Okay, the first chapter was crap, but at least I got a lot of reviews!
More than what I got on my first chapter of The Spirits of Darkness. (o-.-
o)
Sandy: well, if you don't like it maybe you should make a fic with us in it!
Me: ummm- I'll think about it. Any way, on with the ficcie! (o^.^o)
I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Except for Autumn, her family, and Mr. Keanon.
*****
RETURN TO THE ANIME WORLD
*****
Autumn showered, brushed her teeth, put on her PJ's, and climbed into bed. She tried to visit the anime world a few times, but she changed her mind at the last second. She just wasn't in the mood. She had spent much of her time looking up Yu-Gi-Oh on the Internet and found out a lot about the plot and characters before the show was even aired. When she tuned into the first few episodes she was amazed on how much they dubbed out of it. They might as well drug it out into the street and shot it!
Autumn growled to herself. 'Stupid Dubbers'
A sudden thought occurred to her: she had a deck of her own, what if she brought it to the anime world? Could she summon them to life? Her deck was pretty good in her opinion, she had gone out and bought her own Kaiba Starter Deck with her own money, which was a big deal because she didn't have a job or allowance, so she could have a Blue Eyes, but her birthday happened to be two weeks later and her brother Tyler bought her a second Kaiba Deck. She didn't mind though, now she had two Blue Eyes White Dragons, as well as a bunch of other good cards she felt attached to. She valued her deck so much that she marked every one of her cards with a small yin-yang.
Autumn rose from her bed. She had an itch, an inner instinct called her; she couldn't take it any more. She grabbed her deck from her desk and proceeded to her closet. She felt her way to the back of the closet until she could see the spot of light. She began to run to it, her excitement rising. She broke through the hole and came upon the early morning forest. She breathed in and exhaled with satisfaction.
She looked at her hand, sure enough; it was drawn in anime style. She didn't need a mirror to see what she looked like; she was wearing her favorite outfit, the one with the jeans and black shirt with the bullet holes on it. She also had her necklace, beanie, glove, MP3 player, and dueling deck. Underneath her shirt and pants she was wearing bright green board shorts and a matching blue spaghetti strap swim top with leafy green designs. The green streaks in her brown eyes were more noticeable now, and her long golden sun-bleached bangs framed her face while the rest of her dirt brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The way her bangs were drawn reminded Autumn of Sue Koalla from Love Hina. She carefully placed her hair into her beanie and pulled it down by her ears. She was no longer Autumn Riddle. No, now she was Aki.
Now, she had to find Dawn. She put her thumb and finger in her mouth and whistled as loud as she could. The long shrill whistle echoed through the forest. Several birds stopped singing. Aki waited in silence. Nothing. Aki shouldn't have been surprised, it has been over a year, but she couldn't help but worry. What if she thought that she was abandoned and left? What if someone captured her? Aki giggled to herself. Dawn would never let anyone capture her. She had never been in a Pokeball before, and she wasn't going to start now.
Aki let out another loud whistle and waited. When nothing happened, she started down to the city. The path was impossible to make out, but she knew it by instinct. About halfway down she stopped in a vacant field and decided to try her deck out. She pulled it from her pocket and looked through it until she found her two Blue Eyes and pulled them from the deck.
'Umm, okay, now what?'
She tried to think of a website that might have told her how they summoned monsters on the TV show, but couldn't, and lord knows that she wouldn't know in the dubbed version for about a year.
'Alright, maybe this'll do it'
Aki held up her two Blue Eyes with her right hand.
"I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Nothing.
'Crap. So much for that idea'
She held her two Blue Eyes in her hands with a defeated look. She sighed. The screeching of some birds flying from their perches caught her attention. She turned to the direction of the disturbance just in time to see a light purple and violet blur streak toward her and slam her to the ground.
Aki! Aki! It's really you!
"Dawn?" Aki looked down to see a baby female Mewtwo, only about two and a half feet tall, sitting on her lap happily wagging her tail.
Where have you been? I've missed you so much! Dawn spoke out loud with her mind. Although her mouth didn't move, she still spoke with a human like voice. Aki gave Dawn a big hug.
"I'm so sorry Dawn! I've totally abandoned you! Are you OK?" Aki rocked back and forth, still holding Dawn.
It's ok Aki. I was fine by myself. So what are you doing anyway?
"Check it out," Aki held out her Yu-Gi-Oh cards for her to see.
Oh! You're summoning Duel Monsters! Or, at least you're trying to. I've seen them do it down in the City.
"You were watching them?"
Yeah, I've been watching everybody so I could keep you filled in when you came back, Dawn thought for a moment. Of course, nothing ever really changes around here dose it?
"I guess not. So how did they summon?"
Dawn shrugged. The same way as you. I don't see what you're doing wrong.
"Hmmm," Aki thought aloud. "Maybe I should try again-"
Why not?
"Alright," this time Aki tried something different: she tried concentrating on the two Dragons in her hands.
She held up the two cards in her left hand and called out in a loud voice,
"I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
A blinding flash lit up the area. Aki and Dawn covered their eyes. Aki could feel the power surging from the two cards and eventually fade away. She heard the familiar roars that she knew so well. As the light died down, Aki found herself face to face with two massive, and very real Blue Eyes White Dragons.
