Altered States 3/?

Author: Zoicyte aka Johnnyjosh

Fandom: Yu-gi-oh!

Rating: NC-21

Pairing: Seto/Joey

Betas: Kitsune Seven, Courting Life

Spoilers: Dartz Saga.

Disclaimer: I don’t own YGO or its characters, and am making no money from this.

Warnings and Notes: Yaoi, lemon, language.  OOC, TWT, AU, General Weirdness.  This idea came from a piece of fanart I saw on the web, and was further developed thanks to some RP with my pal Kyrre.

Summary: Joey and Seto find themselves the victims of a little wild magic in the midst of an accident, and both of them go through quite a few...changes, both inside and out. 

“ ” Speaking

* * Thoughts

~~oOo~~ Change of scene or POV

 

 

“It’s obvious Kaiba and Joey are not going to be found amongst this wreckage, however, the fact that their duel disks and decks are unharmed can be taken as a good sign.  It means that wherever they ended up, they were unscathed by everything happening around them before they disappeared.”  He glanced around at the others. “I agree with Duke, we need to leave here, find a place where we can discuss this, put together everything we know.  We will come up with a way to find our friends, and bring them back.” 

 

          “I hope so,” Mokuba lowered his head, as he held his brother’s duel disk against his chest, fighting down the tears trying to well up in his eyes.

 

          “Yugi’s right,” Tea said softly, giving the boy’s shoulders a little squeeze. “Their decks and duel disks were okay, so they were fine too, wherever they are, they’re okay, and we’re going to get them back.” 

            

          The black-haired boy sighed quietly, then nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess…” He fell silent for a moment, then turned and made his way off the ruined arena. “We can use the observation booth to sit and talk,” he said, leading them up a set of stairs, and into a small room equipped with several monitors, a computer, and two couches set facing each other over a low table. 

 

          The Pharaoh cleared his throat, organizing his thoughts as he stood with his back to the screens, while the others filed into the room and sat down on the couches, all of them seeming to look up at him expectantly. 

 

          “So if they’re not down there, where are they?” Duke asked without preamble. 

 

          Tea looked up and frowned slightly, aware for some time of the change in their friend.  She was certain by now that it wasn’t Yugi addressing them, but the Pharaoh’s spirit.  “You’ve put most of this together already, haven’t you, Pharaoh?” She asked quietly, ignoring Tristan and Duke’s surprised looks. 

 

          “You know where my brother is?” Mokuba asked, sitting forward, a flash of hope in his wide eyes.  He’d seen and heard enough during the time he and his brother had known Yugi and the others, that nothing about magic or ancient spirits really surprised him anymore.  He did hold some belief, unlike his brother, the repeated evidence being just too much for the raven-haired boy to ignore. 

 

          Yami sighed softly, gazing around, eyes resting on each of them in turn.  “I may have some idea of where they’ve gone.  However, how to get them back is another story.” 

 

          “So tell us already!” Tristan said, worry and impatience written all over his features as he rose to his feet, hands clenched into tight fists.  “At least if we know where they are, we’ve got something…”  He closed his eyes, shoulders tensed, as Duke walked over and set a hand on his shoulder.

 

          “Don’t worry,” the raven-haired CEO whispered. “We’re gonna get them back.”

 

          “Yes, we’ll find a way,” the Pharaoh nodded.  “Now, as for where they are, how much do all of you remember about the strange events that occurred, leading up to our confrontation with Dartz?  Particularly the monster sightings, and the three Legendary Knights?” 

 

          Everyone stopped and thought about that for a few moments, then Mokuba’s eyes widened as he gazed up at the Pharaoh.  “I remember one thing, because I saw it just before my brother and Joey disappeared, that weird flash of light, like a rainbow.  I saw it a few times back then too.” 

 

          “Precisely,” the Pharaoh nodded, giving the boy a slight smile.  “Those flashes of light often preceded sightings of monsters, duel monsters to be exact.  Dartz spoke of another realm, called the Dominion of the Beasts, where these creatures resided.  Not as part of people’s decks, but actual beings.” 

