OnceUponALifeDream: Hello everyone. My nickname is OUALD. And this is my story, a revised edition of what BlushippingZutara and PhoenixW4Me were working on. Please review.
Serenity Wheeler sighed a little to herself as she brushed at the wrinkles in her new brown skirt. She wore a deep green shirt with rose outlines all over. Behind her knees was a brown suitcase. A red rose clip kept a piece of hair out of her face as she leaned back against the wall surrounding the Domino High campus. The bell had rung a few moments prior and she couldn't help looking at the students as they left and giggling. Her big brother was in for one heck of a surprise. Of course, she'd be toast when she got home for skipping school and riding the train alone, even if it was to see her big brother. But since it was going to be a long weekend starting in the morning, she had a few days to postpone her mother's wrath.
She looked across the street and caught sight of a white-haired girl with pale skin and blue eyes staring right at her. The girl was dressed in a white loose-fitting shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. The girl gave her a two-fingered salute before sticking her hands in her pockets and walking away. Serenity looked back at the students and lit up as her brother and his friends, including Ryou and Duke, walked off the campus.
"Joey!" she cried as she lunged forward and threw her arms around her brother, effectively tackling him in surprise.
"Serenity?" one of the members of the group asked. The auburn-haired girl giggled as her brother sat up and hugged her back.
"When'd ya get here?" he asked.
"I rode the train myself. I've only been waiting for a few minutes." The group welcomed Serenity with hugs and smiles and were only too happy to include her in the conversation as they walked to Yugi's house.
"What's the matter little girl? Too shy to play with us?" someone asked as the group passed a park. The group looked and Serenity gasped. The white-haired girl was in a ring of brute-looking boys wearing the Domino High uniform.
"That's Trudge," Tristan murmured to Joey as the blonde moved his sister behind him.
"I know dat wise guy."
"Look, I said I have no interest in gambling. Aside from that I have no money so trying to shake me down won't work either," the white-haired girl said. Joey set down Serenity's suitcase and pulled off his jacket.
"Joey?" Yugi asked.
"Stay here, all o' ya's," he said pointedly as he walked toward the girl. "Trudge! Why not leave dat girl alone? She said she ain't interested." The group turned to the blonde and the girl glared.
"Well, if it ain't 'jumping Joey Wheeler.' What's it to you?" Trudge growled.
"Well, I ain't big on five-on-one and ta top it off, she's a girl against guys." Tristan and Duke walked up to flank the blonde.
"Don't involve yourselves!" the girl snapped. "This is not your problem."
"I'm afraid you're wrong there," said a new voice as he stepped up next to Joey. Seto Kaiba glared at the bullies. "Get lost, all of you. Now," he snarled. Mokuba moved to the group with Yugi, Téa, Serenity and Ryou with him.
Trudge laughed.
"Really now? You think that because you're some big shot, you can tell me what to do?" Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously. Trudge growled before rushing forward with a fist. Kaiba ducked under his arm and caught a foot with his own, effectively tripping the brute. The group moved away from him as he fell forward. Three of the bullies moved forward.
One went after Téa and Serenity, only to meet with Ryou's bag in the face.
One went after Yugi but the little teen threw himself to the side and the bully went tumbling into the sidewalk. Another met with Tristan's fist. Mokuba clung to his brother's uniform as the girl moved toward him. One of the bullies grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back against him. She screamed.
"Where you going sweetheart?" he chuckled as he tightened his grip on the white locks. The girl thrashed her head back, hitting the boy in the nose. He threw her backwards, sending her right into the fountain behind them. The boy cradled his bleeding nose as Kaiba appeared in front of him and landed a kick to his stomach. Mokuba leapt into the fountain with his brother and the elder bent down next to the girl. She smiled at him.
One of the bullies grabbed a hold of Tristan's arm and twisted it around behind him. Trudge and another managed to grab Serenity and Téa and the last one landed a punch to Joey's stomach, sending the boy to the ground. The bully who'd grabbed her stood up, face red with rage and blood as he pulled a knife from his pocket.
"You little-"
"Stop this!" she screamed, slapping the water with a hand and time seemed to freeze for a moment as a wave rose in the fountain, towering over even Trudge. The girl reached out a hand and tentacles made from water reached out, wrapping around each of the teens and pulling them to her.