Dawn gulped visibly. Aki could feel herself trembling, not from fear, but from excitement. One of the Dragons threw its head back with a deafening roar. Dawn yipped and dove behind Aki. The other Dragon stood its ground and watched Aki with interest. The roaring Dragon then took a step forward, still growling. Then suddenly, the calmer Dragon lowered its head to get a closer look and the small girl before it. It sniffed once, then twice, then a third time, as if to make sure. It then lowered its body on all fours so its head could be at ground level. Although its head alone was larger then Aki, it was a clear sign of peace. It started to make a sound similar to purring. The aggressive Dragon noticed what the first did and did the same. It sniffed then lay down next to the other Blue Eyes and started purring. Aki slowly walked toward the Dragons, never taking her eyes of them. She slowly reached out and began softly stroking the smooth, hard armor-like skin on the nose of the closest Dragon.
"Cool-" she breathed.
She began to pet both of the Dragons while speaking to them in a soft voice.
"Amazing. You knew I was your owner just by my smell. For a while there I thought I was toast. Hey, your skin color has a little more bluish tint," she said patting the initially aggressive one on the eye ridge. "That'll help me tell the difference. You know what I should do? I should give you nicknames so I won't get you mixed up. I know! I'll call you Sky because of your color and I'll call you Star." She said giving the more passive one a good pat on the nose. "Sound good?"
Aki found a spot of softer skin underneath the Dragons head scales and began to scratch. The Dragons found this very enjoyable. So much so that Star tried to return the favor and gently swiped at Aki's arm with an enormous tongue.
"Hey! Cut it out!" she giggled. Then she noticed something unusual. On the forehead of both Dragons there was a mark almost invisible from a distance. It looked like a yin yang was engraved in the armored skin. Just like the ones she drew on all her cards.
Well, now that we know that THAT little experiment worked how about going down to the city now? asked Dawn.
"Alright, fine," she turned to the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "Can you two take care of yourselves while I'm away? You can do whatever you want until I get back, but I'm going home at sunset so be back here by then, OK?"
The two Blue Eyes White Dragons roared and took to the air in less than a heartbeat. Aki turned to Dawn.
"Alrighty! Shall we go?"
*****
All the way down to the City, Aki released monster after monster, giving each a name and telling them to go do what they want until sun down.
Are you sure that's smart? asked Dawn as she levitated behind Aki's shoulder.
"Probably not, but I'm feeling nice."
Dawn was right on when she said that nothing ever changed in the City. It was just as Aki remembered it. She told Dawn to back off a little so she wouldn't attract too much attention. Filled with excitement, Aki jogged to the heart of the City. She roamed the streets, seeing what she could see. The City was split into many, many sections. On one end there was an older, more ancient feel to it, then there was the modern suburbs and down town, then the fast and futuristic. Some places were divided buy how magical it was. The older places had temples and wizards and other spell casters, while the more modern part had a mix, and the future had very little.
Aki wandered down a down town street in the more modern part of the City. It was unbelievably big, the City, and just visiting one part of it would take up a whole night, or day, whatever you'd want to call it. She passed by some stores, looked at the merchandise, and wish she had extra money. She wasn't really paying attention where she was going when dark, spiky haired kid ran full on into her. She fell over backwards, as did the kid.
"-owww- Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Said the little kid. Aki sat up and saw none other than Mokuba Kaiba sitting across from her, rubbing his backside.
"Oh that's OK," said Aki standing up. She held out her hand to help him up. "You Mokuba, right? Your Seto's little brother."
"Yeah," he answered, accepting her hand. He could tell she was a girl by her voice, but the beanie looked a bit odd. "What's your name?"
"I'm Aki."
"Hi Aki. Sorry again."
"It's OK. It's not everyday that you meet the little brother of one of the best duelist in the world," Aki stooped slightly with her hands on her knees and put on a sugary smile. "Say, the kid brother of the champ must know a lot about dueling strategies. Care to walk and talk?"
"Ummm, OK?" said Mokuba, a little unsure.
Aki offered to buy ice cream, using up what little money she had. The two walked the streets, ice cream bars in hand, chatting about Duel Monsters.
"So your saying that your brother is one of the top duelist in the world, yet you don't even have your own deck? With connections like that you could easily get some of the best cards in the whole game."
"Yeah, I like to watch my brother duel all the time, but I don't think I'll ever get to be as good as he is. Do you have a deck?"
"Not with me no," said Aki nervously. "But I could bring it sometime." Aki sighed. "I wish I could watch some of the pros duel."
"I know!" said Mokuba excitedly. "Let's go to Kaiba Land! Yugi Motoh and other top duelists battle each other for fun all day! It their idea of a perfect day."
"Kaiba Land? Really?"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Mokuba took Aki by the hand and lead her down twisting streets at a fast pace.
"C'mon, hiyaku!"
"Alright! Alright!"
The building broke to reveal a large gated building with a massive statue of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
*My Blue Eyes are much bigger.* Aki thought with a sneer.
"This way!"
Mokuba led her to a smaller outdoor arena where a duel was already taking place.
"Hey cool! What did I tell you! That's Yugi Motoh, and that's Jounochi Katsuya. They're both really good duelist. It's a good thing we didn't miss it."
