Phew, Chapter 2 is finally here!
Alliance: Took you long enough. By the way, are you caving yet?
(Sighs) You were complaining about me doing too many stories earlier and now you want me to bring another one forward?
Alliance: Yes. So, are you going to bring forward Spirit of Adventure?
I might do, but I'm struggling for time to update enough as is!
Alliance: Yes or no? Is it really that hard to give a single syllable answer?
No.
Alliance: No as in you are not going to do it, or no as in it is not that to give a single syllable answer?
No it is not that hard to give an answer, and yes, I will release it early. Why do I put myself through this?
Alliance: Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (glomps Angel)
Gah…get off me or I'll change my mind!
Alliance: Eeep! (scrambles away)
Phew…the least you can do now is finish off with the disclaimer.
Alliance: Done! Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Beyblade. She also does not own any of their affiliated characters.
Thank you Alliance. On with Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Unexpected Visitors
Yami breathed a great sigh of relief when Tristan came into view outside the Domino Arcade. The brunette gave the former pharaoh a sympathetic look when he saw the reason for his displeasure: Tea was glued to Yami's arm and had a death grip on him. Since Yami had gained his own body Tea had decided to make a move on him, which had caused Yami many sleepless nights. Yami would not have objected to her asking to meet him once a week or so for a chat, but asking for every second day was a bit extreme in his opinion. Tea had been very obvious with her affection towards the former pharaoh and it had (inadvertently) resulted in a minor rift between Yami and Yugi. Things had thankfully been diffused after about a month at one of the guys' nights in at the Game Shop when Yami had made rather a shocking confession: he was gay.
Yugi was immediately relieved seeing as meant he would not be fighting the shorter teen for Tea's affection. All three of them were approving much to Yami's relief. Since then, Tristan and Joey were sympathetic to Yami's difficult situation. How was he meant to break it to the girl who had fallen head-over-heels in love with him that he was not, and would never be, interested in her? They had been trying to go over how to break it to her gently but nothing was coming to mind for them. Every week during their Guys' Only night they pondered over the problem, but no solution had been found. Finding the time to discuss things was easy for them: all they had to say was that Joey was bringing some porn for the others to watch and Tea always made a swift exit. Yami wished that Joey say it more often (or actually bring some over so that if she checked up on them it looked genuine) but then they might lose their only excuse. It was official: Yami was in a tough situation. He didn't want to hurt Tea's feelings as she was a great friend, but he couldn't let it go on: for Tea's sake and Yugi's.
Tristan managed to pry Tea off Yami's arm when they met him. "How are you doing?" he asked openly, though it was mainly aimed at Yami.
"We're great!" chirped Tea happily. Yami nodded tiredly.
"Any idea when Yugi and Joey will arrive?"
"Yugi and Joey met up a little while ago, they should be here soon I guess," said Yami, trying to sound natural. Tristan sensed the former pharaoh's uneasiness and guessed why: Yami was going to use today to break the bad news to Tea. Or at least try to.
"K, guess I should give them a call and-" Tristan cut his sentence abruptly short when he saw a burst of light over the shoulders of the other two. They followed his line of sight and too saw the strange illumination coming from the next alley. "So much for all the freaky magic being over…"
Yami started towards the alley with a jittery Tea in tow. "Should we really look? I mean, it could be serious."
Yami shot her a stern look. "We need to find out what this is, just in case it is something that could put others in jeopardy."
Tea fell silent and grabbed Yami's arm nervously. He rolled his eyes, at which Tristan had to stifle a laugh. Oh boy, did he ever feel sorry for Yami: he couldn't have picked a worse situation to get stuck with. Well, a worse human situation anyway.
They rounded the corner cautiously and felt their heart rates increasing when they heard sounds further up the alley. Inching their way along, their nerves changed to amusement when the sounds became coherent.
"Tyson, get your fat ass off me!"
"I ain't fat!"
"Just get the hell off me! Jesus, you weigh a ton: you've killed my back."
"Oh yeah, as if lying on top of you was comfortable!"