Trudge and his gang blinked and the wave was gone, as was every one of their intended victims. Even Serenity's suitcase was gone.
Serenity groaned as the sunlight awoke her. She looked at herself, discovering she was soaking wet and her head was being supported by her suitcase. She sat up and looked around. A little ways just below her was a small stream and Kaiba, Mokuba and the girl were curled around each other at the edge. A few feet down stream, Yugi's group was spread along the bank save for Tristan who sat beside her.
"You okay?" he asked. Serenity nodded as she stretched.
"Where are we?" she asked. The teen shrugged. "Is everyone else okay?" she inquired as she wrung out her hair.
"Yea. I don't know how but we all just ended up right on the banks. I just pulled you away a few minutes ago. Can't have you getting a cold." Serenity giggled and planted a peck on his cheek.
"Thank you, she whispered, looking down at her skirt, trying and partially failing to hide the faint blush on her cheeks. Tristan himself was a little red.
"A-At any rate, we should wake up the others," he said as he stood up. Serenity nodded. The two set about their assigned task, Serenity saving the Kaiba brother and the mysterious girl for last.
The girl was the first to awaken. Tristan came over with Joey and offered to wake up the Kaiba brothers so the girls could try to figure out where they were. The girls accepted and began the small climb up the hill to the road.
"I'm Serenity by the way. The brunette here is Téa. What's your name?" The girl smiled.
"My name's Sara. Its nice to meet you both," she said as they came to the road. Both ahead and behind them were icy-blue mountains with beautiful ice-covered peaked stretching to touch the bright blue sky. In between the group and the mountains ahead was a long stretch of tall green grass that bent in the slightest breeze. Behind them was a lush forest alive with the sounds of animals. To their left was more road, forest and plain and to the left was a small collection of thatch-roof buildings with people walking to and fro among them.
The boys walked up to join the girls.
"We could head over to that town there and ask for directions to the police station," Téa explained, pointing. A blonde woman in a pale tattered-looking gown walked out of the village with an urn on her head right toward them. "Or we could ask her," Téa said. "Excuse me!"
The woman froze and the urn fell to her feet, smashing to pieces on the roadside. Sara reached forward and took hold of Téa's shoulder.
"Everyone, back up slowly and them run away," she said firmly.
"But-"
"She's scared. If we want no trouble, we have to leave. Now!" The group bolted as the woman began screaming for help. Some people came out, picking up stones and throwing it at the group.
"What did we do?" Joey asked as he covered Serenity's head with his arm.
"We're strangers, Sara explained. "To these people, suddenly showing up as we did is a bad omen or something." A horse neighed and the stones came to a stop as a black horse came into view. Its rider was a tall man with dark skin, fiery red eyes and black hair held back in a ponytail dressed in black armor and a red cape hanging over his shoulders. A sword's hilt poked out from the fabric, rubies in the gold glinted brightly.
"What's all the ruckus about over here?" he asked.
"Nothing sir. We were just leaving," Sara said as she took a step back. He eyed them cautiously.
"Certain?" Sara nodded.
"Yes. Quite certain sir. We'll be going now." The group turned and began walking away. "Keep walking and don't look back," she whispered as she glanced over her shoulder. The man turned his horse towards them and wrapped a hand around his sword.
A shadow flew over the group and a blast sent all of them tumbling forward. Sara looked back as the man leapt off his steed and struck the sword of a green-armored knight. Two other knights decked in blue and red respectively stood between the duel and the teens.
"Is that-"
"Critias," Kaiba finished with a smirk.
"And Hermos!" Joey cheered. "Den dat means de guy duelin' is…"
"Timeaus!" Yugi cheered. Sara smiled and looked up at the sky.
"No one move," she said kindly.
"She's right," said a new voice as a blonde girl with bright green eyes dressed in a highly revealing pink and blue outfit appeared and the group began rising into the air. A man in purple armor holding a long green staff appeared next to her.
"Even for me this is a challenge," he commented with a smile.
"Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl?!" Critias turned toward the magicians.
"Get them out of her!" he ordered. "We'll return as soon as we finish here." Dark Magician Girl nodded and she and her master muttered a spell under their breaths.
