ra or 'Ra' for short, upon the invading bandits, however, in doing so, not being in full control of his power, he had also ruined his hometown in the process.
Horrified by what he had done, he used his Spirit Guardian and begged him to take him away from Egypt, exiling himself from his homeland, hence his arrival in England. At first, he had no idea why Ra brought him here, it wasn't until he ventured into what he thought at the time was largest sea of trees he had ever seen, that he had been found by scouts of the village, who then met Yugi's grandfather, who was the wisest within the Order.
After hearing Malik's story, Solomon offered Malik a chance to stay and learn how to control his power so he wouldn't let it go out of control again, Malik was determined to make sure there would never be a repeat of that tragedy, so he accepted, besides he had nothing to return to now.
Not long after, he met Yugi and the rest of gang, who accepted him into their circle while the other Summoners were on edge around him, probably because he was a foreigner with skin completely different from their own, and the fact that he let his summoning powers go out of control and destroyed his entire hometown in a fit of rage and anguish.
Yugi had been the first person to try and befriend him since arriving, and that made Malik very happy, who had truly felt like an outsider before meeting this small merry band of misfits.
Of course, he and Joey still had their little spats, but they always made up by the end of the day.
"Yugi! It's about time you showed up, I was beginning to worry about ya!" Joey belted out happily.
"See, I told you." Serenity smiled sweetly at her brother.
"Aw, who asked ya, sis?" Joey grumbled with a faint blush brushing his cheeks, which Serenity giggled at.
"We didn't miss anything right?" Tea asked, she had an spotless record of being on time and didn't want to break it now.
"Nah, the old man's still doing some final touches on today's lesson." Malik placed his hands behind his head carefreely.
"Whew." Tea sighed in relief.
At that point, Kuri poked its head out of the pouch and then hopped out with ease on to the grassy ground.
"Now why am I not surprised to see Kuri here?" Malik smirked.
"I swear that thing is a stalker." Joey shook his head.
"Don't say that! Kuri just wants to protect Yugi like any other spirit guardian, right?" Serenity scolded Joey before turning to the small stray happy spirit that responded with a quick nod.
Not long afterwards, Solomon arrived with his own Guardian Spirit, Blue Eyes White Dragon that stood majestic and proud beside his Summoner and soulmate.
"Morning fledglings, I see that everyone is present today, this is good." Solomon started.
Yugi waved at his grandfather who had waved back with a chuckle. "Now then, everyone who hasn't summoned their spirit guardians yet, you may be allowed to summon them now."
"Well Ra will like that, I get the feeling he gets claustrophobic in the Shadow Realm." Malik was pleased with that news.
"Malik, Joey, out of all the students here, we'll let you two summon yours first." Solomon directed his glance at the two teens.
"Knock yourself out." Joey decided to let Malik summon first.
"Don't mind if I do." Malik winked and took a few steps forward and started to chant a incantation of words that would seem like gibberish to null-bloods, but to Summoners, it was known as the 'Rite of Summoning', the spell that allowed the a door to the Shadow Realm to open.
A magic circle formed underneath Malik as well as a rune mark appeared on Malik's forehead as the spell was reaching its peak, the magic circle then expanded and encircle Malik's body before flying up into the sky, twisting the space within the inner circle opened up to what look like a black void, from that void, came Ra, the Winged Dragon in his full glory, easily fitting through the magic circle and landed in front of Malik himself.
"What have you summoned for, young Master?" The spirit spoke before looking behind it to see Solomon and a giant dragon himself. "Ah, I see. I shall just hover above the grounds, so my body does not take up the entire area." Ra spoke, spreading his wings and flew up slightly to hover slightly off the ground, even by just hovering the first two flaps of his wings made gusts of wind that almost even made Kuri fly in the air for a second.
"That might be for the best. No offense, but you are pretty big spirit, buddy." Malik nodded.
It was then Joey's turn once Ra and Malik had returned back to where the others were waiting. He recited the same incantation as Malik did with the same spell taking place once again, a second magic circle flew up mid-air and once again, opened another portal to the Shadow Realm, where Joey's Spirit Guardian, Red Eyes Dragon passed through the circle and landed in front of Joey. It then proceeded to affectionately head-butt its head with Joey's.
