A/N: Welcome to chapter 2!
I haven't received many reviews yet, but for those that did review: Thank you!
This chapter introduces one of the bad guys and then moves on where the previous chapter has left off. I plan to keep the order of the chapters like this until characters start to come together again. It's difficult for me to use actual humour though. Besides the occasional joke I'm pretty much dry... I don't want to go all overboard with fourth wall breaks etc. I like fourth wall breaks, but I don't feel they fit this story. Let me know if you feel this story doesn't deserve to be classified in the humour genre.
Happy reading! And reviews, ideas, suggestions, etc. are always appreciated!
0o0o0
A white-haired male was walking through the streets of Domino City. He intently scanned his surroundings as he followed the direction his Millennium Ring was taking him. The ancient item had started to act up just mere moments ago and Bakura had been pulled along ever since. He had never experienced the ring to give such a strong reaction. It almost seemed as if it had a life of its own. Bakura was annoyed at the fact, since he believed to have full control over the item, but at the same time he was curious as to why it was reacting so strongly.
"It had better not lead me to a gay bar again." He grumbled to himself.
Memories of what had happened the last time the Millennium Ring had responded to something flashed through his mind. The ring had pretty much dragged him to some shady part of town and stopped in front of what looked like a dance club. He had entered the club without knowing that it was actually a gay bar. His British accent had gotten him a lot of unwanted interest. In the end is was only because of his excellent thieving skills that he managed to get out relatively untouched. He couldn't even begin to fathom why the ring had brought him there in the first place. As far as he could tell there had been no other Millennium items present in the bar. On the other hand he didn't get much of a chance to look around before several men, all dressed up like police officers or like an Indian chieftain, had started groping him.
Luckily for him the ring wasn't bringing him to anything related to homosexuality. Instead, it brought him to the exact same place where just a few moments ago a duel had ended with the appearance of a rift and the disappearance of some people. Bakura narrowed his eyes in interest when he saw the rift. He looked at the ring and saw that all of its points were pointing towards it. At first he thought that the rift might be some access point to the Shadow Realm, but his Shadow Magic told him otherwise. He could tell that the rift was created by a high amount of duel energy, though how that was possible he didn't know. The only explanation would be that the Pharaoh and his friends had something to do with it. Even from a distance he could feel the rift trying to pull him in, so he had no doubt that the aforementioned people had probably met that fate. He scowled at the offending anomaly. Though the thought of the Pharaoh being potentially dead or at least trapped in some unknown world gave Bakura a great sense of satisfaction, the fact that the ancient king would never let go of the Millennium Puzzle would mean that the item would potentially be lost with him. Bakura needed the item if he was to continue with his plan. Without any hesitation he stepped up to the rift and allowed it to suck him in its folds. He had to retrieve the Millennium Puzzle no matter what the costs.
0o0o0
Yugi sat down next to the flower bed with Yami's spirit form by his side while Cloud zoned out again as he talked to Aeris.
"So what's going on here Aeris?" Cloud demanded to know.
"Impatient much?" Aeris replied teasingly accusingly, making Cloud feel slightly ashamed of himself. "I'll tell you in a minute Cloud, but first I need to make sure Yugi and Yami can see me and we can see both of them."
Cloud frowned. As far as he knew only he could see and hear Aeris. "How will you do that?"
"It's quite simple really. All you need to do is take out your Sense Materia, press it against the front of his Millennium Puzzle and activate it. I should be able to reach into the item that way."
Cloud frowned again, but knew he could trust Aeris, even if this should happen. He walked up to his box of Materia and searched through the glowing orbs until he found another yellow one. Yugi watched him curiously. As soon as Cloud walked up to him with the Materia orb however he felt Yami's distrust. Yugi had to struggle slightly to make sure he had firm control over his body. Cloud stopped a few steps away from Yugi and held out the yellow orb.
"This is a Sense Materia. According to my friend we can use it to make you see her while we'll also be able to see the both of you. All I need to do is press it up to your puzzle and she'll do the rest." Cloud explained.
"Yugi I don't trust this. He used one of those orbs on me to drain my magic. Who is to say this one won't kill you?" Yami voiced his concern.
"I trust him Yami." Yugi said out loud. "He's had plenty of opportunity to kill me if he wanted to."
"That's true." Yami conceded. "But at least let me take over Yugi. If something does go wrong I'll be able to handle it better than you will."