 

          “I remember,” Tristan said quietly, frowning in thought.  “We saw all kinds of crazy stuff, like the monsters attacking the city, then the Oricalcos stuff, and…”  he trailed off, sitting down on the couch heavily and looking around at the others.

 

          “Then those creepy soldiers, and the dragons that turned up in your, Joey and Kaiba’s decks,” Duke added.  

 

          “The three Legendary Knights,” Tea interjected, sitting forward, looking at Yami intently.  “Yugi and Joey told us a lot about it, after everything was finally over.”

 

          Mokuba sat back, legs pulled up as he toyed idly with Seto’s duel disk.  “We all saw them, on the plane, after that huge island sank.  There was a flash of light, then the knights, and Dark Magician girl, they were going back to that place, the Dominion, right?”  The boy asked, glancing over as Duke sat beside him, the two sharing a look of dawning realization as the ramifications of what Yami was saying started to sink in. 

 

          “Wait a minute …that flash of light, then the weird things the dragons did, just before the explosions started,” murmured Duke, his shoulders hunching slightly.  “Yugi said something about the monsters protecting them.”  He looked up at the Pharaoh.  “Those dragons weren’t just holograms anymore at that point, were they?” 

 

          “No, I don’t believe they were.”  Yami shook his head slowly.  “I think the door between realms opened once more and those dragons became much more than mere holograms.” 

 

          “But how?”  Tea asked.  “I thought that was just something that happened because of Dartz’s crazy magic.” 

 

          “At that time, their world was in danger, as well as ours.  They were trying to stop what was happening, just as we were,” the Pharaoh answered quietly.  “This time, I believe that door opened again to protect Joey and Kaiba.  Remember, they were two of the three chosen duelists.” 

 

          “Not to mention those two have a serious attachment to their dragons,” Duke added, folding his arms and looking down.  “You think maybe that bond went both ways?” 

 

          “I know it did for Seto,” Mokuba piped up, pulling his brother’s deck out of the duel disk and pulling out the other two Blue Eyes White Dragon cards.  “This was his ultimate, his favorite monster, and it was always there for him.”  His eyes were solemn as he gazed at Yami. 

           

          “Yeah, and Joey’s Red Eyes has always been there for him one way or another,” Tristan said quietly.

 

          “So, what we’re saying here, is that…their dragons were on the field, something went wrong with the dueling platform, and their dragons, in that other realm, wanted to protect them?”  Tea asked uncertainly.

 

          “Something along those lines,” the Pharaoh said, then sighed.  “It might have been successful too, and we’d still have Kaiba and Joey with us, if not for one small problem.”  He reached down and ran his fingers over the millennium puzzle. 

 

          “I remember now, that puzzle fell down onto the dueling arena when…I almost fell over and Yugi tried to grab me,” Mokuba spoke up, then looked away, as if suddenly feeling guilty.  “I shouldn’t have been on the rails, I knew better, but-”

 

          Duke, surprisingly, curbed his pessimistic tendencies and spoke quietly to the boy.  “It wasn’t your fault, Mokuba, it was an accident.  We were all really excited watching that duel.  Your brother and Joey were really focused, it was shaping up to be a pretty intense match.”

 

          “No, it wasn’t your fault, it was…no one’s fault really, unless you can blame an inanimate object.”  Everyone looked up as the Pharaoh spoke softly, his voice grave.  “The magic that made the dragons able to protect Joey and Kaiba, it awakened the magic within the Millennium puzzle when it fell onto the arena.  I was inside the puzzle when it happened.  I wasn’t able to fully grasp the situation, but I was aware of two things.  The first was that I had been somehow separated from Yugi, and the second was the burst of magic from within the puzzle.  It was… I suppose you would could call it a reflex, or knee-jerk reaction on the part of the puzzle,” as he spoke, Yami held the small golden pyramid in both hands and gazed at it morosely.  “It sensed the presence of magic, and answered with its own, as if for protection.” 

