Jukeni huffed impatiently, “Tëbkinz. You know. That big, giant land east of Pawreles, where Pingous hasn’t gotten its filthy hands on yet? With all the mountains and booncas? They make the best kimnörru cream? That Tëbkinz?” Kai forced himself to push aside his irritation, although he did reply shortly, “I’m not from around here, remember?” “So where are you from, Kai?” Kaeden responded gently. His dark brown gaze remained on his fishing pole he held hovering above the gurgling water. Kai hesitated. He had no idea how these Pawrelesers would react to his story. Would they believe that he came from a different realm? Did they have giant cat-creatures here? What would they do if they didn’t believe him? These questions had no answers. Because they had no answers, Kai did the most Kai thing he could do: he decided to disregard all thought of caution and discreetness. “Me and my friend were kidnapped. These weird cat-creatures captured us—they were like nothing I’d ever seen before in my life. One of them disguised themselves as Skylor—my friend—and jumped me when I wasn’t looking.” He paused. His memory was drifting back to that night. He’d gone to meet Skylor at Mister Chen’s, to join her on their date. They’d stopped on a bridge, and—good grief—he was about to kiss her. Gah-lee, Kai shuddered in disgust. I almost kissed that thing! It was disguised as Skylor, and I was going to kiss her! He made a face, cringing. Jukeni was giving him a puzzled look. “You all right?” “Yeah. Sure,” Kai muttered. He continued. “They used Traveler’s Tea to throw both of us down in portals, sending us to different realms. I have no idea where Skylor went. All I know is that I saw her disappear into one portal, and then I was falling into my own. Then—” He hesitated once more, then muttered, “Then I woke up here, in Pawreles.” Silence. Kai looked up at Jukeni, who sat to his left on the grassy bank. The boy’s freckled face was scrunched up in blatant confusion. “Wait…” He finally said, “I think you need to back up and explain some things. Like, uh—”
“What cat-creatures?” Kaeden asked. He sat to Kai’s right. There was a hint of puzzlement on his canine face, yet he remained seated in a relaxed position on the grass, looking out over the water. Though his tone was mild, one pointed ear twitched in Kai’s direction—a prompting sign. “You don’t know what they are?” “No,” Kai sighed. “I told you, I’d never seen them before in my life. In all the legends and stories there are in Ninjago, I’ve never heard about these crazy cat-things. They can change their shapes—like, lions one moment and normal cats the next, or they can make themselves look like people.” “I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Kaeden murmured. “I think there are some Tëbkinz peoples who have abilities like that, though,” Jukeni suggested uncertainly. “There are lots of tribes and clans who hide away in the hills and moors that nobody knows about…” “Yes, but that is to the east. According to Kai, Ninjago is up north.” Kaeden swung his head around to face Kai. “Right?” “Uh, right.” Kai returned quickly. “So, you guys don’t have body-stealing cat-creatures in Pawreles, then?” “No—thank the Star Guards,” Jukeni snorted. “Life’s hard enough with Pingousers, not to mention booncas, unicorns, lecourties—” “What’s this Traveler’s Tea you spoke of?” Kaeden interjected before Jukeni could start on a rant. “It’s magic,” Kai explained. “At least, I think. I mean, it can teleport you to different parts in the world, and even to different realms.” “Magic? Different realms?” Kaeden’s ear pricked forward. Kai shifted uncomfortably on the mossy patch of ground he was seated in. “I’m… guessing you don’t know about any of that, either.” “Oh, no, we know about magic, all right,” Jukeni piped up, wearing a grim expression. He gripped his fishing pole tersely. “That’s how Lord Hälogen helped the Pingousers take over this side of Pawreles.” “Lord Hälogen?” Kai frowned. “Who’s he?”
