All right, sorry for the short prologue, but I hope this long chapter makes it up to you all.
So, let's begin the first chapter!
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Between my Brother and Me
by Green Phantom Queen
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Chapter 1-Domino Effect
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Petalburg City. May and Max's hometown. The two were excited to come back home after traveling for so long. Just the fact that they were going to see their parents once more made them excited.
"Shuppet!" said Shuppet as the three made it to the front door. "Shuppet, shuppet!"
"I know, Shuppet!" Max replied to the ghost Pokémon. "We're home." He knocked on the door to the Petalburg Gym...the lights soon illuminating them. The door then opened, and out stood Max and May's mother, Caroline.
"Oh my." said Caroline, seeing her children. "You came back already?"
"Hi, mom!" May and Max replied before they gave the woman a hug. Caroline replied by wrapping her arms around her son and daughter. "It's great to see you!"
"It's great to see you too!" Caroline said in reply. "Come on in, you must be hungry!" As the two siblings entered, Caroline then stared at the happy Puppet Pokémon. "And who are you supposed to be?"
"My new friend!" Max chimed in as Shuppet soon came into the house. "He's very playful!"
"Shuppet Shup!" Shuppet replied as it started to glow. Its eyes were replaced with a blue light as it stared at a small vase on a table. The white flowers that were placed inside began to float in the air, and soon landed in Caroline's hands.
"That's so sweet." She replied as she looked at Shuppet. "Thank you, Shuppet."
"Shuppet!" The ghost Pokémon replied. "Shuppet!"
"What's going on?" Everyone turned to see Norman, the Petalburg Gym leader coming into the room. May and Max immediately ran up to their father and hugged him.
"Hi, dad!" The two cried. Norman laughed as he patted his children's heads.
"Isn't this a surprise." He replied. "How have you been doing?"
"Awesome!" May replied. "I made it to the top 4 of the Grand Festival in Kanto!"
"She was awesome, dad!" Max added. "Her Combusken evolved into Blaziken, and she even has a Squirtle and Eevee!"
"You can tell us the rest during dinner." Caroline replied as she placed the flowers back into the vase. Shuppet flew to Max, still carrying that big grin. "After all, it has been a while since we ate a meal together!"
"But first," said Norman, standing up. "Why not meet up with everyone at the greenhouse?"
"Yeah!" May and Max cried simultaneously.
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Hidden amongst the lush trees and bushes, May and Max walked inside to see the Slakoth, Vigoroth and Slaking coming up to greet them. The evolutionary family hugged the two siblings while the two could just laugh.
"It's great to see you all again!" Max replied, hugging the Wild Monkey Pokémon. "I see you're all doing well."
"Beau!" May looked up to see Beautifly flying towards her. The Butterfly Pokémon soon landed on top of its trainer's head, fluttering its wings as to say hello.
"Beautifly, it's great to see you!" May replied. "How have you been doing?" Beautifly responded with a soft "Beau".
"Shuppet!" Shuppet flew to Beautifly, with its grin plastered on his face. "Shuppet! Shuppet!"
"Oh yeah, that's right!" said May, bringing out her Poké balls. "Let me bring out everyone!" She tossed the Poké balls into the air, the spheres opening up to reveal her four Pokémon. All of them greeted hello to the residents in the Greenhouse. Blaziken immediately shook hands with Slaking, Squirtle was playing with Slakoth, and Munchlax was having a friendly match with Vigoroth.
"Looks like everyone's getting around well!" said Max. "They all look so happy."
"Eevee!" Eevee cried out as she saw all of the dirt around her. She then used her paws to dig into the moist soil, leaving a small hole with more dirt appearing around it.
"Nya!" May looked to see Skitty run toward the group of Pokémon. Unfortunately, as Skitty was running toward them, Eevee was also digging towered the Kitten Pokémon.
"No, stop!" Skitty stopped running, but then got lifted into the air when Eevee popped out of the long tunnel it was digging. Skitty fell onto the mud but soon got on all fours, growling at the Evolutionary Pokémon.
"Uh-oh..." said Max, seeing the two feline-like Pokémon staring at each other. "This could get bad."
"Nya!" Skitty cried as it opened its mouth. Pellets of ice flew into the air, hitting Eevee square in the chest. Eevee retaliated with a black orb of energy escaping its mouth and fired it back at Skitty.
