Work Text:
"Where in the World Of Twelve am I?"
Yugo looked around on disbelief. He was surrounded by tall buildings, and there were big motor machines that made a lot of noise and let out smoke, it reminded him of Ruel's driller thing, but with much more metal. People walked around with weird clothes that he had never seen before. Yugo had literally no idea how he had got there, nor what to do next. He just kind of stood there awkwardly, looking at the people that passed him by, and ignored him.
A girl approached him, "Excuse me, are you lost?"
She was quite weird, in Yugo's opinion. Her eyes were sparkling pink, and her hair silky blonde. She was wearing some kind of... uniform? Anyway, she looked kind and sincere.
"Yes, in fact." Yugo replied, "Could you please tell me where I am? As in, city."
"Huh? You really don't know where you are?" Ruby was, needless to say, surprised. You really have to be lost if you don't now you're in the capital of Japan(1).
"No, I have no idea" The Eliatrope replied.
Ruby smiled, "You're in Tokyo!"
Yugo still looked puzzled. What on The World Of Twelve is Tokyo supposed to mean?
Ruby was also confused, that was not the reaction she expected. Well, to be fair, she had never expected anyone to get so lost that he didn't know in which city he was. The boy is kind of weird himself, thought the girl. What's with that blue hat thing, and those strange clothes?
"So... where's... Tokyo?"
"In JAPAN." Answered Ruby, yet Yugo's confusion didn't leave his expression. "Okay, how did you even get here if you don't know where 'here' is?"
"How should I know, I just opened my eyes, and puff, I wasn't in these weird Eniripsa Ruins, I was here, looking at these weird, tall, metal thingies!"
"You mean buildings." Corrected Ruby.
Yugo stared at the girl. "Those are buildings?"
"Of course they are, what would they be if not?" The Eliatrope had no idea, but he was pretty sure that when he went to Brakmar and Bonta, the buildings did not look like that, but he preferred not to mention it, as Ruby seemed to get even more worried by the minute.
To not make it worse, and change topic, he enquired "So, where's this Japan."
Ruby stared at the boy in disbelief.
"Japan is a country in Asia."
Yugo seemed to be ready to ask again, but Ruby cut him off, "ASIA IS A FREAKING CONTINENT, HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THAT???!!!" But one though crossed her mind.
"Wait... Can it be that you just don't remember?"
"Uhh..."
"That's it! You must have amnesia!" Ruby facepalmed herself for not thinking about that possibility before. She looked at the Eliatrope for confirmation, but he just shrugged, not wanting to make it worse.
The blonde thought for about a second. Maybe Sensei knows stuff about amnesia. He was a doctor after all... "You should come see my brother, Aqua!" She proposed.
"Uhh..." Now Yugo was even more confused than before, but anyways, it wasn't as if he had anything else better to do, so he followed the girl, that started walking away down the street, at a fast pace. "Hey, wait up!" He didn't want to get lost in this strange place, it seemed to be big.
"Sorry, I just remembered I'm late for a meeting!" Answered Ruby, "I kind of forgot that it was today when Miyako was going to give us the schedule, hehe. Since you're not from Japan, or Asia, I don't think you know it, but I'm an Idol! And my mom was an Idol too, her name was Ai Hoshino, you should have heard of her, even if you're not asian, she was very pretty and famous, you know? Actually, the film I'm starring is about her, It's called the 15-Year lie!"
Yugo wasn't listening to the girl's divagations, and just occasionally nodded. What's even is a film anyways?
The Eliatrope suddenly saw something, and stopped. Ruby continued walking forward talking, without even noticing that Yugo was no longer following her. He, on the other hand, was astonished, looking at a big screen that was stuck to a building, that was playing some ads at the moment.
What in the World Of Twelve...? Are those... people? Why are they so big? Why are they flat? Yugo activated his Wakfu vision, but he couldn't sense the average flow of Wakfu that could be found in every living being.
Again, it was all so weird, and Yugo decided to ask the girl about it, but just as he turned around to ask her about it, he noticed that Ruby was already gone.
It didn't take me that long to loose her, didn't it?