Aki was surprised. She had seen parts of the cast around before, but this was obviously a major meeting place or something. She could see all of the characters: Anzu, Honda, Ryou and his Yami, Mai, Otogi, Isis, Malik and his Yami, even some other characters like Ryuuzaki and Haga, and dueling on the arena was none other than Jounochi and Yugi, at least the little Yugi. He hadn't become Yami Yugi. Aki wondered where Yami was.
*Dawn? Dawn, can you hear me?*
Huh? Yeah, what?
*Do you know where Yami is?
Him? Uh, lez'see, uhhhh- I think he's in the Puzzle.
*Thanks Dawn.*
Anytime. Hey, did you know that Renamon can't swim?
*I'll keep that in mind, thanks.*
"I play Curse of Dragon in defense mode, and I lay one card face down! Your move, Jou!"
"Alright then. I play Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode! Red Eyes Attack!"
"I activate my trap card! Spell Binding Circle!" The glowing ring appeared around Jou's Red Eyes, leaving him helpless. "And I switch my Curse of Dragon to attack mode and I attack your Red Eyes!"
*What I would give to duel like that-*
You shouldn't have released all your monsters, then you would've had a deck to play with.
*Yeah right, like I could ever beat them.*
Well, you'll never know until you try-
Aki watched the duel go on for about fifteen minutes, all the while feeling more and more depressed. Finally, she slipped away from the crowd and quickly made her way out of Kaiba Land. She had never felt so lonely as she felt right then. She couldn't explain it, the only place she should've felt happiest, and suddenly she felt like a total stranger. She needed to get away.
She found herself walking toward a secluded Shinto Shrine and the outskirts of the City. She had been to this place several times before when she was younger. Tenchi's Grandpa ran it. He was very nice and always offered her tea when she visited. They would often talk for quite some time. She couldn't exactly remember the last time when she went there.
She could almost feel beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead as she trudged up the endless stairs.
*Geez, this is worst than the stairs in front of my high school.*
She was panting by the time she got up to the top. She looked around the shrine for any sign of life. Dawn appeared beside her.
*Guess no one's here.*
Aki suddenly felt uncomfortable and decided to leave.
"Well hello there!"
Aki jumped and looked around. There was the gray-haired old man who ran the shrine standing in the doorway waving at her.
"Haven't seen you in a while," he said kindly. "Come on in. I just put the teapot on. And bring your little friend too."
Aki and Dawn sat patiently as Grandpa Mazaki poured some tea into three cups.
"Thank you," Aki said taking a sip. "At first I didn't think you would recognize me."
"Oh? And why is that."
Aki wasn't to sure how to put this into words. No one ever grew old in the Anime world, and she had been coming to the Anime world ever since she was little. Even so, Grandpa Mazaki was the only person she could really be honest with. She had the feeling that he probably knew more than she gave him credit for.
"Well," she began. "I was a little kid last time I was here."
"True. You are very wise to be cautious," He knelt on the other side of the table. "Getting old is something that doesn't really happen around here, thank goodness in my case."
Aki began to feel a little bit better. "I'm just glad that you don't care."
"Oh, I care," he said nodding. "It is rather odd, to say the least, I've noticed something strange about you ever since you where little, but I'm sure there's a reason. There always is. You've powers you yourself haven't realized."
"Powers?" she snorted. "I'm just some random girl with wild dreams."
"Let me ask you something. If one of the DigiDestined were to try to summon a Duel Monster, would it work? Could a Pokemon Trainer also be a Zoid pilot? Or how about a Gundam pilot?" Aki thought for a moment. She had never heard of such a thing. Grandpa Mazaki continued. "The answer is no. They wouldn't have the skill or magic needed, but you can somehow summon Duel Monsters, and yet you are a trainer to a Pokemon. A rare one I might add."
Dawn wagged her tail happily at the compliment.
"Wait, how do you know about my Duel Monsters? Oh, wait. One of them didn't come down here did they? What did they do?" she asked worried.
"Just one," he replied. "A little brown creature that was digging around in my garden. It looked like a shaggy little dog. I could tell it was yours by the little black yin-yang on its head. It matches your necklace."
"Dax, my Milus Radient. I'm really sorry."
"Oh it's fine. He didn't do any real damage, and if you're finished there's something I want to show you."
Aki gave him a surprised look and stood up. Dawn chugged the rest of her drink and floated up behind her. Grandpa Mazaki began leaded them out of the general area of the shrine and up some secluded mountain trail. Aki followed silently, wondering what the old man wanted to show her. After a while he stopped walking and pointed father up the trail.
"Follow this trail until you get to small cave. Some bushes cover it so look carefully. It's what's inside of the cave that I want you to see. I found them earlier today. Take good care of them." With that the old man stated walking back to the shrine. He waved over his shoulder. "It was nice talking to you. Come again sometime."
Perplexed and confused, Aki continued up the trail, keeping an eye out for a cave. Dawn found it before Aki and lead her to it. The cave was small and musty. Aki pushed the bushes aside and ducked inside. It was pitch black and Aki had to feel her way toward the back. The cave was actually a long tunnel that led deep down into the mountain. Aki felt her way until she could see a soft glow at the end. The cave opened up to a small cavern, it seemed almost like some kind of den. She then noticed the source of the strange glow.