Yugi nodded and released his hold on his body, allowing his own soul to drift into the Millennium Puzzle so Yami's soul could come out. Cloud watched the change again with fascination. Once Yami was in full control he eyed Cloud suspiciously.
"You may proceed now, but I warn you, do anything to hurt my partner and you will face the consequences." Yami said.
Cloud, who was unfazed by Yami's hostility, walked up to him and lightly pressed the Sense Materia against the eye on front on the Millennium Puzzle. As soon as he activated it he could feel Aeris's presence pour into the item. The normal effect of the Materia also allowed him to find out a bit more about Yugi and Yami, which was an interesting bonus.
Aeris walked down the hallway inside the Millennium Puzzle until she reached two doors on either side. The one on her left was small and filled with toys and games. Inside was Yugi's soul, who looked up when he spotted her.
"I guess you must be Cloud's friend?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, my name is Aeris. You must be Yugi." Aeris replied.
Yugi smiled and held out his hand, which Aeris took. "Nice to meet you." Yugi said. "So what do we do now?"
"I need to find your partner's soul and then synchronize our magic. That should allow us all to see each other." She explained.
Yugi blinked in confusion. "Synchronize your magic? How is that possible?"
"It might be best if we find your friend first, so I won't have to explain it twice."
Yugi grinned sheepishly. "That might be a good idea. His spirit should be in the room across the hallway."
Aeris turned around and walked up to the door behind her with Yugi in tow. She calmly opened the door and looked inside. This room consisted out of a multitude of steps and doorways. Yami's soul was waiting for them in the middle of the room, standing proudly with the poise of the Pharaoh he used to be. Aeris ignored him however and looked around the room.
"It's just like I suspected." She murmured. "Yes, this should work nicely."
"So, care to explain how you were able to enter the Millennium Puzzle?" Yami demanded to know, earning him a scolding glare from Yugi but he ignored it.
Aeris turned to the spikey-haired couple, who were watching her with anticipation for an explanation. "The reason I'm able to enter the Millennium Puzzle like this is because your item holds a connection with a place that used to be in this world." Aeris explained. "An ancient race called the Cetra or the Ancients built a place called the Temple of the Ancients in order to protect a powerful Materia. Like this," She gestured the Pharaoh's soul room, "the temple consisted out of many intertwining stairways and doors in order to confuse any unwanted visitors. Also," She eyed the Millennium Puzzle around their necks, "the temple was built into the likeness of a pyramid. I am the last descendent of the Cetra, and through my connection with the temple I was able to use Cloud's Sense Materia to enter the puzzle."
"And now you need to synchronize your magic with Yami's so we can talk outside of the puzzle?" Yugi asked.
Aeris nodded. "Yes. Since the Temple of the Ancients and the Millennium Puzzle are so alike it shouldn't be too much trouble to do that. Then it'll be easier to talk and I can explain why you are here."
Yami was slowly starting to trust the young woman in front of him. She didn't appear threatening and was willing to answer their questions. "What do we need to do?" He asked calmly.
Aeris walked up to him and held out her hands. "Just hold my hands and close your eyes. I'll take the lead. Just try to let your magic fall into tune with mine. You should be able to know how to do that once we start."
Yami did as he was told and took her hands and closed his eyes. He soon felt a slight tingling sensation of magic and countered it with his own. He could instantly tell that they were out of tune. He felt the magic coming from Aeris adjust itself and strove to meet it. Before long their magic was synchronized and Yami opened his eyes again to see Cloud standing in front of him. The spirit form of Aeris was standing beside him. Cloud could now also see Yugi's spirit form beside Yami. It had worked. Aeris giggled and clapped her hands, obviously thrilled that it had actually worked. Yugi smiled and also gave Yami a smug look that clearly meant 'I told you so'. Yami looked slightly guilty and Cloud just calmly put away his Materia. They all gathered around the transparent form of Aeris so she could start explaining the purpose of them being here.
0o0o0
After they had been walking for several minutes, Red XIII had led Joey and Seto to a small town built against the side of the cliff. Houses were scattered along the rocky terraces and at the top was a building with a giant telescope. Joey's eyes were bulging out of its sockets as he looked around. The place was so different from Domino City, but what surprised him even more was that he saw humans walking around. After meeting Red XIII, he had somehow expected to find a town filled with his own kind. He was dying to know more about this place. Seto on the other hand wasn't so keen on playing tourist. Even though the fact that there seemed to be only humans around didn't go unnoticed, his worry for his brother's welfare made him disregard it.
