Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ A New Path ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. Thank you, and drive through.

Battle City was over. Once again, Yugi Moto proved that he was the king of games as he defeated Marik Ishtar in the finals. Peace was restored to Domino city. Everything, as we know it, was back to the norm….or is it?

That's what Tea Gardner wondered.

Was everything really back to normal? Was everything the same as it was before? She didn't think so.

Ever since Battle City ended, she felt as if she was drifting away, or rather being pushed away from her friends. As if there was a single force that was isolating her from her.

Her name was Serenity Wheeler.

Everytime Tea wanted to hang with her friends, Serenity was right there beside them. Even when she was around, Yugi, Joey, and Tristan would ignore her and focus their attention to Serenity. It was as if she wasn't even there.

"Ow, dat hurt!" Joey rubbed his head where the briefcase hit him.

"What's the matter, Wheeler?" A guy with dark brown hair stood before him with a smirk. He appeared to be 16 years of age. "Can't the puppy dog see where he's going?"

"Kaiba…" Joey seethed. "Watch where ya swinging that thing, ya Jerk!"

"If I remembered correctly, you were trying to trip me. But that didn't go as well, didn't it Mutt."

"Piss off, Seahorse!"

To say that Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba weren't the best of friends would be an understatement. Just about everytime these two would meet, Chaos would ensure. Whether an impromptu duel challenge is made (usually with Kaiba turning Joey down, or accepting and beating him), or a fight breakout which usually get them both into trouble at School. Joey usually got into trouble more than Kaiba due to both his temper and his mouth.

Kaiba just smirked. "I'm not going to waste my time on a 3rd-rate duelist like you, Wheeler. Why don't you find a dog biscuit or something."

Tea knew what was going to happen. Joey was going to lose his temper and start yet another fight with Kaiba which would result a visit to the principle's office. She knew that she had to stop him. She decided as she rushed toward the two.

"That's it, Kaiba!" Joey snapped. "LET'S DANCE!" He decided to go for a shot at Kaiba.

"Joey stop!" An auburn-haired girl stepped in his way in an attempt to prevent him from attacking Kaiba. "Don't do it, Big Brother!" Since Battle City, she has moved in with her Joey and their father after seeing as much as she liked it in Domino.

"Serenity, move out the way! That creep has it coming to him."

"That's right, Wheeler." Kaiba grinned. "I wouldn't want you to be humiliated in front of your sister…but then again, it wouldn't be the first time, wouldn't it."

"YOU'RE GOIN' DOWN YOU RICH BASTARD!" Joey wasn't going to be disrespected in front of his own sister.

"Joey please…Let's go!" Serenity begged. "He's not worth it!"

Joey groaned out of frustration. "Alright..." He glared at Kaiba as he walks off with his sister.

"But…I was supposed to do that…" Tea sighed as they walked passed her without even noticing. She shrugged it off. So what if Serenity prevented Joey from making a fool out of himself for the millionth time. It was more of blessing anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

After School, Tea decided to head for Burger World. She figured that was where her friends we going after school to get a quick bite to eat. She figured that things would be the same as they were before…or so she thought.

"You WHAT?" Joey snapped at his friend next to him as he then placed him in a tight Full Nelson. "TRISTAN I'M GOINNA KILL YOU!"

"Hey…Joey…All I did was just asked out your sister." He responded as he winced in pain. "Calm down!"

"I'LL SHOW YA CALM!" Joey added more pressure to the hold.

"Let go, you asshole!"

"Uh oh…" Tea thought. She knew she needed to stop them before it becomes to the point that they'll be kicked out, as people were beginning to stare. Joey and Tristan were best friends, but sometimes they got into a few fights which she usually had to break up and reminded them that they were friends. She decided to go over and stop them.

"Let him go, Joey!" Serenity protested, a bit angry. "All he did was asked me out, nothing more!"

"But…he could've asked me about it!" He replied.

"Since when do you decide who I date!?" Serenity responded, offended.

"She looks cute when she's angry." Tristan stated with a smile.

"Joey, let him go! You guys are friends, and friends shouldn't fight!"