Eggs!
"Eggs?"
Sure enough, a clutch of mismatched eggs were scattered across the floor, each different from each other, some were the size of beach balls and one was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, each had a different color or designs, and all were giving off there own glow. Aki counted ten eggs altogether.
"'Take good care of them.' So that's what he meant. Easier said than done. I wonder what kind of eggs they are."
They're Pokemon eggs.
Aki looked at Dawn. "Seriously? Are you sure?"
Yep. And odd ones at that."
Aki decided not to ask what that meant. "Can you carry them back to the Hole?"
No prob. Immediately, the clutch of eggs levitated into the air. Let's go!
Dawn flew out of the cave with the eggs floating right behind her. Aki followed closely, the way out illuminated by the eggs. The area they were in wasn't too far from the Hole, but it was quite a hike. Dawn tried to wait for her, but she got impatient.
Oh, geez. Here, this'll be easier. She floated down and held Aki lightly by the arm. In a flash, Dawn teleported them to the Hole.
There, much better.
"Thanks Dawn. Well, now what?"
All eggs need a nest.
"Right. Good idea."
The two built a makeshift nest with soft grass and moss and laid the eggs in it. Aki then covered them with leaves. She looked at her work, satisfied, when a roar sounded from a distance.
"Uh-oh."
Big uh-oh.
Aki ran full speed to the meadow where she released the two Blue Eyes. There she found Sky and Star, as well as most of her Monsters, all mingling with each other, as if getting to know one another. She smiled and crossed the field to her Monsters.
"So none of you got into any trouble today, I hope?" she said smiling.
One of the heads of her Flame Cerberus, Tri, nuzzled her arm. Aki scratched the top of its head and behind the ears in return.
"Alright then, everyone return."
All the Monsters returned to their card forms in a flash of light. She pocketed the cards and headed back to the Hole. She gave Dawn a pat on the head.
"Later Dawn. Stay out of trouble."
"No problem."
Aki entered the Hole, and back to reality-
*****
Autumn's mom was having a dinner party and needed something crucial that wasn't in their pantries, so it's off with the youngest on her bike to the store, which was just up a monstrous hill. Autumn bought what her mother needed, as well as some extra candies that she would never find out about and headed back home. On her way home she passed by a small park. It was almost invisible while driving by; it was a perfect little haven. Autumn stopped her bike and slowly made her way to the swings. She loved to swing. She could swing for hours if someone didn't stop her.
She had a little time, why not? She swung for some time, enjoying the feel. When she came to a stop she sat for a few more moments. She pulled out the Pokeball she got from the Anime world and pressed the button on the front, making it bigger. She stared at it long and hard. She thought about what Grandpa Mazaki had said. What did he mean? Was there something really special about her?
"What'cha got their cutie?"
Autumn jumped and spun to face the voice. Some punk with baggy pants and shirt and earrings on his ears and nose stood grinning at her with a bunch of lackeys behind him.
"Now what's a girl like you doin' all alone?" he advanced on her.
"Get away from me!" she spat.
"Why should I?" he made as if to grab her when she kicked him in the shin.
"Dammit bitch!" he pulled out a pocketknife and lunged at her. Autumn dodged and ran for her life, leaving her bike and groceries forgotten.
She ran not knowing where she was going. She ran down block and street, not paying any attention. She could still hear them behind her. Then it seemed like her luck ran out. She ran right into a tall metal fence surrounding an enormous estate. She turned to face her attackers. She could almost see her life pass before her eyes-
"Hey! Get off my property!"
Autumn turned to the voice, as did the gang. An old man, his hair graying, clutching a thick black cane, and wearing sunglasses, slowly made his way toward them.
"And what's a old geezer gunna' d-"
The old man swung his cane without warning and nailed the leader on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. The others took off, abandoning their leader. The old man placed the cane on the boy's chest, pinning him down.
"I could have you arrested for assault with a deadly weapon." He then let the boy go. "If I catch you again I will call the police. Beat it."
The terrified boy ran off. The old man then turned to Autumn.
"All is well I hope?" he smiled kindly. He then noticed the object in Autumn's hand. "What's that you got there? A Pokeball is it?" He looked over his sunglasses at Autumn with pale blue eyes. "It looks a little, 'authentic,' to me. Did you buy it or did a Pokemon trainer give it to you?"
The hairs on Autumn's neck prickled.
"Don't look so surprised," continued the old man. "I know more than you think."
"E-excuse me, but, who are you?" asked Autumn nervously.
"You may call me Mr. Keanon. Shall we talk business, say, tomorrow when your school gets out? Would that be a problem?" He pulled out a small business card and handed it to Autumn.
"Uhhh, no, that isn't problem. What kind of business?"
"It's kind of a delivery business, but you'll find out much more tomorrow. What do you say Miss umm-?"
"Autumn. Autumn Riddle."
"See you tomorrow then Autumn."
With that Mr. Keanon turned and walked toward the front of his gate and back to his house.
*****
That night Aki returned to the Anime world. She probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the clutch of eggs she was now in charge of. She was immediately tackled by Dawn.
Aki! Aki! They're hatching!