         

          Tea looked over at the puzzle, then shifted her gaze to the others, blinking and sighing softly as she noticed Mokuba glaring at it balefully.  “So whatever was happening, you’re saying the puzzle’s magic interfered with that?” 

 

          “Yes, it somehow merged with, and changed that magic,” the Pharaoh nodded, lifting his gaze to the young boy as well.  “I know you’re worried, Mokuba, but we will straighten this out, and get them back with us, where they belong.” 

 

          Mokuba swallowed hard and curled his small body tighter on the couch, fighting back tears.  “I just-I know you said their duel disks and decks surviving the explosion was a good sign, but…  I keep hearing them screaming just before they vanished,” he said, voice growing hoarse on the word ‘screaming’, before he lowered his head to his knees and started to cry.   He didn’t react as Duke reached over and put an arm around him, other hand running over the boy’s hair as he tried to offer some comfort.

 

          Tristan had gone very quiet, mulling all this over, but now he stood up suddenly, eyes widened.  “Wait a minute, I think I know where they went.” 

         

          Tea stared up at him for a moment, then jumped up as well, one hand over her mouth.  “You don’t mean…” She looked to the Pharaoh, who only nodded slowly.

 

          “What are you talking about?” Duke demanded, glancing from the other three to Mokuba, who was also looking up, listening. 

 

“Think about it.”  Tristan answered.  “Their dragons came here from the Dominion of the Beasts to protect them, and they should have gone back on their own after it was all over, but somehow Kaiba and Joey must have gotten sent there with them, because of the puzzle messing with the magic.” 

 

          “Oh great, so you’re saying Joey and Kaiba are trapped in some alternate dimension, surrounded by duel monsters?”  Tea asked, voice rising before a sharp look from Duke silenced her. 

 

          “I’m sure they’re fine,” the raven-haired teen said, as Mokuba started to shake.  “After all, they’re with their trademark dragons, so nobody’s gonna mess with them, right?” 

 

          “That’s right, anybody gets too close and Kaiba’s blue eyes will blast them to smithereens,” Tristan said, then frowned.  “So that’ll protect him, let’s just hope Joey is okay, as I doubt those two would stick together more than about five seconds, and his red eyes isn’t as strong…” 

 

          “I just hope they didn’t decide to try and carry on their duel, or start some new argument over there,” Duke sighed.  “The last thing they need is to be fighting against each other while they’re trapped there, they’d be better off working together, rather than bickering.  Of course, there’s about a snowball’s chance in hell of tha-Ow!”  Duke frowned as Mokuba swatted at him. 

 

          “My brother can take care of himself, he doesn’t need anybody’s help.  But Joey on the other hand…  Well if he’s smart, he’ll keep his mouth shut and stay close to Seto,”  Mokuba declared, folding his arms and glaring down at the table.  “Because Duke’s right.  Their best shot is to stick together and try to figure out a way back from there, while we do the same here.” 

 

          Yami nodded and sighed softly as Tea, Tristan and Duke just stared at Mokuba, surprised at his outburst.  “Yes, I hope the two of them can see past their own pride and stubbornness, and work together in what I imagine must surely be a difficult situation for both of them.”  He ran a hand through his spiky, multi-hued hair.  “Now, we’ve figured out where they are, and I think I already have an idea of how to get them back.”  The Pharaoh turned and, with a slight smirk watched the men down below who were just starting to clear away some of the debris from the ruined duel platform.

 

          “You know how to get them out of there?”  Mokuba asked, jumping up off the couch and moving quickly to stand beside Yami, before he too turned to look at the arena.  “What do we have to do?” 

 

          Yami turned and gave the boy a smile, setting a hand on top of his head gently.  “You’re going to play the biggest part in this, Mokuba.” 

 

          “Huh?  What am I going to do?” 

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

What will Mokuba do indeed? *laughs*   Gah, I know, I know, you wanted Joey and Seto, XD next time, I promise!  I have too much going on with them to tack it onto this chapter without it turning into 25+ pages XD.  Rest assured I’m back on track with this story and there will be another update very soon, this one all about our dragons. 

JJ