A/N: Hey, welcome back! I hope all of you enjoyed the first chapter. Now, onto the second, enjoy! (P.S. I used Wikipedia. You've been warned.)
I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH! OR AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER!
Book 1: Water
Chapter 2- Coming Together
"It is a pleasure being in your presence President Valerie Von Brandt," an older, slender Asian man said as he bowed his head, "let me tell you, you are even more breath-taking in person as you are in pictures."
"Ah, flattery," the young woman flipped a strand of blonde hair over her shoulder, "As wonderful as that is, it will not get you too far with me."
The Asian man smirked, his eyes mischievously smiling at her, "I'm just simply fascinated by you. Beautiful, brilliant, and one of the world's most powerful leaders, all at the fragile age of nineteen. It's impressive."
The young president snickered disdainfully, her voice thickening up with sternness, "Don't make me repeat myself, Emperor Haru, flattery doesn't impress me." She stood from her office chair and walked over to the large window on the opposite side of the room. Her view of Germany was beautiful. The Bellevue Palace overlooked a gorgeous river and Valerie found herself just staring at the water flow from her office window whenever she felt stressed.
Valerie knew Emperor Haru was correct. She was impressive. Valerie Von Brandt was the youngest president in German history, reshaping Germany's age of candidacy laws. However, that's not what made her impressive. What made Valerie Von Brandt so impressive was her heritage. She was the direct descendant of the Fire Lord of the once thriving Fire Nation. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation no longer existed, but Valerie would be sure to change that. Emperor Haru of Japan would be Valerie's final piece to Fire Nation success.
Grinning maliciously, Valerie turned around to face her guest. Her light brown eyes were callous and manipulating, "Let's get down to business, shall we?"
Emperor Haru's lips curled, "Absolutely."
Valerie waltzed gracefully over to her desk and opened the top drawer, "I hope you find this suitable," she handed the Japanese emperor a golden sheet of paper.
Unfolding the paper, Emperor Haru looked over its contents carefully, grinning when he discovered that it met his standards. "This will suffice." Folding the paper back up and placing it carefully into his back pocket, the Japanese Emperor sneered at the young woman in front of him, his eyes were daring and wide, "What would you like to know?"
The German President's beautiful features were bold and void of any hint emotion, "Everything," she stated simply.
"They're plotting against you."
The young woman laughed madly, "Please, Haru, tell me something I don't know." Within the blink of an eye Valerie's emotion changed and she became wicked, the volume of her voice sending shivers down the old mans back, "Waste anymore of my time and you can be sure that you will become waste!" Taking a piece of blonde hair and twisting it intriguingly around her index finger, her voice subdued and she maliciously smiled at the emperor, "Have I made myself clear?"
Emperor Haru swallowed hard and nodded.
"Good," Valerie said, "Now let's try this one more time, shall we?" She scowled at the man standing across from her, giving him a daring look, "Tell me everything!"
This couldn't be happening! This just couldn't be happening! Her worst fear had come true….
Serenity Wheeler let the tears stream down her face. She had been lying in her bed crying for hours. After her doctor's appointment early that day had gone sour on her, she had no motivation to do anything. The only thing that felt absolutely necessary was to cry. Cry, sob, wail, scream, all of those things felt needed as Serenity's worst fear had come true.
Serenity Wheeler was going blind.
Years earlier her older brother, Joey, had won prize money during a dueling tournament to pay for an operation to prevent her blindness. The operation had worked and Serenity thought that all of her vision problems were behind her. Unfortunately, her complications were not behind her.
About a month ago, Serenity had noticed dark spots in her vision and immediately had gone to the doctor about it. The doctor performed a few tests and about a month later the results were in. Serenity was going blind. The doctor told her that there was nothing they could do. The chances of a second operation being successful were slim considering the first operation apparently failed. It was only a matter of time before Serenity would go completely blind.
The worst part of this whole thing was Joey. He had learned how to duel for her, so he could save her vision. He'd worked so hard to win the prize money for her operation and now it was all for nothing. How was she going to break the news to him? Would he be mad? Would he be upset at her for losing her vision? Serenity was so afraid to tell him, but she had to before it was too late, and her eyesight was gone completely.
Slowly reaching for her cell phone that was on her nightstand, she dialed her brothers phone number and waited while it rang.
'Hello?' Joey's voice was pleasant, as usual. Serenity was saddened, knowing that she would ruin all pleasantness in her brother.