"Hey, I missed ya too, big guy. C'mon, we can't take up the entire summoning grounds." Joey grinned, he then motioned his head to the other side where his friends were standing for Red Eyes to get the idea. It followed its master obediently.
"Now that our two largest spirits are accounted for, the rest of you may summon your spirits now."
The other summoners proceeded to call forth their own Spirit Guardians from the Shadow World. Eventually it was Yugi's turn, he reciting the 'rite of summoning' just like Joey and Malik had before.
At the peak of the spell, the magic circle once again flew upwards in mid-air, opening another portal, allowing Yugi's own Spirit Guardian, Dark Magician to pass through the magic circle with ease and landed gracefully, bowing at Yugi.
"My Master, I trust you are well." Dark Magician spoke deep yet gentle voice.
"I'm fine, Dark. It's great to see you as well, did you manage to get through the portal okay?" Yugi beamed happily at his Spirit Guardian who had practically been attached to him since birth, it was kind of like having an invisible twin. Dark Magician didn't mind his dear young Master calling him by that shorter name. In fact, he actually liked it.
"Yes, Master Yugi, there is no need for concern."
"Um...you can stand up now Dark." Yugi noticed that Dark Magician had yet to raise his head or stand up.
"Ah, I apologise. I had only wanted to show proper respect." He apologised to Yugi before standing proudly before him.
"Dark, we've been together since the day I was born, you don't need formality around me. Just call me Yugi." Yugi smiled hopelessly, his Spirit was so polite and proper, and it would be a long time before he could actually get him to be less hi-strung.
"Okay...Ma-I mean Yugi." Dark Magician tried his best just say his Master's name but nearly ended up using protocol again.
"Never mind, we'll work on it another time." Yugi reassured him, as Dark Magician moved over to Yugi's side, almost looking like a personal bodyguard for Yugi.
"Wonderful, so everyone's Spirit Guardians are here? Then we can begin our lesson for today. As you know, this is a time of great fear and hysteria. Nowadays, it would be considered a normal day seeing someone accused for witchcraft or sorcery. Summoners fall into the category of sorcery, for being able to call spirits from the Shadow Realm could be considered 'Dark Artes' in the eyes of the common folk."
"Even so, to adapt and survive in such a time, we have to learn to control our emotions when faced with a dangerous threat or challenge. Our Spirit Guardians are sensitive to our emotions, since we provide them with spirit energy for them to live, it also allows them to feel the emotions that we feel. If they feel our fear or anger, for example if we feel threatened by someone, they often will react by themselves to defend their Masters."
"In a way this is good, but it is also dangerous as well. Especially if you are in a city or largely populated gathering. So we must learn to master our emotions, as to not let them overflow with negative feelings that would incite your Guardians to react on your behalf."
"Make no mistake though, there no harm in positive emotions at all, in fact I would encourage it. However, emotions like fear, anger and hate, these emotions have to kept in balance and not overpower your common sense, it could lead to a path of destruction for both you and your Guardian Spirit should such emotions rule your heart."
Ryou shivered at the thought, but it was true that he was overwhelmed with fear when his summoner powers awakened, that's why he ran away. It could have been much worse though, he could have badly hurt someone with Mystical Elf or worse killed. That was something Ryou never wanted to see on his hands, the blood of an innocent.
For Malik this was the kind of lesson that he had been waiting to learn, he knew that path of destruction all too well when he had lost control of his newly awakened powers. He knew just how dangerous one's powers could be if their emotions ruled over their mind and heart.
"Now then, let us begin, first we-"
"Master Solomon!" One of the village scouts ran into the Summoning Grounds, it sounded like he had sprinted a long way to get here.
Dark Magician turned his head sharply in the direction of the where the village would be, the other spirits also sensed something, even little Kuri who whimpered and scurried over to Yugi in a panic, Yugi picked up the frightened spirit and turned to Dark Magician.
"Dark?" Yugi called out.
"Something is wrong, young Master."
"What?! Are you sure about this?" They heard Yugi's grandfather gasp in horror.
"We're positive, Master Solomon. It's him. He has a whole summoner cult behind him as well, I'm...the only one who managed to get away, my friends didn't stand a chance." The scout nodded, his voice quivered as he recalled the memories of his fellow scouts being taken down one by one.
"Thank you, try to evacuate as many people as you can, I will face him myself."