The three looked on puzzled as the pair unscrambled from each other. One was dressed in simply a white shirt and dark blue cargo pants, but he still carried an air of elegance. His long black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and fell over his shoulder as he stood. The other looked much more dishevelled: a torn red denim shirt with shabby black combats and fairly long midnight blue splayed over his back; he clearly did not care much for his appearance. The two stood to their full height and were a good half foot taller than Yami and Tea, but were shorter then Tristan.
"Are you both unharmed?" asked Yami. Tea had finally let go of his arm and he could see red imprints of her hands on it.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, we're fine," replied Tyson warily. One thing the war had done to Tyson was ebb away his carefree attitude, and had replaced it with caution when meeting others. Ray too was slightly on edge.
"What happened to you?" questioned Tristan. Tea chose to remain silent.
"Not entirely sure actually. Ray, where are we?"
"Looks like Japan, but I don't know the city," answered Ray while surveying the surroundings.
"This is Domino City," stated Tristan.
"Domino?" inquired Tyson and Ray in surprise. "Ray, do you ever remember a Domino City?"
"No, I don't. Is it possible we're in the future?"
"Dunno. Hey, what year is it?"
"It is the year 2010, but I think I can explain the situation." Everyone turned to Yami as he continued. "You are both radiating a unique kind of energy, one that is not resident of our world."
"Er…translation, Yami?" intruded Tristan.
Yami turned to him and gave him a small smile. "These two are not from our world, they have been transported here from their own." Tristan and Tea gaped while Tyson and Ray looked to each other, dumbfounded. "What were you both doing before you arrived here?"
Tyson scratched his head while he thought. "Uh…we were back on Rescuer Isle, we went to see what Kai wanted; then we stepped through the Vortex Generator…" Tyson's eyes widened sharply. "Something must have happened when we went through the Vortex Generator!"
"What's that?" asked Tristan.
"It's something that one of our friends built to send us back in time. Kai was sure that he had it right…Wait! Kai and Max!" Tyson spun round to face Yami, Tristan and Tea. "Did you see two other guys? You would have been able to tell if they were from another world too, wouldn't you?" The other three shook their heads. "Where are those two?"
"Kai will look after Max, not that he needs that much protecting," reminded Ray.
Tyson chuckled. "Max has been spending far too much time with Kai. Then again, they are best friends so we shouldn't be that surprised."
"Well, we can always help you look for them. What are your names?"
Ray stepped forward. "I'm Ray, and this is Tyson." Tyson gave them a limp wave.
Yami joined Ray and offered his hand, which the latter accepted. "I'm Yami. These are my friends: Tristan and Tea." Tristan nodded and Tea smiled broadly.
"Right, now that's dealt with shall we-" Tristan was interrupted by Tea's phone going off.
She flipped it open and answered. "Hello?"
"Tea? Are Yami and Tristan with you? We've come across something rather unusual."
"Joey? Yeah, they're here and you aren't the only ones to have found something out of the ordinary."
"Really? Listen, we found these two guys that aren't exactly run of the mill. They are looking for two of their friends: Tyson Granger and Ray Kon. Come across anyone?"
"Yes! They are here with us! We just found them! Hang on Joey, I'll switch to loudspeaker." Tea pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed a button to turn on the speaker.
"Seriously? Man, should have known with Yami's luck he'd find those guys." Some crackling could be heard on the other end before Joey spoke again, much quieter this time, signalling that he had mirrored Tea and switched to loudspeaker. "How they doing?"
"They're doing fine, but I think they want to say something."
Ray stepped up. "Kai? Max?"
"Ray? Are you and Tyson all right?" Ray recognised the voice of Kai.
"Kai you asshole what did you do?" spat Tyson angrily. One thing that had not changed was that Tyson's temper could go at any moment. It had taken him that long to realise the gravity of their situation.
"I didn't exactly plan for this to happen Tyson! Nice to see you've got your just-out-of-bed head on."
"What is that meant to mean exactly?"
"We don't have time for this…"
"Answer me, phoenix…" A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Ray. Phoenix was the name Tyson used when he was either trying to pick a fight with Kai, or was pissed as hell with him. In this case it was both, but Tyson had chosen the wrong time to use it. That nickname always set off a certain blonde, and Ray was just waiting for the outburst.