Jukeni shot him yet another disbelieving look. Kaeden, on the other hand, showed no sign of surprise nor confusion, instead replying, “Lord Hälogen is, in short, a powerful, rich follower of the present king of Pingous. Back in the day, he was held in high esteem in the Pawreles royal court and government, but he betrayed our queen and allowed the Pingousers to invade, assassinate the royal family, and overthrow and overwhelm the government and the army. Ever since his betrayal, Pingous has had its hold firmly gripped upon Pawreles, and Lord Hälogen’s in charge of these provinces himself, as a reward for helping.” “So what’s this guy got to do with magic?” Kai interrupted. “He’s rumored to be a mage—and very dangerous mage,” Kaeden responded quietly. For once he moved his head, scanning their surroundings. Seeming to be reassured of their privacy, Kaeden turned back to his fishing pole. “He lives in his castle in the middle of one of the capital cities, Jämlen. Any rebel who’s tried to break in and assassinate him claims that his magic is too strong. No physical weapon of any kind can stand against his power. He crushes anyone who gets in his way.” “Huh.” Kai sat back, running this through his head. The vague description of this evil “mage” wasn’t very impressive to him—at least, not with so little information. “So what kind of ‘magic’ does this guy do? Are we talking that regular old ‘dark magic’ with the smoky mist and weird lights and everything, or is it more specific, like making rocks float in the air and controlling stone armies?” Jukeni and Kaeden stared at him. “You’re acting like you’re used to this sort of thing,” Jukeni said. “Where I come from, guys with magic powers trying to take over the world is nothing new,” Kai replied loftily. He felt a twinge of pleasure and satisfaction at the mingled looks of disbelief and admiration Jukeni and Kaeden gave him. To Kai, no matter how many times it happened, being regarded with awe always felt good. “Well, uhh…” Jukeni said uncertainly, “There’s lots of rumors.” “Like what?” Kai prompted. “Well, you know… like, magic…”
“I know there’s magic! You just said that,” Kai interjected impatiently. Kaeden took over. “When Hälogen helped the Pingousers take over, many people saw what he was capable of: he can summon icy winds even in the dead of summer and create birds and dogs made of smoke that can attack his victims. Some say that he can see through walls, grow eagle’s wings and fly, and has a secret room in which he concocts poisons and potions for his dark deeds. It’s also been said he uses crystal balls to see the future and to see into other worlds—worlds far, far away, outside our own.” The mention of “other worlds” made Kai inhale sharply. He stared at Kaeden. “Other worlds? What do you mean—?” He was interrupted by the voice of Nama ringing faintly through the trees. She was calling them for supper, before it got dark. Kaeden glanced into the trees from whence the woman’s voice came, and he said, “We ought to be getting back.” Resigned, Kaeden and Jukeni stood and reeled their lines out of the river. They had caught a few fish earlier, and these they carried in a small basket with a latched top. As they packed up their gear, Kaeden muttered, “We’ll talk more later.” However, this was not the case. As soon as the three of them returned to the cottage, Nama had them cleaning the fish and helping her prepare for supper. The sun was setting when Kaeden bid them goodnight and quietly vanished down the forest path. The small family and their guest ate their meal and cleaned up afterwards with idle chatter, mostly from Nama and Beenthina. Kai thought that Jukeni would try to find a way to keep talking about Kai’s story or Lord Hälogen—but the boys never got the chance. Nama assigned Jukeni to patch up the fence of the chicken coop after supper was over and cleaned up. Kai offered to help him, but Nama told him he ought to get to bed early. She was adamant on him not straining himself, and declared he looked a little wane. “And you’ve been quiet, too,” she added. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I told you: I have no idea.” Skylor shrugged. She proceeded to brush a few soaked strands of hair out of her face as she said, “One minute I was fighting off a whole Polarian army by myself and making them believe I was a goddess; the next, I’m falling into someone’s cartful of cabbages.” Jay, Lloyd, and Nya all gave her funny looks. “Fighting off a what army?” Nya said. “It’s a long story. What I want to know,” Skylor turned her steely gaze onto them, “is why you seem to know what happened to me—more than I do, actually. So, I’d like to know why Kai and I were kidnapped by these weird giant cat-people, why I got thrown into some portal, got sick with hallucinations and woke up to find myself in a place that’s nowhere like I’ve ever seen in Ninjago where people were trying to destroy me.” Jay, Nya, and Lloyd exchanged looks, each one willing the other to be the one to explain. Finally Lloyd decided to take the burden. “Those cat-things are called bakeneko and nekomata. They’re shape-shifters, some of the oldest creatures in Ninjago. They took you and Kai away so that they pretend to be you—” “Isn’t that Matilda’s hat?” Jay interrupted. Lloyd flashed him an annoyed look. “What?” “Over there.” Jay pointed down an alley to their right. “Look!” He took off running. The others followed him into the alleyway. There, sitting limply on the filthy ground in a small clearing, a familiar-looking brown, worn-out, pointed hat lay abandoned. Its tip slumped at a plaintive angle. Jay bent down and picked it up, then looked around the alley. “Yup, nobody else in Ninjago has this kind of wacky fashion sense like hers. Where is she?” “There’s been a struggle,” Lloyd commented, observing the scuff marks and footprints disturbing the thin line of dirt and grit on the cobblestones. He glanced up at a few dark, sooty blast marks on the walls. “Magic always leaves a mark,” he commented dryly. “Who’s Matilda?” Skylor asked.