"Yes, Master Solomon. May the spirits watch over us all." The scout stood up and obeyed, bowing in respect before carrying out his new mission, his own Spirit Guardian following diligently behind.
"Children, I want you all to head further into the woods, no matter what happens, do not stop running until you reach the circle of rocks that I showed you long ago. Its ancient power will protect you, remain there until I or one of the other elders of the Order find you. Now go!" Solomon turned to students with a grim look on his face.
With that, he was walking out of the Summoning Grounds while the rest of the students did as he instructed and ventured deeper into the woods. Yugi, however, approached his grandfather.
"Grandpa! What's going on? Why did you tell us to head to 'Druid Circle'?"
"Yugi, listen to me, I want you and your friends to escape. It's no longer safe here. I fear that we have been betrayed and someone has revealed the location of this village to Witch-Hunters."
Serenity gasped in horror and turned to her brother whose glare darkened. "Witch-Hunters, I would love to exterminate them as much as they seem to enjoy killing us."
"None of that talk, young man! I want no heroics from any of you. You are to leave this place and head for the Druid Circle, not even they will find you there."
"That guy mentioned a Summoner Cult, why would Witch-Hunters side with someone they were sworn to hunt down?" Malik noted.
"You heard that, did you?" Solomon sighed in defeat.
"Grandpa, there's something you're hiding from us." Yugi frowned.
"I am not sure of the details but it sounds like this is a joint effort between this 'cult' and the Witch-Hunters. They must have made some sort of deal with them. Either way, it is far too dangerous for any of you to stay here. This entire place will become a warzone when they arrive." He then turned to Yugi with a sad smile.
"Yugi, no matter what, I will not let you suffer the same fate as your mother and father. I will protect you, even if I should fall today. Now go, please do this for me."
"I-I'm not going to leave you! I can't leave you behind!"
"Dark Magician, please grant the request of a selfish old man." Solomon glanced at Yugi's Spirit Guardian who was hesitant at first but his duty to protect his Master won him over. Dark Magician picked up Yugi, who tried to squirm out of his hold.
"Dark! Let me go!"
"Now, hurry! Get away from here before it's too late!" This time, the group reluctantly decided to do as Solomon said, leaving the Summoning Grounds into the deeper parts of the forest. All the while Yugi was still trying to get out of Dark Magician's hold, calling out for his Grandfather.
Solomon softly smiled, turning to his old life-time soulmate and companion. "Well, old friend, it is time we finally end this. That man must be stopped, no matter the cost."
The Blue Eyes White Dragon nodded slowly in agreement and followed Solomon towards the village.
Pushing aside stray bushes and branches as the group, along with their Spirit Guardians headed further in. Even then Yugi was still adamant of going back.
"Dark! Why are you doing this?!"
"I understand how you feel, young Master. I really do. However, your grandfather is right, you will only be in further danger had you stayed." The guardian tried to reason. In a slight drop of defence, Dark Magician's grip on Yugi loosened enough for Yugi to drop down.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go back! If anything happened to him because of me, I would never forgive myself!" Realizing what had happened, the rest of Yugi's friends also halted their tracks.
"But wouldn't your grandfather feel even worse if something did happen to you?" Tea tried to reason.
"I understand that. I do. That still doesn't mean I should leave him behind, not when I could help."
"Master...are you sure about wanting to go back? As your guardian, I will obey any command, but, if you go back there, you may not like what you find." The Dark Magician sighed and questioned his soulmate.
"I still want to go back. I can't just let Grandpa walk right into his own death!"
"I agree with Yugi," Ryou spoke up. "Master Solomon has done so much for all of us and the Order of Exodia, we can't just give him up without trying to protect him."
"Ryou..."
"Well, there's no way I can let Yugi go back on his own, not without me." Tea shrugged.
"Make that three of us. Sis, will you be able to get to the Druid Circle by yourself?" Joey nodded.
"No way, if Joey's going, I'm going too!" Serenity shook her head defiantly.
"I can't let you go back there, it'll be too dangerous!"
"Yugi gets a free pass and I don't?" Serenity glared.
"Joey, just take her with you. You're her big brother, right? Surely someone of your role and size can protect your little sister from harm's way?" Malik scoffed.
"...I hate you."
"I love you too." Malik sarcastically countered.
