Astral groaned and facepalmed. Why did Malachi have to be right about it being impossible to get Yuma up this morning? "YUMA! GET UP!" Astral screamed.
"COME ON LOBSTER-BRAIN! WAKE UP!" Vector shouted. He had woken up with an episode this morning so Astral was a little cautious of him right now.
"Can I drop a rock on him?" Dark Mist asked.
"No."
"Set fire to his hair?"
"No."
"Put a stink bomb in his underpants?"
"No."
"Dump water on his head?"
Astral paused. Then, "Vector, get a bucket, there's a well in the town square."
Vector giggled like a total sociopath and ran to get a bucket. Dark Mist watched him go before turning to Astral. "Sooo... Where does yesterday leave us?"
Astral thought. "Ex-rivals who are attempting to figure out how to be brothers."
"Yeah, that's a good way to put it." Dark Mist agreed. Vector came rushing in with a bucket sloshing with water and dumped it on Yuma's head. Yuma moaned but didn't wake up.
"Seriously?!" Vector whined before giggling again.
"Can I dump him in the well? I swear I'll pull him out before he can drown!" Dark Mist begged.
Astral was about to tell him no, but stopped and thought. If he and Dark Mist were brothers, then they needed to trust each other. Maybe if he let Dark Mist do this it will get Yuma up and strengthen the bonds of trust between them.
"Please Astral-nii?" Dark Mist pleaded.
That did it. "Alright but you had better pull him RIGHT OUT." Astral sighed.
"Yes sir!" Dark Mist grinned. Vector dragged Yuma outside with Dark Mist and Astral close behind. Dark Mist wrapped a tentacle around Yuma's midsection as Vector dropped him in the well. A few seconds later, a splash was heard, another groan, then Yuma's scream. Dark Mist quickly yanked Yuma out. The lobster-haired duelist was soaking wet. "See? I told you it would be all right!"
"Yuma, I'm sorry but we literally tried everything else we could to get you up." Astral apologized.
"Except for most of those things Vector and I suggested." Dark Mist pointed out.
"Those were more of assassination attempts than ways to wake him up." Astral said.
"So you finally got him up. Sorry to have to get on the road so soon, but we need to go." Malachi strode up to the group. "Took a dip in the well?"
"Courtesy of Dark Mist and Vector." Yuma pouted.
"Aww... Yuma-kun! But your widdle screams and facial expressions were so CUTE~" Vector giggled.
"Please tell me he's going to go back to normal soon." Dmitri groaned as he and Gareth joined the party.
"Maybe in another thirty minutes at least." Yuma said.
"Great." Dmitri sighed.
Malachi slapped him on the back. "Don't be so down! Why don't you show Yuma that little trinket you bought!"
If it were possible to kill with a glance, Malachi would be stone-dead from the look Dmitri gave him. "It's NOT a trinket and you asked me to buy it." Dmitri said the word 'asked' sarcastically.
"Just show him!" Malachi laughed.
"Fine." Dmitri said in a clipped voice. He pulled out a few quills, some paper and ink from his satchel. "These quills are apparently supposed to allow spirits to hold them, the ink and paper are so they can write and have something to write on, any questions?"
"Pfft. Really?" Dark Mist took a quill. "That has got to be the DUMBEST this I have ever heard. I can hold most everything fine so no problem-o there but Astral..." he chucked the quill at Astral. "Catch, bro."
Astral caught the quill with one hand. "You're really trying hard with the brother thing huh?"
"What can I say? Once the absolute shock wore off, I kinda like the fact that I have a brother." Dark Mist shrugged.
"And Dmitri was right about these quills, see?" Astral held the quill between his index finger and thumb.
Dark Mist blinked. "Huh. So these do work." Astral threw the quill back to Dmitri, who wasn't expecting it but caught it anyway.
"Looks like they work!" Malachi laughed.
"Obviously," Dmitri deadpanned.
"Time to get going, we're burning daylight." Gareth said.