"So where is this grandfather of yours?" Seto said gruffly, clearly impatient.
Red XIII on the other hand didn't seem to notice, or at the very least didn't let it affect him. "He's usually at home, which is the house at the top of the cliff." He announced calmly before turning to the set of stairs on his left. "I'll lead the way, so please follow me."
Red XIII set off to climb the stairs with Joey and Seto in tow. Joey groaned after a while, while Seto just continued climbing stoically like it wasn't any different from taking a stroll in the park.
"Why does he have to live at the very top?" Joey complained once he reached the top of the first set of stairs, staring ominously at the second one. "Don't you guys have an elevator or something?"
"The people here are very studious and traditional." Red XIII explained calmly. "My grandfather requires peace and quiet and enough room to conduct all his research. Besides, the exercise will do you good no doubt."
Joey groaned some more but didn't complain when the thought of his sister being out there somewhere hit him. If climbing a few meant the he would find out where his sister was, then he was willing to suffer any sore and aching muscles.
Arriving at the top of the stairs, the three entered the cave and proceeded to climb up the interior stairs and ladders. Neither Red XIII nor Seto seemed to be winded by the climb, while Joey struggled to keep up despite thoughts of Serenity urging him on. He still wondered why no one had bothered to build an elevator while along the way he did see some signs of modern technology. It didn't make much sense to him.
"Grandpa, I'm home!" Red XIII called out as they entered the shack at the top of the cliff.
"Now you sound like Yugi." Joey mumbled under his breath, though nobody heard him.
An old man came floating out of one of the other rooms on what seemed to be a green hoverpad. But what surprised Joey even more was that this man was clearly human, making the teen wonder how he could possibly be Red XIII's grandfather.
"Welcome back Nanaki. I see you've brought some friends." The old man said cheerfully.
"Cut the formalities old man." Seto grumbled impatiently. "According to this creature over here you might know something about my brother."
"Yeah, and I'm looking for my sister." Joey added.
"Ho Ho Hooo! Patience my friends. How can I ever know about your siblings if I don't even know who you are?"
"And why do you sound like Santa all of a sudden?" Joey asked in genuine surprise.
"In case you forgot, mutt, this is a hallucination. They are not supposed to make sense. Your presence here only proves that point." Seto snapped at him, causing Joey to growl at him.
"Will you stop being so thick-headed Kaiba? If this is all just an hallucination then why bother looking for Mokuba?" Joey's expression suddenly became smug. "The fact that you want to find him proves to me that you aren't so sure as you make yourself out to be."
Seto did his best to suppress the growl forming at the back of his throat and didn't offer any further argument. Even though Joey annoyed him, he did make have a good point. Just the slight possibility that he was wrong compelled him to do anything within his power to find and protect his little brother.
Taking Seto's silence as a victory Joey smugly turned away from the arrogant CEO and faced the old man again. "Well gramps, my name is Joey Wheeler, and mister stick-up-his-ass here is Kaiba. But I'd also like to know how the two of you can possibly be related."
"Ho Ho Hooo! It's very nice to meet you Joey. I'm Bugenhagen, and Nanaki and I aren't related by blood if that's what you were thinking. Now perhaps someone can explain to me why I would know something about your siblings."
"I saw them pop up out of thin air in the canyon grandpa." Red XIII started to explain. "I heard them talking about how they got here and this young man here believes they are from another dimension. There might be a chance their siblings are also somewhere around here, and I thought you might know what's going on."
Bugenhagen's expression turned pensive as he pondered over Red XIII's explanation. "Hmm…I must admit that I've felt something strange coming from the Planet a little while ago. Perhaps this is connected to your arrival."
"Why are you insistent on talking about a planet as if it's alive?" Seto intervened. "I'm not here to waste my time hearing you talk about this crap. Either you tell me if you know where I can find my brother or I'll go look for him myself."
Bugenhagen shook his head. "You clearly are not from this world young man. I assure you that the Planet is alive in a sense, and it's been acting strange lately. I'm not sure what's wrong, but I can hazard a guess on why you ended up here and where you may find you siblings."
Joey's eyes lit up in hope. "Please tell us gramps. I'm worried sick about my little sister. Any help would be great."
"Ho Ho Hooo! Now that's the spirit young man." Bugenhagen's hover pad bounced jovially in his excitement, giving him a rather comical look.
"Then start talking." Seto grumbled.
"Once again, patience my friend. Now, considering the Planet itself has something to do with you arrival, for whatever reason, I think it has brought you to a place close to the Lifestream."