Gathering up all the vocal strength she could, she managed to speak, "Hey Joey…."
'You don't sound so good, sis,' Joey stated, a hint of concern crept its way into his voice, 'is something wrong?'
It took every fiber of her being to not lie to him. Serenity wanted to just say 'no' and leave it at that, just to forget about this whole situation. However, Serenity had to face this one way or another. She knew she needed to tell her brother straight up, even though it would be hard, even if she weren't ready to tell him, she knew she just had to. Serenity's voice came out sad and soft, "N-n-no Joey…. Everything is not okay," a few tears strayed from her eyes, "I went to the doctors and…. and they said I am…." She took a deep breath before she broke down completely, "I'm going blind, Joey."
The other line was silent. Time passed slowly, like watching paint dry. Both brother and sister were quiet, musing over what Serenity had said. Finally, after what felt like hours, Joey decided to speak, 'Where are you, Serenity?'
Through small sobs Serenity replied, "At moms. She isn't home."
'I'm coming over! I'll see you in twenty minutes!' Joey hung up the phone. Serenity could hear the urgency in her brother's voice and was thankful for him, but was weary of what he'd say to her when he arrived. Would he be mad? Would he have sympathy? Serenity didn't know….
"I've gotta go guys, I'll see you later!" Joey Wheeler said suddenly as he abruptly stood up and ran out of Yugi Muto's living room. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan were in shock as Joey bolted out of the home. None of them even had time to ask Joey where he was going. After a moment of shocked silence, the three friends gave each other a concerned look and sat up, running towards the front door to see if Joey was still present. Unfortunately, the fierce blonde was gone.
"What do you think happened?" Tristan asked.
"I think he got a call from Serenity," Yugi perceived, "She must've had bad news."
Tea's face fell as her deep blue eyes fell to the floor in unease, "Oh no…."
"What should we do?" Tristan questioned, there was extreme urgency in his voice. Even though Tristan would never admit it to Joey's face, he cared deeply for the Wheeler family. He was loyal to both Joey and Serenity, and cared greatly for their wellness.
"Give the young man some time," Solomon Muto entered the room, wisdom was evident on the elder man's face, "Joey will tell you guys what's wrong eventually."
"But what if he needs us!? We're his best friends!" Tristan hollered.
Solomon smiled softly, "Exactly, you are all his best friends, he'll come to you. Just give him some time."
"What can we do in the mean time?" Tea asked, sadness sliding into her voice.
Solomon disappeared from the room, leaving the three teenagers confused, giving quizzical glances towards each other. Moments later Solomon returned with a plate of snacks, he responded cheerily to Tea's question, "Eat!"
"Uh…. What!?" Mokuba Kaiba, the younger brother of popular CEO, Seto Kaiba, stood outside of his older brothers bedroom door in the Kaiba mansion. He was staring at Roland, Kaiba's right-hand man, with confusion and concern. The young boy's arms were folded over his chest and his gray eyes contained a look of determination that eerily resembled his older brother's. Mokuba was impatiently waiting for Roland to explain what had happened to Seto earlier that morning. After Mokuba had gotten home from school, Roland mentioned that Kaiba was feeling ill and came home from work early. Mokuba had bolted up the stairs to check on his brother when Roland blocked the doorway before the younger Kaiba could burst through. Mokuba knew better than to just think that Seto was 'sick.' Even if Seto was sick he would tough it through work. Mokuba knew his brother better than anyone, so who was Roland fooling? Not Mokuba Kaiba that's for sure….
"As I was saying, Mr. Kaiba told me to cancel his meetings for the rest of the day. He said he was going crazy from a lack of sleep and insisted to be brought home immediately. I asked him if he was feeling ill and he replied with a simple, 'yes.' I am telling you the truth, Mokuba, Mr. Kaiba does not want to be disturbed."
Mokuba sighed heavily, attitude and anger flared up within the young teen, "Look, Roland, I know you're trying to protect Seto, but you and I both know that there is more to this than Seto just being ill. Now, tell me, what's wrong with him!?"
"I-I can't-"
The raven-haired teen interrupted Roland quickly and with fury, "Why not Roland!?"
The man was silent. He didn't know what to say or do.
"Fine, if you're not going to tell me I'll just find out myself!" Mokuba tried pushing past Roland, however, the older man was able to keep Mokuba from reaching the door.