Yeah there's a lot she missed while she was isekaied.
*snip* “There’s been a struggle,” Lloyd commented, observing the scuff marks and footprints disturbing the thin line of dirt and grit on the cobblestones. He glanced up at a few dark, sooty blast marks on the walls. “Magic always leaves a mark,” he commented dryly. “Who’s Matilda?” Skylor asked.
Yeah there's a lot she missed while she was isekaied.
That's right! They haven't even met yet.
I've always wanted to see the results of isekai protagonists being thrown back into their home world after their adventures and having to deal with the change. I think Chronicles of Narnia is the only "isekai" that's done this.
***** “It’s the Sister of Darkness!” a voice cried. Startled, Talon swung around and scanned the crowd gathered by the trees. Tribe-mates in cat and human bodies alike were standing and crowding around something, exchanging surprised exclamations. With several dozen warriors, it was impossible to see what they were looking at from where Talon stood. Thus he went over and joined the crowd. “How did they capture her?” “Not so powerful now without her fancy stick!” “Why don’t they end her now?” Finally Talon pushed and jostled his way through enough muscular nekomata, tall human-forms, (and stepped on enough irritated bakenekos’ tails), to see what the commotion was about—and when he did, his blood froze cold. Matilda lay crumpled on the ground in the center of the large, furry crowd. Her hat was gone, leaving her shaggy brown, white-streaked hair to lay splayed out on the damp grass. Her arms had been tied behind her back. Over the woman stood Broken Fang, Rip Claw, and Lion Claw, all in their human bodies wearing triumphant expressions on their faces—although Broken Fang did have a black eye and had lost her cloak. Without warning, Black Blood strode forward from the crowd. The great big black cat padded up to the limp figure, then paused, staring at her with surprise. The crowd fell to a hush—as it always did whenever the Moon Tribe queen made an appearance. Talon held his breath and watched. Black Blood took a paw step forward and bent her head down to sniff the witch’s head.
Matilda popped her head up. “Boo.” Black Blood bristled and flinched backwards, but just as soon regained her composure. Forked tails lashing, she glared at the other three sorcerers. “What is she doing here? You should have ended her.” Lion Claw and Rip Claw, both looking so proud before, suddenly took a step backwards anxiously, and simultaneously they pointed at Broken Fang and chorused: “She did it.” Broken Fang met Black Blood’s green gaze with her own amber-eyed one. “I defeated her in battle. I claimed her as my captive. Now I claim her as my Dark Sleep subject.” Another murmur rippled through the gathering, but none dared speak up loudly. Black Blood’s ear flicked. “Raven Frost won’t be too happy about that. He has a bone to pick with that one.” Broken Fang smirked. “Raven Frost didn’t defeat the Sister of Darkness. I did. I am her rightful persecutor.” “Perhaps,” Black Blood acceded, only to add coldly, “But you risk the whole tribe by not only keeping her alive, but by bringing her along with us. Some humans are simply better off for us gone.” “Not this one,” Broken Fang gave a mirthless smile, exposing her inhuman teeth. “We could use her for bait. Ransom. An example to give those stinking, spinning Sons and Daughters of the Elements once and for all—” Her words were cut off by a startled shriek when Matilda jumped to her feet and seemingly ripped herself free of her bonds with her bare hands. In one hand she gripped her wand, the tip glowing a dull yellow. The woman cackled gleefully and shot a spell at Lion Claw with an obscure mix of syllables. In a flash of bright orange light, Lion Claw disappeared— —and a fat, startled-looking toad stood in his place on the grass. “It’ll take more than a stupid Nap Attack to keep me down, Broken Fang!” Matilda sneered.
Of course she had it under control the whole time! XD Ya had me there for a second.