*****
Ooooo- cliffy.
Thanx for the reviews and stay tuned folks!
Sandy: well, if you don't like it maybe you should make a fic with us in it!
Me: ummm- I'll think about it. Any way, on with the ficcie! (o^.^o)
I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Except for Autumn, her family, and Mr. Keanon.
*****
RETURN TO THE ANIME WORLD
*****
Autumn showered, brushed her teeth, put on her PJ's, and climbed into bed. She tried to visit the anime world a few times, but she changed her mind at the last second. She just wasn't in the mood. She had spent much of her time looking up Yu-Gi-Oh on the Internet and found out a lot about the plot and characters before the show was even aired. When she tuned into the first few episodes she was amazed on how much they dubbed out of it. They might as well drug it out into the street and shot it!
Autumn growled to herself. 'Stupid Dubbers'
A sudden thought occurred to her: she had a deck of her own, what if she brought it to the anime world? Could she summon them to life? Her deck was pretty good in her opinion, she had gone out and bought her own Kaiba Starter Deck with her own money, which was a big deal because she didn't have a job or allowance, so she could have a Blue Eyes, but her birthday happened to be two weeks later and her brother Tyler bought her a second Kaiba Deck. She didn't mind though, now she had two Blue Eyes White Dragons, as well as a bunch of other good cards she felt attached to. She valued her deck so much that she marked every one of her cards with a small yin-yang.
Autumn rose from her bed. She had an itch, an inner instinct called her; she couldn't take it any more. She grabbed her deck from her desk and proceeded to her closet. She felt her way to the back of the closet until she could see the spot of light. She began to run to it, her excitement rising. She broke through the hole and came upon the early morning forest. She breathed in and exhaled with satisfaction.
She looked at her hand, sure enough; it was drawn in anime style. She didn't need a mirror to see what she looked like; she was wearing her favorite outfit, the one with the jeans and black shirt with the bullet holes on it. She also had her necklace, beanie, glove, MP3 player, and dueling deck. Underneath her shirt and pants she was wearing bright green board shorts and a matching blue spaghetti strap swim top with leafy green designs. The green streaks in her brown eyes were more noticeable now, and her long golden sun-bleached bangs framed her face while the rest of her dirt brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The way her bangs were drawn reminded Autumn of Sue Koalla from Love Hina. She carefully placed her hair into her beanie and pulled it down by her ears. She was no longer Autumn Riddle. No, now she was Aki.
Now, she had to find Dawn. She put her thumb and finger in her mouth and whistled as loud as she could. The long shrill whistle echoed through the forest. Several birds stopped singing. Aki waited in silence. Nothing. Aki shouldn't have been surprised, it has been over a year, but she couldn't help but worry. What if she thought that she was abandoned and left? What if someone captured her? Aki giggled to herself. Dawn would never let anyone capture her. She had never been in a Pokeball before, and she wasn't going to start now.
Aki let out another loud whistle and waited. When nothing happened, she started down to the city. The path was impossible to make out, but she knew it by instinct. About halfway down she stopped in a vacant field and decided to try her deck out. She pulled it from her pocket and looked through it until she found her two Blue Eyes and pulled them from the deck.
'Umm, okay, now what?'
She tried to think of a website that might have told her how they summoned monsters on the TV show, but couldn't, and lord knows that she wouldn't know in the dubbed version for about a year.
'Alright, maybe this'll do it'
Aki held up her two Blue Eyes with her right hand.
"I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Nothing.
'Crap. So much for that idea'
She held her two Blue Eyes in her hands with a defeated look. She sighed. The screeching of some birds flying from their perches caught her attention. She turned to the direction of the disturbance just in time to see a light purple and violet blur streak toward her and slam her to the ground.
Aki! Aki! It's really you!
"Dawn?" Aki looked down to see a baby female Mewtwo, only about two and a half feet tall, sitting on her lap happily wagging her tail.
Where have you been? I've missed you so much! Dawn spoke out loud with her mind. Although her mouth didn't move, she still spoke with a human like voice. Aki gave Dawn a big hug.
"I'm so sorry Dawn! I've totally abandoned you! Are you OK?" Aki rocked back and forth, still holding Dawn.
It's ok Aki. I was fine by myself. So what are you doing anyway?
"Check it out," Aki held out her Yu-Gi-Oh cards for her to see.
Oh! You're summoning Duel Monsters! Or, at least you're trying to. I've seen them do it down in the City.
"You were watching them?"
Yeah, I've been watching everybody so I could keep you filled in when you came back, Dawn thought for a moment. Of course, nothing ever really changes around here dose it?
"I guess not. So how did they summon?"
Dawn shrugged. The same way as you. I don't see what you're doing wrong.
"Hmmm," Aki thought aloud. "Maybe I should try again-"
Why not?
"Alright," this time Aki tried something different: she tried concentrating on the two Dragons in her hands.
She held up the two cards in her left hand and called out in a loud voice,
"I summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
A blinding flash lit up the area. Aki and Dawn covered their eyes. Aki could feel the power surging from the two cards and eventually fade away. She heard the familiar roars that she knew so well. As the light died down, Aki found herself face to face with two massive, and very real Blue Eyes White Dragons.