This angered Tea. Usually, she was the rock of the group. She always kept the group together and was the number one cheerleader. But lately, Serenity has been taking over those roles as of late. Today was the day Tea began to get frustrated over the whole thing. First at School, and now this? She even was stealing her friendship speeches.

"We've all been though so much together and we shouldn't throw it all away over a simple date!"

Tea was in disbelief. What did Serenity mean when she said that they been though "so much together?" Was she there when Yugi, Joey, Mokuba, Mai, and Kaiba were in Kaiba's virtural land? Was she there at Duelist Kingdom? Was she there when Yugi's grandpa had to go to the hospital after he was sent to the Shadow Realm by Pegasus?

Joey sighed. "Yer right, Sis…" He released the hold on Tristan, but Tristan decided to get a bit of revenge as he placed a Full Nelson of his own on Joey!

"HOW DOES IT FEEL, JERK!?" He screamed.

"Guys…" Serenity sighed as she then slapped both of them.

"Sorry…" They both said that the same time, both feeling ashamed.

"What's going on, guys!" Tea asked, walking over. Despite that she already knew.

"Nothing..." All three of them said as Tristan released the hold on Joey. They decided to not worry Tea about the situation.

"Okay then…FINE!" Tea snapped as she walked off. 'I can't believe that they lied to me…' She thought after leaving Burger World.

"What's wrong with Tea?" Serenity asked, concerned about her.

"Who knows?" Joey shrugged.

Tea was walking on the sidewalk by herself, looking down. "What's going on?" She thought. It was as if she didn't even know them anymore. Or maybe she managed to end up in a parallel universe. Or perhaps it was all in her head. She decided that a hot shower would calm her nerves…

After about 90 minutes passed, Tea stepped out of the house in a quick change of clothes. What she was wearing wasn't out of what she normally wore. Just a sleeveless yellow shirt, red mini skirt, and tan boots with the only accessory being a black belt. She decided to go to the Turtle Game Shop to see Yugi. If there was anyone she knew would appreciate her, it was him.

In the shop, Yugi and Serenity were sitting at a table, along with a deck of cards.

"Yugi, could you teach me how to duel?" Serenity asked.

"But I figured Joey or Tristan would teach ya." Yugi responded, surprised that she asked him of all people to teach her.

"Yes, but I want to know the best combos. After all, you are the King of Games, right?" She smiled. She knew that Joey was a good duelist, but she recently found out that Tristan lied to her about being the one who taught her brother how to duel. However, she forgave him…eventually.

"Yeah…"

"So how's about it, Yugi?"

"I don't see why not..." He said as he began. "Now, as you know that 5 types of cards: Monster Cards, Monster Cards with special abilites, Magic Cards, Trap Cards, and Ritual Cards."

Serenity nodded. "That's right."

"Also, there are some monsters that required either some monsters to sacrifice monsters like Summoned Skull, or specific monsters to sacrifice along with a ritual card to summon certain monsters like the Black Luster Ritual to summon Black Luster Soldier. The amount of monster needed to summon varies with the monster and ritual card."

"I see."

Yugi continued as he showed the card, Dark Magician Girl. "For Monster cards with special abilities, such as Dark Magician Girl, they can be activated depending on the card itself. For example, Dark Magician Girl receives 300 attack points for every Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in either graveyard."

"So you're saying that if I had a Dark Magician in my graveyard and my opponent also had a Dark Magician in his or her graveyard, my Dark Magician Girl would get 600 additional attack points, increasing it to 2600?"

"True, but if your opponent also played a Dark Magician Girl, his or her Dark Magician Girl would also get the 600 attack points boost."

"Wow Yugi," Serenity giggled. "Maybe Duel Monsters won't be as hard as I thought."

Tea opened the door as she walked in. She then noticed Yugi and Serenity. 'Not her again…' She thought. First it was at School, then at Burger World, now This! She knew she was Joey's sister, but couldn't she just find a life of her own without interfering in hers? Just who did she think she was?

"Hey Tea!" Yugi waved at Tea.

"How are you?" Serenity asked Tea.

"…." Tea couldn't think of anything to say. What was she supposed to say? "Oh nothing, guys. Just fine, even though you fail to remember that I exist?" The only thing that came from her mouth was "Fine! Everything's just fine, isn't it Serenity?"