Talon barely had time to react to the scene that had taken place within a second before the Moon Tribe warriors reacted. They surged forward with a furious howl, and cats of all shapes and sizes fell upon the witch in clawing, scratching, biting, raging, and fluffy hordes. Their cries only increased as Matilda frantically attempted to drive them off with spell after spell. In the rush, Talon was knocked to the ground. He covered his head with his hands and mashed his face down in the dirt. Screeches and screams split the air like a storm and made the ground beneath him shake. More blasts of light from Matilda made his vision blur, and he clenched his eyes shut. As the rush of the skirmish continued, he became aware of the scent of burned fur and smoke, and more cries of pain were added to the noise. Then—it subsided. There were still warning growls, hisses of hatred, and a few groans, but the silence that fell was swift, so swift that Talon felt fear clench his heart. Gasping, he jolted up into a seated position and looked. Matilda lay on the ground again, this time completely unconscious. Scratches stood out on her hands, wrists, and face, wherever she had skin showing. Her dark blue robes were nearly torn to shreds, mere tatters at the hems. Several more large holes had been torn into her forest-green dress. Over her stood Black Blood, chest heaving as she fought for breath. Rip Claw stood with her, patting gingerly at his now-singed beard and cringing at the smoke that wafted from it. “What did you do?” the older man muttered. Black Blood didn’t reply for a moment, too busy catching her breath. Then she said, “Paralyzed her. She won’t be moving or making a peep for hours.” Rip Claw gazed down warily at their fallen adversary. Then he held up something in his hand: Talon felt an uncomfortable jolt to realize that it was Matilda’s wand. “What should we do with this?” Black Blood looked at him. Suddenly her head snapped forward and she snatched the little stick in her jaws. With a loud crunch, the wand was shattered in two. The shards were dropped upon the ground, a few minuscule splinters joining them.
Never mind, maybe she doesn't have it under control.
Matilda had fallen beneath the sorcerer’s spell smiling because in the skirmish, she had managed to reach into one of the pouches of her leather belt, snagged several small vials and bottles, and dropped them. Not one cat had noticed the bottles lying on the ground after she’d been subdued. All had had their attention elsewhere, and now were leaving the hillside. Thus on the hillside they lay scattered: the multi-colored bottles, not so far away from the remains of her shattered wand that burned in Rip Claw’s blue fire.
***** These questions had no answers. Because they had no answers, Kai did the most Kai thing he could do: he decided to disregard all thought of caution and discreetness. “Me and my friend were kidnapped. These weird cat-creatures captured us—they were like nothing I’d ever seen before in my life. One of them disguised themselves as Skylor—my friend—and jumped me when I wasn’t looking.” He paused. His memory was drifting back to that night. He’d gone to meet Skylor at Mister Chen’s, to join her on their date. They’d stopped on a bridge, and—good grief—he was about to kiss her. Gah-lee, Kai shuddered in disgust. I almost kissed that thing! It was disguised as Skylor, and I was going to kiss her! He made a face, cringing. Jukeni was giving him a puzzled look. “You all right?” “Yeah. Sure,” Kai muttered. He continued. “They used Traveler’s Tea to throw both of us down in portals, sending us to different realms. I have no idea where Skylor went. All I know is that I saw her disappear into one portal, and then I was falling into my own. Then—” He hesitated once more, then muttered, “Then I woke up here, in Pawreles.” Silence. Kai looked up at Jukeni, who sat to his left on the grassy bank. The boy’s freckled face was scrunched up in blatant confusion. “Wait…” He finally said, “I think you need to back up and explain some things. Like, uh—”
Yeah there's a lot she missed while she was isekaied.
That's right! They haven't even met yet.
I've always wanted to see the results of isekai protagonists being thrown back into their home world after their adventures and having to deal with the change. I think Chronicles of Narnia is the only "isekai" that's done this.
Sword Art Online does it too. The main characters had to have medical treatment, go to a special school where they can catch up on the high school they missed, and be watched for any signs of mental problems due to being trapped there so long. As well as having to get used to living normal lives again and reconnecting with their families. Except in that case it's a video game they were trapped in, but it's still considered an isekai. ( SAO has got some sketchy stuff in it though, so if you do ever watch it there's definitely some parts you are going to want to skip... ) Also it always puts a smile on my face whenever I think about how the Chronicles of Narnia is an isekai. In fact, there was really many instances of isekai happening throughout the series. Is the only book that doesn't have it The Horse and His Boy? Ironically that one is my favorite. XD
It's been that long? I swear it doesn't feel like it's been that long! AAAAHHHH!!! O.O ![[h]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/k3cXEdyNkyw6aB9dHN1d.png)
![[~]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/ozFsbNeZhKNyVxseYHGI.png)
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)
In fact, there was really many instances of isekai happening throughout the series. Is the only book that doesn't have it The Horse and His Boy? 
Ironically that one is my favorite. XD 