A blink later the group sat on the front steps of a tall castle very much resembling the one from Duelist Kingdom but instead of golden stone, the structure was made from white marble. Sara stood up and dusted herself off as the two magicians landed at the top step and turned into flashes of deep violet light. In their place stood two tanned teenagers with brown hair. The man wore a long violet cloak over his shoulders and black clothing underneath while the girl had on a long violet gown lined with black. The man had grey eyes in comparison to the girl who's eyes matched those of Serenity.
"Sorry about all the abruptness," Dark Magician Girl said with a little curtsey. "My name is Mana. And this is my husband Mahad. Welcome to the Dominion of the Beasts." The group stood up and some of them dusted themselves off.
"Now I'm sure some of you are curious as to why you're here. If the gentlemen will follow me inside and the girls follow Mana, I'm certain Her Majesty will be only too pleased to explain it herself at dinner tonight," Mahad said.
Joey looked around and fidgeted in his seat. Bad enough he'd had to let Serenity walk off with two strange girls armed only with her suitcase and Téa but he'd also had to share an open bath with Kaiba and was now seated at a table dressed in clothes that were certainly not his. Apparently someone had decided to dress them all up for Her Majesty.
Serenity was dressed in a floor-length deep green gown with silver lining her neck and twirling in an ivy design down her back. Her hair had even been freshly braided like a tiara with bits of ivy. Téa was dressed in a mint?green gown of similar design but her hair had been let down.
All the boys were dressed in the same black trousers and boots and style of shirt, purple for Yugi, deep green for Tristan, grey for Ryou, black for Duke and red for Joey.
Also seated at the table was Mana and Mahad. Mana would whisper something to the girls and they'd giggle among themselves for a moment before Mahad cast a glance at his wife. Then he'd smirk, shrug and return to his conversation with Yugi.
Eight chairs were empty in between Joey and Serenity and he bit his knuckle as he glanced at the empty chairs, wondering who was supposed to occupy them aside from Her Majesty. Guards were standing at attention at the doors and windows, covered in armor and armed with spears.
The doors opened and the three knights from before walked in, helmets off and armor removed, revealing tunics of similar color over black pants. The men took a seat next to Joey and smiled at the group. Hermos elbowed Joey's ribs a little.
"Been a while, wouldn't you say, Joseph?" he asked with a grin. Timeaus smiled at Yugi as Critias looked over his shoulder then locked calculating eyes on his plate. Joey looked down at his own plate and cocked an eyebrow at the spork among all the fine china and gold goblets. Hermos elbowed him again. "I may have been crystalized for a few millennia but last I checked it was only good manners to respond to someone when they talk to you."
"Eh…sorry…just a…" Hermos chuckled, gold eyes glinting a little as he pushed his hair out of the way a bit. Joey looked the knights over again. Timeaus looked a lot like Yugi save his hair was all black with green lightning bolts and bangs hanging in his green eyes. Critias looked like Kaiba and Hermos looked a lot like Joey.
"Yes. A lot has happened today. But get used to it. So long as you're here, there'll be plenty more surprises every day. And hey, if you ever need help around here, just come talk to me, alright? I'm a real expert about this place."
"A year of running around in human form, flying around in dragon and reaching for your sword at every new thing you encounter hardly makes you an expert," Critias commented, earning a bit of a slap on the arm from Timeaus.
"I highly doubt even someone like myself could be an expert of this place, Lord Critias," said a new voice as its owner walked in. She was a tall brown-haired woman with bright violet eyes, dressed in a long blue gown with wrist-to-ring sleeves. Her hair was braided over her shoulder and tied off with a white ribbon. A young boy behind her chuckled a little. Joey jumped in his seat as Téa and Serenity gasped.
"Noah!?" Yugi asked as he stood up. The boy blinked and he snapped around to stare at the group, green hair flying into his blue eyes as he did. He was dressed in a blue shirt with gold fastenings down his front, black pants and boots.
"Have I met you people before?" he asked. Another chuckle sounded as Mokuba came in, dressed very similarly to Noah but with silver fastenings instead of gold, and slung an arm around the boy's neck.
"Nah, you didn't. But in the other world…oh man what a story!" The woman chuckled and ruffled Mokuba's hair.
"Now Mokie, you'll have to tell us after dinner, alright dear?"