Dawn gulped visibly. Aki could feel herself trembling, not from fear, but from excitement. One of the Dragons threw its head back with a deafening roar. Dawn yipped and dove behind Aki. The other Dragon stood its ground and watched Aki with interest. The roaring Dragon then took a step forward, still growling. Then suddenly, the calmer Dragon lowered its head to get a closer look and the small girl before it. It sniffed once, then twice, then a third time, as if to make sure. It then lowered its body on all fours so its head could be at ground level. Although its head alone was larger then Aki, it was a clear sign of peace. It started to make a sound similar to purring. The aggressive Dragon noticed what the first did and did the same. It sniffed then lay down next to the other Blue Eyes and started purring. Aki slowly walked toward the Dragons, never taking her eyes of them. She slowly reached out and began softly stroking the smooth, hard armor-like skin on the nose of the closest Dragon.
"Cool-" she breathed.
She began to pet both of the Dragons while speaking to them in a soft voice.
"Amazing. You knew I was your owner just by my smell. For a while there I thought I was toast. Hey, your skin color has a little more bluish tint," she said patting the initially aggressive one on the eye ridge. "That'll help me tell the difference. You know what I should do? I should give you nicknames so I won't get you mixed up. I know! I'll call you Sky because of your color and I'll call you Star." She said giving the more passive one a good pat on the nose. "Sound good?"
Aki found a spot of softer skin underneath the Dragons head scales and began to scratch. The Dragons found this very enjoyable. So much so that Star tried to return the favor and gently swiped at Aki's arm with an enormous tongue.
"Hey! Cut it out!" she giggled. Then she noticed something unusual. On the forehead of both Dragons there was a mark almost invisible from a distance. It looked like a yin yang was engraved in the armored skin. Just like the ones she drew on all her cards.
Well, now that we know that THAT little experiment worked how about going down to the city now? asked Dawn.
"Alright, fine," she turned to the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "Can you two take care of yourselves while I'm away? You can do whatever you want until I get back, but I'm going home at sunset so be back here by then, OK?"
The two Blue Eyes White Dragons roared and took to the air in less than a heartbeat. Aki turned to Dawn.
"Alrighty! Shall we go?"
*****
All the way down to the City, Aki released monster after monster, giving each a name and telling them to go do what they want until sun down.
Are you sure that's smart? asked Dawn as she levitated behind Aki's shoulder.
"Probably not, but I'm feeling nice."
Dawn was right on when she said that nothing ever changed in the City. It was just as Aki remembered it. She told Dawn to back off a little so she wouldn't attract too much attention. Filled with excitement, Aki jogged to the heart of the City. She roamed the streets, seeing what she could see. The City was split into many, many sections. On one end there was an older, more ancient feel to it, then there was the modern suburbs and down town, then the fast and futuristic. Some places were divided buy how magical it was. The older places had temples and wizards and other spell casters, while the more modern part had a mix, and the future had very little.
Aki wandered down a down town street in the more modern part of the City. It was unbelievably big, the City, and just visiting one part of it would take up a whole night, or day, whatever you'd want to call it. She passed by some stores, looked at the merchandise, and wish she had extra money. She wasn't really paying attention where she was going when dark, spiky haired kid ran full on into her. She fell over backwards, as did the kid.
"-owww- Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Said the little kid. Aki sat up and saw none other than Mokuba Kaiba sitting across from her, rubbing his backside.
"Oh that's OK," said Aki standing up. She held out her hand to help him up. "You Mokuba, right? Your Seto's little brother."
"Yeah," he answered, accepting her hand. He could tell she was a girl by her voice, but the beanie looked a bit odd. "What's your name?"
"I'm Aki."
"Hi Aki. Sorry again."
"It's OK. It's not everyday that you meet the little brother of one of the best duelist in the world," Aki stooped slightly with her hands on her knees and put on a sugary smile. "Say, the kid brother of the champ must know a lot about dueling strategies. Care to walk and talk?"
"Ummm, OK?" said Mokuba, a little unsure.
Aki offered to buy ice cream, using up what little money she had. The two walked the streets, ice cream bars in hand, chatting about Duel Monsters.
"So your saying that your brother is one of the top duelist in the world, yet you don't even have your own deck? With connections like that you could easily get some of the best cards in the whole game."
"Yeah, I like to watch my brother duel all the time, but I don't think I'll ever get to be as good as he is. Do you have a deck?"
"Not with me no," said Aki nervously. "But I could bring it sometime." Aki sighed. "I wish I could watch some of the pros duel."
"I know!" said Mokuba excitedly. "Let's go to Kaiba Land! Yugi Motoh and other top duelists battle each other for fun all day! It their idea of a perfect day."
"Kaiba Land? Really?"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Mokuba took Aki by the hand and lead her down twisting streets at a fast pace.
"C'mon, hiyaku!"
"Alright! Alright!"
The building broke to reveal a large gated building with a massive statue of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
*My Blue Eyes are much bigger.* Aki thought with a sneer.
"This way!"
Mokuba led her to a smaller outdoor arena where a duel was already taking place.
"Hey cool! What did I tell you! That's Yugi Motoh, and that's Jounochi Katsuya. They're both really good duelist. It's a good thing we didn't miss it."