***
Director Gotanda eyed the script of the 15-Year lie movie that Aqua, with some help, had written. It was a pain to produce this film, it was being hard, seeing that most big producers didn't like to sponsor this type of sensitive content. Besides, the movie was starred by Ruby Hoshino, Aqua's sister, and it was her first time in a movie, so that also complicated everything.
Speaking of the devil, where was she? And if that wasn't enough, they needed a kid to play both Child A and Child B in the movie.
Suddenly, Ruby rushed in. "I'm here, I'm so sorry I'm late, I'm so sorry!"
"There you are!" Exclaimed Mem Cho. "We were waiting for you!"
"Sorry..." The girl apologised.
"No worries." assured Miyako Saitō. "Filming for the movie 15-Year lie will finally begin next week. It's a big job for Strawberry Productions. The day after tomorrow, we'll do the script reading and costume fitting. Four days later, we'll pray for success in the morning, and the following week, we'll start filming."
Saitō continued explaining things about the filming, and Ichigo revealed the plan to go on a live tour for B-Komachi, that would end and the end of the year, and that Arima would graduate then.
Director Gotanda got up, picking up the script as well, and he entered the room where Saitō, Ichigo and the girls were.
"...I can't possibly say no if you insist..."
"She's a handy performer alright."
"She's such a pushover... I wish she'd take better care of herself..."
Gotanda understud that they were talking about Kana Arima's graduation. "Well, things don't always go as planed, right?" He interviened.
Ruby turned around, "oh director, why'd you come today?"
"Nothing special, but..." He took out a book, and left it on the table, "I brought the final script."
"Thank you for going out of your way." Saitō replied.
"Don't mention it. My office is nearby." He brushed it off, as he sat on the couch, "Shipping costs would have been a waste, anyway."
"The though financial situation of single people in they're 40's is just sad." Mentioned Ruby.
As they read the script, they exchanged expressions, until Arima noticed something.
"Hmm... There's a blanc space in the actor column."
"She's right." Confirmed Ruby.
"Oh, that's for the child actor, we haven't been able to find one" Gotanda sighed.
As Arima proceeded to go off as how she used to be a great child actor, that how it was going to be hard to find a genious child actor like she was, Ruby thought about the kid he had found on the street. She wasn't really sure where he had went, but he did look real lost, the girl hoped that he was okay. Though she didn't think that he'd be able to act, something in him made her think that he was too good natured for lying, even if it was only acting. And anyways, he was kind of stupid, not knowing what Japan was, and anyways, he didn't match the age requirement.
Gotanda got up, "Well, anyways, after this, I have to go look for a child actor."
Ruby smiled at him, "Good luck!"
She truly looks like Ai. Gene's are cruel, after all. Aqua also looks somewhat like her, though. Speaking of him, where did he go?
***
Aqua walked down the path, lost in deep thought, when a child's voice was heard, in between black feathers.
"For some reason, your face screams 'I've made up my mind'."
That's what Yugo heard from a bit behind the path, and he suddenly turned very fast, sensing something unnatural about the voice. He saw two people; a young man, blonde and tall, that wore a black jacket, and had an annoyed face. Something about his sparkling blue eyes unsettled the Eliatrope, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. Anyway, she looked a lot like the girl from earlier, so he assumed it must be that 'Aqua' she was talking about, her brother. Turns out he did listen a bit to what she was saying before. But that wasn't what had made him turn.
The reason he was startled was because of the girl that was sitting on a bench not far from Aqua. Her white hair was pretty long for someone the age that she appeared, but Yugo could swear that of all of them present, she was the oldest. She had her arm extended, and a crow was sitting on it. Yugo shivered. Through his Wakfu vision, her amount of Wakfu was enough to cover even his own.
The Eliatrope saw that none of them had noticed him, so he figured out the best thing to do was pretend he wasn't there, so he walked a little further, always being able to hear them.
"...To hurt people... And to get hurt." Finished the girl.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Aqua sighed, "You always come to annoy people..."
"I'm just guiding you to the right destiny." She explained, "I'm kind, after all."
"Destiny, eh?" Aqua looked at her, "Spoken like a true god."