"Wha-What do you mean, Tea?" Serenity replied. Surprised that Tea was acting this way.

"You know what I mean! Ever since you've been here, you've been trying to steal my friends."

"Tea…I would never…"

"I didn't mind you being around Joey and Tristan. Joey's your brother, and Tristan's helplessly in love with you. But this is where the draw the line!"

Yugi was so shocked that he couldn't say anything, only just watched as Tea expressed her emotions. He had no idea Tea actually felt this way.

"Tea, why are you acting this way?"

"Stop it. Just stop, alright!" With a tear, Tea ran out of the Domino shop.

"Tea, wait!" Yugi shouted, as he got up and ran after her, but it was too late as she was already gone.

With tears in her eyes, Tea ran as far as she could. Why was this happening? Why was her world falling apart? What did she do to deserve this? She wasn't watching where she was going until she ran into someone. She was knocked down and when she looked up, Kaiba was standing in front of her.

"Can't you geeks watch where you're going?" He snapped as he brushed off his black trench coat.

"Look Kaiba…" She sniffed as she stood up. "Just leave me alone."

"What's wrong, Tea?" He asked. He didn't actually care, but was a bit curious. "You look as though you lost a best friend."

"What do you care!" She snapped. "Why don't you ask Serenity?"

"Serenity? Wheeler's sister? She is popular, isn't she?" He chuckled.

"Of course she is! She just has about every guy's attention."

Kaiba let out another chuckle. "If I actually cared, and that is a huge 'if,' I'd say you're jealous."

"What do I have to be jealous of? Her long auburn hair, her bright smile, her-"

"Whatever…Get a life…" Kaiba begins to walk off, then stops as he gets an idea. "Tea?"

"What do you want now, Kaiba?" Tea asked, now more annoyed than she was sad.

"What if I said that there was a way that you could get back at them? You know, teach them a lesson for the way they treated you, as well as their lack of appreciation for you?"

This grabbed Tea's attention. She was intrigued with the idea of seeing how her so-called friends would feel if she wasn't around any more. "Wha-What do want me to do?"

"It's simple Tea, just leave."

"Leave?"

"It's real simple. If they really care about you, they'll miss you and go look for you…" He smiled. He figured that if he could at least get rid of one of Yugi's friends, he would be happy.

"But…where would I go?"

"I'm glad you asked that question." Kaiba opened his briefcase as he then produced a sphere-like device. "This is the latest invention from Kaiba Corp: The Transphere! It's a gateway to different dimensions. Even places where you thought never existed." He gave the device to Tea.

She examined the device with a skeptical look on her face. How was this supposed to be a transportation device? "Kaiba, are you sure this will work."

"Tea, when was the last time any device by the Kaiba Crporation didn't work?" He asked.

"Good point…" Tea nodded. "So how does this work?" She asked, still doubtful that it'll work.

Kaiba sighed. "All you have to do is to press that red button and you'll be transported to a place at random."

Tea narrowed her eyes, "Random, Kaiba?"

"IT'S A PROTOTYPE, TEA!" He snapped.

"Okay…calm down…"

"Hmph…Just have fun Tea." Kaiba grabbed his briefcase as he walked away with a smile.

"Umm…Thanks Kaiba." Tea said. Still skeptical about how this could work.

"No need. It was my pleasure." Kaiba headed toward his limo with an evil grin on his face. 'Besides…' He thought, 'Nobody will care that you're gone anyway…'

At home, Tea was finished packing her belonging, as well as writing a note to her parents, explaining where and what she was doing. After the events which occurred with her friends, as well as the fact that Mai was touring the world, and Duke was busy with his game shop. Not to mention that Bakura was MIA. She had no reason to stay. But what if she was wrong about everything that was going on with Serenity? She couldn't face her friends. Not after the way she acted. She knew that there was only on thing to do…

Tea grabbed her bag as she then looked at the Transphere she received from Kaiba. She couldn't help but wonder if it was the right decision. It was the perfect way to see if her so-called friends truly cared about her. She held the sphere as she then pressed the button. A bright blue light began to emit from the sphere. "Is this supposed to happen?" She asked. There was no turning back now as a huge flash filled the room. After the flash disappeared, Tea Gardener was no longer in Domino.