The ride back to Sapphire City was a silent one. Though Bakura was most likely still musing his chance encounter with Ryou, the rest of the group was contemplating the near completion of their quest. Once they arrived back at the Dragon Tamer's Palace, all the artifacts would be together, and they could conduct the ritual to make the Magician King better. Serenity felt both light with relief and giddy with excitement that after all this, their adventure was racing toward its conclusion.
In almost no time at all (why couldn't they have used the mechanical carriage the whole time?), the group was passing through the City's wall. They rushed back up to Seto's throne room, all of them humming with the same energy Serenity was, and brandished the items they earned. Yami held up the Pendant, Marik the Necklace, and Bakura the Ring, while Serenity and Joey stepped forward to address the Dragon Tamer.
"All right, your Highness," Joey said, somehow making the honorific sound like an insult, "we got the other three. Make good on your promise and deliver the last one."
Seto rolled his eyes but stood up, Mokuba imitating him. "I will not be giving you the Rod," he said, tucking it back into his belt as he walked down the steps. "I'll need it to conduct the ritual to summon the Sorcerers. Or have you learned the Grand Mystic Arts while I've been away?" he added with a smirk.
Joey huffed, and Serenity couldn't help but giggle at how easily the Sorcerer could render him speechless. "Fine, let's go."
Seto walked to the center of the room and waved his hand, and a blue ring of light shot out of the floor, outlining a secret hatch. The bit of floor sunk in in a spiral, creating stairs leading down. Seto hardly paused before walking down, and the torches lining the walls lit up as he descended. The rest of the group followed him. The stairs led to a small round chamber with a shallow pool filled with a liquid that was too blue even for water. Around the pool were four platforms, and the Dragon Tamer stood on one of them. "Place each item on a platform in the order you received them going clockwise," he instructed. Joey and Serenity watched their companions do as told from the base of the stairs. "Now stand back," Seto commanded when the others were done. He held out his artifact and began chanting something under his breath that Serenity could barely hear and definitely couldn't understand. As he spoke, the other platforms lit up with the same blue light from earlier, and the items floated into the air. One by one, the other Sorcerers materialized onto the platforms, looking translucent at first and growing more solid by the second.
When Seto finished his chant, the light faded and the other three Sorcerers caught their artifacts and fastened them on. The Black Magician King looked haggard and was breathing heavily. His legs wobbled, and only Joey rushing over to catch him kept him from falling onto his knees.
"Good to see you all again," Lady Ishizu said. "I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Agreed," Ryou said, giving the travelers a small wave. "Although I don't see why we can't have a little party once all this unpleasantness is dealt with." And he gestured to Yugi.
"Place him in the pool," Seto told Joey, who complied readily. The Magician King sighed as he lay back and closed his eyes. Once Joey was standing with the others again, Seto addressed the other Sorcerers. "I trust you remember how to do this bit, yes?"
Ishizu and Ryou nodded, and they all held out a hand over the pool and began chanting in unison. Once again, the blue light shone, this time out of the pool itself. The liquid began churning, although the Magician King didn't look perturbed. As soon as the Sorcerers stopped their enchantment, the pool calmed and the light faded.
Serenity held her breath, waiting for the Black Magician King to react. Slowly, he stood up and stepped out of the pool, looking much steadier than he had when he first apparated. He looked down at his hands, then up at the other Sorcerers and said, "I'm okay."
Serenity and Joey sighed in relief, then exchanged a smile. Joey walked over and scooped the King up in a tight hug. "You're back to normal!" he exclaimed through a wide grin.
"He won't be for long if you keep squeezing him like that," Bakura said, and Joey dropped him.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
"That's okay, I'm glad I'm back to normal, too," the King said as he readjusted his regal purple robes. Then he turned to the rest of the travelers. "And I assume you all are to thank for helping me."
"That's right," Joey said, "Serenity initiated the quest, and the others joined us along the way."
"It was no big deal," Yami said with a beneficent smile.
"It was kind of a big deal," Bakura corrected with a scowl, "especially with this lot." And he nodded to the Sorcerers behind Yugi.
"We had a lot of fun completing their trials," Marik elaborated.
Yugi looked at them over his shoulders. "You guys," he admonished.
"What better way to test their characters?" Ryou replied casually.
"And what fine characters," Ishizu added.
Yugi rolled his eyes and looked back over to Serenity. "Well, I offer you my deepest sympathy...and my sincerest gratitude," and he knelt down before her, prompting the other Sorcerers to incline their heads to her, as well.
"Oh, um," Serenity stammered, "y-you're welcome?"
Joey clapped his hands. "And now for the party!"