"That's enough, both of you!" May replied, running up to them. "Stop all of this fighting!"
Both of the Normal-type Pokémon ignored the command and stared at each other. Skitty soon jumped, turning its body into the air so its tail was facing Eevee. Moving its tail, Skitty proceeded to slap Eevee across the face.
"Skitty, stop that!" May replied as she brought out a Pokeball. "Both of you stop now!"
"Shuppet!" Shuppet, sensing the crisis, floated near May. "Shup..." It repeated as red, glowing outlines appeared on both Skitty and Eevee. They fused into a ray of light that flew onto the horn on top of Shuppet's head. Shuppet closed his eyes and soon flew back to Max, satisfied with the meal.
"Ee?" Eevee replied, looking around. It then noticed Eevee and then ran to it, the two of them soon chasing each other as if they were inseparable friends.
"Oh yeah!" said Max. "Shuppet feed off of angry emotions, so when he noticed Eevee and Skitty fighting, he took their anger and converted it into energy!"
"Speaking of energy..." May and Max turned to see Norman walking into the Greenhouse with a tray of Pokémon food in his hands. "Who wants dinner?"
"We do!" May and Max replied as the Pokémon started to munch on the bowls of food prepared for them.
"Munch!" Munchlax cried as it started to devour the whole pile of food, much to the displeasure of everyone else. This caused Slaking to get furious, one of its arms glowing as if ready to fight with Focus Punch.
"Oh no, that can't be good!" said Max, covering his eyes. "I can't watch!"
"Munchlax!" May commanded, bringing out her Pokeblock case. She raised her arm as a Pink Pokeblock flew in the air. "Have a taste!"
"Munch?" Munchlax replied as it saw the treat falling onto the ground. "Munch!" It immediately ran to the treat just as Slaking's massive fist hit the ground, causing the earth to shake and many of the Pokémon to fly into the air. Thanks to the lift, Munchlax was able to get its hand on the Pokeblock and soon swallowed it whole. In seconds, its stomach expanded and he soon sat down, satisfied with its meal.
"Is it over?" Max replied, lowering his arms. He let out a sigh when he found Slaking falling asleep and the other Pokémon eating the leftovers Munchlax had spared. "Phew...that could've been bad."
May's stomach started to growl. "Well, what do we say we have dinner?" May asked.
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"Croquettes!" May squealed when she saw a plate full of fried potato patties. Using a pair of chopsticks, she picked one off of the pile and munched on it, squealing with more delight as she let the taste fill her body.
"Awesome!" Max replied as he cut his open with a fork and knife. In doing so, a white creamy sauce spread onto the empty plate. "And it's a cream crab one! Thanks mom!"
"Anything for my children." Caroline replied as she saw her son and daughter eat. "So May, what are you going to do next?"
"Well," May replied, wiping her lips with a napkin. "I wanted to rest here at home before I left for Johto. I'm going to be on my own, and I want to say goodbye..."
"I'll be staying home," Max added. "But it's just not fair...May gets to travel to a new area and Ash and Brock are heading back...it seems like I'm never going to be a Pokémon trainer."
"That's not true, Max." Norman replied to his sad son. "You already have Shuppet on you, so that means you can train and help it evolve into a Banette. Then when you're ten, Professor Birch will help you get your Starter Pokémon."
"Really?" Max asked, his mood lightening a bit. "Is that going to happen?"
Norman nodded his head. "I assure you, that it will." He replied. "But..." He then turned to May who was eating her third croquette. "May, since you won't be heading off to Johto, why not you head off to Domino City before then?"
"Domino City?" May repeated. "I've never heard of that place before...does it have a Gym or a Contest Hall?"
"Actually, it recently received popularity." Caroline answered. "Domino City is a gaming city, where people play this card game known as Duel Monsters. Just recently, they had finished this tournament known as the Battle City Tournament with the winner being this teenager named Yugi Muto."
"Yugi...Muto?" Max mimicked. "That's an interesting name..."
"I've got a magazine of Duelist Monthly that you can read." Caroline explained, getting up from her chair. "I got it in the mail a few days ago, and thought that you two would like to read it." She soon walked off to the living room as May and Max continued to think about the city.
"Domino City," May began. "Duel Monsters, Battle City..."
"And Yugi Muto." Max ended. "That seems...interesting."
