Kami: For those who are wondering: no, I do not know what I'm doing, why I'm doing this nor do I really know what's going on.
Vamp: I'm wondering how you did it. What the heck was with thinking it up and then writing it down in a few hours?! We have exams you know!
Choc: Oh, hush up Vampi~ [Don't call me that you little-!] we went on a creative adventure!
Kami: This is perfectly normal. Yes.
Vamp: (being glomped by Choc) HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHAT THAT WORD MEANS!?
"Hn?" a curious, deep voice questioned. Doe brown eyes lifted from shuffling duel monster cards and searched for the source of the noise that had disturbed his reminiscing.
"What is it Joey?" another seductively deep voice proposed and, this time, ice blue eyes swept around the area of the large study where two very unlikely companions shared space. Joey shifted on the soft sofa, his movement disturbing the placement of the tiny brown hairs of fabric beneath him.
"S'nothin' Kaiba. 'Least, I don't think it is."
Seto Kaiba removed his fingers from his worn keyboard and rose from his corporate-leather seat. Striding gracefully yet casually to the shorter man he curiously looked over the blonde's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he inquired innocently, his words soft in a way no one could possibly have heard, save Mokuba, during his teen years. Joey tilted his head back and looked up at Kaiba's neck from the armrest turned headrest before he answered.
"Rememberin' ol' times. Though relivin' the insults ya used ta throw at me back in tha day don' exac'ly fill me with cheer." His dry statement was followed by an aimed gust of air to the taller's exposed flesh. Seto playfully flicked the blonde's nose and chuckled at the comical way the younger flinched. Straightening, he plucked the top card of the duelist's exposed deck and stepped in the direction of his desk.
"Speaking of the old days, wasn't the nerd herd gathering for a reunion this afternoon?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It's one thirty."
"Shoot!" there was a desperate scramble of cloth, the strange, animalistic sound from earlier gone from his thoughts; Joey jumped up and scrambled through the study room doorway as Kaiba looked down at the card he'd grabbed and frowned.
"Hey- Joey!" he called after the frantic figure that barely spared him a glance of recognition.
"Isn't this your red-eyes?"
Joey reappeared momentarily to examine the card but didn't spare the worn memento a glance as he answered.
"Dat was da last card I looked at, yeah." He breathed out.
"Take a look at it Jo."
"What?" the flushed blonde inquired impatiently as he bent to look at the card.
"It's missing the dragon."
Joey froze a moment before sighing heavily and shrugging in a helpless gesture.
"Jus' hope he don' take too long ta come back this time." He said as he threw a jacket over his shoulder and walked toward the front door.
Seto's frown creased further and he strode after the disappearing blonde moments later. Joey seemed to ignore him on his way out though and Seto could only yell after the shorter's disappearing back demanding he tell the elder what exactly he meant by that statement.
The heat pressed down on his head like a great, lazing animal and Adrian Randolph Crump the third was found wondering why on earth he was stuck in this dreadful climate with a three-piece suit on. He took another trudging step forward and his companions watched his scowl grow ever more pronounced. This was definitely not his day.
"Ah, Crump, Adrian…" Johnson gasped arid air through his numb, waterless mouth. "Could you please… think this through a little more." He attempted to wet his mouth but only succeeded in gulping sand. After a short coughing fit he spoke again. "We won't last much longer if we rush…"
"Well excuse me for being frustrated Johnson!" the short man yelled to the empty desert before him as if it were a challenge to the wavering land.
"I'm sure… if you calmed down… this could be resolved quick-."
"To heck with that!" he spat over his damp shoulder.
"Crump! You need to get over the fact that it isn't cold enough for you and-,"
"Cold enough for me Gansley? Ha! I got over that approximately four hundred and ninety two seconds ago! No, what's really bugging me is the question: why the heck is he here!" Crump suddenly swivelled and pointed a plump finger at the regal-looking Dartz. Dressed in long robes, his clothing padded and his hair reaching his knees and hanging largely all over his face it was no wonder Crump complained that the guy was-
"Way too freaking calm for this goshforsaken heat! He waltzes beside us with his impossibly long strides and looks as cool as a penguin in an igloo while we're all sweating like pigs!"
There was momentary silence as Johnson struggled desperately to get his breath back, Crump pointed a dramatically accusing finger at Dartz's figure and the man in question blinked at the sudden question, smiled sweetly and waved.
"You noticed me?" he called with vague surprise to the group of middle-aged men with their eyes on him. The company sweat dropped and Crump fell over, muttering insanely.
"'You noticed me'? 'You noticed me' he says, hahaha!" his unhinged laughing made the company shiver and Dartz gaze quizzically at the squat man rolling around on the ground.
"… Is he quite sane?" he inquired innocently as Nesbitt calmly strode over to smack the smaller man until he came to his senses. It wasn't too long before the panting man sat up gently and held his head in one hand as he got his bearings and calmed down.
"You done with your little hissy fit Crump?" Gansley commented.
The man in question glared at him and crossed his arms like a child. Concerned looks were thrown at him but they went unseen by the smaller man.
"I still want to know who he is and why he's following us." He demanded with a pout. "And I refuse to move until I do-,"
"Ohthankeverythingthatisholyandgoodinthisworld." Johnson exhaled as he fell from exhaustion. He felt his heart might start giving him problems again, it had always been weak. Gansley raised an eyebrow but would roll his sleeves up further rather than comment on his business partners' behaviour. It was hard to believe but they were really a close-knit group and he knew not to bring their various issues up in front of strangers. He sometimes wished he had weaknesses of his own so they would truly trust him.