Aki was surprised. She had seen parts of the cast around before, but this was obviously a major meeting place or something. She could see all of the characters: Anzu, Honda, Ryou and his Yami, Mai, Otogi, Isis, Malik and his Yami, even some other characters like Ryuuzaki and Haga, and dueling on the arena was none other than Jounochi and Yugi, at least the little Yugi. He hadn't become Yami Yugi. Aki wondered where Yami was.
*Dawn? Dawn, can you hear me?*
Huh? Yeah, what?
*Do you know where Yami is?
Him? Uh, lez'see, uhhhh- I think he's in the Puzzle.
*Thanks Dawn.*
Anytime. Hey, did you know that Renamon can't swim?
*I'll keep that in mind, thanks.*
"I play Curse of Dragon in defense mode, and I lay one card face down! Your move, Jou!"
"Alright then. I play Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode! Red Eyes Attack!"
"I activate my trap card! Spell Binding Circle!" The glowing ring appeared around Jou's Red Eyes, leaving him helpless. "And I switch my Curse of Dragon to attack mode and I attack your Red Eyes!"
*What I would give to duel like that-*
You shouldn't have released all your monsters, then you would've had a deck to play with.
*Yeah right, like I could ever beat them.*
Well, you'll never know until you try-
Aki watched the duel go on for about fifteen minutes, all the while feeling more and more depressed. Finally, she slipped away from the crowd and quickly made her way out of Kaiba Land. She had never felt so lonely as she felt right then. She couldn't explain it, the only place she should've felt happiest, and suddenly she felt like a total stranger. She needed to get away.
She found herself walking toward a secluded Shinto Shrine and the outskirts of the City. She had been to this place several times before when she was younger. Tenchi's Grandpa ran it. He was very nice and always offered her tea when she visited. They would often talk for quite some time. She couldn't exactly remember the last time when she went there.
She could almost feel beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead as she trudged up the endless stairs.
*Geez, this is worst than the stairs in front of my high school.*
She was panting by the time she got up to the top. She looked around the shrine for any sign of life. Dawn appeared beside her.
*Guess no one's here.*
Aki suddenly felt uncomfortable and decided to leave.
"Well hello there!"
Aki jumped and looked around. There was the gray-haired old man who ran the shrine standing in the doorway waving at her.
"Haven't seen you in a while," he said kindly. "Come on in. I just put the teapot on. And bring your little friend too."
Aki and Dawn sat patiently as Grandpa Mazaki poured some tea into three cups.
"Thank you," Aki said taking a sip. "At first I didn't think you would recognize me."
"Oh? And why is that."
Aki wasn't to sure how to put this into words. No one ever grew old in the Anime world, and she had been coming to the Anime world ever since she was little. Even so, Grandpa Mazaki was the only person she could really be honest with. She had the feeling that he probably knew more than she gave him credit for.
"Well," she began. "I was a little kid last time I was here."
"True. You are very wise to be cautious," He knelt on the other side of the table. "Getting old is something that doesn't really happen around here, thank goodness in my case."
Aki began to feel a little bit better. "I'm just glad that you don't care."
"Oh, I care," he said nodding. "It is rather odd, to say the least, I've noticed something strange about you ever since you where little, but I'm sure there's a reason. There always is. You've powers you yourself haven't realized."
"Powers?" she snorted. "I'm just some random girl with wild dreams."
"Let me ask you something. If one of the DigiDestined were to try to summon a Duel Monster, would it work? Could a Pokemon Trainer also be a Zoid pilot? Or how about a Gundam pilot?" Aki thought for a moment. She had never heard of such a thing. Grandpa Mazaki continued. "The answer is no. They wouldn't have the skill or magic needed, but you can somehow summon Duel Monsters, and yet you are a trainer to a Pokemon. A rare one I might add."
Dawn wagged her tail happily at the compliment.
"Wait, how do you know about my Duel Monsters? Oh, wait. One of them didn't come down here did they? What did they do?" she asked worried.
"Just one," he replied. "A little brown creature that was digging around in my garden. It looked like a shaggy little dog. I could tell it was yours by the little black yin-yang on its head. It matches your necklace."
"Dax, my Milus Radient. I'm really sorry."
"Oh it's fine. He didn't do any real damage, and if you're finished there's something I want to show you."
Aki gave him a surprised look and stood up. Dawn chugged the rest of her drink and floated up behind her. Grandpa Mazaki began leaded them out of the general area of the shrine and up some secluded mountain trail. Aki followed silently, wondering what the old man wanted to show her. After a while he stopped walking and pointed father up the trail.
"Follow this trail until you get to small cave. Some bushes cover it so look carefully. It's what's inside of the cave that I want you to see. I found them earlier today. Take good care of them." With that the old man stated walking back to the shrine. He waved over his shoulder. "It was nice talking to you. Come again sometime."
Perplexed and confused, Aki continued up the trail, keeping an eye out for a cave. Dawn found it before Aki and lead her to it. The cave was small and musty. Aki pushed the bushes aside and ducked inside. It was pitch black and Aki had to feel her way toward the back. The cave was actually a long tunnel that led deep down into the mountain. Aki felt her way until she could see a soft glow at the end. The cave opened up to a small cavern, it seemed almost like some kind of den. She then noticed the source of the strange glow.