"Stop it, Roland! I need to see him!"
"Mr. Kaiba has given me important orders to have no one disturb him!"
"Those rules don't apply to me, I'm his brother!"
"I'm only following orders, Mokuba!"
"Screw his orders! I am his brother and I can see him whenever I want! We are family!"
"I'm sorry, Mokuba, I can't let you see him! You'll need to check up on him when he's not sleeping!"
"I need to see what's wrong with him!" Mokuba cried. As the two fought for control, the volumes of their voices were rising, causing a disturbance on the other side of the door.
"You cannot disturb him!" Roland yelled back, pushing Mokuba away.
"Roland!" Mokuba shouted.
The door finally swung open, Mokuba and Roland both froze, neither one responsible for opening the door. Their eyes met a pair of tired, cold, blue eyes that glared at the two of them in annoyance.
An exasperated sigh escaped from Kaiba as he spoke, "Well, I'm disturbed." He looked down at his younger brother, yawning slightly before speaking, "What do you want, Mokuba?"
Roland and Mokuba quickly shuffled out of their little fight and straightened up. Mokuba was relieved to see his brother and asked, "Are you alright, Seto? Roland told me you were sick."
Kaiba sighed heavily again and responded sarcastically, "I know…. I heard."
Mokuba looked down, "I'm sorry we woke you, Seto, I was just worried. Leaving Kaiba Corp. for being sick just isn't like you. That's why I freaked out."
Kaiba observed Mokuba, noticing the worry on his brother's face, "Come with me," Kaiba lead his brother into his bedroom.
Mokuba followed, shutting the door behind him and sitting down next to Kaiba on the end of the bed. "What's the matter, Seto? Are you really sick?"
Kaiba shook his head, "I don't know, Mokuba…." Kaiba was hesitant to tell his brother of the events that took place earlier that day. Would Mokuba think he was delusional? Kaiba sure as hell thought he'd lost it, so surely Mokuba would too, right? Kaiba didn't know. He'd thought that all he needed was sleep, but even with the few hours of sleep he'd just received those strange dreams were still there, even more intense than ever now. Kaiba didn't understand why all of this was happening, but maybe all he needed to do was talk to someone about it. Clearly Mokuba was concerned and Kaiba knew he could rely on his only family member.
Taking a deep breath Kaiba began, "I don't know if you've noticed, but over the past week I've been pretty fatigued."
"Yeah, I thought it was just stress and lack of sleep from work?"
"Well, yes, but the majority of it has been from nightmares."
"Nightmares?" Mokuba examined his brother closely. Seto was sitting hunched over, not in his usual straight and strong posture, and now that Seto had mentioned the nightmares Mokuba could see how they were wearing on him.
"Every night," Kaiba said, his voice seemed to contain a hint of anxiety and grief. "These nightmares are the same every night. A person walks up behind me, I never see them, and they somehow take control of my body. My hands begin choking me and I can't stop it, then the voice tells me to die…."
"That sounds terrible. Why do you think this is happening?" Mokuba asked, "I mean, you aren't one to freak out about a stupid dream, there's gotta be something more to it."
Kaiba deeply exhaled, "As much as I hate to admit it, I think you're right Mokuba."
Mokuba sympathetically frowned, "Then what do you think this all means?"
"Ishizu came by my office this morning…."
Mokuba seemed surprised, "Ishtar? The last time we saw her was when the pharaoh left. Why would she visit you?"
Kaiba gave his brother a firm look, "I can guarantee you one thing, I didn't invite her over. She somehow found her way in and began explaining mythical bullshit to me. Obviously, it's completely ridiculous, but when she left I began searching what she told me about."
Mokuba was quick to ask questions, "Wait, is there more about ancient Egypt that goes beyond the pharaoh that we didn't know about?"
Kaiba shook his head, "No, Ishizu didn't tell me anything about Egypt, however, she did tell me about two ancient cities. However, my own search came up with no results on the cities, but…"
Mokuba tilted his head, "But what, Seto?"
Kaiba's eyes locked with Mokuba's and encompassed a harsh look of confusion and pain. Mokuba suddenly saw how jumbled and frustrated his brother truly was. Mokuba rarely saw his brother look like this, even after everything they'd been through, Seto was hardly ever this mentally broken. Compassion flooded the young Kaiba as he gave his brother a kind and gentle look, encouraging Seto to continue.