"Dear?" Téa asked. The womansmiled as she sat down next to Serenity, Mokuba and Noah following her example.
"Well, he is my son," she explained. Joey's jaw dropped.
"But I thought Kaiba and Mokuba were…" Téa stopped herself as Kaiba walked in. He was dressed in a white shirt and a blue cloak hung over his shoulders and there was a sword at his side along with the usual black pants and boots.
"On Earth, we were orphans," he explained. "But my mother is very much alive here as this world is the one Mokuba and myself were really born in." Sara giggled as she walked in, dressed in a silver gown.
"Myself as well," she said as Kaiba offered her his elbow and she wrapped her arms around it. A guard walked in and stood at attention as the knights, magicians, Mokuba and Noah stood up. The teens followed their example.
"Announcing Her Royal Majesty, Queen Kisara Shiroki, and her fiancée, Lord Seto Ryu." Kaiba pulled out Kisara's seat for her and she sat down next to Timeaus and Seto took the final remaining seat.
"Wait, you're the Queen?" Téa repeated as servants began to set the meals out. Kisara smiled and nodded.
"My apologies for hiding my true identity, however, I am not well acquainted with many people who would not try to take advantage of knowing a Queen and in this world, I have yet to be officially coronated into my position. So even if you had, no one in this world would have believed I was the Queen. And we could have been met with more trouble."
"So wait, when did you and Kaiba…"
"You really think we have no connections in the human world?" Kaiba asked as he started eating.
"Lord Pegasus was the one to introduce us. But our parents were the ones who arranged the marriage when we were infants," Kisara explained. "However the choice to go through with it was our own." Seto's mother got up and threw her arms around her son, who responded with a smile.
"We knew you'd be a good match! Yep, your fathers really were romantic geniuses!" Kisara smiled.
"Lady Hishi, you raised a good gentleman. Smart, caring, endearing…" Seto took hold of Kisara's hand and gave it a squeeze, which she returned. "Let's see if he inherited any of his father's romantic genius," she finished with a smirk as she took a drink. Seto laughed at the challenge.
"Shouldn't be too hard," he mumbled to his younger brothers, who both chuckled as if he shared a great joke.
Joey could only stare with an open jaw. Kisara noticed.
"Joey, if you keep staring at me like that, you'll catch flies." Hermos shut the boy's mouth and the table became silent. After a while Kisara glanced around. "What is it?" she asked innocently.
"Sorry, just…learning we've met a Queen is a little shocking," Yugi offered. Ryou nodded his head in agreement. "And its even more shocking to know that Pegasus and Kaiba both knew of this."
"Yea, the whole time I've known about Kaiba, he's claimed to not believe in magic because it doesn't exist. Yet he was born here?" Duke said in his own Kaiba impersonation, earning him an annoyed glare from the teen.
"Because in the other world, there is no such thing as magic. But here, its everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if later on, some of you developed powers of your own from just breathing the air around here," Seto said nonchalantly.
"Wait a minute. Ain't we supposed to find a way o' getting' back ta our world?" Joey asked. "I know we got a few more days den normal, but dere's still school." Kisara looked down as if ashamed.
"I'm sorry. But I cannot reopen the portal to return you to your world. The easiest way is through water and I am a creature of light. I have no idea how we managed the trip here. All I can safely assume is that someone with great powers over water summoned us here for the sake of the kingdom. So I fear until that person is found, we cannot return any of you to your world."
"Oh no that's fine!" Serenity cried, bouncing in her seat a little. "If I can postpone hearing my mom nag me for any length of time, I'm happy! Especially here! This is a beautiful country Your Majesty and I really want to see more!" The girl stopped her bouncing and covered her mouth as a bright red blush painted her face. "I'm sorry. I started yelling." Kisara chuckled.
"Its fine. I have the same sentiments for my nation. If you all are to stay here though, you'll need more than just being friends of the Queen to move around freely."
"I can take in Joey and Serenity," Hermos volunteered. Critias shot the knight a look. "What? I'm the head of my house. If I want to take a few wards on, I have every right to, right?" Kisara nodded.
"We can take Yugi," Mahad suggested, glancing at Timeaus. The knight sent him a similar look.
"Its fine by me but I am not the head of the house," he said.
"And I can take the others," Critias said as if bored.