"Gareth's right! Come on!" Yuma and Vector hurried to keep up with Malachi. Gareth and Malachi had long legs but they still needed to slightly jog to catch up with their brother.
"Observation number 28: Malachi has a lot of energy. Quite a lot." Astral commented.
"Tch. I still don't like him." Dark Mist scowled.
"Do you believe we knew him?" Astral asked.
"I- I think so. I can't remember. I can't remember anything except that you were the older twin." Dark Mist sighed.
Astral blinked. "Wait, what?!"
Dark Mist looked at his doppelganger with a huff. "Yeah, we both touched the stupid card."
Astral pondered for a second. "Dark Mist... when I said last night that we used to be best friends as well as twins, you said that SEEMS right. Not that you knew it was right."
Dark Mist thought that over. "Yeah, so?"
"What if we both get slightly different memories and knowledge from the numbers? We're different people, so it makes sense." Astral reasoned.
Dark Mist pouted. "Does that mean we have to tell each other about what we learned every time we get a new number?!"
"Yes, except for the main memory we get. We both got the knowledge of being twins, but only you knew that I was slightly older and only I knew that we were friends." Astral said.
"Tch. That's annoying." Dark Mist scowled as he flew off after Vector. Astral nodded as he followed his twin.
…...
"Sooo... where are we going?" Yuma asked. They had been on the road for over four hours already and Yuma was getting bored.
"Ruins, we're looking for powerful items. That's why we are on this little quest. And we might even find some numbers." Malachi explained.
"Oh, ruins! Cool!" Yuma grinned.
"Aren't you worried about traps?" Vector asked. His episode had gone away a few hours ago.
"Yeah, but that's the thrill of adventure!" Malachi smiled. Yuma laughed and high-fived him.
"And the thrill of getting decapitated." Dmitri muttered.
"Aw... where's your joy of discovery? Does someone need hug therapy?" Malachi laughed.
Dmitri steered his horse to the right so he would be even farther away from Malachi. "I never want a hug from you." Dmitri snarled.
Yuma and Vector blinked at the sudden hostility. "Don't worry about him, he used to be nicer and more open but he kinda fell apart after his family died." Malachi sighed, "Gareth's the only person he'll ever confide in or act like his old self around anymore. They were always close."
Astral wouldn't have been surprised is laser beams shot out of Dmitri's eyes and fried Malachi. "Is it just me, or does he look like he wants to rip Malachi's throat out?" Dark Mist commented.
Astral nodded. "He does seem upset at Malachi."
"Understatement of the century." Dark Mist snorted, "What's got him so furious?"
Astral frowned. "Perhaps mentioning his family got him distressed."
"He does seem to get touchy whenever his family is mentioned, especially whenever Malachi mentions them." Dark Mist agreed.
"I wonder what he was like before his family died." Astral wondered.
Dark Mist tapped Vector's shoulder. "Hey carrot-top! Can you ask Gareth what Dmitri was like before his family died?"
Vector sighed, alerting Gareth. "What's wrong?"
"Dark Mist was wondering what Dmitri was like before his family died." Vector said.
Gareth gave a small smile. "He was happy, that's the main difference. He adored his wife and kids and loved to spend time with them. He used to be social and got along with Malachi. It may surprise you, but Malachi used to be the anti-social one in the family. Dmitri was friendly, kind, and caring. Then his wife was killed and a little of the light went out of his eyes. But he still was strong for his two sons. He spent almost all of his free time with them after Eva died.
"Then one day we woke up to find a farmer outside blubbering and pointing to the canyon. We ran to the canyon and found..." Gareth took a deep breath as a tear escaped his eye, "Luhke and Sebastian were lying at the bottom of the cliff. I got a rope so we could climb down. The second Dmitri's feet touched the ground, he ran to his sons. Both of their left eyes had been stabbed out by some weapon. Dmitri checked their pulses and breathing, but they were dead as dust. I remember standing above them, staring at my brother crying and my nephews' bodies on the ground thinking, this can't be right; this has to be a dream. But in the end it wasn't."