"Malik, does that mean...?" Yugi blinked.
"Duh, if we're all going, we gotta do it with style, and by style I mean flatten those hunters and cultists with my awesome Ra here." Malik rolled his eyes at Yugi's naivety.
"Guys...thank you. I'm sorry about this, but this isn't something I can run away from." Yugi was so grateful to have friends like them around, especially in times like this.
"We know, Yugi." Ryou smiled. "But how do we get back? We ran quite a long way."
"...If I may make a suggestion...how about those two Spirits?" Dark Magician pointed to Ra and Red Eyes.
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about Red Eyes!" Joey took a step back in surprise. Red Eyes bowed its head in sadness.
"Seriously? You forgot your Guardian was a giant dragon and flying next to you the entire time?" Tea narrowed her eyes playfully at Joey.
"I think I know what Dark is talking about. Let's ride them back to the village." Yugi answered.
"Huh, that could work, I mean Ra could fit a lot of people on its back alone." Malik nodded. "Your Dark Magician's got a good head."
"Is this what I have become? I am not amused by this, Master Malik." Ra grumbled.
"It doesn't sound that bad, Ra. You are such a drama Pharaoh." Malik sighed.
"What's a Pharaoh?" Tea questioned curiously.
"Umm...Lets save that for another time, Tea." Malik sweatdropped.
"Master Ryou, will you require my aid when we arrive at the village?" Mystical Elf turned to her own Master.
"I don't know. If what Master Solomon said was true, then I think...we might need all the help we can get." Ryou answered her honestly.
Back at the village that once was the heart of the Order of Exodia's Summoner clan, a warzone now stood in its place. Buildings were set on fire, crumbling and burn the greenery around them.
Summoners on both sides were locked in bitter warfare against Guardian Spirits against Guardian Spirits, each one fighting for their life. If one was to lose their Guardian Spirit, the Summoner would die with them, for that too was part of the symbolic pact between Summoner and Spirit.
A majority of the Witch-Hunters who had arrived with this cult had moved onwards, in attempts to hunt down any Summoners that had escaped in the chaos. With the Summoners pinned fighting the cultists, there was no one able to stop them.
Solomon was locked in spiritual combat with the cult leader, Pegasus Crawford, and his own Spirit Guardian, Illusionist Faceless Mage against the Blue Eyes White Dragon.
So far, neither of them were winning, it was almost like if Pegasus was just playing with him.
"Pegasus, were you the one who betrayed the location of the Order to the Witch-Hunters?"
"Indeed I did, what of it?" Pegasus answered with an air of arrogance around. If Solomon had not known him better, Pegasus could be mistaken for a noble given his current attire and attitude. Pegasus wore a silk cape that draped over his shoulders.
"Do you realise what you've done?! You destroyed the only haven for our kind! How could you turn your back on your own people like this?" Solomon growled.
"I have reasons of my own for revealing the location of the Order of Exodia to the Witch-Hunters, I can't let anyone from this Order alive to challenge me for the Millennium items. In return for the lives of the Summoners here, they won't touch my own Summoner clan that I have painstakingly gathered during the time of my exile from this very same 'haven'."
"...! That is what this is about?"
"Indeed, old man. He who finds all seven pieces Millennium Items will have the power to summon the most powerful spirit of them all, one who grants any wish or desire of whomever summons him. You know whom I speak of."
"Exodia...You plan on summoning him? Have you lost your mind?! There's a good reason why he was never summoned! He's far too dangerous to be unleash in our world, if he was summoned here, it could cause a tear between our world and the Shadow Realm, surely you understand this!"
"For my reasons alone, that risk is worth it." Pegasus simply responded.
"This is about her, isn't it? Do you really think she would want any of this?"
That tripped a nerve in Pegasus. "I no longer have to answer myself to you, my former Master." With that, he signalled his Guardian Spirit to tackle Solomon's guardian while it remained idle. This caused Blue Eyes to collapse on the ground from the force of the attack.
"Blue Eyes, are you alright old friend?" Solomon asked, which the Guardian nodded back.
"I grow tire of these games, I already have one Millennium Item in my possession," Pegasus, pulled back part of his hair to reveal one of his eyes had been replaced with an golden eye. "I came here to take the one item you possess, the Millennium Puzzle!"