"Shut your trap Tyson or I swear I will sew it shut when I see you next!" Tyson recoiled slightly at the emotional outburst from Max as Tristan, Tea and Yami all jumped at the ferocity of the statement.
"I think we've got a little off topic here…" suggested Ray gently. Everyone except Tyson nodded in agreement, the dragon too busy trying to keep his mouth in check, else face the wrath of Max later.
"So, back to my question earlier, are the two of you okay?" restarted Kai. Ray always admired how Kai could instantly regain his composure.
"We are fine, Kai, how about you and Max?"
"We're okay, though this situation is a bit unsettling…" responded Max. Ray was amazed that Max sounded so calm again after such an outburst only one minute before.
"I'd agree with that, I think it has set Tyson off," reasoned the tiger.
"We need to find out what happened. Something clearly went wrong and I don't know where yet." Ray could hear the guilt thick in Kai's voice and he was not the only one. Tyson finally started to calm down and felt his own guilt coming to the surface.
"You four could probably stay with Yami and I while we work out what to do. What do you think Yami?"
"That sounds like a good idea Yugi. Is that all right with all of you?"
Ray nodded but Tyson was still cautious. "What do you think, Kai?" he asked tentatively.
A pause could be heard on the other end. "I think we should trust them. This isn't our world, and we will need some help."
Tyson nodded. "Now that is settled," continued Yami, "I think we should all meet and discuss these strange events. It might enlighten us on how to return you all to your own world."
"All right, we will see you back at the Game Shop soon."
"Yeah, we'll see you then." With that, Tea hung up. "To the Game Shop?"
"Looks like it. You going to lead the way Yami?"
"Yes, and it looks like there is much we can talk about on the way. Come." Yami led the way and Tea grabbed his arm yet again. Tristan sniggered much to the confusion of Ray and Tyson.
"I suppose I should explain a few things to you two before we arrive."
"All right, we will see you back at the Game Shop soon."
"Yeah, we'll see you then." Joey put his phone away after the call ended but then thought of something. "Did Yami say 'return you all to your own world'?"
Yugi shook his head while Max stifled a giggle. Kai too shook his head and whispered into Max's ear. "Reminds you of Tyson, doesn't he?"
Max drew a deep breath. "Yeah, only less grouchy."
Kai smiled before turning back to Joey. "Looks like he has confirmed what I suspected. When I met you two I didn't recognise the city, but we were still in the same year as when we left. Jumping worlds was the only thing I could think of."
"Kai, how did the Vortex Generator send us to another world instead of sending us back in time?"
"I don't know, I'll need to look over the data to even start to have an idea."
"You guys were trying to go back in time?" Kai and Max both turned to Yugi after he asked his question.
"Yes, but I think we should explain it all when we meet Tyson and Ray, it is rather a complicated story," explained Kai.
"Okay, let's head back then." Yugi turned as did Joey. Joey was pointedly ignoring Kaiba, who was still leaning against the wall.
"Yugi's quite cute," whispered Max to Kai as he watched the other two walking. Amaranth orbs twinkled with mischief.
"Oh really? I wonder how he would react to that one," said Kai loudly enough that it caught Joey and Yugi's attention.
Max swiftly blushed. "Do not say that out loud!"
"Max, you just told that to me, that was your first mistake, expecting me to keep it myself was your second."
"Kai…please don't say anything."
"What would he say?" Max inwardly swore at Joey's curiosity.
Kai smirked before answering. "Max was just commenting on how cute Yugi was." Max punched Kai over the back of the head fairly hard. "Ow…suppose I deserved that."
"Damn straight!" Kai laughed lightly at the scarlet tinge to Max's cheeks, but also at the smile threatening to break through. Max knew that Kai meant it playfully and was just teasing him. Max stole a glance at Yugi and suddenly burst out laughing. Kai followed his gaze and had to hold back a laugh of his own. Yugi had gone bright scarlet and stood like a deer caught in the headlights, Joey was hiding a giggle behind his hand and Kaiba looked on amused at Yugi's reaction. Max drew a couple of deep breaths and steadied himself. "Well now that Kai has so kindly revealed all…" Max shot the dual-haired teen a mock glare at which Kai simply folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, "I'll freely admit that I do think you are cute, Yugi."