"Actually, perhaps we could take Téa," Hishi offered pensively. "She reminds me so much of your uncle is all. I assure you Seto dear." Seto glanced at Téa and sighed.
"So long as she's not an embarrassment to the family, its fine by me." Hishi smiled brightly and ran to Téa, throwing her arms around the girl.
"At last! I've always wanted a daughter!"
After the meal, the group moved to a drawing room. The walls were red and ceiling-high windows were partially covered with thick brown drapes that matched the book-covered shelves lining the wall opposite. There was a collection of plush chairs and sofas creating a circle in the middle of the room and a grand piano outside the circle. A golden harp stood proudly next to the grand instrument.
Kisara sat at the piano as Hishi took the harp and the two began to play as Seto and the other natives selected books to read. Téa and Serenity began gossiping on a sofa while Ryou and Yugi occupied themselves with a chess game on the floor. Joey, Tristan and Duke stood near a window and began to talk.
"I don' like dis," Joey said plainly. "She claims she's got no clue how we all got here, but she seemed ta know what she was doin' when we were fightin' Trudge and dem."
"I agree," Duke said with a nod. "She controlled that monster that grabbed us like it was an extension of herself."
"I say we stick around and keep an eye on her. If anything happens to threaten the others, we get the heck out. Sound good?" The three nodded in agreement as Kaiba cleared his throat from his position only a few feet from them. The three jumped and the brown-haired noble glared at them.
"If you have an issue with my fiancée, take it up with her or myself directly. Otherwise, keep your mouths shut." His hand dropped to the sword at his belt. "We wouldn't want there to be any accidents around here."
"Keep threatenin' me Kaiba, and I'll give you an accident," Joey snarled. Seto chuckled and walked over to his fiancée and stood behind her as she played. The girl's music slowed to a stop and she glanced over at the three.
"If I'm not mistaken...you all have not really been able to know what Seto's really like, have you?"
"Well, he doesn't really let his guard down often," Téa said.
"But you can tell he's really dedicated," Serenity continued.
"And not to mention really smart. Top of the class on every exam," Yugi said pointedly. "Checkmate Ryou." Kisara smiled at her fiancée.
"Looks to me like you did make friends over there, Seto."
"I hardly call them friends." Kisara giggled a little as she moved to sit with Téa and Serenity.
"While we're on the topic, you may want to turn around," she suggested with a smirk. Seto cocked an eyebrow at her before doing as told. His mother's harp-playing came to a stop as the doors opened and a massive silver wolf bounded into the room.
"Wolfram!" Seto called as he opened his arms and let the wolf leap onto him. The beast was at least three times the size of a regular wolf but Kaiba could only smile and chuckle as he scratched the dog's fur as the beast rubbed against him, whimpering and licking at him. Mokuba jumped over and joined in, receiving his share of licks and rubs.
"Wolfram, do you remember me?" Kisara asked. Wolfram bounded over and licked the girl and tried climbing onto her as well before running back to the brothers then back and forth as if he couldn't make up his mind as to who he'd missed more. The Kaiba brothers made it easier on him by moving closer to Kisara.
"It seems he missed all three of you," Noah regarded. "I haven't seen him react like this in a long time."
"Wait is that your pet?" Serenity asked. Joey immediately made sure to pull her away from the beast.
"He's the sigil of my family," Seto said. "The silver direwolf has been my family's symbol for ages. When I marry Kisara, I'll be brought under the protection of a dragon but Wolfram can still remain with us."
"In the first age of the kingdom, families held the names of their sigil as their own. For example, Lord Pegasus' family sigil is still a winged horse," Hishi explained. "As you can guess, names changed according to who the heirs married."
"Which brings up another good topic. While you all are here, you'll have to go by the names of the houses who're fostering you. As Queen I can offer you your own house but legally, I cannot unless my advisors and I unanimously agree you've done something honorable enough to warrant it. In my own opinion, your actions to defend me back on Earth are enough but none of my advisors were there to witness it." Kisara stood up. "My apologies everyone, but I'm afraid I'm quite tired. I'll retire for the evening. When you're ready to turn in, ask a servant to lead you to a room. I hope you enjoy your stay in my palace and my kingdom."
OUALD: Thats all for now. Happy New Year. Please review.