"You're never going to believe me when I tell you this, Mokuba, I can hardly believe it myself. This is going to sound insane, but…." Kaiba inhaled sharply, barely believing he was about to say this, "I think I'm a water bender."
"I hate waiting like this," Tea began, "I wish we had an idea if Joey is okay or not."
Yugi looked at Tea with sympathetic eyes, "Me too, Tea…."
"Think we should call?" Tristan asked. He was lying on Yugi's living room sofa looking through a deck of Duel Monster cards.
Yugi and Tea were sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, shuffling through television channels. Neither one responded, remembering what Yugi's grandfather had told them earlier. Joey would come to them eventually, right?
"Hey!" Yugi shouted, "Go back to that channel Tea!"
Tea quickly tapped on the television remote, "This channel?"
Yugi nodded.
Tristan looked away from the deck of cards to take a peek at the television screen. "The news? Why would you wanna watch the news, Yugi?"
"Shhhhhh! Be quiet! I'm trying to listen!" Yugi shushed him.
'Breaking news! It seems as though the 'One America' plan has spread globally, and within a matter of hours! Our report from the United Nations Organization has confirmed that Asia and Europe have come together, just as North, Central, and South America have. This news became official when Japanese emperor, Emperor Haru, agreed to the union. According to sources, he was the last world leader to have to agree to make the union legitimate. So, it is official, Asia and Europe have now become one nation. There is no news yet regarding the name of our new nation or its new laws.
As for the state of Japan, it seems as though things will not be organized officially for at least a month or so. However, world leaders are telling everyone to be prepared for the new changes. Essentially, this union is a boost for Japan's economy and way of life, along with every other country that is part of the Asia/European union. Stay tuned for more news about our new nation.'
Silence filled the room as the three teenagers were in shock of the news that they had just heard. Disbelief occupied their minds as they digested the information that they were not citizens of Japan anymore. They were inhabitants of a new country that they didn't even know the name of!
"I can't believe this," Yugi spoke with a stunned voice. It had only been this morning that he had found out about the entire western hemisphere becoming one large country. That shocked him, but now this! His own country, his home! It didn't feel like his home any longer, and it only took a matter of hours to change that.
The world was coming together. He should be happy, right? He was happy for America this morning, but now he just felt worried. Now he was in the same predicament as the people in the western hemisphere were. It only took a matter of hours for this to happen and now Yugi fretted the future. How was his life going to change now?
"This may be weird to say, considering we all knew that this could eventually happen, but now that it has…." Tea paused, her eyes fixed on the floor, "I just feel completely scared, like this whole thing was a bad idea…."
"I think that the world leaders jumped into this too soon," Tristan began as he voiced his opinion, "I mean, America took months of preparation, but our stupid emperor had to rush into it! It's just dumb."
"They had been planning this for our country as well," Yugi stated, "I just didn't think it would be this soon." Yugi's eyes fell onto the girl sitting next to him, "I agree, Tea, I don't have a good feeling about this either."
From the other room, Solomon Muto was eavesdropping on the conversation. He'd heard the news and knew it was trouble from the start. Quickly heading to the telephone on the wall, Solomon dialed the number of a close friend.
After a couple rings the phone was answered, 'Solomon, you heard the news.' The voice on the other line was urgent and determined, not even questioning who was calling.
"Yes," Solomon's voice was low as to not cause a disturbance that might catch the attention of his grandson. "This is it. They're coming."
'Yes, the four nations are returning. They are preparing for the return of the-'
"Shhhh," Solomon whispered, "You don't need to say it. I don't want any suspicions, someone else could be listening."
'We need to speak in person.'
"Agreed, it's too dangerous to be communicating this way, especially now."
'Yes,' the voice on the other end sounded gloomy, 'I'm afraid our time is limited. We need to speak in person as soon as possible.'
"Absolutely," Solomon said, "How fast can you get to Japan?"
'I should be able to leave Cairo by tomorrow.'
"I will pick you up from Domino City airport. Call me before you land."
'Of course, thank you my old friend,' the voice was sincere.
"You're welcome. Tomorrow."
'Tomorrow.' The line went dead.
Solomon hung up the phone and leaned against the wall, letting out a disturbed sigh. He knew this was it. The moment the world had been waiting for. Preparation of over a thousand years was about to finally be complete.
A/N: OMG! That was a fun chapter to write! So, are you all confused yet? Tell me what you think! Reviews are like Christmas presents! Thanks!