Yugi quickly darted his eyes away from the blonde. Max laughed lightly and placed his folded arms on Kai's shoulder before resting his head on top. Joey looked on amazed. "Are you two…?"
"A couple? Most people think so-"
"But that's just because they don't know us."
"If they did-"
"They would know that-"
"We're actually more like brothers," they finished together. Kaiba rolled his eyes at the display while Joey and Yugi just stared on.
"Have you two been practicing that just waiting for some fool to ask?" sneered Kaiba.
Max looked at Kai who was giving Kaiba a frosty glare. Chills went down Max's own spine at seeing it. "No, we do that quite often," started Max, trying desperately to alleviate some of the tension. "We just know what the other is thinking; we are best friends after all."
"Not that you would know what a best friend is," added Kai. The 'Ice Princes' shared another ferocious glare before Yugi attempted to diffuse the situation.
"So, shall we head off? We'll be waiting for you two at the end of the alley if you want to talk," he said while dragging Joey away. Joey look back in concern at their new friends and shot a glare at Kaiba, but then remembered the confrontation between Kai and Kaiba only minutes before. He turned away again, confident that they would be okay and was unaware of Kaiba following them out.
Kai sighed deeply once they were gone. "I messed up badly…"
"Kai, the others are fine and we are too. We'll get back home."
"Max, I don't even know what went wrong, is there any guarantee of us being able to return to our own world?"
"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Max swung an arm around Kai's shoulders. "For your sake, we better: otherwise Tyson will be on your ass for the rest of your life."
Kai groaned. "You're right, I better cause nothing is worth that."
Max laughed heartily while dragging Kai back to the street. "Besides there are things here I could rapidly get used to. For example, we would not be stuck in a war, fighting to save the world. Nor would we have to look over our shoulders every minute waiting for someone to start shooting at us."
"Hmm…good points, but that isn't all is it?" answered Kai knowingly.
"Well, I suppose there are some great looking guys here…"
Kai laughed. "Now how did I know that you were thinking with your hormones there?"
"Because you were thinking the exact same thing." Kai gave Max an incredulous look. "Hey, I know I wasn't the only one checking out another guy."
"Do you really believe that?"
"I saw your eyes light up at someone Kai and I don't need to guess who."
"Go on then, enlighten me, Maxie." Max leant over and whispered into Kai's ear. He pulled back with a Cheshire cat grin on his face while Kai shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you Maxie, but no."
"Kai, there's a pretty fine line between love and hate-"
"And I know what side of that line I am on when it comes to him Max. I spent about 30 seconds in his company and that was more than enough."
"Do you maybe dislike him because he is a reminder of what you used to be?"
Kai turned to Max with a hurt look. "I dislike him because I wanted to keep my old self buried, and for some reason, he just drags it back out."
Max hugged Kai's waist tightly and rested his head on his best friend's shoulder. "You never know, maybe he could be helpful. Maybe he could help you overcome your past for good."
"Or maybe he could send me spiralling back into that dark person I was before. I can't take that chance Maxie."
Max stopped and looked at Kai, whose eyes were swollen with tears. "Kai, you won't. We won't let you; I won't let you. I'm not going to lose my best friend and older brother after it took me so long to find him."
Kai chuckled. "So you really think he could help? You of all people know what I was like a couple of years ago: an arrogant stuck-up shit. How is someone like that going to be of any help whatsoever?"
"Kai, trust your heart. What's it saying?"
Kai paused in thought for a couple of seconds before answering: his serious demeanour having returned. "That we need to return home as soon as possible. Something about this whole situation doesn't sit right with me and I need to find out what happened. Come on Max, Tyson and Ray will be waiting for us." Max sighed at the change of subject but suspected that it had been coming. Kai gave him a small smile before continuing on.
Max watched solemnly as Kai walked away. Kai…you haven't done anything for yourself since the start of our war. I hope this little adventure helps you realise that you don't have to live simply for others. I hope that you can learn to trust another, and maybe…maybe even fall in love again…
PLEASE REVIEW!
Alliance: Or she will set her pet jaguar after you.
I have a pet jaguar?
Alliance: You are about to…
What am I, a zookeeper?
Alliance: Do you honestly want me to answer that?