It was a big to-do throwing a last-minute celebration in the Sapphire Palace. Of course, the Dragon Tamer didn't admit to the complexity of it all, instead breaking off now and again to discuss details for the party in private with one staffer or the other. The other Sorcerers had similarly scattered: Lady Ishizu left to meditate, Yugi had gone to Seto's infirmary for a thorough check up at the Tamer's insistence, and Ryou stole Bakura away to explore the Palace.
Meanwhile, the rest of the travelers reclined in a sitting room on the ground floor, whiling away the time until that night's feast. In addition to that, Serenity, like the others, was ecstatic about the prospect of celebrating the quest's completion, of the Black Magician King's health, and of some of their friends being driven out to Sapphire City to partake in the party. The Dragon Tamer had seemed almost too eager to offer two of his coaches up for this simple task in front of the other Sorcerers, Yugi especially. Either way, the group buzzed with excitement at seeing some familiar faces – Joey couldn't wait to recount every harrowing moment and boast his successes to Tristan, Marik was glad he'd soon be reunited with Malik, among all the other advisors and servants coming in from each domain. And while Serenity was looking forward to eventually being sent back home, she was eager to see her friends get their well-deserved happy endings.
Serenity sat up a little straighter when she saw Mokuba pop his head into the room. "His Majesty wished for me to check in on you guys," he said. "I brought snacks to tide you over until the feast." And he fully stepped into the room so that a smartly dressed man could push in a long cart filled with tiny dishes of what had to be sweet treats. There were custards and cakes and candies, and half the dishes were smothered in a thick syrup.
"Thank you, Ro, that'll be all," Mokuba said to the man.
"Yeah, thanks Ro," Joey said, licking his lips. He practically pounced on the cart, loading up his tiny plate with one of everything. Serenity and Yami were a bit more discriminant, while Marik simply bent down to inspect everything. It was the closest, Serenity supposed, the ex-Golem would ever get to appreciating food.
"Slow down or you'll spoil your appetite," Yami said to Joey with a laugh. The two had gone over to a pair of cushioned chairs to share a small coffee table.
Serenity laughed to herself and absently reached for a tiny pie, brushing someone's hand. She looked over, and both she and Mokuba drew their hands back.
"Guests first," the boy said.
"Thank you," she said with a smile and slight bow of her head. "You and your brother are treating us with so much hospitality." She was proud to say that phrase, having heard her parents say it often enough whenever they were guests in someone else's home.
"Of course!" Mokuba replied. "Seto may not want to admit it, but we're glad that all the Sorcerers are here, in one place, for the first time in ages. And we're grateful to you guys."
Serenity thought back to what Marik had said about the Sorcerers being trapped in their domains. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked rhetorically. "But it was just the Dragon Tamer who was cursed, right?" She thought back to what Marik had explained to them.
"Yes, but he forbade me from leaving the City, as well," Mokuba said a bit petulantly. "He didn't want me where he couldn't protect me."
Serenity nodded and thought back to how paranoid each domain was in its own way. Were the Sorcerers so afraid of letting in the unknown? Would they relax some of their rigidity now that they've taken the first step out of their respective domains in years? "The Betwixt isn't so bad," Serenity said. "I'll bet you could handle yourself."
"Thanks," Mokuba said with a grin. "Although the Magician King was cursed near the border of his own Kingdom. I'll be lucky if Seto doesn't confine me to the Palace."
Serenity giggled as Mokuba rolled his eyes, the overprotectiveness of an older sibling resonating with her for some reason. "Who knows," she said, "maybe seeing our ragtag group will change his mind."
"Heh, maybe."
"So, if your brother is the Dragon Tamer, where are the dragons?" Serenity asked before taking a bite into a pastry.
"In the sanctuary," Mokuba said around a bite of cupcake. "He's tamed the three rarest, the legendary white dragons. There's rumors of a fourth one out there, but I don't buy it."
"Wow, three dragons? What does he do with them?"
"Well, they mostly live in peace under the protection of the sanctuary. But when the City needs protecting, Seto and I ride ours into battle." He grinned. "A dragon has to choose you to let you ride it, and Alabastra chose me. Delwyn is Seto's."
The two continued their conversation, detailing the things Mokuba could and would do with his dragon if he left Sapphire City, and it almost made Serenity want to embark on yet another adventure. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, and before she knew it a bell had sounded off in the distance.
"That'd be the feast!" Mokuba said. He leapt up and held out a hand for Serenity. "Shall we?"
A/N: All 3 of Seto's dragons are named the color "white": Alabastra is a derivative of "alabaster," Delwyn is Gaelic for "white," and...well, you'll see ;)