"Lifestream, what's that?" Joey asked, making Seto groan silently for the interruption.
"Ho Ho Hooo! The Lifestream is the Planet's life source, but every living being on this Planet is connected to it. When we die, our souls return to the Lifestream, and from the Lifestream we are reborn anew." Bugenhagen paused to look at the two young men before him. Joey was intently listening to him, while Seto seemed to become more impatient by the second. "There are several places on this Planet close to the Lifestream. This place, Cosmo Canyon, is one such places. I think you may find your family somewhere at those other places."
"All right!" Joey cheered. "Now all you need to do is give us some directions and we can get going."
"For the first time I agree with you Wheeler." Seto agreed.
Bugenhagen shook his head again. "It's not that simple. Such places are numerous and spread far apart. If I can figure out why you two wound up here exactly I might be able to give you better directions."
"You think there's a specific reason they wound up at this specific place grandpa?" Red XIII inquired.
Bugenhagen sighed. "I'm not certain, but if there's a reason and we can figure it out it'll greatly reduce the number of places where they should look."
0o0o0
Mokuba and Serenity were still clinging to each other, scared to death even though Mokuba tried to appear brave. They were in a chopper on their way to a place they'd never heard about, with the seemingly lazy red head and the intimidating bald man scrutinizing them. Everything had gone so fast after Reno had ordered a chopper to be prepared for Midgar. They were quickly dragged off to the elevator the two Turks had come out of, and taken to the huge city above where they helicopter was already waiting for them. Without any further ado they had been stashed inside and the chopper had taken off. Mokuba had tried to get out of their grasp, but a light shock from Reno's EMR had quickly ceased any further struggles. Now the two youngsters were simply confused and afraid. They didn't know where they were and they were worried sick for their brothers. They just hoped that Joey and Seto were okay.
The flight didn't take very long, as a large city came into view as soon as they had passed the nearby mountains. The city had an ominous feel to it, and the chopper went straight for it.
"Welcome to Midgar kids." Reno remarked good-humouredly. "Here you'll have the honour of meeting President Shinra himself. I hope you've brought along some manners."
"And what if we didn't?" Mokuba remarked bravely, causing Serenity to cringe over his cockiness, afraid Reno would hurt him again.
Reno simply smirked. "I like your spunk kid, but I suggest you can it while in front of the President. He's a very impatient man, who doesn't tolerate disobedience. If he orders me to teach you a lesson in humility, then I will."
"Please Mokuba." Serenity pleaded. "I know you're simply trying to be brave, but I don't want you to get hurt."
Reno smiled and sat back as he turned to Rude. "Would you look at that partner. Isn't this just the sweetest romantic moment you've ever witnessed?"
Rude didn't respond but made a small chuckling sound. Mokuba, he didn't like being made fun of, wanted to lunge at Reno, but the red-head quickly noticed and held out his fully powered EMR, stopping Mokuba in his tracks.
"I suggest you take your girlfriend's advice kid and control your temper."
Mokuba glared but silently resumed his place next to Serenity. As soon as he had sat down the pilot announced that they were about to land at Shinra HQ. As the chopper was lowered down to the helipad Mokuba couldn't help but being reminded of his brother's company HQ. Both buildings were high, and stood out among the other buildings, serving as a pinnacle of the city. But despite the similarities, it wasn't the same, and the impending meeting with this so-called President only fuelled the fear these two kids felt. Rude was the first one to get off the chopper when it had touched down. Reno looked at the two kids and smiled in a deceptively friendly manner.
"Ladies and spunky kids first." He said mockingly as he waved with his EMR for them to get off the chopper.
Serenity nervously complied and carefully got off. Mokuba quickly followed her with Reno closely behind him. The two Turks proceeded to lead the pair through the door at the side of the landing zone, which immediately brought them into a spacious office. A blonde man in a white suite was sitting behind a large desk, eyeing the new arrivals curiously. Again Mokuba was reminded by how similar it all was to his brother's office, though he had to admit even his brother's desk wasn't that big. If Seto had been here, then his ego would've certainly suffered a harsh blow.
"So are these the two you called about Reno?" The man inquired calmly in a tone that made the two youngsters shiver even more in fear.
"Yes sir mister President." Reno replied as he leisurely leaned against a pillar. "These are the ones who have apparently popped out of thin air and are presumably from another world."