Caroline returned with the magazine in hand. The cover of the magazine had the picture of a teenage boy with fierce amethyst eyes and a striking hairdo; red spikes that had black and yellow streaks in front of it. A few yellow bangs framed his shape face and he was also wearing a black leather top and pants. What was interesting was the inverted pyramid necklace that was worn on a silver chain, and the device on his left arm. To May and Max, it looked like a giant watch with curves that made it look like axe blades.
"What the heck is that thing?" May asked, pointing to the futuristic device.
"It's something called a Duel Disk." Norman explained. "Apparently, duelists use it to play cards on them, and they come to life."
"You mean like Pokémon?" Max asked in interest.
"No, they appear as holograms." Caroline answered her son. "And then these duelists have these things called Life Points that they use as a way to track the progress of what happens. When someone's life points lower to zero, then the duel is over."
"Wow! That sounds interesting!" Max replied. He then stared at the necklace. "But what's that?"
May stared at the item on the person's neck. Something made it so familiar...she knew that she had seen it somewhere...and then, it clicked.
"That's called the Millennium Puzzle." She replied. "It is said that whomever solves it, will gain powers of darkness that could be used to rule the world should it be taken into the wrong hands."
Everyone around her gasped in shock at her reply. Max stared at the artifact, and then back at May before he said, "How did you know that?"
May blinked and looked around. "Know about what?" She questioned. "I don't know...what you're talking about."
"But you knew what that necklace was!" Max exclaimed, showing May the picture of the Millennium Puzzle. "You said that whomever solved it gains the power of darkness! And since Yugi is wearing it, then that means..."
"It's just a stupid story, Max." May interrupted. "If it existed, then wouldn't he had tried to take over the world, instead of playing card games?" Max wanted to say something but then stopped, closing his mouth. He continued to stare at the cover of the magazine, trying to make sense of what was going on.
Norman looked at the clock on the wall: It was almost 10 in the evening. "Guys, it's getting late. Why not talk about you two going to Domino in the morning?"
"Good idea." Max replied, stretching his arms. "It's time for a nap. We've been traveling for such a long time, that I've forgotten what a bed felt like."
"Me too..." May added, staring at the magazine cover once more. Something in her mind screamed that the person on the cover was familiar...but why?
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May slipped into a pair of pajamas—black with pink flowers decorating the shirt and pants as she sat at the edge of her bed. All of her Pokémon were resting in the Greenhouse—but Shuppet decided to stay with Max for the night, leaving her alone in her room. The thought of leaving on a journey by herself scared her...but the prospect of somehow knowing the person on that magazine cover frightened her more.
It must be nothing. She said to herself. But...I'm also worried...could he know something about Manaphy and Samiya? She shook her head at the obscurity of the question. I must be exhausted; there's no way that this 'duelist' has anything to do with my dream...but what if he is?
She turned off the lights to the room as she tucked herself into the sheets of her blankets. Her head resting against the pillow, May stared at the the ceiling, lost in thought. Why did she know what that necklace was? Had she seen it before? No...she had never seen it before in her life.
Her eyes soon closed as sleep took her, the silence of the room stilled as everyone in the household fell asleep. For a while, there was nothing heard in the dark household except the rustling of the sheets moving, and the soft breathing of the inhabitants. Until...
Goddess of Joy...Goddess...please wake up...
May's eyes suddenly opened at the voice. She sat up, a hand against her chest as she took in deep breath. "W-who's there?" She asked to the room. "What do you want?"
Come to us, Goddess...Please...Set us free...
"I said 'who are you?'" May replied to the voice. She got out of bed and grasped onto the flashlight near the foot of her bed. She clicked the button on as the cone of light shone in the darkness. "And why are you calling me Goddess?"
Goddess is Goddess...Goddess set us free...she made us happy...she is a Goddess of Joy...
"Stop calling me that!" May hissed as she opened the door to her room. Slowly stepping outside, she shone the light back and forth, finding no one inside the hall. Knowing that everyone else was asleep, she slowly stepped against the floor of the halls. There was a slight 'creak' but it wasn't loud enough to wake everyone up. On her tiptoes, May continued to follow the bodiless voice...then, she stopped at the basement door.
"Do I...really have to go in there?" May whimpered, some fear in her voice. She gulped as she let her hand get closer to the doorknob. Suddenly, it opened, causing the Pokémon Coordinator to shriek in terror.