Solomon just gritted his teeth, he couldn't believe that his former student would fall this far for such a dangerous goal. "And what makes you think I have it?"
"Oh please don't be play coy with me, Solomon. I know you have it." Pegasus chuckled darkly.
"Grandpa! Are you alright?" A voice that Solomon never thought he'd hear again, along with the loud flapping of wings reached his ears.
"Yugi?!"
Indeed it was Yugi and the rest of his friends who used Ra to travel back to the village. Joey had used Red Eyes while Serenity flew on Faith Bird.
Once Ra was low enough the ground, Yugi jumped down, followed by Dark Magician and rushed to his grandfather's side. "Grandpa! Are you okay?"
"Yugi...why did you come back? I told you to escape!"
"There's no way I could do that. I would never forgive myself if I left you behind." Yugi shook his head.
"You really are your Mother's son." Solomon chuckled, remembering how defiant and headstrong his daughter-in-law was when she was challenged.
"Ah~ I remember you, you're little Yugi. Of course, you were just a baby when we first met, but I recognize those dazzling amethyst eyes of yours from anywhere." Pegasus recalled with a dark smile taking form on his face.
"W-who are you?" Yugi asked, although the look Pegasus gave him frightened him. Sensing his Master's fear, Dark Magician went in front of both Yugi and his grandfather to shield them.
"And this must be your Spirit Guardian, he looks very powerful indeed. Must be a family trait. However, I digress, your Grandfather and I were just having a little chat about the Millennium Puzzle he has in his possession." Pegasus revealed.
"The Millennium what?" Joey looked puzzled by the word.
"Wait...where have I heard that before?" Malik was stricken with a strong cause of nostalgia but why?
"Grandpa...what is he talking about?" Yugi felt confused by the stranger's words.
"So how about it, Yugi-boy? How about you make your Grandfather reveal the location of the puzzle or I'll use the full power of my Guardian to destroy his Blue Eyes White Dragon, you know what happens when a Summoner loses his Guardian Spirit, right?"
"...!" Yugi's eyes widened in horror.
During the whole time Pegasus had been talking with Yugi, Solomon had been preparing a spell in whispers in order to keep Pegasus's attention away as he casted the spell.
Once it was prepared, Solomon stood up and unleashed the spell over him, Yugi, his friends and all their Guardian Spirits, within a bright flash, blinding Pegasus for a moment, they vanished from sight. Once the light faded Pegasus saw they were gone, realizing what the old man had done while he was distracted by Yugi.
"Very clever, old man. But I know where you're heading next. Come, my dear friend, we're off to the Druid Circle." Pegasus turned to his Guardian who obediently followed behind.
The next thing everyone knew when the light faded, they found themselves in an empty open clearing within the forest, with a circle of moss-covered stones, positioned in such a way that it looked like a place for a ritual.
"What da hell just happened?!" Joey looked around in confusion before looking up to Red Eyes Dragon to find an answer, but even the Guardian Spirit itself looked lost.
"It would appear Master Solomon brought us to the Druid Circle by using a warp spell." Ra answered for them all.
"Wait, we can use spells like that?" Ryou blinked in surprise.
"Are you okay, Master? I can use Happy Lover to heal you if you've been injured." Tea asked.
"I'm fine, thank you, dear." Solomon thanked.
"Grandpa, what's really going on here? Our village...was...it was...and that man, what was he talking about?" Yugi asked a bunch of questions at once, the small Kuriboh who had now taken refuge back in Yugi's pouch shivered, feeling the auras of fear and confusion saturated the air.
"And where's all the other students? Shouldn't they be here by now? They had a head start." Joey looked around to notice there was no one else besides them present.
"Big brother is right, there's no one else here!" Serenity confirmed.
"Then it is as I feared. Pegasus intended to kill all of us in order to prevent us from challenging him for the Millennium items. This includes the other children, that's why he brought those Witch-Hunters into this."
"That monster! Why is he doing this? We weren't hurting anyone, why did he betray us?!" Tea felt angry at the man they knew as Pegasus, who had single-handedly cost the lives of countless innocents this day.
"Tea, calm down. Remember what Grandpa said. You shouldn't let your emotions control you." Yugi reminded.