Yugo had no idea what all this was about, and he wasn't sure he even wanted to know. He had had enough to do with the gods already. But he sensed power in the crow girl, and he thought that maybe she was the key back to his world. Because the Eliatrope was positive that this wasn't his world.
"Well..." The girl continued, "I guess It depends on how you define god. According to my definition, those of you who have memories of previous lives can also be called gods."
Shoot, Qilby is a god.
Anyway, she said 'those of you', so maybe she's referring to the boy Aqua, and maybe her sister. Maybe I'll have to follow them, and try to convince them to take me back to my world. I don't know if the girl's a god, but anyway she looked very kind, and I guess that she'd at least know if her own brother is a god...
The conversation continued between Aqua and the girl, but the Eliatrope didn't pay attention anymore. He was concentrated in searching for the blonde boy's Wakfu signature, which was a hard task, since the Waldo that emanated from The Crow Girl was very big, and it curiously had a shape of a bird.
When he finally found Aqua's Wakfu, he was surprised to see that it was if there were two people inhabiting the boy's body at the same time. Two different types of Wakfu. Yugo had never seen something similar before. One of the types was unfamiliar to him, so he guessed that it wasn't the one that belonged in the body. The other one he recognised as similar to the one that girl Ruby had. Come to think of it, the former type seemed to be less of a soul, and more of memory, but Yugo didn't search in depth, he had what he wanted.
Now knowing how Aqua's Wakfu signature was, finding that of his twin was going to be much easier. Soon, he senses it, and started walking away. But then, he was spotted by Aqua and The Crow Girl.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Asked Aquamarine Hoshino, frowning. He wasn't sure if the strange boy in the blue hat had heard their conversation, though it was highly improbable, the weird girl would have acknowledged him, and probably she wouldn't have spoken those topics in front of some random person, at least, she hadn't done it before.
The strange girl in cuestion, was also surprised. She had not se sed the weird boy, and his appearance was unexpected. Even now, being able to actually see him, Tsukuyomi couldn't see his aura.
"I, uhh..." Yugo tried to think of an excuse quickly. He didn't think that they weee going to let him leave after listening in to their conversation, so it would be best to act as if he was just passing by, "...A big fan! I saw you just now and I thought it'd be great to stop by and say hi!"
Yugo prayed to whomever was listening that they'd believe him. Fortunately, Aqua was used to people like this, with him being an actor and all, so he bought it, "Oh? And who may you be?"
"Someone?"
There was something about that kid, decided Aqua, that definitely was not right. He couldn't put a finger on it, though. It was different for Tsukuyomi. For her, Yugo reminded her of Aqua when he was young. A man trapped in a child's body. She decided that it was best for him not to get involved in the story.
"It will be best if you're to go now." She suggested.
Aqua noticed that the girl felt uncomfortable, and that gave him an idea, "Hey, would you like to come see how we film a movie?"
Now both Tsukuyomi and Yugo looked puzzled. Why would Aqua invite a random kid to watch how a movie was filmed. The answer was clear for the boy, but not for the 'kids' in front of him. It was to keep The Crow Girl in check. Aqua was now positive there was something about the kid that unsettled the girl, and maybe that would keep her from talking in front of the other people. At the moment, it was necessary for him and Ruby to keep their past lives' secret.
And that is how Yugo ended up invited to the filming of 15-Year Lie.
***
"Oh, I get it!" Smiled Yugo. Director Gotanda sighed in relief.
"Finally!" He smiled at the prospective that he wasn't going to have to explain what a movie was again. He, once again, asked himself why would Aqua bring this strange child, apart from the one to play the role of Child A and Child B in the movie. He also wondered where the boy came from, since he literally didn't know what a freaking movie was.
The Eliatrope looked around. Today was the script reading and costume fitting. Ruby seemed mistrustful with The Crow Girl and he didn't blame her, but nothing could be done about it. The girl, whose stage name was 'Tsukuyomi', was going to play 'Child A' and 'Child B' in the film, Aquamarine and Ruby Hoshino as children.
This other girl, Mem, was it?, seemed to be nervous, but Yugo didn't get why. If he had understood correctly, the only thing they were going to do is to 'film' her, which was the equivalent to making the people bigger, or smaller (depending on the black surface they magically appear), and make them flat. Okay, now that he thought about it, it did sound kind of scary. You know what, never mind, let's not think about it. Everyone seemed to more or less know each other, anyway.