Vector looked down. "It's terrible to find the ones you care about lying dead in front of you."
Gareth nodded. "Dmitri told me about the story you told him of your parents and the psycho episodes."
Vector and Gareth continued to chat while Astral was lost in thought. "Well, that story made me feel all warm and fuzzy." Dark Mist smirked sarcastically.
"Indeed." Astral murmured. He felt very depressed after hearing Gareth's tale, more than he probably should be feeling. Astral looked up and noticed Dark Mist retreating into the key. Astral was completely fine with this, after all, Dark Mist was his twin and he wasn't very malevolent anymore. But Astral was still curious what Dark Mist was going in the key for, so he followed the number into the emperor's key.
Astral found Dark Mist staring at Number 13: Twin Djinn. "What are you thinking about?" Astral asked.
Dark Mist literally jumped ten feet in the air. "DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"
"Was it that unsettling?" Astral asked.
"YES! It was!" Dark Mist yelped. Astral had a very strong feeling of deja-vu, as if he had been in this situation before.
"Sorry, but what are you thinking about?" Astral asked.
"Right now, putting a bell on you." Dark Mist muttered.
Astral rolled his eyes. "I meant before I made you almost scream."
"You did not make me almost scream like a little girl!" Dark Mist bristled.
"You added the little girl part yourself." Astral commented.
"Shut it, Lucky!" Dark Mist pouted.
Astral blinked. "...Lucky?"
Dark Mist seemed to realize what he had just said. "I... have no idea why I called you that. Probably something from our past life, which we can't remember."
Astral frowned. "That's what you were thinking about when I came in, wasn't it?"
Dark Mist hugged himself. "Yeah, I just want to remember everything. Our life, our family, our interests, our hopes and dreams, all of it. I just want to remember." a single tear trickled down his cheek.
Astral turned his brother around and hugged him. "It'll be all right, we'll remember soon. As soon as we collect the remaining numbers, we'll be able to remember everything."
"I hope we remember soon. I can't stand not knowing who I was." Dark Mist hugged Astral back tightly.
"Me neither. But I guess I'm used to it, you're not." Astral said sadly.
Dark Mist hugged Astral for a few more seconds before letting go saying, "And when exactly did you get permission to hug me, O mighty and powerful Astral who happens to be my twin?"
Astral sighed and reluctantly let go. Some things never change.
…...
"Finally! Here we are!" Malachi cried as they rode into a clearing.
"Whoa..." Yuma gaped as he looked at the ruin entrance.
"Big, huh?" Malachi grinned at Yuma. The entrance to the ruins was a large arch-way decorated with carvings.
"Yeah! I've seen a lot of ruins but every one is so awesome!" Yuma grinned.
"Even my ruin where I tried to kill you?" Vector asked.
"He tried to KILL you?!" Dmitri cried.
Vector laughed nervously. "That was when I was psycho, and I tried to kill him MULTIPLE times, not just once."
"Great, just f*cking peachy." Dmitri muttered.
"I apologized about 3000 times after I went back to being nice." Vector said.
"Yeah, I remember that! You went WAAAAY overboard with the apologies." Yuma smiled.
"Well, I did a whole lot of unforgivable stuff." Vector cringed.
"You didn't do a lot of unforgivable stuff, we forgave you." Yuma said.
"And I'm still wondering why." Vector shook his head.
"Let's stop regretting the stuff Vector has done in the past, now's the future. It's better to seize what can be than to hold on to what used to be." Malachi said with a grin.
"Yeah! Kattobingu da ore!" Yuma cheered.
"Let's rest here for the night and enter the ruins in the morning. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to be dodging traps without a good night's sleep." Gareth suggested.
"Good idea! Let's set up camp and get exploring in the morning!" Malachi agreed.
As he helped unpack, Yuma commented, "My dad always says that it's never good to explore when you're tired; you might miss something incredible or get yourself or others hurt because you're too exhausted to think straight. He was also the one gave me the emperor's key, you know, the one Astral lives in."