Though, considering what they had all done in the past, they were not the trustworthy kind of people.
"You heard him." he opted for a direct question. "Tell us who you are and why you're here."
Dartz blinked and folded his hands into his sleeves (to the further distress of Crump who couldn't believe that anyone would want to make themselves hotter in their current position).
"If you want to know who I am, fine. I am not disinclined to tell you. However," he looked up at the group with his piercing, gold gaze, "could we find some shade? It is quite warm here." He admitted with his serious expression and everyone else could only give each other disbelieving looks and shaky smiles that said: "This guy can't be serious."
"HA! He does get hot!"
"Shut up Crump."
"I'd say we've become the playthings of a duel monster or some other spiritual creature." Dartz chuckled fondly. "I used to do it all the time; it really is quite a fun game, playing with souls."
Johnson very subtly removed himself from close contact with the previous Atlantic king even if it did put him knee-deep in sunlight. That laugh had been suspiciously happy and as long as the weirdo didn't try to play games with his soul he was fine, he'd had quite enough of that. If the king decided to start up his old habits he could very well have Crump. No one liked Crump.
"The good thing is that it will pass with the spirit's interest." Dartz pointed out with a knowing smile at Johnson, who smiled back flawlessly, and a cursory glance over to where Crump glared at the taller man.
"It's all well and good that you told us about yourself and what's going on," Gansley began, "but how can we get a plan of action going if we don't have the whole team?"
At this Johnson glanced around with a surprised frown, Crump whirled around, searching and Nesbitt sighed against the rock wall they had found shade under.
"Where is Leichter?"
Dartz shrugged indifferently and managed to make the rock he too leaned against, coupled with the smaller stone he sat on, look like a throne as he rested into the makeshift seat.
"I am sure we shall find him on the way. He is probably somewhere exciting and new, not to worry, he should be enjoying himself." At that very moment a muffled yell for help vibrated under their feet.
"What was that?" Gansley immediately questioned. Dartz glanced at the ground and smiled sweetly.
"How convenient, your friend is already close by, what a generous spirit."
His statement was ignored by all except Gansley, who glared at him in place of the confused Crump.
"Ah, Nesbitt?" the penguin-lover said, "What are you doing?"
"There has to be a way to get underground." The tall mechanic said as he patted the ground searchingly. "If Leicht-ah!"
Nesbitt swiftly disappeared under the rubble of the disintegrating ground and his quick scream was echoed by Johnson and a brief gasp of shock from the pale-blue-haired royal as they too followed him under ground. In the mad scramble to save someone, anyone, from falling; Gansley and Crump felt themselves pulled into the mix as well and, before much more could be said besides: "Ahh!" they had all landed in their respective uncomfortable positions.
With a couple of thumps and slips Nesbitt landed, unconscious, between two large statues. Dartz and Johnson landed beside each other inside a conveniently placed sarcophagus and had the misfortune to have a scrambling Crump and grasping Gansley land on the half-fallen lid and drag it over the occupants in their attempts to stop themselves from falling down a flight of stairs directly below the heavy coffin.
They failed. Crump was the first to roll and landed about half as far down as Gansley did, out cold.
Inside the sarcophagus Dartz blinked his brilliant eyes open and laid eyes on his room- well, on his coffin-mates. Johnson did the same but very obviously began to hyperventilate when he realised he had more than one companion in this strange predicament and that his third 'friend' could have done with a good shower.
"Do not worry Mr Johnson," Dartz said in an attempt to comfort the vice-president of business strategy. "I happen to have known this particular pharaoh quite well and, judging by his level of decay, he hasn't been here too long."
"How is that not a reason to worry?" Johnson gritted out at the supposedly wiser man.
"In your lifetime he would be dust Mr Johnson, be grateful you are not swallowing a dead man." Dartz reprimanded firmly and Johnson gulped a final time and calmed down.
"Right, you're right. Thank… you… ahem, King Dartz."
"Just Dartz is fine boy."
"Er, okay. Dartz."
"Why, you get familiar with people rather quickly."
"Bu-! But you! I just-!"
"I don't mind though."
"And you-! What?"
"If you want to become familiar then I do not have a problem Mr Johnson."
"Are… are you blushing?"
"Goodness, you could not possibly tell in this darkness now could you? No one could tell anything in this darkness."
"Oh for Pete- no one?"
"None but the dead." Dartz whispered.
"Well in that cas-,"
"Ahhhp-!"
They both glanced at what they'd thought was a dead man and startled. Johnson's eyes went wide and Dartz struggled to hold back a laugh. When both had finally recovered, Dartz said:
"Ah, you must be Mr Leichter, it seems the first of our adventures have started already Mr Johnson, we'll have to continue this discussion later."
Kami: Thank you so much for reading this weird, obscure, odd, strange, unfathomable, skewed, unnatural, gallant, indomitable, gree-
Vamp: You've stopped describing the story.
Choc: Really? I think it is kind of green. Like, if it were a colour, I'm pretty sure this story would be a beautiful, bright gre-
Vamp: NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK!
Kami: Ehehe (^_^") why don't you guys give me some adjectives, huh?
25/05/2014