Go in, Goddess...please, we must speak to you...
The line was followed with three more voices urging her to go inside. May took a deep breath and slowly took a step in. Once she was inside the basement, the door shut behind her. May whipped her head to see that no one was there inside the room: there was only boxes filled with memories, and old treasures from long ago. There was a window, with moonlight pouring into an area of the room. Under the light was an old book with an eye engraved on its cover.
May slowly walked toward the book, swallowing the lump in her throat as she did. Using her right hand, she opened the cover, seeing ancient symbols scratched onto the paper.
Read the words, Goddess...read them!
"Why should I?" May yelled at the book. "Who are you? What do you want with me? And why do you call me Goddess?"
We will explain later...let us out!
May wanted to be angry, but fear of what could happen if she didn't respond caught to her first. She then let her fingers run across the paper and—without realizing it—she started to read the message.
"I...call upon the ancient gods of Egypt." May began as the book started to glow. "I, the reader of this book, ask to summon the spirits who have been trapped her for so long. Reveal the stories that they have to tell, reveal the secrets that they have kept...open...for I am...I am..." She stopped at that last line...how did she know what those words mean? She had never seen them before. But...it was if she had known it from the start...it was so confusing.
Finish it, Goddess! FINISH THE CHANT!
"Reveal the secrets that they have kept open!" May cried, repeating the last line, her heart thumping against her chest. "For I am...for I am the one who is calling for them!"
At that, the book floated into mid air, the pages inside it started to flap, slowly revealing pictures to May. From what she could see, there was a black heart, an evil monster, two priests, and many things that were lost as the book was reading itself. An orb pulled itself away from the book as May looked in fear. She dropped the flashlight in her hand and started to back away.
"Goddess..." A deep voice replied. "Goddess..."
"I'm not your goddess!" May screamed as she ran to the door...only to remember that it had slammed shut. She pulled on the knob, trying to open it as the light dimmed down. May ignored it as she slid against the door, turning her head away and blocking the view with her arms in the air.
"Go away..." May whimpered. "Go away..."
She soon heard someone kneel down...and the sound of crying accompanied it. May lowered her arms and turned to see the figure. Thanks to the illumination from the flashlight, the Pokémon Coordinator could see what the figure looked like. She could hardly speak when she found the figure look exactly like the boy from the cover of the magazine, but there were differences. First, the person in front of her had dark skin, and was wearing a white pleated robe and purple cape. A golden belt was wrapped around his waist and a golden bracelet was wrapped around each arm. Last, there was a golden headband with an eye on the middle of his forehead, and amethyst eyes were replaced with crimson. Even the Millennium Puzzle was worn around the person's neck, except it was strung with a thick rope.
"I'm sorry..." The person replied, as tears fell down his face. "I made you upset, Goddess...I am not worthy of your presence..."
"It's...okay..." May replied, stretching her hand out to comfort the person. She was surprised to see that he was solid—she thought he was a spirit—and then soon wrapped her arms as to wrap him in a light embrace. "I forgive you...I'm sorry for scaring you, but...you scared me a bit."
"Goddess is so forgiving..." The person murmured, replying to the embrace. "Goddess is also very beautiful, especially when she smiles." May felt her cheeks turn red when she heard the compliment just before a small smile crept on her face.
"My name is May." She replied to the spirit. "And who are you?"
The spirit got out of the embrace and slowly stood up, extending an arm out to help the supposed 'Goddess'. He then bowed before the Coordinator.
"I am known as Atem, the Ancient Pharaoh." The man stated. "And I am here to warn you of a great evil, that is about to plague this land."
"A great...evil?" May repeated in shock.
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Max: So May, did you get a lot of rest last night?
May: Not really...not after what I heard...
Max: It doesn't matter, because we're off to Domino City for a week! I can't wait to get my hands on a Duel Disk!
May: But what about Manaphy and Samiya? You remember my dream, don't you?
Atem: Goddess, please be careful, I fear that something dangerous is going to happen.
Max: Hey May, look at that! Monsters are attacking the city!
May: And there's some evil motorcyclists who are causing nothing but trouble!
Max: Next time: Between My Brother and Me chapter 2: The Destined Journey
May: I hope we make it so that there is a journey!
Atem: Anyone who hurts my Goddess will die...