"Y-you're right, Yugi. I still can't believe any of this though. How could this be happening?" Tea looked at Yugi and slowly agreeing with Yugi's logic, but she still hated that man leading this massacre, Pegasus.
"Pegasus was once a member of this clan, but...well...something tragic happened and it caused him to become desperate, so desperate that he would risk the safety of this world to grant a secret desire of his. When we learned about this, we felt that best thing we could do was exile him from the clan. I never thought he would go to such lengths to get his hands on all seven of the Millennium items."
"Just what are these Millennium items?" Ryou questioned.
"I believe...they are treasures from Egypt that have the power to summon the King of Spirits to this world." Mystical Elf answered.
"It is just as Ryou's guardian said, long ago, these seven items once belonged in a far-away land known as Egypt, the same place where Malik was born."
"That's right. I came here with Ra after he took me away from Egypt." Malik nodded.
"How did you get all the way from here to England? Isn't that a really long way?" Tea asked Malik.
"It was I who brought him to this land. I flew across the skies to reach this isolated island. I felt at the time it was the safest place for Master Malik." Ra answered.
"But then how did those Millennium items get here? They can't fly or teleport." Joey pointed out.
"Summoners do not just exist in England, there are many others around the world, one such Summoner from Egypt also used his Spirit Guardian to travel here, and he bestowed the Millennium Puzzle to my ancestor many hundreds of years ago. Since then, the relic has been passed on through our family line."
"So you do have the Puzzle?" Yugi blinked in surprise, which Solomon quietly nodded in response.
"What happened to the other six?" Serenity wondered.
"They have probably been scattered across the world as well, the words that Summoner were also passed down through our family. He warned that if all seven were to reunite once more, Exodia would be unleashed upon the world. Exodia is the one Spirit that must never leave the Shadow Realm, should that happen, the veil that separates our world from the Shadow Realm would be torn apart, causing dark spirits to pour out and wreak havoc upon the world."
"...Okay, I see why you were so hell-bent on stopping Pegasus from getting all these Millennium thingies." Joey's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"I never expected him to find one of them already. I do not know how but that was certainly one of the seven relics." Solomon shook his head.
"Master Solomon...where is the Millennium Puzzle now?" The Dark Magician asked.
"Right here," Solomon reached into his robes and pulled out a beautiful golden pyramid with intricate designs and a single curved eye. "And now, I pass this Puzzle to you, Yugi. You must never let Pegasus get a hold of this, no matter what. Promise me that will you guard that relic with your life, please Yugi." Solomon begged.
Yugi nodded slowly, holding the puzzle delicately in his hands. "Of course I will, Grandpa. I won't let him get this puzzle no matter what."
Solomon smiled proudly. "I know you will. You're my grandson after all." Solomon lightly joked which Yugi laughed softly at. He then turned to Kuriboh who was hiding within Yugi's pouch. "I'm also counting on you and Dark Magician to protect him and his friends too."
Kuri puffed up its body proudly as if honoured by the role.
"My, what a touching scene. If I had any tears left, I would probably cry." Pegasus's voice destroyed the happy atmosphere, replacing it with dread.
"Pegasus, how did you get here so fast?" Solomon gasped, horrified at his arrival.
"Just like you, I conjured a little warp spell myself. That was very sly of you by the way, but playtime is now over. Yugi-boy, if you don't want anything to happen to precious Grandfather or your little friends over there, you will hand over that puzzle."
"Don't give it to him, Yugi!" Ryou was quick to retort.
"We're a lot stronger than you think. We're not pushovers!" Tea bluffed.
"But we haven't even finished our training..." Joey quietly reminded her.
"Just play along, Joey!" Tea hissed, nudging him strongly.
"Yeah, there's seven of us and one of you, pal!" Joey boldly stated, playing along with Tea's bluff.
"Your fight is with me, Pegasus. You will leave my Grandson and these children out of it." Solomon went in front of Yugi as if to protect him.
"Hmph, at this rate, there won't be anything left for your Blue Eyes White Dragon to get his energy from, you will be powerless soon."
"There is one thing I can do. One thing that not even you can undo." Solomon glared.
"Yugi, my dear students, forgive me for this." Solomon apologised to all his remaining students and Grandson, with a swift incantation and shockingly fast casting, Yugi, Tea, Joey, Ryou, Malik and Serenity were absorbed in a bright light and transported within the Millennium Puzzle before they had a chance to react, along with their Spirit Guardians, the Puzzle fell to the wet grass where Yugi once stood.