The script reading progressed nicely. Director Gotanda looked over to the girl, Tsukuyomi. Hm... I don't know where Aqua found her, but that child actor... Isn't bad at all.
Yugo didn't pay attention to the script reading. He didn't understand most of the things they said. They used strange expressions and words, and the Eliatrope was tired of trying to understand them. Then, he suddenly felt it.
A strike of familiar Wakfu in the middle of a sea of unknown currents. He knew exactly who it belonged to. He carefully left without anyone noticing, and when he was sure that no one could see him, he opened a portal to his destination.
He had quickly noticed that no one there had magic, and he honestly didn't want to know what they would think about it. The only ones that gave the Wakfu aura of something magical were Aqua, Ruby and the Tsukuyomi girl. Everyone else seemed to be weird. Well, seeing that most people here didn't have magic, he guessed that it was normal here.
He appeared on a narrow balcony, in a house nearby. A little girl, her mouth open wide, and a tall monster-like creature turned to the sound of the portal. The little girl opened her mouth even more, if that was possible, and pointed at him, and then the monster, back and forth. Then she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"I like your costumes, sir... sirs, but how did you get onto my balcony?" She stared at both of them, awaiting an answer.
Yugo just grabbed Adamai, and shoved him into a portal(2).
They came out of the portal on a tall building's top. Adamai looked at his brother, incredulous.
"Yugo?"
"In the flesh." The Eliatrope replied, "It's nice to see finally see you, brother."(3)
The Dragon frowned. He was angry at Yugo for many reasons, but he knew that now was not the time. If they wanted to figure out what this weird place was, and how to get out of it, they'd need to work together. Yugo also understood this.
"Let's forget about the whole Dofus thing for the moment being." He suggested, "We can talk about it later. We have more important things to do now."
Adamai nodded, "What is this place?"
"I don't know. How did you get here?" The Eliatrope inquired.
"I..." The Dragon trailed off, "...I can't remember?"
"Mhh..." Yugo agreed, "Same thing for me."
"How are we going to go back to the World Of Twelve?" Asked Adamai.
"Actually, I may have a solution to that." Revealed his brother, "I believe that in this world, the existence of gods is also real, and I think I've found one or two."
Adamai frowned again, "And do you think these gods will be willing to help us?"
"Err, I don't know yet, but I think that if I become friends with the god's sister, I can maybe be able to convince the god of sending us home. And if I don't, maybe I can convince The Crow Girl..." Yugo divagated.
His brother didn't understand half of it, but he thought that if Yugo had something in his mind, it would surely work, though not always the way that's expected. And anyway, it's not like he can destroy the world, we don't have the Six Eliatrope Dofus here, so there is no reason to worry. The worst thing that can happen is that the gods end up fighting him, and with his luck, he'll win and everything.
"...So Ad, what are you going to do meanwhile?"
"Huh, what do you mean 'meanwhile'." Asked the Dragon, oblivious.
"I mean, you can't go walking like that in the middle of the street, you look to weird." Explained Yugo.
"You're not looking any better." Complained Adamai.
***
"Hey, has anyone seen the weird kid?" Asked Ruby.
Tsukuyomi sighed, "I'm right here."
"No, I was referring to the other weird kid." She explained.
"How many weird kids do we even have?" Mem asked.
Arima turned to her, "This is the entertainment industry, we're all weird here."
Aqua was worried by the kid's disappearance. He hadn't got the chance to speak with him properly, and find pit just why Tsukuyomi was bothered by his presence. He looked at his sister. For some reason, she also seemed bothered.
"Are you okay, Ruby?"
Ruby looked at him as well, "Where did you find the boy in the blue hat?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm curious too, tell us, Aqua!" Intervened Kana.
Mem, Frill Shiranui and Akane Kurokawa turned to pay attention. Aqua ignored them, and grabbed Ruby, as he walked away.
"Hey, HEY! Where are you going?"