"I see…" The man got up and slowly walked around his desk until he was right in front of Serenity and Mokuba. He eyed them critically, as if merely observing them would provide him with all the answers. "I am Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra, and I basically rule this very Planet. I would very much like to hear about your world. Who knows, maybe I can even help you find a way back home."
On the surface, the blonde man seemed to be kind, but there was something about him that made the two children nervous. They didn't expect this man to offer them to help find a way back home. In truth this wasn't the sole motive of Rufus's actions. He was very interested in what information he could squeeze out of these two children, hoping he could expand his company's influence to another world.
0o0o0
Under Vincent's guidance and with the aid of his Lunar Harp the trio navigated through the strange forest without any further incidents. They were mostly silent along the way. Vincent wasn't a very talkative person and Tea and Tristan were still a bit apprehensive of the mysterious man. Tea couldn't help but wonder whether everyone in this world was like this guy. With his red eyes and dark clothes the association with a vampire was easily made, and she hoped that they hadn't wound up in a world full of those blood-sucking creatures. On the other hand it was probably just her imagination running wild. It didn't take away the fact that this world was strange to the newcomers, though. Then again, playing a children's card game in order to fight bad guys and save the world also didn't stroke with any definition of the word 'normal'.
Tea swallowed nervously, but worked up the courage to walk up to the mysterious person. "So…you haven't even told us your name. I'm Tea by the way."
"I already know your names from observing you before." Vincent replied. "You do not need to introduce yourselves to me."
Tea cringed a bit at the harsh reply, but didn't want to give up that easily. "We still don't know your name though. It's awkward not being able to call you by name."
Silence fell for a while as they continued walking. Tea sighed and was about to give up when the other responded. "It's Vincent." He said. "Vincent Valentine."
"Whoa! Seriously?" Tristan intervened.
"Is there something wrong about my name?"
Tristan shook his head. "It's just that we know a Mai Valentine. It's pretty funny how two very different people from two very different worlds have the same surname."
"How is she different?" Vincent inquired, unable to deny his curiosity had been piqued.
"Well, for one she's a woman while you're a man. She's blonde, while your have black hair. She's very outgoing while you seem to be rather reserved. All in all, you're like fire and ice." Tristan explained.
"I see…"
Silence fell again, the topic apparently discussed sufficiently, until Tea spoke up again. "Anyway, where are you taking us?"
"We need to cross the sea in order to reach an acquaintance of mine who can help you find your friends." Vincent replied. "You'll see once we get out of this forest."
And sure enough only moments later the trees started to thin out and a small plain leading over to a small beach in the distance could be seen.
"Are you freaking serious?!" Tristan yelled loudly when they finally reached the coast.
When Vincent had told them they have to cross the sea he hadn't expected to see what he saw right in front of his nose. He had expected there to be a boat, even if it had been a wooden rowing boat it would still at least have been a boat. But what was in front of them wasn't a boat in any definition of the word. It was a small plane. Now that on its own wasn't what made Tristan react the way he did. No, it was that fact that this plane was stranded on the beach looking like it wasn't going to take off to the skies soon that did it.
Vincent ignored the question and continued to walk up to the plane, having every intention to use it as their mode of travel. Tea just huffed and dragged Tristan along.
"Seriously Tristan," She started saying, "we wind up in another world where we witness a strange guy with a vampire fetish kill an innocent bunny, play a musical instrument in order to get us out of some strange enchanted forest, and you're surprised by our mode of transportation?" She shook her head. "This is not our world Tristan, so nothing surprised me anymore."
"The Tiny Bronco will get us to where we need to go." Vincent notified them. "So I suggest that you hop on."
Without any further protests the two stranded teens did as they were told. They were baffled by this strange world, but hoped they would soon find their friends and a way back home.
0o0o0
A/N: A gay friend of mine actually used the word 'gaydar' recently, and she doesn't know YGOTAS. I thought it was funny.
I think the connection between the Millennium Puzzle and the Temple of the Ancients was quite a stroke of genius.
Seto's actual character is harder to write than I thought. I think I made Joey happy though :).
I think Reno is awesome. I can't imagine him being different.
I'm not too happy with the Vincent, Tea, Tristan scene. Vincent is also very hard to write, and I basically have very little to say. I'm not sure whether the comparison between and Mai is even fitting, or whether it came out of the blue...
That's it for this chapter! In the next one Bakura meets another bad guy. More is explained and more people will start to move. The whole dog insulting thing of Seto will turn around and bite him in the behind. Until next week! :D