Malachi laughed. "Your dad seems like a great man, I'd like to meet him someday. Do you think he's worried about you?"
"Maybe a little, but he probably knows I'm off on another adventure. I somehow end up in situations like this more often than I should, or at least my sister thinks I should." Yuma replied.
Malachi chuckled and Yuma grinned. "Can I strangle Malachi?" Dark Mist asked.
"...why?!" Astral asked incredulously.
"I'm just really, really, furious at him right now." Dark Mist answered.
"No, you cannot strangle him." Astral sighed. "Do you want to try out the quills Dmitri bought?"
"If I can't commit murder, fine." Dark Mist sighed. The twins floated over to Dmitri and Dark Mist pulled two of the quills out of Dmitri's pocket. Dmitri appeared startled before relaxing a little once he realized it was probably just Astral and Dark Mist.
"Do you want to try out the quills?" Dmitri sighed.
"How the hell are we supposed to answer that, jackass?" Dark Mist asked, but looked like he regretted saying it immediately after. He pulled out a sheet of parchment from the traveling bag and handed it Dmitri.
"I'll take that as a yes." Dmitri groaned and pulled out two ink bottles and went over to a tree stump. Laying the parchment on the stump, he unscrewed and set the ink bottles next to the paper. "Alright, I have blue and black ink, one of you use the black ink and one of you use the blue ink."
"Well, that worked out well." Dark Mist commented as he dipped his quill in the black ink and wrote,
Dark Mist here, I'll take the black ink(duh, hello? DARK Mist?) and Astral will take the blue ink.
Dmitri sighed. "I'm guessing you're more sarcastic than Astral?"
Hell yeah. He can be a bit of a buzz kill at times.
Astral glared at Dark Mist. "I am not a buzz kill."
Dark Mist smirked. "Sure you're not." Astral rolled his eyes and dipped his quill in the blue ink.
Hello, I am Astral. It is nice to meet you.
"Likewise." Dmitri said dryly. "Do you want me to get Malachi so you can talk to him?"
NO!
Astral sighed at Dark Mist's blunt answer and wrote his own.
Do not get Malachi and do not show him this paper. We don't exactly trust or like him much, Dark Mist especially.
Dmitri blinked. "Alright then."
At this point, Gareth came over. "Talking with Astral and Dark Mist?"
Yes he is, hello Gareth. Great to talk with you.
Gareth read over the page. "That was blue ink so... hi Astral. Dark Mist hasn't apologized for hitting Dmitri on the head with a rock yet then?" Gareth grinned.
Oops... Sorry Dmitri! Did not mean to hit you. If I could do it over again-
"You wouldn't have thrown the rock?" Dmitri asked dubiously.
No, I would've thrown it harder and hit Malachi.
Gareth laughed a little while Astral gave Dark Mist a look. "So, what's your problem with Malachi?" Gareth asked.
Long story.
Astral sighed. "You don't KNOW our history with Malachi." he pointed out.
"A minor detail I might have left out." Dark Mist waved Astral's point away.
"You don't even know if we have history with Malachi." Astral said.
Dark Mist frowned. "I'm pretty sure we do, why else would I hate him so much?"
Astral had to admit he had a point.
Dmitri, meanwhile, was a little confused. Astral and Dark Mist weren't nearly as malevolent as he had pictured. Of course they could be acting... yes, that must be it. He wanted to believe they could be nice, but he had to think realistically. "If you two are done with the introductions, I had better put this stuff away and get some sleep." Dmitri said coolly.
Astral and Dark Mist both handed over their quills an Dmitri went to put the writing supplies back in his bag. Gareth watch him leave before saying, "He's a little broken right now. One of these days I hope he goes back to how he used to be." Gareth looked down and sadly chuckled, "Well I'm going to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow." he walked to his horse's saddle bag and pulled out a blanket. After finding a good grassy spot, he laid down and covered himself up with the blanket, falling asleep to the lullaby of crickets chirping.