"What are you doing?!" Pegasus cried out in surprise, the bodies and souls of those brats were now trapped within the puzzle!
"To protect my grandson and his friends from you, there is only one other option left for me. I shall send this puzzle through time and space, to a time where you can never reach it!" Solomon declared.
"You will do no such thing!" Pegasus snarled as he commanded his Illusionist Faceless Mage to charge at the old man, only to be stopped by Solomon's Guardian.
"Thank you old friend, buy me the time I need to cast the spell." Solomon thanked his Guardian before reciting the forbidden time spell, he had hoped he would never have to use such a dangerous spell but Pegasus had truly left no other option for him.
Pegasus tried to charge towards Solomon but the fight between the two guardians blocked his way.
Solomon's strength was fading away, this spell was very taxing on his soul and body, but he had to complete it and send the Puzzle that held Yugi's and the other children's souls to a time where they would be safe from Pegasus' clutches. Once at the spell's peak, he focused the heart of his spell onto the puzzle itself, the puzzle glowed and spat out static electricity as the spell was successfully casted.
With a loud thunderous sound, the puzzle vanished from Solomon's hands, transported to another time, far beyond this one. The spell had left Solomon completely drained, making him fall to the ground in a crumpled heap.
Solomon's Blue Eyes White Dragon went over to his summoner's side, worried for his welfare.
"I will make you regret defying me. I will hunt down that puzzle along with that grandson of yours. You mark my words."
"You might as well...kill me now. I've spent the last of my life energy, I will...soon leave this plain of existence. You know that using that time spell means you...have to sacrifice your life for it." Solomon managed to voice out.
"You would go that far for someone you love huh? Perhaps you and I aren't so different after all. Very well, in respect for that. I will let you rot here, please enjoy your final moments. I have to find someone who will perform the time spell for me, farewell, my former Master." Pegasus turned his back on Solomon and walked away with his Guardian hovering over him.
Blue Eyes White Dragon bent down to its Summoner's level and let out a quiet noise.
"It will be alright, one day, you will be reborn for a new Summoner and you will have someone new to protect. I was proud to have you have my Spirit Guardian, old friend." Solomon reassured his Guardian.
As he felt his body begin to go numb and his world beginning to darken, his last thoughts were of his Grandson and those five innocent children who were now caught up in this dangerous shadow game, a race to who will find all seven Millennium items first.
'Yugi...forgive me...' was the last thing Solomon thought in his head before he passed away, with his Spirit Guardian quietly watching over him as it also eventually vanished into thin air, returning to whence it came, back to the Shadow Realm.
Whew, finally finished! I apologise if this chapter feels rushed. I really wanted to start digging into heart of the story, but backstory is important too, so I wanted to make sure everything was covered in the first chapter before we moved on with the story. =3
With Chapter 1 done, the real fun can begin. Where did the Puzzle holding Yugi and his friends end up? Find out in Episode 2: Unlocking the Puzzle
Just to cover a few things. One of the reasons why I chose the Blue Eyes White Dragon as Solomon's Spirit Guardian for this chapter was inspired from the first episode of Season 1 and one of the episodes from Season 0. So I felt that would be the appropriate Spirit Guardian for him, don't worry Blue Eyes White Dragon will be making a return later in the story. =D
Also the reason why I called Happy Lover, Red Eyes Dragon, Faith Bird, Kuriboh and Winged Dragon of Ra as it rather than a he or she, is because I can't really define them by gender. I might change Faith Bird into a she and give Kuri (Kuriboh) a gender too but I'll hear your thoughts on it.
Why I made Faith Bird Serenity's Guardian? Well, I chose that one because I felt it fitted Serenity's character most. Same goes for Tea too, I could have chosen Magician of Faith but I felt in the end Happy Lover suited her better.
And why is Kuriboh in it? How could I not add it? It's just too cute! Think of it as the mascot for this fan fic. XD
I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter so far and continue to read the new chapters as they get added. Please leave a review and let me know how you guys feel about the story. I have proof read the story so there shouldn't be any spelling mistakes, hopefully.
Until then, happy reading folks! =D Moogle Empress out!
Moogle: Kupo!