He again ignored them, and when he was sure that no one heard him, he turned to face his sister, "I think Tsukuyomi (that crow girl) is uncomfortable around the kid. If I didn't know better, I'd think that she's scared of him."
"Wh-what?!" Ruby opened her eyes wide, "Of the dumb boy?"
"What do you mean dumb?"
"Two days ago, I met him. He asked me where he was. I said 'you're in Tokyo!'. He asked me what that was. I told him it was the capital if Japan. He again asked me what that was. I told him it was a country in Asia. AND HE AGAIN ASKED ME WHAT THAT WAS. I MEAN, WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT ASIA IS, AQUA?"
Her brother also looked puzzled. He understood that maybe not everyone knew what Japan was, and even not knowing what a movie was is also possible, but not knowing what Asia was? It was most likely that this boy had some kind of problem.
"...But that's when it came to me! He must have amnesia! And anyways, he didn't deny it..." Ruby continued.
Aqua frowned. That could be possible...
"Hey, so anyway, what's the kid called?" He asked.
Ruby looked at him in disbelief, "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIS NAME, but you invited him to watch the filming of the movie. Real good, Aqua, real good."
"The subject never came up." Explained her brother, "Now, what was his name again?"
"I..." Ruby stared down to the floor, "I don't know either."
***
Yugo and Adamai walked back to the building where the script reading and costume fitting were taking place. The author does not have the words to express what they were wearing, so you'll have to imagine them. As Adamai walked past the people in the street, he thought he saw a familiar face in the crowd, but as he couldn't find it again, he thought it was his imagination.
Amara ran away. No, nope, not this time, this is not my story! Curse you, author!
"These clothes are so weird..." Complained Yugo. He looked at his brother, whom had taken a Human form. It was best, because Adamai's new form made Yugo uncomfortable.
Adamai frowned, "Who knows what utility have these pants with holes in them."
"Yeah, and these things you put in your feet, before the shoe, these, uh, socks, like, where do they come from?" Continued the Eliatrope, "I swear I've never seen anyone have there back in the World Of Twelve."
"So, where to now?" Asked Adamai.
"Oh, some random guy named Aquamarine invited me to watch how they shrinked people, then flattened them, then stoked them to some kind of black flat vertical table thing, but without killing them, somehow. And later, the flat people tell stories." Explained calmly Yugo, very sure that he had understood Director Gotanda very well.
Adamai shrugged, "We've seen weirder..."
"I guess..."
Upon entering the building, Yugo and Adamai saw lots of people running around, screaming stuff, and some other people wearing even weirder clothes than they were, to the point that both the Dragon and the Eliatrope thought that they had to be costumes.
"Is it always like this?" Asked Adamai.
Yugo nodded, "At least all the time I've been here... If it's like this, I have no idea."
"Kid!"Exclaimed Ruby, as she grabbed and dragged him away, down the hallway. She didn't even spare a look at Adamai, who felt slightly offended.
When Ruby reached Aqua, he shoved Yugo in front of her, with an, "I found him!"
"Umm..." The Eliatrope seemed confused, which was perfectly understandable.
Aqua looked at him with a dreadful expression (his normal expression), as he asked: "What... Is your name?"
"Huh?" Now Yugo was even more confused.
"Your name?" Ruby stared at him, "Or you don't have one?"
"Wh, no no I do, It's just weird that you're asking at this point of the story... A little late, don't you think?" Explained The Eliatrope, "Anyways, my name is Yugo."
"Yugo? What king of name is that?" Inquired Ruby.
"Yugo used to be some sort of car." Revealed Aqua.
Ruby pushed him, "You walking enciclopedia..."
"What's a... Nah, never mind, I don't wanna know." Yugo walked away.
"Where are you going?"
"To fetch my twin brother." The Eliatrope disappeared behind a corner.
Aqua frowned, He has a brother?
As Yugo walked towards Adamai, he saw how a golden coloured portal appeared, and both the Dragon and the Eliatrope were sucked inside.
***
When Yugo opened his eyes, he discovered that he was, indeed, back in the Eniripsa ruins, and Adamai was nowhere to be found, again.
It would seem that I have to continue to look for him. Though, this time, I do remember what happened , how I traveled back here. I wonder what the golden portals are...