Eggs!
"Eggs?"
Sure enough, a clutch of mismatched eggs were scattered across the floor, each different from each other, some were the size of beach balls and one was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, each had a different color or designs, and all were giving off there own glow. Aki counted ten eggs altogether.
"'Take good care of them.' So that's what he meant. Easier said than done. I wonder what kind of eggs they are."
They're Pokemon eggs.
Aki looked at Dawn. "Seriously? Are you sure?"
Yep. And odd ones at that."
Aki decided not to ask what that meant. "Can you carry them back to the Hole?"
No prob. Immediately, the clutch of eggs levitated into the air. Let's go!
Dawn flew out of the cave with the eggs floating right behind her. Aki followed closely, the way out illuminated by the eggs. The area they were in wasn't too far from the Hole, but it was quite a hike. Dawn tried to wait for her, but she got impatient.
Oh, geez. Here, this'll be easier. She floated down and held Aki lightly by the arm. In a flash, Dawn teleported them to the Hole.
There, much better.
"Thanks Dawn. Well, now what?"
All eggs need a nest.
"Right. Good idea."
The two built a makeshift nest with soft grass and moss and laid the eggs in it. Aki then covered them with leaves. She looked at her work, satisfied, when a roar sounded from a distance.
"Uh-oh."
Big uh-oh.
Aki ran full speed to the meadow where she released the two Blue Eyes. There she found Sky and Star, as well as most of her Monsters, all mingling with each other, as if getting to know one another. She smiled and crossed the field to her Monsters.
"So none of you got into any trouble today, I hope?" she said smiling.
One of the heads of her Flame Cerberus, Tri, nuzzled her arm. Aki scratched the top of its head and behind the ears in return.
"Alright then, everyone return."
All the Monsters returned to their card forms in a flash of light. She pocketed the cards and headed back to the Hole. She gave Dawn a pat on the head.
"Later Dawn. Stay out of trouble."
"No problem."
Aki entered the Hole, and back to reality-
*****
Autumn's mom was having a dinner party and needed something crucial that wasn't in their pantries, so it's off with the youngest on her bike to the store, which was just up a monstrous hill. Autumn bought what her mother needed, as well as some extra candies that she would never find out about and headed back home. On her way home she passed by a small park. It was almost invisible while driving by; it was a perfect little haven. Autumn stopped her bike and slowly made her way to the swings. She loved to swing. She could swing for hours if someone didn't stop her.
She had a little time, why not? She swung for some time, enjoying the feel. When she came to a stop she sat for a few more moments. She pulled out the Pokeball she got from the Anime world and pressed the button on the front, making it bigger. She stared at it long and hard. She thought about what Grandpa Mazaki had said. What did he mean? Was there something really special about her?
"What'cha got their cutie?"
Autumn jumped and spun to face the voice. Some punk with baggy pants and shirt and earrings on his ears and nose stood grinning at her with a bunch of lackeys behind him.
"Now what's a girl like you doin' all alone?" he advanced on her.
"Get away from me!" she spat.
"Why should I?" he made as if to grab her when she kicked him in the shin.
"Dammit bitch!" he pulled out a pocketknife and lunged at her. Autumn dodged and ran for her life, leaving her bike and groceries forgotten.
She ran not knowing where she was going. She ran down block and street, not paying any attention. She could still hear them behind her. Then it seemed like her luck ran out. She ran right into a tall metal fence surrounding an enormous estate. She turned to face her attackers. She could almost see her life pass before her eyes-
"Hey! Get off my property!"
Autumn turned to the voice, as did the gang. An old man, his hair graying, clutching a thick black cane, and wearing sunglasses, slowly made his way toward them.
"And what's a old geezer gunna' d-"
The old man swung his cane without warning and nailed the leader on the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. The others took off, abandoning their leader. The old man placed the cane on the boy's chest, pinning him down.
"I could have you arrested for assault with a deadly weapon." He then let the boy go. "If I catch you again I will call the police. Beat it."
The terrified boy ran off. The old man then turned to Autumn.
"All is well I hope?" he smiled kindly. He then noticed the object in Autumn's hand. "What's that you got there? A Pokeball is it?" He looked over his sunglasses at Autumn with pale blue eyes. "It looks a little, 'authentic,' to me. Did you buy it or did a Pokemon trainer give it to you?"
The hairs on Autumn's neck prickled.
"Don't look so surprised," continued the old man. "I know more than you think."
"E-excuse me, but, who are you?" asked Autumn nervously.
"You may call me Mr. Keanon. Shall we talk business, say, tomorrow when your school gets out? Would that be a problem?" He pulled out a small business card and handed it to Autumn.
"Uhhh, no, that isn't problem. What kind of business?"
"It's kind of a delivery business, but you'll find out much more tomorrow. What do you say Miss umm-?"
"Autumn. Autumn Riddle."
"See you tomorrow then Autumn."
With that Mr. Keanon turned and walked toward the front of his gate and back to his house.
*****
That night Aki returned to the Anime world. She probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the clutch of eggs she was now in charge of. She was immediately tackled by Dawn.
Aki! Aki! They're hatching!
*****
Ooooo- cliffy.
Thanx for the reviews and stay tuned folks!